The moment Mei Zhixuan's handwritten letter was presented, every civil and military official in the hall held their breath, as if the air around them had frozen in time with the letter.
No one knows whether the contents of this letter will escalate the already delicate atmosphere in the hall, or whether it will instantly ignite an explosion.
Everyone was filled with anxiety, and could only pray silently and devoutly that the arrival of King Xuanyuan Han of Qin would completely save them and end the misfortune that awaited them next.
Faced with Emperor Jing's increasingly brutal rule in recent years, he refused to offer advice, covered up his mistakes, abused severe punishments, imposed heavy taxes, disregarded the lives of ordinary people, and only cared about making elixirs to seek immortality.
Under such circumstances, public resentment was rising, everyone was cautious and timid, flattering and fearful, and who would dare to truly make any achievements?
The atmosphere inside the hall had reached its most tense moment, with everyone bowing their heads in fear and trepidation, awaiting their moment of judgment.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Emperor Jing finished reading the letter in his hand, he slammed his right hand heavily on the golden dragon throne armrest with a stern and majestic expression, and then glared angrily at the crowd below.
Finally, fixing his gaze on Xuan Yuanhan, who stood before the palace with his head bowed and had not raised his eyes even slightly, he shouted sternly, "How dare you, King of Qin!"
Upon seeing that Emperor Jing was once again enraged, apart from Prince Qin, Xuan Yuanhan, who remained as calm as ever, all the civil and military officials in the hall simultaneously knelt down on the ground, kowtowing and repeatedly pleading, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger! Your Majesty, please have mercy! Your Majesty, please calm your anger! Your Majesty, please have mercy..."
To everyone's surprise, the imposing face that had been so high and mighty suddenly burst into a hearty and cheerful laugh, "Hahahaha... Hahahaha..."
Upon hearing this, everyone who was kneeling down fell silent, and, not understanding what was happening, timidly raised their heads to peek at the highest position.
At this moment, Emperor Jing turned to Xuan Yuanhan in front of the hall with a joyful expression and said, "You daring Prince Qin, you have received such great news, why did you not report it sooner? Rise!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Only then was Xuanyuan Han finally able to stand up straight.
The officials, staring blankly at the two royal brothers who had suddenly become so friendly in the hall, still dared not utter a sound, unaware of what had happened.
Then, Emperor Jing, with a joyful expression, said to the bewildered officials kneeling below, "All of you, please rise."
"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty." So, everyone, confused and bewildered, accepted the decree and thanked the emperor, then stood up and stood still again.
Emperor Jing held the letter halfway up, his face instantly beaming with pride as he announced, "This letter in my hand is from Mei Zhixuan, the Third Prince of Dongning Kingdom. He claims that within a month he will travel day and night to personally bring a magnificent dowry to marry my Western Qin princess. With the wealthy and powerful Dongning Kingdom and my esteemed King Qin and Princess of Western Qin, this is a marriage alliance that strengthens our ties even further. I believe that in the future, the various kingdoms of Lingkong will be even more wary of the strength of Western Qin. King Qin truly deserves to be the pillar of Western Qin and a role model for all officials."
"Your Majesty, we wish you a long life! Long life! Long life! Long life! Long life!" Upon hearing this, all the officials in the hall finally breathed a long sigh of relief and respectfully congratulated the two of them in unison.
"However, Dongning is thousands of miles away from my Western Qin. I wonder how this letter ended up in the hands of the King of Qin?" Emperor Jing finally couldn't help but ask, his suspicions growing.
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan's eyes widened in surprise. After a moment's thought, he replied, "Your Majesty, this is why I missed the morning court session. The Third Prince of Dongning, Mei Zhixuan, suddenly appeared halfway to the palace today, stopped my carriage, and insisted on seeing me, but I refused. He then forced this letter onto my guard, which is why I was late for court."
"Mei Zhixuan, how come he is within the territory of my Western Qin Kingdom?" Emperor Jing asked again with a puzzled look.
Xuanyuan Han pondered for a moment and then said, “Actually, Mei Zhixuan had a brief encounter with the princess at my residence during my wedding procession. According to what Mei Zhixuan told me outside the carriage at that time, he had already begun to admire our princess, and therefore stayed in Xiqin Kingdom temporarily without leaving. That's why he was unaware that our envoy had gone to Dongning Kingdom to request a marriage alliance. He only recently received a letter from Dongning and learned of this matter. He is afraid that His Majesty might misunderstand and think that Dongning Kingdom intentionally refused the marriage alliance with our country, and he is also afraid of missing out on his beloved. That's why he hastily came forward to ask me for help in clarifying the facts. He is willing to return to his country immediately to prepare for the wedding ceremonies and come personally to welcome our princess.”
Emperor Jing was overjoyed upon hearing this, exclaiming repeatedly, "Oh? So, the princess and the third prince were already a match made in heaven! Excellent, excellent, excellent! Prince Qin has rendered meritorious service in this matter. I will certainly reward him handsomely. Prince Qin, please tell me what reward you desire."
The officials standing nearby were all beaming with joy, whispering amongst themselves.
