“… The regular Xuanji gate pass is way too low level!” Meng Fuyao smiled.
A gust of wind blew by, and the cover of the gold invitation tablet flipped open, revealing its contents; handwritten by Xuanji’s leader and stamped with the imperial jade seal.
The gate guard let out a startled “Ah,” his mouth gaping wide open.
Meng Fuyao glanced into his open mouth briefly and said, “You seem to have inflammation of the tonsils, perhaps you have tonsilitis? I recommend gargling your mouth with a mixture of honeysuckle and seawater.”
The guard immediately shut his mouth, letting out another cry as he bit his tongue.
The entire room was still in shock, but the prince regained his composure the fastest. He scanned Meng Fuyao’s invite quickly and immediately stepped up and said, “My officers are ignorant and disrespected King Meng, I hope that King Meng does not deem it as intentional.”
Meng Fuyao smiled and replied, “I dare not, I dare not, your nation is humble and respectful, a true model of grace, it’s heartbreaking, hehe, heartbreaking indeed.”
The entire room was filled with confused and ashamed faces as the prince tried to resolve the situation, and ushered Meng Fuyao into the inner room to rest. He glanced at Zhangsun Wuji who was wearing a mask and standing behind Meng Fuyao, and said, “Are these two your bodyguards? Please enter together…”
Meng Fuyao immediately turned around and bowed solemnly. “Your Highness the Crown Prince, please go first.”
All of the Xuanji officials were now frightened motionless, and the prince froze for a second as well. However, his reaction was fast, and with a swish of his sleeves, he quickly turned around and bowed deeply at Zhangsun Wuji, this time bowing for an even longer period of time. “Please forgive this ignorant prince… that was… truly disrespectful…”
Zhangsun Wuji smiled slightly and said, “It’s fine, it’s fine, we would have to bother Your Highness with lending us two horses since there are still several hundred miles before we arrive at Tong City. Although King Meng and myself do not mind walking, I’m afraid your reputation will be affected.”
“Your Highness, you’re too serious!” The Prince was clearly suspicious as to why the two didn’t even have horses, yet did not ask and immediately ordered his men to prepare some horses for them. He tried to diffuse the awkward tension in the air and smiled. “My twelfth brother has already gone ahead to receive you two, have you not met him?”
“Oh?” Meng Fuyao sat down slowly and lifted a leg on the chair. “Did we? We only met a robber who robbed us of both our horses.”
“Did something like that really happen!” The prince was stunned for a moment, anger flashing between his eyes as he shouted, “Who would dare to rob the Crown Prince and King Meng in broad daylight, and right before the borders? Are the people of Xuanji that useless?”
“That’s right.” Meng Fuyao sighed and sipped at her tea. Suddenly, she slammed the cup down and said, “With regards to the unjust humiliation and shock that I’ve received at the borders, I can only seek Your Highness for help, please take on this responsibility and seek justice for us.”
“Naturally.” The prince finally noticed something wrong with her words. His eyes flashed, but his face remained expressionless as he said, “I’ll immediately order the border troops to conduct a thorough investigation and give King Meng and the Crown Prince an answer, and bring the robber to justice…”
“Robbery—”
A loud yell from outside cut all conversation and everyone raised their heads as they watched a cloud of dust rise from outside, and in the dust, a group of fearsome soldiers on horses carrying red flags rushing after a group of people. The people from this group were all grabbing on to their robes and running frantically, abandoning all armor. Some already had their legs bare and the person that was shouting was stumbling forward behind them, constantly falling under the attacks of the horsebacked soldiers.
Everyone started looking carefully, could this be the group of bandits that had robbed the Crown Prince and King Meng earlier, striking another poor victim? How vicious these bandits were, slashing the victims’ pants—
The prince suddenly shouted, “Twelfth brother!”
Everyone jumped in fright, realizing that the disheveled figure covered in bloodstains in front of them was not the beloved Twelfth Prince, so who was he?
Meng Fuyao had already jumped up and shouted as she pointed out of the window, “The robber is here, the robber is here! That’s them! That’s them!”
