More than a hundred foreigners entered the Great Qian imperial palace openly, yet no one announced their arrival. For anyone else, this would have been absolutely impossible.
But if it were people of the Great Qin, everything would seem perfectly natural.
Not a soul dared to show the slightest dissatisfaction.
The Hall of Preserving Harmony was silent. Just then, the Minister of Rites, who was acting as master of ceremonies that day, tremblingly stepped forward to bow to the newcomers.
"Your humble servant greets your esteemed envoy. May I inquire what business the Great Qin has with the letter it has delivered? Our Emperor is currently performing ancestral rites to enfeoff the Imperial Noble Consort. May I ask if your esteemed envoy would permit our Emperor to conclude the enfeoffment ceremony before receiving the Great Qin's national letter?"
"No."
The Great Qin man delivering the national letter was a young man in his twenties, with a stern face and an equally stern demeanor.
"Either you receive the Great Qin's national letter, or you receive the Great Qin's wrath. You have but one choice."
The young man's narrow eyes fixed directly on Feng Qingheng, who was positioned on high. "Now, can you tell me your answer, Emperor of the Great Qian?"
The moment their gazes met, Feng Qingheng felt immensely stifled. He was clearly in a superior position, looking down at the envoy. Yet, the envoy's gaze seemed to look down on him as if he were an ant, a contemptuous look that made him profoundly uncomfortable.
Feng Qingheng had a million impulses to have those men arrested, but he wasn't foolish enough to seek death. The Great Qian was not even comparable to a three-year-old child in front of the Great Qin. He had no right to display anger towards the Great Qin envoy.
Therefore, he feigned calmness and reprimanded, "Jing Chu Nan, you must not be disrespectful to the Great Qin envoy. Guards, present the Great Qin's national letter. I, along with my officials, shall receive it."
With that, the nearby eunuch hurried down from the high platform to retrieve the national letter. This time, the envoy did not create further difficulty, patiently waiting as Chang An scurried down and presented the national letter to Feng Qingheng with both hands.
As Feng Qingheng calmly opened the national letter and his expression changed drastically, the envoy, as if fearing Feng Qingheng hadn't seen clearly, spoke loudly.
"Our Crown Prince has heard that the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Zhaolie of the Great Qian, Lu Qingwan, is both virtuous and talented, dignified and virtuous. She possesses the beauty of Yangmei, the talent of Cai Li, and the virtue of Wei Yin. He specifically seeks her hand in marriage for his younger brother, His Highness Prince Qin. The national letter has arrived, and the wedding procession is already on its way to the Great Qian. We request the Emperor of the Great Qian to make preparations accordingly, so that we may welcome the Princess of Qin back to the Great Qin at an early date."
A clamor erupted in the Hall of Preserving Harmony; everyone was stunned.
Feng Qingheng roared without a second thought, "Impossible! Lu Qingwan is my Imperial Noble Consort, she can never marry some Prince Qin..."
Before he could finish, he was tugged by the sleeve by a nearby eunuch. Feng Qingheng suddenly realized who he was speaking to and swallowed his words. He forced his expression to appear less contorted and slowly said, "Esteemed envoy, is there perhaps some misunderstanding? Your Crown Prince has never met Lu Qingwan, so how could he rashly make her the Princess of Qin? Furthermore, Lu Qingwan is already my Imperial Noble Consort..."
"Hasn't the enfeoffment ceremony begun yet?" the envoy interjected dismissively. "Are you going to compete with His Highness Prince Qin for a consort?"
Before Feng Qingheng could explain further, a series of thunderous booms was suddenly heard. Everyone panicked and looked around. The envoy calmly stated, "Don't panic, this is just a reminder. I forgot to tell you all, on our way here, His Highness Prince Qin feared the Consort would be bored, so he had us bring some cannons and other such things. If the Consort becomes displeased, or if someone prevents the Consort from leaving, I cannot guarantee where those cannons will be aimed!"
This was a blatant threat. All the civil and military officials knew this, and Feng Qingheng knew it even better. His face flushed red, but he ultimately dared not confront the Great Qin envoy directly. He merely wished to preserve his fragile pride. His gaze fixed on Lu Qingwan, as if speaking for her, "Marriage between His Highness Prince Qin and a bride should also be based on mutual consent, right? Since your esteemed envoy is acting on behalf of your Crown Prince and His Highness Prince Qin, shouldn't you inquire about the wishes of the party involved?"
All eyes instantly turned to Lu Qingwan, curious as to what choice she would make between being the Great Qian's Imperial Noble Consort and the Great Qin's Princess of Qin. They were also curious as to why she, Lu Qingwan, had such merit that these powerful men were all bending their knees for her. Of course, some were worried that Lu Qingwan's fiery temper might anger the Great Qin envoy, implicating them in the fallout.
Unexpectedly, the envoy gave Lu Qingwan no room to maneuver, stating righteously, "When has my Great Qin ever asked for others' opinions in its actions? Besides, when you sought to take her as your consort, did you ask for her consent?" This single sentence completely cornered the hypocritical Feng Qingheng. He then bowed in the distance to Lu Qingwan, "This subordinate, Si Lan, respectfully requests that the Princess temporarily return to the Regent's Estate. When the wedding procession arrives, this subordinate will escort the Princess home." As he spoke, he intentionally revealed the ring on his hand. Lu Qingwan immediately recognized it as a token shared by Feng Xiwu's subordinates. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she then turned to Feng Qingheng, "Your Majesty, can you tell me if I should accept this title of Princess, or not?"
Feng Qingheng's eyes widened abruptly. With a single glance, he understood Lu Qingwan's intent. He had taken Lu Qingwan as his consort, and although he had silenced the officials with the excuse of her embracing Taiyin to enter Tianfu, he had already earned the infamy of forcibly taking a subordinate's wife. For the sake of the four hundred thousand Xuanjia Army, to surpass Feng Xiwu who had always overshadowed him during his lifetime, and for that tiny bit of personal desire to possess Lu Qingwan, he had grudgingly accepted it. But this time, Lu Qingwan was publicly forcing him to choose between his dignity and his survival. If he insisted on preventing Lu Qingwan from becoming the Princess of Qin, he would have his dignity, but who knew if the Great Qin would then trouble the Great Qian? They wouldn't even need to deploy their own troops; merely spreading a word would be enough for countless large and small dynasties to deal with the Great Qian. But if he allowed Lu Qingwan to accept the Great Qin envoy's title of "Princess of Qin," then he would be a coward who first forcibly seized a subordinate's wife and then used his Imperial Noble Consort to appease the Great Qin. No matter how great his achievements on the throne of the Great Qian in the future, this stain would follow him his entire life, an indelible shame.
Feng Qingheng had always known Lu Qingwan to be vindictive and difficult to deal with, but he always felt that he was special to her. She was merely acting out of temporary annoyance, which was why she repeatedly made things difficult for him. It was only at this moment that he realized Lu Qingwan had long regarded him as a mortal enemy, and her words about killing him in the past had never been a joke. Lu Qingwan was now attacking his heart in front of all the civil and military officials and the Great Qin envoy, while simultaneously trying to erase his future. Feng Qingheng forced a smile, trying his best to adopt a gentle demeanor. "Ah Wan, this is your own matter. As long as you say you are unwilling..."