"I..." He opened his mouth slightly, but didn't know how to explain, "That's not what I meant..."
Qin Xi lowered her head and smiled faintly: "It's kind of you to go to such lengths, even sending people to monitor me. Are you afraid I'll betray you?"
Lu Huai immediately realized she had misunderstood; Su Yi and the others were sent by him to protect her. Since that night, he had them secretly follow her. Although he would occasionally inquire about her affairs, he never had them deliberately monitor her.
But this was hard to explain, and he had spoken recklessly first. Lu Huai knew he was in the wrong and couldn't refute it.
She kept her head down, so Lu Huai couldn't see her expression, but he inexplicably sensed that she was in low spirits. His heart tightened, and he reached out to take Qin Xi's hand, but she subtly avoided it.
"The banquet is about to begin, Young Master Lu, you should sit down."
Upon hearing this, Lu Huai became even more anxious: "I..."
He moved his lips, as if he wanted to say something, but was interrupted by two sharp voices.
"His Majesty has arrived!"
"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone immediately began to bow – “Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empress!”
"Rise, everyone, please take your seats." Emperor Yuming walked to the short steps, turned around, and raised his hand to help them up.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
However, since he hadn't taken his seat, who dared to be the first to sit down? Everyone could only look down at the table and wait until Emperor Yuming sat down on the dragon throne before taking their seats one after another.
Shangguan Jingci led the group of envoys forward, and with a smile, bowed deeply to Emperor Yuming: "Crown Prince Shangguan Jingci of the Kingdom of Qing greets Your Majesty of the Kingdom of Yu. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings, health, and lasting peace!"
"The envoy from the Kingdom of Qing pays respects to the Emperor of the Kingdom of Yu, wishing His Majesty boundless blessings, health, and eternal peace!"
Emperor Yuming wore a peaceful smile, but his eyes were devoid of warmth: "Friendly nations need not stand on ceremony. Rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Shangguan Jingci straightened up and looked up at the dragon throne. "Your Majesty, I have come here today to discuss the matter of good relations between my Great Yu and your esteemed country. To express our sincerity, my country has prepared the following gift for Dayu—"
He smiled, his eyes were clear and bright, and his voice was melodious like the tinkling of jade pendants: "There are a thousand pieces of various types of celadon, a thousand feet of acrylic paper, two thousand bolts of acrylic cloth, two thousand bolts of tussah silk, five hundred bolts of rare furs, fifty thousand-year-old ginseng roots, five hundred military horses... In addition, there are a thousand weapons of various kinds."
After speaking, he took the account book from the envoy and handed it to Wuchang, bowing again: "Please take a look, Your Majesty."
As soon as he finished speaking, the court officials were in an uproar. Few of the civil officials had ever been to the Kingdom of Jing. They had only heard that the Kingdom of Jing was fertile and sparsely populated, a land of plenty, but they never imagined it was so rich. They thought that it was precisely because of its small population that the Kingdom of Yu had been able to suppress and attack it for so many years.
Civil and military officials have always disagreed, and the military officers were quite disdainful of their uncultured and ignorant attitude.
When Emperor Yuming took the account book from Wuchang, his hands were still trembling slightly. He looked through it column by column, his eyes filled with nothing but greed.
Everyone was so focused on the person on the dragon throne that no one noticed Shangguan Jingci, who was in the center of the hall, suddenly lowered his head and chuckled softly.
Emperor Yuming remained engrossed in the account book for a long time without speaking. The air in the hall seemed to freeze, and no one dared to make a sound to disturb him.
Seeing this, the Empress frowned slightly, looked at Shangguan Jingci, and smiled, "The Crown Prince's gift is indeed quite generous. His Majesty was moved by the sincerity of the Kingdom of Qing."
Shangguan Jingci straightened his back, his face serious: "Since we are friendly nations, what is there to mention in a simple gesture of greeting?"
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