"Your Highness should go back." Feng Yuheng retracted his gaze and said to Li Kun indifferently: "Ah Heng's words just now have reassured you. I see that the emperor also seems to have something to say. Your Highness should return to your seat."
Li Kun was originally embarrassed by Xuan Tiange's words, but he just went down the slope according to Feng Yuheng's words and quickly said goodbye and left.
Xuan Tiange wanted to have a little chat with Feng Yuheng, but suddenly the singing and dancing stopped, and all the dancers on the stage left. Then Zhang Yuan, who was standing next to Emperor Tianwu on the high platform, shouted, "Send the envoy of Qianzhou Kingdom to see you!"
Thousand Zhou Envoys!
As soon as these four words came out, not only Feng Yuheng, but even Xuan Tiange frowned.
"Qianzhou is the most restless of the four countries surrounding Dashun. There are frequent riots on the border, which gives Uncle Huang a headache." She leaned close to Feng Yuheng and whispered, "This time your father went to the northern border to suppress the disaster. I wonder if he mentioned the Qianzhou riots when he came back?"
Feng Yuheng shook his head, "You know, I have never had much to say to him."
Xuan Tiange nodded and said nothing more.
At this time, the Qian Zhou envoys outside the Jade Palace had already walked into the palace. Just as Xuan Tianming said before, the Qian Zhou envoys who came to visit Dashun this time were an elder princess and a younger princess. The younger princess was born with a savage look. As she walked in, she raised her chin and looked at the people around her in a very ostentatious manner. Occasionally, when she saw a young lady from a certain family, she would roll her eyes and look down on them, which was really annoying.
The eldest princess was dignified and steady, she should be in her thirties, but she was well maintained and looked no more than 27 or 28. The wind in the Northern Territory was strong and the soil was hard, people were rougher and taller than those in the Central Plains, but the eldest princess had fair skin and a well-proportioned figure, after all, she was a royal beauty, her face was so fair that she didn't look like she had been exposed to the frost and ice all day in the Northern Territory.
Xuan Tiange moved closer to Feng Yuheng and whispered, "The Qianzhou royal family's surname is Feng. The current emperor ascended the throne at the age of seventeen and is only twenty-three now. This eldest princess is his eldest sister. I heard that the late emperor did not treat this son very well before. It was this eldest princess who helped her brother ascend the throne. She was married before, but unfortunately her husband died early, leaving behind this daughter. The Qianzhou emperor respected and loved this eldest sister very much, and even spoiled his niece to the point of lawlessness."
Xuan Tiange was like an automatic narrator. As the two princesses walked step by step to their seats, he briefly and concisely explained the gossip about the Qianzhou royal family to Feng Yuheng, which was very helpful.
"Kang Yi and our daughter Ru Jia come to pay their respects to the Emperor of Dashun. May His Majesty live long and the Empress live a thousand years. We pray that the Dashun nation prospers, the people are safe, and the crops are abundant." As she spoke, the eldest princess of Qian Zhou had already knelt down to pay her respects with her daughter, and the maids following behind them also knelt down.
Emperor Tianwu treated the women with great kindness, and said with a smile, "You two princesses have come a long way, and it must be hard for you to get up quickly."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Princess Kang Yi's voice was not gentle, but rather heavy.
Feng Yuheng thought that since she could help her young brother ascend to the throne, she must be a legendary woman.
Sure enough, just as he stood up, he heard Princess Kang Yi turn sideways, bow slightly to the officials of Dashun, and said, "Kang Yi greets all the adults. The prosperity of Dashun is inseparable from the contributions of the adults. Kang Yi admires you very much."
A woman spoke like this, what else could the court officials do? They could only stand up and return the greeting, saying, "Princess, you are too kind. We are humbled."
The eldest son did not hesitate, and turned around and gave a dignified smile to the ladies, bowing slightly and saying, "Ladies, you are polite."
People quickly stood up and returned the greetings. For a moment, everyone had a better impression of Princess Kang Yi. But Xuan Tiange didn't think so. Feng Yuheng heard her mutter, "If you are being nice to someone for no reason, you are either a traitor or a thief."
Ren Xifeng said to her: "You! What kind of temper is this? She is very polite, which is a good thing. Is it bothering you?"
Xuan Tiange made a bet with her: "Five hundred taels of silver, I bet that Princess Kang Yi's motives for coming to Dashun are not pure."
"Okay." Ren Xifeng had a good impression of the princess and nodded immediately, "Let's bet."
When Feng Tianyu heard about this bet, he couldn't help but shook his head, "Xifeng, you are really going to lose."
Ren Xifeng was puzzled, "Why do you say that?"
Feng Tianyu replied: "Because I have never heard my father say good things about the Northern Realm in all these years. Every time he mentions Qian Zhou, he thinks of the lawsuit. Also, what happened at the palace banquet three years ago, have you forgotten it?"
Ren Xifeng was stunned and his face looked a little unhappy.
Feng Yuheng saw that she was regretting making this bet, and couldn't help but ask curiously: "What happened three years ago?"
