socalfunplaces Page 147
Page 147
Upon seeing the grand procession, the members of the delegation straightened their collars and adopted a solemn expression.
Guo Baokun, in particular, who comes from a scholarly family, has been getting his hair cut again and again.
Being warmly welcomed by another country is truly a great honor.
Fan Xian muttered to himself, "Something's not right. We didn't prepare such a grand welcoming ceremony for the Northern Qi delegation when they came to Qing Kingdom."
As the delegation's convoy approached, when they were still a hundred paces away from Wushui Pass, the ceremonial guards in front of the pass began to move and entered Wushui Pass.
Seeing the ceremonial guard leave first, Guo Baokun shouted anxiously, "What's going on? The delegation hasn't even arrived yet, and the ceremonial guard has already left. This is too impolite!"
When Fan Xian's delegation arrived at Wushui Pass, they only saw a few scattered officials from the Northern Qi Court of State Ceremonies.
"Lord Fan, we are here to welcome you on the orders of the Empress Dowager and His Majesty!"
Before Fan Xian could speak, Guo Baokun preemptively asked, "Since you are here to welcome the Qing Kingdom delegation, why did you remove the welcoming entourage beforehand?"
The official from the Court of State Ceremonial replied truthfully, "Lord Fan, please don't be offended. Those ceremonial guards were not for welcoming the delegation."
"According to our country's etiquette, it is sufficient for us to greet the delegation."
Fan Xian sneered, "I suppose those ceremonial guards were there to welcome His Highness Prince Yong."
The official from the Court of State Ceremonial bowed and said, "Indeed, His Highness Prince Yong of your country is renowned throughout the land. He has just departed, accompanied by Lord Shen Zhong himself."
If Fan Xian were an official in this era, this incident alone would be enough to create a grudge between him and Li Chang'an.
But Fan Xian simply doesn't care about those formalities; he doesn't care at all when you talk to him about etiquette.
Sure enough, Guo Baokun was already jumping up and down in a panic, "Lord Fan, as the saying goes, etiquette cannot be disregarded!"
"How can you be so disrespectful in welcoming our delegation? Northern Qi has been impolite, and Prince Yong has also overstepped his bounds!"
Fan Xian said nonchalantly, "Young Master Guo, don't cause trouble, it's not a big deal."
"Our priority is to get on our way and return to the capital as soon as possible to exchange for Yan Bingyun."
In Li Chang'an's convoy, Shen Zhong was trying to get information out of Wang Qinian.
"Commander Wang, is there anyone else in His Highness Prince Yong's carriage?"
Wang Qinian said impatiently, "Lord Shen, our prince said that you are too annoying."
"Why are you following us around like this instead of going to greet the proper delegation?"
"His Highness is traveling privately; it's none of your business whether there are people in our car or not."
Shen Zhong chuckled, "To be honest, your delegation did not bring the hostages alive, so I have no interest in seeing them."
Inside the carriage, Haitang Duoduo listlessly ate the chilled fruit that Li Chang'an had prepared.
Si Lili said with a smile, "Your Highness, look, Duoduo has such an unrestrained personality."
Even when faced with a major crisis, he wouldn't even flinch.
Haitang Duoduo was heartbroken. Kuhe was seriously injured and hadn't come out of seclusion. Now, a near-Grandmaster was bullying her, and she was completely helpless.
There's no other way anyway, and Qi doesn't belong to her family, so she might as well...
I'll just take it one day at a time and give up.
Li Chang'an exclaimed, "The Holy Maiden has such a good nature; that's how one should be."
Last night, the rain was sparse and the wind was strong, and even a deep sleep could not dispel the lingering effects of the wine. I asked the person rolling up the curtain, who replied that the crabapple blossoms were still there.
"Do you know, do you know? It should be that the green leaves are lush and the red flowers are faded."
After copying the poem, Si Lili was stunned. "The poem Your Highness gave to Duoduo is even more elegant than the ones you gave me..."
That's true; of the dozen or so poems Li Chang'an wrote for Si Lili, none of them were serious.
After listening, Haitang Duoduo slowly nodded, "Not bad, better than those given to Lili."
Si Lili said in confusion, "The poems Your Highness gave me were clearly meant for the Empress Dowager."
Haitang shrugged and said, "His Majesty peeked, so I peeked too."
"I didn't understand it when I was a kid, but now that I think about it, it's really... shameless!"
Haitang Duoduo looked utterly disgusted, it seems she has come to understand the meaning of those poems over the years.
Si Lili said somewhat embarrassedly, "Duoduo, you're not right to say that."
Those words were originally poems Your Highness wrote for me, poems written in my private quarters.
"It was never supposed to be made public, so how can you call it shameless?"
"The poem 'Like a Dream' that His Highness composed for you has an excellent artistic conception."
