Everyone was watching the two of them. Lady Xiao was truly domineering. They wondered how Princess Dina would respond.
"Lady Xiao, Princess Dina can't hold her liquor," Prince Nian walked over and tried to block the drink for Dina.
Xiao Jinghan stood up and blocked in front of Prince Nian, preventing him from shielding Dina.
"This is the sweet wine for women, not the strong liquor of your Northern Di. If Princess Dina refuses to drink, it means she is not truly willing. Then there's no need for this dance. We in the Great Jin can't appreciate it," Yi Qing threatened.
Princess Dina stared at the wine cup. After hesitating for a long time, she finally took it and drank it all in one gulp.
When she picked up the cup, Yi Qing felt a strange chill. It seemed that the chill could seep into her body through Dina's fingers.
She pretended to support her own shoulder and immediately sealed her own acupoints to stop the chill from further invading her body.
"Alright," Princess Dina looked at Yi Qing with a sneer on her lips.
Yi Qing also smiled, saying, "Princess Dina, please." After that, she returned to her seat.
The music started, and Princess Dina began to dance.
Yi Qing returned to her seat and secretly gave herself an acupuncture treatment, trying to force out that trace of chill. She always felt that this chill was extremely dangerous.
"What's wrong?" Xiao Jinghan noticed Yi Qing's abnormality.
"Nothing," Yi Qing forced a smile.
Just then, she felt a movement in her lower abdomen. A warm current slowly spread. When it reached her arm, it instantly turned into a raging wave, forcing the trace of chill to her fingertips.
She immediately raised her hand towards the wine cup. A thin, hair - like thing dropped from her fingertip into the cup. She casually poured a glass of wine, and the red thing wriggled a few times and then stopped moving.
The wine in the jug was not ordinary wine. It was prepared by Yi Qing with the water from the divine spring in the temple. Ordinary people couldn't tell the difference.
She just let out a sigh of relief when a strange flute sound rang out. It made her head feel dizzy. She turned her head and rubbed her temples. As a result, she saw that Xiao Jinghan's eyes were a bit blank. She immediately gave him an acupuncture treatment to protect his clarity of mind.
"Lady Xiao is truly amazing," Prince Nian had already stood up.
Yi Qing looked around at the court officials at the banquet. All those who had been visited by Princess Dina had empty looks in their eyes.
"How dare you!" Song Jinzhao scolded. "How dare you act so wantonly at our Great Jin's banquet."
Not everyone at the banquet was bewitched, but seeing this situation, no one dared to step forward.
Prince Nian swung his sword towards Song Jinzhao, trying to kill him. Xiao Jinghan flew over to block it, but he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Although Yi Qing had protected his clarity of mind, it must have had an impact on his body.
"Humph! General Xiao, do you think you can still turn the situation around?" Prince Nian pointed his sword at Xiao Jinghan.
At this time, Deng Xiao led some people to surround the banquet. Yi Qing walked over to support Xiao Jinghan.
"It seems you are also well - prepared," Prince Nian looked around at the brocade - clad guards who had appeared around the banquet. "But it's too late. These people have been lured into the dream by the soul - guiding spell. They will die unconsciously in their dreams at any time."
Deng Xiao nervously glanced at Xiao Jinghan.
"It seems that this soul - guiding spell to bewitch the mind must be prepared in advance. So Prince Nian visited those people he wanted to target in advance, then gathered them together at the banquet, and finally used a specific flute sound to activate it. Am I right? That flute sound was played by your great priest from the Northern Di, right?" Yi Qing analyzed.
"Even if you know about the bewitching spell, it's all too late now. Once they fall into the dream, they can't escape my control," Prince Nian said confidently.
"Then you won't be able to leave the Great Jin either," Yi Qing looked at Prince Nian.
"So what? There are many princes in our Northern Di. If I sacrifice myself, I will surely return to the side of the Shaman True God. And you in the Great Jin are always in internal strife. Now, who can ascend the throne and turn the situation around? By then, our Northern Di will march straight in, and the entire Great Jin will belong to our Northern Di," Prince Nian said maniacally.
"So the feud between you and Prince Kelo is fake. It was just to paralyze the Great Jin, making them think that there is internal strife in your Northern Di and that you are not to be feared," Yi Qing suddenly realized.
"Lady Xiao is really smart. It's a pity that you're not from our Northern Di. Then you must be a deadly enemy," Prince Nian's gaze towards Yi Qing was extremely sharp.
Yi Qing was not afraid but smiled instead. "The soul - guiding spell is just a way to bewitch people's minds. As long as one's mind is strong enough, even in a dream, one is still the master of one's own world."
Prince Nian laughed. "I just said that Lady Xiao is smart, but now I have to say that Lady Xiao is naive. If one's mind is really strong enough, how could one be lured into the dream by the soul - guiding spell?"
"Don't waste time talking to him. Capture him first," Deng Xiao was very worried.
"Dina, attack," Prince Nian ordered.
However, when he turned around, Dina was already kneeling on the ground. It seemed that there were insects wriggling under her skin.
"Sister Gan," Yi Qing called out.
Sister Gan Er carried a big bag and ran over. She untied the bag and scattered some yellow, semi - dry powder in a circle around Princess Dina.
Prince Nian widened his eyes. "What have you done?"
"Prince Nian really thought we knew nothing about what you've done?" Yi Qing supported Xiao Jinghan and moved away from Prince Nian. Deng Xiao and the others surrounded Prince Nian.
"We've long discovered that the bewitching spell relies on the purple glass to maintain. Coincidentally, I have the water from the divine spring in my hand. If I'm not wrong, the water from the divine spring and those things related to the purple glass depend on and restrict each other. The glass of wine I gave Dina just now was actually the water from the divine spring," Yi Qing said with a smile.
Hearing what Yi Qing said, Prince Nian laughed. "Now they have fallen into the dream. If Dina dies, they will never be able to get out."
"What if the bewitching spell disappears after the Hour of the Boar?" Yi Qing asked.
Prince Nian's expression froze. He didn't expect Yi Qing to know this as well. "Attack!"
As soon as he gave the order, the sound of fighting immediately rang out around them, but no one appeared. He was confused again.
"You were ordering the people from Ghost Floating Mountain, right?" Yi Qing looked at Prince Nian's expression. "It's a pity. As soon as they move, they will be discovered. Now our people have stopped them."
"You..." Prince Nian didn't expect his meticulous plan to be ruined like this. "You deliberately delayed the time today."
"Yes," Yi Qing didn't hide it.
As the sound of fighting outside gradually disappeared and still no one appeared, Prince Nian knew that the people from Ghost Floating Mountain might have all been killed.
Prince Nian seemed to accept his fate. "Xiao Jinghan, do you think you can rest easy now by protecting the emperor? Sooner or later, you will become a thorn in his side."
"Then I'll retire to the countryside and spend the rest of my life with my wife and children," Xiao Jinghan said calmly.
"I don't believe it," Prince Nian looked at Xiao Jinghan's calm appearance. "Are you really willing to end your life of military service with such a thankless ending?"