On the second day of Yuanqi's visit, Chenlu was already able to get out of bed. After thanking the emperor for his concern, she smiled and asked: "Your Majesty, what happened to that Tartar envoy later?"

  "They are still in the embassy, that young man spends his days lingering in brothels and pleasure houses, just the other day he even got into a big fight over a girl on a flower boat...". Yuan Qi gritted his teeth in anger: "The beautiful scenery of Central Plains has made them forget their worries about Shu, next time they ask for something, it will definitely be even more extortionate!"

  Chenlu smiled and said: "Your Majesty, I remember that another envoy called the young man 'Mu Na'.

  "What's the difference?"

  "Your Majesty, I also know a thing or two about the customs of the Tartars. In formal situations, they too address each other by surname. 'Muna' is just a name in the Tartar language - who exactly is this person?"

  Yuanyi's sword eyebrow rose: "You're saying......"

  "Just based on this, I wouldn't have suspected him, but that day, when I pointed my sword at him, he made a very strange movement—"

  Chenlu picked up the flying phoenix inlaid with amber jade hairpin on her head and made a diagonal sword-drawing motion.

  "Ordinary warriors start with a flourish, usually dancing with their swords. If the opponent is an elder, at most the first move will be made with courtesy and restraint. He drew his sword at an angle, if he draws it out, the momentum will fall on the top - this is a unique gesture of the Tartar royal family, which means: when fighting with me, I forgive you all injuries."

  Yuan Qiming stood up: "You mean, that person is a Tartar royal?"

  "It's more than likely."

  "How dare they deceive me like this! Do they think that everyone in our great nation is a fool and blind?! This time, I will make him regret his actions."

  Yuan Qi sneered and turned his head, the young emperor gazed at the beauty on the wall, his eyes warm and admiring: "Thanks to you again this time!"

  Chenlu smiled and shook her head: "Your Majesty says so, it's really killing me. But there are only a few Xianbei royal families, aren't there any portraits of them in the court?"

  One word awakened the dreamer, Yuan Qi immediately realized the subtlety of it, he got up and wanted to return to the Qianqing Palace, before leaving, he grasped Chenlu's slender wrist.

  "Take good rest! I'll come again tomorrow."

  He gazed intently at the girl, his hand clenched tightly and resolutely.

  After a while, he said these two sentences, as if something was chasing him, and he hurried away.

  It's really interesting...

  Morning dew can't help but smile wryly, such a deep and cunning person, unexpectedly so flustered.

  What an idiot!

  This should have been a sentence spoken in a spoiled tone, but it echoed in her mind like a nightmare.

  What an idiot...

  Many years ago, who was also so shy, couldn't even say a word of affection?

  Yuuki

  She narrowed her eyes.

  Yuan Qi did not see the complex gaze of the beauty behind him - even if he saw it, he would have thought it was a different kind of elegance and freshness. He hastily returned to the Qianqing Palace, took out the portraits of the Tartar nobles collected from the army, and compared them one by one.

  Nothing was gained, and none of them resembled this excessively handsome messenger in the slightest.

  He was enraged in his heart and summoned Qu Yun's trusted guard, saying: "Go to the capital camp and pass on the order, surround the Mongolian envoy's residence for me!"

  After a cup of tea, the guard returned to the palace, but his face was pale and his eyes were evasive.

  "What's wrong, has the messenger returned?" The emperor looked up at him, sensing something was amiss. He furrowed his brow, just about to ask, when he heard someone in the outer room say faintly, "It was I who had him return!"

  "Empress Dowager?!"

  Yuan Qiji turned around in surprise, only to see the temple gate wide open, with palace maids and servants surrounding her, Empress Dowager being supported by attendants on both sides, walking slowly into the hall.

  She wore a pale silver embroidered auspicious character satin robe, with a cloak draped over her shoulders. With every glance, her majesty was revealed.

  "Mother, how did you come here?"

  "If I hadn't come today, would there still be a place for me in the ancestral temple next year?!" The empress dowager sneered coldly and swept her gaze across the people in the hall, instantly causing them to kneel down in unison.

  "Why does the empress dowager say such things?"

  "I ask you, why did you have them surround the messenger's residence?"

  "The Empress Dowager has ordered that among the envoys, there may be mixed in some Tartar royal tribe members - they have disguised themselves to enter our borders, clearly to spy on the strengths and weaknesses of our heavenly dynasty, waiting for a later move."

  "What's going on here?!"

  The empress dowager's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, and Yuan Qi suddenly felt that in that instant, her eyes sparkled with a kaleidoscope of colors - the empress dowager must have been an extraordinary beauty in her youth!

