Cui Yun nodded, "Don't worry, Queen Mother, all the ministers have made arrangements. The earth dragon in Qingren Palace was burned three days ago. In order to prevent the water from getting cold, people have been sent to continuously add hot water at the source.
, this way your hands won’t get cold when eating or drinking.”
Sheng Shaoqing once again lamented that the ancient people's attainments in enjoying this aspect were indeed far superior to those of modern people.
In order to show solemnity, Sheng Shaoqing had to take out yesterday's outfit again.
Sheng Shaoqing asked Cui Yun with a grimace, "Ajun, can you change your clothes?"
Cui Yun replied with a polite smile, "The Queen Mother, the net weight of the ruby head and face is four pounds and eighty taels."
Sheng Shaoqing was a little frightened and said, "Then... what about this set?"
"Four pounds and three ounces."
Well, she didn't struggle anymore.
Sheng Shaoqing put on his shirt and got on the sedan chair amidst Cui Yun's urging.
Before the banquet, everyone from the Nanjing envoy came to formally pay homage to the Northern Liang Emperor and the Queen Mother as scheduled.
After some polite greetings, Wang Mi bowed and said, "The foreign minister came here this time and also brought a gift from the king to the Queen Mother and Your Majesty."
Wang Mi clapped his hands, and someone came in carrying three large boxes from outside the hall.
Cui Yun whispered in Sheng Shaoqing's ear, "I sent someone to check it yesterday and there is no problem."
Sheng Shaoqing nodded, and when the young eunuchs approached carrying the box, Wang Mi also presented the gift list.
Cui Yun took the gift list from the young eunuch, checked it out and handed it to Sheng Shaoqing.
Sheng Shaoqing then planned to let Wang Mi sit down at the table according to the procedure.
But at this time, Wang Mi suddenly said, "The foreign minister also has a gift that he wants to present privately to the Queen Mother. Please step aside."
Cui Jun's face suddenly changed color. There was no such link in the ceremony arrangement. Why didn't Wang Mi play his cards according to the routine?
Cui Yun scolded, "Master Wang, are you acting against the rules?"
Wang Mi smiled and said, "The incident happened suddenly, and the foreign ministers had to do it."
Cui Yun suddenly thought of what Wang Mi wanted to say, turned around to look at Sheng Shaoqing's expression, and saw that the Queen Mother's eyes were not dissatisfied, but full of interest, and she understood what the Queen Mother meant.
Yuan Che also looked at Sheng Shaoqing nervously. Sheng Shaoqing held Yuan Che's little hand and nodded to Cui Yun.
After receiving the signal from the Queen Mother, Cui Yun waved his hand, and all the attendants in the palace retreated, leaving only a few close servants.
Cui Yun tightened the golden hairpin in her hand. The sharp touch made her wake up a lot. Fortunately, she was more cautious today and brought this golden hairpin that was both an accessory and a self-defense weapon. If Wang Mi dared to attack His Majesty
Whatever she does with the Queen Mother, she will definitely make Wang Mi's blood splatter on the spot.
Seeing that there were only a few people left in the hall, Wang Mi turned around and walked towards the third box.
Sheng Shaoqing's heart tightened. Wasn't it about Mr. Wei Dalang? Why did he really go to the box?
You're not going to take out a human head from it, are you?
Sheng Shaoqing was so frightened by his imagination that he broke into a cold sweat. Wang Mi had better not be too outrageous.
As Wang Mi slowly opened the box, Sheng Shaoqing's heart rose to his throat, and Cui Yun also tightened his grip on the golden hairpin.
Wang Mi bent down and took out a rectangular box from the box.
Sheng Shaoqing gasped, isn't there any blood down there?
Wang Mi slowly opened the box, and inside, there was actually a bronze animal-faced beast.
The reason why Sheng Shaoqing could recognize this thing at a glance was because there was a record of this thing among the errors that Sheng Shaoqing found in the account book that Mrs. Li used to frame Wang Shanggong.
At that time, Sheng Shaoqing was laughed at by the system for a long time because he didn't know the word.
Is there any specialization in the art? There are so many Chinese characters, and it is normal not to know one or two, let alone such rare characters that are not used at all.
If she didn't travel through time, she might never be able to use this beast in her life, so how would she know it was a container for wine?
It seems like the amount of useless knowledge has increased.
"Master Wang, what do you mean?"
After all, she thought Wang Mi was going to talk about the Wei family, but she didn't expect Wang Mi to bring out such a thing.
Wang Mi bowed and replied, "Can the Queen Mother recognize this object with her keen eyes?"
Sheng Shaoqing said confidently, "Isn't this just a bronze animal-faced lei?"
Wang Mi nodded, "Does the Queen Mother know where this thing came from and how it got into the hands of foreign ministers?"
Sheng Shaoqing's mind was filled with questions. Is this thing strange?
In today's era when porcelain is mostly used, bronze objects are very rare, and the copper smelting technology has matured, so it is not uncommon to create such a utensil.
