The dawn of dawn always makes people feel hope, but in the dawn of dawn, Qining only felt horrified at this moment.
The two golden bodhi trees in the backyard were originally the same, just like twins, but at this moment, the two big trees were completely different. One was as lush and shady as ever, while the other looked as if it had gone through a night of snow. , the whole big tree condensed into frost, and the white frost covered the whole golden bodhi tree, covered with silver.
Qining had seen a lot of strange things, but the scene in front of him was jaw-dropping.
If there was a frost last night, all the trees would have turned into frost, but there were many trees in the garden, and only that one was covered in snow.
Qi Ning was startled and suddenly thought of something. He climbed out of the back window, ran under the tree, took out the cold blade, found the place where the box was buried, and used the cold blade to dig. The soil had just been disturbed last night and should have been very special. It is soft, but it is very hard at the moment. It seems to be frozen soil in winter, frozen by ice. If it were not for the cold blade to cut iron like mud, it would be really difficult to dig it out.
Taking out the box, Qining opened it and found that a thick layer of ice had formed inside the box. The moment he opened it, a burst of biting cold air hit his face. Qining couldn't help but shudder, and poked the white clam with the cold blade. There was no movement from the clam. Qining frowned and tried a few more times, but there was no response from the clam. He knew that after this night, the clam was already dead.
He knew that although the white clam had a strong vitality, it must be properly preserved, and there must be a unique way to ensure its survival. After stealing the white clam from Gongzhaxi, he did not know how to maintain it. Bai Clam also died in his own hands.
It was still early and there was no one around. Qining used a cold blade to gently pry open the clam shell. The ice inside the clam was cold, but the pearl was still bright and bright.
This small bead can actually cover a golden bodhi tree with frost overnight. It is truly amazing. Qining knew that this bead was even more miraculous than he imagined. It can be said to be a rare treasure. He stretched out his hand to take out the pearl. It was freezing cold in his hand. Qining hurriedly took a cloth from his body and wrapped it around the pearl. He still felt cold. At this time, he did not delay and took out the white clam. The shell and the box were buried again, and then he took the beads and returned to the house.
As soon as I returned to the house, I heard Qi Feng's voice coming from outside: "Master Hou, someone has come from the palace and asked us to go to the Tiandi Pavilion to have an audience at the right time."
Qi Ning didn't know where the Heaven and Earth Pavilion was. The beads in his hand were as cold as before, and he said: "I know." Thinking of something, he said: "Go find a box and bring it over. The more ordinary the better."
Qi Feng agreed and went. Qi Ning then placed the beads on the table and stared at the beads wrapped in a cloth. Only then did he realize that in a hurry, he had wrapped the pearls in the fragrant handkerchief presented by Gu Qinghan.
This bead is bitingly cold. Although you can put it in your arms for storage, it is so cold that if you carry the bead with you, you will be in the cold winter all day long. You can't tell when you will get frostbite from this bead, so you can only It is necessary to find a place to store it, but the post house belongs to the territory of the Dong Qi people, so no matter where it is placed, it is not safe.
Qining knew that even if this kind of treasure was not priceless, it was extremely valuable. He couldn't think of any use for it at the moment, but there would be no harm in keeping it.
He thought in his mind that Qi Feng did things very quickly. Not long after, he was already outside and said: "Master Marquis, bring the box."
Qi Ning went over to open the door. Qi Feng came in holding a small box. The box was very ordinary. Qi Ning walked to the table and opened the box. He took out the ice pearl, put it into the box, quickly closed it, put away the scented handkerchief, hesitated for a moment, then handed the box to Qi Feng, and whispered: "This pearl was presented to me by the Prime Minister of Dong Qi last night. Please give it to me." Mr. Zhuo, please help me put it away, and there must be no accidents. If it is lost, you will pay for it with my head."
Although Qi Feng was his confidant, there were some things that it was better not to let him know.
Qi Feng also knew the relationship between Linghu Xu, the Prime Minister of Eastern Qi, and Zhuo Qingyang. Linghu Xu asked Qi Ning to bring a pearl to Zhuo Qingyang. It was not a rare thing. He put it away and said, "Don't worry, Lord Marquis. I will keep it safe."
"Don't let others know about this." Qi Ning whispered: "Although Prime Minister Linghu and Mr. Zhuo are brothers, they are not from the same country after all. I help them pass things. If others find out, they may have ulterior motives. People like me are going to slander me for having connections with foreign countries."
Qi Feng smiled and said: "The little one won't let anyone know, and he will not notice it."
Qi Ning breathed a sigh of relief. He was carrying this bead with him. He was in Dong Qi and was attracting the attention of everyone, but it was not safe. If he left it on Qi Feng, he was just an attendant beside him. Naturally, the eyes of outsiders would not be focused on him. For Qi Feng, this would be safer.
It was quite a long journey from the Dongqi Posthouse to the imperial palace. The Dongqi Palace sent messengers to greet them, so Qining did not delay. He ordered his men to make preparations and bring gifts before going out to the Posthouse. The carriage had been prepared outside for a long time, but there was no one from the Northern Han Dynasty mission. Qi Ning was wondering when Wu Dalin came closer and whispered: "Master Marquis, Beitang Feng didn't come back until dawn. He was out most of the night last night." , Prince Yu was so angry that he kept waiting in front of the post house. When Beitang Feng came back, he was taken back by Prince Yu. "
"Beitangfeng wasn't in the post house last night?" Qining asked with a frown.
