Pearl as a gift
Shangguan Yuqi immediately interrupted, "What is it that made Commander Pei come to Jinlingtai to find us? And how did you know that all three of us are here?"
Pei Yu, finally free from embarrassment, rolled his eyes and sneered, "You still dare to say that? Two Flying Phoenix Guards and one Grand Musician, just like that, abandoned His Majesty in front of the Heavenly Prison and left without a care. If it weren't for Junior Master Charioteer Lie Changkong speaking up for you, you wouldn't be waiting for me right now, but for Aunt Zhao's Dragon Tiger Cavalry."
When A Qiu heard the name "Lie Changkong," he was already shaken, but he didn't have time to ask anything else. He only asked, "What does this have to do with Lie Changkong?"
Pei Yu said irritably, "That's because Lie Changkong happened to return in time and sent His Majesty back to Yunlong Palace. He also explained to his mother and Aunt Lan that Lord Siyue had also been affected by magic and fainted and was taken away by someone. The two of them had no choice but to go and see what was going on."
She added fiercely, "Lord Si Le is still easy to talk about. Although you accompanied His Majesty to the prison, you yourself fainted. But Miss Shangguan and Young Master Xiao, you're not so easy to clear your name. As far as I can tell, Mother and Aunt Lan don't believe it, but they can't reprimand Chief Lie for exonerating you out of respect for the Junior Tutor."
Shangguan Yuqi shrugged indifferently and said, "At worst, all that's left is my name as the Flying Phoenix Chief."
Pei Yu was furious and said, "You're really good at taking things in stride."
Turning to A Qiu, he said solemnly, “His Majesty is in extremely poor condition and is unable to attend to affairs! Consort Chen has summoned you because the advance delegation of the Northern Qiang Kingdom has arrived, bringing with them a bushel of pearls, ten pairs of white jade, and a pair of wild geese. They intend to finalize the marriage proposal, and all three of you must go to the front hall to discuss this matter.”
Inside the Huiyin Hall, where court meetings were held, the atmosphere was heavy, as if a storm was brewing.
The dragon throne that originally belonged to Xie Lang was now empty, with Consort Chen and Crown Prince Xie Tiao sitting and standing on his left and right sides, respectively, representing the current power vacuum in Dayan, and the two who were chosen to temporarily act as emperors.
Before Consort Chen stood Rong Yu, the Grand Palace Eunuch, with his head bowed and holding a whisk. Below her seat stood Mu Huaying, Sikong Zhao, and Fan Ying, all of whom were core members of the royal family. Below Xie Tiao were the civil and military officials, led by Shangguan You and Gongyi Xiu, representing the core group of officials governing the country.
Pei Yu led the way into the hall, and after a slight hesitation, stood beneath the left prime minister, Gongyi Xiu. Although she was nominally Xie Tiao's Flying Phoenix Guard, at this moment, her primary role was that of a core figure in the Jianzhang Army, inheriting her father Pei Yuanli's position as the military representative.
Shangguan Yuqi glanced at the situation and stood beneath her uncle Shangguan You's shoulder. She was not only a member of the Flying Phoenix Guard but also its chief, but the stance she chose at this moment was clearly not that of a member of the royal family, but rather that of the head of the Shangguan family and a figure in the martial arts world.
Without a second thought, Xiao Chang'an stood down next to Xie Tiao. He was originally introduced by Gu Yi, but now he was in a similar situation to A Qiu in the palace. He did not have the family background of Pei Yu or Shangguan Yuqi, nor was he a member of the previous generation of Feifeng faction who had been supporting Xie Lang. Since Gu Yi had left, his position as a Feifeng Guard was under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Palace, and theoretically, his relationship with Xie Tiao was the closest.
Interestingly, the three people who came in later—Pei Yu, Shangguan Yuqi, and Xiao Chang'an—all chose to meet Xie Tiao, regardless of their reasons.
At this moment, only A Qiu had not yet chosen a place in the hall, and everyone's eyes fell on her.