While she was shouting inside, the Twelfth Prince was shouting outside, “Eleventh brother, someone robbed me—someone robbed me—”
Meng Fuyao suddenly stopped shouting.
Eleventh Prince!
Notorious for bribing governments and underhanded assassinations, the one that had chased after Hua Yan for thousands of miles and killed him in her territory!
It was actually this simply dressed, well-mannered guy?
Meng Fuyao gritted her teeth.
Why was it that all the offspring of the Empress of Xuanji were all born actors?
Don’t you know, she hated actors!
Meng Fuyao glared at the Eleventh Prince; that person was indeed calm. He clearly knew that something was off, yet his expression did not change as he rushed forward and asked, “Twelfth brother, what’s going on!”
The Twelfth Prince launched himself into the room, leaning against the frame of the door and breathing heavily. “That group of people… that group of people tried to kill me right after seeing me, without even saying anything… Even my belt is broken… Eleventh brother, help me beat them up, beat them up—”
Bam!
A crisp, slapping noise startled everyone, and the Eleventh Prince touched his cheek, dazed by the blow.
He had just been beaten up and robbed, and had finally managed to ask his brother for help, yet the eleventh brother had also given him a slap for no reason!
“Eleventh brother! Are you mad!” After a long time, he finally came back to his senses and bellowed.
“You’re the one that’s mad!” Despite his rage, the Eleventh Prince’s expression remained unchanged as he pressed his blade against the jeering soldiers. “Have you gone blind? Can’t you see who this is? Is this a group of bandits? This is clearly the Dahan Imperial Army!”
The officials who were supposed to welcome Meng Fuyao and Zhangsun Wuji got a huge scare as they looked out, realizing that the men were arranged in a neat formation, clad in shiny armor, oozing tenacity and viciousness. Each of the men had a red phoenix sigil on their robe, the unique sigil belonging to the King of Han, King Meng. This was indeed the Dahan Imperial Army.
What exactly was going on? The Han army robbing the King of Han? Or…
Everyone turned to look at Meng Fuyao, whose arms were crossed in front of her as she smiled at a stunned Twelfth Prince and said, “Yes, yes, robbery, our horses had been robbed by this person here.”
The poor Xuanji had been humiliated by Dahan’s King Meng to the point where they finally understood what awkwardness was, as they stood pale-faced in the shadows, not daring to make a sound. The Eleventh Prince was stunned for a moment, his eyes flashing slightly before he forced a smile and said, “You must be kidding…”
“What robbery!” The Twelfth Prince finally noticed Meng Fuyao and Zhangsun Wuji and shouted, “I paid you!” He thought for a moment and turned to her again as if he had realized something and pointed at her angrily. “I see, you were the one who led me into the Han army, causing me to get beaten up. You actually dared to attempt murder on a member of the royal family, you’re looking for death, looking for death—”
Meng Fuyao snorted loudly; this guy really was something, he still wasn’t aware of who she was up to this point, compared to the perceptive eleventh prince, he simply couldn’t compare.
The Twelfth Prince was still cursing at her, but the Xuanji officials’ faces were drained from color as they faced Meng Fuyao and Zhangsun Wuji; for a prince of their country to humiliate honored guests from other nations like this…
Moreover, with regards to these two guests, one was an important political ally, the other was one of the leaders of a newly-built nation; both were top political figures in the Five Regions Continent. Who knew what they were thinking as they saw the Prince of Xuanji and his officials getting humiliated over and over again?
Several knowing officials glanced at each other anxiously—Xuanji was currently facing some internal turmoil, if these two famous figures noticed, would it cause even more trouble? What was His Majesty thinking? That Meng Fuyao was a famous royal troublemaker; first getting rid of Wuji’s King De, then killing off Dahan’s Zhan Nancheng, and recently exterminating Xuanyuan’s Regent King. Wasn’t His Majesty afraid that Xuanji might end in her hands?
The Eleventh Prince listened as the Twelfth Prince continued on his death-seeking tirade. Finally, he couldn’t stand it any longer and slapped his shoulder, saying, “Twelfth brother, shut up. You’re being disrespectful to His Highness the Crown Prince and the King of Han!”
