The visit of the emissaries from the Southern Barbarian Lands had alerted too many people who were plotting something. One by one, the web was pulled open secretly, trying to get the help from the Southern Barbarian Lands. Feng Yuran had brought Crown Prince Xieyue and Princess Caifeng to the court early in the morning. When they reached the outside of the main hall, there were eunuchs waiting at the entrance of the hall. At the sight of them, they hurried to send a message from the Emperor, asking them to enter the hall.
After Crown Prince Xieyue and Princess Caifeng came in, they first brought some gifts and credentials they brought here. Then, they talked to Emperor Zongwen about the friendship between the two countries. Of course, they wanted the two countries to make peace for a long time. For Emperor Zongwen, he was happy to see this. He smiled and asked them to sit down and said some polite words.
It made sense that the Crown Prince of the Southern Barbarian Lands wanted to marry Emperor Zongwen’s princess. Furthermore, unlike Bai Yichen who married Emperor Zongwen’s only legitimate princess, the Crown Prince’s demand was not very big. The princesses who could marry in the palace were the Sixth Princess and the Seventh Princess. The Sixth Princess was Imperial Noble Consort Wen’s daughter and the Seventh Princess was Consort Shu’s daughter. Both of them were the daughters of high-ranking consorts and their statuses were not low either.
After marrying to the Southern Barbarian Lands, the princess would become the Empress in the future. Emperor Zongwen was satisfied with it. He made a vague promise to Crown Prince Xieyue. Anyway, the emissaries of the Southern Barbarian Lands would stay in the capital for some time, so it was not the time to make a final decision.
The banquet would be held in the Xiayun Hall between the Emperor’s Qianqing Palace and the Empress’ Tianfeng Palace at noon. Since the Xiayun Hall was between the two palaces, parliaments usually held in there. Besides, it was between the front hall and the inner palace, so both men and women could go to the banquet.
The emissaries of the Southern Barbarian Lands had even alerted the Empress Dowager. Naturally, the Empress had been invited to leave the Buddha Temple to preside over the banquet. She could not allow anyone to make a fuss about it. It would be impolite for the Empress not to attend the banquet at this time.
Feng Yuran had sent someone to pick Mo Xuetong up early in the morning. She did not return to their manor and entered the palace directly. However, because she was unwell, she did not go directly to the Xiayun Hall. The Emperor allowed her to rest in Consort Xian’s Anhe Palace. They would return to King Xuan’s Manor together after the banquet. No matter what, she was Consort Xuan. Now that there were emissaries from the Southern Barbarian Lands living in the manor, it was inappropriate for her, the mistress, to not show up.
In fact, Mo Xuetong was not seriously ill. She had been treated in the courtyard out of the city a few days ago. It was interesting. As for the Crown Prince and the Princess of the Southern Barbarian Lands, she knew about it. Originally, according to Feng Yuran’s intention, he wanted her to stay in the courtyard all the time, using the excuse that she was seriously ill and could not get up.
However, Mo Xuetong was not willing to do it and insisted on coming over. Feng Yuran had no choice but to pick her up early in the morning. And he told her to have a good rest in the Anhe Palace, and that there was no need to worry too much about the matter of the Southern Barbarian Lands.
With Feng Yuran’s instructions, the people in the imperial harem did not dare to be careless. They had served lunch early, which staggered the banquet in the main hall at noon. After eating, Mo Xuetong lay down and rested. Mo Lan and Mo Ye were waiting outside the room.
The banquet had yet to begin in the main hall. Emperor Zongwen sat on the top. The Empress Dowager sat on his left and the Empress on the right. The other consorts surrounded them. The Sixth Princess, the Seventh Princess, and the other princesses followed behind their mother and looked out curiously.
Just now, someone had claimed that Princess Caifeng, who came from the Southern Barbarian Lands, would dance for the Great Qin!
Feng Yuxuan, Feng Yuzhen, and Feng Yuran were chatting with Xieyue, and the other emissaries were accompanied by other officials.
At the moment, Crown Prince Xieyue coughed in a low voice. Feng Yuxuan looked up and down at him and asked lightly, “Your Highness, haven’t you recovered yet? Haven’t you found the reason for so many years? I’ll tell Father to order the lead imperial physician of the Imperial Institute of Medicine to see you. Maybe he can find the cause.”
