Chapter 268 You look so pretty when you smile evilly
"Just a few days ago, the Ning Wang of Tianqi presented the fragment of the treasure map to their emperor in front of all the civil and military officials. The thing is now in the Tianqi Palace."
Si Lianhuan had been looking for the remaining fragment of the scroll. Now that she had received the confirmed news, she was naturally happy. However, after the joy, she became a little worried.
Since Prince Ning presented the treasure in front of all the officials, it was unlikely that the thing was fake. The emperor was not stupid and would identify the treasure map after receiving it. Even if he himself did not know how to identify it, he would order people to inquire secretly.
Prince Ning must be a very smart man to be able to force Prince Yi to this point. There is no reason for him to create a fake treasure map and create hidden dangers for himself.
She no longer doubted the authenticity of the treasure map. What worried her was why the treasure map happened to be in the Tianqi Kingdom's palace.
If it were somewhere else, it would be fine. She could just disguise herself and spend some money to build relationships and get there. But in a place like the palace, even if she could sneak in, it would be difficult for her to get close to the emperor, let alone bring her own people in.
The secret guard seemed to see her distress and said, "Princess, this is not easy to accomplish. Don't act rashly."
"I understand that it is not a wise idea to break into a foreign country's palace alone. If you fail and are captured, Xiling Country and Tianqi Country will become enemies."
Si Lianhuan pondered for a moment and said, "The least risky way is to negotiate openly. I just don't know if their emperor is amenable to negotiation."
"Princess, are you planning to offer a high price for the purchase? I'm afraid they may not agree."
"Now that all three fragments have been revealed, they only have one, but we have two. We in Xiling are not easy to bully. They can't declare war on us just to steal the treasure map, right? To put it bluntly, no one has ever seen this treasure house, so who knows how much is inside? This matter is not worth the two countries becoming enemies. Negotiation is the best way."
"Princess, you are right. If you want to know what kind of personality their emperor has, you might as well ask Prince Yi. As for the treasure map, I think it is not necessary to let him know, lest he develop any inappropriate thoughts."
"That's natural."
After talking with the secret guard, Si Lianhua returned to the room where Jun Tianyi was.
"Your Majesty, there is something I want to ask you, and I hope you will tell me the truth."
Jun Tianyi said: "Princess, please speak."
"You and the Emperor of Tianqi are uncle and nephew, so you must know him a little bit, right? What is his personality like and what are his hobbies?"
When Si Lianhua asked this question, Jun Tianyi showed a hint of surprise, "Why did the princess suddenly ask about him?"
"Of course I have something important to do. As for what it is, please forgive me for not being able to tell you, Your Majesty. Anyway, this matter will not involve you."
Jun Tianyi was curious when he heard this, but he couldn't ask any more questions, so he could only answer: "Your Majesty seems gentle, but he is actually cold-hearted. He has always been deceived because he trusts Song Yunchu too much. He has been close to villains for a long time, and he is no longer as easy to talk to as before."
Jun Tianyi paused and said, "As for his hobbies... I only know that in his spare time, he likes to paint and play chess."
Si Lianhua asked again: "What kind of women does he like?"
She thought that if she had the chance, she would place a female spy next to Jun Li Luo.
But Jun Tianyi's heart sank when he heard her words, and he subconsciously asked, "Could it be that Xiling Country is planning to form an alliance with Tianqi Country?"
He only has Si Lianhuan as his helper now, so naturally he doesn't want Si Lianhuan to go to Tianqi Kingdom for marriage.
Moreover, Si Lianhuan is different from those princesses of weak countries. Even if a marriage is to be arranged, she should not be the one to go. Someone else should go.
Si Lianhuan must have asked on behalf of the other sisters.
"Why does the prince look nervous when the marriage is mentioned?"
Si Lianhua noticed the subtle changes in Jun Tianyi's expression and raised the corners of her lips slightly, "Is the prince afraid that I will marry into the Tianqi Kingdom?"
Jun Tianyi realized that he had lost his composure and quickly explained, "Princess, you are skilled in martial arts and are as brave as any man. In my eyes, you are a strong person, different from those weak women. I naturally cannot bear to see you embark on this path of marriage. Marrying far away is hard after all. Once you leave your motherland, you will not be as free as you are now."
Si Lianhuan felt a little happy when she saw Jun Tianyi's sincere tone, as if he was worried about her fate.
When she first met him, she thought he was cold and arrogant, and he was very frugal with words. He seemed unwilling to keep her company when she wanted to say a few more words to him. But now he has become so talkative.
I don't know if it was because he was down and out and needed her help, or if he cared about her from the bottom of his heart.
