"Report! The Qin delegation requests an audience!"

Inside the main hall of the Baiyue royal palace, Yi Yusong sat on the throne, listening to the reports from below.

His brow had been furrowed ever since he learned of the envoys' various "behaviors" yesterday.

"Announce!"

The palace doors swung open, and Zhang Erhe strode in with his gang of clowns.

Before the master of ceremonies could even read the announcement, Chu Ping started complaining, "Oh my goodness, this palace is so small! Is this what you call a royal palace? It's probably only a little bigger than our pigsty..."

Zhang Erhe glared at him fiercely, then turned to Yi Yusong and bowed, saying, "The Qin delegation greets the King of Baiyue."

Yi Yusong, barely containing his anger, was about to speak when Wang Pen suddenly shouted, "No, no! You're sitting too high, making us look short! Someone, move a lower chair for your king!"

"Insolence!" shouted a Baiyue minister. "How dare you be so rude!"

"What? This is considered rude?" Old Dong sneered. "We're doing this for your own good. Look how high your throne is, aren't you afraid of falling?"

The assembled Baiyue officials in the hall erupted in uproar. These people were far too arrogant!

"My esteemed ministers, do not panic," Yi Yusong said, suppressing his anger, and addressed Zhang Erhe, "May I ask what brings the Emperor of Qin to us with this delegation?"

"Reporting to the King of Baiyue," Zhang Erhe said respectfully, "His Majesty has heard that your country is rich in resources and has specially ordered us to come and purchase them."

"Purchasing?" Yi Yusong breathed a sigh of relief. So it was about doing business; that made things easier.

"That's right!" Chu Ping interjected, "But your prices are outrageous! We just arrived and bought several bolts of silk, and you dared to charge us a hundred gold coins! You're clearly ripping us off!"

"Exactly!" Wang Peng chimed in, "Isn't this deliberately bullying our Great Qin? We'll be careful when we get back and tell His Majesty that you Baiyue dare to oppress Great Qin just because you have some maritime trade..."

Yi Yusong's expression changed: "Absolutely not! We Baiyue people have always treated our guests with sincerity..."

"Treat guests with sincerity?" Old Dong suddenly held up a broken glass. "Then what happened? This is a treasure of our Great Qin! Your people accidentally broke it yesterday!"

"This..." Yi Yusong looked at the minister beside him.

"Your Majesty," the minister said, "this did indeed happen yesterday. However, glass is inherently fragile; it must have been their own carelessness..."

"What did you say?" Chu Ping jumped up. "You mean we lied? Come on, tell me, how much is this glass worth?"

The minister was taken aback: "This..."

"Let me tell you!" Chu Ping glared, "This is a unique treasure of our Great Qin, worth a thousand pieces of gold! You broke it, shouldn't you pay for it?"

"A thousand pieces of gold?!" the ministers exclaimed in surprise. What a joke! This transparent cup is worth a thousand pieces of gold?

"What? You don't believe me?" Wang Pen sneered, "Then I'll break another one and show you!"

As he spoke, he pulled out a glass and smashed it on the ground.

With a loud crash, shards of glass scattered everywhere.

"You..." Yi Yusong trembled with rage. These people were far too insolent!

"My lord, please calm your anger," an old minister stepped forward to smooth things over. "Since it is our fault, then let's make the compensation they demand."

"That's right!" Old Dong said smugly, "That's more like it. But just paying compensation won't do; you also need an explanation. If you ask me, we should just write this down and tell His Majesty later that the Baiyue people deliberately damaged the Qin Dynasty's treasures..."

"Enough!" Yi Yusong finally couldn't hold back any longer. "Are you threatening me?"

"A threat? No, no, no," Zhang Erhe quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "We were just stating the facts. Besides, the glass issue is easy to resolve, but your subordinates were indeed somewhat rude..."

"Bullshit!" a young military officer couldn't hold back any longer. "It's clearly you who are picking fights at every turn!"

"Oh? Are you going to make a move?" Chu Ping's eyes lit up. "Come on, why don't you try it? Let's see just how powerful the Baiyue warriors are..."

"Shut up!" Yi Yusong shouted sternly. "Gentlemen, you have come from afar as guests. If there is any misunderstanding, please speak it out. As for the glass, I will compensate you for it in full."

"That's more like it." Chu Ping retreated dejectedly, but muttered to himself, "Why didn't you say that earlier? Why did you have to make such a fuss..."

Yi Yusong suppressed his anger and asked Zhang Erhe, "I wonder what important matter the Qin delegation has brought with them this time?"

"This..." Zhang Erhe pretended to pull out a letter of state, "His Majesty has heard that Baiyue possesses many rare and precious treasures, and has specially ordered us to come and purchase them. However..."

"But what?"

"However, I've heard that the trade routes are all controlled by certain people," Zhang Erhe said meaningfully. "That's not good. After all, in business, everyone should have a chance..."

Yi Yusong immediately understood his meaning. This was an attempt to get involved in maritime trade!

"That's easy to say," he forced a smile. "We Baiyue people have always advocated trade, as long as the price is right..."

"Price?" Old Dong suddenly interjected, "The way you're saying it, it's as if we in Great Qin can't afford it!"

"Exactly!" Wang Pen chimed in, "I think you guys don't want to do this business anymore! Fine, anyway, it's not like you Baiyue are the only ones in the south..."

Yi Yusong narrowed his eyes.

South?

Could it be that the Qin Dynasty already knows about Xianglin's affairs?

Just as he was about to speak, a loud crash was heard. Chu Ping had "accidentally" broken a glass again.

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