Xiao Mingyu froze in place.
He stared at that peerless face in front of him, his mind completely blank.
“What… what did you say?”
“A woman?”
His voice cracked.
Feng Zexuan raised an eyebrow.
“Since when did I ever say I was a man?”
【Heh. Time to show you how dangerous the world really is.】
She added lazily, “That General Feng you saw before… was indeed me.”
“Only, I’ve always been a woman.”
“And now, by His Majesty’s grace, I am the Northern Guardian King of Great Xia.”
Xiao Mingyu opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but she cut him off again.
“You’ve come a long way, Your Majesty. It must have been tiring.”
Her gaze drifted toward the more than twenty luxurious carriages behind him.
“So many… ‘local specialties’?”
She deliberately emphasized the last three words.
Xiao Mingyu snapped back to reality and nodded hurriedly.
“Yes! Yes!”
“This time I brought humble gifts for His Majesty!”
Feng Zexuan’s eyes swept over the convoy.
Suddenly, the system exploded in her mind.
【Host! Those carriages of beauties are actually prepared for the Second Prince!】
Her eyes lit up instantly.
【For Huriyan·Agula?】
【Yes! A full two hundred of them!】
She nearly laughed out loud.
【Ten wives already made him write a blood-letter cry for help… and now two hundred more?】
【This isn’t a gift anymore, this is a death sentence.】
【I hereby name this package: “Blessing Plus Ultra Supreme Edition!”】
【I can’t wait to see Agula’s face when he receives it!】
Suppressing her laughter, she gestured politely.
“Your Majesty is very thoughtful.”
“His Majesty has already prepared a grand banquet in the palace to welcome you.”
“Let’s go.”
And so, the group headed toward the capital in a mighty procession.
That night.
The Tahe Hall shone brightly like daylight.
On the dragon throne sat Xiao Juechen, dressed in a black dragon robe, expression unreadable.
On both sides, civil and military officials were seated according to rank, cups clinking, atmosphere formal yet tense.
Feng Zexuan, her brother Feng Zexuan’s sibling Feng Zexuan… and their father Feng Huai’an sat together.
The Minister of Rites stood and shouted:
“Summon—King of Hanhai, Huriyan·Agula—into the hall!”
Music stopped abruptly.
The hall fell into complete silence.
All eyes turned toward the entrance.
Xiao Mingyu, dressed in foreign royal robes, stepped into the hall under the guidance of attendants.
He walked with straight posture, trying to appear regal, but his slightly trembling hands betrayed him.
After so many years…
He finally stood again before the father he both revered and feared.
“Your son… no, this subject, Huriyan·Agula, King of Hanhai, pays respects to His Majesty of Great Xia!”
He knelt deeply in formal salute.
“Rise.”
Xiao Juechen’s voice carried no emotion.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Xiao Mingyu stood up and took a deep breath, beginning his carefully prepared “reconciliation plan.”
“This time I have brought modest gifts from the northern steppes to express my respect for Your Majesty!”
Here it came.
The gift ceremony.
Feng Zexuan perked up immediately.
The Minister of Rites unrolled a long list and cleared his throat.
“As a token of respect to the Celestial Empire, the King of Hanhai presents—”
He dragged out the tone.
“One hundred pieces of century-aged dried bull whips from the grasslands!”
“…”
“To wish His Majesty boundless vitality and longevity!”
Silence.
Dead silence filled the hall.
Everyone turned to stone.
Bull whips?
For the emperor?
One hundred of them?
Xiao Juechen’s expression slowly shifted—from calm, to dark, to a deep shade of purple.
The armrest of the dragon throne cracked under his grip, veins bulging on his hand.
Feng Zexuan was laughing hysterically in her mind.
【My dear son-in-law! Absolutely biological!】
【This filial piety is truly off the charts!】
【He’s practically announcing to the whole court that his father has… certain issues!】
【A true warrior!】
【Hahaha I’m dying! And I already cured that old problem with system points!】
【This gift hit every single old wound and new trigger at once!】
Xiao Juechen’s temple throbbed violently.
Rebel!
This rebellious son!
He now wanted nothing more than to shove every one of those hundred bull whips down Xiao Mingyu’s throat.
Xiao Mingyu, hearing Feng Zexuan’s thoughts, felt his soul shake.
What?!
Why didn’t anyone tell him?!
His father’s illness had already been cured?!
The sky collapsed in his mind.
Before he could recover, the Minister of Rites continued with trembling voice.
“Next gift… for Princess Anning—”
“Ten strong and wild northern men!”
“BANG!”
Princess Anning Xiao Mingxi slammed the table and stood up, eyes blazing with fury.
Her fiancé Fang Ziqin looked on with red eyes, biting his lip.
Feng Zexuan was practically screaming in her mind.
【Bro, are you completely off the grid in the north?!】
【Your sister is already in love! She and Fang Ziqin are doing just fine!】
【And you just stabbed straight into the heart again!】
The hall atmosphere froze.
Xiao Mingyu was completely stunned.
No matter what he sent, it was wrong?
He was too focused on the deadly gazes aimed at him to notice—
When the Minister of Rites announced gifts for the Third Prince—ten handsome northern youths—
Xiao Mingrui’s eyes lit up briefly… then dimmed.
When the crown prince received a hundred lambs—
Xiao Mingxuan nearly drooled on the spot.
Finally.
The last gift.
The Minister of Rites’ voice turned hoarse.
“For the Second Prince—”
“Two hundred exquisite beauties from the northern steppes!”
Boom!
The entire court exploded.
Laughter, coughing, choking sounds erupted everywhere.
Officials bent over, shoulders shaking, faces red.
Some imagined the Second Prince’s household turning into a “rebellion headquarters” led by concubines.
Others already foresaw chaos.
Xiao Mingyu stood there, utterly confused.
Why… was nobody satisfied with his carefully prepared gifts?
And then—
The system suddenly screamed in Feng Zexuan’s mind.
【Host! Big news! Huge discovery!】
【What now?】
【Among those two hundred beauties… four are men!】
WHAT?!
Feng Zexuan froze.
【Say that again?!】
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