But no matter what, she was still happy to take in the person she once admired.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will not marry far away, nor will I lose my freedom now. I am not asking you these questions because I like your Majesty, but because I want to negotiate with him on behalf of Xiling State. I will probably leave soon. You are now a prisoner of the emperor, so it is not convenient for you to travel with me. I will have someone send you to my princess's mansion. You stay there for now and wait for me to come back."
Jun Tianyi felt a little unhappy when he heard this.
Si Lianhuan was unwilling to tell him what she was going to do, which was fine, perhaps it was related to royal secrets, but he really couldn't stand Si Lianhuan's tone.
He could sense that she still cared about him, but she obviously didn't admire him as much as she did two years ago.
Her attitude was as if she treated him as a male concubine. She only liked him but had no respect for him.
How could he tolerate being looked down upon by a woman like this?
Even though he has lost his status now, he is still determined to make a comeback.
"Princess, I have to go with you. No matter what you want to discuss with His Majesty, he will not hide it from Song Yunchu. Song Yunchu is cunning. If he interferes, I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it."
Jun Tianyi calmed down and said, "Princess, don't worry that I will cause you trouble. Have you ever heard that there are masters of disguise in the martial arts world who can make human skin masks? A good mask will not be flawed when worn on the face. I have a crudely made one here, but it is not easy to be discovered as long as you don't look closely."
As Jun Tianyi spoke, he took out the human skin mask that Hu Erniang bought for him from his arms.
Si Lianhuan took it and looked at it, quite surprised, "This is the first time I've seen something like this."
"There are not many people who know this craft. There is one person in the black market of Tianqi Country, nicknamed Thousand Faces Young Master. But that person has a friendship with my former subordinates, so I cannot appear in front of him. Besides him, there may be others who can do this. Princess should be able to find out by spending some money. If you can get a few well-made masks, I will definitely not be exposed."
Si Lianhua thought for a moment and replied, "Okay."
After all, she didn't know Jun Liluo and Song Yunchu at all. Having Jun Tianyi accompany her might really be able to provide her with some help.
…
Three days passed in a flash.
After the court session that day, Jun Li Luo received a letter sent by the king of Xiling State.
"Yun Chu, just as you expected, they can't hold back any longer and are sending envoys to negotiate with us."
Song Yunchu took the letter handed to him by Jun Liluo and couldn't help but chuckle when he saw that the Emperor of Xiling Kingdom had directly written in the letter that he wanted to buy the treasure map and whether the negotiation was possible.
"They know they can't bully our Tianqi Nation, so they should be polite. If they don't send letters to ask, but try to sneak into the palace, it will be extremely risky for them."
Song Yunchu paused and said, "The Xiling princess must be impatient. Once they receive your reply, they will set off quickly. I will go meet her first."
"So do you think she will bring Jun Tianyi with her this time?"
“It’s possible.”
When mentioning Jun Tianyi, Song Yunchu sneered, "Although he and the princess are destined to be together, he may not be able to control this fate."
In the original novel, Jun Tianyi has always been quite glorious and famous. The Princess of Xiling Kingdom has always felt that she is a good match for him and is even willing to change her mind about marrying far away for him. This is because in the eyes of the princess, Jun Tianyi is outstanding in terms of family background, reputation, martial arts and appearance. He and her are a perfect match.
But now Jun Tianyi has lost the most powerful secret book and has become a criminal of the Tianqi Kingdom. He meets Si Lianhuan at such a desperate time. Even if Si Lianhuan still likes him, it will be difficult for him to gain the recognition of the Emperor and Empress of Xiling Kingdom.
The princess and the prince are naturally a good match, but how can a princess and a guilty minister be together? Jun Tianyi probably can't control the princess just because of the life-saving grace two years ago.
Perhaps if he thought about it carefully, he would find that he was very much like a gigolo who was helped out of poverty by a rich woman. This situation might not be a big deal for an ordinary person, but for King Gou Yi, it would definitely bring him great humiliation.
Thinking of this, Song Yunchu felt in a good mood.
Jun Li Luo stood aside and looked at her profile, then suddenly moved closer to her and kissed her lips.
Song Yunchu turned his head and glanced at him.
Jun Liluo said: "You look pretty when you smile evilly."
"Don't be so frivolous. There are still many memorials to read. Hurry up."
Song Yunchu said this, pushed him back into the chair, and turned to walk towards his own seat.
Jun Liluo sighed quietly to himself.
Song Yunchu had her period these days, so he naturally knew his limits and would only secretly kiss her occasionally, nothing else.
Having said that, it was only after listening to Song Yunchu's explanation that he understood that the "period" that Song Yunchu mentioned in her heart before actually meant menstruation in her hometown.
He was confused at first, as he had never heard that Song Yunchu had any relatives. For this reason, he even asked the secret guards to investigate whether Song Yunchu had an aunt.
The result of the investigation is that there is no such person, let alone a biological aunt, there is not even a cousin.
