LIGHTNOVELSTORY chapter 41
Chapter 41: The Special Envoy
Qin Ji naturally wouldn’t make things difficult for Xia Yuxiao.
However, when he sat in the Hall of Four Seas, he couldn’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed.
Goodness, no wonder they brought this up now. They wanted him to deal with the envoy from the Sa’er Dynasty!
Qin Ji never expected that what was originally the chancellor’s job would fall on his shoulders. According to Xia Yuxiao, the old chancellor was too old and in poor health, so she let him take the stage.
Nonsense, with that loud voice the old chancellor had when he argued with him in court, who would believe he was too old and in poor health?!
Qin Ji sat to the left of Xia Yuxiao, and to her right sat the envoy from the Sa’er Dynasty.
But to Qin Ji’s surprise, the envoy this time was a girl.
If the Xia Kingdom had some disdain for women, the Sa’er Dynasty didn’t consider women as normal citizens at all. At least, the women of Great Xia were not discriminated against, though they might face some obstacles in officialdom (which was why Xia Yuxiao’s throne was unstable).
But the Sa’er Dynasty was different. Except for the daughters of nobles, most commoner women could be bought and sold as goods, which Great Xia had warned against many times.
So, when the girl stood before Qin Ji, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was seeing things.
“Seventh Princess of the Sa’er Dynasty, Wuheya, pays the highest respect to the esteemed Emperor and Duke An.”
The girl performed a classic Xia Kingdom salute with perfect composure.
It seemed that Sa’er King Tuwa had found a beautiful wife. As his daughter, Wuheya looked nothing like her fierce father. On the contrary, she was slender, with bright eyes and white teeth, graceful and elegant, completely unlike a princess from the Sa’er Dynasty.
In Qin Ji’s impression, when he went to the Saer Dynasty for military exchange before, he had seen those princesses with his own eyes. Basically, they couldn’t be said to be stunning beauties, but at least they were robust and strong. Riding on horseback and wielding a saber as if they were going to chop someone in half.
However, this Seventh Princess was quite the opposite. Clearly a woman from the northern dynasty, yet she had the gentle appearance of a southern woman from the Great Xia. If it weren’t for her slightly northern ethnic features, Qin Ji would have thought this princess was from Xia.
Just as Qin Ji was observing her, Wuheya suddenly turned her gaze towards him and then showed a gentle smile: “Lord Anguo, long time no see. Ever since you came to our country last time, I have been thinking about you.”
……
Qin Ji could only smile and then said: “Not at all, Your Highness, you are the one who truly makes me unforgettable. After all, among your siblings, you are the most outstanding.”
“You know each other?” Xia Yuxiao asked curiously. Qin Ji had known this princess for a long time and didn’t tell her, which made her feel a bit uncomfortable.
“We had a bit of fate. When the late emperor was still alive, my father went to Saer for exchange, and I followed. At that time, it was the Seventh Princess who received us.”
“Oh? You were quite young then, weren’t you?”
“Not yet an adult, just went along with my father for a trip.”
Qin Ji frankly revealed that he had been taken on a public-funded trip by his father. Of course, although his father left him a lot of mess, he was still very attentive in cultivating his son. At that time, Qin Ji didn’t want to go, but his father personally persuaded him, which made him want to see the world in the north.
Of course, after going there, he basically hung out with the Seventh Princess.
Don’t get it wrong, nothing happened. The Seventh Princess was younger than him, and at that time, they were both in their passionate youth, doing many things that now seem extremely silly, like calling themselves the “Grassland Duo,” one wielding a big saber and the other carrying a long sword to uphold justice.
Of course, this was just their imagination. In reality, their so-called upholding justice was just beating up a few small hooligans who owed money to the tavern. While beating them, they shouted out various move names.
Now, this princess had also put away her former sharpness and become a gentle lady.
“Lord Anguo still remembers me, I am deeply honored.” Saying this, the daughter of the grassland took two steps forward and then held up a curved saber: “This is the national treasure of our Saer country. Today, I present it to you as a gift.”
Qin Ji solemnly accepted the curved saber. As the saber was drawn from its sheath, a flash of cold light like lightning made everyone gasp.
“Thank you for your concern, Princess.”
Qin Ji sat down and then looked at the princess.
However, the princess did not continue speaking but looked at Qin Ji strangely.
Ah, no, girl, why aren’t you moving? Why aren’t you presenting the gift to His Majesty?
Qin Ji glanced back and forth between His Majesty and the princess in front of him, and then looked at the princess from head to toe—this waist, these legs, this… ahem!
No, it seems she didn’t bring any other gifts?
Oh no, could it be that she didn’t prepare any…
Qin Ji realized something terrible.
The Saer Dynasty had never really set up a dedicated diplomatic department and rarely trained diplomatic talents. Even the so-called diplomatic department had only been barely put together in recent years. And in terms of diplomatic etiquette, they were very lacking.
There was once a case where an envoy was sent to negotiate with the late emperor, and he actually used “I” to refer to himself—in a formal diplomatic occasion, and the Saer Dynasty had already submitted to Great Xia at that time.
So…
Could it be that the princess only prepared a gift for him?
Oh no, Wuheya, are you plotting against me?
If it were a soldier from the Saal army, he might believe that only one gift was prepared, after all, the Saal dynasty indeed did not engage in diplomacy. But for you, Uheya, to claim that you don’t engage in diplomacy is pure nonsense. As someone who grew up studying the classics of Daxia, how could Uheya not know the etiquette of Daxia?
However, Qin Ji could only think awkwardly for a moment, then turned his head to look at Xia Yuxiao:
“It’s a good knife, but I am the Duke of Anguo of Daxia. On this occasion of national exchange, this knife should be a token of friendship between the two countries.”
Quickly throw this thing onto the national stage, otherwise, the goodwill he had painstakingly accumulated with Xia Yuxiao would be lost.