There is a reason for such a long preparation time. Each country's convoy was extremely long, with many people and things. And just as Emperor Qing Yuan said, each country brought their female relatives with them.
Just at this time, a convoy from the ancient Western Regions passed by. The sound of the barbarian horses' hooves rang out, getting closer and closer. Fu Zhiyu glanced down and happened to see King Xidan riding a horse in the middle.
Fu Zhiyu had met King Xidan once in his previous life. After all, he had been on the battlefield of the Qianyuan War. King Xidan's full name was very long. "Xidan" were only the last two characters in his name. According to the barbarian rules, it became a simple title, so the outside world called him King Xidan.
This is a very evil person, a battle maniac and a chuunibyou. In the original novel, he is a top boss. Unlike Fu Zhiyu who exits the plot after one-fifth of the plot, he can be regarded as the last hurdle for Xie Ke to unify the continent. He even has a good ending afterwards. He wholeheartedly bows his head to Xie Ke and becomes one of Xie Ke's subjects.
However, the battle of Qianyuan has been advanced, and the outcome of the battle is also very different from that in the previous life. It is no longer a victory by Ji Lin. He was beaten badly by Xie Ke and had almost no ability to fight back. He almost doubted his life. The plot of the two being evenly matched and in a stalemate for a long time like in the original novel will probably not exist.
I don’t know if it was a coincidence, but when Fu Zhiyu looked down from the window, King Xidan, who had been looking around, suddenly raised his head and looked in his direction. Their eyes happened to meet, and Fu Zhiyu frowned and quickly looked away.
King Xidan's appearance was as evil as his personality. He had a pair of narrow and long phoenix eyes, and there was a red birthmark under his right eye. It was not big, and looked like a drop of blood, or a cluster of flames, which made him look even more evil.
Although Fu Zhiyu quickly shifted his gaze and retracted his upper body, it was impossible for King Xidan, who was riding a horse on the street below, to see him from this angle. However, he kept his head up and stared at the window until the horse team turned the corner and the window of Fengyue Tower could no longer be seen. Only then did he retract his gaze.
King Xidan was followed by his confidant, Qiu Liang, the general of the Barbarian Cavalry. He also noticed that King Xidan's movements were not right, so he asked, "What are you looking at, King?"
"I saw a man," King Xidan said with an ambiguous smile, "I have seen him before. I saw him at Xie Ke's place. It was a very small portrait, about the size of a palm. I don't know what material it was made of, but it was extremely lifelike. I saw him just now. The real person was even more handsome. If it were me, I would probably miss him too."
Qiu Liang frowned. He had a traumatic impression of Xie Ke and didn't know how to respond.
"Isn't it very interesting? Xie Ke put the small portrait inside his closest clothes, and sewed a pocket on the chest of the clothes, putting it close to his heart." King Xidan ignored him and continued to talk in an interesting tone. "Some soldiers would do this, usually their parents and children, and more often their loved ones. But General Xie, who is fearless and omnipotent, put a portrait of a man there. It turns out that he also has a soft spot."
"The king wants to...?"
As soon as Xi Dan saw Qiu Liang's eyes, he knew that he was thinking wrongly. He shook his head and said, "This is someone else's territory. We can't beat Xie Ke in our own territory. If you dare to offend him here, do you dare? I want to go back in one piece. People should know themselves. I'm not that reckless."
"But," he said, then changed the subject, "I'm just curious and want to join in the fun, is that okay?"
After the envoys from the four countries stayed in their respective residences and took a short rest, Emperor Qing Yuan held a grand banquet in the palace the next evening.
It was on this occasion that Fu Zhiyu met King Xidan for the second time. After he heard the ceremonial officer introduce him as Prince Zhao of this dynasty, Fu Zhiyu saw a very obvious change in his eyes.
"I have long heard of Prince Zhao's great name. I am so sorry for my disrespect." He even came forward to clink glasses with Fu Zhiyu. "I caught a glimpse of her in Fengyue Tower. I thought she was some noble who had such a graceful demeanor. It turned out to be Prince Zhao, who is famous in the capital."
Fu Zhiyu frowned: "Do you know me?"
"King Zhao is a great poet and painter. The Barbarian Palace also treasures a painting of snow plums you painted. How could I not recognize it?" King Xidan smiled faintly and took a step forward and said, "Today I see that you are indeed different from us rough people. I wonder if King Zhao would be so kind as to have a few drinks with me?"
Fu Zhiyu didn't expect this man to pester him. What does Xi Dan Wang, a battle maniac, know about poetry and painting? It's just an excuse. What does he want to do
Fu Zhiyu opened his mouth, but before he could refuse, a voice came from behind him.
"King Zhao can't hold his liquor, so why not let me drink with you on his behalf?"
It was Xie Ke. Holding a wine cup in his hand, he walked to Fu Zhiyu's side and stared at King Xidan with an obvious warning in his eyes.
I haven't done anything yet, but I'm already getting angry.
King Xidan kept smiling, but his mind was full of thoughts. However, he knew his limits and knew that Xie Ke was not someone who could be confronted head-on. After paying his respects, he left obediently and was taken by the ceremonial officer to deal with other people.