In the current situation, the choice between being a member of the royal family or a court official representing the people carries a subtle weight. This isn't inherently opposed, as the two camps are intricately connected, but there's a question of which comes first and which is more important.
Consort Chen and Rong Yu must have anticipated this, and to avoid a direct confrontation between imperial power and the people, they appointed Crown Prince Xie Tiao as the representative of the court officials. This implies that the future ruler of Dayan will always stand with the common people. The royal family's considerate and meticulous approach, and their commitment to uniting the people, are also evident.
Seeing that A Qiu stood in the main hall without taking sides, Consort Chen smiled and said, "When the young master first entered the world, his weapon was the 'Carved Moon' sword, whose sharpness was unstoppable. The young master used it to quell rebellions and stabilize the court. But after everything was settled, the young master no longer used the sword and changed his weapon to the 'Jade Balance' measuring ruler, which has the meaning of balancing the world and turning the celestial sphere."
She continued, "At this moment, Si Le stands in a position that is impartial and balanced, holding the central position of the world, which reminds me of the Grand Tutor's 'Jade Balance.' Indeed, like teacher, like student."
After Consort Chen finished speaking, everyone suddenly realized why A Qiu had stood in the center since she entered, while the other three chose their own places, without wavering or showing any bias.
It turned out that what A Qiu was thinking was exactly what Consort Chen had said. She had just been wondering where Gu Yi would stand if he were here. The answer, of course, would be between the people and the monarch, overseeing the implementation of policies and balancing power. With this in mind, she naturally stood in the very center.
When Consort Chen asked her question, she bowed and replied, "That is indeed what I think. If Your Highness feels it is inappropriate, you may designate a position for me."
This polite and respectful reply demonstrated that while he upheld Gu Yi's original wishes, he also fulfilled his duties as a subject and was willing to obey the king's orders. The officials present, all seasoned veterans of the political arena, cast admiring glances at him, deeply impressed by the music master's conduct and demeanor. He not only maintained the dignity of a junior master's successor but also clearly understood the distinction between superiors and subordinates.
Consort Chen smiled knowingly and said gently, "It's good that you're here." She then gestured downwards and said, "Bring it up!"
Rong Yu bowed in agreement and called out to the outside of the hall, "Present this to the hall!"
Then a line of ten eunuchs entered the hall, each carrying a lacquered tray. They filed down before the jade steps, knelt, placed their trays on the steps, bowed deeply, and then withdrew.
Behind Consort Chen, Mu Huaying sneered, "The way Supervisor Rong trains eunuchs is like training soldiers. Just look at how these ten young eunuchs advance and retreat with such composure and discipline, and you can tell that the rules are strict."
Rong Yu, with his wrinkled face and long, drooping eyebrows, maintained his smile and said modestly, "Madam flatters me. I have only achieved minor successes since the previous dynasty. How can I compare to the methods you used in the imperial prison? Those were truly astonishing to gods and ghosts."
Consort Chen interrupted, "This is the state gift sent by the advance delegation dispatched by Prince Ning, Hulü Guang. Do any of you ministers have any suggestions?"
Inside the foremost lacquered tray, piled high with pearls over half a foot tall, varied in size and shape, some as large as sparrow eggs, others as small as lotus seeds, all shimmering with a brilliance that could reflect a person's image. Even a layman in jewelry and jade could discern their extraordinary value from their size and luster, recognizing them as rare treasures.
The second and third lacquer trays each held five pairs of white jade discs, making a total of ten pairs. The jade was crystal clear, some as delicate as jelly, others as rich and thick as fat, and the few strokes of carving were all exceptionally skillful. In A-Qiu's eyes, each pair of jade discs must be worth no less than a thousand gold pieces.
The fourth lacquer plate was not so dazzling; it contained a pair of wild geese bound together with silk rope, still stretching their heads and turning, their necks intertwined, looking around with bright, piercing eyes.