  This thought flashed through his mind, and in the dark, another pair of eyes, as clear as frost and snow, quietly appeared in his heart.

  He shook his head and dispelled these absurd thoughts, telling Empress Dowager about the doubts in it.

  The empress dowager pondered for a moment, sighed and said: "Imperial son, you'd better give up!"

  "Empress Dowager!"

  Yuanyuan's heart flashed a ray of light, knowing she was going to talk about old things again.

  Indeed, the Empress Dowager said: "Even if he is a prince disguised as an envoy, we can only tolerate it. When two countries are at war, they do not kill envoys. If you harm him in the slightest, how will people all over the world view you?"

  "Your Majesty, when the two countries send envoys, what is most important are the two words 'sincerity' and 'trust'! If one side's leader views the other as nothing, conceals their name, and disguises themselves to sneak in, then they already have an ulterior motive. At this point, should we still talk about benevolence and forgiveness?"

  The Empress Dowager, enraged, interrupted him: "So you're saying the Emperor has made up his mind to have a falling out with the envoy? You'd better think carefully, once we provoke the Tartars, the world will again be plunged into war and disaster!"

  "I wish the world could rest and put down its arms, but the nature of jackals and wolves cannot be tamed!"

  Yuanyi has no ordinary humble and polite demeanor, with a sharp gaze that cannot be confronted.

  "The Empress Dowager should take a look at the letter from Hu Luodu Khan, he is demanding 200,000 young women, 2 million taels of gold and silver each, as well as silk fabrics, iron tools, and craftsmen for making porcelain and ships... If I were to agree to this, it would truly be a laughingstock for the whole world!"

  "Hulu is a barbarian who has always been rude, why must we treat him with courtesy? If the Emperor acts rashly like this and war breaks out, what can our dynasty use to counter their 100,000 iron cavalry?"

  The Empress Dowager sat upright, counting on her fingers as she spoke to Yuan Qi: "Don't you ever think that in terms of military strength, generals, and morale, which aspect can we surpass? Not to mention the consecutive floods in Jiangnan this year, and the locust plague in Shanyin..."

  "Empress Dowager, don't worry about these state affairs!" Yuan Qi said with a resolute tone.

  He sneered, with a strong murderous intent in his eyes, like a long sword out of its scabbard, scanning the people around the empress dowager.

  "The Empress Dowager has been living in the inner palace for a long time, and someone has been spreading these court affairs at will, making the imperial carriage uneasy. Shouldn't such people be put to death?"

  In a word, everyone was frightened out of their wits, but only Ye Gu Gu remained calm and unruffled.

  The Empress Dowager's face turned pale with rage: "Is the Emperor telling me not to interfere in state affairs?!"

  Yuan Qi personally took over the incense from the palace staff and presented it to the Empress Dowager with a solemn and filial expression.

  "How could your son dare to have such a rebellious and unrighteous thought? The empress dowager is worried about state affairs, which is what she should do, but there are some petty people who are not quite at peace, stirring up unrest in the palace, so it cannot be helped but to warn them, to make an example of them!"

  The Empress Dowager refused to take the tea cup and angrily said: "The Emperor deliberately wants to act alone, using the country's rivers and mountains to make this dangerous move!"

  Yuan Qi executed the ritual with even greater reverence, saying: "Your son and subject is also for the sake of our heavenly dynasty's reputation - could Mother Empress have forgotten that in his previous letter, Hu Lu had such impudent and insulting words towards Your Majesty!!!"

  This last sentence is so final that there's nothing more to say afterwards.

  When Yuan Xie was young, the Empress Dowager alone supported the court, and Hu Luojie Khan had once written a letter, with words that were very frivolous and disrespectful, even with sentences like "you and I are both widowed, why not take pleasure in each other", which was simply naked insult.

  Yuan Qi escorted Tai Hou away and pondered in the Qianqing Palace, feeling very hesitant. After some thought, he came to the Biyue Palace where Chenlu temporarily rested.

  "Is Your Majesty really going to go to war with the Tartars?"

  The girl had not rested yet, and hastily came out to greet him. After hearing his intention, she asked.

  "I am not fond of war and militarism, but if the Tartars treat the heavenly dynasty's courtesy as weakness and take advantage of it, inch by inch, I will not be afraid to fight!"

  The girl let out a giggle, her smile rippling under the moonlight, leaving people dazed and enchanted.

  "But Tartars don't want to go to war with you!"

  It's earth-shattering, she said.