Emperor Chu glanced at Chu Hong who was standing beside him and asked, "Third Brother, what do you think?"
Chu Hong stepped forward and bowed respectfully: "I am willing to share your worries and make amends for my mistakes."
He raised his head and said earnestly, "The King of the Western Regions has come from afar. I will treat him with courtesy and show the generosity of our Great Chu."
The King of Chu nodded slightly, but his eyes were unfathomable.
"In that case, you will go to greet him on my behalf." After a pause, the King of Chu said, "Yao Jinzhong, you will go with King Rui and make sure everything is well arranged."
The eunuch Yao Jinzhong, who was standing next to the dragon throne, bowed immediately and said, "I obey your order."
At this point, some shrewd ministers quickly noticed something was wrong.
Eunuch Yao is your Majesty's confidant. He went with Prince Rui this time, nominally to assist, but in reality, to monitor.
Chu Hong's expression remained normal, and he even showed a hint of gratitude in his smile: "Thank you, father, for your trust."
After the court session ended, Gu Tingyuan quickly followed Chu Hong and whispered, "Your Majesty, Eunuch Yao is following us. Our plan..."
Chu Hong's lips curled slightly, and a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes: "Since my father wants him to monitor me, then monitor me."
——
At the same time, in Yongcheng.
When Amur came out of the east wing, he saw the prefect standing guard outside.
When the prefect saw Amur pushing the door open, he hurriedly went to greet him with a smile, but he couldn't help glancing behind him.
"Your Majesty, are you satisfied with this...wing room?" The governor rolled his eyes and asked tentatively.
Amur paused and looked at him sideways, a cold light flashed in his amber eyes, "The governor is really good at making arrangements."
The prefect failed to detect the coldness in his words and thought he was being praised, and immediately smiled.
"As long as Your Majesty likes it, I have specially prepared some top-quality Hehuan wine. Your Majesty, do you want any?"
"Hehuan wine?" Amur said with a half-smile, "The governor is so proficient in this, could it be that he has arranged a lot for his superiors on weekdays?"
The governor then realized that Amur's tone was wrong, and cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.
"Your Majesty, you have misunderstood. I just..."
Amur was too lazy to listen to his explanation and was about to leave, but he heard the governor speak again.
"Your Majesty, please stay!"
"To be honest with you, Your Majesty, just a quarter of an hour ago, my Prime Minister Xie happened to pass by here on official business. I heard that Your Majesty was staying here. The Prime Minister said that if it is convenient for Your Majesty, he would like to invite you to have a chat."
Amur raised his eyebrows slightly, "Oh? Is it the Prime Minister of your Great Chu, Xie Yunqi?"
"Exactly."
…
Inside the posthouse, Xie Yunqi and Amur sat facing each other, one as tall and straight as a pine tree, the other as strong as a wolf.
Xie Yunqi was the first to raise his sleeves to pour tea. The shimmering tea reflected his calm eyes.
"I have long heard that the King of the Western Regions unified the twelve tribes and was decisive in killing and conquering. Today I have seen that his reputation is indeed well-deserved."
Xie Yunqi's tone was calm but with a hint of scrutiny, "It's just that my royal birthday banquet is still half a month away, why is the king in such a hurry to leave?"
Amur laughed heartily, his voice carrying the roughness of a grassland man: "The horses on the grassland can't sit still. But Prime Minister Xie, you left the government affairs in the capital and came to Yongcheng - you can't really be here to check the accounts of the post station, right?"
"I heard that Prime Minister Xie used the court as chess to win the smile of a beautiful woman. I admire his courage."
Xie Yunqi paused for a moment while holding the tea, and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, you know a lot about the affairs of our dynasty."
"It's just about knowing yourself and knowing your enemy." Amur raised his head and drank the tea in the cup. His smile deepened as his Adam's apple rolled.
"Xie Xiang, don't be nervous. I came to Da Chu just to see an old friend."
"Old friend?"
Xie Yunqi narrowed his eyes slightly, and the first person he thought of was Concubine Jiang in the harem.
It is rumored that before Concubine Jiang entered the palace, she had a love affair with a man in the tribe.
His expression remained calm, "I wonder which of our dynasty the king's old friend is?"
Amur did not answer, but asked meaningfully: "Why did you, Prime Minister Xie, ride so fast here?"
As the two looked at each other, there seemed to be a silent current fluctuating in the air.
After a while, Xie Yunqi said loudly: "Look for a phoenix that has left the nest."
Amur raised his eyebrows and suddenly laughed, "What a coincidence, I am also looking for a goose flying south."
The two people's eyes met, and there seemed to be invisible swords and shadows colliding continuously.
Xie Yunqi stroked the edge of the teacup with his fingertips, his voice like an icy spring hitting jade: "Your Majesty, you know that the geese flying south have already built nests in Chu. They not only have a home, but also a place to stay. If we force the geese to fly north, I'm afraid their wings will be broken."
His words seemed to be referring to birds, but in fact, every word was directed at Concubine Jiang - she was already the concubine of the Emperor of Chu, and the biological mother of the Third Prince, so how could she just leave?
Amur heard this, and the smile in his black eyes faded a little, but he still had the stubbornness of a grassland man who refused to admit defeat:
"Xie Xiang only knew that the geese built nests in Chu, but he didn't know whether the nests were warm."
"If the goose is willing to return, I will gladly do so even if my wings are broken; if the goose is unwilling, I will stay in Chu and wait for her to nod one day."
"Your Majesty, that is easy to say."
Xie Yunqi raised his eyes to meet his gaze, and added a bit of coldness to his tone, "Twenty years ago, she came here against her will. If you use 'concern' to force her again twenty years later, what's the difference between you and the person who sent her here as a tribute back then?"
"Or does the king want to be an enemy of our dynasty?"
Amur leaned back lazily, a sneer on his lips: "Thank you, Prime Minister, you misunderstood. I just think...some birds should not be trapped in a golden cage."
"There is a saying in the Central Plains: do something even though you know it is impossible. Just like Prime Minister Xie, knowing the ancestral precepts of the Xie family, didn't he sacrifice his relatives for the sake of justice, just to get a possible opportunity?"
"Your Majesty is well aware of the affairs of our dynasty." Xie Yunqi's voice showed no emotion.
"It's just that the eagles of the grasslands may not understand the rules of the Central Plains - some resistance is to protect the road, while some is to destroy the embankment."
Amurlang smiled, picked up the teacup and gestured to Xie Yunqi.
"Thank you for your kind words, Prime Minister. I appreciate your advice."
He raised his head and drank it all. His eyes turned sharp as his Adam's apple rolled. "Although the Western Regions believe in the law of the jungle, they also respect true warriors."
Xie Yunqi held the kettle and refilled his tea. "Your Majesty is too polite. Great Chu and the Western Regions have already signed an alliance. I am just doing my best to be a good host."
After that, the two of them tacitly agreed not to mention the previous topic again. They just exchanged a few polite words, and Amur made an excuse to go back to the room.
On this side, after a short rest, Xie Yunqi did not stay in the inn any longer. He left the city overnight and continued to rush to Youzhou City.
Because just a quarter of an hour ago, he received a letter from Zhixia via carrier pigeon, saying that the exit of a secret passage was found outside a cemetery somewhere in Youzhou City.
If my guess is correct, the princess must have been kidnapped through that secret passage.
He must send someone to track her along the way as soon as possible to see if the princess might have left any clues.
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