He Lan Tianxia

The Emperor took his seat in the main seat, while Murong Junlan, accompanied by the woman and Jiang He, sat to the right. Marquis Anle, Xia Guoan, sat next to him, and Prime Minister Jin Chang and Minister of Rites Gu Ce sat opposite them. Although the Emperor was very reluctant for the woman to be present and subtly reminded Murong Junlan several times, Murong Junlan pretended not to understand, so the Emperor had no choice but to give up. Murong Junlan always had the woman with him, precisely because he feared that his grandmother and the Emperor might plot something behind his back.

"The foreign envoy from the Wubei Kingdom requests an audience—" Eunuch Cao announced loudly.

Murong Junlan thought to himself, "This envoy from Wubei is really impatient; he hasn't even settled into his seat yet." He picked up the tea in front of him and took an elegant sip before the person outside entered.

The Wubei people were Xiongnu, and they spoke a Xiongnu language, babbling on and on without making any sense.

"And Xiang Xu?" The Emperor clearly didn't understand either. "Transmit the translator's order." (The translator's order was Xiang Xu's supervisor.)

"The interpreter's order—" Eunuch Cao announced loudly.

The interpreter rushed over, knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

"Where is the image today?"

"Your Majesty, of the three officials on duty today, one has requested leave due to an urgent matter, and the other two are currently receiving treatment at the Imperial Physician's office due to a sudden illness. They are expected to arrive shortly," the interpreter replied truthfully, though his forehead was drenched in sweat.

Upon hearing this, Murong Junlan took a sip of tea, seemingly unconcerned.

"Come here," the emperor said impatiently.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me, I do not understand this language." The interpreter was so frightened that he kowtowed and begged for forgiveness.

At this moment, the envoy from the Wubei Kingdom mumbled something in English, and his face showed great dissatisfaction.

The Emperor was furious. He slammed his folding fan on the table and roared, "My mighty capital, Yan, can't even find someone like Xu who can understand the envoy? Summon the two people being treated at the Imperial Physician's Office back to me!"

Prime Minister Jin Chang rose and stepped forward to report, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. I have a junior translator who may be able to understand a thing or two."

Murong Junlan frowned slightly, then calmly took another sip of tea.

"Send it quickly." The Emperor waved his hand impatiently.

"Summon the young interpreter—" Eunuch Cao called out.

The young translator rushed in and knelt before the emperor: "Your Majesty, I will obey your orders."

"Can you understand what he's saying?" The Emperor gestured for the envoy to speak, and the envoy rattled off a few words.

"Your Majesty, I understand."

"That's good, you'll be the translator." The Emperor breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The junior translator quickly stepped aside.

So, the junior interpreter translated the words of the envoy from the Wubei Kingdom in front of everyone. The gist of it was: Both countries value peace and wish to become friendly neighbors. They agreed to exchange gifts at the end of the year as a gesture of goodwill, seeking lasting friendship. They earnestly requested the Duyan Kingdom to agree and sign the relevant treaty.

The Emperor was delighted upon hearing this. Not long ago, the tiny Wubei Kingdom had utterly defeated their mighty nation, leaving him almost a prisoner. Now that they were willing to negotiate peace, it was naturally a great thing, and he immediately agreed to sign the treaty. The envoy promptly handed the treaty to the junior interpreter, who then passed it to Eunuch Cao, who in turn handed it to the Emperor.

The envoy grinned at the junior interpreter, who also grinned back. Everyone assumed the other was happy, mainly because they couldn't understand, so they all laughed along. Only Prime Minister Jin Chang's expression caught Murong Junlan's eye. When the envoy presented the treaty to the Emperor, Murong Junlan spoke.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, this matter should not be rushed."

"Oh? Why do you say that, my son?" The emperor paused, holding the peace treaty.

"Since the Wubei Kingdom is willing to form a friendly neighborly alliance with our country, it is a joyous occasion. We should inform all the ministers at tomorrow's morning court. This way, we can share in the joy and also have a long-term perspective on the matter. This is a wise move."

"Hmm, what my son says makes sense. Such a matter of national importance cannot be enjoyed by me alone. I want to share the joy with my ministers and the people."

At this moment, the junior translator glanced at Prime Minister Jin, who gave him a wink and then pretended to be nonchalant.

The junior interpreter chattered away with the Wubei envoy for a while, then turned to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, the Wubei envoy agrees with your idea. He says that to show respect, he will personally read the peace treaty tomorrow."

