She couldn't help but sigh again, and tears welled up in Hu Nuan'er's resentful eyes. She had been singing for so many days, and her voice was almost hoarse, but she hadn't attracted a single prince or two. Even if she couldn't attract princes, she could at least get a guard or two to help her contact the princes.
But for some reason, eunuchs and palace maids used to pass by the Cold Palace, but now there are none of them. Even the eunuchs who deliver meals leave as soon as they put the food down, as if there is something terrible hidden in the Cold Palace. This makes it impossible for her to bribe even one or two eunuchs!
Thinking about these things, Hu Nuan'er's singing voice inevitably became more melancholic.
Not far away, Li Zhaoyi huddled under the covers in a small courtyard, trembling. She was so frightened by the mournful and pitiful song that she almost cried, muttering, "Don't look for me, don't look for me!"
The next day, the emperor met with the envoy from the Little Liang Kingdom in the Ganlu Hall.
The envoy from the Kingdom of Liang was a thin, old man with gray hair tied back with a poorly polished wooden stick. He wore a coarse linen robe patched with many holes, and even his shoes had several holes showing, with his big toe sticking out. He looked more like an old refugee than an envoy from a kingdom.
The emperor was speechless. In the past, when envoys from the Liang Kingdom came to see him, they would always complain about being poor and then subtly ask him for gifts. In the end, they would return home with carts full of gifts.
This is even worse than before. At least they dressed decently before, but I don't know what they're up to this time.
The emperor planned to send another gift to the Little Liang Kingdom as in previous years. Although he didn't like the Little Liang Kingdom's envoys' complaints about being poor, the Little Liang Kingdom was indeed poor, and as the elder brother, it didn't matter if he helped them out.
However, the old man burst into tears as soon as he saw the emperor, much more intensely than his usual self-pleading poverty, leaving the emperor at a loss for words.
The emperor, realizing what had happened, quickly took out a handkerchief for the old man to wipe his tears. The old man cried for about half a cup of tea's time before gradually stopping and began to recount the bloody history of the Little Liang Kingdom.
The Kingdom of Liang is located on the southwestern border. It has a small territory and is mostly mountainous, so it was never rich. They could only make a living by raising and selling livestock. But last year, a group of wild men suddenly appeared in the mountains. They would often come down the mountain to steal their chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep. They would even steal women. The people were almost driven to the brink of despair!
His purpose in coming here was twofold: to bring New Year's gifts to the Emperor and to ask the Emperor to send troops to help them drive away the savages.
After listening to the old man's explanation, the emperor realized that he had wronged the man and promised to send troops.
The old man's tears turned to laughter, and he quickly kowtowed to express his gratitude. The emperor watched as he subtly stuffed a handkerchief into his clothes, and his speechless expression returned. The little Liang envoy still hadn't gotten rid of his habit of smuggling things.
However, the handkerchief was covered in the other party's snot and tears, so let it be. The emperor comforted the envoy from Xiaoliang Kingdom for a few more words and then sent him back.
The envoy from Xiaoliang Kingdom felt relieved as he left the palace. Once the Emperor of Jin sent troops to drive away the savages, they could live happily again.
His companions, who were waiting outside the palace, breathed a sigh of relief and smiled when they heard that the Emperor of Jin was willing to send troops.
They arrived looking dejected, but now they're all standing tall and proud.
The group headed back to their lodgings. Although they had been there for two days, the prosperity of the streets of the capital city of Da Jin still dazzled them. Suddenly, a dark-skinned middle-aged man's eyes lit up, and he leaned over to the old man, pointing to a young girl for him to see.
"My lord, look at that little girl, she's as beautiful as a jade doll! Not only is she more beautiful than the girls back home, but we've never seen anyone this pretty in the Great Jin Dynasty along our entire journey!"
The old man followed the man's finger and saw a girl of about fourteen or fifteen years old sitting at a wonton stall eating. Her long, delicate eyebrows were relaxed in enjoyment, and her big eyes were misted by the steam from the wontons. Her face was white and tender, like a peeled egg.
The old man nodded with satisfaction, "Such a beautiful girl is perfect to be our Crown Prince's wife!"
"Then I'll go find a sack!" The dark-skinned middle-aged man excitedly took a step to leave, but was stopped by the old man who patted him on the head.
"Are you stupid! This is the capital of the Great Jin Dynasty, not our little place. If you try to abduct someone on the street, they'll arrest you!"
The dark-skinned middle-aged man was speechless after being scolded. The others asked the old man what to do. They couldn't just watch such a beautiful girl fly away. It would be such a waste if she didn't become the eldest prince's wife!
The old man frowned and thought for a while before saying, "The little girl is easy to coax. We can just coax her back."
Then he instructed a slightly younger man to go to the black market and buy some sleeping incense. Once they had coaxed the girl back, they were to use the incense on her and keep her asleep until they left the capital of Da Jin.
The group spoke in their local dialect, and passersby couldn't understand what they were saying. They just saw the group huddled together, whispering and discussing something, and at most gave them a few strange looks. They had no idea that the group was plotting in the street how to abduct a young girl from their Great Jin Dynasty.
The younger one agreed and went to do it, while the old man and the others also came to the wonton stall, sat down next to Chuanwen, and chatted with him with smirks.
Chuanwen glanced at them and noticed that their clothes were different from those of the people from Da Jin. Curious, she checked their identities in her mind and quickly realized that they were envoys from Xiao Liang Kingdom. She also learned from the script, which also served as a translator, why they had come to talk to her.
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