Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"I am already very pleased that our friendly nations have come to offer their congratulations, but I am somewhat surprised that they have sent such valuable gifts."

"Your Majesty, the Emperor said that the states of Song and Chu have maintained diplomatic relations for hundreds of years. These small gifts are far from enough to express the friendship between the two countries. Please accept them with a smile, Your Majesty."

Zhou Xianwu's attitude was sincere, and he didn't seem to be faking it at all.

"This gift is far too precious. If I were to accept it rashly, I would feel uneasy."

Jiang Mengxuan's expression remained aloof, showing no change whatsoever.

Zhou Xianwu felt a sudden tightness in his chest. If the Empress did not accept this gift, how should he proceed?

Just as he was racking his brains for something to say, Jiang Mengxuan's voice drifted over.

"May I ask your esteemed envoy, is there any area in the Song Kingdom that requires my assistance?"

Our great Chu has always valued reciprocity. If your country has any difficulties...

There's no need for such formalities. Just ask if you need help, and if I'm capable, I'll naturally lend a hand.

Zhou Xianwu froze on the spot.

Does the Queen of Chu actually know about the crisis currently facing the State of Song?

"Your Excellency, please speak frankly. With all the civil and military officials present at court today, we can offer suggestions to the Song Kingdom if you encounter any difficulties."

Zhou Xianwu looked troubled, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Upon seeing this, Ye Mo immediately stepped forward: "Envoy Zhou, since His Majesty has spoken,"

The Chu and Song dynasties were also friendly states separated only by a narrow strip of water; what couldn't they say to each other?

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xianwu dared not conceal anything any longer and knelt down in the hall: "Your Majesty, the Empress is wise, the Song Kingdom is indeed facing a great calamity and urgently needs the assistance of the Great Chu!"

Ye Mo revealed an expression of "I knew it", and slowly said, "What is Envoy Zhou doing? Why don't you get up?"

"If you have any difficulties, just tell His Majesty; His Majesty will certainly not stand idly by."

Zhou Xianwu raised his head, his face already streaked with tears.

"Since Prime Minister Ye has said so, it would be distrustful of our friendly nation to continue concealing the truth. Let me tell you the truth, two years ago..."

The Jin dynasty in the Far East besieged our borders, capturing six prefectures and thirteen counties of our Great Song, taking 200,000 civilians and 20,000 members of the imperial family captive to Jin territory.

Among them was the Emperor's mother, the Empress Dowager. The Emperor, who prioritized filial piety, repeatedly negotiated with the Jin Dynasty after ascending the throne, hoping to release the Empress Dowager and members of the imperial family.

Unfortunately, the Jin dynasty's rulers and ministers made exorbitant demands, stating that the ransom for the imperial family and relatives would require 100 million taels of silver, while the Song dynasty's annual revenue was only 40 million taels.

The government simply could not afford such exorbitant fees, and could only seek mediation from the Yan state, which had close ties with the Jin state.

However, Prince Murong Ke of Yan said that he could help the Song Dynasty mediate with the Jin Dynasty, but only in exchange for the "Unextinguished Fire" to get Yan to intervene.

Left with no other option, the government made numerous inquiries before discovering that the Unextinguished Flame was located within the territory of an allied nation. They then offered to relinquish the Unextinguished Flame if the allied nation was willing to do so.

"Just like my Great Song Dynasty's second parents, I beg Your Majesty, please grant the Emperor's rare act of filial piety! I implore you, Your Majesty!"

As he spoke, Zhou Xianwu kowtowed repeatedly, making a loud "thump-thump" sound.

Lin Yunxiu, watching this scene from behind, also bit her lower lip tightly.

For an envoy from a dignified nation to be so servile as to kowtow to the king of another country and beg for help is truly a disgrace to our nation.

After hearing this, Jiang Mengxuan did not agree immediately. Instead, she said to Cao Xianzhi, "Minister Cao, why don't you help the envoy up? Otherwise, people will say that our Chu Kingdom has neglected the envoy of our friendly nation."

"Yes."

Cao Xianzhi immediately obeyed the order to stop Zhou Xianwu from kowtowing and forcibly pulled him up.

“Envoy Zhou, you don’t need to do this.”

"Lord Cao, the thought of Your Majesty's family being humiliated in the harsh lands of Jin makes my heart ache as if it were being torn apart."

After Zhou Xianwu got up, he kept wiping away his tears.

Shen Lang remained silent, watching Zhou Xianwu perform to his heart's content.

He naturally knew everything about the Song Dynasty. The Jin invasion was true, and the capture of the Zhao family members to the Jin Dynasty was also true.

However, the number of people abducted was exaggerated.

Where would you find such an exaggerated number of 20,000 clansmen? The six prefectures and thirteen counties located on the northern border of the Song state may sound like a large territory, but in reality, their area is only about the size of two large prefectures of the Chu state.

As for the 20,000 members of the royal family?

Strictly speaking, it's not exactly fake.

After all, the number is roughly the same if you include maids, eunuchs, servants, and other servants.

According to Shen Lang's own calculations, the number of royal family members who were actually captured and taken to the Jin Kingdom was at most only a hundred or so.

