Chapter 46: The Honey Trap Part 2

By the time they stepped out of the bathhouse, the sun was high in the sky.

The Vice-Envoy felt as though his entire body had been pickled in incense; even the soles of his boots smelled of perfume.

When meeting the Emperor of Eastern Liao, they merely took off their hats and cupped their hands. Yet, to see a Chancellor of Great Chen, they had to bathe, change, be perfumed, wear court robes, have their hair dried by maids, and even wear boots provided by the host.

It was more troublesome than an imperial audience.

After a morning of being handled, the two finally reached the door of the study. Liu Erlang bowed and announced, “My Lord, the Eastern Liao Vice-Envoy and the interpreter have arrived.”

“Enter.”

The voice came through the door, lazy and indifferent.

A maid pushed open the carved doors. The first thing that met their eyes was a luxurious mica screen. Rounding it, the warmth of the underfloor heating hit them, mingled with a wave of incense.

Gu Huaiyu was reclining on a brocade couch, flipping through memorial scrolls page by page without even lifting an eyelid.

Yun Niang stood behind him, a comb in one hand, tying his hair into a crown. A few stray strands brushed against his ear. Amidst the warm, fragrant mist, he possessed a composed, noble grace that was almost bewitching.

The Vice-Envoy, intimidated by the earlier display, finally found his voice and roared in the Eastern Liao tongue, “Where is Chief Envoy Wu Wei?”

The shout clearly annoyed Gu Huaiyu. He frowned, pressing his pale, elegant fingertips to his temple.

Yun Niang, sensing his mood, spoke up. “The Envoy is here to ask for help, is he not? In our dynasty, it is not the custom to seek a favor with such a domineering tone.”

The Vice-Envoy couldn’t help but turn and ask, “What did she say?”

“She told you to kneel,” Yelü Chi said flatly.

“What?!”

“Kneel.”

Yelü Chi uttered only that one word.

As the Vice-Envoy’s knees hit the carpet, Gu Huaiyu finally looked up.

His gaze was like that of someone who had just woken up—languid and drifting. He scanned Yelü Chi from head to toe, his words laced with weary laziness. “You are the interpreter?”

Yun Niang also sized Yelü Chi up. Compared to the Vice-Envoy’s coarse, barbarian appearance, Yelü Chi was tall and lean, with deep-set features that retained a sense of nobility. He looked more like a refined young master raised by a wealthy clan on the border.

She couldn’t help but ask with a smile, “The Envoy doesn’t know the rules, but surely the interpreter does?”

In the Eastern Liao court, the Emperor was a mere child; all political power was held by Yelü Chi. Let alone kneeling, he hadn’t even bowed his head in years. He had long forgotten how to pay respects to another.

He dropped to one knee and placed his right hand over his chest, performing a perfunctory Eastern Liao salute.

Before Yelü Chi could stand, his head was suddenly forced down—

Thud!

Gu Huaiyu’s brocade boot stepped onto the back of his head, grinding down ruthlessly and smashing his face into the gold-woven carpet.

“Since you are the interpreter…”

The lazy voice drifted from above. Gu Huaiyu’s sole tapped the back of his head a few times. “Then you shall translate while kneeling.”

The Vice-Envoy had never seen such a thing. He suddenly shouted in the Eastern Liao tongue, “Do you have any idea who he is? This is our—”

He had expected Yelü Chi to erupt, to flip Gu Huaiyu over and reveal his identity to shock everyone present.

But this Regent, who dominated the Eastern Liao court, remained as submissive as a lowly servant, pinned to the floor.

Gu Huaiyu yawned nonchalantly, the pressure of his boot increasing. “What did he say?”

“He says…”

Yelü Chi’s cheek was pressed tight against the floor. Every breath he took was filled with the fragrance clinging to Gu Huaiyu. His grey-blue eyes slanted upward. “He says that since the man went missing in the Great Chen embassy, it is Great Chen’s responsibility. If an explanation is not provided within a day…”

There was no need to finish. The implication was that iron cavalry would sweep south, and the fires of war would be ignited instantly.

Gu Huaiyu glanced at the Vice-Envoy kneeling nearby. He set down the scroll and sat halfway up.

The pressure on Yelü Chi’s head intensified. His cheek was ground deep into the patterns of the carpet, and even his brow bone was being distorted by the force.

“This Chancellor has always admired the spirit of the Eastern Liao warriors. I have heard that when the sons of the steppe sleep, they can wake the moment a wolf pack draws near?”

Yelü Chi’s face was now shrouded by the hem of Gu Huaiyu’s robes. If it weren’t for the boot pressing him down, it would have looked like he was a lecherous rogue, ducking his head under Gu Huaiyu’s skirts to steal a scent.

In the dim light, Yelü Chi could only see Gu Huaiyu’s legs, naturally parted before him. The silhouette beneath the silk trousers was faintly visible, and the alluring fragrance continued to drift into his nostrils.

On the plains, there was only one posture for spreading one’s legs in front of another person.

If Yelü Chi weren’t playing an interpreter, he would truly suspect this was a “Honey Trap” laid specifically for him.

If he were in his true identity, being stepped on like this, he would likely have torn through that annoying silk without hesitation to let this high-and-mighty Chancellor taste the “valor” of an Eastern Liao man.

Unfortunately, he was currently just a lowly translator.

His voice was muffled and deep as he translated Gu Huaiyu’s ill-intentioned words for the Vice-Envoy.

The Vice-Envoy, thrown off by the sudden “intimacy,” unconsciously straightened his back. “Our Eastern Liao sons are companions to the wind and snow from childhood. We are trained to hear the movement of grass within seven paces and discern sounds from a hundred meters away.”

“Is that so…”