Tyrant of the Ruined Sun-Chapter 175: Eastern Intrigue 2

"What is it?" I asked, looking at my Grand Vizier's ever changing, yet subtle expressions.

"Emperor Tianlan, along with his son and heir, crown prince Weixiao, and his daughter, princess Ziyi, in addition to a great host of retainers have exited their residential wing and are on their way." He answered, reading the first letter's contents.

"A great host?" Abraham asked, his eyes narrowed.

Shaking his head, Darius replied "Not exactly stated, but it is certain now that the eastern emperor has a will and an agenda of his own in this matter, and is adamant on making this event as loud and ostentatious as possible."

"But why?" Horus asked, his worry evident in his tone and furrowed brows.

"We will know when he arrives." I answered, before looking back at Darius and inquiring "What about the second message?"

"It states that the northern crown prince has awakened." Darius nonchalantly replied, clearly not placing much importance on it as much as he did the coming arrival of emperor Tianlan and his family; but I on the other hand felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

'So it begins.' I grimly thought, knowing full well that the hour I had been preparing for for the past four years had finally struck, and everything from this day forth would forsake all comfort and ease, descending into a noxious quagmire of onerous tasks and suffocating schemes.

I slowly take a deep, soothing breathe, calming my nerves and placating my bucking heart, as I ground myself in the current moment, as I turn to the door, saying "Let's make our way to the dining hall, it wouldn't do well to not our guests, now would it gentlemen?"

"No sire, it wouldn't." Darius said with a small smile, as he folded the letters and safely placed them in his breast pocket.

But before we fully exited the room, I turn back to the ancient Grand Vizier, and seriously command "And tell Isaac to keep an eye on the Nicholas and his entire family. I don't want them to take a breathe without my know how, understand?"

"Very well, my liege." Darius nodded, yet I could tell that he was slightly confused by my sudden decree.

And with that, we entered the lavishly decorated hall, with it's massive central table of premium wood and intricate design; that nearly dominated the entire space with it's obscene girth and extravagant fare.

"What are the two of you quarrelling about now?" I humorously stated with a warm smile, as I beheld the figures of my brothers already sitting in their seats, with their formal attire donned, and in the midst of a seemingly heated conversation.

"Brother!" Cyrus called out as he stood, exclaiming "Nizam won't stop nagging me about me maintaining my best behaviour!"

"Am I wrong to do so?" Nizam shot back before I could say anything in reply.

"I'm not child any more! I know what to do and what not do! Obviously I'm not about to embarrass you or brother!" Cyrus argued back, his voice indignant.

"Alright, alright, that's enough now." I stepped in at that moment, halting their constant and usual back and forth, saying as I looked at Nizam "I know your worries, but as he's already said, Cyrus is no longer a child, so why not ease up on him a little bit and place our trust in him. Besides, he's been at rigorously upholding all our mother's strict teachings this entire time, so I'd say he'd at least the benefit of the doubt, wouldn't you say."

Cyrus puffed out his chest in victory at this, as he threw taunting glances at our brother, but before he could fully inflate his ego, I continued "But that doesn't mean you can grow complacent Cyrus, understand?"

"...Yes." He said in exaggerated sadness, as Nizam returned his earlier ego stroking glances with his own superiority claiming side eye.

Chuckling at this, my own nerves who'd been strung tight after hearing of Nicholas' awakening, considerably loosened, as I then sternly said, allowing no room for discussion or leeway in my tone "It wouldn't be an exaggeration to claim that the coming meeting is one that shall be embroidered in the history books, for one way or another it will forever change the course of the world as we know it, and determine whether and where a great deal of men will be sacrificed on the plains of war, so no matter what is spoken here today, I need you two to not only be at your best, but at your most observant, especially you Nizam." I said as intently looked at my little brother, and the one who would be one of the co-stars of today's gathering.

And he visibly stiffened at my words, yet I did not sugar coat my words at all, as I hammered in the seriousness of what is about to come, saying "I will be the one who does most of the talking, so you can rest at ease the majority of the time, but Tianlan will undoubtedly question you as well, if only superficially, to seek whether to call you worthy of his daughter's hand or not, and you must remain calm and collected at such a time, understand?"

