The Consort of the Left Wise King was as beautiful as a flower. She was the woman of greatest elegance and charm in the entire hall; simply by sitting in her place, she drew the admiration of countless men.
Yet, a woman such as this had now caught the eye of Li Aotian.
"Lord... Lord Li, I fear this is somewhat inappropriate," a Xiongnu noble sitting nearest to Li Aotian said with a frown. The other nobles and ministers all wore ashen expressions, their gazes icy.
There was no doubt about it! Ever since Li Aotian had entered the Royal Court’s great tent, he had uttered countless words that were both shocking and infuriating. From his initial contempt for the Xiongnu Chanyu, to his slapping of the Left Wise King, and now this! He actually demanded that the Consort of the Left Wise King personally pour his tea and wine!
To the Left Wise King, and indeed to the entire Xiongnu Royal Court, what a humiliation this was.
"Li Aotian! You are incredibly bold!"
"You dare to ask my woman to pour wine for you?"
"What is your intention? As an envoy from the Great Han, are you here to engage in harmonious exchange with us Xiongnu, or are you here to declare war?!"
The Left Wise King could no longer contain himself. He stood up abruptly and brought his fist crashing down onto the table. The jade pot on the table shook violently from the force of his blow. Beside him, the Consort of the Left Wise King shuddered, staring in disbelief at Li Aotian, who sat opposite her.
"Left Wise King, you are not yet qualified to speak with me," Li Aotian said with a mocking sneer.
These words made the Left Wise King grit his teeth in anger. In his heart, he felt his noble dignity had been utterly trampled! Hateful. This man was truly, incredibly hateful.
He immediately turned his head and sneered at the high-seated Chanyu Yizhixie.
"Yizhixie, do you think I, this ambassador, am unworthy of having one of your consorts pour me wine?"
"Yizhixie! I, this ambassador, was sent to the Xiongnu by the decree of Emperor Wu for the sake of friendly, commercial, and cultural exchange between the Xiongnu and the Great Han!"
"Yet, it seems you cannot even satisfy one small request of mine?"
"If that is the case, then I believe that I, Li Aotian, am not fit to be this Han Envoy!"
"I, Li Aotian, am not fit to return to the Great Han! I have no face to see the people of my Great Han or Emperor Wu!"
These words reached Yizhixie, causing him to knit his brows tightly, his fists clenching beneath his sleeves. He was immensely curious. *Why is this Han Envoy telling me all this? What does this have to do with me? How does your worthiness affect my Xiongnu?*
But the next second, the Xiongnu Chanyu could no longer sit still. The nobles and ministers sitting below him also looked as if they might burst with rage, their expressions filled with shock!
They watched as Li Aotian stood up, looked up at the rafters supporting the Royal Court, and sighed.
"Since I have no face to return to see Emperor Wu! I, your subject, shall take my leave first. Even in death, I will not allow you Xiongnu to look down upon me."
As the words fell, before the members of the Han Envoy could even react, Li Aotian reached up, tore the cloth sash from his waist, and whipped it into the air. The long fabric twisted, forming a perfect noose!
He then stood proudly atop the table, wearing an expression of one prepared to face death.
"Lord Li! What are you doing?"
"You must not! Lord Li, you are the head of our envoy!"
Seeing this, the members of the Han Envoy scrambled to their feet, rushing forward to pull Li Aotian down.
But Li Aotian cried out sharply:
"I am headed for the West!"
"If you return to the Great Han, I beg you to report the truth to Emperor Wu! If my death today can win the Xiongnu’s future respect for the envoys of the Great Han, then I, Li Aotian, have no regrets even in death!"
"Oh, though perhaps… you Xiongnu will no longer exist by then either."
This final sentence, spoken by Li Aotian right before his intended suicide, left everyone present utterly dumbfounded!
Madness! Arrogance! He was truly sent by the heavens just to toy with the Xiongnu.
At this moment, the Left Wise King stared at Li Aotian with a cold, grim expression. *Damn it! Even if it gambles away the future of the Xiongnu, I will not hand over my consort… to you.*
But the Xiongnu nobles were panicking, and even the Chanyu was terrified by the prospect of Li Aotian committing suicide right there.
"Great King, this cannot happen! We cannot let Li Aotian die here."
"Ambassador Li! If you must die… please go die further away! Wait until you return to the Great Han to die!"
"Great King, no matter the price, we cannot let a Han envoy die in our Royal Court. We will never be able to explain this!"
Chanyu Yizhixie also hurriedly stood up. He strode to the side of the Left Wise King and grabbed the stunned Consort of the Left Wise King.
"Consort of the Left Wise King, I must wrong you today. You… go serve the Ambassador."
Hearing this, the Left Wise King rose to his feet. "Great King! You, how could you do this!"
But Chanyu Yizhixie had already seen Li Aotian’s neck about to slip into the noose. He hurriedly patted the Left Wise King on the shoulder, his voice trembling with fury.
"Left Wise King! Are you going to sacrifice the hundred thousand people of the Xiongnu to the attacks of the Han army just for your own sake, for the sake of your consort?"
"If he dies here today, and the Han army marches north to conquer Mobei tomorrow, I ask you: will your consort survive then?"
"Listen to me, let this fellow have his way today. He should restrain himself afterward."
And so, the Left Wise King, eyes filled with tears, turned his head, flicked his sleeve, and sat down.
"Damn this Han Envoy!"
"You had better not do anything to my consort!"