Led by Liu Yan, the Northern Liang envoys entered the palace directly. Yelu Jing's followers were stripped of their weapons at the gate and were allowed to enter the palace only after a body search.
Mu Zhuohua and the people from the Lifan Temple followed Liu Yan and filed into the hall. Although Yelu Jing was arrogant, he still performed his duties politely in front of Emperor Zhaoming, and then sat down under the guidance.
Mu Zhuohua's seat was next to Liu Yan. As soon as he sat down, he heard Liu Yan lower his voice and asked, "You are so bold. Just now, under the city gate, was it the place for you, a little official, to speak?"
Mu Zhuohua naturally heard that there was no blame in Liu Yan's words, so he smiled and replied, "The master humiliates the minister, and he humiliates our Chen State in that way. I am indignant and loyal to the emperor and the country. The prince should reward me!"
Liu Yan laughed softly and said, "Yelu Jing is cruel and bloodthirsty. Aren't you afraid of offending him?"
"What are you afraid of? What can he do to me on my territory of Chen?" Mu Zhuohua snorted and smiled, and then looked at Liu Yan with a flattering expression, her almond eyes sparkling, "What's more, I know that the prince will protect me."
Liu Yan stared at her with a smile, "That man behaves erratically. You must follow me closely in the future, so as not to be left alone and retaliated."
Mu Zhuohua's heart skipped a beat when she saw Liu Yan's eyes. Guo Juli's words suddenly came to her mind, making her inexplicably flustered. She responded vaguely and lowered her head.
Mu Zhuohua's reaction made Liu Yan a little puzzled, but he quickly turned his mind to the banquet in front of him and forgot about it.
Yelu Jing asked people to send gifts to celebrate the three-year establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Emperor Zhaoming accepted them with a smile, and asked the people of Lifan Temple to sing the list of gifts to return to Beiliang. Chen has always regarded itself as a great power, so Beiliang received more than twice as many gifts in return as their gifts.
Halfway through the banquet, Yelu Jing said, "We, Beiliang, have presented a gift to His Majesty the Emperor of Chen to show our friendship." He clapped his hands, and a woman dressed in gorgeous clothes slowly came forward.
Yelu Jing said, "This is my sister, Yelu Zhen, eighteen years old this year, and the most beautiful woman in Beiliang."
At Yelu Jing's signal, Yelu Zhen slowly unveiled her veil. Everyone looked at her intently and could not help but be slightly distracted - she was indeed worthy of the title of the most beautiful woman.
Yelu Zhen's skin was as white as snow, and her facial features were more profound than those of the women of Chen. She had a straight nose, slightly sunken eyes, and a pair of eyes full of light, without saying a word. She wore a Beiliang skirt, with a loose upper body, revealing most of her shoulders and collarbones, and tightened at the waist, making her waist look slender and thin. Such a stunning beauty made many men stunned.
Yelu Jing said with a little pride: "This is the sincerity of our Beiliang. Please accept it, Your Majesty of Chen and treat my sister well."
Emperor Zhaoming frowned. Beiliang actually wanted to marry, which no one expected.
Emperor Zhaoming hesitated for a moment, then smiled gently: "I appreciate Beiliang's kindness, but Princess Yelu is young, and it is really unfair for her to leave her home and come to Chen."
Yelu Jing's eyes flashed, and he smiled: "We Beiliang will not take back the gifts we sent, otherwise it would be looking down on us. If Your Majesty is worried about my sister being wronged, you can find her a suitable royal family member. I heard that your three princes are unmarried..." Yelu Jing's eyes swept over the three princes, and then smiled gently, looking at Liu Yan, "Your Highness Prince Ding is also unmarried."
Mu Zhuohua looked at Yelu Jing coldly - this Beiliang silver fox is really disgusting.
Yelu Zhen was indeed breathtakingly beautiful, with such a thin waist, but such a full chest, and a beautiful face like a jade sculpture made of ice. She was holy but also a bit charming, which made people think of two words when they looked at her - a beauty.
Many men in the palace stared at her. Mu Zhuohua secretly looked at Liu Yan. It was obvious that Yelu Zhen was coming for him...
Liu Yan stared at the people in the field with a cold smile, but his gaze did not fall on Yelu Zhen's face, but on Yelu Jing.
Mu Zhuohua secretly breathed a sigh of relief - he was indeed an inhumane person.
Liu Yan looked at Yelu Jing and smiled for a long time: "The customs of Beiliang are indeed different from those of my Chen State. Women can be given as gifts at will."
Yelu Jing's smile suddenly cooled down.
Liu Yan said again: "However, since this is a kind gesture from Beiliang, we will naturally not refuse and will definitely treat her well."
The officials in the court couldn't help but frown when they heard this.
Liu Yan bowed to Emperor Zhaoming and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, why not take Princess Yelu as your adopted daughter?"
