Chương 619: Beauty Pageant

The second girl to come in was as thin as a stick, her head was bowed low, she walked with a swaying gait, her face almost touching her chest, her hands gripping the hem of her skirt, her fingertips were white with nervousness, and her nails were almost digging into the fabric.

Cao Cao laughed, his voice full of enthusiasm:

"Your Majesty, this is a treasure! Princess Nazha of Shule Kingdom! She's so gentle and sweet, she's proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and she can even carve jade! Look how shy she is, she doesn't even dare to lift her head, she's so pure! In Shule Kingdom, the nobles who woo her can line up from the palace to the city gate! The line can stretch for three miles!"

Liu Ce nodded and said, "Hmm, she does look quite demure. Come, raise your head and let me see."

Naza slowly raised her head, gave a shy smile, revealing two small tiger teeth.

Liu Ce froze on the spot, his mouth agape enough to fit an egg.

Good heavens, her face was covered with a dense layer of brown freckles, as if someone had sprinkled a handful of black sesame seeds on her face. They were so thick and even, even on her forehead and chin.

From a distance, it looks like a sesame seed cake that has just been rolled out of a pile of sesame seeds, but it's burnt.

Liu Ce pointed at her, speechless for a long time, his fingers trembling:

"This... this is the princess of Shule? What kind of divine punishment has Shule suffered? Is there no one left? This is it? And she's the most beautiful woman? Is there some kind of time difference between your Western Regions' aesthetic standards and those of the Central Plains?"

Cao Cao quickly waved his hand, leaned closer, and said in a serious tone, his expression as solemn as if he were reporting military intelligence:

"Your Majesty, you don't understand! In Shule, pockmarks are a sign of wealth and nobility! The more pockmarks, the wealthier! Look at her pockmarks, they are numerous and evenly distributed, and the arrangement is particularly regular. That's the highest level of wealth and nobility!"

"Auspicious for her husband! Absolutely auspicious for her husband! And those dragon and phoenix eyes, one single and one double, that's a sign of good fortune! The King of Shule had three times more pockmarks on his face than her, that's true wealth and nobility! It's a family heirloom!"

Liu Ce's mouth was twitching so badly it was almost cramping. He grabbed a bunch of grapes from the table and threw them at him. The grapes flew through the air in an arc.

"Get lost! You can keep the good husband yourself! It's good that your wife is strict, so I'll marry you a pockmarked princess! Let's see if you can still eat if you look at that face every day!"

Next one! If you give me another one of these deformed children, I'll throw you to the Western Regions to feed camels! You'll be keeping company with Princess Pockmarked, starving every day!

Cao Cao quickly pulled Nazha aside, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said repeatedly:

"Next one, next one! This one is absolutely perfect! I guarantee it! I swear on my life!"

The third person to come in was a girl from Kangju named Lily.

Her eyes are round and bright, like an amber cat's. When she smiles, she has two deep dimples that are so sweet they could make you sick of it.

Her skin is a healthy wheat color; she looks like a girl who grew up on the grasslands.

Wearing a short red Hu-style coat, revealing a glimpse of her slender waist, she exudes vitality and walks with a confident stride.

He just couldn't speak Mandarin. As soon as he came in, he started babbling incoherently at Liu Ce, waving his hand and laughing, revealing two little tiger teeth. He was as enthusiastic as a ball of fire.

Cao Cao volunteered to act as translator and said in a serious tone:

"Your Majesty, she said she has admired you for a long time. She has heard stories of the Han emperors since she was a child and loves the Han Dynasty very much. She wants to stay in the palace to serve you and bear you a son. She said you are her dream lover and she dreams of you every night."

Lily pointed to the fruit plate on the table and rattled off a long string of words, swallowing hard as she stared intently at the grapes.

Cao Cao immediately translated, without even a stutter: "She said she wants to give you ten sons, each as wise and brave as Your Majesty, capable of conquering and fighting, and when they grow up, they will all go and fight for her. She said she is in good health and having ten is no problem."

The Western Regions interpreter following beside him couldn't bear to listen any longer; his face turned red, and he muttered under his breath:

"General Cao, no... she said she wanted to eat the grapes on the table, and that she missed home, especially her mother's hand-pulled rice. She said her mother's hand-pulled rice was the best in all of Kangju, and asked Your Majesty if her mother could come too."

Cao Cao glared at him, his eyes like knives, and taking advantage of Liu Ce's inattention, he raised his foot and kicked him a long way away with a "thud." The interpreter rolled twice on the ground.

"You don't know anything! I said she wants a son, and that's it! If you say another word, I'll throw you out to feed the wolves in the desert! Do you know how fierce the wolves in the desert are?"

The translator, clutching his backside, slunk away, muttering to himself as he ran, his voice fading into the distance:

"All I wanted was grapes... lying and hitting people... and acting like a general... utterly unreasonable..."

Liu Ce suppressed a laugh and pointed at Lily, saying, "Alright, keep her too. It just so happens that my palace is short of someone who can make hand-grabbed rice. I'll help her solve her homesickness problem. Li Dequan, reward her with a bunch of grapes, let her eat her fill, and also bring out a plate of roasted mutton."

Cao Cao chuckled, winked at Liu Ce, and looked smug.

"Your Majesty is wise! This is guaranteed to satisfy you!"

Then a dozen or so more entered one after another: some were from the Kingdom of Kucha, with willow-leaf eyebrows and slender waists, as delicate as willows swaying in the breeze, carrying a bowl of wine to offer a toast, their steps light and airy, as if they would be blown away by a gust of wind...

There was a girl from the Kingdom of Dayuan, with slightly dark skin, cheerful and generous, skilled in raising horses, who claimed she could tame the fiercest Akhal-Teke horses, and had been riding horses since she was ten years old...

There was also a girl from the Kingdom of Khotan who could carve jade. She was holding a jade pendant that she had carved herself, saying that she wanted to present it to His Majesty.

Liu Ce picked and chose, finally keeping six that he found agreeable. Just as he was about to wave for Cao Cao to take the rest, Cao Cao suddenly slapped his thigh with a loud "smack," startling Li Dequan who was standing nearby.

"Oh! Your Majesty, please be patient! These are just appetizers! The real main course is yet to come! Now that the appetizers are finished, it's time for the main course!"

Liu Ce immediately perked up, sat up straight, straightened his dragon robe, and adjusted his crooked collar:

"Oh? You have some good stuff? You're hiding it from me, aren't you? Why didn't you bring it out earlier! Were you trying to keep it for yourself?"

Cao Cao leaned closer mysteriously and whispered, his mouth almost touching Liu Ce's ear.

"This is none other than the undisputed most beautiful woman in the Western Regions, Princess Reyina of Shanshan Kingdom—formerly Loulan Kingdom! I guarantee you'll be completely captivated when you see her! I've traveled all over the Western Regions and haven't seen anyone more beautiful than her! Elsa and Gulnazar are nothing compared to her—they're just country bumpkins!"

"Stop talking nonsense! Hurry up and let her in! Stop dawdling!" Liu Ce urged him, feeling a little excited, his palms sweating.

Cao Cao cleared his throat and called out in a drawn-out voice towards the outside of the hall, the sound echoing back and forth inside: "Princess Reyina—enter the hall—!"