Sheng Shaoqing shook his head and waited for Wang Mi's next words.
"I heard that Lady Cui comes from a noble family and is proficient in etiquette. Maybe if I show Lady Cui, Lady Cui can recognize it."
Wang Mi stepped forward and handed the lei in his hand to Aning, who was waiting under the high platform, and then turned back to his original position.
Aning carefully presented the bronze to Cui Yun.
Cui Yun took the rather heavy object, looked at it carefully for a long time, and gasped, "This... this is something from the palace!"
"How could...could it be?!"
Cui Yun turned to look at Sheng Shaoqing stiffly, and Sheng Shaoqing understood instantly.
This should be the first batch of palace items that were lost before, and for some reason they ended up in Wang Mi's hands.
Seeing that the Queen Mother only frowned slightly and didn't look very surprised, Wang Mi also understood, "It seems that the Queen Mother should have noticed it a long time ago?"
Sheng Shaoqing subconsciously felt a little embarrassed. It was just a fire in his own backyard, but now the enemy country knew about it. This was simply a large-scale social death scene!
Seeing that the Queen Mother did not speak, Wang Mi did not feel embarrassed and continued, "This thing was also obtained by chance by a foreign minister. Once he got it, he knew that it was not an extraordinary thing, so he immediately sealed up the shop. Following this line, he found some
Something, I wonder if the Queen Mother would be interested in knowing?"
Wang Mi didn't wait for Sheng Shaoqing to nod before continuing, "According to the confession of the owner, he is only responsible for selling in Nanjing, and the source of these items is in Beiliang. Someone regularly passes such items through Jiangzhou Customs every month."
Send it to Nanjing.”
"The foreign minister planned to catch them all a few days ago and give them to the Queen Mother as a New Year gift, but he did not expect that they did not keep up with the appointment last time."
Sheng Shaoqing thought to himself, I won’t let you catch him, the Aijia will catch him himself!
"However, the foreign ministers have already learned the whereabouts of the items that flowed into the Beiliang Palace in Nanjing. They will soon return them to Zhao intact and return them to Beiliang."
How could this Wang Mi be so kind??
As expected, Wang Mi immediately set out his own conditions.
"However, my foreign minister has something to ask of me."
Sheng Shaoqing gritted his teeth and said, "Say."
"The foreign minister asks the Queen Mother to sign a letter of credence with our dynasty and declare a truce between the two dynasties for five years."
That's it?
Sheng Shaoqing asked with suspicion:
"Just one request?"
Wang Mi replied categorically:
"That's the only request!"
However, Sheng Shaoqing retorted, "Do you think you can get a truce with these things?"
Wang Mi smiled and said, "Of course not."
"Foreign minister, there are still great gifts——"
"I wonder if it would be enough to add Beiliang Lang Zhongling, Yi Tong Sansi, and Lord Wei Zhenwei's only son?"
"You dare to threaten me?!" Sheng Shaoqing knew that Wang Mi was not holding his shit in. She had already heard that he was a bad person, but she didn't expect that she would learn the lesson so quickly.
Although there is nothing wrong with this truce for her, it must not be threatened!
This is a matter of principle!
"Foreign ministers don't dare, but I ask the Queen Mother to think twice. With the Queen Mother's wisdom, she naturally knows what choice to make. A truce at this time is good for both countries."
Sheng Shaoqing thought for a while and suddenly laughed.
Wang Mi was confused by the Queen Mother's chuckle in the audience. How could the Queen Mother laugh when she was so serious?
"Master Wang, I heard that Queen Ning Zhen doesn't have any heirs yet, right?"
Wang Mi suddenly heard Sheng Shaoqing mention his sister, and the mention touched her sore spot, and he immediately became unhappy.
"Queen Mother!" Wang Mi's tone became stern unconsciously, "The foreign minister thinks that the matter being discussed at this time has nothing to do with the foreign minister's younger sister, the queen of our court, right?"
Wang Mi deliberately used the word "queen" very harshly. He was reminding Sheng Shaoqing to pay attention to his sister's identity. She was not an ordinary minister's wife, but the queen of a country.
Sheng Shaoqing thought to himself, this Wang Mi is indeed a sister control as the system said, so she really did not make a mistake in cueing his sister.
If he is anxious and exposes his weakness, then there will be a breakthrough in the negotiation, and at least he will not be at a disadvantage.
"Master Wang, you misunderstood. The Ai family did not mean to be sarcastic. The Ai family also admires Queen Ning Zhen very much. I just want to remind Mr. Wang to be careful not to end up making a wedding dress for others."
Wang Mi said coldly, "This does not bother the Queen Mother of Beiliang. The foreign minister also believes that the king will not treat the foreign minister and the foreign minister's sister like this."
"In this case, the Ai family will not worry about you. If you have nowhere to go one day, our door to Beiliang will always be open for you."
