Chapter 55 – Chatting with the Emperor

Fan Xian got a little uncomfortable, and very imperceptibly took a small half-step backward, slightly lowering his cheeks and using the corner of his eye to make a quick sweep across the hall.

These courtiers of Qi, there are no surprising characters, the most curious to him, is the towering dragon chair next to the bead curtain is slightly rippling, the bead curtain is flooded with the group of courtiers behind the pool of reflection from the light, looking clear and beautiful.

He knew that the empress dowager of Beiqi, who had the real power, was behind the curtain.

After a long time, the emperor on the dragon chair to support the jaw to hit a yawn, seems to be tired of listening.

“The ambassadors have come a long way to work hard, retire and rest.” The young emperor waved his hand. Fan Xian was relieved, kneeling on the ground again with a smile on his face, he and his subordinates paid homage to the dragon chair again and again, and then he was ready to slap his butt to find those officials in Northern Qi who were really doing their job, and hurriedly went to get the poor Duke of Words out of the way.

But the development of things is always out of one’s expectation.

“Fan …… Gongzi?” The corners of the Bei Qi Emperor’s lips seemed to be tinged with a hint of a smile as he looked at Fan Xian and softly called out, “You and stay to accompany me for a little gossip.”

The courtiers were slightly surprised, thinking that above the courtroom, it was a bit unseemly for His Majesty to address the other master envoy as a prince instead of his official title. Fan Xian, however, could not think of any of this, but was just alarmed, could it be that this young emperor knew something?

He hurriedly saluted and responded, “Foreign ministers are new to the country, and not knowing how to respond before the palace, I am truly terrified.”

“Unhindered, unhindered.” The young emperor seemed to be very good at talking and said with a smile, “This time, when I learned that it was Duke Fan who came, I was extremely pleased, so I was able to teach Duke Fan that I had learned that I had recited the ‘Poetry of the Semi-Idle Zhai’ from time to time, and that even Lord Taifu had nothing but praise for the Duke’s talent. Today, after the state affairs, Fan Gongzi and accompany me to walk around at will, I look forward to Fan Gongzi come for a long time, but also along the way to let Fan Gongzi look at the scenery in the palace of the dynasty.”

The words have been said to this, as a foreign minister Fan Xian where still dare to say more, just a slight heartbeat. Beiqi Taifu is Zhuang Mohan’s son, Zhuang Mohan was in the palace of the Qing Dynasty, and was made a mess by himself, and the other party even complimented his own talent?

As the delegation exited the hall, Lin Jing glanced at Fan Xian with slight concern. Fan Xian nodded slightly, signaling the other party that he would pay attention.

When the courtiers of Northern Qi also withdrew, the entire hall appeared even more empty, and the clattering sound of fish tails hitting the water in the pool by the long platform could be heard, as well as the gentle footsteps of the palace maids at the back of the veil.

The young emperor who had been sitting on the dragon chair seemed to relax at this time, stretched his waist, looked at Fan Xian and laughed, jumped straight down from the dragon chair, took the eunuch’s towel and wiped it off carelessly, and then patted Fan Xian’s shoulder and said, “Go, I want to let the poets of the southern dynasty see the Immortal Palace of the northern country.”

Fan Xian secretly grumbled, who would have expected that his majesty would still be a child, and was about to follow him to the back of the palace when he heard a coughing sound coming from behind the beaded curtain that he had been secretly paying attention to.

Emperor Beiqi was slightly stunned, turned his head with a bitter look on his face, bowed to the bead curtain and said: ”Empress Mother, my child was so happy to see Fan Xian that he was impolite. I still hope that Empress Mother will forgive me.”

The palace maid slowly pulled open the bead curtain, and when the sound of beads colliding resounded crisply, a noblewoman walked out from the curtain.

Fan Xian hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to take a closer look, but his strangely venomous gaze still looked at the foot below the beaded curtain.

The noblewoman was wearing a pair of silk flower shoes embroidered with gold, seemingly casual but gorgeous.

What made Fan Xian even more shocked was that immediately after this pair of silk shoes, there was another pair of feet that also stepped out of the bead curtain–who in the world would dare to sit with the Empress Dowager of Beiqi behind the bead curtain and listen to the Emperor’s conversations with the foreign envoys!

What was worn on those feet was a pair of cloth shoes, the soles of which were made of thousand-layer cloth densely napped into a very common craft in the countryside, and the mouths of the shoes were black and white, with only a hint of the festive flowery cloth showing at the thin, tender heel. This kind of cloth shoes are usually seen in the New Year in the countryside, but in the court of Beiqi, it is very strange.

Fan Xian, however, guessed who the owner of the cloth shoes was, and raised his head in astonishment, no longer caring about etiquette, his eyes serene, but in fact secretly wary, as he looked at her, at Miss Haitang, who still wore a flowery cloth scarf tied around her head!

I didn’t expect Haitang to join the Empress Dowager and come out from the beaded curtain!

Fan Xian’s and Haitang’s gazes were like substance as they collided into one place, and the air in the Beiqi palace was a bit uneasy. In the flash of a white horse, Fan Xian had withdrawn his gaze again and knelt down towards the noblewoman beside Haitang, “Foreign minister Fan Xian, greetings to the Empress Dowager.”

The Empress Dowager looked at him twice, frowning slightly, thinking to herself, “This Qing official named Fan Xian, how did he get born so beautiful? It can simply be called a demon, no wonder Duo Duo had to sneak up to the palace today to see, could it be that this girl beside her …… She waved these thoughts away, nodded slightly, and then said to the emperor, “Your senior aunt is back, and since you want to take Lord Fan to the palace to wander around, then go all the way with your senior aunt. ”

The emperor had a difficult look on his face and seemed to be very reluctant to go with Haitang, but it was hard to hinder his mother’s order, so he could only say to Haitang with a bitter smile, “When did Shifu return?”

