Xie Nanjia remained calm and neither argued nor struggled, allowing the guards to drag her away.
King Yuze sat on the throne with a gloomy face. Mu Yuan wanted to give him some advice, but he opened his mouth several times and finally did not dare to say a word.
Seeing that Xie Nanjia was about to be carried out of the hall, Prince Yuze himself called for the guards to stop.
"Think it over carefully. Which do you choose, kneeling down or losing your head?" he asked Xie Nanjia.
"I choose dignity," said Xie Nanjia.
"What's the use of dignity if you have lost your head?" asked King Yu Ze.
"What's the use of having a head if you have lost your dignity?" Xie Nanjia asked back.
King Yuze was angered by her again. He waved his hand and signaled the guards to drag the person out.
Xie Nanjia said: "The Khan doesn't dare to kill me, so why bother to act like this? When he invites me back, won't it be even more embarrassing?"
There was silence in the hall for a moment, and everyone, including Mu Yuan, was worried about Xie Nanjia.
King Yuze was notoriously difficult to please. Even if one served him carefully, one would inevitably be punished by him, let alone intentionally contradicting him
Just when everyone thought that Xie Nanjia's head was in danger, King Yuze suddenly burst into laughter. His laughter was like an old monk ringing a bell, making the hall buzz and echo.
"What a girl with a phoenix destiny! You are indeed a queen, extraordinary!" He stroked his beard and praised, "If you really kneel down to save your life, I would doubt whether God is blind to give such a noble destiny to a coward who is greedy for life and afraid of death."
Everyone in the hall was surprised and secretly breathed a sigh of relief for Xie Nanjia.
Xie Nanjia, however, remained unmoved and sneered without saying a word.
King Yuze was not amused, so he stopped laughing and waved his hand, saying, "Come on, make room for the distinguished guest."
The guards withdrew, and Mu Yuan personally led Xie Nanjia to a seat.
The maid served the unique horse milk tea of the grassland to the guests for tasting.
Xie Nanjia took it and took a sip, and almost spit it out. In order not to appear rude, she pinched her nose and drank it.
King Yuze stared at her intently as she finished drinking, then asked with a smile, "What do you think of the taste of our grassland tea?"
"It tastes okay, but I prefer the fragrance of tea leaves," Xie Nanjia replied.
"Yes." King Yuze nodded repeatedly, "What a cultured nobleman. People from outside the country who come to the grassland for the first time are not used to our tea. Being able to drink it without changing your expression is the greatest respect for us."
In a few words, he became more and more polite, and Xie Nanjia's attitude softened, and she bowed slightly and smiled: "Mutual respect is the most basic premise of friendship between two countries. Although I am a woman, I still understand this principle."
King Yu Ze admired her even more, and after a conversation, he asked his maid to take her to have a good rest so that she could get enough energy to attend the welcoming banquet prepared for her tonight.
Xie Nanjia agreed obediently and left with the maid.
The two of them went from being at loggerheads to having a pleasant conversation, which stunned the servants in the hall.
King Yuze dismissed everyone and spoke to Mu Yuan alone.
"This girl with the Phoenix destiny is really not simple. It must have taken you a lot of effort to get her." King Yuze said.
"That's true." Mu Yuan put his hand on his chest and bowed, "This woman is not only arrogant, but also very cunning. My son has been tormented by her on this journey."
King Yuze turned the jade ring on his thumb and said in an ambiguous tone, "Why, there is still a woman you cannot subdue, and you didn't touch her all along the way?"
Mu Yuan's heart was shocked, and he quickly bent his waist even lower: "This is the task that my father has given to me. I will never take action against it."
King Yuze nodded and said, "Look how scared you are. I just asked casually. You completed this mission very well. Father is very satisfied."
Mu Yuan calmed himself down and straightened his back: "So what is Father going to do with her next?"
"The girl with Phoenix destiny is the one that Young Master Song specifically requested, so naturally she should be given to Young Master Song." King Yuze said.
Mu Yuan paused and his expression changed slightly.
He thought his father would want to take the girl with the Phoenix destiny for himself, but he didn't expect that his father was not tempted by such a beauty and actually wanted to use her as a favor.
What on earth is my father thinking
Since he doesn't want it, why can't he give it to him, but instead give it to an outsider for free.
King Yuze looked at his son silently, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's, and even the slightest change could not escape his sight.
"Why, do you have any objection?"
Mu Yuan knew he couldn't hide it, so he admitted it generously: "My father also said that this girl is rare. I went through a lot of hardships to bring her back, so I'm naturally unwilling to give her up to someone else."
"Why not?" King Yuze frowned and said, "Mr. Song promised me that he would exchange the land north of the Yellow River for this woman. As long as we can help him ascend the throne, he will cede all the land north of the Yellow River to us. This deal is not a loss for us. When we get the land in the future, you can pick any beautiful Han woman you want, right?"
"How can those women be compared with the Daughter of Phoenix Fate?" Mu Yuan said, "My father also said that whoever gets the Daughter of Phoenix Fate can get the world. Since we have the Daughter of Phoenix Fate and have the ability to help Song Jingxing seize the world, why don't we seize the world and rule it ourselves?"
"Because we don't have the strength to defeat the Great Zhou alone." King Yuze said, "So we have to take it step by step. Once we get the land north of the Yellow River, we will be able to cross the Yellow River, Huai River, and Yangtze River and unify the world. By then, the Daughter of Phoenix will naturally return to us and bless us for thousands of years, and our hegemony will last forever!"
Mu Yuan has always known his father's ambition and believed in his father's great talent. He himself, like his father, has the ambition to unify the world. Before meeting Xie Nanjia, he didn't think there was anything wrong with his father's decision, but now, he hesitated.
