He remarried after his mother's death, seized power over the world, and slept on the emperor�

Xinwang Mansion, Nuanshou Hall.

The Dowager Empress invited all her close friends into the mansion and hosted a banquet in their honor.

These old ladies are now either bestowed with imperial titles or are noblewomen of the imperial clan, with half of the Northern Di court standing behind them.

Ji Chengyun, dressed in a black casual robe, sat quietly at the end of the main seat, his handsome face expressionless, only occasionally serving food to the Dowager Consort.

Consort Lin stood close to him, smiling and chatting, doing everything she could to please him.

Jiang Bingning was seated at the very end of the table. The dishes in front of her were exquisite, but she ate absentmindedly.

The dishes had five flavors.

The Dowager Empress suddenly smiled and waved.

"Bing Ning, come here."

The room, filled with laughter and conversation, fell silent instantly.

More than ten pairs of eyes fell on Jiang Bingning.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Jiang Bingning put down her chopsticks and gracefully stood up.

She wore an elegant lake-green silk dress, without any makeup, yet her stunning beauty was undeniable.

"Oh, is this the little beauty from the Zhou Kingdom that the Dowager Consort brought back from the south?"

An elderly woman dressed in a crimson brocade robe spoke first, her tone tinged with amusement.

"She's quite good-looking."

"They just look a bit too plain, unlike the bright and beautiful women of our Northern Di."

Upon hearing this, Consort Lin's lips curled into a barely perceptible smug smile.

She specially wore a fiery red riding outfit today, adorned with jewels, just to outshine Jiang Bingning's plain appearance.

The Dowager Empress seemed not to hear, and holding Jiang Bingning's hand, she smiled at everyone and said, "This girl is well-educated, reasonable, and very intelligent."

She turned to look at Jiang Bingning with loving eyes.

"Good boy, don't be shy, why don't you show these older ladies something?"

Jiang Bingning gave a curtsy, her voice clear and crisp like jade striking each other.

"Yes, Your Highness."

After a moment's thought, she began to recite softly.

"The Book of Songs, Wei Feng, Shuo Ren".

Her voice was soft but clear, as if she were bringing the beautiful woman in the poem to life before everyone's eyes.

After the poem was finished, the entire hall fell silent.

Even the ladies who had initially looked at her with disapproval now showed expressions of admiration.

"Excellent! What a beautiful description of 'a charming smile and captivating eyes'!"

Praises and accolades were heard one after another.

Jiang Bingning became the focus of the entire event, stealing the spotlight.

For the first time, Ji Chengyun's deep eyes fell directly on her, with a hint of inquiry.

Consort Lin's knuckles turned bluish-white as she gripped the wine cup.

Consumed by jealousy, she gave her personal maid a subtle wink.

The maid understood immediately and stepped forward with a pot of warm mare's milk wine.

"Miss Jiang, you've worked hard. Have a drink to soothe your throat."

The maid smiled obsequiously, but her steps seemed to have been tripped by something, and her body suddenly swayed to the side!

"oops!"

A whole pot of warm mare's milk wine was poured directly onto Jiang Bingning's dress!

Her lake-green skirt was instantly stained with a large, dark stain, leaving her looking utterly disheveled.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"

The maidservant knelt on the ground with a "plop" and kept kowtowing.

Jiang Bingning glanced down at her soaked dress, but her face showed no sign of panic.

She even smiled gently at the maid.

"It's alright, get up."

She turned to the Dowager Empress and bowed, "Your Highness, Bingning has been impolite and will take her leave to change."

After an incense stick has burned.

When Jiang Bingning reappeared in Nuanshou Hall, everyone gasped.

She changed out of her silk skirt and put on a Northern Di dance costume that she had found from who-knows-where.

The dance costume was black with intricate patterns embroidered in gold thread, which made her skin look as white as snow and her eyebrows and eyes as beautiful as a painting, giving her an even more mysterious and alluring charm than before.

"Your Highness, ladies,"

Jiang Bingning bowed gracefully, a smile playing on her lips.

"Imperial Concubine Bing Ning was impolite just now and disturbed everyone's enjoyment. To express my apologies, I would like to offer a dance to entertain the Dowager Consort and all the ladies."

Before anyone could react, she gracefully entered the hall.

There was no music.

She simply stomped her foot lightly, flipped her wrist, and made a simple yet powerful starting stance.

In that instant, her entire aura changed.

She was no longer the gentle noblewoman of the Zhou Kingdom, but rather like a lone wolf awakened in the wilderness, her eyes filled with an arrogant disdain for the world.

Her dance moves combine strength and grace.

Every movement is full of primal and wild power, completely different from the soft and weak court dances of the Zhou Dynasty!