“Thank you, King Chu. I got the illness ever since I was born.” Crown Prince Xieyue turned his head and coughed lightly again. He covered his mouth with a handkerchief, and his face was a little gray. The gray color seeped into his skin, which showed that it had been a long time. “It’s difficult to cure the disease gotten from the womb.”
Xieyue said politely. He evidently held out no hope of curing his illness, and there was a faint smile on his pale face.
“That’s not necessarily true. My cousin’s medical skills are very brilliant. In the past, when my grandmother was in poor health, a group of physicians didn’t know how to cure, but he cured her. Grandmother is still very healthy now,” King Ning, Feng Yuzhen, interrupted, while pointing at the smiling Empress Dowager who was sitting on the high platform.
“Do you refer to the Crown Prince of Yan Kingdom?” Xieyue thought for a moment and asked.
“Yes,” Feng Yuzhen answered with a smile.
“I’ve heard that the Yan Kingdom’s Crown Prince is handsome and graceful like an immortal, I’ll not miss it if I have the chance to see him.” Every country would pay attention to the outstanding Crown Prince like Bai Yihao and have a detailed file about him. “The Yan Kingdom’s Empress is so lucky to have such an immortal-like Crown Prince.”
Xieyue sighed with emotion. He was in a plight. Because of his mother’s early death, he was raised by the current Empress. And since the third prince, the current Empress’ son also wanted to take the throne, he plotted against Xieyue in all aspects. For so many years, it could be said that he had been in a difficult situation and dared not say something wrong or take a wrong step.
On the one hand, he sympathized with the Crown Prince of the Yan Kingdom. Although Bai Yihao had a mother, his mother had no power to help him. As a Crown Prince, he came to the Qin Kingdom to be a hostage. Actually, the hostage only needed to have royal blood. How could the Emperor of the Yan Kingdom allow such an important Crown Prince to come to the Qin Kingdom as a hostage? Obviously, the action did not have any good intentions. Whether it was because the Emperor did not like the Crown Prince, or because of other reasons. At least Xieyue was certain that the Crown Prince of the Yan Kingdom was just bright on the surface, and it was not easy for him to take a step.
Xieyue really felt that he was spiritually attracted to Bai Yihao, who had the same identity as him, for a long time.
“My aunt is the Princess of the Qin Kingdom, and she is naturally strict with my cousin’s education. That’s why my cousin is so outstanding. I heard that my aunt and my sixth sister are quite similar. She is also gentle and gracious. She gave birth to my cousin in the Yan Kingdom. Although my cousin isn’t the Emperor’s first son, he was doted on by the Emperor of the Yan Kingdom. Not long after he was born, he was conferred the title of Crown Prince.” Feng Yuxuan smiled and turned his head, motioning Xieyue to look at the Sixth Princess sitting above.
The Sixth Princess was sitting next to Imperial Noble Consort Wen obediently. Imperial Noble Consort Wen was talking to someone, and she was listening quietly by the side. From time to time, she would smile and was very quiet and lovely. As she felt that someone was looking at her, she cast a glance, and met Xieyue’s eyes. After a slight pause, she lowered her head slightly from the distance as a salute.
Such a dignified and polite attitude gave a good impression to Xieyue. He couldn’t help but turn around and nod to praise her. “Sixth Princess is indeed a gentle girl. I heard that Fifth Princess is married. Is Sixth Princess the next one?”
It was indeed a bit inappropriate for an outsider to say that, but everyone knew that Crown Prince Xieyue came to make a marriage by taking the opportunity to visit the Qin Kingdom, so Feng Yuran lazily picked up the wine cup and handed it to his lips. He took a sip and answered lazily, “In fact, Sixth Sister and Fifth Sister were born just a few days apart. Fifth Sister has been married to the Yan Kingdom for so long, and it is time for Sixth Sister to choose a husband.”
The meaning of this sentence was very clear to the people who heard it. Xieyue smiled and nodded, but he did not say anything more. Since the Sixth Princess was suitable for him both in the age and temper, and she was good-looking. She would be the best candidate. Then, he would choose her!
