Beitang Rui had never seen her true face, even though Long Chi had said that she was his concubine and she had stayed in the mansion for a while. That time when she was in Yuan Xin’s carriage, all he saw was a plain girl who looked nothing like the vision of beauty in front of him, though he did not rule out the possibility that she had been in a disguise.
The girl before him looked exactly like the one in the painting Long Chi gave him.
However, the whole matter was just too suspicious.
Since she said she was an envoy’s family member, then she most definitely had support from a powerful figure.
The token of authority her female guard was holding did not seem to be a fake either.
He would have to wait until Long Chi returned to understand what was actually going on.
He changed his attitude and said in a gentle voice, “Since you’re a family member of the West Reigning General, I believe you must be tired after your long journey. Would you like to take a rest in our city’s coaching inn first? My men will wait for the General here, and when he arrives, they’ll take him to meet you at the coaching inn. How does that sound?”
Lu Liangwei smirked. “That’d be perfect. By the way, the General’s not the only envoy here. To express Great Shang’s sincerity, our Emperor has sent another group of envoys. They should be arriving soon.”
Beitang Rui was greatly surprised to hear this.
Had Great Shang sent envoys other than the West Reigning General?
His suspicion grew deeper.
The two kingdoms seldom had dealings with each other. Moreover, Great Shang had greater national power than the Yan Kingdom, so even though it was the Yan Emperor’s birthday, Great Shang did not have to humble itself and send envoys just for that.
However, this girl spoke with such confidence that it seemed as if she was telling the truth.
In that case, he would have to treat her with courtesy.
“I’ll report what you’ve said to His Majesty, and we’ll send our officials to welcome your kingdom’s envoys when they arrive.” His face was solemn, but his eyes silently studied Lu Liangwei, trying to assess the truthfulness of her words from her expression.
Nevertheless, Lu Liangwei remained composed and even met his gaze boldly.
This made it even harder for him to see through her intentions.
However, the truth would soon be revealed in two days’ time.
Having Great Shang envoys in the Yan Kingdom was no trivial matter, so the soldiers at the frontier would surely deliver the news to the court as fast as they could.
“After you, Miss!” Swallowing his confusion, he motioned for her to go ahead.
Without showing a single hint of fear, Lu Liangwei promptly steered her horse in the direction of the capital city.
At that moment, Long Xuan caught up to them on his horse. When he saw the palace guards surrounding them, he immediately realized what was going on.
He slowed down his pace and approached Lu Liangwei.
“My lord, you’re finally here. Prince Rui just invited us to rest at a coaching inn.” Lu Liangwei turned her head and beamed at him.
At once, Long Xuan understood her plan and nodded at Beitang Rui. “Thank you for your kindness, Prince Rui.”
Beitang Rui glanced at him scrutinizingly and smiled. “You came all the way from Great Shang to celebrate our Emperor’s birthday, but I couldn’t give you a proper welcome. I apologize for that.”
“Apology accepted!” Long Xuan performed a fist and palm salute to him.
The large group headed to the capital city.
Wanyan Jin, who had fallen behind, narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the girl in the center of the group.
“What a cunning woman! She tricked Prince Rui into treating her as an envoy with just a few words!” Bada remarked.
Wanyan Jin suddenly chuckled. “It’s fine. She’ll have to stay in the coaching inn, anyway.”
Bada was puzzled by what he said.
However, Wanyan Jin had no intention of clearing up his subordinate’s confusion, and he spurred his horse to catch up with Lu Liangwei.
Seeing him approach, Chu Jiu instantly moved close to Lu Liangwei, eyeing him warily.
Unperturbed, Wanyan Jin looked straight at Lu Liangwei with a faint smile. “You’re truly a brilliant lady, Second Miss Lu!”