Bai Furong explained her confusion: "You had only been away from Beijing for a few months at that time. The one who came last year was an ordinary envoy. He lived in an inn before entering the palace. But somehow, the inn caught fire one night. The fire burned all the tributes sent by Qian Zhou, including three bolts of Guanghan silk. It was so anxious that it made people feel distressed. Not only did the things burn, but also two of the attendants of Qian Zhou's envoy were burned to death. The envoy was so scared that he fell seriously ill. Our emperor could do nothing. After all, the incident happened in Dashun's territory and in the capital. In order to appease the vassal state, he sent a lot of things for the envoy to take back, and exempted Qian Zhou from tribute for three years."
Xuan Tiange nodded, "Yes, this is the first year after three years. I want to see what they have brought after three years of accumulation."
As they were talking, the Princess of Qianzhou handed the gift list to the palace maid of Dashun, and then said to Emperor Tianwu, "Qianzhou is covered with snow all year round, and is not as lush and green as Dashun, or even Zongsui. Therefore, the annual tribute is a little shabby. I hope Your Majesty doesn't mind."
She had a very good grasp of the tone when she spoke, neither flattering nor humble, but calmly and peacefully, as if she was just chatting about daily life.
To be honest, apart from the four rolls of Guanghan silk, there was really nothing to see on this gift list, and it was far inferior to the one given by Zong Sui. But Emperor Tianwu also understood that what Princess Kang Yi said was true. The Northern Realm could not be compared with the Eastern Realm. It had snowed for thousands of years, and it was difficult to grow crops in the fields. How could there be so many things? What's more, the one who came now was a woman, and she was so polite to others. What could he care about?
Then he smiled again: "It's okay, I am very happy that you have this heart."
As soon as she finished speaking, Princess Rujia, who had been standing beside Kang Yi without saying anything, suddenly raised her voice and said, "Mother, look, I told you that the Emperor of Dashun would not bother with these little things! Really, I asked you to leave a piece of Guanghan silk for Jun'er, but you refused to do it."
"Oh?" Emperor Tianwu looked at Princess Rujia with a smile and asked, "Do you want Guanghan silk?"
Ru Jia nodded: "Yes! That thing is extremely rare. We have finally woven a few pieces, and we have to send them all to Dashun. We have never worn clothes made of Guanghan silk."
Kang Yi angrily scolded her: "What are you talking about? Shut up!" Then he bowed to the emperor to apologize, "My daughter is naughty, it's Kang Yi's fault for not disciplining her, please don't blame me, Your Majesty."
"Hey!" Tianwu waved his hand, "It's normal for children to be impatient. You don't have to preach to her. In my opinion, Rujia is very straightforward. You want Guanghan silk, right? Good! Then I'll give you one! Oh no, two!"
"Really?" Rujia's eyes lit up.
Tianwu nodded: "You are not kidding."
"That's great!" Ru Jia almost jumped up, "Mother, look, the Emperor of Dashun is so nice, he's even easier to talk to than my uncle!"
It was a bit too easy to talk to. Even Feng Yuheng felt that Tian Wugong was a bit too easy to talk to these two princesses. Guanghan silk was just two bolts. You know, this is not an ordinary reward.
She looked towards the Queen's side, and saw that all the concubines had bitter faces, with resentment and jealousy written all over their faces.
"What's wrong with the emperor?" She turned her head to ask Xuan Tiange, "I always feel that he is in a bad mood."
"Alas." Xuan Tiange sighed, "I also had an aunt before, the eldest princess of our Dashun. This is what my father told me, because I was too young at that time, less than three years old, and I couldn't even remember what my aunt looked like. But my father said that my aunt was his and my uncle's sister, and she loved them very much. My grandfather, the late emperor, was very busy since they were young, and it was my aunt who brought them up. But later, my aunt married a man, and my grandfather disagreed, and beat that man to a cripple. But my aunt still insisted on marrying him, and my grandfather had no choice but to demote my aunt to a commoner and let her marry that man. But after the marriage, because the man was beaten so badly, he died before he could last three months. Only my aunt was left at home, and she was depressed all day long. Within a year, she also followed. And this princess of Qianzhou is said to have a story similar to that of my aunt and uncle. I think my uncle must have thought of my aunt when he saw this princess."
Feng Yuheng looked at the princess again. She had originally reserved her opinion on the joking bet between Xuan Tiange and Ren Xifeng, but after hearing this story, she firmly believed that Ren Xifeng would lose in the end.
She absolutely did not believe that it was just a coincidence that a person with the same story as the eldest princess of Dashun came to Dashun as an envoy. Just looking at the complex expression of Emperor Tianwu when he looked at the eldest princess, and the two pieces of Guanghan silk he casually gave her, it was clear that Qian Zhou's move was a brilliant one.
"But I don't know what she will do with this idea." She looked at Xuan Tiange, "Guess, if it's either adultery or theft as you said, where will she reach out to?"
Xuan Tiange thought for a long time, but shook his head, "I don't know, Ah Heng, you know I'm not good at this. How about you tell me about it?"
She suddenly laughed and said, "I guess this hand might reach out to our house."
Sure enough, when the little princess who got the Guanghan silk was happy, Princess Kangyi spoke again, saying, "I came to Dashun this time with my brother's request to personally thank an official of Dashun."
"Oh?" Tianwu asked her, "Who is it?"
Kang Yi replied: "The Left Prime Minister of Dashun, Feng Jinyuan, Lord Feng."
Feng Yuheng shrugged. All correct!
...
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