Chapter 304 Imperial Teacher
The letter from Deputy Envoy Gao was sent to Northern Qi at an expedited speed of 800 miles, which took more than half a month. By then, winter had already arrived.
The Emperor of Northern Qi sent the eunuch Liu Gonggong, who was in charge of the seal, to go to the Imperial Tutor's Mansion to invite the Imperial Tutor in person.
Eunuch Liu came to the Imperial Tutor's Mansion, followed the sound of the piano, passed through the numerous buildings, and arrived at a quiet courtyard without any obstruction.
A door in the courtyard was half-open. Eunuch Liu stood in front of the door with his hands on it. Through the gap, he saw a corner of the courtyard. Under a few green bamboos, there was a zither. A pair of slender hands with bony fingers were slowly plucking the strings.
The clear sound of the piano touched his heart and seemed to be far away from the hustle and bustle.
Eunuch Liu pushed the door open absentmindedly, revealing a person sitting behind the guqin.
The early winter evening was a bit chilly, and he had a cloak draped over his shoulders.
The warm yellow palace lanterns spread all over his body, and the snow-white fur around his neck emitted a soft warm light, setting off his handsome face, which was unparalleled in elegance.
Suddenly, he pressed the strings with his fingertips, and with a "clang" sound, a low vibrato was emitted.
When Eunuch Liu came to his senses, he found that he had pushed the door open without him noticing.
He panicked and quickly looked at the man. He saw that man looked up at him and smiled at him. There was no blame in his eyes for being disturbed, but his eyes were as gentle and generous as always.
The Imperial Tutor's parents died young, leaving him raised by his aunt. Familiar with the art of war and skilled in strategy, he possessed the tactical talent to govern the empire. His demeanor, unlike that of a child from a humble background, resembled that of a noble son of an aristocratic family.
Eunuch Liu lowered his eyes and humbly said, "Teacher, I am sorry to have disturbed your pleasure."
The Imperial Master said in a gentle tone: "It's okay."
A cold wind blew, scattering the incense ash onto the back of his hand and then scattered on his wide sleeves, like broken snow falling among bamboo leaves.
Seeing this, Eunuch Liu took out a handkerchief and was about to hand it over, but he saw the servant standing beside him handed over a handkerchief first.
He retracted his steps and said, "Imperial Master, Master Gao has sent an urgent letter from the Great Zhou. The Emperor has specially sent this servant to invite you to the palace."
Upon hearing this, the Imperial Preceptor paused slightly with the handkerchief in his hand, and slowly and methodically wiped his fingers, wiping every part with extreme care.
"Thank you, Eunuch Liu, for making this trip." The Imperial Tutor put down his handkerchief, brushed his sleeves, and slowly stood up from behind the zither. He instructed the attendant beside him, "Prepare the carriage."
The attendant hurried to prepare the carriage.
Eunuch Liu wanted to say that he had prepared a carriage, but then he remembered that the imperial teacher only rode in his own carriage and sedan chair, so he swallowed his words back.
He personally welcomed the imperial teacher out of the house, waited for the imperial teacher's carriage to drive to the palace, and then followed behind in the carriage.
Eunuch Liu invited the imperial tutor into the palace, but he did not feel relieved. Instead, he was very worried.
The mission of the King of Qi and Lord Gao to the Great Zhou was not successful. The two countries are very likely to become enemies. Your Majesty is at a loss and is waiting for the Imperial Preceptor to discuss countermeasures.
However, the imperial tutor had a rule that he would not participate in the decision-making of the war between the two countries.
Before the King of Qi and Lord Gao went on their diplomatic mission to the Great Zhou, they visited the imperial tutor, but the imperial tutor did not give them any advice.
He just went to the palace once and revealed to His Majesty that the second son of Zhao who lived far away in the Duke of Zhou's Mansion was actually the prince of Northern Qi.
This time, I wonder if the Imperial Preceptor will take action to help His Majesty resolve the current predicament.
The imperial tutor seems to be gentle and easy to talk to, but he attaches great importance to rules.
He will not make exceptions to the rules he sets for anyone.
Even if this person is the Emperor of Northern Qi, he cannot be shaken.
While Eunuch Liu was in a state of confusion, he had already arrived at the imperial study. He hurried to the imperial teacher's sedan chair, bent down, and extended his arm.
The Imperial Tutor glanced at Eunuch Liu's arm but didn't put his hand on it. "Eunuch Liu, go and tell His Majesty."
Eunuch Liu withdrew his hand and said awkwardly, "Imperial Master, the Emperor said that since you have arrived, you should just go in and there is no need to announce it."
The imperial teacher frowned slightly, but said nothing more and walked into the hall.
The Emperor of Northern Qi paced back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back, his eyes filled with unrelieved sorrow.
He heard the noise and turned to look at the entrance of the hall. He saw the imperial teacher walking slowly towards him on the golden bricks paved in the hall.
"Imperial Master, you've finally arrived." The Northern Qi Emperor's brows relaxed as he dismissed all the eunuchs and maids from the palace. "Lord Gao has sent me a letter. Emperor Jing'an has spread rumors about Yizhen's deeds in Northern Qi. The people of Great Zhou are very angry and do not want the two countries to have friendly relations."
The actions that the powerful people of Northern Qi forced Yizhen to take almost broke her pride bit by bit, trampled on her dignity wantonly, and treated her like a slave.
It was impossible to hide such a thing that was damaging to the reputation of the royal family, but Emperor Jing'an actually let people spread the story in the Great Zhou.
The people of the Great Zhou not only did not feel ashamed of it, but they also admired Yizhen very much.
Everything that happened in the Great Zhou completely overturned the cognition of the Emperor of Northern Qi.
"Back then, in order to welcome Yizhen back to Great Zhou, Emperor Jing'an agreed to trade between the two countries and exempted Northern Qi merchants from tariffs for five years. Now, he simply wants Guangning to marry the Crown Prince of Zhenbei, but he refuses to budge."
The Northern Qi Emperor handed the letter to the Imperial Tutor and sneered, "I'm afraid that Emperor Jing'an's feelings for Yizhen have long been worn away by his lust for power."
If there is any mistake, not only will Yizhen bear the blame, but even Zhao Yi will not be able to survive in the Great Zhou.
The Imperial Tutor glanced at the letter and said calmly and elegantly, "Your Majesty should not dwell on the past, but should think about how to resolve Northern Qi's current predicament."
The Northern Qi Emperor calmed down and realized that they had taken things for granted and placed their hopes on Yizhen and Zhao Yi, hoping to use these two people to threaten Emperor Jing'an.
Apart from this, they did not think of any other good strategies, and ended up making a bad move.
"If the relationship between the two countries deteriorates further, Chong'er will still be in the Great Zhou, and his life will be in danger." The Northern Qi Emperor said worriedly, "Imperial Master, in your opinion, what should Northern Qi do?"
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