He Lan Tianxia

The next morning, as soon as Murong Junlan stepped out of the house, Jiang He rushed forward to report that the envoy from Wubei Kingdom had been murdered the previous night. The Emperor immediately summoned the prince to the palace.

"Tell the maid to wake Yan'er." The woman had been asleep ever since Murong Junlan knocked her unconscious yesterday. She rubbed her eyes, looking completely bewildered, and walked in.

"Do you understand the Xiongnu language?" Murong Junlan asked.

"What Xiongnu language?" the woman asked in surprise.

"What that envoy from the palace said yesterday," Murong Junlan reminded him.

"Oh." The woman suddenly realized, "Your Highness, that's not the Xiongnu language, it's a foreign language?"

"Foreign language?" Murong Junlan quickly added a new word to his mind.

“Yes,” the woman continued, “Your Highness, you’ve all been fooled by them.”

"What do you mean?" Murong Junlan asked.

"What they asked you to sign was not a peace treaty, but an annual tribute from the Yan Kingdom to the Wubei Kingdom and the unconditional gift of two hundred li of land south of the Hetao region."

"What?" Although Murong Junlan suspected something was amiss, he never expected the extortion to be so outrageous. Murong Junlan's face darkened, and he stared coldly at the woman, saying, "Are you a Hun?"

"Your Highness, how could I be a Hun? I've said it so many times, I'm not from this era, I'm from the 21st century," the woman said irritably. "Believe it or not, it's up to you. Fine, once I find the glass lock, I'll travel back in time. There's a generation gap between us."

"The envoy was murdered last night." Murong Junlan looked at the woman calmly.

"What? Serves you right."

"I wish to enter the palace with you once more." The woman's reaction suggested that she was indeed not a spy sent by the Wubei Kingdom. Murong Junlan threw out another bait.

"Why should I go?" the woman blurted out.

"Because you speak Hungarian..."

"No, I'm not going. We don't even know who attacked us yesterday. The palace isn't a good place anyway." The woman picked up a pastry from the table and started eating; she was very hungry.

"I will protect you. You can understand Hungarian... foreign language. How about doing me a favor?" Murong Junlan's tone left no room for refusal.

"What Hungarian... foreign language? It sounds like it's leading me astray." The woman thought for a moment, then popped another piece of pastry into her mouth. "I can help you, Your Highness, but you have to help me find the glass lock."

"Alright." Murong Junlan thought to himself, this is such an easy thing, just a simple pull out of my pocket. As for whether I can find it or not, that depends on my mood. If you really leave once you find it, as you say, then I might never find it in my entire life.

At this moment, Jiang He entered. "Your Highness, the carriage is ready." Jiang He was much smarter this time; he knew that the prince would be riding in a carriage from now on.

"Alright." So the three of them rode into the palace in a luxurious carriage. Murong Junlan repeatedly reminded the woman not to offend anyone when she spoke.

The three of them headed straight for the Imperial Study as soon as they got off the carriage. Just as Eunuch Cao was about to step forward to stop the woman, Murong Junlan drew his sword, which frightened Eunuch Cao so much that he retreated and rushed off to report to the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, the prince and his two companions have barged in."

"Let them in." The Emperor sat at his desk in the Imperial Study, eyes closed in repose. Hearing footsteps, he slowly opened his eyes. "My son, have you come to interrogate me?"

"Your subject dares not." Murong Junlan sheathed his sword. "Did Father Emperor sign the peace treaty?"

"not yet."

"Fortunately."

"What does Your Majesty mean..." The Emperor asked, puzzled.

"The peace treaty is fake; the real thing is that we pay tribute to the Wubei Kingdom every year and unconditionally give away two hundred miles of land south of the Hetao region."

"Is this true?" The Emperor was so surprised that he stood up from his chair.

“If you don’t believe me, ask Yan’er. She understands the Xiongnu language.” Murong Junlan turned to the woman.

"Are you a Xiongnu?" The emperor looked the woman up and down.

"Which eye of yours can tell I'm a Hun?" The woman also looked the emperor up and down, thinking to herself, the emperor is nothing special, he's just a human being.

"How can you speak like that? I am, after all, the Emperor. It's one thing if you don't kneel in obeisance, but can't you at least have some manners? There's a saying, 'A woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent.' You should understand the concept of virtue, shouldn't you?" The Emperor then said with displeasure, "Aren't you a Hun?"

"Your Majesty, does it really matter whether I am a Hun or not?" The woman decided to argue with the emperor on this issue.

"Of course, it's normal for you to understand the Xiongnu language if you are a Xiongnu, but it's not normal for you to understand the Xiongnu language if you are not a Xiongnu."

"Your Majesty, are you going around in circles before you start insulting me? Your logic is sound! So, to satisfy your curiosity, I won't tell you today whether I am a Hun or not."

"Are you planning to challenge me?" The Emperor was unusually patient today.

"Father, let's get down to business." Murong Junlan couldn't stand it any longer. "There are murder cases outside waiting for you to handle."

"Yes, how could I have been so bewitched?" The Emperor gently patted his forehead and said, "Luckily, my son reminded me, otherwise you, you vixen, would have ruined everything." The Emperor turned to Murong Junlan and asked, "My son, what do you think should be done?"