He picked up the wine cup by her hand, took a sip, and turned to Feng Yuran. He seemed to think of something and asked with a laugh, “I heard that when the Princess of the Qin Kingdom married to another country, she would take several minister’s daughters with her. Is it true? Is the Emperor of the Qin Kingdom worried that there is no one to accompany the princess when she goes to another country?”
When the princesses of the Qin Kingdom married into other countries, some of them took minister’s daughters to strengthen their favor, and some of them didn’t. However, the recent two princesses both took minister’s daughters with them. When the Empress of the Yan Kingdom married into the Yan Kingdom, she had brought the daughter of the Minister of Rites’ concubine and the daughter of another first-grade minister’s concubine. After that incident, the Fifth Princess married in a rush. Even so, the Empress had also prepared a beautiful girl, the daughter of a minister to go with her.
These women could also be consorts after their husband took the throne. On the one hand, they would help the princess of the Qin Kingdom get their husband’s favor. On the other hand, they would increase the connection between the two countries. Like the princess, their families were also in the Qin Kingdom. If war broke out, their families would be the first one to suffer.
But this was an unwritten rule, so it couldn’t be mentioned on the surface.
Feng Yuran did not say anything. There was a flash of light in his smiling eyes, but it was all hidden under his long eyelashes. He raised his pretty eyes and looked at Crown Prince Xieyue with a half-smile. Instead of answering, he lifted the wine cup in his hand and took a sip of the wine.
Feng Yuzhen really did not expect him to mention this. It was the Qin Kingdom’s decision whether to send minister’s daughters with the princess or not. What did Crown Prince Xieyue mean by asking this? He could not figure it out at the moment, so he decided not to talk about it.
Feng Yuxuan smiled slightly and took over the topic to explain, “Father loves my sister and is afraid that she will be lonely in a strange land. Those minister’s daughters accompany her to go to the other country. But if the other side is not satisfied or my sister is not satisfied, they can be sent back to our country immediately. Therefore, this is not a rule.”
The other side was not satisfied? That was almost impossible. Even if the other side was really not satisfied, why did they not say it before? If they said that they were not satisfied with them until the matter was settled, it was a disgrace to the national policies of the two countries. As for the other possibility, the princess married to the country from the royal family had already known about it. Even if she was unsatisfied, she would not do that, for she knew that if they sent back the minister’s daughter, other girls would be still sent here. It was better to win their heart and make them loyal to her.
Therefore, this one was also impossible.
“Oh, what kinds of minister’ daughters of your country will be chosen to go with the princess?” Feng Yuxuan’s words were vague, but it aroused Xieyue’s interest. He looked at him and asked with bright eyes.
“Of course, the ones who are gentle and good-looking.”
The ones who were gentle! She was one of the kind! The ones who were beautiful. Needless to say, she was stunning when he first met her. As for the status, she was the legitimate daughter of a third-grade official. In the past, those girls were all concubines’ daughters, but their fathers were either a first-grade or a second-grade official. So the legitimate daughter of a third-grade official should have an equal status. It seemed that as long as he mentioned it, it would not be difficult.
Thinking that Third Young Miss Mo was going to spend her life with him in the future, Xieyue unconsciously showed a hint of gentleness and a smile in his eyes.
All the people present were good at observing people’s expressions. Feng Yuzhen raised his eyebrows and asked teasingly, “Your Highness, do you take a fancy to someone?”
“Well, don’t ruin her reputation. It’s just that I saw her occasionally that day and I admired her.” Xieyue smiled and shook his hand to explain, “When the wind blows up the curtain hat, the woman under it is pure like water. I sparked with her.”
He was the Crown Prince of the Southern Barbarian Lands, so he naturally acted tallying with the style of the Southern Barbarian Lands. If such a woman married another man, he would be uneasy for the rest of his life. He might as well take the opportunity of drinking wine just now to cover his face and tell the people what he thought. The princes present would naturally tell the Emperor of the Qin Kingdom. That girl was just an official’s daughter, and the Emperor would definitely be willing to send her to him!
“Oh, which family does she come from?” Feng Yuzhen asked curiously. Feng Yuxuan and Feng Yuran involuntarily turned their heads to look at Crown Prince Xieyue. They did not expect that Crown Prince Xieyue would fall in love with a lady of the Qin Kingdom as soon as they just entered the city. It was rare. If she was not an important person, they could just send her to go with the princess.
