45. Eagle Crane
After several days of investigation and discussion, the barbarian prince Mo Beise decided to conduct more trade with the Ling Dynasty and engage in economic exchanges and mutual assistance.
Although he looked lazy and tired, his ability and speed in handling affairs were not bad. Xuanyuan Ying soon agreed to this matter, and the court began to busy itself with drafting the bill.
In the past few years, the situation between the two sides was at a stalemate, and there was no important economic exchange. Now that they have suddenly agreed to open up, it is always a cause for concern.
The reason why the barbarians have been quiet in recent years is, firstly, because of Lou Zhi's garrison, and secondly, because the princesses have begun to fight for the throne, and the internal strife continues.
This barbarian prince also has several older sisters, so no one thinks he has any reason to come.
The only thing is... he was sent by a certain royal sister whom he supports.
Mo Beise didn't care about what was going on in the court. He stretched out his hand to tease the burly eagle, and watched the eagle spread its wings and land on his arm again. The cat's eyes were smiling and trembling.
The barbarian envoy pushed the door open, bowed, and then kowtowed.
"...But has the negotiation been completed?"
He asked casually, stroking the eagle's beautiful feathers with his fingertips.
"Not yet..." The envoy hesitated. "We haven't come to an agreement yet. The price is too low."
"It's okay to give them some space."
He said this nonchalantly. In the relationship between two countries, interests come first. Mo Beise didn't seem to be here for diplomacy, so he just gave up his interests directly.
"But, Li...how?"
Mo Beise glanced at her and sneered, his deep blue eyes gleaming with an inexplicable dark light.
"If you can't win, what else can you say?"
The envoy lowered his head in shame, his expression somewhat depressed and resentful.
"There is a man inside who is too eloquent... and unwilling to give in. This is something we did not anticipate."
"man?"
"Yes, a man. Dao is the top male official in Ling Dynasty. He never gives in when he speaks."
"……interesting."
He narrowed his eyes and stroked the eagle's feathers with his fingertips.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became silent, and the envoy swallowed uneasily.
Then he asked, his voice low, "Can an eagle kill a crane, you say?"
The envoy was a little confused and didn't know what he was pointing at, so he just looked up at him.
The eagle with shiny feathers and fat body suddenly flapped its wings and flew out, making a flapping sound, and the wind blew its Mobei-colored hair away.
The envoy paused. She saw the eagle raised by the prince flap its wings and fly, swooping down to bite a little bird, with the sound of flapping wings.
...The poor little bird suddenly fell to the ground, twitched a few times, and then became silent.
The eagle flew to Mo Beise's hand again and rubbed his palm obediently.
He still had the habit of talking to himself without expecting others to answer him, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.
“…I think so.”
For some reason, the envoy trembled and felt a little scared when he heard his voice.
This prince...joined forces with the eldest princess to fight for the throne and fought his way out of the situation.
The barbarian royal family was almost completely slaughtered.
Absolutely, it is better to appear harmless and innocent.
…
The draft has been drawn up. Xuanyuan Ying flipped through the document in his hand, reading it quickly with a frown on his face.
He has this problem. He always frowns every day, looking calm and dignified, with a calm air all over his body.
When Yun Zhihe came to pay her a visit, he was in a daze for a few moments before letting her stand up.
Xuanyuan Ying rubbed his aching forehead, looked at her again, and asked in a hoarse voice.
“…What’s going on?”
"Your Majesty..." Yun Zhihe frowned slightly and handed over a stack of memorials.
She pursed her lips, hesitated, and spoke after organizing herself.
"I am the deputy envoy of the Ministry of Public Security, in charge of receiving memorials from both inside and outside the country, submitting them, sealing and rejecting them..." She continued speaking under Xuanyuan Ying's tacit gaze.
"I've been sorting through documents these past few days and have discovered some minor issues with the local documents. The reports are mostly similar, which is a bit strange."
"I only sigh at the beauty of the prosperous times, but never speak much of the sufferings of the people. I recently returned from Longcheng and passed by these places, but they were not as described in the memorials."
What she said was clear, she simply meant that someone was deceiving their superiors and hiding the truth from their subordinates.
Xuanyuan Ying nodded, then stretched out his hand and called Yun Zhihe over.
Yun Zhihe responded to his words, walked over and stood beside Xuanyuan Ying.
He was probably a little dazed and asked softly.
"You don't believe the prosperous times described in the memorial?"
"Not—"
Yun Zhihe didn't know how to answer and hesitated for a moment. She opened her mouth, but was interrupted by him just as she was about to speak.
“…I don’t believe it either.”
There was a hint of sarcasm and ridicule in his calm voice.
Xuanyuan Ying sat on the chair and looked up at her, then reached out and gently pulled her sleeve. She squatted down under his force.
This sentence really gave Yun Zhihe a great shock.
Just this one sneer made her see the helplessness and loneliness of the male emperor.
She squatted down and looked up into his eyes.
She could see his rare vulnerability at this moment.
He was forced to marry at the age of fifteen, drank an aphrodisiac, which damaged his body, and he was trapped alone in the queen's palace.
Then, step by step, she relied on the power of Xuanyuan clan to rise from the position of queen to the high position, quelling civil strife and pacifying foreign tribes.
From the harem to the throne, he sat on the position of the first male emperor in history.
Xuanyuan Ying lowered his head slightly, moved closer to her, and sighed.
"Jinniang...grow up quickly."
Yun Zhihe paused and pursed her lips. She could feel Xuanyuan Ying's hair sliding down and gently touching her cheek.
Her heart was slightly touched.
She is nineteen years old this year. How can she be considered as not growing up?
"...I have grown up."
She frowned slightly and repeated it in a clear voice.