"You!" Yelu Jing was stunned.
Everyone smiled and said yes in a low voice.
Emperor Zhaoming nodded with satisfaction: "That's good."
Liu Yan cupped his hands to Yelu Jing and said: "Princess Yelu is a princess in Beiliang, and she is still a princess in Chen. The third prince does not have to worry about Chen mistreating her. Our Majesty and the Queen will certainly find the best teachers to teach her the culture and etiquette of Chen. Only by cultivating both inside and outside can she be worthy of the title of the most beautiful woman."
Liu Yan's words implied that Yelu Zhen was superficial and did not know etiquette, and was not worthy of the prince of Chen. Yelu Jing was annoyed, but could not get angry, so he could only say coldly: "Thank you very much for that."
The people of Chen were really disgusting, and they cursed without using dirty words.
But it didn't matter, as long as Yelu Zhen stayed, the effect would be the same whether she was a princess or a concubine.
When Liu Yan returned to his seat, he heard Mu Zhuohua muttering, "Your Highness, she is clearly coming for you."
Liu Yan said softly, "I know."
Mu Zhuohua said, "Such a beauty is really rare in the world. Don't you think it's a pity, Your Highness?"
Liu Yan glanced at her and said, "Do you feel sorry for me?"
Mu Zhuohua nodded blankly.
Liu Yan smiled and said, "You always say you like me, are you lying?"
Mu Zhuohua came to his senses and said hurriedly, "I naturally believe that Your Highness is not a superficial person and will not be tempted by beauty."
Liu Yan: "Hehe..."
Liu Yan raised his glass to cover the smile on his lips, and a scene of a drunk beauty flashed inadvertently in his mind.
No.
He is very superficial and picky about food.
That day, until the Beiliang delegation was sent to the posthouse, everyone in the Lifan Temple could go back to rest.
Yelu Jing sat on the bed with a gloomy face, listening to the report of the spy.
"Prince Ding has been living in seclusion for many years. No one has ever seen him take action, and no one knows how his health is."
"Emperor Zhaoming has not yet appointed a crown prince, so his health should be good."
Yelu Jing listened for a while, raised his hand to interrupt, and asked: "What is the origin of that Mu Zhuohua?"
"She is the third place in this year's imperial examination. She has just been transferred to the Lifan Temple. She is just an insignificant little person."
Yelu Jing asked suspiciously: "Since she is insignificant, why did Prince Ding let her join the reception group? I know the other people in the reception group. They are all people who have served in the border for many years. What about Mu Zhuohua? What is her relationship with Beiliang?"
The spy thought carefully and shook his head: "No relationship, she is from Huaizhou in Jiangnan, and she was transferred to the reception group ten days ago and started to learn Beiliang characters."
Yelu Jing pondered for a moment.
"What is the purpose of Prince Ding doing this? Is it because he likes her eloquence?"
In the following few days of getting along, Yelu Jing became more and more certain of his guess.
On the second day, Emperor Zhaoming accompanied Yelu Jing and his party to hunt in the royal enclosure in the western suburbs. Although Emperor Zhaoming forced himself to ride a horse, it was difficult to hunt. As princes, Liu Chen and Liu Jin naturally stepped forward to hunt on behalf of Emperor Zhaoming and Yelu Jing.
Liu Chen was dressed in fine clothes and rode a horse. The youthful spirit was flamboyant and strong. His handsome face was full of fighting spirit. He looked at Yelu Jing with a provocative look and said, "Today's hunting, we brothers will accompany the third prince. We will show our hospitality as hosts!"
Yelu Jing's eyes lightly passed over the faces of the two princes, and he said with a smile, "The two princes were born in the deep palace. I am afraid that the little prince will not win by force."
The implication was that he did not take the two seriously at all. Liu Chen and Liu Jin looked unhappy, and just as they were about to explode, they saw Liu Yan riding a horse over.
Yelu Jing's eyes lit up and he stared at Liu Yan. His target was Liu Yan, so he said, "Your Highness Prince Ding, I haven't seen you for many years. I wonder if your riding and archery skills have become rusty. Do you dare to compete with me?"
Liu Yan smiled slightly and said, "Third Prince, you are joking. Since you dare to come, why shouldn't I dare?"
Yelu Jing had originally intended to spy on Liu Yan's strength, so when he saw Liu Yan competing, he curled the corners of his lips and smiled, "Okay, then let me see what progress Your Highness Prince Ding has made in the past few years. Don't suffer such a crushing defeat like last time."
Mu Zhuohua followed behind Liu Yan, and after hearing this, he felt unhappy and laughed dryly, "Third Prince is always thinking about the last time. Well, it's a rare win after losing so many times, so naturally he wants to savor it over and over again. It's because the prince has won so many times that he doesn't have a good memory like you."
