As the moon sets and the sun rises, the first dawn of the new year has finally arrived.
By the time the grand carriage from the Prince of Qin's residence arrived at the palace gate, it was already dawn.
In the morning mist, the Western Qin imperial palace, facing south, high above the city, with its numerous halls and pavilions, majestic and magnificent, gradually emerged from the fog, inspiring awe and reverence.
As the morning sun shines down, it gently caresses the quiet surroundings of the palace in the heart of this continent—the tall trees, the short grass, the red walls, and the yellow tiles…
Clearly, Mei Zhixuan's unexpected appearance caused Xuanyuan Han to miss the morning court session.
As soon as he stepped off the carriage, Cheng Liang hurriedly followed his master, and the two of them ran quickly toward the Qiankun Palace.
However, as soon as they arrived at the entrance of the Qiankun Palace and crossed the white marble threshold, the two of them stopped and looked at each other in astonishment at the scene before them.
On the high white marble platform opposite, outside the majestic Qiankun Palace, Xuan Yuan Yue was kneeling with her head bowed before the palace gate, kowtowing repeatedly.
Before his master could even give any instructions, Cheng Liang had already rushed over to him impatiently.
Upon closer inspection, it became clear that Xuan Yuan Yue was already in tears, her forehead stained with blood. She was in a dazed and unsteady state, yet she persisted, repeatedly kowtowing and pleading towards the direction of the palace, "Your subject begs Your Majesty to rescind your decree and spare the envoy's entire family from execution. Your subject is willing to obey Your Majesty's any arrangements..."
Despite her repeated kowtows and pleas, the person in the hall remained indifferent and unmoved. No matter how much the Empress and Crown Prince, who were deeply distressed by her plight, tried to comfort her, they could not persuade her to stop.
Since ancient times, it has been a rule that "the empress and concubines are not allowed to interfere in politics." As the mother of the nation, the empress, no matter how much heartache and anxiety she felt at that moment, could not possibly step into that hall to utter a single word in defense of her beloved. In truth, over the years, she had clearly understood that the person in question would never listen to a word she uttered. Even if she went in, it would be in vain.
Crown Prince Xuanyuan Hao was also extremely powerless, and could only kneel with her, crying and begging, "Royal sister, please get up, please get up quickly."
Cheng Liang stared wide-eyed, utterly stunned by the horrifying, bloody, and tragic scene before him. After a long while, he finally came to his senses and hurriedly knelt down to support Xuan Yuan Yue's arm. He then carefully examined her from head to toe and asked, "Your Highness, what... what happened?"
Xuan Yuan Yue, already weak and exhausted, said to him in a low voice, "General Cheng, the envoy sent by the Emperor to Dongning Kingdom to request a marriage alliance... just... just sentenced to have his entire family executed. They are to be beheaded and displayed to the public at noon today. General Cheng, please think of a way to save them, quickly... quickly... quickly..."
Before she could finish speaking, all the pain from her body and heart finally made her too weak to breathe and she fainted.
"Princess, Princess..."
"Royal sister, royal sister..."
"My son, my son..."
Upon seeing this, the three people beside her immediately panicked and became completely flustered, shaking her frail body and shouting at her loudly.
Cheng Liang frowned deeply, looking incredulously at the Empress, who was now panicking and only able to wipe away her tears, and said, "Your Majesty, the envoy sent to negotiate the marriage of the princess with the Dongning Kingdom was one of the Emperor's most trusted confidants! How could the Emperor be so cruel as to punish him? To fail in his mission and be subjected to the extermination of his entire family? There has never been such a law in Western Qin!"
"General Cheng, I...I..." The Empress hesitated, looking helpless and troubled, unsure where to begin.
"Mother, Father... how could he have become like this?" Xuan Yuanhao knelt down, holding Xuan Yuanyue's arm, his eyes filled with tears as he looked at the Empress's face and asked in confusion.
As they were talking, Xuanyuan Han, dressed in a black court robe, walked over to the group and greeted the Empress with his usual cold and stern face, "Sister-in-law."
"King Qin, have you fully recovered?" As soon as the Queen saw the King Qin appear, she quickly turned her face away to wipe away her tears before turning back to him with concern.
"She's out of danger now," Xuan Yuanhan said, glancing coldly at Xuan Yuanyue, who was pale and miserable in Cheng Liang's arms.
The Empress caught a glimpse of this, and with a sorrowful expression, she said to him, "Prince Qin, regarding Yue'er's matter, I'm afraid..."
Before the Empress could finish speaking, Xuanyuan Han hurriedly interrupted her, saying, "Don't worry, sister-in-law."
Then, he instructed Cheng Liang, "Cheng Liang, you should first escort the princess, the empress, and the crown prince back to the palace."
