"This old minister deserves to die!" Zhao Liuqing replied, seemingly ignoring the question.
Looking at Zhao Liuqing's appearance, the Emperor couldn't bear to be harsh with him. After all, this guy had been working diligently in the Hanlin Academy for almost thirty years! Thinking of this, the Emperor's anger subsided a bit.
"Forget it, I'll let bygones be bygones. Now tell me your proposed solution to make amends," the Emperor said, looking at Zhao Liuqing.
Zhao Liuqing nodded and shared her thoughts.
"Our Great Hua Dynasty has always treated others with courtesy. Now I feel it is necessary for us to personally travel to Persia and communicate with the King of Persia to demonstrate our magnanimity!"
The Emperor nodded in agreement after hearing this.
He looked at Zhao Liuqing and asked a tricky question.
"Besides you, who do you think would be most suitable to do this?"
“It must be Lady Jiang, the Lady of An! Since she understands Pahlavi so well, she is absolutely the perfect candidate to go to Persia this time!”
The Emperor nodded, then another question popped into his mind, and he asked, "Do you think that if we send a woman over, the King of Persia will think that our Great Hua Dynasty has no men?"
Zhao Liuqing shook his head and explained, "In my humble opinion, this is precisely what showcases the grandeur of our Great Hua Dynasty. If all the women in our dynasty understand Pahlavi, then the King of Persia will certainly be even more wary of us and dare not have any improper thoughts!"
After listening to Zhao Liuqing's idea, the Emperor carefully considered it and nodded, saying, "Since that's the case, then this matter will be left to you to make amends. I hereby confer upon Lady Jiang the title of Fourth Rank Lady and bestow upon her the title of Fifth Rank Academician of the Hanlin Academy!"
Zhao Liuqing immediately knelt down, shouted "Long live the Emperor!" three times, and then got up and left.
Seeing that she had finished translating everything, Jiang Ling naively thought that everything was fine. She was now happily packing her things, preparing to say goodbye to Jiang Zhishan, as she planned to return to Lujia Village the next day.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Liuqing strode in. Looking at Zhao Liuqing's rosy complexion, Jiang Ling had an ominous premonition.
She looked at Zhao Liuqing with a forced smile and asked, "Lord Zhao, has everything been resolved?"
"Congratulations, Madam!" Zhao Liuqing cupped her hands and offered her congratulations to Jiang Ling.
Seeing Zhao Liuqing's expression, Jiang Ling's face turned cold. She said sternly, "If you have something to say, Lord Zhao, just say it directly! Why hide it? If you're not going to speak, please step aside, we're going home!"
"Absolutely not! Please wait, Madam!" Zhao Liuqing rushed forward to stop Jiang Ling when she saw her trying to leave.
"Speak your mind! I'm too lazy to argue with you!" Jiang Ling's patience had completely run out, and she yelled at Zhao Liuqing.
"Imperial edict has arrived!" Just as Jiang Ling and Zhao Liuqing were at an impasse, Eunuch Yin walked in with the imperial edict.
Upon seeing that the person had arrived, Zhao Liuqing immediately lifted his robe and knelt on the ground, shouting "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Jiang Ling was speechless and knelt down with Zhao Liuqing.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Lady Jiang, for her meritorious service in translating Pahlavi..." Upon hearing the contents of the imperial edict, Jiang Ling felt as if struck by lightning.
Jiang Ling turned and glared at Zhao Liuqing, wishing she could take out the pistol from her storage box and shoot Zhao Liuqing dead.
"Princess An, oh no, I mean Lady Gong, hurry up and receive the imperial decree!" Eunuch Yin reminded Jiang Ling as she stood there in a daze.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" Jiang Ling said this almost through gritted teeth.
Eunuch Yin was a shrewd man. Seeing the murderous look in Jiang Ling's eyes, he naturally didn't ask for a reward and quickly left this dangerous place with his group of eunuchs.
"Lord Zhao! I was trying to help you, and this is how you treat me?" Jiang Ling was so angry that her lungs felt like they were going to explode as she watched Eunuch Yin leave. She gritted her teeth and said each word slowly and deliberately.
“Um… An Gongren, you see… right? I think it would be perfect for you to go to Persia with me, so, you see! As the saying goes, right? If you're going to help someone, help them all the way through!" Zhao Liuqing was also quite embarrassed, and Jiang Ling's unfriendly gaze made his legs tremble slightly.
Zhao Liuqing was indeed in the wrong, but he couldn't think of a better solution, so he ended up dragging Jiang Ling into it.
Jiang Ling looked at the imperial edict in her hand. If this thing wasn't called an imperial edict, Jiang Ling would definitely have thrown it directly onto Zhao Liuqing's wrinkled old face right now!
"So, Lord Zhao, is this how you treat me? If it weren't for me, do you know what would have happened to you, Mom?" Jiang Ling's chest heaved with anger.
“My lady, the imperial decree has already been issued. You can’t possibly disobey it, can you? So, let’s go to Persia. It’s not that far. We can treat it as a trip to see the sights. I’ve checked, and it will only take us about half a year by ship to get there!” Zhao Liuqing explained, rubbing her hands together.
Jiang Ling almost lost her composure upon hearing the word "half a year." She pointed at Nianci and said, "Half a year? Do you know how much of my time will be wasted in half a year? Do you know how many things will be delayed? Putting everything else aside, what will happen to my children in half a year?"
"Don't worry, my lady, I will inform His Majesty immediately and send a messenger to Lu Family Village as fast as I can, so that all your children will know about this. Furthermore, a special envoy will be sent to Lu Family Village to protect your children's safety! At that time, Your Majesty will also bestow a thousand taels of gold upon your family and Lu Family Village! What do you think of this..."
Although Zhao Liuqing held a second-rank official position, he dared not offend Jiang Ling now, and kept probing Jiang Ling with his eyes as he spoke.
Jiang Ling sighed helplessly. Things had already reached this point; losing her temper was pointless. Thinking this, Jiang Ling's eyes darted around in their sockets as she looked at Zhao Liuqing and said, "Lord Zhao, you should know the names of this year's role models, right?"
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