Envoy's audience
Zhang Ruoming chuckled, pulled up a stool, and sat down. "You're really living a leisurely life, unlike me, I can't escape anything all day long. Why don't you tell the Ink Academy to let me become an Imperial Historian too?" Tang Zhaonan, reclining in his chair, sneered, "You think it's that simple, that I can just become one? You really think highly of me. What, you've decided to come and stroll around here today?" "Sigh, to be honest, what do you think of the current Crown Prince?" Zhang Ruoming ignored Tang Zhaonan's cold words and asked, "I have no comment on royal matters." Seeing Tang Zhaonan lying in his chair with his eyes closed, ignoring him, Zhang Ruoming became a little impatient. "Hey! Have you gone mad from staying in the Ink Academy all these years? I'm not Li Linglan, what do you mean by 'no comment'? We're having a good chat, you're such a mood breaker. You were like this decades ago, and you're still like this now. I don't know what Si Lian saw in you."
Tang Zhaonan, lying in the rocking chair, slowly opened his eyes, glanced at Zhang Ruoming, and joked, "So, what brings you here today? You got a setback with the Crown Prince! That Crown Prince... to put it nicely, he's upright and incorruptible; to put it bluntly, he's ruthless and unscrupulous. He's nothing like Li Linglan's child... more like... Emperor Jinglian back then." Zhang Ruoming nodded, put down his teacup, and said in a deep voice, "Ever since Qiao'er died, we agreed not to interfere in royal affairs to protect ourselves. But now, judging from the situation, it seems we can't hide anymore." Upon hearing this, Tang Zhaonan quickly stood up, staring intently at Zhang Ruoming, his eyes filled with disbelief. "Is this really you? What do you mean 'can't hide anymore'? So many years have passed, you're practically in the grave, and you're still safe and sound. What's wrong with you? What's with you coming to my house so early in the morning?"
“Who says otherwise?” Zhang Ruoming sighed. “We’ve been hiding for almost our entire lives. If this had happened, we would have had no chance of survival. We should thank Li Linglan for sparing our lives. To be honest, the Crown Prince will be a good ruler in the future, but his father is not a good father, so I’m afraid there will be many changes in the future. By the way, do you know that Pu Yuan sent an envoy to pay his respects?”
"Who did they send?" Tang Zhaonan's interest was piqued upon hearing this. "The Fu family's children." "The Fu family?" Tang Zhaonan sat up straight, then looked at Zhang Ruoming and said sternly, "The Fu family of Qinghe back then? Hmm... that's a bit tricky! The Fu family is quite resourceful." Back when Tang Zhaonan and his men followed Li Linglan in their rebellion and conquest of the land, they had heard of the Fu family. The family consisted of dozens of people, all skilled in both literature and martial arts. Fu Linmo had caused them no shortage of trouble during their Northern Expedition. If Su Zi hadn't consulted the oracle at Panshan back then, there wouldn't be the Yan Yun we know today. "Let's not worry about these things. Children and grandchildren have their own destinies. It's no use trying to interfere. Li Linglan is so capable, let him handle it himself." Zhang Ruoming agreed, and the matter was considered closed. Then she turned to ask, "Is your Xiaofeng coming back? I heard from my son that Xiaofeng is coming back to get married?" "Him?" Tang Zhaonan snorted coldly. "He's not young anymore, always bluffing. He said he was going to get married years ago, and did it happen? He's just wasting people's time." "Ziliang has been gone for so many years, and now look what's happened! He insisted on going to Shanghan to do some business, and he even dragged Ziliang to the border. Sigh, and now he says he's quitting and insists on coming back. If his family doesn't have much money, he'll be begging for food. If he really gets married this time, that's fine, but if it's just a bluff, I'll see how I deal with him. If this happens again and again, Zhou Wuhai will come knocking on my door to settle accounts!" Looking at the slightly angry Tang Zhaonan, Zhang Ruoming couldn't help but laugh out loud, patting Tang Zhaonan's shoulder to appease him. Alright, alright, your Xiaofeng is quite something. Look at how frail she was when she was little, so weak and timid. She'd be lucky to go out seven or eight times a year. And look at her now! She went to Lishan Academy and brought you back a husband, and even helped control the floods in Daze. After returning, she went to work in a pawnshop and was sent as an envoy to the Qiang and Hu tribes. Now she's doing business in Dahan, and will be back in a few days to get married. What more could you ask for? You were just too hung up on Silian's death back then, but the dead can't be brought back to life. Xiaofeng is someone you and... "Si Lian's only child, why do you always make things difficult for him?" Tang Zhaonan was speechless after Zhang Ruoming's words, unable to utter a single sentence. After a long pause, he finally grumbled, "He's my son, of course I won't make things difficult for him. Besides, what family doesn't raise their son like this? He's not a daughter. I haven't seen you being nice to your Mo Bai either." It would be a lie to say that Tang Zhaonan wasn't pleased with Tang Feng's changes over the years. Neither he nor Gu Si Lian were naturally timid or dull people, so how could they have known that Tang Feng was such a cowardly and weak child? Fortunately, after that horse-chasing incident a few years ago, his temperament had improved. Although he was still a bit difficult to manage at times, he was still young, and things would take time. He didn't expect him to be particularly ambitious or bring glory to the family; he just wanted him to be safe and sound.