"Yes," Cheng Liang nodded heavily, and after accepting the order, he picked up Xuan Yuan Yue from the ground and carried her in his arms. The Empress and Xuan Yuan Hao followed closely behind, and the three of them hurriedly ran towards Feng Hua Palace.
Xuanyuan Han stood outside the palace gate, one hand behind his back, watching the four figures disappear into the distance, and sighed heavily. He hadn't expected that Emperor Jing had become so mad as to implement tyranny, even at the cost of his own supporters. It seemed he was finally starting to panic.
Inside the magnificent and solemn Qiankun Hall.
Emperor Jing, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, sat majestically in the main hall with a solemn expression, sharp eyes, a wisp of beard, and slightly crossed legs, exuding extraordinary grandeur.
The New Year had just passed, and a simple greeting should have been exchanged, but not a single word was exchanged at the morning court. As soon as the emperor sat down, he roared in fury, "The envoy who went to Dongning to negotiate the marriage of our princess was utterly incompetent, causing our Western Qin to suffer the humiliation of being refused despite our own request for a marriage alliance. He is to be dragged out immediately and his entire family executed at noon as a warning to others. From this day forward, any official in the court who is so wicked and incompetent will be punished in the same way."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the court trembled with fear, heads bowed, beads of cold sweat forming on their brows, secretly wiping them away. Not a single person dared to stand up and speak up to reason with him or plead for leniency.
At this moment, the Emperor said again, "Currently, every few years, natural disasters befall our Western Qin, as if we are cursed, causing immense suffering and financial loss, seemingly unable to recover. Externally, we are plagued by constant wars, large and small, with the barbarian Northern Lie Kingdom being the most watchful and covetous of our Western Qin. Their iron cavalry is truly formidable; if we continue this stalemate, Western Qin will surely perish. The current priority for Western Qin is to recuperate and rebuild. The King of Northern Lie has already agreed that if we bestow our princess upon them, we will exchange her for ten thousand fine warhorses. Since the Eastern Ning Kingdom is so disrespectful, we have no choice but to give Princess Yue..."
Just as the imperial edict of marriage was being raised by a soft-spoken eunuch beside Emperor Jing, about to be read aloud, a very loud voice suddenly came from outside the hall: "His Highness Prince Qin is here to pay his respects."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall, their hearts pounding with fear, unanimously turned their expectant gazes toward the hall's entrance. Those hopeful eyes were like fish on a riverbank, parched for a long time, on the verge of innocent death, waiting for a great tide to come and save them.
"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty, long live the Emperor!" Xuan Yuanhan stepped into the hall with a calm and composed expression, and greeted the person on the dragon throne. No one could discern his thoughts from his stern face.
At this moment, the person Emperor Jing least wanted to see was Xuan Yuanhan. If it weren't for his suggestion to arrange a marriage alliance between Xuan Yuanyue and Dongning, he probably wouldn't have suffered this humiliating disgrace. He even suspected that Xuan Yuanhan deliberately made him look bad in front of the people and his ministers.
The thought filled him with rage. So, with a sarcastic smirk, he asked in a strange, mocking voice, "King Qin? Weren't you seriously injured and recuperating at home? How come you're back at court so soon?"
"I have come today despite my illness, but I have important matters to report," Xuan Yuanhan said, still bowing. Even though Emperor Jing forbade it, he would continue to be humble and submissive, a scene that Emperor Jing had always been happy to accept and see.
Emperor Jing then looked at the thorn in his side with disdain, and said with a contemptuous look, "Oh? It just so happens that the royal family also has a great event to announce today. I was just about to have someone read it to all the civil and military officials present. Prince Qin has come at the right time, so why not celebrate with all the officials?"
"Your Majesty, I humbly request that you first read the letter I brought today. This is a handwritten letter from Mei Zhixuan, the Third Prince of Dongning Kingdom. Please convey it to our Emperor. Afterwards, you may share the joy of the royal family's celebration with your ministers." As Xuan Yuanhan spoke, he took out one of the handwritten letters with a red seal that Mei Zhixuan had handed him earlier, held it high above his head, and earnestly pleaded with him while still bowing his head.
"The Dongning Kingdom has treated our envoys so rudely, and now, the third prince of Dongning even dares to write a letter to me. I am truly curious to see what a mere child like him dares to harbor towards me." Seeing that Xuan Yuanhan insisted on him reading the letter first, and out of curiosity, Emperor Jing glanced slightly at the chief eunuch beside him. The chief eunuch immediately understood and walked down the steps to Xuan Yuanhan's side, nodded slightly to the letter held high in Xuan Yuanhan's hand, carefully took it, and then respectfully handed it back to Emperor Jing.
At that very moment, all the civil and military officials in the hall held their breath, as if the air around them had frozen in place. They wondered if the contents of the letter would escalate the already tense atmosphere in the hall, or perhaps even ignite it completely.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Jing had just finished reading the letter in his hand...
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