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Chapter 6: The Art of Ruining a Party
🕑 Added 2025-07-08 04:38:47 +0000 UTC“Looks like the head peacock wants to sing,” grumbled Fatty Meng from the balcony, peeking out from the edge of the heavy velvet curtains.
Wei Feng drained his cup and passed the silver invitation over. “Hold this for me. I don’t want to spill wine on it.” His smile was lazy, but his eyes were no longer on the gardens; they were fixed on the commotion unfolding inside. “A peacock’s song is always the same, my friend. It’s an invitation to either boredom or bloodshed. Either way, I don’t intend to miss it.”
With a nod to Meng, he slipped back inside the Hall of Eternal Harmony, just in time for the main event. The elder sword master, Lin Jian, stood solemnly, but no one was paying him any attention. All eyes, like moths to a flame, were locked on Young Master Jin Tian, who held a brocade box that glowed with a soft light of its own.
With a rehearsed smile he believed to be magnanimous, Jin Tian opened the box.
A blue light, soft yet immensely powerful, emanated from within, bathing his face in an ethereal glow and drawing a collective gasp. Several nobles instinctively stood up to get a better look.
“Heavens!” a minister near Wei Feng whispered. “The energy it’s emitting… it’s a heavenly-grade treasure!”
“Princess Yao,” Jin Tian proclaimed, his voice ringing with pride and arrogance, “a peerless genius such as yourself deserves a treasure that matches your stature. This is the ‘Heart of the Blue Stars,’ a necklace forged by the ancient masters of my sect using lost methods.”
He paused dramatically, allowing the weight of his words to settle.
“Each of its seven gems,” he continued, his voice rising, “is a condensed tear from a star, found in the depths of a thousand-year-old meteorite. Wearing it not only greatly accelerates the absorption of heaven and earth Qi, but it also calms the soul, making the comprehension of the Edicts as easy as breathing. Its value… is immeasurable.”
The hall erupted in a feverish murmur. “Star tears? Impossible!” a general exclaimed. “The Golden Sword Sect must have emptied its vaults!” another commented. “They’re buying the empire’s favor, and the price is an entire kingdom.”
Even Emperor Wei Zheng and Empress Wei Shuyin, on their thrones, couldn’t hide a brief flash of genuine surprise. They exchanged a quick glance. This was no simple gift. It was a bride price. A dowry paid in advance, a brazen display of power and wealth designed to both impress and subdue.
But Jin Tian wasn't finished. His smile widened, turning predatory. He didn’t offer the box to Wei Yao. In a slow, deliberate motion, he removed the necklace, its blue gems like liquid stars caught in a platinum web, pulsing with a cold, mesmerizing light.
Then, with an audacity that silenced the entire hall, he took a step toward the main dais and climbed the first step. He was approaching Wei Yao.
His voice, when he spoke, was soft, almost intimate, but projected for everyone to hear. It was an act of public reclamation.
“A treasure so magnificent,” he said, his eyes fixed on her pale neck, “can only be placed by my own hands upon the most elegant, jade-like neck in the entire empire. Allow me this honor, Princess.”
The music stopped. The servants froze. The entire hall held its breath.
To place the necklace on her. The gesture was so intimate, so personal, it was tantamount to a declaration of engagement in front of the entire nobility. This was Jin Tian, before the dragon’s court, marking his territory. He was saying: She is mine.
Wei Yao’s face showed nothing. She was a jade statue, a masterpiece of imperial control. Her mind, however, was a storm, a chaos of ice and fire.
She knew she was trapped. To refuse him now, to insult such a monumental gift and such a public gesture, would be a diplomatic disaster. A slap in the face not only to Jin Tian, but to the entire Golden Sword Sect. Her duty, the armor her mother had forged for her, compelled her to accept. With torturous slowness, she gave a nearly imperceptible nod. The slightest of permissions.
But inside, she was screaming.
No. Don't you dare. Don't touch me.
The thought of Jin Tian's fingers on her skin made her stomach churn. She imagined it—a cold, presumptuous, possessive touch. It felt like the slithering of a snake, false and repulsive. Her skin prickled, not with pleasure, not with anticipation, but with a deep, visceral revulsion. She wanted to pull away, to slap him, to scream at him to get away. But the mask of ice remained in place.
Her golden eyes flickered, desperate, for a fraction of a second. Her search was frantic, a silent sweep across the hall, passing over ministers and guards, looking for that dark corner, that slouched figure. She found him. And their gazes met.
It was a plea. A silent scream only he could understand. Do something. Please. Don't let him touch me. Don't let the world think he can claim me.
And then a new terror, sharper and colder than the last, flooded her.
What if Uncle thinks I’m accepting this? The doubt struck her with the force of a hammer. After everything my mother told me… what if he thinks this display of power and wealth impresses me? Will he think I'm as shallow as they are? That I can be bought for a pretty necklace?
Her terror was no longer for Jin Tian's imminent touch. It was for the possible condemnation in Wei Feng’s eyes.
Wei Feng, from his corner, saw her gaze. He saw the naked panic behind the icy mask. He saw the plea.