Haitang removed her cold gaze from Fan Xian’s face, and saluted the emperor with a slight bow, “Your Majesty, my daughter returned to the capital yesterday, my master was worried that there were too many evil people in the capital recently, so he sent my daughter back to the palace.”

Fan Xian smiled bitterly, there are evil people in the capital? This is naturally talking about himself who loves to use aphrodisiacs.

Walking in the imperial palace of Qi, Fan Xian couldn’t help but think of an already unfamiliar idiom, which was a remnant from his previous life: the blessings of Qi. Because this palace is really worthy of the young emperor previously said “immortal palace” two words. The Qi nobles living in this palace were indeed very blessed.

Tall green trees from the overall color for the black of the palace cluster side stretch out, like a cold and careful woman, is playing a small fan for who, those green and green branches or playfully out of the black eaves to peep, or powerless lazily rest in the green tile on the rest, or in the palace ground those flowers above the stretched out, as if in contempt of those delicate plants.

The entire palace and the large green trees seen around the intermingled, reflecting, green and black, just and soft, beautiful.

The palace complex was divided into several tiers, built on one side of the green hills, which made it look especially marvelous. The three of them walked forward under the service of a large number of eunuchs, and bypassing the long corridor beside the clear stream in the mountains, they had already gone up to the second floor. It was only at this point that Fan Xian calmed his mind a little, and began to observe the scenery of the palace with his heart, and could not help but marvel at it. Although the fact that the palace was built on a mountain was a somewhat foolish choice from a military or daily living standpoint, but looking at the water flowing slowly alongside the promenade, and the refreshingly colorful scenery around him filling his eyes, Fan Xian finally understood the real reason why people chose this place for the palace so many years ago.

Beautiful, really beautiful!

Unfortunately, Fan Xian was not from Qi, and at this time, he had even less spokes of Qi, and was not accompanied by two stunningly beautiful women; all he had was His Majesty, the supreme Emperor of Qi, and the strongest expert of the younger generation of Qi, the Hai Tang girl who had once beaten himself to a standstill.

The emperor was dressed in a black tunic, with a gold silk saint’s belt around his waist and wide cuffs, dressed in a rather ancient manner, his hands behind his back, leading the way towards the palace, seemingly forgetting that he was the one who had forced Fan Xian to stay behind.

Fan Xian followed behind the emperor with some restraint, glancing at Haitang beside him with his afterglow from time to time. There was even a great deal of bad blood between him and this woman, and although he believed that in the middle of the palace, the other party would not do anything to himself, he still felt a little nervous.

But Haitang Duo Duo actually did not even look at him squarely, as if she had never met him, nor had she ever been poisoned by him, nor had she ever heard his acidic words.

Fan Xian understood something, so he smiled gently and didn’t say much. But a moment later, that young emperor’s majesty seemed to finally be tired, pointing to a gazebo in a flat area ahead and gently pointing a finger.

All of a sudden, a large group of eunuchs feet do not touch the ground “rushed” over, in a very short period of time will be cleaned up the pavilion clean, that a few sitting rails are wiped and wiped, lit a few columns of incense, ready for the Qingming tea pots and cups.

Walked into the pavilion, beside the mountain wind with the stream of moisture slightly whisked, the emperor stood on the edge of the rail, hands behind the back, said softly: “shoot the railing, forest flowers blowing temples mountain wind cold, Hao Ge shocked the floating clouds scattered.”

Fan Xian responded appropriately, “Good rhetoric.”

The emperor turned to Fan Xian with a pair of clear eyes, looking at him with great interest, and after a long time, he suddenly said, “You are the first person to pat me on the back and pat me on the back so carelessly, Fan Xian.”

Fan Xian was embarrassed, not knowing how to speak, and arched his hand and said, “I am terrified.”

“It’s just a matter of being terrified, don’t be terrified.” The emperor sat down and picked up a cup of tea will drink a mouthful, suddenly saw begonia, can not help but smile and said: “small nun, today in the face of me how this is so formal, in the past is to please you can not please, only willing to planting vegetables in the garden, today, since the palace, and relax and enjoy the scenery is also good.” He sighed softly, “I always think that the palace is too beautiful, beautiful to me have no mind to walk out of the palace.”

There seems to be some side meaning in these words, Fan Xian only thought that he could not understand, in the emperor’s gaze signaled to sit down, there are eunuchs served tea, he slowly sipped, do not know this young emperor suddenly moved to stay in the palace, in the end what is the meaning of.

Haitang also served a cup of tea, sitting on the railing on the outside of the mountain pavilion, her gaze cast towards the flowing water on the banks of the pavilion, not knowing what she was thinking about.

“Fan Xian, what do you think of the scenery in my palace?”

Fan Xian was slightly stunned, thinking to himself that this was the first time the emperor had repeated this topic today. After a little deliberation, he replied, “The palace is in the mountain, there are trees on the mountain, the trees are in the palace, the scenery is clear and beautiful, the most rare thing is that the heavy eaves of the palace seem to be one with the whole mountain scenery, one does not seem to be engulfed by the majesty of the imperial palace, and the second is not because of the palace’s prosperity weak mountain color is pale and indifferent, and even give people the feeling of unity of heaven and man, the foreign minister is really marvelous.”

“Yeh?”

Fan Xian’s unintentional words seemed to have surprised the Emperor of Northern Qi somewhat.