The Twelfth Prince’s voice stopped abruptly upon getting hit, and his mouth continued to open and close, yet no words came out. Meng Fuyao and Zhangsun Wuji looked at each other, humor apparent in their eyes.
Not bad martial skills.
“Oh, it’s actually Your Highness.” Meng Fuyao looked as if she had just realized something and stepped forward, scrutinizing the Twelfth Prince, her gaze lingering longer than usual on his broken belt to the point where the Twelfth Prince embarrassedly held onto his belt. “What an evil twist of fate, Your Highness, I don’t understand, why did you rob our horses, only to give it back to us?”
The Twelfth Prince started coughing profusely.
She sighed again and continued without skipping a beat, “Your Highness, when you sent our horses to my army, wasn’t that equivalent to stepping on the King of Han’s face? It’s fine if you step on my face, but my loyal subjects are concerned about my safety and could only trample on Your Highness without asking. Look, this is what a misunderstanding can cause.”
“You—” The Twelfth Prince was already speechless and could only breath angrily.
The Eleventh Prince grimaced as he murmured, “It’s a misunderstanding… A misunderstanding…”
“Your Highness, please promise me first that you will definitely punish the culprit,” Meng Fuyao said, deliberately stretching her words, causing the Xuanji officials to feel even more anxious, unsure of what she was trying to play at. The Eleventh Prince scrounged his eyebrows together and was about to say something when Meng Fuyao smiled again and said, “Actually, there’s no need to talk about it anymore.”
The Eleventh Prince smiled bitterly again and replied, “Many thanks to the benevolence and understanding of the Crown Prince and the King of Han.”
“It’s just that a prince committing a crime is different from a commoner committing the same crime,” Meng Fuyao said solemnly. “I heard that Xuanji’s legal system is strict, and the Supreme Court is especially fair and rigorous. As long as a crime is committed, it doesn’t matter who it is, the case wouldn’t be treated frivolously. The neighboring countries have long admired this aspect of Xuanji, so I’m certain that Your Highness will see to it that the Twelfth Prince will get his just punishment for his actions.”
“… The regular Xuanji gate pass is way too low level!” Meng Fuyao smiled.
A gust of wind blew by, and the cover of the gold invitation tablet flipped open, revealing its contents; handwritten by Xuanji’s leader and stamped with the imperial jade seal.
The gate guard let out a startled “Ah,” his mouth gaping wide open.
Meng Fuyao glanced into his open mouth briefly and said, “You seem to have inflammation of the tonsils, perhaps you have tonsilitis? I recommend gargling your mouth with a mixture of honeysuckle and seawater.”
The guard immediately shut his mouth, letting out another cry as he bit his tongue.
The entire room was still in shock, but the prince regained his composure the fastest. He scanned Meng Fuyao’s invite quickly and immediately stepped up and said, “My officers are ignorant and disrespected King Meng, I hope that King Meng does not deem it as intentional.”
Meng Fuyao smiled and replied, “I dare not, I dare not, your nation is humble and respectful, a true model of grace, it’s heartbreaking, hehe, heartbreaking indeed.”
The entire room was filled with confused and ashamed faces as the prince tried to resolve the situation, and ushered Meng Fuyao into the inner room to rest. He glanced at Zhangsun Wuji who was wearing a mask and standing behind Meng Fuyao, and said, “Are these two your bodyguards? Please enter together…”
Meng Fuyao immediately turned around and bowed solemnly. “Your Highness the Crown Prince, please go first.”
All of the Xuanji officials were now frightened motionless, and the prince froze for a second as well. However, his reaction was fast, and with a swish of his sleeves, he quickly turned around and bowed deeply at Zhangsun Wuji, this time bowing for an even longer period of time. “Please forgive this ignorant prince… that was… truly disrespectful…”
Zhangsun Wuji smiled slightly and said, “It’s fine, it’s fine, we would have to bother Your Highness with lending us two horses since there are still several hundred miles before we arrive at Tong City. Although King Meng and myself do not mind walking, I’m afraid your reputation will be affected.”
