HCB Chapter 1254 is simply too arrogant.
Chapter 1254 is simply too arrogant.
Murong Yan nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
Looking at her husband's profile, which was always full of confidence and calculation, her unease gradually subsided.
She knew that as long as this man was there, even if the sky fell, he could be her blanket.
The Phoenix Descent Dress she wore, which served as her only nightgown, appeared all the more somber in the council hall filled with intrigue and scheming.
The ultra-black Suzhou brocade fabric, illuminated by the candlelight in the hall, shimmered with an almost imperceptible dim light, as if silently absorbing all the conspiracies and desires within it.
The colossal phoenix embroidered with real gold thread perched quietly on her body, its phoenix eyes slightly closed, as if it were resting, or as if it were coldly observing this earth-shattering drama that was about to unfold, with the entire country of Japan as its chessboard.
“Akechi Mitsuhide.” Lin Zhen’s voice pulled Murong Yan back to reality.
"Your humble servant is here!" Akechi Mitsuhide, who had just been appointed "Governor-General of Japan," immediately knelt down again, his posture more respectful than could be.
"Immediately send someone to deliver an invitation to that Sen no Rikyu, the tea master, in my name." A playful smile appeared on Lin Zhen's lips.
"It is said that the Regent of our Great Qian Dynasty has long heard of his divine tea ceremony, and has specially dispatched a highly accomplished monk from our Great Qian Dynasty to come and exchange tea skills with him. The time is set for three days from now. The place is his tea room, 'Dai'an'."
“Furthermore,” he changed the subject, a cold glint flashing in his deep eyes, “you can also pass on a message to him for me.”
“Take that long-lost ‘Number One Bowl Under Heaven,’ ‘Inaba Tenmoku,’ for example. It is now in the hands of this eminent monk.”
"If he has the guts, let him come and have a go."
"If he doesn't have the guts, then let him never touch tea again."
Lin Zhen's words were extremely arrogant and overbearing!
It was practically throwing a challenge right in Sen no Rikyu's face!
Mitsuhide Akechi was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat.
He never expected that this prince of the Celestial Empire would act in such a domineering and direct manner.
He's trying to force the emperor to abdicate!
He was forcing Sen no Rikyu, that proud and arrogant old tea master, to accept this life-or-death gamble that would determine his reputation and status!
"Your...Your Highness..." Akechi Mitsuhide said cautiously, mustering his courage, "Master Sen no Rikyu is a man of high character and dislikes being forced. Won't what you're doing backfire? What if he..."
"There's no 'what if'," Lin Zhen interrupted him without hesitation.
He looked at Mitsuhide Akechi, whose face was filled with worry, and gave a cold laugh.
“Akechi Mitsuhide, you still don’t understand people like Sen no Rikyu.”
"What do people like them, who climb to the top of the pyramid through empty fame and prestige, care about most?"
"It's neither money nor power."
"It's their pathetic so-called 'face' and 'dignity'!"
"Today, in front of the whole world, I'm going to crush his 'saintly' face, which has been praised to the heavens by countless people!"
"I want him to know that in the field he's so proud of, there are people who are stronger than him! People who know more than him!"
"Only in this way can we completely break down his psychological defenses!"
"Only in this way will he willingly kneel before me and become the most obedient dog!"
Lin Zhen's words were like the sharpest knife, dissecting the ugliness and darkness of human nature piece by piece.
Everyone present felt a chill run down their spines and shudder at what they heard!
They looked at the young prince sitting in the main seat, his face calm and composed as if he were talking about something trivial.
For the first time, I felt an absolute awe and fear of him, almost like that of a god, from the depths of my soul!
They knew from the moment Lin Zhen uttered those words.
Sen no Rikyu, the "Tea Saint" revered as a god throughout Japan, had his fate sealed long ago.
……
Kyoto, Sakai City.
Inside Sen no Rikyu's tea room, "Taian".
The old man, hailed as the "God of Tea Ceremony," was sitting quietly alone in that small tea room, less than two tatami mats in size.
In front of him was a set of black Raku ware tea bowls that he had made himself; they looked rough, even somewhat ugly.
His expression was focused and devout.
It was as if he was facing not an ordinary tea set.
Rather, it is a sacred altar where one can converse with heaven and earth and communicate with the gods.
But at this moment.
The silence was suddenly broken by a burst of hurried footsteps.
"Teacher! Teacher! Something terrible has happened!"
His eldest disciple, Yamagami Soji, rushed in from outside the door with a look of panic on his face.
"What's the matter that you're in such a hurry?" Sen no Rikyu slowly opened his eyes, and a hint of barely perceptible displeasure flashed in those cloudy old eyes that were always filled with the beauty of "wabi-sabi".
"It's...it's from Azuchi Castle, they sent an invitation!" Yamagami Souji gasped for breath, his voice filled with undisguised shock and fear!
"It's that Celestial Dynasty man who just occupied Azuchi Castle and calls himself the 'Regent of the Great Qian Dynasty'!"
"He said... he said he sent a highly virtuous monk from the Celestial Empire to come and... to exchange tea-making skills with you!"
"And...and he also said..."
As Yamagami Sōji spoke, his voice began to tremble.
"He also said that the world's number one bowl, the 'Inaba Tenmoku,' which has been lost for a long time, is in the hands of that high monk!"
"what?!"
For the first time, a look of shock appeared on Sen no Rikyu's usually calm and indifferent face, which seemed to be detached from everything in the world.
He suddenly stood up from the ground, his cloudy old eyes staring intently at his disciple, his voice filled with disbelief and horror!
"Inaba Tenmoku?! Are you sure you didn't hear me wrong?!"
“Absolutely true, Master!” Yamagami Soji nodded firmly, his face, pale with panic, now brimming with undisguised fervor and excitement! “The messenger was the newly appointed Regent, Lord Akechi Mitsuhide! He said it himself!”
"Moreover, he also said... that prince from the Celestial Empire brought you a message."
"What did you say?" Sen no Rikyu's heart jumped.
“He said… if you have the guts, go and meet that high monk. If you don’t have the guts…” Yamagami Soji swallowed hard before saying in an almost whispered voice, “then I’ll make sure you never touch tea again.”
"boom--"
These words struck Sen no Rikyu like a bolt of chaotic divine lightning from beyond the heavens!
He was completely stunned.
He stood there blankly, his old face, covered in wrinkles, devoid of color.
He felt his entire world collapse at that moment!
Madness!
That's incredibly arrogant!