Rong Qingqing held the border guards in high esteem. Seeing this, she quickly raised her hand in a gesture of respect, saying, "Everyone, please rise and rise!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress!" The soldiers' resounding voices echoed down to the city walls.
Yelü Qi gripped the reins tightly and looked towards the city wall, where a woman slowly came into view.
Their eyes met; the former's eyes were full of smiles, while the latter's were filled with astonishment.
"Young Miss, how have you been?" After a long silence, Yelü Qi spoke first.
"Ah Qi, it really is you." Rong Qingqing was very surprised.
“It’s me.” Yelü Qi closed his eyes.
Rong Qingqing smiled, "I'm relieved that it's you."
The boy left without saying goodbye, and she sent so many people to look for him, but there was no news. Now that she sees that he is alright, she is relieved.
Others might not understand what she was saying, but Yelü Qi did, and a warmth welled up in his heart.
Rong Qingqing turned to General Cui and said, "Open the city gates to welcome our distinguished guests."
General Cui was somewhat surprised.
He had just gone to the Protectorate and told her about the situation here, and she came over without hesitation.
Unexpectedly, the Empress really knew the man standing under the city wall, and it seemed that they were quite familiar with each other.
Nevertheless, the other party was the Xiongnu, and opening the city gates so rashly...
General Cui hesitated for a moment, but when he met Rong Qingqing's firm gaze, his concerns disappeared.
Two Xiongnu people, offering warhorses to the city gates, yet they dare not open the gates to welcome them. Wouldn't this make it seem as if the Great Liang were afraid of the Xiongnu? If word gets out, it will truly damage the prestige of the nation.
"Open the city gates and welcome our distinguished guests!" General Cui ordered.
The deputy general quickly had someone relay the order.
Soon, the city gates opened, and Yelü Qi rode his horse through them first, followed by his entourage who led the warhorses in.
The news that the Xiongnu had come to surrender with their warhorses quickly spread throughout Suzhou City, and the people all rushed to see the spectacle.
When they saw two hundred warhorses surge into the city, everyone was stunned and could hardly believe what they were seeing.
"They've really come to surrender," a commoner murmured to himself.
They have lived in Suzhou for generations, bordering the Xiongnu. They understand the Xiongnu's ferocity better than people from other places. If it weren't for King Su guarding this place, the Xiongnu would have suffered several defeats at his hands, making them afraid to invade again. How could the people here have a peaceful life?
Recently, news of the assassination of Prince Su has spread throughout the city. People think that with Prince Su gone, the Xiongnu will probably attack. As a result, everyone is very uneasy. They have been living peacefully for many years and do not want their good days to be ruined.
They never expected that one day, the Xiongnu would stop fighting with the Liang and instead make peace with them, even sending warhorses to surrender.
The news quickly spread throughout Suzhou City and even further afield.
Originally, Rong Qingqing was not in the mood to receive guests since Xiao Zhen had not yet woken up. However, A Qi was different. Moreover, A Qi had become a Xiongnu prince and had come to sign an alliance with Daliang. Rong Qingqing took him to the Protectorate, and the warhorse he brought had already been received by General Cui's men.
After tea and refreshments were served, Rong Qingqing asked, "Aqi, how did you become a Xiongnu prince?"
Yelü Qi looked at her, smiled faintly, and explained, "Actually, I was originally a Xiongnu. However, when I was young, the royal court was in chaos, and the regent killed all my brothers in order to seize power. Fortunately, a loyal servant sent me away; otherwise, I would have died under the regent's sword long ago..."
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