Haitang Duoduo scoffed, "What's so good about it? Royal children, completely ignorant of the ways of the world."
"Crabapple trees are afraid of water; they wilt after being rained on, so how can they be lush and vibrant with red flowers!"
Li Chang'an shook his head and said, "That's not right!"
"The author of this poem was drunk and did not bring the crabapple tree into the room in time. When he woke up, the crabapple tree was already wet from the rain."
"Of course she knew the crabapple blossoms would wither, but she still wrote this poem, which was written when the crabapple blossoms had just been rained on and were in a state of lush greenery and faded red blossoms."
"Duoduo, we cannot deny the beauty of the crabapple after it gets wet in the rain just because it is destined to wither."
Si Lili said dreamily, "In that case, this poem is really very fitting for the occasion."
"The green leaves are lush and the red flowers are fading, the crabapple blossoms are in full bloom, this poem is simply tailor-made for Duoduo."
Haitang Duoduo threw a pear core out the window, hitting Shen Zhong squarely on the head, and then quickly drew the curtains.
“Your Highness Prince Yong is right, but this poem is probably not suitable for this Holy Maiden.”
"Because this saintess can't get drunk!"
Li Chang'an shook his head, "Haitang, don't talk big. You just haven't met me yet."
Haitang said confidently, "We've already agreed on this round. We'll see who falls first!"
Li Chang'an then asked, "Haitang, you and Langtao killed Sean on your master's orders. Does Shangshan Hu know about this?"
Haitang Duoduo shook her head. "The old man is a grandmaster. He can't be bothered with anything other than matters of the survival of the ancestral temple."
"Since you are the high and mighty Imperial Advisor, you should be as holy as I am!"
"Of course, no one can know that killing Sean was Master's order!"
Ku He killed Sean because he feared Sean would reveal the temple's secrets and also because he feared Sean would tell him that he had eaten human flesh.
"Uesugi Tiger has deep feelings for Sean. Aren't you afraid he'll seek revenge on you?"
Haitang Duoduo looked indifferent. "Anyway, I was protecting Sean at the time."
"If Uesugi Torato wants revenge, go find Wolf Peach. This has nothing to do with me, the Holy Maiden."
Li Chang'an pondered the various forces in Northern Qi. Shang Shanhu had a grudge against Lang Tao, Shen Zhong considered Shang Shanhu a traitor to the country, and Zhan Doudou and her daughter were wary of Shen Zhong.
During this trip to Northern Qi, we must find a way to eliminate both Shen Zhong and Shang Shanhu, two important officials of Northern Qi.
Anyway, these two are no longer tolerated by Zhan Doudou and her daughter, and they even hate each other, so dealing with them shouldn't be too difficult.
After significantly weakening the Northern Qi state, the Western Qin state can then formally rebel!
The rebellion of the Western Qin state was a major event that would affect the fate of the Northern Qi state, and Ku He was determined to suppress it.
Then, we'll give Ku He, who's just come out of seclusion, another beating so he'll obediently go and recover from his injuries.
Li Chang'an calculated the time. With the help of the Heavenly Dao technique, he should be able to break through to the Grandmaster level in another two or three months.
The caravan traveled north, with Li Chang'an embracing Si Lili and teasing Haitang Duoduo, finally arriving at the capital city at the end of February.
Li Chang'an and Fan Xian's convoys stopped at the gate of Shangjing City at the same time, because they were blocked by Shangshan Hu.
Shen Zhong, mounted on his horse, gave a perfunctory salute and said, "Greetings, General!"
"If you need anything, just give the order; there's no need for you to come in person."
Uesugi Tora's face was icy cold as he glared at Shen Zhong. "Where is my godfather?!"
Shen Zhong looked puzzled. "Who is the General's godfather? I don't know."
Uesugi Tora angrily retorted, "My godfather is Xiao En, the hostage that Fan Xian sent this time!"
Shen Zhong looked as if he had just realized something, "Oh! Oh! I see!"
"I haven't even finished the handover with Lord Fan yet, General, your arrival is perfectly timed!"
Li Chang'an listened in the car, thinking to himself that Shen Zhong was really slippery.
He knew that Shangshan Hu would be furious if Xiao En died, so he simply didn't hand over the reins and led Fan Xian all the way to the capital.
Let Fan Xian and the Southern Qing delegation bear the brunt of Shang Shanhu's wrath; it would be better if the two sides clashed.
Uesugi Torata rode up on horseback, spear in hand, and arrived before the Nanqing delegation.
"Lord Fan, we meet again! Where is my godfather?!"
Fan Xian cursed Shen Zhong a hundred times in his heart, but there was nothing he could do.
He tried many times along the way, but Shen Zhong just wouldn't hand over the work.
"General, Mr. Xiao was killed by your country's expert Lang Tao. He was stabbed twice in the back, severing his heart meridian!"