"Prince Su Mu, what does this mean?"
Looking at the large iron cage below which was empty after the black cloth was removed, Nalan Yunzhi looked puzzled.
"Your Majesty, I'm not being mysterious, but this creature is too huge and ferocious. It's not suitable and cannot be brought into the palace. I'm just sending you a cage to hold the gift. As for the gift... I'm afraid Your Majesty will need to send someone to the inn in the city to get it." Su Mulihan saluted towards Nalan Yunzhi, who was sitting at the top, and said calmly.
"Oh? Could it be... a ferocious beast?"
Nalan Yunzhi glanced at Su Mulihan below with a look of scrutiny, pondering the deeper meaning behind the Zhaoyang monarch's actions.
"Your Majesty, it is a ferocious beast. Our Zhaoyang Kingdom is blessed with outstanding people and beautiful scenery. A while ago, my father hunted a tiger. In gratitude for the fact that Zhaoyang and Laifeng are now related by marriage, he planned to give the tiger to his daughter-in-law, no, son-in-law, that is, His Royal Highness the Crown Princess."
"As the crown princess of Laifeng, your Highness must be proficient in both civil and military tactics. Subduing a tiger is nothing more than a task I believe should be no problem for her. Your Highness, what do you think?"
Su Mulihan glanced at Hua Qingcheng with a cold, unfriendly glance, and his mind was already imagining her being pounced on and mauled by the tigress who had lost her cubs...
"Well..."
Hua Qingcheng slowly stood up from her seat at the East Palace, looking embarrassed.
It turns out he is waiting for her here!
If her guess was correct, the tiger mentioned by the Prince of Zhaoyang Lake Kingdom was Hongfu's mother.
Recalling the tigress she had seen at the Chaoyang Provincial Post Station, whose cubs were already coveted by someone before she even gave birth, Hua Qingcheng sneered inwardly.
The envoys from Zhaoyang State deliberately planned to kill the cubs after the tigress gave birth, simply to irritate the tigress to the greatest extent, making her temperament even more violent, thereby increasing the difficulty of subduing the tiger, and perhaps even with the sinister intention of killing her at the tiger's claws.
After all, if she was killed by the tiger because of her own incompetence, she couldn't blame anyone else.
Is this... an attempt to intimidate her?
However, unfortunately, their plan is doomed to fail!
"Qingqing~"
Mu Lige tugged at Hua Qingcheng's hand and looked at her with worry in his eyes.
Hua Qingcheng held Mu Lige's hand in return, smiled at him, and signaled him not to worry.
"Since it's a gift from my father-in-law, I should... accept it with a smile."
Hua Qingcheng looked at Su Mulihan with an ambiguous look, and the other party just thought she was just trying to save face.
"In that case, tomorrow at noon after classes at the Imperial College are over, Princess Taiping will go to the city posthouse to retrieve the gift sent by the King of Zhaoyang."
Nalan Yunzhi, who sat at the head of the group, also wanted to know what the people from Zhaoyang were up to. Of course, she would arrange for people to secretly guard Hua Qingcheng and would not put her in real danger. If she found anything unusual, she would have the tiger shot immediately.
"Your son obeys your command." Hua Qingcheng responded calmly and calmly.
The episode of Zhaoyang Crown Prince Su Mulihan presenting gifts was quickly over, and the palace banquet continued until the evening of Youshi. After Emperor Nalan Yunzhi left, the palace banquet ended with the loud singing of the Imperial Household Department.
Hua's mother and father left with the people from Feng Mansion, while Hua Qingcheng and her servants returned to the East Palace. However, Hua Qingcheng did not return to her own princess's bedroom, but went to the Fanyin Pavilion where Yu Xiaotian lived.
"Xiaobai~"
Following Hua Qingcheng's call, the little white tiger who was playing with Hongfu in the garden came to her obediently.
"Awoo~" (Mom, what's going on?)
Although Yu Xiaotian has been taking care of the little white tiger most of the time, Xiaobai has not forgotten that it was Hua Qingcheng who rescued it from the deep pit of Pinglan Mountain and buried its tiger father. Although this "mother" is not gentle to it most of the time, Xiaobai still has a deep admiration for Hua Qingcheng.
"Tomorrow your mother and I will go to the inn where the envoys of Zhaoyang Kingdom are staying, and I need to borrow Hongfu from you." Hua Qingcheng touched the "king" character on Xiaobai's head and said in a tone that did not allow for argument.
(She was merely informing Xiaobai, not discussing it.)
Xiaobai, who was carrying Hongfu on his back, looked at Hua Qingcheng warily when he heard this.
"Awoo~Awoo~Awoo~" (Is there any danger?)
"Tsk tsk tsk! Look at you protecting your son, no, you're protecting your wife! Your wife isn't even grown up yet, but you already know how to protect her." Hua Qingcheng patted Xiaobai's head and teased.
"Don't worry, I'm just taking her to see her mother. The emperor of Zhaoyang Kingdom has given Hongfu's mother to me. Let Hongfu accompany me on the trip tomorrow." While Hua Qingcheng was speaking, she had already plucked Hongfu off Xiaobai's back and gently smoothed the fur on her body.
"Ah~Ah~" (Hong Fu disappears)
Hongfu, who carries the memories of Situ Mingting in her previous life, does not have much affection for the tigress, but after all, she was the one who gave birth to her, so it would be okay to go and see her.
Moreover, the princess was now her "mother-in-law," one of her own. Since they were one of her own, they should of course help each other...
The next day at noon, Mu Lige and Yu Xiaotian brought Xiaobai and Hongfu to the Imperial College to deliver lunch to Hua Qingcheng, and Zuo An also accompanied them.
After lunch, Hua Qingcheng and Wu Chen went to the inn in the city where the Zhaoyang Kingdom's envoys were staying. Although Hua Qingcheng went alone with Wu Chen, people from Nalan Yunzhi's faction were already waiting for her at the entrance of the inn.
"Your Highness the Crown Princess and my third brother are truly in love. I and the other lords of Laifeng Country have been waiting for you for a long time. Please come in, Your Highness the Crown Princess!" At the door of the inn, Su Mulihan smiled and personally led people to greet them.
"Prince Su Mu is so thoughtful!" Hua Qingcheng raised a sarcastic smile at the corner of her lips and said meaningfully.
Soon, Hua Qingcheng and his group arrived at the door of a large house that was heavily guarded.
"Your Highness, please come in!"
Su Mulihan took the key handed over by a guard, opened the door of the big house himself, and made an inviting gesture to Hua Qingcheng.
“Awooo~Awooo~”
After hearing the noises from Hua Qingcheng and the others, a majestic tiger roar echoed from the room. Hong Fu, hidden in Hua Qingcheng's wide sleeves, moved slightly. Hua Qingcheng pretended to pat her sleeves and supported the little girl.
"Good sister~"
Wu Chen originally planned to go forward together, but Hua Qingcheng stopped him with a look.
The tigress inside seems to have a bad temper, so it's better not to let the monk go with her. Otherwise, the monk will get angry and beat the tiger to death without restraint...
"Your Highness!"
Feng Cailan looked at Hua Qingcheng worriedly. Hua Qingcheng just shook her head and turned to walk towards the big house where the tigress was imprisoned.
The moment Hua Qingcheng stepped into the house, the archers hiding in the dark were already ready to take their positions. If they found anything unusual, they would kill the tiger immediately.
“Ouch~”
After Hua Qingcheng entered the house, a tiger's extremely manic roar was heard from inside.
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