If he used Xie Nanjia to exchange for the land now, even if he could snatch her back one day in the future, she would not be who she is now.
After a long time, he slowly opened his mouth and said, "Father..."
"Okay, I've made up my mind. Don't say anything more. Go back and have a rest!" King Yuze didn't want to talk any more and waved his hand to let him go.
Mu Yuan had no choice but to bow and leave.
"Wait!" King Yuze called him again, "Have you found the Red Robe Order?"
"Not yet." Mu Yuan said, "I also brought back a woman this time. She was the one Zhao Jingyu had arranged to marry in the desert. She had half of the Red Clothes Order in her hand and gave it to Zhao Jingyu. According to her, Zhao Jingyu didn't know where the remaining half was, and they didn't know it was the Red Clothes Order either."
King Yuze nodded thoughtfully: "Don't trust everything a woman says. If a woman doesn't tell the truth, you should use a whip to pry open her mouth. You must hurry up and find the Red Clothes Order, because your brothers are also looking for it. Whoever finds it first can have it, but I hope you will have it."
Mu Yuan's depressed heart came back to life because of his father's last words.
He knew that his father valued him the most and that he was better than his other brothers in his father's eyes.
"Don't worry, father. I will not let you down." He bowed again and left with brisk steps.
Returning to his own palace, Shan Hu was waiting for him outside the door.
Shan Hu pretended to be him to confuse the pursuers along the way, until the day before yesterday when he finally got rid of everyone, passed through another checkpoint, and returned to Yudu without stopping.
When Mu Yuan saw him come back, he didn't tell him to rest first, but took him directly to the place where Yun Shu was imprisoned, intending to interrogate Yun Shu again.
He must find the Red Order before his brothers so that he can have the final say and have a chance to reverse the passive situation.
At this time, Xie Nanjia was sleeping soundly in the room arranged for her by the maid.
Through the confrontation with King Yuze, she initially judged that it was more likely that King Yuze was doing her a favor, otherwise he would not have tolerated her rudeness.
In this case, she will be safe until she is given away as a gift. Instead of worrying too much, she should focus on calming down first.
The journey was so tiring that she fell asleep as soon as she touched the bed. When she was woken up by her maid, it was already dark.
The maid said that the welcoming banquet arranged by the Khan for the distinguished guests was about to begin, and asked her to wash and change her clothes before attending the banquet.
Xie Nanjia followed the local customs and allowed her maid to dress her up as a complete Yuze woman, wearing colorful clothes and a dozen beads around her neck, and went to attend the bonfire dinner on the grassland.
In order to show their respect for the distinguished guest, King Yuze's wives and concubines, the wives and concubines of the princes, and King Yuze's five princesses all came to accompany him, sitting in a circle around Xie Nanjia among the flowers.
Queen Yuze was Mu Yuan's biological mother, a noble and beautiful middle-aged woman. She said she came to entertain guests, but apart from greeting Xie Nanjia when they first met, she didn't say another word afterwards.
Seeing that she was not very enthusiastic, the other women also ignored Xie Nanjia.
Xie Nanjia didn't care. No one paid attention to her. She was just happy to have some free time and was concentrating on waiting for Song Jingxing to arrive.
Now that her gift has arrived, it’s time for the person to receive it to come out.
She couldn't wait to see what Song Jingxing looked like now.
However, the women ignored her, but the men all flocked to her, their eyes flashing with sparks when they looked at her. From ministers to princes, everyone rushed over to toast her.
Xie Nanjia welcomed everyone who came to her, and dealt with the men with a decent smile. Her eyes and eyebrows were full of charm, and under the reflection of the jumping bonfire, she was so beautiful that it made people's heart palpitate.
The men were crazy about it, and the women were jealous with red eyes.
Mu Yuan was filled with jealousy, and he took the opportunity to pull her out of the crowd and asked, "Don't women in your Great Zhou all follow the rules of women and women's virtues? Why can't you behave yourself?"
Xie Nanjia sneered: "Our wives' code of conduct is to serve our husbands. You are not my husband, so what right do you have to control me?"
"I..." Mu Yuan was choked by her and was speechless.
Xie Nanjia smiled and pointed at the women's seats: "Who is that woman looking at us with eyes that seem to want to eat me like a roasted lamb leg?"
Mu Yuan looked in the direction of her finger and felt even less confident.
"That's my wife," he said, and then he explained eagerly, "On our grassland, we can have many wives. My father also has several queens. They live in different tribes..."
"Why do you want to explain to me?" Xie Nanjia squinted at him, her eyes full of provocation, "Aren't you planning to give me away?"
"I..." Mu Yuan's face flushed immediately, "That was my father's intention."
"What about you? What do you mean?" Xie Nanjia asked.
"I..." Mu Yuan was speechless.
"I thought you were a hero, but you turned out to be a bear." Xie Nanjia curled his lips into a sarcastic smile, poured the wine in the glass onto the ground, and walked away.
Mu Yuan stood where he was, gritting his teeth, clenching his fists, veins bulging on his forehead, and it felt like there was a fire burning in his chest that was about to explode at any moment.
Xie Nanjia didn't look back, but she could feel his anger and was eager for Song Jingxing to show up soon.
Mu Yuan's anger had reached the critical point. As long as she guided him a little, he would fight with Song Jingxing.
Once they fall out, cracks will appear between them, trust will be greatly reduced, and it will not be easy to cooperate.
She admitted that her move was despicable, but didn't Mu Yuan himself say that when two armies are facing each other, do they have to treat each other with respect
As long as it can buy Da Zhou enough time to respond, what's wrong with being a little despicable
(End of this chapter)