As Fu Ming'an rode his horse across the territory of Yan Yun Mu Xi, he couldn't help but exclaim, "So this is Yan Yun! I'm really looking forward to it!" Fu Ming'an was born in the Mu family, and he had only heard about Yan Yun from his elders. However, they preferred to talk about the past of the Great Ruan. On this trip to Yan Yun, Fu Ming'an not only wanted to see Li Yunrui, but also wanted to see the Yun Emperor who had swept across the northern and southern tribes of the Great Ruan, ultimately forcing Li Lingyan to occupy the Mo family. "My lord... what are your plans for going to Xiling?" Fu Ming'an whipped his horse and urged it on for a few steps, catching up with the guard who had asked the question. "I have no plans. Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. State secrets, understand? State secrets." Fu Ming'an raised his index finger and shook it in front of the guard. "If I did something that you could know, I wouldn't be Fu Ming'an." Seeing Fu Ming'an gradually urging his horse to quicken its pace, the guard didn't understand Fu Ming'an's meaning and could only shrug and give up.
The scenery of Yanyun overwhelmed Fu Ming'an's vision. In the Mo family mansion, it was winter all year round, with hardly any green plants. Although it was late autumn in Yanyun, maple trees with their leaves turning red were everywhere. Fu Ming'an sharply whipped his horse, causing it to quicken its pace. "If this place was once the Great Ruan," he thought, "then I understand why the Emperor and my uncles yearned for it so much." Fu Ming'an had already made some plans for this mission to Yanyun. He had heard that the Crown Prince was gentle, kind, and tolerant; his sister would naturally not allow her to marry into the frigid Mo family. Moreover, rumors circulated that the Crown Prince was not favored in the palace, which would be a good handle for him in the future.
Xiling is located north of Yanyun. It took only a few days to travel from Muxi, and a dozen days at a fast pace to reach it. Fu Ming'an looked up at the bustling city of Xiling and then said to his personal guards, "Let's set up camp here. Pick a few clever men and have them change their clothes."
"Change clothes?" The guard was bewildered. "Sir, why do we need to change clothes?" "Just change them. I'm here to deliver tribute, not to fight. You don't look like an envoy in your armor!" Seeing Fu Ming'an's slight anger, the guard quickly nodded in agreement, tightened the reins, and went to the back to relay the military order. Fu Ming'an dismounted, counted the number of people and the tribute, and said, "After setting up camp, minimize the use of fires. Over a thousand tents, whether people live there or not, must be set up." After giving these instructions, he turned to the guard, "Load the tribute onto the carts, then come with me into the city to meet the Crown Prince." Pu Yuan had spent a considerable amount of money on this plan, with over a dozen carts carrying the tribute, showing his sincerity. Fu Ming'an led the delegation to the Xiling city gate, dismounted, and bowed to the guards at the gate. "I am Fu Ming'an of the Pu Yuan delegation. I have come to pay my respects to the Emperor of Yan Yun with tribute."
"So it's the envoy from the mission! Please come in quickly!" The soldiers, who had already received their orders, immediately put away their spears upon hearing that it was Fu Ming'an, opened the city gate, and then shouted, "Welcome the mission into the city! The Pu Yuan Mission is here to pay homage! Ten envoys, thirteen carriages, and fifteen Ferghana horses!"
At this moment, Li Yunrui was handling state affairs in the Eastern Palace when a servant outside reported, "Your Highness, the Pu Yuan delegation has entered the city!" Li Yunrui nodded, rose, and instructed, "Tell the Ministry of Rites to prepare the list of tribute items compiled a few days ago. Also, tell the Imperial Kitchen to prepare a banquet tomorrow to welcome the delegation. Someone, I need to bathe and change before meeting the envoys." Since Zhang Ruoming had explained the pros and cons of Pu Yuan's visit to Li Yunrui, he dared not slacken his efforts, fearing that his mistakes would affect relations between the two countries and ultimately cause trouble for Emperor Yun. These past few days, he had ignored his mother's advice to go home and see Lin Xiaomei, keeping himself locked in his study organizing the tribute list, afraid of making any mistakes, and was extremely busy. With winter approaching, Lin Xiaomei was already seven months pregnant. Originally, Consort Yan hoped that Li Yunrui would take good care of Lin Xiaomei, as it was her first pregnancy and Li Yunrui's first child, on whom she placed high hopes. Unfortunately, Li Yunrui was simply unable to spare the time. Lin Xiaomei didn't blame him, but simply shook her head, saying, "Your Highness is preoccupied with state affairs. As his wife, how can I be equal to the people and the nation? There are so many servants in the Eastern Palace; surely they can take care of me. Please don't worry about me; it's just childbirth. You can't help much anyway." Although Lin Xiaomei said this, Li Yunrui still felt very guilty. Since marrying Lin Xiaomei, he hadn't spent much time with her. Now that her pregnancy was progressing and she was becoming increasingly immobile, he couldn't be by her side often. He could say he wasn't a good father. Li Yunrui changed his clothes and went straight to the Xuanhe Hall.
"Envoy Fu Ming'an greets Your Highness the Crown Prince. Long live Your Highness!" Li Yunrui nodded to Fu Ming'an, who was kneeling below. "Envoy, please rise! You must be tired from your journey. I have instructed the Ministry of Rites to prepare inns for you all. Please rest here for the next few days! Tomorrow I will host a grand banquet to welcome you all."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com