The discussions were held the day after.
It ended without a hitch.
As for why – Maomao wasn't invited to the discussion. She was only attending the dinner party.
Should she say that it ended while she was napping?
It seems this dinner party thing will be done in a western style, where everyone will eat while standing. She was told there would be various dishes set up on the table, and you carry a plate and take whatever dish that you like.
Honestly, she wasn't used to this style. But, there were also points to it where it will be easier to do that way.
Firstly, why this style? It seems to be customary to attend as male-female couples. It seems it is usual to bring a wife or a lover along, but in the case where you had none, you can bring your sister or a relative instead. Rahan had introduced Maomao to everyone as his "younger sister", but since she stomped on his toes, they settled on being relatives.
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Secondly, it's both easy and difficult to serve poison. Since you don't know who was going to eat what, it wasn't suited to the assassination of a specific personage. Of course, that didn't matter if you are indiscriminative.
Finally, you won't feel out place even to food taste. You could just wait upon them at the side and peck at their food. Since it looks a little shameless if she did that, Rahan also kindly faked Maomao's age to be fifteen, the age of a growing child with a large appetite. Maomao, her expression unchanged, crushed the scot-free Rahan's toes.
If it's a style where it's fine whether you eat or not, it would be unpleasant as guests to not eat at all.
"This was all just a preparation"
"Hmmm."
Maomao answered in a relaxed-ish, unamused-ish expression.
"Nevertheless…."
Rahan ogled at Maomao.
"The fine feathers didn't make fine birds huh."
"Shut up."
Maomao pulled her heavy skirt.
As the meals were also in western style, the clothes also matched the atmosphere. Of course, they didn't prepare something that was completely the same but to have the figure resemble it, there was a frame inserted under the skirt to have it flare out at the waist. On top of the western dress, there was cinching at the hips and half the cleavage was on display, but unfortunately, since she looked shameless without that splendid meat, she wore large sleeves for her upper body and only tied a sash tautly at her waist.
They also had some wigs for hair – it was gorgeously exaggerated, but raw materials were raw materials. Originally, that shouldn't be good, but everyone around her was an object of comparison that was more splendid than her. It was like a shepherd's purse had mixed in among the roses and peonies.
"Worry not. You've reached the point of a dandelion."
Why was that this cousin had good judgement for such a thing?
"…"
She glared at Rahan with narrowed eyes as she entered the assembly hall.
(The ceiling is high huh.)
That was the first thing she thought.
The vastness was two times the entrance of the Rokushoukan, but as the ceiling was high, there was the feeling of openness. One portion of it was made into an atrium, and layers of fabrics peculiar to this area dangled from the ceiling.
Despite wearing shoes, there were short pile carpets laid out. This would have to be a special product too. It's wasteful to get dirt onto it.
The quality and structure of the building weren't comparable to the capital. Nonetheless, she got the atmosphere that they were welcoming them with all their might.
For Maomao, who didn't know the real ways of the west, just this was something she had never seen before, but what would the other party think of it? She thought that they would break out in sniggers, but when she thought hard about it, the other party was also people who lived in the sand, so they probably wouldn't mind it that much.
"For now, how about I eat whatever you have?"
"No, shouldn't you just follow me?"
"?"
What? What is this remark after inviting people to food taste?
She wanted him to take responsibility and prepare poison for her.
Separate to the displeased Maomao, Rahan watched the guests. Since it was standard to be in couples, there were a lot of women too.
"…."
The fox eyes behind his glasses gleamed. Since Sha'ou was rampant with mixing blood, there were many beauties. This scoundrel said – the numbers that beauties are composed of are beautiful. It wasn't that beauties are beautiful, it's the composing numbers that are beautiful – this guy had said something that was incomprehensible, but he's the nephew of the weirdo tactician, so he's also a weirdo. He was surely looking into a world that was incomputable for Maomao.
However, he rubbed his chin,
"If it's like that, the imperial brother is nicer."
And calmly voiced something along those lines, so it wasn't that he understood the things comprising of a woman's heart.