"Baby, you have to be careful of him. King Xidan came to you for no apparent reason. He must have some agenda." Xie Ke was still worried after he left, so he turned around and repeatedly reminded Fu Zhiyu, "If he really wants to do something, bring me up. He won't dare to touch you."
Fu Zhiyu took a big step back, increasing the distance between himself and Xie Ke. Although this place was large and chaotic, and it was still night, there were many lanterns hanging, so if someone was paying attention, they would still be able to notice this side.
"General Zhenyuan, please be careful with your words." Fu Zhiyu said, "I have never met you, General, and I have only just met King Xidan. Please be careful with your words."
“Zhi Yu…” Xie Ke was helpless and wanted to pull him again, but he quickly dodged him.
"It's late at night and the dew is heavy. I'm not feeling well. I've sent someone to inform my father. I'll take my leave now." Fu Zhiyu estimated that it was about time, and it wouldn't be too abrupt for him to leave at this time. "Thank you, General, for having fun."
"I'll take you there," Xie Ke followed him closely, "There are many foreign envoys these days, and even a lot of merchant caravans have followed here, it's very chaotic outside, Zhiyu, I'll take you to the palace and I won't disturb you, okay?"
Fu Zhiyu shook his head: "No."
But Xie Ke refused to listen. He followed Fu Zhiyu's carriage on horseback. After watching him enter the palace, he stood in front of the door for a long time before leaving.
"Why do I feel like he's much bolder than before?" Although Yuan Mingdao hated Xie Ke, he wasn't really a child and didn't let his momentary emotions affect his thinking. "Because he has power now?"
When Xie Ke was still a royal guard, he would never dare to do this in public. But now he seems to care about nothing. Not only the emperor, but even people in the streets know that General Zhenyuan has the best relationship with Prince Zhao.
It is said that it was because he saved Prince Zhao Xie Ke that he was promoted step by step. The emperor did not say anything. He originally wanted Fu Zhiyu to marry a woman from the Xie family, but now that it is impossible, it is also a good thing for him to establish a good relationship with Xie Ke.
After hearing what Yuan Mingdao said, Fu Zhiyu neither shook his head nor nodded. His time at the banquet was not in vain. Except for the overly active King Xidan, everyone else had their own thoughts, and he saw it all.
Although the previous plan between the Xue family and the ancient country in the Western Regions failed, and Fu Zhiyu did not know how the middleman, General Huoqi, mediated, the two should have reconciled their past grudges. It was said that the girl Xue Rongye was going to marry was the daughter of General Huoqi, and the cooperation between the two families had been set, including the Lin family.
The Lin family was blind before and chose King Xidan who did not play by the rules. King Xidan acted as if nothing had happened and still went up to toast happily. However, General Lin did not dare to drink the glass of wine.
The emperor saw that the Xue and Lin families were combining all the forces they could, but he was not in a hurry. He was waiting to catch them all in one fell swoop. The aristocratic families had always refused to obey, and Emperor Qingyuan had been looking for an opportunity to truly grasp the supreme power and no one could interfere.
What if they united with the ancient country in the Western Region? The strength of the Western Region was not as good as that of the barbarians. If the barbarians could be defeated, the Western Region would be easy to conquer. Emperor Qingyuan wanted more than that. He looked at everything in front of him without any panic, and felt that he had won.
The Xie family was his biggest support. The entire banquet seemed to be another celebration banquet for the Xie family.
It was not surprising for anyone to go and toast to Xie Ke, including the State of Chen whom he had helped. However, Fu Zhiyu caught a glimpse of the King of Chen who had been talking to her for a long time, with such a kind expression on his face, as if Xie Ke was his own son.
This reminded Fu Zhiyu of something else.
Xie Ke and the King of Chen are really related, a real blood relationship. In his previous life, Fu Zhiyu always wanted the jade pendant that Xie Ke was wearing. It was left to him by his deceased mother as a token of love for his future daughter-in-law, but Xie Ke never gave it to her, and even Miss Xue, who later married him, didn't get it.
It was not until Fu Zhiyu finished reading the entire novel that she realized that Xie Ke's mother who died early was a foreshadowing. She was the daughter of the King of Chen who was stranded outside due to some unknown circumstances. The jade pendant was the proof that Xie Ke was actually his grandson.
There is also a blood relationship, plus the favor of being rescued on the battlefield, so it goes without saying that the King of Chen has a favorable impression of Xie Ke. Although Chen is actually a vassal state of Jilin, reality is reality and name is name. It is not so easy to completely turn the entire Chen into Jilin's territory. With this relationship, a few years after Xie Ke ascended the throne in Jilin, the King of Chen saw that he had established a firm foothold, so he went with the flow. Chen gradually became Xie Ke's possession, and only Jing was left in the Central Plains. Jing did not last long under this situation. Xie Ke unified the three kingdoms in the Central Plains without a single soldier. He was very good at governing the country, and the people's lives became increasingly prosperous, and they had no complaints.
In the previous life, it was during the Qianyuan War when Xie Ke led his troops to support the State of Chen that the jade pendant came into play. Now, looking at the expression of the King of Chen, Fu Zhiyu guessed that this matter had probably been brought forward along with the war.
Emperor Qing Yuan only saw the desperate struggle between the Lin and Xue families, and thought that Xie Ke was still young and could be controlled. However, he did not see that the seemingly loyal minister was the one harboring the greatest evil intentions