The envoys from the Western Yue State were, of course, well aware of the situation. They were even more worried about the safety of the seventh princess of the Western Yue State. Their faces twitched involuntarily, but they still said respectfully, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. Although our princess has been delayed, she should arrive when twilight falls tonight. You can count on this."
Xiao Huaishi nodded and said, "That would be best. I'll prepare a welcoming banquet for you tonight. If the princess fails to show up, I'll have to figure out a way to deal with this matter myself."
Although the envoys from the Western Yue State had no idea what Xiao Huaishi had in mind, they had a hunch that it wasn't going to be good. They were sure that he had something against them. Moreover, they were worried about the princess's safety. After all, they were in a strange place in the capital. They were so anxious that they wanted to go out and look for her immediately. So they had to come up with an excuse to cover for the princess. "Your Majesty, we and the other people from the Western Yue State have traveled here non - stop. We've been on the road without any rest in order to arrive as soon as possible. So we're really exhausted from the long journey. Please forgive us. We'd like to retire and rest first."
Xiao Huaishi, of course, had no idea where the seventh princess of the Western Yue State had gone. But judging from the envoys' expressions, it seemed that the princess's disappearance wasn't part of a conspiracy. He didn't want anything unexpected to happen, so he waved his hand. "It's indeed a long and tiring journey. I understand your fatigue. The envoys from the Western Yue State and the people you've brought can follow my servants to the assigned palace to have a good rest. The miscellaneous people should have already settled in the post station. I just hope there won't be any surprises at the welcoming banquet tonight. I've invited the ministers this time, so don't let anything go wrong."
The envoys from the Western Yue State had no way to deal with the princess's absence. But facing Xiao Huaishi's veiled threat, they could only bow nervously and say, "There will definitely be no surprises. Your Majesty, please rest assured. I'll take my leave now."
After saying that, they led their entourage out. Xiao Huaishi shouted, "Eunuch Li, take them to the arranged place. Find someone to keep an eye on their every move. Report any abnormalities directly to me. Also, send people to search for the seventh princess of the Western Yue State within the imperial city to protect her safety. Then come back here as soon as possible."
Eunuch Li immediately agreed and rushed to catch up with the departing envoys from the Western Yue State.
The envoys from the Western Yue State immediately whispered to one of their companions, "Hurry, go to the restaurant where the princess was staying. Ask the guards if the princess is still there and where she has gone. We must find the princess quickly."
That person nodded, looked around, and then pretended to have a stomachache and needed to go to the toilet. He separated from the envoys.
At this moment, Shen Li, disguised as a eunuch, was lurking nearby and observing from afar. She saw a group of people wearing clothes different from those of the people in the capital coming out of the palace where Xiao Huaishi was. She was sure that this group must be from the Western Yue State. Just as she was about to follow them silently, she noticed that one person had separated from the group.
After some thought, she decided that it was more valuable to follow the separated person, as the group was probably going back to the palace.
The black - clothed man who had used the excuse of going to the toilet first went to the toilet obediently. But after staying there for a while and seeing that no one was guarding, he walked towards the palace gate.
When he reached the palace gate, he said to the people from the Western Yue State who were guarding two carriages, some big boxes, and barrels that seemed to be filled with something, "You guys take these boxes and go find the envoy. The palace has already been arranged for you. You can just rest. Remember to guard these boxes well."
After saying that, those people dragged the boxes away. Shen Li was hiding behind a tree behind the goods at this moment. She didn't know what to do for a while. It seemed that this black - clothed man had something to do. She looked at the barrel in front of her. When no one was looking, Shen Li opened it, felt inside, and found it was empty. Then she quickly jumped in.
The black - clothed man seemed to hear a thud. He immediately looked in the direction where Shen Li had been hiding. Seeing nothing, he murmured doubtfully, "Did I hear wrong?"
Shen Li, who had jumped into the barrel, was extremely nervous at this moment. Hearing the black - clothed man's murmur, she let out a sigh of relief. She didn't expect him to be so vigilant, so she didn't dare to move at all.
The black - clothed man pointed at a few eunuchs and said, "You guys help transport these barrels out. This is an order from the envoy."
The few eunuchs stood there, looking a bit dazed. Then one of them slapped his head and thought he was really stupid. Here in the Eastern Ling State, the power of the envoys from the Western Yue State was definitely not as great as that of Emperor Xiao Huaishi.
So they quickly walked up to the head guard at the palace gate and said emotionlessly, "I'm here on the order of the envoys from the Western Yue State to transport these goods out. These are urgently needed by the princess on her journey. Your emperor of the Eastern Ling State said that we should be given whatever we need, so I need a few people to help me transport these out of the city. I'll take them with me."
The head guard looked at the black - clothed man suspiciously. In his eyes, the black - clothed man was wearing strange clothes. How could a man wear a dress - like outfit? Although it was nice, it still looked strange. Remembering the order he had received in the morning, the head guard hesitated for a moment and carefully sized up the black - clothed man.
"Okay, but I need to ask the emperor for permission to confirm that you're really from the Western Yue State. It would be bad if something goes wrong."
The black - clothed man thought it made sense since the others had never seen him before. He nodded and said, "You can go ask the emperor, but be quick. Finish it within half a stick of incense. Otherwise, if you delay my time, I'll have to tell our envoy. After all, our envoy is here with an order from our emperor. You'll be held accountable."
Hearing this, the head guard's expression became serious. He whispered to a guard beside him, "I know you're the fastest runner. You've heard what he said. Hurry up and ask the emperor. Don't make any mistakes, you understand?"
After saying that, the guard immediately ran towards Xiao Huaishi's palace.
The head guard looked at the black - clothed man and secretly cursed him in his heart. The black - clothed man's tone was so unpleasant. It was a country that wanted to achieve peace through a marriage alliance, but for some reason, it was so arrogant on the territory of another country.
At this time, in the imperial study, since the princess hadn't arrived yet, Xiao Huaishi had some important matters to attend to first. But when he came back, he saw something placed on the table. Just as he was about to ask someone to put it away, Eunuch Li pushed the door open and came in.
After bowing to Xiao Huaishi, Eunuch Li pointed at the small bowl on the table and said, "Your Majesty, that's from the imperial concubine. After noon today, when you left, the imperial concubine rushed over and waited for you outside. Then, seeing that you didn't come back, I met her. I brought her things in and told her not to wait anymore. This is the rock - sugar Sydney soup that the imperial concubine specially made for you because she thought the weather has been quite hot recently."