His amused spectator’s smile vanished. The game was over. The show had just gotten personal.
He slowly lowered his wine cup, setting it on the table with a soft click. The sound was final. The fun was over. It was time to take the stage.
His eyes met hers again across the hall. He winked at her. A quick, almost invisible gesture, a promise only she saw. A wave of relief washed over her, so intense she almost swayed.
Wei Feng stood up with an exaggeratedly clumsy motion, as if his legs had fallen asleep. He staggered, bumping into his own table and nearly spilling the wine flagon.
“Oh, my!” he exclaimed, his voice thick and slurred. “Is it time for gifts already? No one told me!”
He started walking toward the main dais. His walk was a masterpiece of chaos. He tripped over his own feet, veered off course, and nearly collided with a pillar. Nobles scrambled out of his path with expressions of disgust and alarm, shielding their cups and robes from the royal drunk.
“Make way!” he mumbled. “An uncle must congratulate his niece! It’s my duty!”
Jin Tian was now just a step away from Wei Yao, the brilliant necklace in his hands, his face a triumphant smirk. He was about to touch her.
That’s when Wei Feng arrived.
“Young Master Jin!” he roared with forced cheer. Without a moment's hesitation, he slung a heavy, familiar arm over the young master’s shoulders, pulling him into a vulgar and completely unexpected comradely embrace.
Jin Tian went rigid. The sudden physical contact and the overwhelming stench of cheap wine left him dumbfounded. His smile froze on his face.
“Magnificent!” Wei Feng exclaimed, his face inches from Jin Tian’s, his breath like a biological weapon. “A splendid necklace! Absolutely marvelous! It shines almost as brightly as my dear niece!”
As he spoke, his other hand moved. He admired the necklace with exaggeration, his eyes glinting with a drunkard’s greed.
“And it helps with cultivation, you say!” he continued, his voice rising. “And with comprehending the Dao! Wonderful stuff, that Dao! Let me get a closer look!”
In a move that was simultaneously incredibly clumsy and shockingly fast, he snatched the necklace from the hands of the still-shocked Jin Tian, who was unable to process the blatant affront.
With the treasure in his possession, Wei Feng released Jin Tian and staggered up the last steps to Wei Yao. He stood before her, his smile now tender and completely inappropriate for the setting.
“My dearest Yao’er,” he said, his voice suddenly clearer, “more beautiful with each passing day. You are the true treasure of this empire.”
And then, before the astonished eyes of the entire court, he proceeded to place the necklace on her himself. His fingers, warm and familiar, deliberately brushed against her skin. There was no revulsion. Only a soft shudder of acceptance. The necklace settled on her collarbone, the blue gems gleaming against her pale skin.
But he didn't stop there.
He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to him in a possessive and intimate gesture in front of everyone. The crowd gasped as one. He gave her a slow, resonant kiss on the forehead, an act of pure domination disguised as familial affection.
“Your uncle,” he said loudly for all to hear, “is very, very proud of the incredible woman you’ve become.”
During the embrace, as the hall was plunged into a deathly silence, Wei Yao—feeling safe, protected, and vindicated—rested her head on his shoulder.
“Thank you, Uncle,” she whispered in his ear, her voice barely audible, trembling with a genuine emotion that had nothing to do with the performance. “I love you.”
As quickly as it had begun, the chaos ended. Wei Feng released her, gave her one last foolish grin, and walked off the dais with clumsy steps, as if he had completed the most natural task in the world. He went straight to his table, sat down, and poured himself more wine.
The hall exploded.
Jin Tian’s face was a mask of livid fury. His hands were trembling. He was so humiliated he looked like he might vomit blood.
Emperor Wei Zheng shot to his feet, his face a dark shade of purple. “GUARDS!” he bellowed, his voice breaking with rage. “GET THAT WRETCH OUT OF MY SIGHT! NOW!”
Two Black Dragon Guards moved with terrifying efficiency, flanking Wei Feng and effortlessly hoisting him from his chair.
The Empress watched it all with her cold eyes, impassive as ever, though perhaps with a new, calculating glint in her gaze.
Elder Lin Jian, seeing his young master was about to explode, placed a calming hand on his shoulder. “Calm yourself,” he whispered urgently. “He is the Emperor’s brother. A fool, but a fool with royal blood. We can do nothing. Not here. Breathe.”
As Wei Feng was forcibly escorted from the hall, still smiling and waving awkwardly at the crowd, the Emperor turned to the delegation.
“My deepest apologies,” he said, forcing the words through clenched teeth. “My family’s shame… is my own.”
Jin Tian didn’t answer. He just stared with pure, murderous hatred in the direction Wei Feng was going.
Once the commotion began to subside, Elder Lin Jian cleared his throat, his face regaining its seriousness. Despite the chaos, he still had a mission to fulfill.
He spoke again, his voice echoing in the tense silence. “Your Imperial Majesty, in addition to presenting this humble gift, we have come today with an announcement. An announcement of the utmost importance for the future of the entire continent…”
