Another sound of galloping was heard from the city, and soldiers riding on white horses came out of the stone city in two rows and stood in front of the formation, each holding a flag, looking arrogant and majestic.
The third cannon shot was heard in the city, and with it came a ceremonial guard in brocade clothes and flowery hats, holding a dazzling array of ceremonial objects in their hands, and surrounding a large green wool sedan chair carried by sixteen people, which slowly came out of the city.
Qiu Yizi saw that this set of ceremonial guards was exactly what the princes had ordered. She also saw that behind the green woolen sedan chair, four burly strong men were holding up a large flag with a four-clawed golden dragon on it, with large characters as thick as bowls inscribed on it that read "The Imperially Appointed King Zheng of Lingnan". She knew that the person sitting in the sedan chair must be the Prince of Lingnan himself!
This King of Lingnan, who had been scheming to ascend the throne since he was a prince, this King of Lingnan, who had guarded the southern border of the Han Dynasty for more than ten years and had a large army under his command, this King of Lingnan, who made the current emperor feel like a thorn in his throat but did not know where to start, is now in this sedan chair that is so close!
Qiu Yizi had been talking about the King of Lingnan with Zheng Miao and Lin Shuhan these past few days. Now he was about to appear before his eyes. This made Qiu Yizi, who had always been very bold, a little frightened, as if there was an endless amount of pressure coming from the sedan chair, which made him unable to breathe and as if he was about to faint.
Qiu Yizhi had felt this suffocating feeling when she forced the "false emperor" Zheng Yao to death, and when Zheng Rong ascended the throne with murderous intent. Today, it appeared again among the green mountains and clear waters of Lingnan. This made Qiu Yizhi feel like a beast encountering a natural enemy. She unconsciously tightened the lost and recovered Western Region sword on her waist. Her hand holding the sword was trembling a little, but her brain was running fast, thinking about ten thousand possibilities and ways to deal with it.
But then someone from the opposite team shouted loudly: "Imperial decree! The King of Lingnan has arrived!" Then drums and music sounded, deafening.
Qiu Yizi held her breath and listened to the entire set of rituals and music. Suddenly, she saw the curtain of the green woolen sedan chair tremble, and a tall and strong man in his fifties, wearing a magenta dragon robe, stepped out of the sedan chair with trembling legs.
He looked sick and walked unsteadily. He stumbled after taking a few steps and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, his two personal guards saw him and rushed over to support him from both sides. Only then did he move forward step by step.
Qiu Yizhi was extremely surprised when he saw this. He looked at the sick man who seemed to be blown down by a gust of wind. He couldn't believe that he was the Lingnan King Zheng Gui who made the wise and powerful Emperor Zheng Rong sleepless. But Qiu Yizhi had seen this man's clothes and appearance countless times in Guangyang City on Youyan Road and on his adoptive father Zheng Rong - it was exactly the clothes of a vassal king that could not be more clearly understood!
After a long while, this person was finally carried to the front of the imperial carriage that Zheng Miao was riding. He was already sweating profusely from exhaustion and gasping for breath for a long time. Then he reluctantly knelt down, kowtowed, and said, "Your Majesty, I am Zheng Gui, King of Lingnan, and I respectfully await the arrival of the imperial envoy, the Third Prince!" After that, he kowtowed twice more.
According to the etiquette of the Han Dynasty, Zheng Miao was the emperor's messenger and was the symbol of Emperor Zheng Rong. Even with his noble status as a vassal king, he still had to perform the ritual of three kowtows and nine bows.
However, Zheng Gui seemed to be extremely weak. After bowing three times, he seemed to have no strength left in his feet. After struggling for a long time, he was unable to stand up.
Zheng Miao was usually a kind and benevolent person. Seeing the state of Zheng Gui, who was his uncle and elder, he softened his heart and quickly stood up from the seat of the imperial sedan chair and said, "The King of Lingnan is not feeling well, so there is no need..."
Before he finished saying the three words "you're too polite", Qiu Yizi, who was riding on a horse beside him, coughed lightly and said, "Third brother, please don't be compassionate or soft-hearted again. If we fail in the courtesy, won't the prestige of the King of Lingnan increase again?" He was obviously a little too sensitive, fearing that if he relaxed a little, he would be crushed into pieces by the tense atmosphere here.
Zheng Miao felt that what Qiu Yi said made some sense, so he swallowed the next three words and said, "Don't force it." Suddenly, he changed the subject and said to the two guards beside Zheng Gui, "Are you two blind? Don't you see that your old prince is weak and frail? Why don't you help him complete the ceremony?"
The two guards usually followed the King of Lingnan and had never heard anyone giving instructions like this. They were about to get angry, but were frightened by Zheng Miao's noble demeanor and his piercing eyes. They shrank back and hurriedly bent down to help Zheng Gui up, then helped him kneel down and kowtowed three times.
With the help of his guards, Zheng Gui finally completed the ritual, but it seemed that all his strength had been exhausted. He fell to the ground and could no longer stand up.
These soldiers who had just come out of the stone city were all led by Zheng Gui. Seeing their prince so tired, they were all filled with indignation. Even Zheng Miao, who was more than ten steps away, seemed to hear their increasingly rapid and heavy breathing.
Zheng Miao quickly took out a yellow silk-covered imperial edict from the bright yellow box beside him and said loudly, "Imperial edict, everyone kneel and listen!"
As soon as he said this, everyone in front of him should have kneeled down and listened. However, the more than a thousand people in front of him seemed indifferent. They still held their weapons and ceremonial objects, standing proudly in the same place, motionless, as if they did not understand what Zheng Miao said.