Yelu Jing's smile froze, and he glared at Mu Zhuohua. Liu Yan rode his horse calmly, blocking Yelu Jing's sight and protecting Mu Zhuohua behind him.
Yelu Jing sneered, "Are the officials of your Chen Kingdom so rude? Why should a small official butt in when the nobles are talking?"
Mu Zhuohua poked his head out from Liu Yan's side and said seriously, "The Third Prince doesn't know anything again. The nobles of our Chen Kingdom are always proud of their status. Some things are not convenient to say, so I, the lower officials, will speak for them."
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Jing glanced at Liu Yan and saw that the other party was smiling, obviously indulging Mu Zhuohua. He was furious, but he couldn't do anything to Mu Zhuohua in front of Liu Yan, so he could only squeeze the horse's belly and gallop away.
Liu Yan looked back at Mu Zhuohua, who said with bright eyes, "Your Majesty, defeat him! Enhance the prestige of our country!"
Liu Yan laughed and shook his head, and rode away.
Colleagues from the Lifan Temple came forward and gave Mu Zhuohua a thumbs up.
"When it comes to quarreling, women are really the best."
"I admire you. Keep up the good work!"
Mu Zhuohua curled her lips and fell behind for a while before catching up with everyone.
Liu Yan was introducing the terrain of the enclosure to Yelu Jing. After listening, Yelu Jing said, "There is a white deer in the enclosure today. Whoever hunts the white deer first will be the winner."
Liu Yan nodded in agreement, "Okay."
The people from the Lifan Temple came forward and said, "The enclosure has prepared special bows and arrows for you adults. There are marks on the arrows to prevent confusion about the ownership of the prey."
Yelu Jing took the bow and arrow, pulled it, and said disdainfully, "The bow of the State of Chen is too light. I will use my own bow."
After Yelu Jing finished speaking, his guards brought up a silver bow. Yelu Jing pulled the bow to the full length, and when he let go, the bowstring immediately buzzed.
Yelu Jing said proudly, "When it comes to riding and shooting, my Beiliang is the best." When Yelu Jing said this, he suddenly found something interesting. He swept his eyes over the horses of the Chen people and laughed, "Sure enough, you Chen people think so too. Look at the horses you ride, they are all fine horses from my Beiliang."
In order not to lose face in front of the Beiliang people, the Chen people today did ride tall horses from Beiliang. At this moment, Yelu Jing's words not only lost face, but also ruined their prestige, admitting that they were not as good as their opponents. Everyone looked unhappy and subconsciously looked at Mu Zhuohua for help.
Mu Zhuohua was stunned for a moment, then he coughed lightly and said, "The Third Prince is wrong. This is not your Beiliang horse."
Yelu Jing sneered at Mu Zhuohua and said, "What do you, a woman, know about horses? This is clearly my Beiliang horse."
Mu Zhuohua said seriously, "This is the war horse that our prince captured after he won the war with your Beiliang. The captured war horse surrendered to my Dachen and became my Dachen horse."
Yelu Jing gritted his teeth and cursed word by word, "Force, words, seizure, and reason!"
Mu Zhuohua said, "What's more, whether a horse is good or not depends on the person who rides it. Its previous owner rode it and lost the battle, which shows that he met the wrong person..."
Yelu Jing was so angry that his lungs were about to explode. He subconsciously raised his bow and arrow and aimed the sharp arrowhead at Mu Zhuohua's eyes. Mu Zhuohua was startled. Before he could dodge, he saw a silver light sliding down like lightning and cutting off Yelu Jing's arrowhead.
Liu Yan held a long sword in his hand and stood in front of Mu Zhuohua, looking at Yelu Jing coldly with murderous intent.
"Third Prince, be careful with sharp weapons outside the enclosure." Liu Yan warned Yelu Jing coldly.
Yelu Jing narrowed his eyes and looked at the arrow with the arrowhead cut off. He slowly put down his hand, looked at Liu Yan, and smiled, "I am just trying my hand. Why is His Royal Highness Prince Ding angry?"
Liu Yan sheathed his sword and said lightly, "I am responsible for the safety of the Beiliang delegation. I dare not be careless. If the third prince has an accident in my Chen territory, I wonder if the King of Beiliang will send troops?"
Yelu Jing's eyes were stern. Liu Yan's warning was already a clear knife. He just pulled the bow to intimidate, but he didn't really want to kill in public. He was not so impulsive. He just wanted to scare the woman to save some face, but he didn't expect Prince Ding to react so strongly...
Yelu Jing glanced at Mu Zhuohua thoughtfully. Although the latter was a little scared, he didn't show panic, but he was a little courageous.
"Prince Ding is joking." Yelu Jing laughed, "With Prince Ding here, how could there be an accident?"
Yelu Jing compromised, and Liu Yan gave him a way out. He held out his hand to Yelu Jing and said, "Third Prince, let's start as soon as possible."
