Zhao Xian glanced at Li Ru's expression, smiled, and said:
"Judging from the current situation, the princess is still longing for her beloved. If General Li is willing, I have a way to persuade the royal family to change their minds and come to the temple to ask General Li to marry the princess."
"That's wonderful! In that case, my brother will become the prince consort of the Golden Kingdom, and I'll have a sister-in-law."
I only wanted to find my brother; I never expected to bring back a sister-in-law. My father would never have dreamed of this.
Li Xue's words amused everyone. At this moment, Li Ru stood up, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Zhao Xian, and said:
"Then I will trouble you, Lord Shaoqing. This humble monk will wait here for good news."
"Brother, why don't you hurry up and return to secular life? Monks can't get married," Li Xue said.
"Princess, don't worry. The Emperor will issue an edict to allow General Li to return to secular life and marry the princess. However, General Li will have to endure a few more days in the temple. Within ten days, the Emperor will send someone to the temple."
"Yes, thank you, Lord Shaoqing. I know what to do," Li Ru said.
Seeing that it was about time, Zhao Xian bid farewell to Li Ru, and the group left the temple.
After returning to the post station, Zhao Xian spent an afternoon writing a nursery rhyme.
Tong Yao's story is about a prince in a great country called the Celestial Empire. He admires the princess of the Golden Kingdom and travels thousands of miles alone to visit her. However, on the way, the prince encounters a demon and is cursed to lose all his memories, becoming like a fool.
Later, the prince was sold to the Oriole Plantation, where he was rescued by the princess and stayed with her. A year later, the prince and princess fell in love. However, because the prince had lost his previous memories, he did not know that he was a prince.
No one in the Kingdom of Jindian knew that he was a prince of the Celestial Empire, so the royal family prevented them from falling in love, and the two were eventually forced to separate.
From then on, they both became monks and nuns, one a monk and the other a nun. Although they were so close, they could not see each other.
The nursery rhyme was catchy and the story was heart-wrenching. Zhao Xian asked Sun Heng to translate the nursery rhyme into the language of the Kingdom of Jindian, and then found many children in the city to teach them the nursery rhyme.
Sun Heng had the children sing nursery rhymes in the city and gave them snacks. When the children heard that they would get snacks for singing nursery rhymes, they worked even harder. In less than two days, all the children in the city were singing the nursery rhymes.
Soon, the adults also learned about this nursery rhyme. It turned out that the story of the prince and princess in the nursery rhyme was the story of the fool and the princess that had been passed down. No one in Jinhekou was unaware of this story.
They never expected that the royal family would treat the prince as a fool and prevent them from falling in love. The two were forced to become monks, and a beautiful marriage was ruined. For a time, this became the talk of the town.
The news quickly reached the palace, and the royal family was very surprised to hear about it, wondering why this topic had emerged in the city.
The emperor was also dumbfounded. Could it be that the fool rescued by the princess was actually the prince of the Celestial Empire? If that were the case, he, as the emperor, would have made a grave mistake. What should he do?
As agreed beforehand, the next day was the day the emperor and Zhao Xian were to discuss trade between the two countries, and the emperor planned to inquire about this matter from Zhao Xian.
In preparation for today's negotiations, the emperor suspended the morning court session and arrived at the Imperial Study early in the morning to await the arrival of the envoys from the Celestial Empire.
Zhao Xian guessed that the emperor was probably waiting for him, so he arrived at the palace early and was soon led to the imperial study.
Zhao Xian came alone this time; Li Xue did not go with him, but instead asked Sun Heng to translate for him.
After talking with Zhao Xian for a while, the emperor wanted to discuss with him the rumor circulating in the city.
"There have been some rumors circulating in the city these past few days about a prince and princess. Have you heard of them, Lord Shaoqing?"
Zhao Xian shook his head and said, "I don't understand the language of the Kingdom of Jindian, so of course I don't know about these rumors. Could Your Majesty tell me about the contents of these rumors?"
Upon hearing this, the emperor seemed somewhat disappointed and began to recount the rumors to Zhao Xian.
After hearing this, Zhao Xian pretended to be a little surprised and said, "I didn't expect that such a touching story would appear in your country's palace, but the ending of the story is a bit tragic."
"I don't know if this matter is true or false. Does your great Celestial Empire have such a prince?" the emperor asked.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian seemed to remember something, and he spoke:
"If Your Majesty hadn't asked, I really wouldn't have remembered this. There was a prince from the Great Northern Dynasty who went to the Golden Kingdom alone. We don't know the specifics of his purpose or whether he ever arrived."
Ten years have passed, and the prince still has not returned. Since the Great Northern Dynasty and the Golden Kingdom have no dealings whatsoever, the royal family cannot intervene in the matter.
"Does the Junior Minister know what this prince's name is, and what he looks like?"
"This prince is the eldest son of the fourth prince of the Great Northern Dynasty. His name is Li Ru, and he is a general."
I have come to Jindian Kingdom by imperial decree. The Fourth Prince also asked me to inquire about Li Ru and see if he has ever been to Jindian Kingdom.
"Oh, right, the Fourth Prince also gave me a portrait, which I happen to have with me today. Your Majesty, could you please take a look and see if I've seen him before?"
After Zhao Xian finished speaking, he took out a portrait from his pocket and handed it to the emperor.
The emperor took the portrait, unfolded it, and began to examine it carefully.
When the emperor saw the figure in the portrait, he was greatly surprised. The person in the painting was the same fool that the princess had saved years ago. It seemed that the folk tales were true.
The emperor put down the portrait and remained silent for a long time. Zhao Xian was not in a hurry and looked at the emperor, waiting for him to speak.
After a while, the emperor raised his head and finally spoke.
"To be honest, Lord Shaoqing, I have certainly seen the person in the portrait. He is the fool that the princess rescued from the Oriole Fruit Plantation. Because he lost his previous memories, he does not know who he is or where he came from."
He fell in love with the princess, but the royal family did not know his identity, so how could they rashly marry the princess to him?
To make the princess give up, the royal family banished the prince from the palace. Upon learning of this, the princess fell ill and never recovered. Several months later, she also left the palace and went to a remote place to become a nun.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian feigned great surprise and quickly said:
“You drove the prince out of the palace. All these years, where has he gone? Does the emperor know where he is?”
"Of course I know the prince's whereabouts. He is practicing in a temple thirty miles outside the city and has never left the temple."
"As long as he is alive, that's good. Since the Emperor does not agree to this marriage, I will go to the temple immediately, find the prince, and bring him back so that I can report back to the Fourth Prince."
After Zhao Xian finished speaking, he got up to take his leave. Upon seeing this, the emperor became anxious.
The emperor knew that if Zhao Xian left now, taking the prince with him, everything would be over.
What needs to be done now is to resolve the issue between the prince and princess as soon as possible, so that there is hope for trade between the two countries.
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