The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

His open scheme caught many people off guard, leaving them speechless and not daring to even glance at Ling Silang.

The Emperor sat in the main seat, observing the current situation with great interest. However, his courtiers did not give these envoys any face, and on the surface, they still had to be punished.

"Lord Qi, you are too kind. The Dafan people have come here today because they want to befriend our Great Shun. If they didn't want to befriend us, why would they come here to ask for a marriage alliance?"

Ling Silang immediately knelt down, "It was my momentary impulse."

"Well, considering your age..."

“Your Majesty the Emperor of Great Shun,” Ai Qi interrupted.

The emperor's face flashed with displeasure, and few dared to interrupt him. This prince of the Great Barbarian Kingdom was truly rude. With such a prince, the Great Barbarian Kingdom was probably not far from its demise.

Only their Crown Prince of Da Shun. Thinking of this, the Emperor turned his head and glanced at the Crown Prince sitting below him. He felt endless sorrow in his heart. His excellent successor was actually a sickly man.

Looking at the other princes, the emperor felt annoyed and turned his head away without even glancing at them.

"This Lord Qi is so disrespectful to us envoys. Does this mean that even the Great Shun Dynasty is unwilling to make peace through marriage and has sent such a hotheaded official to fool us?"

“Crown Prince Aiqi, only you know best whether things are as Lord Qi said.” The Emperor no longer wanted to pretend and his tone became serious. “Princess Aina may choose a husband in Da Shun, but as long as it is the person she chooses, no matter what position he holds, it is up to her. I will not promote officials arbitrarily because of Princess Aina.”

Everyone could tell that the Emperor was angry, and very angry.

Aiqi quickly admitted his mistake, "Your Majesty, it was my sister's fault."

The Emperor then spoke, “Lord Qi has been disrespectful in front of the Emperor. He will be sent to the Dali Temple prison to reflect on his actions for ten days before being released.”

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your great kindness." Ling Silang bowed respectfully, got up and walked outside. A young eunuch was already waiting outside. When he saw him come out, he led him directly to a side hall and told him to wait there.

Du Mingxian sat in her seat, watching Ling Silang leave. Thinking of what the Emperor had just said—a ten-day prison sentence—she wondered if he could handle it. She decided to check on him again tonight.

Before the birthday celebration, the banquet ended abruptly due to the incident deliberately brought up by Prince Aiqi and the departure of Ling Silang, creating an awkward atmosphere at the banquet.

Soon, singers and dancers came forward to add to the festivities, and the atmosphere improved somewhat.

Du Mingxian sat in the chair, thoroughly enjoying the song and dance performances. Appreciation of beauty is something everyone enjoys, regardless of the time.

After the singing and dancing ended, it was immediately time for the gift-giving ceremony. The gifts from the Empress, several princes, royal relatives, and court officials were not presented in public, but were collected by the eunuchs before they entered the hall and registered.

After these gifts were given out, it was time for the visiting countries to come.

Although they might have had ulterior motives, everyone did a good job of putting on a good show, and the gifts were quite nice, which Du Mingxian found very entertaining.

The banquet didn't end until almost 4 p.m. Most of the dishes served were cold, and they tasted alright, but... it was inconvenient for her to wear a veil.

Another point is that at the banquet, all the women would deliberately maintain their image and not eat too much of the food on the table. If she ate too much, she would become an oddity among the women. She didn't want to be the center of attention, so she could only endure it.

She endured the journey all the way to the carriage, but Chun Tao, who had been following her, was nowhere to be found. The coachman was still outside asking, "Miss, are we still waiting for Miss Chun Tao?"

"We don't need to go any further." Du Mingxian was so hungry that she couldn't think straight, but as the carriage turned to leave, she suddenly froze. "Stop."

Hunger was something she had long forgotten.

This... she's gone. And she was the one who brought her into the palace. Could Chun Tao be doing something in the palace?

If something really goes wrong and it gets back to her, then it'll be a huge problem.

Du Mingxian hurriedly got off the carriage and immediately went to stop Lord Wen's carriage, which had not gone far, saying, "Father."

Lord Wen lifted the carriage curtain. "What's wrong?"

"Father, Chun Tao entered the palace with me, but she hasn't come out yet, and I'm a little worried."

Lord Wen's brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly. "When did she disappear?"

Du Mingxian thought about it carefully, "He was there during the banquet, but he didn't come out with us until we left the palace."

Lord Wen's hand tightened as he lifted the curtain. "You mean, she's still in the palace?"

"It should be." Du Mingxian lowered her head silently. She felt sorry for Lord Wen. It was her negligence that led to this situation. It was all her fault.

Lord Wen sighed, "Alright, get on the carriage first, you don't need to worry about the rest."

"Yes."

Du Mingxian could only get into the carriage. She didn't have many people to help her right now, so only Lord Wen could investigate this matter. After all, he was a minister and surely had a few spies in the palace.

I just hope this matter doesn't expose the spies that Lord Wen painstakingly planted in the palace.

She had just gotten into the carriage and was feeling remorseful when she heard the coachman's voice outside, "Miss Chuntao, Miss has been waiting for you for a while."