The group arrived at the main hall. Zhao Xian and Li Xue bowed to the emperor, while Sun Heng, standing beside them, spoke in the language of the Golden Kingdom:

“Princess Li Xue of the Great Northern Dynasty and Zhao Xian, Vice Minister of War, pay their respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Golden Kingdom.” After Sun Heng finished speaking, he presented the diplomatic documents.

This diplomatic document was prepared in advance by Zhao Xian. He didn't know if the document was made in accordance with regulations, but as long as the meaning was clearly conveyed, that was enough.

Someone took the document from Sun Heng's hand, stepped forward, and presented it to the emperor.

The emperor opened the document and read it carefully. He quickly learned the identities of Li Xue and Zhao Xian and excitedly exclaimed:

"So it is a princess and a junior minister from the Celestial Empire. Please take a seat."

It was extremely rare for an emperor to receive foreign envoys and offer them seats in the main hall, which shows that the emperor of the Golden Kingdom attached great importance to the envoys from the Northern Dynasty.

Next, Sun Heng stepped forward, presented the gift list, and said, "Four gifts are presented to the Emperor of the Golden Kingdom."

Someone took the gift list and presented it to the emperor. The emperor opened the list and was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth.

According to the gift list, apart from the two jars of liquor, the remaining three gifts are all rare treasures, priceless.

It seems that only a great power like China would be willing to use these rare and precious items as gifts to other countries.

At this moment, Sun Heng spoke again: "Present the gifts."

Four guards carrying gifts stepped forward, and someone immediately took the gifts and placed them on the emperor's desk.

One by one, the gift boxes were opened, and the gifts that Zhao Xian had carefully prepared were once again revealed to the emperor.

Looking at the gifts before him, the emperor felt as if he were dreaming. He knew in his heart that even if all the treasures in the palace were added together, they would not be worth as much as these few gifts.

The emperor realized that if he continued to stare at the gifts, he would be laughed at. With that in mind, he ordered the gifts to be put away and that he would take a good look at them after the court session.

Only then did the two sides begin to talk formally. Although they did not speak the same language, with Sun Heng acting as their translator, the communication was relatively smooth.

After exchanging information about their respective situations, the emperor wanted to discuss trade matters with Zhao Xian, but felt it was inappropriate to discuss such matters in the main hall.

If the details of the exchange between the two sides were to become known to the two powerful families, the Xie and Peng families, it would be extremely detrimental to the royal family.

The emperor immediately adjourned the court session, as he intended to receive the imperial envoys in his study.

The Imperial Study was not a large space, allowing the group to get up close. The Emperor's eyesight was not good; he couldn't make out the faces of the Northern Dynasty envoys in the palace. Now he would have to take a good look.

Zhao Xian was very young and had a refined and scholarly demeanor, far surpassing the ministers in his court.

Upon seeing Li Xue, the emperor was stunned. He stared at Li Xue for a long time before finally uttering a sentence, which Sun Heng immediately translated.

“The princess looks just like my Princess Ruxue. Ten years ago, Princess Ruxue was just as young and beautiful as the princess.”

Upon hearing this, Li Xue was overjoyed. Brother Zhao's guess was correct; Princess Ruxue of Jindian Kingdom looked similar to her.

That the princess rescued her brother from the plantation back then should be beyond doubt.

Although Li Xue was excited inside, she did not show it. It was not the time to bring up this matter. She hoped that she could see her brother in the palace, and that her brother would definitely recognize her.

What if her brother wasn't in the palace? How would she find him? Li Xue began to feel uneasy. As for what Zhao Xian and the Emperor talked about, Li Xue didn't hear a word of it.

Soon it was noon, and the Emperor was to host a banquet for the envoys of the Celestial Empire. The banquet was to be held in a pavilion in the back garden.

On her way to the back garden, Li Xue carefully looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Li Ru.

Those walking around the palace were mostly eunuchs and palace maids, which Zhao Xian found strange.

In his view, there were no eunuchs in ancient foreign countries, but the harem of the Kingdom of Jindian was full of eunuchs. It seemed that he was indeed a bit ignorant.

This luncheon was actually a family dinner; the emperor did not invite any civil or military officials, but only had the empress invited.

As the mother of the nation, although she is advanced in years, she is dignified and elegant.

Upon seeing the Empress, Zhao Xian and Li Xue immediately stood up and bowed to her.

Li Xue was hoping to see Princess Ruxue, but she didn't see the princess until the luncheon started, which made her a little disappointed.

This is normal, though. Judging by the timeline, Princess Ruxue is almost thirty years old, and at that age, she would have already gotten married.

Regardless of whether a princess marries a prince from another country or a nobleman from her own country, she should not remain in the palace.

Li Xue had been paying attention to the Empress, and when she noticed that the Empress was staring at her, she understood what was going on.

She wanted to get closer to the Queen so she could find out about the princess.

Thinking of this, Li Xue had a guard bring out a box of cosmetics and personally handed it to the Empress.

She asked Sun Heng to translate, explaining that these were cosmetics used by members of the royal family of the Great Northern Dynasty, and that they had excellent skin-moisturizing and beautifying effects, hoping the Empress would accept them.

The Empress was overjoyed. She wanted to see the cosmetics from the Celestial Empire, so she opened the packaging. When she saw the two bottles inside, she was shocked.

Upon examining the material of the bottles, the Empress immediately recognized that these two exquisite bottles were made of the finest jade. The two pieces of jade must have been crystal clear and flawless, the finest of the finest.

The fact that these cosmetics were packaged in bottles made of the finest jade shows just how precious they are.

Originally, the Empress was sitting with the Emperor, but unexpectedly, she glared at the Emperor and got up to sit next to Li Xue.

At this moment, the Empress looked at Li Xue with eyes full of affection.

At this moment, the Empress began to speak, but Li Xue did not understand, so Sun Heng translated for her.

"Princess, you look so much like Princess Ruxue, it's just a pity..."

The Empress's words stunned Li Xue; such words from the Empress were not a good omen.

Li Xue did not follow up on the Empress's words, but instead said, "The Empress said that the princess looks like me, so may I meet Princess Ruxue?"

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the Empress glared at the Emperor again and said:

"It's all this old man's fault, preventing my daughter and me from seeing each other." After saying this, the Empress began to wipe away her tears.

The Emperor was not angry at the Empress's criticism; he comforted her.

"Your Majesty, please don't be angry. I have no choice. I cannot disobey the ancestral teachings and the rules set by our ancestors. As the ruler of a country, I cannot violate them."

Even if I don't say anything, the princes won't agree.

"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Today we are all distinguished guests from the Celestial Empire. This luncheon is to welcome you and wash away the dust of your journey," the Empress said.

The Emperor and Empress's words contained a great deal of information. Li Xue planned to have a good chat with the Empress after dinner, wanting to hear the story of Princess Ruxue.