"Yes." He undauntedly answered a second later.

"Good." I replied with an approving nod, yet just as that word left my mouth, the guard outside the door, proclaimed the arrival of our awaited guests, before solemnly opening the barred gates, allowing them passage through.

And as the hosting party, we were all up on our feat, courteously welcoming them in with the customary bows befitting each one of ranks, with me barely bending, while my brothers, Darius and my guards arching far lower.

But throughout that I was in utter shock at the horde Tianlan had dragged behind him to this meeting, as I could easily ascertain at least two hundred heads tailing behind them, with possibly even more, that I had not yet spotted.

'He truly is making a spectacle of this whole thing.' I thought, my eyes flickering in unsaid speculations.

But that brief moment of surprise was inconsequential when compared to the state of stunned confusion I descended into at what happened next.

Despite bringing a whole host of guards, servants, ministers, diplomats and attendants of various other professions, none of them were allowed entry into the hall by their monarch, except for a single man of extraordinary height and physique, who we all knew as general Menghu, the mighty Tenacious Tiger of the Yue Dynasty, an eighth rank powerhouse who specializes in barehanded martial arts.

"It is an honour to be invited by you, lord of the Eclipse Empire and the Ruinous Dragon." Tianlan then said with a warm smile, repelling me from my thoughts, as he and his children returned our courteous bow.

"The honour is all ours, lord Tianlan. Please have a seat." I quickly replied, a small smile playing upon my lips, as I gestured for them to take their seats, but while I did so, I also made sure to keep my eyes on several different things, most prominently of which being my brother, as I wished to clarify my suspicions about his motivations once and for all, for if he truly did what he did for only altruistic reasons, and for the benefit of the empire, while possessing no genuine interest in the girl, then I would have to begin planning how to renege their connection in the future, if all goes well today; as I was not spewing empty sophistry when I declared that the empire needed not the sacrifice of their happiness after all the work I and our ancestors have done over the millennia.

Yet seeing him standing there, straight and rigid as a tree, with his eyes fleetingly meeting hers, before they both shyly look away, I needed to postulate no more, thinking 'His initial words were of wisdom and intrigue, stating an almost cold hearted and purely rational purpose for courting her, but it seems I was right in thinking of another reason for his actions. This boy is undoubtedly smitten. Well then I suppose I better do my best today, for his sake if nothing else.'

Truly happy at this revelation, I steel myself for the coming political slog, but now with a newfound determination to emerge triumphant, as I take my seat at the head of the table, with Tianlan directly opposite me, and my brothers and Darius on my right, while Weixiao and Ziyi sat to my left.

"You have prepared us a magnificent feast, lord Alexander." Tianlan said, as he viewed the assorted array of delicacies before him.

"Your thanks are wasted on this, lord; this is bar a basic courtesy for a host." I humbly replied, my smile never flinching.

"True, and it is common decency for the guest to finish his meal without question, so shall we?" He oddly replied, as he then picked up his utensils and began to slice into the meal before him.

Darius and I shared a glance at this, as we didn't expect him to so eagerly begin eating before even discussing the main topic, as that would typically go against the norm, but either way we took as a favourable sign; as it would be better to discuss things on a full stomach, when most men are more agreeable than normal.

So we all began eating in silence; yet it was not a comfortable quiet, but an uncomfortable one, with an air that planted discomfort in any human, who's natural instincts are to avoid such scenarios, yet this was an insidious power play garbed in the veil of unease, for the first to break this stillness would be crowned the loser, proclaiming himself with the lesser will, and thus the more desperate for the deal to be struck.

Yet again to my surprise, it was Tianlan who so easily broke this unspoken rule, completely in opposition to all I knew of the man, as less than five minutes into the meal, he spoke up, sincerely saying "What a truly scrumptious field of delicacies you've presented us with today, lord Alexander. My heartfelt compliments to your cooks."

"...My thanks, lord Tianlan. They will be delighted to have earned such words from you." I replied a second later, my guard raised to the extreme, as I began to wonder what was going through his mind.

But then, as though he had sensed my thoughts, a sly smirk emerged upon his lips, while a visible change to his eyes took place, as he calmly uttered "I accept your proposition."