NFBE Chapter 252: Autumn wind sweeps away fallen leaves
Chapter 252: Autumn wind sweeps away fallen leaves
It is said that the envoy who sent Tian Shiliu to the Xia Kingdom for marriage was originally the head of the Ministry of Rites, with an official rank of sixth grade, and was not even qualified to attend the morning court.
The other four deputy envoys were just small ninth-rank clerks in the Ministry of Rites.
The princess's marriage was a big deal, but Tian Shiliu was not favored, and she was just a flag put forward to take the blame. None of the senior officials of the Ministry of Rites took it seriously, but the small fry were fighting for the chance to escort the bride.
Why? The salary is too low, but you can earn some travel expenses when you go on business trips. Although food and accommodation are reimbursed, there are many tricks involved.
In Chuyang City, they are insignificant officials, but with the titles of chief and deputy envoys of the delegation, they are like the emperors from the capital in the local area.
The local officials had no idea about the intricacies of the princess' marriage. They all thought that since she was a princess, she must be very important, and the delegation responsible for escorting the princess were even special envoys.
A meal actually costs two taels of silver. If you wink at the restaurant owner and act a little cool, the owner will give you a receipt for five taels of silver. If you give the owner a kickback of ten copper coins, you can get almost three taels extra.
The journey from Chuyang City to Liyang City is long, and every meal alone brings in a lot of gray income. The chief envoy takes the lion's share, and the four deputy envoys share it equally, which is enough to cover two years' salary.
This is just one of the expenses. It is not easy to make money by staying in an inn, but there are countless excuses for not staying in an inn, while staying in an inn allows you to do things freely.
The horses need to eat grass, the carriage needs to be repaired if it is damaged during the journey, and especially the sickly princess needs careful care, so all aspects cost a lot of money.
When the princess fell seriously ill while traveling to the border town, the five of them carefully selected Qi's mansion to recuperate and treat the princess. The real money given by Master Qi was enough for them to earn enough for their retirement.
Although the princess died in the middle of the journey, a fake princess was sent to their door, and after some twists and turns, the mission was completed perfectly in the end. The five people returned to the Kingdom of Yue, made a fortune, and counted the money until their hands cramped.
They thought the matter was over and they had a few good days.
The court struggles have nothing to do with little people like them, and no emperor would even look at these ants.
But things suddenly became mysterious and strange. After Tian Shang ascended the throne, he specially summoned them to the imperial study, promoted each of them by one level, and rewarded them with a lot of jewelry.
The reason was simple. His Majesty rewarded the five of them for their dedication to duty and for successfully escorting Princess Tian Shiliu to the Kingdom of Yue for marriage.
Pie in the sky! The five people were overjoyed!
I didn't expect to have such great luck after so many days! Buying a house and property was not a problem, and I even brought my family to the most luxurious restaurant in Chuyang City, "Taihe Tower", for a three-day banquet!
Then they learned that the Emperor of Yue announced to the world, inviting Princess Pomegranate and her husband to return to Yue to celebrate the New Year, to demonstrate the peaceful coexistence of the two countries.
The five people's faces suddenly turned as black as the bottom of a pot, their hair stood on end, and they vomited all the food and wine they had eaten and drunk in the past three days. They crawled and rolled to the newly purchased manor of the envoy to hold an emergency meeting.
The chief envoy spat out a mouthful of jaundice water, his face turned pale, and he looked ten years older in an instant. He looked at the four panicked deputy envoys in front of him and swallowed hard, as he had only a few saliva left.
"Don't worry, follow our original agreement and never admit that the princess we sent to Xia Country was a fake!"
A deputy envoy scratched his chicken-coop-like bun, shaking it like a sieve.
"If the fake princess doesn't come back, we can make up whatever we want. If she comes back, she'll definitely be afraid of His Majesty's punishment and will definitely give us away!"
"What if the fake princess doesn't come back? Then there's no real princess, right?"
The other deputy envoy was hoping for a lucky break.
"You idiot!"
The chief envoy raised his hand and slapped the deputy envoy. The deputy envoy covered his face and squatted on the ground howling. Soon, clear palm prints of five fingers appeared.
The envoy was still not satisfied, so he kicked the deputy envoy hard, gasping for breath.
"At that time, no one in the Xia Kingdom knew that the princess we sent was a fake! The fake princess was actually the virtuous princess! The diplomatic relations between our two countries were normal. How dare she disobey the Xia Emperor? How dare she defy his orders?!"
The other three deputy envoys who were not beaten stayed far away.
One of them had red eyes and tears were falling. He looked at the envoy with a dead heart and blurted out something.