“Father, this incident involving Xiang Xu must have been premeditated. Then the envoy from Wubei was killed, which seems to be related to Prime Minister Jin. However, before we have any evidence, it would be best for us to wait and see.”

The Emperor nodded and said, "My son is absolutely right. Eunuch Cao, prepare for court."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Inside the Golden Palace, the officials stood in rows. Eunuch Cao shouted, "Those with matters to report, step forward and present yours; those without, roll up the curtain and leave the court!"

Prime Minister Jin stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

"Granted." The Emperor maintained his usual dignity.

"Your Majesty, the envoy from the Wubei Kingdom was assassinated last night."

"What? An assassination attempt?" The Emperor feigned shock. "How could this happen? Has the killer been identified?"

"Your Majesty, we are investigating." Prime Minister Jin said, feigning fear. "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, even when two countries are at war, envoys should not be killed. This time, the envoy from Wubei came to negotiate peace but met with misfortune. I'm afraid we will have a hard time explaining this to Wubei."

“What Prime Minister Jin says is absolutely right, my son.”

Murong Junlan stepped forward, "Your subject is here."

"I hereby order you to assist Prime Minister Jin in bringing the murderer to justice as soon as possible, without fail."

"Your subject obeys." Murong Junlan turned to Prime Minister Jin, "Prime Minister, I will do my utmost to assist you in bringing the murderer to justice."

"This old minister dares not accept such praise. Your Highness is far more knowledgeable than I am about investigations." Prime Minister Jin glanced back at the woman behind Murong Junlan, silently thinking: What is her identity? This vixen dares to bring such a thing to the Golden Palace?

Just then, a guard rushed in with an urgent report: "Your Majesty, a large group of soldiers from the Wubei Kingdom have arrived outside the city, and an envoy is also requesting an audience." A look of disdain flashed across Prime Minister Jin's face as he thought to himself that the Wubei Kingdom was indeed quick to act.

"Send it here," the Emperor ordered.

The envoy rattled off a long string of words, which Xu Bulou translated word for word. The gist of it was that the Du Yan Kingdom planned to do something about their envoy's murder and demanded an explanation from the Wu Bei Kingdom. Furthermore, since the Du Yan Kingdom didn't value their envoy, peace talks would be temporarily suspended until the truth was uncovered. If the Du Yan Kingdom didn't provide a satisfactory explanation and compensation, they shouldn't blame the Wu Bei Kingdom for resorting to force.

A mocking smile flashed across Murong Jun's lips. He thought to himself that Prime Minister Jin and the Wubei Kingdom had devised a clever and ingenious scheme, but it was just bad that the person who came was a scapegoat.

The Emperor immediately promised the envoy that he would thoroughly investigate the matter as soon as possible and give the Wubei Kingdom an explanation. After seeing the envoy off, the Emperor adjourned the court. He instructed Eunuch Cao to summon Murong Junlan to the Imperial Study to discuss the matter of the envoy, since the Wubei Kingdom's army was rightfully stationed there and could attack the city at any time.

Murong Junlan brought Jiang He and the woman to the imperial study. Although the emperor was not used to it, he could do nothing about it. Murong Junlan took a sip of tea served by a maid and slowly said, "Father, give me ten thousand elite soldiers tonight."

"What are you going to do?" The Emperor had no idea what Murong Junlan was up to.

"Furthermore, you have sent five thousand imperial guards to surround the Prime Minister's residence, forbidding anyone from entering or leaving." Murong Junlan took another sip of tea and said seriously, "If I'm not mistaken, the Wubei Kingdom will launch an attack on the city tonight."

"My son, I promised them today that I would thoroughly investigate the murder of the envoy. How could I possibly send troops to attack the city?" The emperor couldn't understand.

"The envoy who came today will also be killed tonight, but it will be a fake death. Your Majesty can send someone to the Prime Minister's residence to bail him out. The Wubei Kingdom's army is pressing on our border today, not as a show of force, but to take advantage of our unpreparedness and destroy our country. Their sending another envoy today to demand an explanation is just a smokescreen to divert attention. Father knows that their peace talks are a pretense, and their real intention is to swindle us out of our land and resources, so when one trick failed, another was immediately employed."

"Oh, my son is right." The Emperor seemed to wake from a dream. "Then, my son, do you have a sure-fire way to win?"

"Your subject will do his best." Murong Junlan looked at the bewildered emperor and said, "Father, your subject has a request. You must grant it, otherwise your subject will not be able to protect your empire."

"Whatever it is, I will certainly grant your request."

"Your Majesty, I beg you to ensure Yan'er's safety and prevent any harm to her. What do you say?"

"Father promises you." At this point, what reason did the emperor have not to agree?

“Father knows that I have the ability to protect your empire, and I also have the ability to hand it over.”

"My son, don't worry. I know how to weigh the pros and cons."

"Then I will let Jiang He and Yan'er stay by your side."

Upon hearing this, Jiang He panicked. He hurriedly said, "Your Highness, please allow me to stay by your side."

"My mind is made up." Murong Junlan turned to the woman, patting her shoulders with both hands, and said, "I originally wanted to take you with me to hear what the Xiongnu people had to say, but on the battlefield, swords and spears have no eyes. You should stay by the Emperor's side. You cannot leave Guard Jiang's side for even a moment, understand?"

The woman nodded, a sudden feeling of sending her husband to the front lines flashing through her mind.