Yelu Jing took a deep breath, turned his head, and his feminine and handsome face suddenly became cold as ice.
"Go!" Yelu Jing whipped his horse whip hard, and the horse under him immediately galloped out.
Liu Yan did not set off immediately. He turned back to look at Mu Zhuohua. Mu Zhuohua's face was slightly pale, but her eyes were still bright. Seeing Liu Yan coming, she smiled and shouted, "Your Highness will win!"
Liu Yan looked at the shallow dimples on her lips, and his heart softened a little. He whispered, "Stay here and don't run around."
Seeing that all the people participating in the hunt had entered the enclosure, the other civil servants retreated to the pergola to rest. The officials of the Lifan Temple gathered around Mu Zhuohua, talking about Yelu Jing's expression just now, and couldn't help laughing heartily.
"Our Lord Mu is really amazing, he made the third prince flee in panic!"
"Not only that, he remained calm in the face of the enemy's arrows, showing the style of our great country!"
"Lord Mu let us see what it means to be a good talker. Before, I didn't understand why the prince asked you to join the reception group, but now I understand."
"Not only understand, but also admire very much! Lord is a Lord, with a discerning eye and knows how to appoint people to the right positions!"
Mu Zhuohua was a little embarrassed by what they said, and bowed repeatedly, saying: "Don't laugh at me, lords."
"We are not laughing, we admire sincerely! Lord Mu's eloquence is not a problem for forming alliances!"
What happened here soon reached the ears of Emperor Zhaoming. Not long after, the chief eunuch came with people and walked to Mu Zhuohua with a smile.
"Lord Mu, His Majesty is afraid that you are thirsty, so he specially asked me to bring you a pot of tea."
Mu Zhuohua quickly stood up to thank him. The eunuch behind the steward came forward with the jade teapot, and Mu Zhuohua took it with both hands. Then the steward came forward and lowered his voice and smiled: "His Majesty said that you did a good job and kept the face of the State of Chen. He is very happy."
Mu Zhuohua smiled and said, "I will do my best to live up to the grace of the king."
Speaking for the country is the most basic duty of a diplomatic envoy.
This hunting did not end until dusk.
Yelu Jing returned to the camp with a gloomy face, dragging a tiger behind him, but he did not hunt the white deer. When he walked into the camp, he found that the white deer had been hunted by someone, with an arrow in the abdomen, lying by the campfire with its breath dying. The people of the State of Chen cheered loudly, and the soldiers of Beiliang were demoralized.
"I didn't expect that Prince Ding would win." Yelu Jing said sinisterly.
At this time, Liu Yan's voice came from behind: "The third prince is wrong, and I didn't win either."
Yelu Jing was startled and turned around to see Liu Yan behind him. Liu Yan looked normal, with a little sweat on his forehead, and said with a smile on his face: "The first one to hunt the white deer was our eldest prince."
Yelu Jing then looked carefully at the person standing next to the white deer, and it was indeed the young man he looked down upon.
The symbolism of deer is extraordinary. The people of Chen have always fought for power by competing for deer. Today, Yelu Jing decided to use deer as prey, which was on his mind. If he won, it would be the best. If Liu Yan won, it would also make Emperor Zhaoming feel dissatisfied with him. Unexpectedly, Liu Chen won in the end.
Liu Yan smiled and said: "The young are formidable, we all lost."
The civil and military officials in the whole court were happy to see this result, and the only one who was unhappy was Yelu Jing.
Liu Chen stood in the center to accept the congratulations from everyone. At this time, the night had darkened. The firelight illuminated his face. Liu Chen had a smile on his face. No one noticed anything unusual. Only Liu Chen knew how embarrassed he was at the moment.
The wound on his thigh had just healed, but it broke again during the previous hunt. A lot of blood oozed out at this moment, and his underwear was wet. Fortunately, he was wearing a black riding suit today, so no one could see it. He didn't want to show weakness and call a military doctor at this moment, making Yelu Jing laugh at him.
Liu Chen gritted his teeth and persisted, but his injured leg couldn't help but tremble slightly. At this time, Princess Roujia's maid Man'er stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, the princess heard that your highness won the first place and was very happy. Let your highness go to see her."
Liu Chen got an excuse to leave the crowd and followed Man'er to a place with fewer people.
Man'er led Liu Chen into a tent. When Liu Chen entered, he was surprised and shouted, "Mu Zhuohua?"
Man'er smiled and said, "The princess is busy serving the queen mother and greeting foreign guests. It was Lord Mu who found the princess for help, so the princess asked me to lead your highness here."
Mu Zhuohua lowered his hands and saluted. His eyes swept over Liu Chen's right leg and said, "It will be troublesome if your highness's injury is not treated."
Liu Chen's face changed. It turned out that Mu Zhuohua had already noticed that his old leg injury had relapsed.
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