Moreover, the only genuine members of the Bianzhou royal family who were captured and taken to the Jin territory were Zhao Ji's birth mother, his sister Zhao Fujin, and a few people from the princess's residence.

Furthermore, and most importantly, the new ruler of Song, Zhao Ji, had long been at odds with his mother, so how could he possibly be so filial as to redeem her from her servitude?

There must be another reason behind this, which you need to analyze yourself.

"Not putting out the fire?"

Jiang Mengxuan naturally knew about the fire that couldn't be extinguished. Last time, when her royal uncle was assassinated, the message in the communication jade slip mentioned the need to prevent the fire from being extinguished.

But of course she couldn't push Jiang Shangxian out, so she simply pretended to be ignorant.

"My lords, have you ever heard of an undying fire existing within the borders of my Chu Kingdom?"

Upon hearing this, the civil and military officials exchanged glances, then shook their heads in unison, indicating that they did not know.

They genuinely had no idea about the legend of the Chu Kingdom's inextinguishable fire.

Only Jiang Shangxian's pupils contracted immediately upon hearing those three words, and he instinctively wanted to step forward.

But as soon as he moved, Shen Lang grabbed his hand tightly.

Seeing Shen Lang shake his head slightly, Jiang Shangxian immediately and tactfully withdrew.

After a long while, Ye Mo stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, this old minister has never heard of any unextinguishable fire, nor does he know what it is."

"Perhaps this item is in the hands of martial arts practitioners, but the imperial court and the martial arts world keep to themselves and it's unlikely they can help Envoy Zhou investigate."

Lin Xiuyun couldn't bear to listen any longer and was about to speak up about where the undying fire was, but Zhou Xianwu stopped her.

"Your Majesty, for the sake of the long-standing friendship between Song and Chu, please help Song. We hope Your Majesty can send someone to investigate this matter thoroughly."

Jiang Mengxuan nodded: "Of course, how could I sit idly by while our friendly nation is in trouble? I will do everything in my power to find the whereabouts of the Undying Flame."

After speaking, she directly addressed Cao Xianzhi of the Ministry of Rites: "Minister Cao, you are in charge of etiquette and diplomacy, so I entrust this matter to you to investigate thoroughly. You can ask the military commanders in various regions to assist you, and you must find the whereabouts of the Unextinguished Fire."

Cao Xianzhi returned the greeting: "Your Majesty, please rest assured that the Ministry of Rites will investigate the whereabouts of the Unextinguished Fire as soon as possible."

"Ah."

Jiang Mengxuan nodded and looked at Zhou Xianwu: "Your Excellency, are you at ease now?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhou Xianwu showed a tearful expression of gratitude and bowed deeply once more.

……

After the morning court session, on the way back to the guesthouse, Lin Yunxiu couldn't help but press Zhou Xianwu for an answer: "The fire that won't go out is clearly on Prince Jing, why don't you tell Her Majesty the Empress?"

Zhou Xianwu said, "His Highness Prince Jing is the Empress's uncle. How could I possibly say in front of all the officials that I would not put out the fire on him?"

What if we anger the Empress and cause the breakdown of friendly relations between the two countries? Isn't the current situation in our Great Song Dynasty chaotic enough?

Lin Yunxiu said angrily, "In the end, it is because the problems of the Song Dynasty are too deep-rooted to be reversed. Otherwise, how could it have ended up being bullied by the Jin Dynasty like this?"

Princess Fujin of the Jin Dynasty entertained 103 clients a day in a brothel. The emperor's mother was a high-ranking concubine in the Jin court, and she even bore them a son and a daughter.

Princess Rong of the Rong family suffered an even more humiliating end, dying with her anus ruptured. If even members of the imperial family suffered such a fate, it was truly tragic.

Not to mention the miserable plight of the hundreds of thousands of civilians. Now, with the Jin army pressing in, the Song Dynasty, despite having a million soldiers, is forced to retreat in battle after battle.

"To think we've stooped so low as to need to appease another foreign power to send troops in order to prolong our nation's fate, my lord! Don't you find this absurd?"

"Be careful!"

Zhou Xianwu immediately stopped Lin Yunxiu from continuing.

"The Song Dynasty's misfortune is only temporary. As long as the Yan Kingdom is willing to send troops, the lost lands of the Song Dynasty will surely be recovered!"

"Look at the State of Chu. It was only because of the help of the inextinguishable fire that they were able to recover Chang'an, destroy the Western Xia, and wipe away the humiliation of the previous dynasty for hundreds of years..."

Lin Yunxiu: "My lord, please wake up. The Chu Kingdom's resurgence is not due to some inextinguishable fire, but rather the birth of a wise ruler."

Less than three years after the Empress of Great Chu ascended the throne, she first conquered Luchuan and expanded her territory by 300 li, then took over the entire territory of Guanzhong and Yongzhou, and intimidated half of Liangzhou's land. She relied on her powerful army that was good at fighting and winning battles!

And that veteran general named Shen Lang, the Grim Reaper of Bingzhou who annihilated the infamous Iron Yan Army at the small beacon fortress!