Zheng Miao was a little uneasy when he saw this, but he was a shrewd and calm person, so he calmed himself down and raised his voice again: "Imperial decree! Everyone kneel and listen!!"
Of course, the soldiers would not be frightened by Zheng Miao's slightly raised tone, and they continued to turn a deaf ear to him as before.
Zheng Miao stopped talking and stood silently on the imperial carriage without moving an inch, but his eyes kept scanning the group of unruly Lingnan soldiers in front of him. The atmosphere became extremely awkward for a moment.
Zheng Gui, who was still crawling on the ground to receive the order, managed to stand up and said to the two guards who were still standing beside him: "Don't you know how to bend your legs? Why don't you kneel down quickly? Do you want to be a traitor?"
After hearing the order from the King of Lingnan, the two guards looked at Zheng Miao fiercely, but they had no choice but to step back two steps, bend their knees, and kneel on the ground. These two were Zheng Gui's most trusted and personal guards. The Lingnan soldiers made them kneel, so they had no reason to hold on any longer, and they had to kneel on the ground one after another.
Zheng Miao heaved a sigh of relief when he saw this scene, but he did not dare to relax the serious and solemn expression on his face. He tried to calm himself down, then calmly unfolded the imperial edict and read: "The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, decrees..." Although his eyes were fixed on the imperial edict, he was secretly observing the movements on the opposite side.
In this way, Zheng Miao absentmindedly read the imperial edict that he had come here after crossing mountains and rivers. While reading this word, he had forgotten the previous word. He kept repeating the words "秦此" before he breathed a sigh of relief and put the imperial edict carefully back into the box.
Zheng Gui was still lying on the ground, about to kowtow to express his gratitude, when Zheng Miao suddenly jumped down from the imperial sedan chair and walked up to Zheng Gui. Just as everyone was startled by Zheng Miao's sudden action, they saw him half-crouching beside Zheng Gui, bending down to personally help Zheng Gui up, and at the same time he did not forget to say: "Uncle, please get up quickly, please get up quickly, how can I bear to see you like this!"
With the help of Zheng Miao, Zheng Gui managed to stand up straight. He looked up at his nephew, whom he had never met but was his dearest nephew. An extremely complicated expression suddenly flashed across his face.
Zheng Miao hurriedly said, "Second Prince, didn't you see that your father is ill? Why don't you come and help him!"
After hearing this, Zheng Yu hurriedly got up from the ground, stumbled to his father Zheng Gui's side, and supported Zheng Gui tightly.
Lingnan King Zheng Gui finally stood firm, then smiled bitterly and said to Zheng Miao: "I am also a person who never admits defeat. I am so sick today, I really make my nephew laugh!"
While holding Zheng Gui, Zheng Miao replied, "Why didn't your uncle send anyone to inform you when he was so ill? I would have brought the decree in and read it out. Why did you bother your uncle to come and receive him in person?"
"It's as it should be. It's as it should be. This is how the relationship between the ruler and his subjects should be." Zheng Gui replied.
Zheng Miao continued, "Uncle has received the imperial edict, but my father still has a few words to say to you. It's windy here, and you're weak and worried that you might catch a cold again. I wonder where we can talk?"
Zheng Gui panted and said, "I am recuperating in a side hall in the city. If Your Highness the Third Prince does not blame me for being presumptuous and rude, can you come to my bedside and talk to me?"
"Of course. My nephew is the younger generation of my uncle, so I should serve and take care of him. Even tasting the medicine is quite reasonable for me." Zheng Miao turned around and called Qiu Yizhi and others, "What are you standing there for? Why don't you escort the Prince of Lingnan back to the city?"
After hearing this order, Qiu Yizi's spirits suddenly lifted, and he thought: Third brother has been trained so well in the past two years in the core court. With just a few words, he not only allowed his entourage to enter the city and be stationed there, but also did not lose any etiquette. No wonder the emperor intends to let him inherit the throne.
Although Zheng Gui was seriously ill, his mind was not confused at all. He said tremblingly: "Does my city lack guards? I think it's better for the Third Prince's men to stay outside the city. I will send people to reward them." He had already rejected Zheng Miao's order.
Qiu Yizhi behind him heard this and quickly ordered: "Jiming, the Third Prince is such a royal family, and the Lingnan Prince is in a precious body and is afraid that he will hurt the Third Prince, why don't you go and help change his hand?"
Yuchi Jiming was still a little girl, and she didn't know the deep meaning of the words of these scheming people. She herself really didn't want to take care of the big and strong old man in front of her, so she wanted to refuse. However, before she opened her mouth, she saw Qiu Yizi staring at her with an extremely serious look, so she had to stick out her tongue, jump forward, gently push Zheng Miao away with her shoulder, and reach out to support Lingnan King Zheng Gui.
After all, Zheng Gui was a member of the royal family and a vassal king guarding the south. His body was extremely noble and he would not allow others to desecrate it so easily. He was about to shake off Yuchi Jiming's hands, but he felt that there seemed to be endless strength between the girl's seemingly slender hands, which made him, a man, unable to move.
Zheng Gui quickly looked Yuchi Jiming up and down. Although she was a woman, she was wearing a very neat outfit. He could not guess her background, so he asked, "May I ask who this girl is?"
Zheng Miao, with his hands empty, replied: "Yuchi Jiming is the daughter of Yuchi Lianghong. She is as skilled in martial arts as her father, but she doesn't know the rules, so she comes to me to learn etiquette. I wonder what advice Uncle Wang has for her?" (To be continued)