The Elegant Dancing Years By Huo Li (火狸) | BL

Chapter 18 | Imperial Court

Lian Tong's envoy didn't understand what she said wrong that caused the Emperor of Cang He to be dissatisfied. But she knew that his next words were going to be important, so she and the envoy of An Yang glanced at each other, calmed down and waited for him to explain what was going on.

The courtiers standing on the side also felt that His Majesty's words today carried some profound meanings. Could it be that, as mentioned earlier, someone privately expressed favour to the envoys of the two countries? Sure enough, the person on the throne seemed to find the situation very interesting and asked: "I heard that several envoys that came to Cang He played at many places in Ye Yao City? After MingEr disappeared, there was even a night of singing, is this true?"

An Yang envoy quickly shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, I do not know who spread such false rumours! The Second Prince had an accident, how could we, as envoys of other countries, be so rude!"

"Exactly, although Lian Tong is famous for singing and dancing, we would never do such a senseless act! Your Majesty has always been wise and can distinguish between truth from falsity, there was no such thing!"

"Alas, I just asked casually. Why are the envoys getting so excited?" Qi Xutian held Qi Mingyue securely, let him lean in his arms and he organized his hair bun for him before he continued unhurriedly, "Because, during this period of time, people often talked about the fact that while MingEr had been gone, the envoys of the two countries took this opportunity to make private connections with my most important ministers. All kinds of gold, gems, entertainment and jades were exchanged, I wonder if this is true?" Without waiting for their answer, he continued as if nothing happened, "Since these envoys said they have never gone out, then they have been staying in their assigned residences. If someone came to see them, they surely must have greeted them. Those generous gifts at your residence were not collected by you, then your ignorant servants collected them for you?"

Only then did they realise that the previous question was just for this sentence. What a great Emperor, he actually blocked their retreat with their own words.

It was not uncommon to give gifts to envoys of other countries, it could even be considered normal, but after all, this matter couldn't be openly put on the table.  Because once revealed, the gift giver would be suspected of joining another country. It was impossible for the person on the throne to be unaware of this, but it seemed that today, His Majesty decided to expose this matter in public.

The people who secretly communicated with the envoys were troubled and felt uncertain. According to His Majesty's nature, he would either laugh it off or be furious, he might pull them down and behead them. The ministers reckoned that since the Second Prince was sitting in His Majesty's lap, His Majesty would not be able to kill anyone in front of such a young child, so they felt relieved.

The An Yang envoy knelt down quickly, "Your Majesty, I, as an envoy, should not have discussed other countries' internal affairs, but since Your Majesty already knows about it, I can only tell the truth."

The envoy of Lian Tong also knelt down and said, "Someone from Cang He's court indeed sent gifts to my residence, and there was more than one person."

As soon as this statement came out, there was a sudden uproar in the hall, unexpectedly, Qi Xutian was not surprised and still asked calmly, "What was their reason for giving gifts? I would like to know the reason they needed to rely on the envoys of other countries."

Seeing that the Emperor of Cang He didn't ask who the gifter was, he only asked what it was for, the two envoys naturally felt better. They didn't delay any further and answered Qi Xutian's words, "It's for the position of Cang He's Crown Prince."