"So, we have no way to survive?"
He completely disregarded his image and slumped on the ground, supporting his body with his arms, looking up in a daze, trying his best to empty his mind.
The fake princess had no choice but to return to Yue State. The best possibility was that no one would find out that she was fake, and then the fake princess and the others would be fine.
The worst possibility is that someone finds out that the princess is fake, but the fake princess does not tell the truth. In consideration of the friendly relations between the two countries, the Emperor of Yue will not bother with a fake princess who was married off for an alliance.
The five of them lived in peace.
hiss!
It reminds me of the time when His Majesty summoned them and promised them promotions and wealth. He was clearly very concerned about Princess Pomegranate. Once he found out that the princess was a fake, how could he let it go?
There is a high possibility that the fake princess gave them up in order to escape punishment!
The envoys felt as desolate as the autumn wind sweeping through fallen leaves, but they could do nothing now and could only leave it to fate.
The envoy finally realized that when they agreed to cooperate with the bandits in Jiaoyang Valley, their fate was no longer in their own hands.
He had calculated everything except one thing: Tian Shiliu would be summoned back to his country by the Emperor of Yue one day!
Thinking of this, he felt like he had lost his parents. He lay on the ground powerless, and his voice sounded like a lost soul, floating in the air.
"Prepare for the worst. Sell what needs to be sold, pawn what needs to be pawned, and send away family members who can be sent away secretly. Don't let it end up without any descendants."
After the envoy finished speaking, he heard low sobs around him. He couldn't help but laugh, a helpless and desperate laugh. He saw a fallen leaf outside the window being blown by the wind, floating towards the unknown distance...
?
Fengxiang Hall of the Yue Imperial Palace.
Xiao Yixiang and Hao Xiong were guarding the door of the hall. When they heard the laughter coming from inside the hall, they couldn't help but smile at each other.
The prince and princess are really capable and passed the second level smoothly.
Nanny Feng came out and saw the two of them. She put a warm smile on her face and put the plate of pastries in Xiao Yixian's hands.
"Why don't you go in?"
The Little Doctor Fairy answered blankly.
"Standing inside is the same as standing outside, what's the difference?"
"There is a difference!"
Hao Xiong reached out, picked up a piece of cake and stuffed it into his mouth.
“There aren’t so many rules standing outside.”
Nanny Feng was stunned for a moment, then suddenly couldn't help laughing, covering her mouth with her hands.
"The princess and her husband are good-natured, and their entourage is so interesting."
Tian Shang walked slowly towards Fengxiang Palace. Nanny Feng had sharp eyes and immediately saluted Tian Shang.
"See Your Majesty!"
Xiao Yixiang and Hao Xiong also followed suit and saluted Tian Shang.
Tian Shang nodded slightly, and just as he was about to step into the hall, he suddenly heard a clear and pleasant female voice coming from inside.
"Mother! I'm in great health now and enjoy eating everything I want. I'm even practicing martial arts with the guards in the palace!"
Tian Shang paused, looked at Nanny Feng in disbelief, frowned, and sneered in a cold voice.
"Why is the princess calling her mother the queen? Is that so rude?"
Nanny Feng felt a little scared for no reason.
His Majesty never likes to laugh and is very majestic. When he is calm, he exudes a cold air. Now he is frowning. Nanny Feng feels the pressure from His Majesty and her legs can't help but tremble a little.
"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother is pleased and allows the princess to call her that."
Tian Shang said nothing more. He lifted the hem of his imperial robe and walked into Fengxiang Palace.
When Hao Xiong saw that Nanny Feng was silent, he had a bad feeling and asked Nanny Feng in a low voice.
"Mammy, why are you so frightened?"
Nanny Feng quickly made a gesture to Hao Xiong to keep quiet, and pulled Hao Xiong aside, her brows full of worry.
"Your Majesty's grace and power are unpredictable. I'm worried that the princess might say something wrong and anger His Majesty."
In Fengxiang Palace, the palace maids bowed to Tian Shang when they saw him come in.
"See Your Majesty!"
Tian Shang raised his hand and the palace servants hurriedly retreated.
Zhao Xuan and Gu Zhanghua also stood up and greeted Tian Shang.
"Brother, you're here! I was just chatting with my mother about the interesting things I experienced in Xia Country!"
Zhao Xuan smiled and said to Tian Shang.
Tian Shang sat next to Empress Dowager Nie. He raised his eyelids and glanced at Zhao Xuan. A cold light flashed in his eyes. He asked Empress Dowager Nie.
"Mother, don't you think Little Pomegranate has changed too much since returning this time?"