NFBE Chapter 327 The Mission of Observing Flowing Water
Chapter 327 The Mission of Observing Flowing Water
A word to wake up the dreamer!
Back then, when Zhao Xuan brought Guanliushui, who was then called Xiaoling, to Jiaoyangyu, Hao Xiong took good care of this young man, and they ate and slept together.
At that time, Guan Liushui was well-behaved and sensible, with a face more delicate than a little girl's. He was too small to do physical labor, and coupled with his "miserable" background, Hao Xiong treated him differently.
They call him a little brother, but they're practically raising him like a son.
At this moment, he heard Zhao Xuan's sarcastic question and looked at the fully opened Guanliushui.
With her graceful figure and beautiful features, how could Hao Xiong not understand? He immediately stepped forward and stretched out his two paws to touch Guan Liushui.
"Did the Song Emperor mistreat you? Where are you injured? Should we let Little Fairy Doctor take a look?"
"You! You! You! Don't talk nonsense!"
Guan Liushui stared wide-eyed in terror, dodging Hao Xiong's scratches.
He hadn't seen everyone for a long time and had been entrusted with an important task by the Song Emperor. On the way back, he dared not stop for a moment. He was extremely nervous and anxious. When he suddenly saw so many brothers and sisters who were like family, he wanted to act cute and complain. He never expected to be completely misunderstood.
Guan Liushui was ticklish all over, driven crazy by Hao Xiong's constant touching. He ran around the yard, with Hao Xiong chasing after him, until he was almost laughing so hard he couldn't breathe, before Hao Xiong finally stopped.
"Don't get the wrong idea!"
Guan Liushui, panting and trying hard to suppress his laughter, but also finding it inconvenient to reveal his extravagant life in the Song Dynasty palace, succinctly stated:
"The Song Emperor invited me to the palace, but it was only to keep me company with food, drink, and entertainment. Later I found out that the Song Emperor was a real old fox! He kept me in the palace for a reason. Now I am the Song Emperor's secret envoy!"
Gu Zhanghua looked puzzled.
"Special envoy? What for?"
Guan Liushui quickly raised his finger to make a "shh" gesture, looked around, and only felt relieved when he saw that there was no one else besides them. He then invited everyone to sit down at the stone table in the courtyard and began to tell the four of them in detail about the origin of the special envoy.
"I thought the Song emperor only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun..."
As soon as Guan Liushui started talking, he was immediately met with a disdainful look from Hao Xiong.
"Otherwise what? Everyone in the world knows what kind of person he is!"
"If that's what you think, you've really been fooled by his appearance! He's keeping me under house arrest in the palace while waiting for his spies in Yue and Xia to give him confirmation!"
"Are you saying that the Song Emperor is waiting for definite news that the Xia and Yue kingdoms are about to go to war?"
When Guan Liushui heard Zhao Xuan ask this question, he immediately nodded to everyone.
"That's right. On the night before I left the palace, the Song Emperor specially kept me in his bedroom. It was just the two of us, with two pots of wine and a few cold dishes, talking late into the night by candlelight."
He poured out his grievances to me, saying how difficult it was to survive between the two powerful states of Xia and Yue. He lamented how difficult it had been for him all these years, and that no matter whether Xia or Yue destroyed Xia, Song would be the next lamb to the slaughter!
Gu Zhanghua sighed softly, his expression one of great satisfaction, like an elder seeing a promising junior.
"Looks like my uncle isn't senile after all! He's finally figured it out!"
Zhao Xuan also seemed to be deep in thought.
“He is Mother’s elder brother, our maternal uncle, and he has been emperor longer than Father. How could he be stupid? I suspect that his indulgence in pleasure all these years has been a lie!”
Everyone exclaimed in surprise, "So that's how it is!"
Seeing that everyone had fully digested the information he had just given, Guan Liushui continued speaking.
"Later, Emperor Song analyzed with me that the Rong and Di tribes and the Yue Kingdom were attacking the Xia Kingdom from the north and south, and the Xia Kingdom was in a precarious situation!"
Although the Song Kingdom was outwardly unable to contend with the powerful Yue army, it was, for many years, the only country on the Qiankun Continent to have traded with the Eastern Continent by sea.