He guessed at the time that it might be an elder from Song Yunchu's hometown, not necessarily a relative, but possibly a neighbor or something like that.
At that time, the matter of mind reading had not been brought up yet, so he could not ask directly. In fact, Song Yunchu had only mentioned it three or four times. In the days that followed, he no longer cared about this kind of person.
He heard Song Yunchu talking about it again some time ago, so he went to ask. The explanation he got surprised him, and after Song Yunchu realized that he had misunderstood, he kept laughing at him.
Her original world really had a lot of strange and weird words.
Afternoon.
When Song Yunchu returned home, he immediately called Hu Erniang to his side.
"Second Mother, go to the black market and tell your old lover that if anyone asks him to buy human skin masks from now on, he must draw the masks for me."
Hu Erniang replied yes, and then asked, "Why did Your Highness suddenly want the portraits of those masks?"
"Jun Tianyi might come back, and I have to prevent him from going around with a fake face."
As early as when Hu Erniang mentioned Thousand Faces Young Master, she thought he was quite interesting, but Hu Erniang had clearly told her that Thousand Faces Young Master was a freedom-loving person and would only do business with others. He would not rely on anyone, and he especially did not like to please others. He was clear about his accounts with his friends and old lovers.
Song Yunchu did not force people who he could not recruit. If the person liked to do business, he would just use money to negotiate terms with him.
As long as King Gouyi dares to look for Thousand Faces Young Master after he comes back, she will make sure that bastard has nowhere to escape.
…
Half a month later, the envoys from Xiling Kingdom arrived outside the gate of the imperial city.
Jun Li Luo had issued an order the day before, asking the Ministry of Rites to receive the envoys from the State of Xiling.
According to the rules of this dynasty, only princesses who come to marry the emperor can be arranged to live in the palace and familiarize themselves with the palace layout in advance. If it is not a marriage, they have to live in the inn outside the palace. Now that the envoys have arrived, the Minister of Rites took everyone from Xiling Kingdom to the inn.
Si Lianhuan felt naturally tired after the long journey, but fortunately the food prepared by the inn was rich and delicious. She originally thought that she would not be able to get used to the food in a foreign country, but she did not expect that the food in front of her was quite tasty.
Si Lianhuan had just finished eating when the postman came over with a tray.
"Your Highness, this is the medicine bag that King Ning sent. He said that putting this bag in the bath water will help dispel fatigue. Princess, you are tired from the journey, you can try it."
Si Lianhuan glanced at the medicine package on the tray and said, "Prince Ning is so kind, I will naturally accept it. Please convey my gratitude to him on my behalf."
"His Royal Highness Prince Ning said that His Majesty will host a banquet for the princess tomorrow. Although the dishes in this palace are good, there are also many delicious foods on the streets of our imperial city, so he has booked the Shuiyunxuan, which is the closest to here, and will host a banquet at twilight hour. This restaurant is quite famous, and I hope the princess and the envoys will go to the banquet."
Si Lianhuan smiled calmly upon hearing this, "Prince Ning is so polite, we will naturally keep the appointment on time."
After the postman left, Si Lianhua instructed the maid behind her, "Take these medicine bags on the table and check them."
Although she felt that Song Yunchu would not do anything with these little things, it was always better to be cautious.
"Princess, there is nothing wrong with these medicine packs. You can use them without worry."
Si Lianhuan felt relieved after hearing the results brought by the maid.
Song Yunchu's behavior seemed like that of a graceful person, but she did not forget Jun Tianyi's reminder that this person was cunning and difficult to deal with.
She'll take a rest first and go meet this guy later.
…
As the sun was setting in the west, Si Lianhuan brought two higher-ranking officials in the team and several followers to Shuiyunxuan, where Song Yunchu was holding a banquet.
As soon as she crossed the threshold, a handsome man in black came forward to greet her, "Princess and the two adults, I am the personal attendant of Prince Ning. My prince has arrived. Please follow me upstairs."
Bai Zhu said this and led everyone to the private room where Song Yunchu was.
Everyone immediately saw the figure standing by the window. The man was wearing a black brocade robe with a golden python embroidered on it, and an exquisite and precious snake-shaped purple gold crown on his head. He looked very impressive.
The next moment he turned around and looked at everyone, a polite smile appearing on his handsome face.
"Thank you for coming all the way here. Please take a seat."
Si Lianhuan had long heard that Prince Ning was handsome, so when she saw him in person, she naturally took a look at him.
This man has very beautiful eyebrows and eyes, especially his pupils, which are dark and deep. His smile does not reach his eyes, making it impossible to detect his emotions.
He was playing with an ebony ink-wash folding fan in his hand, looking quite free and easy.
This man looked good, but his smile seemed calculating.
Smiling Tiger...
This was Si Lianhuan’s first impression of Song Yunchu.
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