After completing her work, Yanshu went to the covered monument and removed its blanket, to see it once, she was astonished to see herself in the form of a monument.
"It's me, ..!! farther made my sculpture,"
she thought,
That statue was beautiful even though it was her appearance, she was amazed to see it. Yaofan came near her and said,
" This is the most beautiful and precious appearance I ever saw, so I made it, do you like it, Yanshu"
She has nothing to speak about and started to cry, like every other girl, she wanted to look beautiful, wearing stunning ornaments, and elegant dresses but her beauty was more like an agony than a boon.
Two days later, Yaofan completed the monument and packed it with dry grass and they were ready to set off.
Jinhai came with his men and carriages. In one of them, they loaded the statue and on the other one, they sat.
Yaofan asked him to check it once, but he said
" I trust your skills," and they set off,
it was a long journey, but with a carriage, it was so comfortable for them. After traveling for two days, they reached the outskirts of the Capital city. The guards at the gate checked the carts and then allowed them in.
Finally, they were inside the capital city, Yanshu and her father were amazed to see the amazing land with big sculptures, grand buildings, traditional towers, shops with unlimited colorful things, stalls with golden, silver, and pearl ornaments, and soldiers patrolling.
Jinhai took them to an inn and booked two rooms for them to stay in and took the statue to the prime minister's house,
Feng Xiyang was eagerly waiting for his men, who went to bring precious jewels, to gift them to the Emperor on his birthday banquet that night. But there was no news of them.
Jinhai asked his audience,
" Sir your slave is at your service"
" oh, Jinhai so you are here with your statue", asked Xiyang,
"yes, sir it is at the entrance, please come with me and take a look", Jinhai said with all due respect.
Xiyang showed less interest, and said,
" leave it there, I will see it later, I am waiting for something,"
Jinhai insisted,
" Sir just one look, it is the most precious work of that sculptor, you won't be disappointed, sir please I put my life into it,"
Xiyang was annoyed and said,
"so from now on, you will be the one to give instructions to me",
Jinhai fell to his knees and begged for pardon.
A man rushed in,
" Sir, our people met with some robbers on the way, none of them is alive, and all the goods are stolen"
Xiyang stood up angrily,
"good for nothing, can't even do one thing properly, now what should I do, I can't belittle myself in front of all those officials," he threw the fan in his hand.
" what now?...should I just take your head to present to the Emperor"
Jinhai was silently listening to him.
Xiyang was agitated, and was roaming here and there,
"I spent a fortune just for this one day but happened at last, uhh....good for nothing, you are all good for nothing,"
Jinhai realized that this is not the right time to show him the statue and thus he decide to leave him alone, when he came out, his men were, unloading the cart.
He went there to stop them, but one of them pulled out the blanket and the statue was uncovered.
Xiyang was frustrated by the news he just heard, and came out to get some air, he unknowingly saw the statue and was absorbed by the fantastic art and fascinating beauty of the sculpture,
" incredible... extraordinary....is this the one you were talking about, Jinhai," he asked Jinhai,
"Yes sir, this is the one I was talking about,"
"You made my day Jinhai, I will reward you with everything you want," he said excitedly,
Jinhai was so pleased and offered the statue to him, he was given a lot of wealth in return, he went to YanShu and her father, and shared it with them, and they were very happy.
After a long journey, Yaofan was feeling sick, he started coughing. Yanshu took him to rest and gave him, his medicine.
Jinhai said,
" That was an amazing statue, I never saw something that beautiful, I am sure that the prime minister will present it to the Emperor, that will be great",
He was so happy but Yanshu was afraid of the unknown future.
Xiyang was impressed by the beauty of the statue and decided to present it to the Emperor. He covered it with a pure silk cloth and ordered his men to bring it along with him to the royal banquet.
The grand royal banquet started, and the attendees were the noble and richest families from the capital.
The Emperor entered with the Empress and his other consorts,
followed by the servants and assistants.
The main body of the banquet, the gifting ceremony started with the royal family offering their gifts. The Empress gave him a longevity mantra she embroidered herself with golden threads.
The other consorts presented their gifts after that, and all the five princes presented an astonishing legendary sword dance, and the three Princesses presented a beautiful folk dance to make their father happy.
Now that the royal family members are done gifting, it was the prime minister's turn to offer the gift. Feng Xiyang asked his men to bring the statue in, his men rushed in and whispered something in his ears, Xiyang was furious but controlled his anger and said,
"Your majesty, my gift is unique so to bring it in I need some time, so please give your slave some time"
The Emperor laughed,
" My dear Xiyang you always surprise me, I would love to see what you want to present"
Xiyang took his leave.
When he came out his men were in chaos, he shouted at them to assemble and asked what happened, one of them said hesitatingly,
" Sir, the statue...the statue was..!!"
" What happened to the statue? ...speak louder" he shouted,
" Sir, while bringing it here the statue was damaged,"
Xiyang went to see it, and one of the legs of the statue was broken, he panicked and asked his men to bring Jinhai.
They rushed to call him, and here in the banquet, all the other officials presented their gifts, precious jewels, and various valuables from different countries...but Xiyang was devastated,
"I am ruined, my reputation is gone...I have nothing now" he felt hopeless.
Jinhai came running to him,
" Sir don't worry, I know what to do with it, see this boy is the son of the sculptor, he will fix it,"
He called Yanshu and they went to the statue,
After a while, Xiyang went inside and asked the Emperor's permission to bring his gift, and presented the statue.
The Emperor asked his helpers to uncover the statue and everyone at the banquet including the Emperor himself was mesmerized by the grace of the statute. The Emperor stood up to see it and all the other gifts faded away...
How did Yanshu manage to mend the statue in such a short time, and what is waiting for her...is yet to come...continue reading to know...
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