LF Chapter 9

The clouds above gathered and scattered, and the stars in the sky rose and set. Time flew by, and it was already mid-June.

In the Prince Zhao Manor, the lotus pond shimmered, and the red lotus in the pond was elegant and bright. Jiang Yinghua kept her word and no longer provoked Yan Wanzhi in the slightest. She traveled between the palace and her manor every day, living a peaceful life.

Yan Wanzhi was probably not petty either, and did not plot anything, nor did she lose favor because of the caning.

That evening, after bathing in the hot springs, Jiang Yinghua let her waterfall-like black hair cascade down her back, casually draped a thin gauze robe over herself, and leaned bonelessly against the white jade railing in front of the lotus pond, lost in thought. She held a gold wine pot in one hand, pouring the bright red nectar into her throat, and looked up at the fleeting clouds in the sky, as if she were in harmony with all things in the world, her soul free and unrestrained, drifting away.

A maidservant came quickly from a distance, standing half a step behind her.

“What is it now?”

Jiang Yinghua turned halfway around, resting her elbow on the railing, the collar of her robe slanting down and hanging on her arm, the strong smell of wine lingering in the air, and her cold phoenix eyes half-closed.

“Reporting to Your Highness, the Empress Dowager summons you.” The maidservant replied respectfully with her head bowed.

“Now?” Jiang Yinghua asked with a frown, her voice slurred with drunkenness.

“Yes, the palace carriage is already waiting at the manor gate.”

Jiang Yinghua threw the wine pot into the maid’s arms and walked quickly towards the bedroom, worried about how to deal with her drunken state.

After changing into a neat palace dress in no more than a quarter of an hour, Jiang Yinghua arrived at the Empress Dowager’s Palace.

To cover up the smell of alcohol on her body, Jiang Yinghua brought a sachet with an extremely strong fragrance. After entering the door, she stopped three meters away from the main seat, raised her eyes to look, and saw that Your Majesty was also there.

“Your subject greets Empress Mother, Elder Sister.” Jiang Yinghua greeted in a gentle voice.

Seeing the abnormal redness on the person’s face and the strong fragrance that tried to cover it up, the Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes slightly and asked, “Did you drink? I have important matters to discuss with you. Are you still sober?”

“Your daughter had a little drink, it’s nothing, I hope Empress Mother will forgive me.” Jiang Yinghua replied obediently with her eyes lowered.

“Enough. Just now, the Emperor and I discussed that you refused to serve as Gentleman Attendant before. Recently, Yan Wanzhi suggested that the court lacks a talented diplomat and recommended you. I think there is some truth to it. There is an opportunity right now, so you can try it out.” The Empress Dowager sat upright in front of the couch, speaking slowly but firmly, leaving no room for refusal.

“What is it? Please tell me, Empress Mother, Elder Sister.” Jiang Yinghua tasted the feeling of borrowing wine to drown her sorrows, only to find that the sorrows were greater. She also didn’t understand what Yan Wanzhi meant by recommending her.

“The King of Yun’an of Yue Kingdom has sent a letter, and the Princess Consort and the Prince of Yun’an are coming to pay tribute. They will enter the capital in three days. This matter will be your responsibility.” Your Majesty sat beside the Empress Dowager, took a sip of tea, and spoke lightly.

“What do the two Your Majesties want your subject to do? What are they seeking?” Jiang Yinghua was full of doubts. For no reason, she was assigned the task of dealing with the envoys, and they were still that muddleheaded maternal uncle and a cousin who had been confused since childhood and had no talent.

“Yan Wanzhi will give you the letter tomorrow. As for what to do, you can figure it out yourself. This is just an experience, don’t disappoint me.” As soon as Your Majesty finished speaking, Jiang Yinghua turned her pleading eyes to the Empress Dowager.

“You make your own decisions on this matter. Instead of drinking, you should learn more about government affairs. You are still young to be a soldier, and I will not allow it.” The Empress Dowager ordered in a deep voice.