“Your Highness, you’re too serious!” The Prince was clearly suspicious as to why the two didn’t even have horses, yet did not ask and immediately ordered his men to prepare some horses for them. He tried to diffuse the awkward tension in the air and smiled. “My twelfth brother has already gone ahead to receive you two, have you not met him?”
“Oh?” Meng Fuyao sat down slowly and lifted a leg on the chair. “Did we? We only met a robber who robbed us of both our horses.”
“Did something like that really happen!” The prince was stunned for a moment, anger flashing between his eyes as he shouted, “Who would dare to rob the Crown Prince and King Meng in broad daylight, and right before the borders? Are the people of Xuanji that useless?”
“That’s right.” Meng Fuyao sighed and sipped at her tea. Suddenly, she slammed the cup down and said, “With regards to the unjust humiliation and shock that I’ve received at the borders, I can only seek Your Highness for help, please take on this responsibility and seek justice for us.”
“Naturally.” The prince finally noticed something wrong with her words. His eyes flashed, but his face remained expressionless as he said, “I’ll immediately order the border troops to conduct a thorough investigation and give King Meng and the Crown Prince an answer, and bring the robber to justice…”
“Robbery—”
A loud yell from outside cut all conversation and everyone raised their heads as they watched a cloud of dust rise from outside, and in the dust, a group of fearsome soldiers on horses carrying red flags rushing after a group of people. The people from this group were all grabbing on to their robes and running frantically, abandoning all armor. Some already had their legs bare and the person that was shouting was stumbling forward behind them, constantly falling under the attacks of the horsebacked soldiers.
Everyone started looking carefully, could this be the group of bandits that had robbed the Crown Prince and King Meng earlier, striking another poor victim? How vicious these bandits were, slashing the victims’ pants—
The prince suddenly shouted, “Twelfth brother!”
Everyone jumped in fright, realizing that the disheveled figure covered in bloodstains in front of them was not the beloved Twelfth Prince, so who was he?
Meng Fuyao had already jumped up and shouted as she pointed out of the window, “The robber is here, the robber is here! That’s them! That’s them!”
While she was shouting inside, the Twelfth Prince was shouting outside, “Eleventh brother, someone robbed me—someone robbed me—”
Meng Fuyao suddenly stopped shouting.
Eleventh Prince!
Notorious for bribing governments and underhanded assassinations, the one that had chased after Hua Yan for thousands of miles and killed him in her territory!
It was actually this simply dressed, well-mannered guy?
Meng Fuyao gritted her teeth.
Why was it that all the offspring of the Empress of Xuanji were all born actors?
Don’t you know, she hated actors!
Meng Fuyao glared at the Eleventh Prince; that person was indeed calm. He clearly knew that something was off, yet his expression did not change as he rushed forward and asked, “Twelfth brother, what’s going on!”
The Twelfth Prince launched himself into the room, leaning against the frame of the door and breathing heavily. “That group of people… that group of people tried to kill me right after seeing me, without even saying anything… Even my belt is broken… Eleventh brother, help me beat them up, beat them up—”
Bam!
A crisp, slapping noise startled everyone, and the Eleventh Prince touched his cheek, dazed by the blow.
He had just been beaten up and robbed, and had finally managed to ask his brother for help, yet the eleventh brother had also given him a slap for no reason!
“Eleventh brother! Are you mad!” After a long time, he finally came back to his senses and bellowed.
“You’re the one that’s mad!” Despite his rage, the Eleventh Prince’s expression remained unchanged as he pressed his blade against the jeering soldiers. “Have you gone blind? Can’t you see who this is? Is this a group of bandits? This is clearly the Dahan Imperial Army!”
The officials who were supposed to welcome Meng Fuyao and Zhangsun Wuji got a huge scare as they looked out, realizing that the men were arranged in a neat formation, clad in shiny armor, oozing tenacity and viciousness. Each of the men had a red phoenix sigil on their robe, the unique sigil belonging to the King of Han, King Meng. This was indeed the Dahan Imperial Army.
What exactly was going on? The Han army robbing the King of Han? Or…
Everyone turned to look at Meng Fuyao, whose arms were crossed in front of her as she smiled at a stunned Twelfth Prince and said, “Yes, yes, robbery, our horses had been robbed by this person here.”
