June 9th, eight days after the Regent's "corpse" disappeared.
The envoy from Northern Desert came to the capital, and it was none other than Prince Qi of Northern Desert.
He came on behalf of Beimo to renew the alliance with Dazhou. The two sides signed a ceasefire and peace agreement fifteen years ago, which was renewed every three years.
After the death of the Regent, the responsibility of receiving the envoys naturally fell on the shoulders of the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager ordered the Minister of Rites and Lord Cui of the Secretariat to go to the city gate to receive them early, and then Prince Li and Prince An hosted a banquet in the palace to entertain them.
In recent years, Prince An has not been involved in state affairs, but he is an old acquaintance of Prince Qi, so it is most appropriate to arrange for him to join the reception.
The envoys came to the capital to sign a peace agreement, so the people in the capital were all jubilant.
The Northern Desert is rich in fine horses, so this time Prince Qi brought a hundred horses of excellent breeds, which can also be improved into war horses.
The Northern Desert was a warlike people, but in the 15th year, they were defeated by the cavalry led by Prince An, forcing the Northern Desert Emperor at that time to surrender.
However, the people of Beimo did not hate Prince An because the Beimo emperor's continuous wars had displaced the people and caused poor production. At that time, almost all adult men in the country were conscripted into the army, resulting in a decline in the birth rate. In the following years, Beimo suffered from a serious imbalance in the ratio of men to women.
Prince An's cavalry marched north and conquered the Emperor of Northern Desert as well as the men of Northern Desert. The men of Northern Desert have always admired capable people, so Prince An became a heroic figure in Northern Desert.
Naturally, this hero only knows among the people, and the pro-war faction in the royal family of Beimo is still very wary and hates Prince An.
Prince Qi belonged to the peace faction. When the peace agreement was signed, the two men admired each other and almost became brothers.
When the banquet was held in the palace, all the ministers were also invited, and those who were kneeling outside the Empress Dowager's palace also attended the banquet.
Prince Nan Huai did not attend. The Queen Mother had sent someone to invite him, but there was no reply and he did not show up.
The Empress Dowager thought that he wanted to accompany the Noble Concubine, so she did not make things difficult for him. After all, it was enough to have so many royal relatives and ministers accompanying him.
The prince was wearing a yellow prince's court robe with four-clawed real dragons coiled on his chest and back, which made him look extremely noble.
He was in high spirits tonight. Before Prince Qi of Beimo entered the palace, he had already arrived first and personally went down the stone steps to greet him as the ruler.
Prince Qi had met the prince once, but at that time the prince was hiding behind the emperor and was not very noticeable. Later, after talking with him once, he found that the prince was narrow-minded and superficial. He was very disappointed and felt that he was not someone he should make friends with.
However, due to etiquette, he did not show it.
Prince Qi had just arrived in the Great Zhou, so he didn't know the news of the Regent's "death". So after meeting the Crown Prince, he subconsciously looked for the Regent.
When Prince An came forward, he asked Prince An, "Why don't you see the Regent?"
Prince An looked gloomy and said, "The Prince Regent has passed away!"
Prince Qi was shocked. "How could this happen? This is such a pity. God is jealous of talented people."
Prince Qi was truly regretful and sad. He would come to Beijing once a year to talk with Prince An and the Regent, and they had a close relationship.
He sighed repeatedly, "How could this happen? Is it an acute illness? I have had several detailed discussions with him before. He is knowledgeable and knows how to govern a country. He is a good monarch who can stabilize the country."
Upon hearing this, Taifu Liang said calmly, "Prince Qi, the emperor of our Great Zhou Dynasty is still here, and Prince Regent Murong Jie is only acting as regent temporarily. It is inappropriate for you to address him as the monarch."
Prince Qi quickly apologized, "Yes, I made a mistake. Please forgive me, Master. Please forgive me!"
Taifu Liang said: "The national conditions of Beimo are different from those of Dazhou. It is understandable that Your Majesty does not know. The Crown Prince of our dynasty is also a generous person and will not argue with Your Majesty."
Prince Qi looked up in surprise and looked at the prince, wondering if what Grand Tutor Liang said meant that the prince would be in charge. But the prince...
The Zhou Dynasty should not have made such a decision. Although the prince will ascend the throne sooner or later, the prince has not yet reached the level of a monarch. He needs at least ten to eight years to be trained.
These words also fell into the ears of the Empress Dowager, who was very displeased.
The Queen had been watching the Empress Dowager's expression. When she saw her expression like this, she knew what she was thinking. She smiled coldly. She really had not thought of letting the Crown Prince take charge of the government. It seemed that it was necessary for her father to win over so many people.
After hearing what Taifu Liang said, Prince An said calmly, "Taifu, why are you so anxious? The Crown Prince will naturally not argue with the prince, and neither will we. Ignorance is not a crime. Besides, the prince has no ill intentions."
The Queen Mother said, "Okay, don't stand, please take your seat, Your Majesty!"
Prince Qi looked at the Empress Dowager and then remembered that he had not yet paid his respects to her. He hurried forward and said, "The Northern Desert Envoy pays respects to the Empress Dowager of the Great Zhou Dynasty. May the Empress Dowager be in good health and live a long and happy life."
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "Your Highness, please get up quickly. You are like one of our own. Stop being polite and take a seat."
Prince Qi sat down and looked at the sea of people. The momentum tonight was even greater than that of the day when the emperor personally received him.
He had a vague feeling that tonight's banquet was going to cause a bloody storm.
Outside the city, in the suburbs of Beijing.
Since noon today, Zian felt something was wrong.
Before, the guards on duty outside never came in, but today, several groups of people came and went, and every time the guards came, she could not be present.
Xiao Tuo and Su Qing lost their previous relaxed expressions and became serious.
When cooking dinner, Su Qing did not come in to help, but was discussing with Murong Jie and Xiao Tuo in the room.
When she went in and out, she could vaguely hear words like mobilizing troops and intercepting, and Murong Jie also issued a military order.
Zi'an felt a little uneasy. Were they going back? But he had told her beforehand that it was okay.
Murong Jie's injuries have not healed yet. If he fights again and the wound bursts again, it will not be a fun thing.
After the meal was ready, she went in and knocked on the door. "It's time to eat. Have you guys agreed?"
Su Qing came out to open the door and stretched, "Are there any delicious foods? Are there any sashimi tonight?"
Zian shook his head, "No."
She looked at Murong Jie, who was sitting on a chair with his eyes closed. He looked very relaxed, without any of the tension and solemnity on the eve of a big battle.
Zi'an felt that he might have guessed wrong. Maybe they were making preparations for future events
As a doctor, she really did not recommend Murong Jie to leave here now.
Murong Jie seemed to feel Zi'an's gaze. He opened his eyes, locked his dark pupils on Zi'an, and stretched out his hand, "Come here!"
Zi'an moved his feet and walked over, "My Lord, what do you want me to do?"
Murong Jie looked at her and said, "After dinner, help me bandage the deeper wounds and make sure they are better."
Zi'an's breathing was a little stagnant, "My Lord, your injuries have not healed yet, you can't..."
"When did you become so long-winded?" Murong Jie glared at her. "Just follow my instructions. We are not going to fight. We are just bandaging it better so that I can appear more majestic in front of you gentlemen."
(End of this chapter)