Emperor Xuanren stroked the bracelet and noticed the patterns on it. Upon closer inspection, he found that it was quite delicate. There was a dragon engraved on each bead. All the dragons had different shapes and were lifelike. The tiny scales were clearly visible.
“This carving is well done.”
Xiao Cao chuckled, "I carved it."
Emperor Xuanren was surprised, "An Guo actually has such a skill."
"Apart from medical skills, the only thing I am good at is carving. The most important thing about learning carving is to practice your hands and improve your flexibility."
Emperor Xuanren nodded. A pair of hands like that was not something that could be found easily.
"I went to the posthouse before. How is the princess of Liuqi?"
Xiao Cao saw that the Second Prince Liu Gan was clearly already present. Why didn't he ask before? "It's not bad. Although the situation is a little serious, I have already prescribed some medicine. After two or three days, it should be significantly better."
"In that case, Prince Xiao doesn't have to worry." The words turned to Xiao Yu, the second prince of Liuka.
Xiao Yu stood up quickly when his name was suddenly called. "In terms of medical skills, Qi Dynasty is the best among all countries. As for Princess Anguo, the imperial doctors of Qi Dynasty all praise her highly and regard her as their teacher. My sister's problem is no problem for Princess Anguo. I haven't had time to thank Princess Anguo before, so Xiao Yu would like to express his gratitude here."
"You are too polite, Prince Xiao. It is just a small matter." Xiao Cao was absolutely gentle and dignified at this moment, not at all harsh. Since someone had stepped forward, there was no need for her to say anything.
The corners of Prince Xiao's mouth twitched, and he seemed to be speechless.
Emperor Xuanren didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all. His daughter was just that kind of person.
He turned around and said a few more words to Xiaocao, then let her leave. She must be quite bored staying here.
Xiao Cao left with a strange feeling, but after leaving, Xiao Cao was still wondering why she went in here. It seemed unnecessary, but she didn't want to think about it anymore.
Xiao Cao soon met Wei Tingyu who came here, and smiled unconsciously, "Tingyu."
"Xuan'er." Wei Tingyu also smiled faintly, "Did you go to see the emperor?"
"Yes. Just now I saw that all the powerful officials above the third rank seemed to be here. Did Tingyu have something to do before?"
"Well, Kaiping Wei has been quite busy these days."
"Then you go in quickly, I'll go find my mother and the others." Although he knew that it was Wei Tingyu who did it, he didn't have any bad thoughts about it. This was probably the tacit understanding between the two of them.
Wei Tingyu nodded, paused for a moment and then spoke again, "Xuan'er, just do your own thing, don't worry about the rest. You are already very tired, why bother yourself anymore, we will take care of everything."
Xiao Cao didn't need to know what he was saying, as long as she understood the surface meaning. "I know."
Wei Tingyu watched Xiaocao leave until his figure completely disappeared. It was unknown whether he thought of something, but his eyes became several degrees deeper. Then he walked towards the hall where Emperor Xuanren and others were. However, when he reached the door, his face suddenly became gloomy, because someone was actually asking Emperor Xuanren to marry Princess Anguo.
When Emperor Xuanren was talking to Xiaocao just now, the others were just watching and listening quietly. Most of the envoys had never seen Xiaocao. Compared to Xiliuqi, who knew all the big and small things in the imperial city of Qichao and the various relationships before coming, they naturally knew less. For example, they probably only knew a little bit during the conversation with Emperor Xuanren just now.
Then someone expressed his love for Princess Anguo at first sight and wanted to marry her.
This person is not from a tiny country, nor is it a vassal state of Qi Dynasty. In comparison, the country is not weak, and can be regarded as a truly friendly neighbor of Qi Dynasty, with many trade exchanges. Moreover, this country has a more extreme situation, with many gold, silver, and gemstone mines, so the country is named "Bao", but in other aspects, it is a bit...
Of course, the Bao Kingdom has only developed in the last one or two hundred years, and the country's name "Bao" has been around for less than a hundred years.
In the past, no one had discovered those mineral deposits, so although the area was not small, it was very poor as a whole, so poor that other countries had no interest in it at all. Then at some point it suddenly became rich.
The first things discovered were gemstone mines and jade mines. Once mined and processed, it was relatively simple. They probably also knew the potential dangers of sudden wealth, so they tightened their belts at first and made their money bit by bit in secret. Later, because they could no longer hide it, other small countries discovered the clues and, like a gamble, asked Qi Chao for help.
Baoguo was also very lucky, as the emperor of Qi Dynasty was not a warlike person. He accepted the benefits from Baoguo and gave it a hand.
Later, Manbao's country became better and better, and luckily, he did not meet the emperor of Qi Dynasty who wanted to achieve great things - of course, it may also be because he was always restrained by Liuqi - and maintained a good relationship with him. So far, other aspects have also been getting better and better.
"Your Majesty Emperor Xuanren, I am willing to offer one million taels of gold, ten thousand taels of silver, and ten carts of other various gems. I sincerely ask for your country's Princess Anguo's hand in marriage. I hope you can agree." His words were quite sincere.
And many people were choked or even choked, cursing in their hearts, "Baoguo, this damn nouveau riche". At the same time, they were envious, jealous and hateful, thinking that he was too rich and could eat all these things.
Many people's eyes fell on the prince of Baoguo. He was absolutely covered in jewels and precious stones. No one present was more dazzling than him. In fact, this man was not bad looking, but he had too much of the air of a nouveau riche.
Emperor Xuanren was indifferent, "Qi Chao does not want a marriage."