The lacquer tray behind it was piled with gold hairpins, pearl crowns, silk brocade, black fox fur as smooth as ink satin, and sable fur with brocade patterns. Each item was clearly of the highest quality and of great value, and even today, such items are not commonly seen in the Jianzhang Palace.
And each item was clearly a gift for a woman.
Seeing the hall filled with glittering brocade and piles of rare treasures, A Qiu inexplicably recalled a past event, feeling that the style was extremely familiar.
First, offer courtesy, then resort to force. Before launching any major military campaign, one must first use lavish gifts to subdue and appease the enemy, creating an auspicious omen.
Her gaze involuntarily fell on Xiao Chang'an, who had obviously thought of the same thing as her. He smiled and shrugged at her under Xie Tiao's shoulder, indicating that this time it wasn't him who did it.
Back when Xiao Chang'an's elder sister, Xiao Yu, was in the Hidden World Sect, the Xiao family, in order to force the sect leader Li Wujiu to hand over people, once sent a grand procession with twenty loads of red silk wedding gifts to Huanhua City at the foot of Dawan Mountain, where the Hidden World Sect was located, making a big fuss that everyone knew about.
It was Xiao Chang'an who represented the Xiao family at the time to the Hidden World Sect. But this time, Xiao Chang'an has categorically denied it.
Another name, hidden behind it, thus vaguely emerges.
Hulü Guang, the Prince of Ning of the Northern Qiang, was Xiao Yu's former fiancé.
No matter how much the Xiao family wanted to force Xiao Yu to return home, they would never have been able to send his betrothal gifts to Huanhua City in the remote southwest without Hulü Guang's permission.
At this moment, the past was repeating itself before his eyes. A Qiu couldn't help but clench his fist in his sleeve.
To gain something, one must first give; to gain something, one must first offer courtesy before resorting to force. This king of the Northern Qiang is so well-versed in military strategy that he should not be underestimated.
The first to speak was the Left Chancellor, Shangguan You. Regardless of seniority or age, he was the most respected among the officials and was certainly qualified to be the one to speak. He frowned and said, "Pearls and jade are all betrothal gifts for marrying a woman, and wild geese have always been a betrothal gift for marriage among the Han people, not to mention all these ornaments and garments. Does the Northern Qiang mean they want to marry our princess by sending these gifts? But our country has no princess."
Although Mo Yimingyue had mentioned the marriage proposal when she first went to the court as an envoy, and the Southern Dynasty had indicated that it would consider the proposal, there was no clear agreement at that time on whether it was a marriage alliance or a bride alliance.
But the Northern Qiang are sending betrothal gifts, which means they are definitely asking for a wife.
Although Zhao Lingying, Mu Huaying, and others discussed this possibility with Xie Lang after the court officials dispersed, and almost tacitly agreed that if the Northern Qiang were to marry, they could only select a noblewoman from a powerful family and bestow upon her the title of princess, Shangguan You and other officials were unaware of this.
The obvious fact is that Dayan currently has no princess.
Gongyi Xiu frowned and said, "In my opinion, whether or not we have a princess is not our most important issue at present. The most important issue is whether or not we should accept these betrothal gifts and agree to this request."
His words were tactful, but the meaning was clear. Marrying a princess was merely a pretext. What Dayan needed to decide was whether to forge a so-called alliance with the Northern Qiang. If they didn't intend to take this step, the betrothal gifts must be firmly rejected; if they intended to maintain a lasting alliance with the Northern Qiang, then a princess could be conjured up even if there wasn't one. The key was not to misdirect their efforts.
Shangguan You spread his hands and said with a wry smile, "I ask you all here, who believes that we can be on good terms with the Northern Qiang people forever?"
The officials all showed expressions of disapproval, and there were even sighs of disapproval.
Apart from a few native aristocratic families, most of the officials present were from high-ranking families who had migrated north. The tragic memories of the northern nomadic tribes' iron hooves sweeping across the Central Plains, burning, killing, looting, and even massacring entire cities, were still fresh in their minds. This deep-seated psychological shadow could not be erased in just one or two generations.
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