All the noblewomen of the Northern Di tribe present were stunned.

"This...this is..."

The oldest princess consort stood up excitedly, her voice trembling.

"This is... the 'Wolf Sacrifice Dance,' which has been lost for nearly a century!"

These words shocked everyone in the room!

The Dowager Empress stared intently at the figure in black in the center of the room, her cloudy eyes flashing with astonishing light.

The dance ended.

Jiang Bingning stopped her stance and stood up, a thin layer of sweat on her forehead, her breath slightly ragged.

Inside the Nuanshou Hall, you could hear a pin drop.

"good!"

After an unknown amount of time, the Dowager Princess suddenly slammed her hand on the table and cheered loudly!

"Excellent! What a wonderful 'Wolf Sacrifice Dance'!"

She quickly stepped down from the main seat, grabbed Jiang Bingning's hand, and was overwhelmed with emotion.

"Girl! Where did you learn this dance?"

Jiang Bingning lowered her eyes, concealing the complex light that flashed across them.

She replied softly, "Your Highness, these past few days, Bingning has been in the Prince's library when she happened to come across an ancient book that the Princess treasured before her death. It happened to contain the illustrations for this ancient dance. Bingning was delighted to see it and secretly learned it. I never expected it would come in handy today."

That was a perfectly watertight statement.

In fact, she learned this dance by chance from an old priest of the Northern Di royal family after she conquered the capital city in her previous life.

"The princess's... belongings?"

The Dowager Empress muttered to herself.

Ji Chengyun, who had been silent all along, finally cracked his icy expression when he heard the words "ancient books treasured by the princess".

Lin, the concubine beside him, turned deathly pale in an instant.

As if she had remembered something terrible, her hand holding the wine glass trembled uncontrollably, and her eyes were filled with fear and unease.

……

The banquet ended late at night.

Jiang Bingning returned to Jinse Courtyard. Before she even entered, she saw Chun Tao talking to a tall figure under the eaves.

It was the housekeeper, Chang Fu.

Despite Chang Fu's indifferent attitude towards her, he was chatting and laughing with Chun Tao.

"...Really? Someone in the Zhou delegation hanged themselves?"

Chang Fu's voice carried a hint of curiosity.

Jiang Bingning abruptly stopped in her tracks.

"Indeed," Chun Tao sighed. "I heard it was a young lady from the delegation who suffered a great humiliation last night and couldn't think straight... Tsk, she's got a fiery temper."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Bingning was shocked!

She calculated the days; based on the pace of her previous life, her father's delegation should have arrived in the capital two days ago.

She thought it was because the people from Da Zhou had left late.

Unexpectedly, an accident occurred on the road!

She walked in quickly.

"Spring Peach".

"Ah! Miss!"

Chun Tao was startled. When she saw that it was Jiang Bingning, she quickly lowered her head like a child who had done something wrong.

"Miss... this servant shouldn't have gossiped behind her back..."

Upon seeing Jiang Bingning, Chang Fu immediately reverted to his businesslike demeanor and bowed slightly.

"Miss Jiang, I'll take my leave now."

After saying that, he turned and left quickly without waiting for Jiang Bingning's reply.

"What happened to the woman in the delegation who hanged herself?"

Jiang Bingning pulled Chun Tao into the house and asked anxiously.

"Do you have any more detailed information?"

After a moment's thought, Chun Tao recounted the rumors she had heard in the marketplace in detail.

"It seems that the delegation was harassed by the Wolf Guard as soon as they arrived at the city."

"Not only was the food humiliating, but... they also made one of the ladies in the delegation dance with prostitutes in public..."

"The young lady, unable to bear the humiliation, attempted suicide by hanging herself that night, but fortunately, she was rescued."

"I heard this matter caused quite a stir. The Wolf Guard also felt that they had gone too far and were afraid of being impeached by the Censorate, so they stopped making things difficult for them."

Jiang Bingning nodded, indicating that she understood.

Chun Tao didn't dare to say anything more and quietly retreated.

Jiang Bingning walked to the window, pushed it open, and the cold moonlight shone in, making her face appear cold and aloof.

Not right.

In the previous life, the mission arrived on time. Although there were some frictions, it never came to the point of driving someone to suicide.

Why did unexpected complications arise in this life?

Given Jiang Yuerong's proud and arrogant nature, after this ordeal, she probably no longer harbors any illusions about the Northern Di, only deep-seated hatred remains in her heart.

Jiang Bingning slowly closed her eyes.

She could almost foresee that Jiang Yuerong would blame herself, the "source of all the humiliation," for all of this.

As for Jiang Chengxuan, after witnessing his beloved daughter being humiliated, his resentment towards his mother will likely deepen even further!

The road ahead seems even more perilous than in my previous life.