At this moment, the Xiongnu Chanyu was visibly enraged!
He was afraid!
He was terrified that the Left Wise King might actually stab Li Aotian to death.
If he were dead, the Left Wise King might have a moment of satisfaction, but what then? Could the Left Wise King fend off the Han army for him?
Therefore, Li Aotian must not die, no matter what!
He had to be kept alive and well.
Even if the Xiongnu were to lose the Left Wise King, they absolutely could not allow the Han envoy to die.
Thus, the Xiongnu Chanyu’s imposing, authoritative presence bore down on the Left Wise King, forcing the latter—despite his fury—to bow his head and sigh!
The Left Wise King loosened his grip, letting his dagger clatter to the ground.
The sound of the falling dagger caused many noble ministers to heave a sigh of relief.
"That’s right! Left Wise King, you are too young and shouldn't be so impulsive."
"Indeed! The Left Wise King is just being immature. Lord Li, you are a man of great stature and tolerance; please, do not hold a grudge against him."
"Come, Lord Li, you must be exhausted from your journey. Please come over here and rest properly; the Great King has prepared quite a few songstresses for you."
Immediately, the Left Wise King glared at those fawning ministers, his blood boiling at the sight of their obsequious faces!
How could these wretches cast away the dignity of the Xiongnu so completely!
Just as he was about to erupt, Li Aotian raised his slender hand and slapped him across the face, one, two, three times, while saying, "So, you didn't dare to strike after all!"
"I thought you were so tough, but if you didn't dare to stab, you shouldn't have drawn your dagger in the first place! From now on, when I am speaking with your King, don't you dare interrupt, you little brat! Understood?"
Every slap landed on the Left Wise King’s face, but it felt as if they were striking the faces of every Xiongnu present, hitting them right in their wolf-hearted pride!
How hateful! This guy! He was too damn arrogant!
The muscles on the ministers' faces twitched; though they were furious, they dared not show it.
They could only curse the damned Han envoy in their hearts.
The Chanyu was the same, seething with silent rage, for they were truly terrified of killing Li Aotian.
At this very moment, a System notification rang out in Li Aotian’s mind!
【The System has collected 3,000 Arrogance Points!】
Li Aotian smiled. He thought to himself that after this bout of arrogance, his System account had accumulated a decent sum of points.
To have over 4,000 points upon first arriving at the Xiongnu Royal Court—that wasn't bad at all!
And this was just the appetizer for his display of arrogance!
People of the Xiongnu, just you watch!
...
Supported by a group of envoys, Li Aotian sat in the center of the delegation, signifying his status as the leader of the Han envoy group.
Then, his deputy, Nan Wujue, leaned in and whispered to Li Aotian, "Lord Li, I was breaking into a cold sweat just now. The Left Wise King’s dagger was only an inch from your throat! If he had actually stabbed... I fear... we would all have been left behind here."
If Li Aotian were dead, the rest of the envoys would surely be executed; after all, they still hoped to return safely to the Han.
However, Li Aotian let out a chuckle, patted Nan Wujue on the shoulder, and said solemnly, "What is there to fear? At worst, we get slashed to death here, but we will leave our names in history forever! Once we die, the Han will launch an expedition! By then, the history books will prominently record the names of us Han envoys!! Is such glory not something you desire?"
Upon hearing this, Nan Wujue shrank back, took a sip of sheep-milk wine, and muttered, "That... that doesn't sound very good. I still want to go back and marry a wife and have children."
"Haha, you lad, you're already thinking about women!"
Mentioning women, Li Aotian’s gaze drifted from time to time toward the songstresses dancing in the Xiongnu Royal Court.
It had to be said, these dancers were quite exquisite!
If nothing went wrong, these dancers would eventually be gifted to their delegation.
However, Li Aotian didn't care about these women! These dancers were low-status; they wouldn't make the Xiongnu feel any pain at all.
If he wanted to leave an impression, he had to do something that would make the Xiongnu truly suffer.
After the dance ended, Chanyu Yizhixie raised his wine cup and shouted to the entire delegation, "Come, let us celebrate the arrival of Lord Li!!"
"Come! Let us toast Lord Li together!"
With that, the ministers and nobles raised their cups and shouted respectfully at Li Aotian, "Lord Li! Please!"
In the room, only the Left Wise King remained silent, drinking his wine sullenly.
Beside him, an incredibly beautiful woman was trying to soothe him, urging him not to be angry.
Li Aotian watched them, chuckled, and picked up his own cup, clinking it casually with them.
Then, Chanyu Yizhixie shouted at a kneeling dancer, "What are you standing there for? Can’t you see Lord Li’s cup is empty? Hurry up and pour wine for Lord Li."
"Uh... yes!"
However, just as the dancer was about to reach Li Aotian, he suddenly locked his eyes on a woman—a noble woman sitting right next to the Left Wise King.
He extended a finger and pointed at her, saying, "I want her to come over and pour my wine!"
As soon as he spoke, everyone’s gaze snapped toward her, and they swallowed hard, whispering, "My... my god."
"The Han envoy has gone mad!"
"He... he actually asked a Princess Consort to serve wine?? You’re too crazy!! Are you really not afraid of being cut down by the Left Wise King?"
It wasn't just the Xiongnu who were shocked; even the envoys by Li Aotian’s side gasped.
Lord Li, we knew you were wild, but we didn't know you were this wild!
Stealing the Left Wise King’s woman, stealing a Xiongnu Princess Consort—you are the first person in history to do such a thing!