Wang Mi just wanted to refute that he would never have such a day. After calming down for a moment, he realized that he had fallen into the trap of Sheng Shaoqing's words, and his emotions had been being carried away by Sheng Shaoqing.
He raised his eyes in shock to look at Sheng Shaoqing on the high platform, but seeing the harmless expression on her face, he felt even more horrified.
Wang Mi, who has always been famous for his eloquence, would actually fall into the trap of others. Is she still the ignorant woman he thought she was?
Wang Mi secretly regretted that he had underestimated the enemy, and could not help but re-evaluate Sheng Shaoqing's weight. With such a person in charge of Beiliang, he might become a strong enemy in the future.
Wang Mi also suddenly smiled and said, "I hope foreign ministers will never have this day."
Sheng Shaoqing was a little surprised to see that he had managed to get out of the situation so quickly. His method of deflecting conflicts had never been seen through so quickly before.
At this time, she also guessed why Emperor Ming proposed a truce.
I'm afraid something went wrong with Nanjing's restructuring, and I'm worried that Beiliang will attack southward at this time, and they will be attacked from both sides, and it will be difficult to deal with it for a while.
However, Sheng Shaoqing had no intention of revealing his true purpose. Every family has its own scriptures that are difficult to recite. Who doesn’t have some difficulties?
"The Ai family can promise you a truce. However, in order to show the sincerity of both parties, the Ai family wants to make a blood alliance with Emperor Ming at the border and swear an oath by the river."
"If you agree, the Ai family will also agree. If you don't agree, then this matter will be discussed later."
He couldn't just let him take all the benefits, and she had to put in some conditions, otherwise she would agree too easily and regret it easily.
Wang Mi gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words, "Foreign ministers don't dare to be expert. They have to discuss things with the king of our country."
Sheng Shaoqing raised his eyebrows, thinking that we could just discuss it, but he said, "Don't worry, you can stay in Bianjing City for a while first, and the Ai family will arrange for someone to take you around. Take a look at me."
What’s the difference between the northern landscape and your southern landscape?”
Wang Mi never thought that Sheng Shaoqing would be so difficult to deal with before coming here. He originally thought that as long as he set out the conditions, Sheng Shaoqing would agree. After all, this was a beneficial and harmless thing for both countries.
If it weren't for the heavy resistance to Nanjing's restructuring, both Emperor Ming and he would be very worried about Beiliang sending troops at this time. Under the dual pressure of internal and external troubles, even if Emperor Ming was wise and powerful, he might not be able to do anything at all.
By chance, he discovered items from Beiliang Palace in the market. He thought that there must be something wrong with Beiliang Palace, so he used this to induce the Queen Mother of Beiliang to agree to his conditions.
What's more coincidental is that as soon as he entered the boundary of Bianjing, someone broke into his camp and persuaded him to surrender to Beiliang by speaking in Beiliang Mandarin.
He originally wanted to treat him as a madman, but he didn't expect that the guards actually found a Beiliang official seal on the madman's body.
Now he felt more certain about the ultimate goal of his trip. The officials in the Beiliang court were so crazy that Beiliang had nothing to fear!
However, just to be on the safe side, I still brought this person with me to the capital, as there was no guarantee that he wouldn't come in handy.
His keen intuition really helped him again. As soon as Wei Zhen from the palace banquet came to test yesterday, he understood that the person he arrested must be related to Wei Zhen.
After investigating all night, I heard that the eldest son of the Wei family has not shown up again in recent days, and the servants of the Wei family frequently go to the Yanliu land to look for people. Who else could the person he captured be not the eldest son of the Wei family?
?
Hearing that Mrs. Wei's surname was He, and this man also said his surname was He, this man actually wanted to have more face. He was not willing to disgrace himself as a member of the Wei family, but rather a member of his mother's clan.
Under the double insurance, he was not afraid that the Queen Mother of Beiliang would not agree to his conditions.
But he didn't expect that he was actually led by Sheng Shaoqing, who used his blood as an alliance to hold him back.
Wang Mi suddenly felt a little frustrated. Sheng Shaoqing took advantage of the situation and told Cui Yun, "Didn't you listen to Mr. Wang? I want to let the eldest son of the Wei family go. After the banquet, you and Mr. Wang will go and get the people."
Cui Yun received the signal from the Queen Mother, suppressed the excitement in his heart and said, "Wei Chen obeys the order."
Wang Mi could only give up after hearing this. Once some cards were revealed, they would not have the same effect when used again.
"Master Wang has been talking to the Aijia for a long time, and he must be thirsty. Why don't we have a banquet and have a good drink?"
Wang Mi could only obey Sheng Shaoqing's arrangement and said, "I would like to thank the Queen Mother for her hospitality."
Cui Yun also invited the envoys who had just left, and ordered his attendants to prepare for the banquet.
The only thing that matters in a meandering banquet is elegance.
So yesterday's noisy opera and acrobatics show was eliminated and replaced with elegant piano music to add to the fun.