Hearing this, Jiang Yinghua bit her lip and said nothing.

“Stay here for the next two days and calm your mind. In three days, accompany me and Jingche to welcome the envoys.” Seeing that she was silent, the Empress Dowager placed the teacup in her hand on the table and added with a stern face.

“Yes, Your subject obeys.” Seeing the displeasure on her mother’s face, Jiang Yinghua had no choice but to accept the task.

The next day at noon, after finishing half a day of court discussion, Jiang Yinghua put down her pen and ink, stretched her stiff waist, and got up to leave the hall.

Yan Wanzhi stopped her, holding a carefully Framing silk scroll in both hands.

“Your Highness, please wait. This is the letter from the Yue Kingdom that Your Majesty ordered me to hand over to you the day before yesterday. Please accept it.” Yan Wanzhi bowed and handed the letter forward.

Jiang Yinghua reached out to take it and said lightly, “Thank you.” Then she avoided the person in front of her and prepared to leave. At this time, Yan Wanzhi straightened up and said behind her:

“The Yue Kingdom is rushing to come in the name of paying tribute, I am afraid they have other requests. Your Highness, please be careful.”

“Scholar Yan has taken the trouble to remind me, thank you. By the way, the prince should thank you for your recommendation.”

Jiang Yinghua did not look back when she heard the words, stopped, pondered for a moment, and replied in a calm tone.

“It is my duty, I dare not accept Your Highness’s thanks.” Yan Wanzhi replied with a cupped fist. The person in front of her seemed to have not heard, and had already strode out.

Looking at Jiang Yinghua’s lonely figure, a cluster of light flashed in Yan Wanzhi’s eyes, but it faded and disappeared in an instant.

Three days had passed, and the Yue envoy arrived as scheduled.

The morning mist had just cleared, and the glow rose from the east, shining through the hazy water vapor, and the soft golden halo sprinkle over the imperial city, as bright and dazzling as a fairyland. Amidst the vast splendor, the Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, and Prince Zhao, all in court attire, stood solemnly on the high white marble steps, showing the royal majesty and demeanor, waiting for the envoys to bow and pay tribute.

On both sides of the palace road in the distance, the ministers were lined up, flags were fluttering, and drums and music were playing.

On the palace road, a woman in gorgeous clothes and full of gold and jade led a handsome young man of about twenty years old, walking gracefully. Behind the two were the envoys holding Festival and a group of attendant civil and military officials.

“Your subject, Princess Consort of Yun’an of Yue, and the Prince of Yun’an, pay tribute to the Emperor of our country, pay tribute to the Emperor of Chu, and pay respects to Prince Zhao of Chu.” Arriving at the steps, the Princess Consort of Yun’an led the Prince of Yun’an to pay respects.

“Rise.” The Empress Dowager raised her right hand in the air, as a response.

“Princess Consort and Prince of Yun’an, please rise.” Jiang Yinghua then cupped her hands and bowed in return, then stepped forward and ordered, “According to the ritual of paying tribute, please, Princess Consort and Prince of Yun’an, move to Chengming Hall with the two Your Majesties. The envoys and aides will report matters to the court with the officials of the Chu Chancellor and the Court of State Ceremonial.”

“Your subjects respectfully obey Your Highness’s order.” The officials under the stone steps replied, and then each led their respective duties and went to their respective government offices.

Jiang Yinghua, as the chief official in charge, had to first go to Chengming Hall with her mother to listen to the report, and after instructing the close ministers on all matters, she quickly followed.

As soon as she entered the hall, she heard the Princess Consort of Yun’an happily say, “Hua’er is so big now, I didn’t dare to recognize her when paying tribute just now. It’s really that girls change a lot at eighteen, and she has grown up to be very beautiful.”

When Jiang Yinghua was young, the Princess Consort and the Prince of Yun’an had lived in the capital for several years, as half hostages.