"The Eastern Continent?" Hao Xiong asked, his eyes glazed over. "What kind of place is that?"
"It's a place like our Qiankun Continent, but separated from us by a boundless sea."
Guan Liushui explained for a moment, then continued:
"Therefore, the Song Dynasty had a group of talented people who were proficient in shipbuilding and navigation. As early as ten years ago, the Song Emperor ordered the secret establishment of an elite navy!"
He told me that Song soldiers could be secretly transported by sea to the coast of Yue, where they could land and, while Yue was attacking Xia, the Song army could launch a surprise attack on Yue's capital, Chuyang!
After hearing this unbelievable statement, everyone was stunned for a moment before revealing expressions of utter shock.
Zhao Xuan couldn't help but feel anxious.
"This Song emperor is terrifying; he's hidden his true nature so well!"
After saying that, he looked at Gu Zhanghua with a look of lingering fear.
"Fortunately, he is our maternal uncle and is wholeheartedly willing to help us. If it weren't for this relationship, and he turned his back on Yue, Xia would be in grave danger!"
Gu Zhanghua patted his chest to calm his somewhat fragile heart and exclaimed in admiration.
"Brilliant! Brilliant! Uncle's plan can indeed increase our army's chances of defeating the Yue army. The Yue army relies on the assistance of the Rongdi tribes, but we have the Song navy. The Yue emperor will never expect this!"
"That's why the Song Emperor appointed me as the special envoy for the alliance between Xia and Song. Firstly, I'm just an actor, so I won't arouse anyone's suspicion or doubt."
Guan Liushui paused here, then smiled self-deprecatingly.
"Secondly, my identity is quite special. My mother was once Emperor Song's musician, and Emperor Song also knew that I was close friends with the Prince Xian and his wife. By acting as a go-between, it was easier to gain the trust of the Xia Kingdom."
Everyone suddenly realized and nodded in agreement.
Hao Xiong, his eyes filled with the pride of "my daughter has grown up," reached out and patted Guan Liushui on the shoulder.
"Who would have thought that Xiaoling, who was as small as a bean sprout back then, could now shoulder such an important responsibility? You're not bad, kid!"
Gu Zhanghua was clearly thinking more deeply, and looked at Guan Liushui with some doubt.
"You claim to be a special envoy sent by the Song Emperor, but words alone are insufficient. It's no use for us to believe you; only my father, the Emperor, can trust you. What proof do you have? After all, the alliance between our two nations is a matter of national security!"
Guan Liushui remained calm and composed, smiled slightly, and took off the bundle he was carrying, placing it on the stone table.
He slowly opened his bundle, took out an item wrapped in clothes, unwrapped the clothes, and inside was an exquisite wooden box.
It's like a nested doll; everyone's silently complaining about it.
Guan Liushui carefully opened the wooden box, took out an item inside, held it in his hand, and showed it to everyone.
Upon closer inspection, everyone was dumbfounded.
On a square piece of lustrous white jade, five intertwined jade dragons are carved. The dragons' bodies have smooth and powerful lines, with distinct scales and claws, and they gleam with a warm luster in the sunlight.
As a prince, Gu Zhanghua was the first to exclaim in surprise and stood up abruptly.
"The Imperial Seal?!"
Guan Liushui placed the jade seal in Gu Zhanghua's hand, and Gu Zhanghua took it and examined it closely.
The front of the jade seal is engraved with eight characters in bird-and-insect seal script: “Received the mandate from Heaven, may it last forever.” The strokes are vigorous and powerful, and the layout is rigorous and dignified.
Upon closer inspection, Gu Zhanghua noticed that below the eight large characters were two smaller characters, "Zhensheng," which was the name of the Song Emperor, Xiao Zhensheng.
Gu Zhanghua returned the imperial seal to Guan Liushui and looked at everyone with a solemn expression.
"That's right, it is indeed the Song Emperor's jade seal!"
Gu Zhanghua sat back down on the stone bench, no longer addressing his uncle as such, but instead using official language to solemnly inquire about Guan Liushui.
"Did the Song Emperor make any demands regarding this alliance?"