A mocking smile flashed across Murong Junlan's lips as he slowly took another sip of tea.

"Very well, Eunuch Cao, return the treaty to him."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Eunuch Cao took the treaty from the Emperor's desk and returned it to the envoy. The envoy and the junior interpreter were about to secretly breathe a sigh of relief when a woman's voice suddenly popped out from behind them.

"They're lying."

Everyone was startled, including Murong Junlan. He tightened his grip on the cup, but quickly recovered and stopped her, saying, "Yan'er, don't be rude."

"You audacious vixen, how dare you speak here!" The Emperor slammed his hand on the table and rose to his feet. "Guards, drag her out and slap her thirty times!"

"Father, please calm your anger. Yan'er had no intention of offending you. It was all due to my lack of discipline. I beg Your Majesty for mercy." Murong Junlan was anxious and had no choice but to plead for her. He thought to himself, "My dear aunt, do you think I can't see through this? What are you doing getting involved? Prime Minister Jin is not to be offended, and the envoy from Wubei is even more untouchable, not to mention your increasingly dangerous situation." "When I return, I will immediately punish her according to family rules."

"Get out!" The emperor was furious.

Murong Junlan seized the opportunity to leave with the woman, but Prime Minister Jin Chang blocked their path. "Wait," Prime Minister Jin said, glancing at the woman and then at Murong Junlan with a half-smile. "Your Highness, your maid has spoken recklessly and offended the envoy from Wubei Kingdom. How can you just leave like this?"

"What does Prime Minister Jin mean...?" Murong Junlan asked calmly.

"Make her apologize and then expel her from the capital, Yan Kingdom," Prime Minister Jin said through gritted teeth. He had heard that Murong Junlan was bewitched by this vixen and was ignoring his daughter; today, he would, as her father-in-law, teach this vixen a lesson.

"Why should I apologize?" the woman said, clearly dissatisfied.

"Yan'er." Murong Junlan thought to himself that if they stayed like this, things would definitely get messy.

“Your Highness, today is a meeting with envoys from a foreign country. What right does a mere maid have to be present? Does Your Highness not take His Majesty and the envoys from Wubei Kingdom seriously?” Prime Minister Jin’s words were aggressive.

"She is my personal maid," Murong Junlan said firmly.

"I have heard that this woman's origins are unknown. Since the prince is already married, he should not be entangled with this vixen. It is still unclear whether she is friend or foe." Prime Minister Jin bowed to the emperor and said, "Please investigate, Your Majesty."

“You’re making baseless accusations, you’re not a good person…” the woman argued.

Murong Junlan was terrified. He swiftly pulled the woman closer with his left hand and slapped her neck and back with his right, causing her to immediately faint in his arms. "My dear lady, you're really making things difficult for me!" At this moment, Murong Junlan had no doubt that the woman understood the Xiongnu language. But he really couldn't let her speak now; another word and her life would be in danger. Who exactly was she? Another guess arose in Murong Junlan's mind.

"Jiang He, take Yan'er out," Murong Junlan said without hesitation.

"Yes." Jiang He led the woman outside.

"Your Highness, are you looking down on the envoy from Wubei Kingdom, or on me, your old minister?" Prime Minister Jin pressed on relentlessly.

"As Prime Minister Jin has said, this woman's origins are unknown, so I have arranged for her to leave temporarily. As for any offense she may have caused earlier, I apologize on her behalf. If the Prime Minister is still not satisfied, I will bring her to your residence another day to apologize in person, how about that?"

"Very well, this Prime Minister will be waiting for Your Highness's arrival." Prime Minister Jin angrily flung his sleeves and sat back down in his original spot.

"What kind of behavior is this?" The Emperor slammed his folding fan onto the table with a "bang." "Do you even respect me?"

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. I beg Your Majesty to grant me this honor." Prime Minister Jin seized the opportunity to submit a memorial to the Emperor, thinking to himself, "Let's see how you handle this."

"The envoys from the Wubei Kingdom are all laughing at our country. All of you, step back! Step back! Guards, escort the Wubei envoys to their lodgings!" The Emperor was furious.

"Respectfully seeing off the envoy from the Wubei Kingdom to his lodgings and rest—" Eunuch Cao shouted loudly. Once the envoy from the Wubei Kingdom left, the Emperor flicked his sleeves and left his seat, too lazy to deal with this mess.