The White-Haired Imperial Concubine
Chapter 2 - First One Since the Ancient Times
Chapter 2 First One Since the Ancient Times
The weather was wonderful the next morning. With the warmth of the sun’s rays, the spring breeze felt less chilly, perfect for appreciating the season. However, Lintian’s Emperor had already sent people to bring Man Yao into the palace earlier in the morning.
Lintian’s palace was extravagant and luxurious, imposing and dignified, comparable to Qiyun’s palace as well. As Man Yao passed through, she secretly praised the craftmanship.
As the guards led the way, she entered Gan Kun Hall. Through the pearl curtain, a lofty figure wearing the dragon robe was standing above her. His cold and dignified features were clear to distinguished, yet even though that pair of eyes didn’t carry any expressions in them, she felt an indescribable sense of pressure, forcing her to feel a bit nervous. This is the first time since she arrived in this time period three years ago, the aura that belonged to an emperor. Her imperial brother, Qiyun Emperor, was quite gentle to her.
Taking a deep breath, she composed her thoughts and carefully stepped into the hall. The court officials within were standing on two sides, each one turning back to look at her.
One wasn’t able to see her face, only that phoenix crown on her heard and the pearl curtain that hid her face. The red brocade robe she wore was adorned with colorful drawings, and one could not help but desire to hold that slim waist of hers. As the robe’s train trailed along the carpet, her gentle and elegant steps as she moved forward were like a painting, captivating endless people. She was extremely pleasing to the eye.
The Emperor of Lintian straightened his back, and the light in his eyes flickered. Even though her face couldn’t be seen, just that calmness and the noble aura that was emanating from her bones, was already incomparable to any other. This type of woman, no matter who saw would not believe that she is the Princess Rong Le rumored to be hideous and arrogant!
When Man Yao reached the middle of the great hall, she slightly bent her knees in greetings, “Rong Le greets Your Majesty Emperor of Lintian!”
That voice was as clear as air, neither haughty nor humble.
Emperor of Lintian raised his hand, “Princess may rise!”
After Man Yao raised her body, she felt a burning gaze from her left side. She calmly glanced over, only seeing a male dressed in the robes of a prince, carrying an indescribable smile. It was the Ninth Prince from yesterday. Seeing her look over, he blinked at her, with an expression that seemed as if he was waiting for a good play to happen.
Gently scowling, she quickly took in her surroundings, seeing that in front of Ninth Prince was another male’s gaze on her as well, carrying a gaze full of mocking and disdain. He wore a jujube-colored robe, and a white jade crown with double dragon pearls. He should be the crown prince of Lintian. She naturally knew the reason behind his mocking and disdainful gaze. Giving a smile, she retracted her gaze and ordered the male behind her, “Xiao Sha, pass the gifts Imperial Brother prepared for the Emperor of Lintian.”
Xiao Shao understood and carried a finely crafted gift box, walking towards the front as Man Yao explained, “Your Majesty, Rong Le’s Imperial Brother was grateful for Your Majesty’s bestowments, and wanted to return the gesture with this treasure. May Your Majesty accept!”
The eunuch received the gift box and opened it just as carefully as when he opened imperial notices. Within, he saw an orange-colored brocade along with a pair of finely crafted white jade cups with dragon plates underneath. Dancing phoenixes were carved on the cups, showing off the fine craftmanship, and the quality of the jade was extremely clear, scattering the light. With just a look, anyone would know that this is a rare treasure.
The Emperor of Lintian carefully lifted the jade cup and was moved, “It’s the white jade glass!”
An official who had a lot of knowledge saw and was shocked, “I heard a legend about the white jade glass saying that it was carved using thousand year-old jade. There’s only one pair in the world, it’s a priceless treasure. This cup is used for drinking tea as the flavor of the tea will become more pronounced. If you use this in the summer to drink water, not only can it drive away the summer heat and eliminate thirst, it will also cause one’s body to feel refreshed all over, making one very comfortable. It’s very special!”
As the officials were in an uproar, the Emperor of Lintian smiled and nodded his head, and relaxed his features, “Emperor of Qiyun gifted me such a precious treasure! Beloved Minister Yang, help me write a letter thanking Emperor of Qiyun for his thoughts.”
Xiao Sha bent a knee, proclaiming, “Your Majesty Emperor of Lintian, before my nation’s Princess set off, my Emperor had a few words he wanted this servant to pass on to Your Majesty.”
Emperor of Lintian agreed, “Please speak!”
Xiao Sha raised his head to gaze at the Emperor of Lintian, and fearlessly spoke each word, “My Emperor proclaimed that although the white jade glass cup is a one-of-a-kind treasure, it does not compare to even one ten-thousandth of the place Princess Rong Le has in my Emperor’s heart! He hopes that Lintian can treat my Princess well, to ensure the peace of the two countries for centuries to come.”
The Emperor of Lintian laughed loudly when he heard, “This is natural. The Princess is the harbinger of peace to Lintian and Qiyun. Even if she is married to Prince Li, she is still my nation’s honored guest, she will not be treated unfairly!” Once finished, he paused and continued again, “Regarding yesterday’s matters, when Prince Li has come to court, I will definitely give Princess an explanation.”
Man Yao gently smiled and politely replied, “Your Majesty exaggerates!”
The Emperor of Lintian approvedly looked at her. Her actions were tolerant and words were dignified, no wonder she was the princess of a country. At this time, an imperial guard rushed into the hall with a perturbed look on his face to report, “Reporting to Your Majesty, Prince Li, His Highness Prince Li is…”
The Emperor of Lintian furrowed his eyebrows and with a heavy voice asked, “What’s wrong with him? I ordered you to call him back into the palace. It’s already been two hours, why is even his shadow not here?”
