The female envoy was clearly prepared for this. Far from discouraged, she broke into a radiant smile. "Your Grace, please don't refuse so hastily. Our Empress is of unparalleled beauty and close to Your Grace in age. Should this marriage come to pass, your children would automatically inherit the right of succession to Leng.
"I swear on my honor that Her Majesty's beauty and charm would more than merit Your Grace's favor. Looking back through history, no God-Emperor of Yiti has ever been granted the distinction of receiving a second marriage proposal from our Empress."
Lo Quen couldn't help but laugh.
He lifted the golden goblet at his side, took a slow sip of the rich wine, and replied unhurriedly, "A distinction? Perhaps. But my Queens are just as peerless in beauty. More importantly, they are unwaveringly loyal to me. And I have no fewer than seven Queens who possess both beauty and loyalty. I don't believe I need to cross the seas simply to secure the title of husband."
The smile on the envoy's face stiffened slightly.
She clearly hadn't expected Lo Quen to remain so resolute even after she laid out the political benefits of the alliance.
Taking a deep breath, she played her final card, her voice growing softer and more enticing. "Your Grace, Her Majesty the Empress also said that if you truly refuse to share… she is willing to break Leng Island's thousand-year tradition for your sake. She would marry only Your Grace, forming a single, exclusive marriage alliance."
At this, Lo Quen nearly spat out his wine.
He stared at the envoy in open disbelief.
The Empress of Leng was willing to go that far for him, even to the point of breaking ancient tradition?
This went beyond admiration. It was practically relentless.
Maintaining his patience, he brushed her off with lofty excuses like "state affairs are pressing" and "the eastern front remains unsettled."
Seeing that Lo Quen's attitude showed not the slightest sign of wavering, the light finally faded from the envoy's eyes. Realizing there was no hope, she could only withdraw in frustration, departing with news of rejection.
After sending off the Leng envoy, Lo Quen made his way to the imperial gardens and immediately sensed something off in the air.
Daenerys, Ynys, and even the usually gentle Sansa were all looking at him with knowing, half-smiling expressions, their words tinged with teasing.
"I hear the Leng Queen was ready to throw away her ancestral customs for Your Grace?" Daenerys said, folding her arms. Her silver-gold hair shimmered under the lights, and a very obvious hint of jealousy gleamed in her violet eyes. "How deeply moving."
"Indeed, Your Grace. With the Leng Queen showing such sincerity, why not give it some thought?" Ynys added, speaking up in her usual calm tone, though there was a playful edge to it.
Sansa said nothing, but her gaze clearly conveyed, "Let's see how you handle this."
Lo Quen looked at the group of Queens, all clearly enjoying the spectacle, and couldn't help but laugh and sigh at the same time. "You lot… why does it sound like you're eager for me to bring home even more wives? Is the palace not lively enough already?"
Daenerys shot him an annoyed look, her voice sharp with sourness. "Who would dare stop the great true dragon from welcoming another Queen? We're just reminding Your Grace not to forget about us."
Off to the side, Janice and Chai Yiq merely covered their mouths and laughed softly, choosing not to join in on the "crusade."
Watching Daenerys's obvious jealousy, Lo Quen felt both amused and helpless.
That night, in order to soothe the Queens' lingering discontent and small bouts of jealousy, he had no choice but to work himself to the bone. Pouring all his energy and sincerity into it, he devoted himself fully to comforting and attending to those delicate beauties until they were utterly enraptured in both body and mind. By the end, there was no trace of temper left in them, only satisfaction and languid ease.
The next day.
Feeling refreshed and clear-headed, Lo Quen completely cast the minor Leng incident out of his mind. He summoned his key ministers and began focusing on the real plans for what was to come.
He formally announced the strategic objectives for the next stage.
He would personally lead an elite army to land in Asshai, then march upstream along the legendary River of Ashes, pressing deep into the Shadow Lands, and ultimately reach the City of Corpses, Stygai.
This decision immediately sent shockwaves through the court of Yin.
Many officials native to the capital harbored deep-seated fear of Asshai and the Shadow Lands. One after another, they stepped forward to urge restraint.
"Your Grace, Asshai is a land of dire omens. Its Shadowbinders and necromancers dwell among the darkness day and night, masters of all manner of wicked curses!"
"Indeed, Your Grace. The River of Ashes runs black as ink by day and burns with ghostly fire at night. Its waters are poisonous, and the banks are rife with unknown horrors."
"Stygai is a city abandoned by the gods. They say anyone who draws near is tainted by misfortune. None who go there ever return."
Faced with these fear-laden admonitions, Lo Quen listened without expression. Then he replied with uncompromising resolve.
"If the sorcerers of Asshai know what's good for them, they will clear the way. If they do not, then dragonfire will cleanse all ill omens. The River of Ashes may be strange, but a dragon's wings can carry us over it. As for Stygai, I must uncover its secrets myself. You need not try to dissuade me further. Once I decide something, I do not turn back."
He looked over the ministers' drawn, anxious faces, already seeing through their thoughts.
They feared that if Lo Quen met with disaster in the Shadow Lands, the power they had only just secured would vanish overnight. That, and nothing else, was why they sought to stop him.
Just as Lo Quen brushed aside all opposition and began actively preparing the expedition to Asshai, news arrived from afar.
The message came from an old acquaintance of Marwyn's in Asshai, a Shadowbinder who also studied mysticism but maintained a relatively neutral position.
Its contents sparked a trace of anger in Lo Quen.
After fleeing to Asshai, the Faceless Men had recently become unusually active.
They appeared to be plotting something on a grand scale, with its core tied directly to the hatching of dragon egg fossils.
Even worse, this deranged plan had attracted the attention of, and even covert support from, a number of Shadowbinders in Asshai.
"These damned parasites…" Lo Quen said coldly.
These Faceless Men had once dared to attempt his assassination. Now, even after fleeing, their obsession with dragon egg fossils remained unabated.
Whether they intended to hatch dragons that would answer to them, or to use the fossils in some forbidden ritual, it was something Lo Quen would never allow.
The news only hardened his determination to march east into Asshai.
He would uproot these rats lurking in the shadows once and for all. At the same time, he would see for himself what secrets lay buried within Stygai, secrets important enough for the Bloodstone Emperor to point toward them so solemnly on his deathbed.
...
Half a month later, at the largest port of Yin.
A massive fleet assembled once more, its scale far exceeding that of the campaign that conquered Asabhad.
Lo Quen stood at the bow of the flagship, the great dragon banner snapping in the wind behind him.
Blooddancer, Ashshadow, and the other dragons circled above the fleet, their roars rolling across the harbor.
The seven Queens, Daenerys, Janice, Jaelena, Chai Yiq, Sansa, Ynys, and Myrcella, all accompanied him.
Luo Wen coordinated the overall command, while Qyburn and Marwyn brought along their research equipment and vast collections of ancient texts, prepared to analyze any lost knowledge uncovered in the Shadow Lands.
At Lo Quen's order, the enormous fleet slowly left the harbor, sailing east across the Jade Sea toward the shrouded lands of Asshai, embarking on a new expedition.