Ali Zhuo flew into a rage.
“Men! Seize this woman for me!”
At his command, the people he had brought immediately moved into action.
Just then…
“Prince Ali Zhuo, why such a fiery temper?”
A teasing voice rang out.
The moment he heard it, Ali Zhuo’s face darkened. He glared viciously toward the source of the sound.
Huangfu Yi rode over on horseback, followed by several hundred Black Scale Cavalry soldiers.
He did not dismount. His gaze swept over Tang Wan, and only after seeing that she was perfectly unharmed did he quietly breathe a sigh of relief. Then he turned back to Ali Zhuo with a smile.
“Someone who didn’t know better might think you’ve come to invade our Celestial Empire rather than pay tribute to it.”
“Nonsense!” Ali Zhuo snapped. “I came here in good faith, yet this mere woman dared lay hands on me. This is simply intolerable!”
His expression was fierce, but in truth he lacked confidence.
Huangfu Yi had guarded the border for many years, defeating the Southern Barbarians time and time again.
In the end, he had forced them to sign all manner of unequal treaties.
From the royal family to ordinary citizens, there was no one in the Southern Barbarians who did not hate him—and no one who did not fear him.
“A mere woman?” Huangfu Yi chuckled. He turned to Tang Wan.
“Wan-niang, come. Tell Prince Ali Zhuo who you are.”
“…”
Is this… my cue to show off a little?
Oh, oh!
I know exactly how to do this!
Tang Wan cleared her throat, straightened her back, and declared in a lofty, elegant manner:
“I am the daughter of the Imperial Noble Consort and the County Lady Wengnai, personally invested by His Majesty himself.”
Ali Zhuo: !!
“You’re from a defeated nation, standing now upon the soil of our Celestial Empire and bullying our people. Why shouldn’t this county lady strike you?”
At this point, ignoring Ali Zhuo’s stunned expression, she added irritably:
“When visiting someone else’s home, shouldn’t you at least possess basic manners? The way you’re acting, anyone would think you came not to offer tribute, but to ascend the throne yourself!”
“Pfft—”
Someone among the crowd burst out laughing.
“Exactly! Picking on a child—what kind of man does that make him?”
“That’s right! If you’ve got guts, fight someone your own size!”
“A defeated country, yet they still swagger around our Celestial Empire. Where do they get such confidence?”
“Don’t say that. They’re confident because their skin is thick!”
“Hahaha…”
…
Ali Zhuo’s face alternated between green and white with anger.
Huangfu Yi coughed lightly.
“Wan-niang, don’t put it that way. He is, after all, a prince.”
“Oh.” Tang Wan pouted and muttered unwillingly, “In my opinion, he just hasn’t been beaten enough.”
Smiling amiably, Huangfu Yi nodded before turning to Ali Zhuo and saying with hidden meaning:
“Prince Ali Zhuo, our Celestial Empire is a great nation. Even a county lady here is of noble blood. County Lady Wengnai is deeply cherished by my imperial father. She is innocent and straightforward, so her words may have been somewhat blunt. Surely you won’t lower yourself to argue with her, will you?”
“This prince… naturally will not.”
Grinding his teeth, Ali Zhuo had no choice but to swallow this humiliation in silence.
He had no alternative.
The look in Huangfu Yi’s eyes carried an unmistakable threat.
He simply did not dare.
“Since that’s settled, honored envoys, please follow this prince.”
Only after Ali Zhuo behaved himself did Huangfu Yi signal for the Black Scale Cavalry to clear the road.
The two delegations continued onward.
Perhaps because of this incident, no further disturbances occurred along the way.
However, as the Northern Frontier’s First Prince passed by Tang Wan, he glanced at her several times, a shimmering light dancing in his eyes.
Tang Wan noticed, but pretended not to.
After greeting Huangfu Yi, she continued on to the medical clinic.
…
Ordinarily, when foreign envoys arrived, the emperor would host a banquet.
But there would be no banquet that night.
Because the envoys from the Feng Dynasty had not yet arrived.
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