The guard hurriedly lowered his head, his voice shaking, “Prince Li’s people said…said Prince Lis is resting and cannot enter the palace…” His voice became smaller and smaller, to the point where no one could hear him, just like a mosquito. However, even so, his words clearly fell into the ears of everyone present, and everyone felt a storm surging in their hearts.
The countless court officials, along with the crown prince and the princes, all had different looks on their faces. Daring to blatantly reject an order, Prince Li is definitely the first in this dynasty. He didn’t even bother to come up with an excuse and did it right in front of Qiyun’s princess.
Not only did he offend the respect of an emperor, he even lost face for Lintian, this is giant crime!
Within the imposing great hall, for a moment there was absolute silence. Everyone was scared witless, no one dared to breathe in fear that their head would be the next to roll if the Emperor decided to vent his anger on him. Especially the officials who strongly promoted the marriage alliance, the palms of their hands were drenched in sweat. There was the feeling that the Emperor’s anger would explode at any moment, only waiting for a reason that was currently hovering over their heads, their fear seeping into their bloodstreams. Like a poisonous vine, that heavy air also encapsulated Man Yao as well.
Hearing the sounds of cold sweat dripping onto the ground entering her ears, that kneeling guard kept his head to the ground, wishing he could bury himself into a hole in the ground.
With this type of heavy tension in the air, even she felt her heart stop, as if there was an ever-expanding balloon next to her as someone kept blowing air into it. Seeing that balloon growing larger and larger, she had no idea when it would suddenly blow up.
Like this, half an hour passed. To be able to endure this heavy and tense air, it definitely tests one’s tolerance. However, the predicted explosion didn’t happen. Seeing the Emperor of Lintian’s eyes filled with anger, there was also a hint of helplessness hidden in the depths as well.
The Emperor of Lintian’s face was as deep as the sea and suddenly turned towards the Ninth Prince beside him. The Ninth Prince stiffened and hurriedly lowered his head, and cried out in his heart: Not good, Fuhuang (1) marked me! As expected, before he could even begin to worry, the stern voice of the emperor floated over his head, “Lao jiu (2), go with Commander Xiang to Prince Li’s residence to pass on my decree. No matter what methods you use, you must bring him to the hall! If you’re able to do it, I will heavily reward you. If you’re unable, then you don’t need to attend court in the future.”
Hearing these words, the eyes of Ninth Prince brightened, and he opened his mouth to reply, but his smile froze as the Emperor of Lintian followed up, “You can go to the western area to guard the imperial tombs for the rest of your life.”
Shocked, his mouth fell open. Even though he was the only one who didn’t need prior notice to enter Prince Li’s residence, if he were to offend Seventh Brother, he won’t have any good days in the future. On the other hand, guarding the imperial tombs were difficult days that no one would be able to endure. To make him stay there for the rest of his life, he might as well just kill him! Reluctantly he opened his mouth, “Ah? Fuhuang…” He just opened his mouth when his father’s sharp gaze shoved the words back into his mouth. He forced himself to lift the corners of his mouth and helplessly lowered his head, reluctantly agreeing, “Erchen(3) obeys.”
Although he accepted the order, his heart was very bitter, and he turned around to pass Man Yao. Seeing her indifferently stand, those pair of eyes behind the pearly curtain were clear and calm, acting as if no matter how big an incident would happen, she would not be affect in the slightest, his heart felt stifled as he glared at her. This woman caused him to be stuck between a rock and a hard place, yet she was the one acting as if this matter had nothing to do with her, she was too evil. Princess Rong Le, this enmity, he’ll remember it!
Man Yao accepted his glare and carelessly gave a smile. The one who wanted to watch a good play became a part of the play himself.
The numerous officials finally let out a breath. Ninth Prince has always been close with Prince Li, so with him setting out, it should resolve the matter. The Emperor was wise!
Emperor of Lintian’s face looked a lot better and struck up a conversation with Man Yao, asking her about Qiyun’s life and people. Man Yao answered each question, not too perfunct, but also not too elaborate, controlling the flow of the conversation very well. The Emperor of Lintian smiled and nodded his head satisfactorily.
Like this, an hour passed by. The sound of footsteps suddenly sounded outside the great hall. Looks like great Prince Li has arrived!
Man Yao didn’t turn back, but saw that the Emperor of Lintian’s face suddenly changed. Just now he had a smile still hanging on his face, but now his face blackened, plunging the originally happy atmosphere of the great hall into frigid temperatures.
The small dust carried by the gentle wind seemed to come from the darkest dungeons, the frigid air encompassed the entire great hall, bringing about an air of danger straight to one’s heart, causing one to unconsciously shiver.
The sound of people gasping entered her ears, and she saw the expressions on everyone’s faces continuously change, as if they struck it rich. No matter if one had big eyes or small eyes, no matter if one was beautiful or ugly, every person’s eyes widened to the point where it seemed as if they would fall to the ground at any second. That kind of gaze, was it shock? Anger? Fear? Disbelief? There was even a hint of helpless admiration!
She was suspicious. Exactly what was happening that would cause the emperor and his subjects to suddenly have such varying expressions? She couldn’t help but turn around, and first saw the Ninth Prince stepping into the great hall with a frozen smile on his handsome face. That smile seemed to be forced and his eyes were glistening, as if he was trying to escape from a king that sat upon the highest of seats. He forced himself to slowly continue. As if he was a fish on the chopping board, clearly he saw the knife about ready to come down on his neck, but he couldn’t do anything but continue forward because behind him was a pan filled with hot oil.
Gazing behind him, she saw the rumored endlessly scheming yet arrogant male, and she had the same expression as the other officials, widening her eyes.
This is Prince Li—Zongzheng Wuyou?!
He really did come, but to come to court like this, he was definitely the first since ancient times!