Ji Feiyu was even more confused. She grabbed the sad - looking waiter who was about to leave and asked, "What on earth happened to the Empress Feiyu?"
Just as the waiter was about to explain, he was suddenly interrupted by a scholar - looking man who popped up. "This young lady must have been out of touch with the world for a long time. Otherwise, how could she not know such a major event?"
Ji Feiyu looked at the scholar and forced a smile awkwardly. "I really don't know..." She truly had no idea why everyone was discussing this overnight...
The scholar glanced at Ji Feiyu and then began to explain. "Two days ago, the Emperor issued an imperial edict announcing the Empress's passing. At the same time, he declared a national mourning throughout the country, ordering that there be no drinking or merry - making. We all whole - heartedly agree. Just thinking about how Empress Feiyu sacrificed herself for the Great Yong, us men feel deeply ashamed."
"Yes, yes," someone else chimed in.
"Our Great Yong sent a princess to marry far away in order to maintain peace between the two countries. But unexpectedly, it still couldn't satisfy the ambitious wolves of the Northern Han royal family. They invited our Great Yong Emperor to a grand event in the Northern Han in the name of the princess, thus bringing about this autumn hunting trip. They claimed it was so the Emperor could visit the princess during the event, but in fact, it was to detain our Emperor and exchange him for the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun. Since the Empress was also on the invitation list, she accompanied the Emperor on this trip..."
The scholar stood in front of the table, looking solemn as he talked eloquently. Ji Feiyu was stunned. Who on earth had come up with this version...
"... After the autumn hunting ended smoothly, the eldest prince of the Northern Han finally showed his true colors. He threatened our Emperor with armed forces and forced him to stay, demanding that our Great Yong exchange the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun for the Emperor. After learning the truth, the Empress had no choice but to step forward. She single - handedly bewitched the eldest prince to buy time, while on the other side, she arranged for people to escort the Emperor away. The Emperor was deceived by the fake empress beside him and rushed back to the court. Later, when he learned the truth and wanted to exchange the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun for the real Empress, it was already too late. In order not to let the country suffer, Empress Feiyu resolutely stabbed the eldest prince of the Northern Han, throwing the Northern Han court into chaos. The second prince of the Northern Han, in order to appease the public's anger, captured the Empress and sacrificed her, making her bleed in the Northern Han. Thus, Empress Feiyu passed away." By the end of his story, the scholar was extremely excited and looked deeply sorrowful, as if he wished he could take the knife for her. Ji Feiyu beside him couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
"I heard that on the day of the execution, it snowed heavily. Even the heavens thought it was unfair. When this news reached the Great Yong, our Emperor was so grief - stricken that he didn't eat for three days. Then he issued this national mourning order, asking all the people to remember the Empress's great righteousness and conferred on her the title of the Benevolent and Saintly Empress of Great Courage."
Everyone in the hall looked sad after hearing this, except for Ji Feiyu, who was completely in awe of the scholar. She thought it was a waste of talent that he didn't become a storyteller.
Listening to his words, Ji Feiyu seemed to see a wise and generous empress who was willing to sacrifice herself for justice. She couldn't help but sigh at the empress's wisdom and great righteousness, and the grandeur of her death. She never thought that the person he was talking about was herself.
What he said was similar to her real experience, but there were also some differences. For example, in fact, Emperor Yong went to the Northern Han because he was looking for her. At first, the eldest prince wanted to exchange her for the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun. And on the day of the execution, there was no heavy snowfall at all. Instead, the sun was shining brightly.
Ji Feiyu didn't know who had written this imperial edict, but she could feel the sincere feelings of the common people towards her.
"Anyway, it was because Empress Feiyu sacrificed herself for the country that she saved all the people in the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun. We should all use tea instead of wine and toast to her!" After saying that, the scholar picked up his teacup and poured the tea on the ground. Everyone followed his example and did the same. Ji Feiyu and Hua Hudie had no choice but to do the same.
Ji Feiyu couldn't help but sigh. Fortunately, she wasn't dead. Otherwise, with all this tea being poured like this, she would probably be drowned underground.
"To Empress Feiyu!" "To Empress Feiyu!" "It's a blessing for the Great Yong to have such a wise empress." "It's a blessing for the Great Yong to have such a wise empress!" Everyone in the inn was suddenly filled with enthusiasm and sang her praises in unison.
Ji Feiyu's heart also warmed up. At that time, when she was in a desperate situation, she just thought that she couldn't do anything harmful to the common people. She never expected that the common people would be so grateful after learning about this. She never thought about getting a reward. She just felt that she had done what she should do at that time. She never thought that such a scene would happen today. She was deeply touched by the attitude of these people.
Hua Hudie watched her from the side and was truly happy for her because this was the recognition of the common people for what she had done! He guessed that she had a hard time in the Northern Han. He also knew that she had never given up her beliefs. He was even more aware of how rare this was for someone who had once been in a desperate situation!
After they finished their meal, they bid farewell to those passionate "heroes" and continued their journey. Finally, they arrived in Qingzhou.
However, this trip to Qingzhou didn't bring them the light - heartedness of sightseeing. Instead, it felt much heavier because Ji Feiyu saw spirit banners hanging in many places, as if people were mourning the dead.
"I didn't expect you to be so beloved by the common people," Hua Hudie said playfully, looking at Ji Feiyu. Ji Feiyu sighed. "Alas, it was just an unintentional act. Don't laugh at me."
Hua Hudie smiled and said, "Okay, I won't say anything. Let's talk about something else. Should I congratulate you on being completely free now?"
Speaking of which, Ji Feiyu was quite shocked when she first heard the news of her own death! By now, she had figured it out. In fact, this could be seen as Yong Yaxuan completely letting go of her, while also giving her a good reputation.
She never expected that her freedom would come so suddenly. She was happy in her heart and was also very grateful to Yong Yaxuan.
She looked at Hua Hudie and nodded. "You can understand it this way. From now on, I can live under a different identity."
Hua Hudie was extremely happy and almost jumped for joy. But then he remembered that it was still the period of national mourning, so he had to keep a low profile.
The two found an inn to stay in. They each went into their own rooms to rest. After a long day of traveling, they had to rest well to be energetic enough to enjoy the scenery the next day!
However, they were a bit too early to be happy about this, because soon, things took a turn for the worse.
Early the next morning during the court session. In the Golden Luan Hall, the war - hawks and the peace - advocates were arguing fiercely. The core of the argument was that since the Empress had died a martyr for the country, should the Great Yong pretend nothing had happened? Should they demand justice from the Northern Han or just retrieve the Empress's body and let the matter go?
Yong Yaxuan watched them arguing and felt a headache. Probably only he, Xi Zhuang, and Zhan Shan in the entire court knew that Ji Feiyu was still alive. So only these three of them watched the argument without participating.