binnovel Chapter 430 For Whom?
Chapter 430 For Whom?
"Who did you say? Who's coming?" Liu Yuechu looked dazed when she heard the name.
"Emperor of Chu".
"You heard me right, it was the Chu Emperor, and he sent a letter directly to His Majesty."
Officials from the Ministry of Rites understood that the news was somewhat shocking, especially in the capital, where everyone knew who Yuan Cuo was actually.
Or perhaps, this so-called carving competition is just an excuse, and the Chu Emperor wants to come to Daqi as the emperor of Chu.
But this is just a superficial guess; no one knows the specific purpose.
Regardless of the Chu Emperor's motives, he disrupted the rhythm of the Great Qi Dynasty, leaving even the Qi Emperor bewildered upon hearing the news.
But he was, after all, the emperor of Qi, and it would be difficult for him to refuse the Chu emperor's visit for negotiations, especially since she was only nominally attending the carving competition and had not mentioned the war between the two countries at all.
After much deliberation, Emperor Qi Xiao could only agree, because he knew that refusing would be useless; the Chu Emperor's message was merely an notification, not a consultation with him.
Liu Yuechu was also quite confused; what was going on?!
Although she had considered whether the Chu Emperor might have his eye on Yuan Cuo and try to win him over to the Chu Kingdom, she hadn't expected it to happen so soon, which was indeed not in line with her initial expectations.
"What is His Majesty's attitude? None of the court officials have objected?" Liu Yuechu pressed for an answer from the crowd.
The official from the Ministry of Rites shook his head, "My official rank is too low, and I am not qualified to know about these matters."
Liu Yuechu was speechless for a moment, as if it were the same principle.
After seeing off the officials from the Ministry of Rites, she could only wait for Yuan Cuo to return so they could discuss the matter properly. Sure enough, joy turned to sorrow; just as a piece of good news had arrived, a huge rock suddenly fell upon her, leaving her no time to breathe.
The atmosphere in the palace was extremely oppressive at this time.
The court officials were divided into two factions. One group agreed, hoping that Qi and Chu could use this grand event to make peace and stop fighting.
Another group, however, wanted to avenge their humiliation, believing that the Chu emperor's personal visit was a roundabout strategy, and that there were some hidden conspiracies behind it.
The two groups argued incessantly, causing Emperor Qi Xiao to feel a headache coming on.
Are these the things he cares about?
What he cared about was how to face the Emperor of Chu and Lady Ru.
When she left, she was being hunted down by the Empress Dowager and nearly lost her life. Now she has returned as an emperor, and also the birth mother of Yuan Cuo...
"You may speak frankly about your thoughts on this matter." Emperor Qi Xiao returned to his study and naturally summoned Yuan Cuo as well.
Yuan Cuo's nonchalant attitude was, "Come on then, who's afraid of who?"
Emperor Qi Xiao: "..."
"You understand what I mean, stop making a fool of yourself here."
He wanted to know if Yuan Cuo would acknowledge this birth mother, who was, after all, the Emperor of Chu.
Although the Qi state is militarily stronger now, the Chu state still has a very strong foundation. If it does not join forces with the Meng and Yan states, it will be no match for them.
“Since she dared to come, does His Majesty not dare to see her? The carving competition was originally just a pretext, and neither the secret guards nor the scouts of Chu knew what had happened to make her come in person.”
Yuan Cuo pondered for a moment, "But in my personal opinion, the problem lies with the heir to the throne of Chu."
"But I don't know exactly what went wrong; I'm just guessing."
"In this world, women are always on a high and mighty level, and they will always be criticized and antagonized."
……
Emperor Qi Xiao was speechless for a moment. He wanted to argue, but facts spoke louder than words, and he couldn't come up with any rebuttal.
"Now that you are the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, we will need your help in hosting this grand event."
When Emperor Qi Xiao said this, his gaze was fixed on him. He desperately wanted to discern even the slightest emotion from Yuan Cuo's face, even the subtlest emotion as thin as a hair.
But his forced smile made it impossible for Emperor Qi Xiao to figure him out.
"Your Majesty's command is my duty. May I ask if Your Majesty has any further instructions?" He readily accepted the task.
Emperor Qi Xiao: "..." Why didn't he even refuse? Did he accept too readily?
But Emperor Qi Xiao couldn't bring himself to ask that question, so he could only wave his hand and tell Yuan Cuo to get on with his work.
Yuan Cuo bowed and took his leave, striding away.
Emperor Qi Xiao watched Cheng Hai see him off and then return. "Do you think he really didn't know?"
Cheng Hai felt a throbbing pain between his brows. How could he possibly explain this?
"This servant is dull-witted and truly cannot answer."
Emperor Qi Xiao glared at him, and Cheng Hai shrank back. "This servant dares to presume, and if I have said anything incorrect, I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
"Speak, then speak." Emperor Qi Xiao was already flustered and disorganized.
Cheng Hai pursed his lips, and after a long while said, "This servant believes that he came for you, not for the Duke of Baoguo..."
Emperor Qi Xiao gasped, staring intently at Cheng Hai.
Upon seeing his attitude, Cheng Hai knew he had struck a nerve. "After all, he was confused when he left back then, and perhaps he came back to find the answers."
Emperor Qi Xiao sighed deeply, unsure of what to say.
"Let them go and greet me first. I need to think this through calmly. I am the emperor of Great Qi, not some ordinary young man who needs to indulge in romantic thoughts..."
Cheng Hai responded with a nod and dared not say anything more.
Emperor Qi Xiao was also lost in his memories of the past.
When Yuan Cuo returned home, many people were waiting for him.
Chen Zhongyao, Li Chengyue, and several others, including the gossipy Liu Musheng and Pei Chun.
If Lu Bingyang hadn't been away on official business and hadn't yet returned, he would definitely have come to the Duke's mansion as well. But he didn't come; instead, Lin Mengyu, having received the news, rushed over.
It was her mother-in-law who heard about this and specially sent her to the Duke's mansion to gossip about it.
When Liu Yuechu heard her talk about this, she was on the verge of tears. All she could do was have her maids prepare tea and snacks and set up several tables.
As expected, people arrived one after another. Chen Zhongyao also became unusually interested. "I didn't want to come, but my mother was worried about me, and my father was also curious whether you would lose your mind and affect the military's decision-making."
He looked at Yuan Cuo seriously and said, "If you feel it is inconvenient for you to show your face, you can also leave the capital for a few days to rest."
She was her birth mother, after all; she wasn't an ordinary person.
Although Yuan Cuo appeared calm and composed at this moment, who knew whether he could maintain his composure once he actually met the Chu Emperor?
Blood is thicker than water.
This is everyone's perception.
But when Yuan Cuo revealed Emperor Qi Xiao's imperial edict, everyone gasped in shock, feeling that His Majesty had gone too far.
Knowing full well that Yuan Cuo was caught in the middle, why did they still let him entertain them?
Isn't this tantamount to deliberately digging a pit for Yuan Cuo, trying to test him?
"Do you think His Majesty's actions were really just a test?" Li Chengyue was always bold and spoke very bluntly. "Have you not considered that the royal family no longer has any princes who can handle things?"