Chapter 117 The Envoy
A few days later, it was the Lantern Festival, and there was still no victory news from the northern border. The two countries of Fengxi and Dayu, which bordered the western border of Dayue, sent envoys to pay homage.
Now that the eldest prince is not in Beijing, Emperor Sheng Yuan has given full authority to receive the envoys to Prince Jing Xie Yuan.
It is said that this time Dayu has sent the eldest prince and the ninth prince, and Feng Xi has also sent the fifth princess and the imperial teacher Su He. Such a large-scale ceremony, and the fact that they came at such a critical juncture, really raises suspicions.
In the past, Otsuki and these two neighbors were friendly neighbors, because Otsuki was the most powerful country, and the two families did not dare to provoke it. Every few years, they would send envoys to the court to exchange what they had and what they needed, and trade for mutual benefit.
However, after the queen of Fengxi came to power in recent years, Fengxi's national strength has been catching up or even surpassing, and Dayu is not far behind. Therefore, in recent years, neither of these two families has sent envoys.
Moreover, in the past, the most people who came from these two families were officials of the first rank, but this time, even the princes and princesses came. Not only did Emperor Sheng Yuan suspect their purpose, but Xie Yuan was also on high alert, and he led the people from the Honglu Temple to wait under the golden plaque outside the Shangjing City early in the morning.
But until noon, there was no sign of the two groups of soldiers. Xie Yuan had no choice but to send people out of the city to investigate...
At this time, a distinguished guest came to a quiet and elegant courtyard in Shangjing. A beautiful woman was reclining on a beauty couch, her black hair was neatly tied up in a bun, and a gilded phoenix hairpin inlaid with rubies was inserted diagonally into her black hair, which matched the flower ornaments on her forehead, making her look extremely noble and elegant.
On the low stool beside the couch, a small purple copper stove with two handles carved with sparse plum blossoms reflecting the moon was emitting wisps of Moruo fragrance, which was mixed with the fragrance of white plum blossoms by the window. It smelled very pleasant.
The beautiful woman seemed to be intoxicated by it as well, her brows relaxed, and after a moment she chuckled.
"Since you are here, why don't you come in?"
The door of the inner room was pushed open, and a man knelt down solemnly behind the screen.
"Your subject, Su Qingyue, pays respect to His Majesty the Emperor!"
The beautiful woman turned her body slightly and said lazily, "Get up." Her eyes and brows were dignified and majestic. It was Her Majesty Feng Ran who was supposed to be in Feng Xi Palace!
"Why did Your Majesty come here in person?" Su Qingyue stood up and asked puzzledly.
Queen Feng Ran stood up and walked to the window. On the table in front of the window was a gift basket. In the gift basket was a block-shaped object with a carved word "Jiang" on it...
Feng Ran didn't answer. She looked at him intently for a while and said, "How is the investigation going?"
Su Qingyue lowered her head and reported, "The owner of the Jiang Soap Company is indeed named Jiang Yuyan, and she is from Lin County, Yunzhou. Her second husband is the young master of the Wu Wang Mansion in the capital, so the whole family moved to Shangjing two years ago. I don't know why she had a grudge with Princess Baoyue of Dayue. The princess actually destroyed her appearance and disappeared afterwards."
Feng Ran narrowed her eyes and spoke in a cold voice. She tightened her slender fingers holding the table slightly, as if she was extremely unhappy. "Missing?"
Su Qingyue didn't dare to look up, "Yes, I haven't found the whereabouts of Madam Jiang yet..."
"You dare to touch my people, you are so bold..." Feng Ran suppressed his anger, walked out of the screen, and said: "You continue to investigate for me..."
"Yes." Su Qingyue responded, then hesitantly asked, "Your Majesty, what is...who is Madam Jiang? How should I address her when I see her?"
Feng Ran stared at him with his sharp eyes, and said thoughtfully: "He is an old friend, right..."
Old friend! Su Qingyue was shocked for a moment. This Madam Jiang really had an extraordinary background. In her heart, she silently lit a candle for the ignorant Princess Dayue.
"Your Majesty, the spy from Dayu Kingdom contacted me two days ago, and there seemed to be some probing words in his words. Now Dayue is facing internal and external troubles, and most of the troops in the western border have been transferred to the northern border. I wonder..."
Su Qingyue looked at Feng Ran's face and knew that His Majesty had understood and stopped talking halfway. But the Queen has always advocated the so-called "economic development" and does not seem to agree with wars that waste people's money and labor.
A grim smile suddenly appeared on Feng Ran's cold and beautiful face, and she said, "If you still haven't found Madam Jiang in ten days, then you will agree to their request..."
Su Qingyue was dumbfounded again. Was this the emperor's anger for his "beauty"? However, she did not dare to act rashly and quickly said, "Yes!"
After Su Qingyue left, Feng Ran put his hands behind his back, looked at the word "Jiang" on the soap, curled his lips slightly, and murmured: "The handwriting has improved since I was a child..."
On the other side, Xie Yuan led a group of court officials who were dizzy and dazed, and finally saw the huge army with the "Yu" flag at 1:00 p.m.
The two people in the front rode on rare fine horses, wearing black cloaks and jade crowns. One was handsome and the other was agile. They were the eldest prince Dong Lingchuan and the ninth prince Dong Lingye of the Great Yu Kingdom. Soon, the team arrived at the city gate.
Xie Yuan took two steps forward, smiled, bowed, and said, "Your honored guest has come from afar, and I'm sorry for not welcoming you in person."
Dong Lingchuan was born with a refined manner. He returned the greeting after getting off his horse. "I have heard that Shangjing City in Dayue is prosperous and wealthy. Now I have come all the way here and I can see that it is indeed true. It is truly the grandeur of a great country."
The two exchanged pleasantries.
Dong Lingye dismounted from his horse and snorted.
Upon seeing this, Xie Yuan also hurriedly greeted the Ninth Prince.
Dong Lingye looked around and ignored Xie Yuan, sneering, "Brother Royal, you really love to tell lies. Even the city walls of our Zhongdu in Dayu are much more magnificent than this!"
Xie Yuan was embarrassed for a moment, and the ministers behind him also looked ugly as if they had eaten a fly.
Dong Lingchuan frowned slightly and scolded: "Ninth brother, don't be rude!"
Dong Lingye seemed not to have heard it and raised his eyebrows disapprovingly.
Dong Lingchuan had no choice but to cast an apologetic look towards Xie Yuan.
Xie Yuan did not bother with Dong Lingye and invited them into the city.
Feng Xi's troops had not yet arrived, so Xie Yuan apologized and asked the Minister of Honglu Temple to personally lead Dayu's troops to Shangxi Posthouse in the east of the city.
Xie Yuan stayed and waited for another hour before he met the fifth princess of Fengxi Kingdom and the imperial teacher Su He.
The fifth princess of Fengxi, Feng Ling, is said to be second only to the current empress in both civil and military affairs. She is a half-sister of the same mother. Now she is also a beautiful lady.
Feng Ling was also very polite when she saw Xie Yuan, and they exchanged pleasantries.
Xie Yuan remembered the analysis the princess had made with him yesterday, and feared that the two countries would secretly collude to cause trouble, so he arranged for the envoys from Fengxi to stay at the Yinmei Posthouse in the west of the city, far away from Dayu.
And invite them to attend the welcoming banquet tonight.
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