"Minister, you have grown up."
Xuanyuan Ying paused, his voice hoarse for a moment, then reached out to touch her cheek, stroking the corners of her eyes with the tip of his thumb.
“…I understand.”
"My Jinniang has grown up."
There was a hint of smile and melancholy in his voice. He closed his eyes and withdrew his hand.
The slightly cold fingertips left Yun Zhihe's cheek. She was a little dazed, but still looked up at him.
His stern brows were tinged with fatigue, his lips were pursed, and his eyes were filled with unknown emotions.
Very beautiful.
“…I’m very tired.”
Xuanyuan Ying's voice was almost inaudible.
His voice was hoarse, and his Adam's apple was trembling. "...I am very tired."
Then he leaned over, his shoulders trembling, and closed his eyes in confusion and pain. Yun Zhihe was stunned. Seeing that he was emotionally unstable, he raised his hand and carefully caught him.
Xuanyuan Ying hugged her tightly like a drowning man grabbing a piece of driftwood, his body trembling slightly.
"Let me hug you..."
His body temperature was low, especially his hands, which were extremely cold. Yun Zhihe's body temperature made him tremble, and it was hot like fire.
…He seemed to be crushed by the pressure.
The national treasury's grain needed to be discussed and prepared, the court had been in turmoil recently, and there was also the issue of the draft of trade with barbarians. He had no time to spare and was busy day and night, with a slight dark feeling in his eyes.
Tired but holding on.
Yun Zhihe's hand gently stroked his back, soothing him.
The man who had always been arrogant and superior in her memory rarely looked so vulnerable, his face pale, his lips pursed as he murmured.
He rested his head on Yun Zhihe's shoulder and closed his eyes, seeming to feel at ease.
They hugged each other in this strange position for a while, their body temperatures constantly intertwined and exchanged.
Xuanyuan Ying's even breathing sounded over his shoulder, and his chest rose and fell rhythmically.
Is... asleep?
Yun Zhihe was at a loss for a moment.
It was already dusk, and memorials were piled on the desk in a mess. The weather was a little chilly in autumn, and the sound of a cold wind whistled in from outside the window, and the fallen leaves swayed, making a rustling accompaniment.
Yun Zhihe lowered her eyes, carefully put her arms around his waist, and picked him up.
She didn't expect him to be thinner.
The man, taller than her, was very thin. Under his loose and formal black robe was a thin body, with a white and tender neck that looked particularly fragile.
“Hmm—”
When she stood up holding Xuanyuan Ying, she accidentally bumped into the desk. There was a sound of pages crunching, and all the memorials fell to the ground.
Yun Zhihe was still holding Xuanyuan Ying in his arms, and he couldn't tidy up. He glanced at him helplessly.
He was stunned at the first sight.
This is……
Beneath the documents and memorials lay a half-finished scroll, the brushstrokes delicate and gentle, clearly a great deal of thought gone into depicting the ethereal and noble beauty of the woman drifting in the wind.
The solitary moon was bright, and the woman's clothes were lifted by the wind, as if she was about to leave.
Like a fairy and the moon, pure and unparalleled.
But... there is no face.
Yes, no face.
The facial features have not been drawn, as if the author is hesitating where to start.
But why is there a portrait of a woman underneath the layers of memorials?
Is she... His Majesty's sweetheart?
Yun Zhihe lowered her eyes and looked at the sleeping face of the man in her arms, with an unclear emotion in her eyes.
Quiet and fragile.
She put him on the bed and called Eunuch Li to take off his clothes and cover him with the quilt.
She didn't know how to feel as she looked at the lonely moon hanging in the sky, feeling a bit lonely.
Remembering that he hadn't been to Yun Mansion for several days, Uncle Wang was afraid that he missed her terribly again, so he called Azhi out of the palace and back to Yun Mansion.
The carriage was silent in the night, and the crisp sound of the hooves hitting the ground and the rumbling of the carriage were particularly pleasant.
There were very few pedestrians on the road, especially when turning into the alley where the dignitaries lived. As soon as I entered the alley, I heard some inexplicable noises.
"Let me go!"
The voice is somewhat familiar.
Yun Zhihe was a little confused. He opened the curtain and looked out. He could only vaguely see a man and a woman entangled in a dispute in the distance, with some guards beside them.
Her brow furrowed.
How dare you kidnap a civilian in the capital? Who is so bold?
She asked Azhi to stop the carriage, get out, and scolded the two of them for their behavior.
"……stop!"
Yun Zhihe's voice was so clear and loud that it made the people in front of her stop and look at her in unison.
At this moment, she heard a cry of joy.
"Yun, Sister Yun!"
It’s——Su Zheng.
He exclaimed in surprise, then broke free from his grip, quickly ran behind Yun Zhihe, and grabbed her sleeve.
He carefully stuck his head out and spoke in an inaudible voice.
"She, she, is not a good person."
The woman in front of him walked slowly towards him, revealing her face. She had an arrogant expression and was dressed in luxurious clothes.
——Xuanyuan Years.
She chuckled and said, "Madam Yun, it's just a coincidence that I met you today. Would you like to have a small gathering at Xuanyuan Mansion some other day?"
Yun Zhihe frowned.
"No need. I'm going to the Yun Mansion and I'm just going to send the young master of the Su family back to the Su Mansion."
Yun Zhihe doesn't like Xuanyuan Sui very much.
They grew up together and went to the same school, but their relationship was not very good.
Xuanyuan Sui has always been arrogant and self-righteous. If it weren't for her prominent status, no one would be willing to put aside their pride to please her.
"Oh?" Xuanyuan Sui sneered, "I'll just take Master Su back, and that's all. Madam Yun should stay out of my business."
The tone is unfriendly.
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