However, Xuan Yuanhan said with a serious expression, "Now, Dongning Kingdom is welcoming our princess, and the princess's wedding is approaching. Since all of this was just a misunderstanding, I implore Your Majesty to pardon the envoy. Since he has already had experience in negotiating with Dongning, he may make amends and be fully responsible for all matters related to the princess's marriage."
"Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, the envoy's crimes can be completely forgiven. As the King of Qin said, all previous crimes committed by the envoy are pardoned, he is reinstated to his original position, and he is given full authority over all matters related to the princess's marriage alliance, without any mistakes." Emperor Jing issued the decree of pardon in front of all the civil and military officials.
"I have another request, which I hope Your Majesty will grant," Xuan Yuanhan said after much deliberation.
"Your Majesty, please speak freely!" Emperor Jing was overjoyed and couldn't help but say generously.
Xuanyuan Han took a breath and said quietly, "I request Your Majesty's permission to post missing person notices throughout the country to find my physician daughter, Yi Shangyun."
Emperor Jing recalled in surprise, "The Prince of Qin's residence lost a female physician? When did she go missing? How did she go missing? Cloud on the clothes, cloud on the clothes... isn't that the female physician that the Princess of Qin asked the Empress for a while ago?"
"Your Majesty, it is indeed... indeed the female physician that the Princess Consort sought upon entering the palace. I heard that she fell into the water and went missing a few days ago in the south of the city. Because the Princess Consort found that female physician to be very considerate, I wish to do everything in my power to help her find her. I hope Your Majesty will grant me permission," said Xuan Yuanhan.
Emperor Jing was quite surprised to hear this. When did the cold-faced Prince Qin, in the eyes of the world, become so tender and caring towards a woman? "Prince Qin is indeed loyal and righteous. It seems that Prince Qin and Princess Qin are becoming more and more deeply in love! I grant your permission! Order people to post notices in the streets and alleys of the whole country at all costs to find the female physician of Prince Qin's mansion. The notices say that if she cannot be found in Western Qin, then the notices should be posted throughout the entire Lingkong Continent. We must dig three feet into the ground to find her and return her to Prince Qin's mansion."
"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty," Xuan Yuanhan said, bowing with his hands clasped in gratitude.
From then on, the entire court, which had been on edge, was finally able to relax a little and began to exchange greetings and congratulations.
Finally, the first morning court session after the New Year came to an end. Amidst the praise and admiration of the officials, Xuanyuan Han slowly walked out of the Qiankun Hall.
Cheng Liangyi had already reassured Xuan Yuan Yue and her two children with good news, and then waited outside the Qiankun Palace. Now, as soon as he saw his master walk out of the main hall, he hurriedly followed.
After everyone had taken their leave and walked to a secluded corridor leading out of the palace, Cheng Liang congratulated his master with a joyful expression, "Congratulations, Your Highness! This time, you've easily won over even the Emperor's most trusted envoy..."
Before he could finish speaking, his master stamped his foot and glared at him fiercely. Cheng Liang immediately realized he had misspoke, so he quickly pursed his lips and fell silent. He then followed closely behind, heading straight for the palace gate.
Shortly after Xuanyuan Han and Cheng Liang left, Emperor Jing and his trusted chief eunuch slowly emerged from the garden beside them.
The head eunuch leaned close to Emperor Jing's ear and, following his steps, cautiously reported, "Just after court, this old servant went to inquire. According to the scouts, around five o'clock this morning, someone did indeed stop the Prince of Qin's carriage on the street. His guard even drew his sword and argued with the person, but the Prince of Qin himself was never seen to get off the carriage. After a long time, the person forced a letter into the Prince of Qin's guard's hand and then rode away alone."
"Did you hear what they were saying?" Emperor Jing asked with a grave expression, seemingly extremely displeased.
"I only vaguely heard the man say a few loud words, that he wanted to see the King of Qin, but the King of Qin never got out of his carriage. Later, when the man left, the people who were following him were afraid that they would be exposed as it got light, so they also left. Presumably, what they said was what the King of Qin had just said in front of the palace."
"Hmph... But I always feel that this matter is far from simple. Mei Zhixuan has been sneaking around in my Western Qin for so long, there must be some other extremely important matter. And I'm afraid the King of Qin will not report this to me." Emperor Jing gradually stopped, half-closing his eyes, one hand behind his back, looking in the direction where Xuan Yuanhan had left, and muttered to himself.
"What does His Majesty mean?" the head eunuch asked, puzzled.
Emperor Jing thought for a moment, then said seriously, "Continue to keep a close watch on him. Be extremely careful and don't alert him. Otherwise, all our efforts over the years will be in vain. I don't believe that a thousand-year-old iceberg can be melted by beauty. He's making such a big fuss, going to such lengths to find a mere female physician. That physician must be suspicious. Send people to investigate her thoroughly and find out the truth for me!...By the way, where is Lu Xian?"
The chief eunuch replied, "As the Emperor instructed, he worked through the night to create a replica of the original portrait of the guardian, which he personally delivered to the Prince of Qin's residence."
"Next, we'll have to wait patiently for them to come to us," Emperor Jing said leisurely.
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