The Devil of Scarlet Rain

Chapter 44 - The Intention of the Emperor

"All rise."

The Emperor, Yin Long commanded as he sat on the Silver Throne, with three beautifully crafted silver hawk perched on top of the throne, overlooking the grand hall. It was believed that the Silver Eagles each signified Purity, Honour and Loyalty. The Empress, who was seated next to the throne raised her chin slightly as she surveyed the nobles and servants seated below her carefully. Her quiet gaze unknowingly fell upon Zheng Qing Yao, before she averted her eyes immediately. Hurt flashed past her eyes as she downed a cup of wine.

Zheng Qing Yao sighed quietly to himself. He knew, Zheng Huo Yan must still be feeling bitter over the incident in the Silver Sky Manor, especially now that Gu Sheng had returned. Since that 'eventful' day, the siblings had not sat down together to talk things out. He thought he could take the opportunity to reason with her after his visit to the Lady Fang's courtyard. Who would have guessed that he would be turned away from the Empress Palace before he even had to chance to talk to her?

The grand hall was filled with silent anticipation when everyone had taken their seat. All eyes were on the Emperor, who was dressed in a dark yellow robe, with hawks embroidered on it with silver threads. Despite being in his early forties, and older than Yin He by twelve years, he was still in the prime of his age. Tall and handsome, he was at the centre of the attention when he spoke with a slight smile on his face.

"It has been a while since the palace was so lively. The banquet today is a well deserve celebration for everyone, so there is no need for too much formality. Just take it easy and have a great time."

As soon as he concluded his speech, the eunuch standing next to him quickly signalled for the banquet to begin. Melodious music began to fill the air as a group of dainty dancers sashayed into the hall. Their movement were fluid and graceful, and each of them were as enchanting as flowers. The audience could not help but be immersed by their mesmerizing performance.

There was a particular one dancer who was extremely eye catching as she was positioned in the middle of the group. All the dancers surrounding her was dressed in light yellow and turquoise colour dresses, but she was the only one dressed in a pink silk dress and had a veil covering her face.

Yin He tilted his head lazily as he watched the performance with a cup of wine in his hand. Initially he seemed to be more interested in the wine than the show in front of him, but when he saw the pink dress dancer, the corner of his lips slowly lifted into an ambiguous smile. Then he casually glanced over at the person who was seated opposite of him to see if the other person was enjoying the show but noticed that he was not paying attention toward the performance. Jing Yun Sheng seemed distracted as his eyes wandered around the hall, but very quickly, he noticed Yin He was looking over at him. When he met his gaze, Yin He raised his eyebrows at him questioningly. Jing Yun Sheng only smiled back politely before turning his attention back to the performance.

It was not long before the performance finally ended, and the audience in the hall began clapping with excitement. It had been a while since they had seen such a magnificent performance, and it was undeniable that the dancers recruited for this show were all very talented. It was visible that everyone had been putting great efforts into preparing for the performance today. The Emperor was extremely satisfied as he joined in to clap and commented, "What a beautiful performance!"

When the dancers had all retreated from the hall, everyone once again looked expectantly at The Emperor who seemed to be in very good mood.

"Since everyone is here, I would like to take this opportunity to say a few things. Today we are here to celebrate the end of the war, and also the unity of two kingdoms. From now on, the people of the Yin and Mo will be a family, so I hope everyone will get along well." The Emperor announced as he turned to look at the subjects sitting below him.