Wu Dalin said: "Beitang Feng didn't come back to the post house after leaving the Prime Minister's Mansion last night. Prince Yu sent people to search everywhere, but they couldn't find him. He didn't know where he was fooling around. When he came back just now, he was depressed and without any energy. , Humph, this kid knew that he was going to enter the palace today, yet he still dared to do this, then Prince Yu is so angry that he will not fight."
Qi Ning smiled lightly and said: "In this way, they can't leave for a while. Ignore them, let's go there first."
The Tiandi Pavilion is not the main hall of the Dong Qi Imperial Palace. It is located on the south side of the Dong Qi Imperial City. Enter from the south gate, pass two palace walls, walk along a white marble avenue, and then pass a stone arch bridge. Not far away is the Tiandi Pavilion. Looking at it from a distance , the Tiandi Pavilion is magnificent, and the decoration is also extremely gorgeous.
Since he was to receive envoys from other countries, the location chosen by the king of Eastern Qi was naturally not too shabby.
In fact, Qi Ning had already expected this. Although Dong Qi was a small country in the eyes of Chu and Han, it was still dominant. When foreign envoys came, they always had to show their national prestige. Before they even arrived at the Tiandi Pavilion, they had already heard about it. When we arrived, the fragrance of sandalwood wafted, and we felt relaxed and happy. Under the guidance of the palace staff, we arrived at the Tiandi Pavilion. Everything was filled with gold, pink and white jade, and pearls. Everything was made of gold, with jade as the surface, agarwood and sandalwood as the base, and pearls and jade as decorations. The decoration must be magnificent and exquisite, dazzling.
Qi Ning even observed that even the guards of the Tiandi Pavilion seemed to have just been issued new clothes, and their spears were sharp and powerful.
Qi Ning sighed inwardly. Although Dong Qi was a small country, its level of extravagance was even greater than that of Chu. He had been in and out of Chu's imperial palace many times, and he had often been in and out of the imperial study of the young emperor Longtai. But the Chu's imperial palace There seems to be no such luxury inside. In this Tiandi Pavilion, it seems that just a brick can be enough for an ordinary person to spend several lifetimes.
The Heaven and Earth Pavilion is divided into the main hall and the left and right side halls. The king of Eastern Qi has not yet summoned the envoys of Chu, so the envoys from Chu were taken to the side halls to wait. The king of Eastern Qi wanted to summon the envoys of the two countries, so naturally they had to wait until both the envoys arrived. , and it is still some time before Si Shi, so naturally he will not be summoned in advance.
It was explained in advance that each of the two countries' missions could only have ten people entering the palace. Before entering the palace, Qi Ning had already handed over the gifts to the officials of the Eastern Qi Ministry of Rites for inspection. As for the gifts for Linghu Xu, it would be He was sent to the Prime Minister's Mansion alone. In addition to Wu Dalin and Qi Feng, seven other people from the Chu State delegation also entered the palace. However, when entering the palace, all weapons were handed over, except for Qi Ning, who was carrying a cold blade and hid it tightly. , the guards did not dare to be too rude to Qi Ning and brought him in.
Everyone was waiting in the side hall, and Qining closed his eyes to rest. Although Linghu Xu got the news last night and told him that the current situation was extremely beneficial to Chu, Qining would not take it lightly until the king of Eastern Qi issued an edict.
After waiting for less than half an hour, two eunuchs came in. They did not unfold the imperial edict, but just gave oral instructions. When Qi Ning stood up, he announced: "The emperor has an edict, and the envoy of Chu State, Qi Ning, has come to see you. I admire this!"
Qi Ning and Wu Dalin looked at each other, cupped their hands, and followed the eunuch to the main hall of the Tiandi Pavilion. When they entered the main hall, they saw it was extremely grand. It seemed that the cavalry charging in this hall would not be crowded. Qining raised his eyes and looked In the past, I only saw a person sitting high up, wearing a golden crown on his head, with bright beads emitting soft light. His clothes carried the sun and the moon on his shoulders. Qining could not see it for a while if he was carrying stars on his back.
The light in the hall was sufficient, enough to see the scene in the Tiandi Pavilion. As he followed the eunuch forward, he glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw the civil and military officials of the Eastern Qi Dynasty on both sides. They were all slightly hunched, looking unusually submissive, walking. After walking for a while, I found a square pool in front of me. The pool was filled with clear water, and there were bronze cranes and turtles in it. The pool was not big, but it blocked the way forward.
Qi Ning then stopped, and Wu Dalin and others followed behind him. Qin Ning knew that the man above him must be the king of Eastern Qi, so he bowed slightly and said, "Qi Ning, the envoy of Chu State, is here to see His Majesty the Emperor of Qi State! "But he didn't kneel down.
"Are you from the Jinyi Qi family?" A feeble voice came from above. If it weren't for the empty hall and Qi Ning's excellent hearing, it would be hard to hear. Qi Ning frowned slightly, thinking that this person was weak, obviously. His energy was extremely weak. Before, he could only see the king of Dong Qi with a golden crown and jade robe from a distance. Now he raised his head slightly and saw very clearly that the king of Dong Qi looked very old. He looked like he was sixty or seventy years old.
He had some doubts in his heart. King Taishan was the eldest son of the king of Dong Qi, and he was less than forty years old. Logically speaking, the king of Dong Qi would never be more than sixty years old, but the emperor of Dong Qi in front of him, He was obviously much older than sixty years old, and he seemed to be in poor spirits. Qin Ning secretly wondered whether it was because of the deaths of King Taishan and King Linzi that the king of Eastern Qi was depressed and showed his energy and decadence.