"Your Majesty Emperor Xuanren, you misunderstood. This is not a marriage alliance. I just want to marry Princess Anguo. Of course, if she can marry into the Bao Kingdom, the relationship between the two countries will be even closer. This is beyond doubt."
"An Guo is already engaged and will be married in September this year."
"It's just an engagement, so just cancel it. Even if the marriage has already taken place, it can still be negotiated. For example, Baoguo can give compensation to Princess Anguo's husband. These are all small matters." The prince of Baoguo said with great wealth.
"An Guo will not marry outside the family. If Prince Hei (Tong He) is interested, I have daughters of the right age." The betrothal gift offered by Prince Baoguo was really generous. It was impossible for Emperor Xuanren to not be tempted at all, so he could replace her with other daughters.
What else does the Prince of Bao have to say...
"Personally, I think it would be better for Prince Black to give up the idea or listen to the advice of our emperor." Wei Tingyu walked in without even greeting Emperor Xuanren. His eyes were like knives. If Prince Baoguo said one more word, he might not just want to kill someone.
The prince of Baoguo was startled by his gaze, "Who are you?"
Wei Tingyu retracted his gaze and said, "Your Majesty, I am disrespectful. Please forgive me."
Emperor Xuanren waved his hand, then pointed at Wei Tingyu and introduced him to Prince Baoguo: "This is Anguo's fiancé."
The Black Prince perked up when he heard this. "That's great. We can discuss this. What do you want in exchange for breaking off the engagement?"
"The engagement won't be cancelled no matter what. Moreover, even if it is cancelled, Princess Anguo will not marry outside the family. Doesn't Prince Black understand what our emperor says?" Wei Tingyu was even thinking about the possibility of keeping this prince forever.
The prince of Bao State seemed to react at this point and looked at Emperor Xuanren with some hope.
"If the Black Prince has no other intentions, then forget it. An Guo will not marry outside the family."
There is no way this betrothal gift could be doubled.
The Black Prince wanted to say forget it, but the envoy behind him touched him, and he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue, "Your Majesty Emperor Xuanren, can you allow me to think about it again and make a decision in a few more days?"
"Can."
Qi Dynasty will not send a princess to marry, but the original intention of "marriage" is to seek peace between the two countries. However, there is no discord between Bao Kingdom and Qi Dynasty. The nature of this marriage proposal will be different. If a princess really marries there, she will definitely be the future queen of Bao Kingdom. Therefore, it is indeed not impossible to consider.
Since there is such a beginning, if Baoguo succeeds in his marriage proposal, Qi Dynasty's protection of Baoguo will deepen, and the development of trade in other areas will also be further improved. Obviously, the envoys of Baoguo have considered more than their prince.
The prince of Baoguo only fell in love with Xiaocao at first sight, but he was not deeply in love with her. Therefore, Emperor Xuanren's opinion was not irresistible, but he still felt a little aggrieved in his heart. Although he was not his father's only son, he was the heir, but he could not marry the girl he loved. It was sad...
Skipping this, the next things to talk about are generally peaceful. Even if there are occasional disputes, they will not be too excessive. After all, today is Emperor Xuanren's birthday. If you make him angry, it will obviously be a contempt for his dignity as an emperor, and it may not end well. Any thoughts and ideas can be postponed. After all, the delegations did not leave immediately after Emperor Xuanren's birthday. In fact, the real business is still after today.
In this imperial city, there are actually not many powerful officials above the third rank, and there are about twenty civil and military officials. The military officials are generally younger than the civil officials. Wei Tingyu leads Kaiping Guard, and as the commander, he is considered a military general. However, Kaiping Guard is rather special, so the commander may not necessarily be a military general.
But no matter what, he should be the most eye-catching one among all the civil and military officials. Of course, it is also because he arrived relatively late.
In addition, the King of Dingbei, who usually has little presence, appears to be quite strong when facing Qi Chao Liuqi, especially when facing a certain general of Liuqi. His momentum is so strong that the civil and military officials in the court have never seen it before.
There was no way, because this military officer had fought with him more than once or twice. After the other party suffered countless losses at the hands of Mu Bei, he tried his best to plot against Mu Bei this time, and this time, Mu Bei suffered a lot. Although, in order to plot against Mu Bei, the losses of Liuqi in that battle were also quite large.
With such a high price, it would be best if they could kill Mu Bei, but unfortunately, they did not get what they wanted.
The people of Liuqi originally thought that even if Mu Bei was not dead, he would be completely useless. Unexpectedly, when they saw him today, he looked no different from an ordinary person. The moment he saw the people of Liuqi, he was still very intimidating.
—Speaking of which, when they first met, the general from Liuqi's eyes were as big as copper bells, and he couldn't believe it.
Although they didn't open their mouths, when their eyes met, there was murderous intent in them, like lightning and thunder.
—This is the most direct meeting between enemies, and they are extremely jealous of each other.
Emperor Xuanren sat at the top, but he didn't say much and looked calm and composed.
Others don't know whether he will re-employ Mu Bei and let him return to Northern Frontier. Emperor Xuanren himself knows it best. He is determined to solve the problem of Liu Ge, a great threat to him, during his lifetime. Therefore, as long as Mu Bei's health allows, he will return to Northern Frontier sooner or later.
The time was almost up, and Emperor Xuanren moved on. The birthday banquet was naturally still held at the location where the Empress Dowager's Centenary Banquet was held. The difference this time was that there were no "thousands of elders and elderly women", and the seats were relatively scattered. A large stage was set up at the other end of the square opposite the main seat. Of course, it was not just operas, and most of the other performances would be performed on it.
The three-story stage with a theme structure will be a visual feast when all are in use.