The poor Xuanji had been humiliated by Dahan’s King Meng to the point where they finally understood what awkwardness was, as they stood pale-faced in the shadows, not daring to make a sound. The Eleventh Prince was stunned for a moment, his eyes flashing slightly before he forced a smile and said, “You must be kidding…”
“What robbery!” The Twelfth Prince finally noticed Meng Fuyao and Zhangsun Wuji and shouted, “I paid you!” He thought for a moment and turned to her again as if he had realized something and pointed at her angrily. “I see, you were the one who led me into the Han army, causing me to get beaten up. You actually dared to attempt murder on a member of the royal family, you’re looking for death, looking for death—”
Meng Fuyao snorted loudly; this guy really was something, he still wasn’t aware of who she was up to this point, compared to the perceptive eleventh prince, he simply couldn’t compare.
The Twelfth Prince was still cursing at her, but the Xuanji officials’ faces were drained from color as they faced Meng Fuyao and Zhangsun Wuji; for a prince of their country to humiliate honored guests from other nations like this…
Moreover, with regards to these two guests, one was an important political ally, the other was one of the leaders of a newly-built nation; both were top political figures in the Five Regions Continent. Who knew what they were thinking as they saw the Prince of Xuanji and his officials getting humiliated over and over again?
Several knowing officials glanced at each other anxiously—Xuanji was currently facing some internal turmoil, if these two famous figures noticed, would it cause even more trouble? What was His Majesty thinking? That Meng Fuyao was a famous royal troublemaker; first getting rid of Wuji’s King De, then killing off Dahan’s Zhan Nancheng, and recently exterminating Xuanyuan’s Regent King. Wasn’t His Majesty afraid that Xuanji might end in her hands?
The Eleventh Prince listened as the Twelfth Prince continued on his death-seeking tirade. Finally, he couldn’t stand it any longer and slapped his shoulder, saying, “Twelfth brother, shut up. You’re being disrespectful to His Highness the Crown Prince and the King of Han!”
The Twelfth Prince’s voice stopped abruptly upon getting hit, and his mouth continued to open and close, yet no words came out. Meng Fuyao and Zhangsun Wuji looked at each other, humor apparent in their eyes.
Not bad martial skills.
“Oh, it’s actually Your Highness.” Meng Fuyao looked as if she had just realized something and stepped forward, scrutinizing the Twelfth Prince, her gaze lingering longer than usual on his broken belt to the point where the Twelfth Prince embarrassedly held onto his belt. “What an evil twist of fate, Your Highness, I don’t understand, why did you rob our horses, only to give it back to us?”
The Twelfth Prince started coughing profusely.
She sighed again and continued without skipping a beat, “Your Highness, when you sent our horses to my army, wasn’t that equivalent to stepping on the King of Han’s face? It’s fine if you step on my face, but my loyal subjects are concerned about my safety and could only trample on Your Highness without asking. Look, this is what a misunderstanding can cause.”
“You—” The Twelfth Prince was already speechless and could only breath angrily.
The Eleventh Prince grimaced as he murmured, “It’s a misunderstanding… A misunderstanding…”
“Your Highness, please promise me first that you will definitely punish the culprit,” Meng Fuyao said, deliberately stretching her words, causing the Xuanji officials to feel even more anxious, unsure of what she was trying to play at. The Eleventh Prince scrounged his eyebrows together and was about to say something when Meng Fuyao smiled again and said, “Actually, there’s no need to talk about it anymore.”
The Eleventh Prince smiled bitterly again and replied, “Many thanks to the benevolence and understanding of the Crown Prince and the King of Han.”
“It’s just that a prince committing a crime is different from a commoner committing the same crime,” Meng Fuyao said solemnly. “I heard that Xuanji’s legal system is strict, and the Supreme Court is especially fair and rigorous. As long as a crime is committed, it doesn’t matter who it is, the case wouldn’t be treated frivolously. The neighboring countries have long admired this aspect of Xuanji, so I’m certain that Your Highness will see to it that the Twelfth Prince will get his just punishment for his actions.”
