Xiao Cao seemed to have seen through Wei Tingyu's thoughts, "No matter what, this is the imperial city of Qi Dynasty."
Wei Tingyu nodded. Qi Dynasty was not a small country. On the contrary, in terms of comprehensive national strength, it was ranked first. The biggest threat was Liuqi. But in fact, with the Dingbei Army guarding it, Liuqi could hardly advance an inch. In comparison, the relationship between Xichi and Qi Dynasty seemed to be quite good. Of course, this was only on the surface. No matter what the situation was, it was not the turn of others to be arrogant here.
This matter has nothing to do with them for the time being, and has no impact on the "house-warming banquet" in the princess's mansion.
Wenren Taibo would probably be quite annoyed. He was already unhappy that they were asked to start court early. However, since Emperor Xuanren was born in the first month of the year and Xichi was quite far away, it would be okay to start court early just in case. He would be unhappy for a while and it would pass. But now, they didn't follow the rules and messed up the original arrangement. They should have been having a relaxing and happy time, but suddenly they had to "work overtime". No matter who they were or where they were, they would not be happy if they encountered such a thing.
Wenren Taibo left Princess An's mansion in casual clothes, and had no intention of going back to change into official clothes, even though Wenren Taibo lived not far from Princess Anguo's mansion. Of course, he would not be the only one to welcome the envoy. There would also be other officials from the Ministry of Rites and officials from the Honglu Temple. Apart from them, there were no more. Originally, there were royal princes among the other party's personnel, so we should have sent someone of equal rank to welcome them, and to make it more solemn, it would be most appropriate for Prince Duan to come forward.
Prince Duan's brothers were more willing to take on this task, but unfortunately, it was not known whether the actions of the Xichi delegation also angered Emperor Xuanren, as he had no such idea at all and just sent a few ministers to get the job done.
Wenren Taibo was casual, but the others didn't dare to be so casual. They hurriedly changed their clothes and rushed over. Wenren Taibo was calm and composed, "You gentlemen, there is no need to rush. It's still early."
The group looked at each other in bewilderment. Was this to mean that the people from Xichi would be left out in the cold? However, Wenren Taibo was not only the acting Minister of Rites, but also the father of Princess Anguo. He was also in the emperor's favor, so they naturally did not dare to say anything.
Wenren Taibo brought people to meet Xichi's people at the city gate. He said things like "sorry for being late and having to wait for a long time", but there was clearly not much sincerity in his words, which made Xichi, who was already waiting impatiently, even more angry. "Is this the Qi Dynasty's way of entertaining guests? Our prince has come in person, and they just send two officials to get rid of us? This is outrageous." He reached for his waist casually, but felt nothing. The person who spoke should be obviously a military general, tall and burly with a quick temper. He should have drawn his sword. However, since he was "sneaking away" and did not want to be discovered, he could not carry such an obvious thing as a sword with him.
Of course, the accent was a bit off, but Wenren Taibo didn't need the people from the Honglu Temple to speak, he actually understood about 80% of it, and smiled with a fake smile, "To treat different guests, there are naturally different ways of entertaining them."
"you… "
The leading man smiled and held out his hand to stop the people. "This is my fault, please forgive me. I admired the customs and people of Qi Dynasty and wanted to experience it in private without thinking much. Now it seems that I have caused trouble for your country. When I meet His Majesty Emperor Xuanren, I will apologize to him."
"Your Highness is too polite. Your Highness is tired from the journey, why don't you go to the inn to rest first?"
"That's fine."
On the way, the prince seemed to be indifferent, as if he did not feel Qi Chao's neglect at all. He spoke to Wenren Taibo quite warmly, lamenting the bustle and prosperity of the imperial city of Qi Chao. He said that he had met people who had been to Qi Chao and heard about their experiences, so he had been yearning for Qi Chao since he was young. This time, he had put a lot of thought into congratulating Emperor Xuanren on his longevity and finally asked his father for permission.
"No wonder Prince Qi Chao speaks the official language so well. If you don't know, you would think you have stayed in Qi Chao for a long time." Wenren Taibo's words seemed to have a deeper meaning, but also seemed to be just stating a fact.
Prince Xichi naturally took it as the latter and continued the conversation naturally.
Then he talked about Wenren Taibo's attire. Although it was casual clothes, it was also serious. "… Was your Excellency a guest outside before? If so, this time it is indeed my fault for disturbing your Excellency's elegant mood."
Wenren Taibo was not ambiguous and nodded directly, "I will open the palace of Princess Anguo and hold a banquet today."
"Is it such a coincidence? Can I go with you to apologize to the princess of your country?" He seemed to be full of sincerity, making it hard to refuse.
As a person, Taibo did not refuse. After all, it was not something shameful. According to the emperor's attitude, he would not see anyone before the court session. Besides, it would not be a good idea to do too much. After all, he was the prince of Xichi. Although Xichi was not as good as Qichao, its national strength should not be underestimated.
So he didn't go to the post station, but went directly to Princess Anguo's Mansion.
Xiaocao over there had already received the news, and of course had no extra emotions. He just treated them as having two more guests. Even if they were princes from another country, they would only be a little special at most, and it would be fine as long as the courtesy was sufficient.
At the gate, he met Shangshu Xie, who came late because he probably had something to do. And this time, Third Master Xie was with his father. It must be said that Third Master Xie really has his own aura wherever he goes. He can always become the focus of attention, no matter whether he is a man or a woman.