Next, I started flipping through a lot of books to find out where I could find records of blood antelopes.
However, after searching for a long time, everyone could not find any records about the blood antelope. Just when they were feeling depressed, the judge came out of the palace.
Hearing about the blood antelope, he was startled for a moment, frowned and thought for a while, then said to Murong Jie, "I heard that there was a pair of blood antelope horns in the Liang Kingdom Palace. They belonged to Doctor Wen Yi in the past, and were later given to Princess Jing Mo. I heard that the princess later gave them to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Liang."
The court's verdict undoubtedly gave everyone a boost.
This was because the Crown Prince of Liang would arrive in Kyoto tonight. If he really had the blood antelope horn and was willing to lend it, he could rush to Liang and come back in about ten days.
Now the seven-segment worm can stay in the body for seven days. After the seven-segment worm is drawn out, the needle can be sealed again, which means three days in total, which adds up to ten days.
The Prince of Liang has been to the Great Zhou twice, and this time makes it the third time.
Every time he came, he was received with great ceremony by the Great Zhou, but none was as grand as this time.
Before he reached the city gate, he saw a long line of people lined up on both sides, and a red carpet was dragged half a mile from the city gate. On both sides of the red carpet, the guards of honor stood, and when they saw his carriage, they started playing music and setting off fireworks. Because it was not dark yet, the fireworks were not very good, but they really scared Liang Guo Prince Song Ruiyang.
When the convoy got closer, he saw a dark group of people standing under the city wall. After careful observation, he saw almost all the members of the royal family, including Prince Li, Prince An, the Regent, King Ding, King Liang, King Beixiang, Marquis Liang, Duke Jingguo and so on.
He hurriedly asked the attendants around him, "What's going on in the Great Zhou Dynasty? Why are they hosting me with such a grand ceremony?"
The attendant was also a little surprised. "I don't know what's going on. It's okay for others, but it's a little unusual for the Regent to come out of the city gate to greet us personally."
You know, the regent is now equivalent to the monarch, so there is no need to bother him to welcome the prince of another country. Moreover, even if he wants to welcome him, he should not come to the city gate.
The carriage slowly stopped and Song Ruiyang, the crown prince of Liang, jumped out. His white brocade robe fluttered in the cold wind. Although he was already thirty-six or thirty-seven years old, he was still as handsome as ever.
It is well known that the royal family of Liang State produced beautiful beauties. This prince inherited the good looks of the Liang State's retired emperor, Song Chonglou, who was Song Ruiyang's grandfather.
Song Ruiyang led the envoys forward, and Murong Jie also stepped forward. Without waiting for the envoys to greet him, Murong Jie grabbed Song Ruiyang's hand and said in a familiar manner, "Brother Song, you must have had a hard journey. I have already set up a banquet in the palace to entertain you all."
The word "Brother Song" almost made Song Ruiyang's eyes fall out. He looked at Murong Jie with a puzzled expression, "Your Highness, this..." He turned his head to take a look, and the officials saluted one after another.
"Oh!" Murong Jie seemed to have just remembered the courtesy and waved his hand. "We, the Great Zhou and Liang, are like brothers. There is no need for so much courtesy between brothers. No need to be polite, no need to be polite!"
"Thank you, Regent!" said the envoys.
Song Ruiyang arrived at the palace in great surprise. As soon as he got off the carriage, he saw that the palace was very grand, with lights and decorations at the door and red firecrackers hanging. As soon as he entered, he heard loud "crackling" sounds. He was caught off guard and was frightened so much that his face turned pale.
He was pushed into the table without even having the chance to exchange greetings. The princes took turns to toast him, and he drank seven or eight glasses of wine in this round.
An envoy wanted to come forward to help him drink, but Murong Jie actually raised his glass and toasted the envoy as well. After Murong Jie's toast, the other princes also toasted. The envoy only wanted to drink a glass for the prince, but in the end he was toasted seven or eight times. Moreover, he was of low rank, so after the princes toasted him, he had to drink three glasses himself to show his respect. These envoys were all good drinkers. After all, diplomatic social interactions require a good alcohol tolerance. However, after these ten glasses, he was seven or eight percent drunk and could hardly walk steadily.
Zi'an was also present tonight, no wonder Murong Jie did such a scary thing, because time was really tight.
They analyzed that the Prince of Liang came to seek marriage. If he knew that Zhuangzhuang committed suicide for another man, he might not save him. Therefore, the best way was to get him drunk first and then speak. Once he agreed and wrote the handwritten note, he would immediately order people to leave the city and go to Liang.
Ni Rong and Su Qing were already waiting outside, ready to set off as soon as they received the imperial edict.
However, it was obvious that the prince of Liang was different from the prince of Zhou. He drank a round but did not seem drunk. He raised his head with a shrewd light in his eyes, "Your Majesty, if you have something to say, you may as well speak frankly."
He realized that tonight's banquet was arranged at the last minute. Generally speaking, when envoys came to a country, the banquet would be arranged for the next day. The first day would definitely be for the envoys to rest.
However, they were dragged here without even a sip of water.
He also knew that Regent Murong Jie rarely hosted banquets, or rather, never did.
And there was no topic for the conversation tonight, the only topic was to get him to drink.
Murong Jie put down his wine glass, and everyone put down their glasses and looked at each other.
Murong Jie was silent for a moment, and said, "There are indeed some things. Please don't be offended, Your Highness. I want to ask, does Your Highness have a blood antelope horn?"
Song Ruiyang raised his head quickly, "Why does your Highness ask this?"
"My aunt has been poisoned and needs to be detoxified with blood antelope horns." Murong Jie gave up his original plan because Song Ruiyang was obviously very calm, so he just said it.
Song Ruiyang's expression tensed, "The princess was poisoned? How could this happen?"
"It's a long story, I'll tell you slowly." Murong Jie looked at him, "So, does Your Highness really have a blood antelope horn?"
Song Ruiyang nodded, "Yes."
Murong Jie and Zi'an looked at each other. Zi'an suppressed his ecstasy and asked softly, "Then I wonder if Your Highness could lend us the blood antelope horn? We only need a little bit of it to grind into powder, and the rest can be returned to Your Highness."
Song Ruiyang smiled bitterly, "It is true that I have a blood antelope horn, but it was stolen seventeen years ago."
Everyone exclaimed in disappointment.
Murong Jie was a little unconvinced, "Someone broke into the palace and stole something? Who stole it? And in the end, they were not able to get it back?"
Song Ruiyang picked up the wine glass and said with gritted teeth: "I have been looking for this thief. In addition to stealing the antelope horn, he also stole something very important from me and has not returned it yet."
"Who is it?" Zi'an asked.
Song Ruiyang looked depressed and angry. "It was the former leader of the Liang State Salt Gang, Liu Yue. If I find this female bandit leader, I will punish her severely."
Zi'an asked, "Why don't you just go to the Salt Gang to look for her? Did she run away?"
"She ran away. She was no longer wanted by the Salt Gang. After stealing my things, she packed up her belongings and ran away that night. I have been looking for her for seventeen years, but there is no trace of her whereabouts."
(End of this chapter)