Therefore, she also knew something about the temperament of these two people. She had never had a good impression of this so-called maternal aunt since she was a child. If it hadn’t been for the officials lined up in court just now, the Princess Consort might not have been able to be polite. However, because of the identities of the two people and the relationship with her mother, Jiang Yinghua couldn’t say much, and had to respect them as elders.

“Since the Princess Consort has come as an envoy, it is better to discuss court affairs first. Hua’er will prepare a family banquet in the evening, and it will not be too late to reminisce about the past.” The Empress Dowager was a little disgusted with the rudeness of the person in front of her, and opened her mouth before Jiang Yinghua could respond.

Hearing this, the Princess Consort’s face was a little unstable, and she said with a ridicule, “Yes, Your Majesty is right, I was abrupt. Prince, you can go for a walk outside with Princess Zhao.”

“The court affairs of the two countries are decided by Hua’er, so she will stay here. The Prince can do as he pleases.” Jiang Jingche’s phoenix eyes squinted slightly, and she said lightly.

Hearing this, the Princess Consort of Yun’an had an incredible look on her face, smiled awkwardly, and gave her useless son a look, and the Prince of Yun’an retreated.

For a time, there was silence in the hall. Jiang Yinghua frowned and looked at the Princess Consort, wondering what she was thinking, wasting everyone’s time.

“Princess Consort, please forgive my abruptness. I have arranged everything mentioned in the letter, and the inventory of gifts and the list of return gifts have also been prepared. Do you want to take a look now?” Jiang Yinghua took the lead in breaking the inexplicable and strange atmosphere in the hall.

“Ah? Okay, okay.”

Jiang Yinghua then hooked her fingers at the attendant ministers behind her, and the man respectfully brought two books of documents and presented them to the Princess Consort.

“No need, I am naturally relieved, just follow Hua’er’s… hehe, Prince Zhao’s intention.” The Princess Consort pushed the documents pretentiously, but her eyes never left them.

“This is my first time in charge of this task, and I am afraid that there will be omissions and inadequacies. I still need the Princess Consort to take a look. If there is anything wrong, it can be corrected.”

Jiang Yinghua looked at her appearance and suppressed a burst of anger in her heart.

The Princess Consort then took the document and looked at it carefully, and after a while, she smiled and said, “Proper, everything is proper.”

Jiang Yinghua was too familiar with the face of the Yun’an Prince’s Mansion. In the Yue Kingdom, relying on the fact that she was the only son of the late Emperor, she took advantage of her power to do whatever she wanted.

Every year, it sounds good to come to pay tribute, but to put it bluntly, it is to rob, gold, silver, treasures, food, and cloth, nothing is left behind.

So the list of return gifts is naturally thickly prepared to shut these two people up.

After spending an hour going around in circles, this Princess Consort hesitated and dawdled, always looking like she wanted to say something but stopped. Jiang Yinghua saw that she couldn’t pry out any useful information, and Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager were really just drinking tea and watching the excitement. Helpless, she dismissed this so-called court discussion.

After the people left, Jiang Yinghua stared blankly at the two great Buddhas in the hall, and tentatively asked, “Empress Mother, Elder Sister, what should your subject do in the current situation?”

“I am tired, I will go back to the palace first, you sisters can discuss it.” The Empress Dowager got up, said tiredly, and turned to leave.

“I am also tired, Hua’er can handle it by herself. Aren’t you going to keep an eye on the Court of State Ceremonial?”

Your Majesty reached out and rubbed her temples, came down from the main seat, raised her phoenix eyes slightly, and looked at Jiang Yinghua. This was an eviction order.

“Yes, your subject takes her leave.” Jiang Yinghua came out of the hall and shook her head helplessly.

It seems that the Princess Consort’s real intention is not going to be revealed for a while. Perhaps she can only start with the Prince of Yun’an, this so-called cousin has been weak since childhood, but apart from this problem, there are no other shortcomings, at least he is much stronger than his strange parents.

Thinking so, Jiang Yinghua saw the Prince of Yun’an and the Princess Consort whispering to each other on the palace road in the distance. Jiang Yinghua thought to herself, these two people are really not avoiding anything.