Rahan suddenly looked at Maomao. His appraising eyes must be looking at numbers that weren't nice.
"Hey."
"Hah?"
It was entertaining that her attitude got unintentionally bad. This man wasn't one to mind that sort of thing. Maomao accepted a cup of wine from a maid since she was at it. Red liquid was filled to the brim of the lapis lazuli glass. It must be grape wine. The taste wasn't bad despite the sweetness. If she wasn't food tasting, it shouldn't be a problem even if she drank some wine.
"How about you ask the imperial brother to bear his seed?"
Could it be that Maomao was an adult so she didn't spit out the grape wine she had just drunk? The sweetness of the wine disappeared; she swallowed the liquid that suddenly got bitter.
Why? – she didn't need to return a question.
"In any case, you just want to try give birth. You're not interested in children, right? If it's the imperial brother's child, I'll raise them properly, so you can do whatever you want. It's not like I'm telling you to be his main wife. It'll be fine no matter how many mistakes you make. Even for me, getting an heir is a matter of great congratulations."
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"Yougo make it."
"I don't have an ideal partner after all."
It was likely that his ideal partner would be a beauty that is the female version of Jinshi who could cause the downfall of a country. That kind of person would have a tremendous talent to be able to have everything around them crash down.
"The imperial brother really such a waste. To have no one who can surpass his beauty even with that scar still there."
"I might as well just try to implant a woman's womb in you. How about that?"
"…can you?"
A serious-faced Rahan was scary. When Maomao replied, "No", he hung his head in slight disappointment. He's straight, but it seems he has no problems with changing his gender. She didn't really know his standards.
He must have considered that even if Jinshi was not good, he could just get someone similar if he could get someone give birth to the Jinshi's child. If it was Maomao's child, he could give a reason and take charge of them.
Also, though he said heir, what if the child was a daughter. Speaking of that-
"I'll take responsibility and support her until death, so don't worry."
In other words, he was saying that he will raise her and marry her.
She wanted to slander him as a lolicon, but he must be ;that ;attached to Jinshi's face. Since he was hopelessly no good, if she was ever asked if she knew anyone good, he will be the only one she won't introduce.
"And so, try asking him for me."
Maomao sculled the wine. Then she stepped on Rahan's toes, returned to the cup to him and walked off.
(Everyone is giant.)
When the mixing of blood is rampant, it seems you get taller too. There was also the point where people of the western regions were tall, but that aside, you'll have to be larger than your parents when you're a hybrid. She didn't know how it was for humans, but when you cross fertilise similar species for plants, you get a larger specimen from those seeds.
If I have the time, I want to try that on my fields, she thought as she was going to go back. There was a wall around the small Rahan.
There were a woman and two men.
Among the men, one looked to be an interpreter, but the other seemed more like an attendant than the master. The one who looked the most important out of the three was the woman who was wearing clothes that emphasised her chest.
She was a beauty with bright hair and sky coloured eyes. She was tall, and yet she was wearing high heels.
"….."
Maomao's eyes glanced over to Rahan's.
Come here. His fingers moved.
(Was it not a discussion with western merchants?)
The woman didn't feel like a merchant. She didn't have the air of a maiden either. If she was a lady, then there would be the husband rather than an attendant.
Speaking of which-
(The same kind as Empress Gyokuyou….)
Rather than business, it had the scent of politics.
(Is this the main topic?)
What western merchant,Maomao thought as she picked up her skirt and followed after Rahan.
T/N: Ah Rahan… *facepalm* kek
So with the new site, if you guys look back to the earlier chapters, you'll see that I have gone over the entire first arc, tidied up the formatting and made the terms consistent with what I have decided on it now. I still need to go back to change to names of places to the Japanese reading (i.e. Shi Northern Province > Shihoku Province) – just for consistency though.
The previous chapter got released unnoticed since NU didn't pick up on it, and it got buried under all the other mass releases ;_; But it did go up on the appointed time *cough*
Anyways, as always, thanks for reading, guys <3