“He wasn’t supposed to come. The Crown Princess of Zhao seemed unwilling, but Li Jin insisted for some reason. They had a big argument before he left,” reported the informant.
Shen Zaiye listened silently, his eyes cooling as he stared at the name for a long time.
Xu Yangui carefully observed him and cautiously suggested, “Regardless, he’s an envoy. Even warring nations don’t harm envoys. You…”
“What are you worried about?” Shen Zaiye smiled lightly, closing the file. “He’s a person of the past. Do you think I’d be so petty as to deliberately make things difficult for him?”
Greatly relieved, Xu Yangui patted his chest. “That’s good. They’ve already arrived in Xiangyuan City and will reach the capital tomorrow.”
“Mm.” Shen Zaiye smiled gently. “I understand. You can go to Wenqing Pavilion again tonight.”
Xu Yangui was surprised and looked disapprovingly at the sachet on Shen Zaiye’s waist. “You accepted her sachet but won’t go yourself?”
The sachet was embroidered with mandarin ducks among bamboo, clearly made with great care. What a waste to give it to such a beast!
Shen Zaiye ignored him, casually removing the sachet and tossing it to Xu Yangui. “Keep it with you then.”
Catching it, Xu Yangui rolled his eyes in exasperation before disappearing into the night.
The next day, Taohua rose early, eagerly waiting at the mansion gate for news. As Shen Zaiye was leaving, he glanced at her and smiled, “The Zhao envoys won’t enter the capital until late today. Even then, you won’t be able to see them. No need to be so anxious.”
“I’m not anxious!” Taohua quickly replied. “I’m just enjoying the scenery here.”
Shen Zaiye chuckled and boarded his carriage.
Zhanlu drove stoically to the city gate. Once they were far enough, he reported, “As instructed, they arrived early but are likely still being held at the gate.”
Entering the capital usually required inspection, especially for foreigners who needed official documents. Of course, envoys didn’t need these, but the gate guards were acting oblivious. No matter how Li Jin explained, they refused to believe they were envoys and insisted they wait outside for official papers.
The travel-weary group was thus detained at the city gate, surrounded by curious onlookers. Li Jin was furious, his triangular eyes full of impatience, but he dared not make a scene.
Li Jin was quite handsome, with long eyebrows, fine eyes, a thin face, and a tall stature. In his official robes, he cut a dashing figure. However, being barred from entering, with his carriage forced aside and his retinue at a loss, he couldn’t help but appear somewhat disheveled and agitated.
At that moment, a carriage adorned with a bronze crane figurehead drove out from the city. The previously fierce gate guards immediately knelt upon seeing it.
The citizens were temporarily moved aside. Li Jin looked up to see a line of imperial guards flanking the carriage as the surrounding clamor instantly quieted.
The curtain lifted and a man in black brocade official robes stepped out, slowly raising his head to look at Li Jin.
With eyebrows like swords and a nose like a mountain ridge, this man possessed a rare air of heroism. Even as another man, Li Jin had to admit he was strikingly handsome.
However, Li Jin frowned. Was it his imagination, or did this stranger’s gaze seem somewhat unfriendly despite it being their first meeting?
“I am Shen Zaiye, Chancellor of Great Wei,” the man approached, his face full of sincere smiles as he cupped his hands in greeting. “The gate guards were ignorant in offending the Zhao envoys. I hope you can forgive them.”
Had he been seeing things? Look how polite this man was! Li Jin pressed his lips together and hurriedly returned the greeting. “The Chancellor is too kind. It was just a short wait. I didn’t expect you to come to welcome us personally.”
“It’s only proper,” Shen Zaiye looked up at him, his gaze profound. “For someone of Chancellor Li’s status to personally come as an envoy to Great Wei, it’s only fitting that I welcome you in person. You must be weary from your journey. Please, follow me into the city.”
“Very well,” Li Jin, unaware of anything amiss, smiled and boarded the carriage with him. He remarked appreciatively, “I’d heard rumors that the Wei Chancellor was humorless. I expected a stern elder, not a peer.”
Shen Zaiye elegantly arranged his robes and looked at Li Jin. “These days, young men are becoming heroes. Chancellor Li looks even younger than me. To become Zhao’s Chancellor, you must have many exceptional qualities.”
At this, Li Jin looked somewhat embarrassed. He lowered his gaze and replied, “You flatter me. Being Chancellor is simply about assisting the monarch.”
If not for Jiang Suhe, he wouldn’t have become Chancellor. Coming to Wei so forcefully this time, who knew what would happen upon his return?
Shen Zaiye raised an eyebrow, looking Li Jin up and down. He said in surprise, “Chancellor Li is too modest. I’ve heard you’re skilled in horsemanship and archery, as well as in literature and swordsmanship.”
“I merely know the basics,” Li Jin smiled.
This wasn’t modesty. He only knew a bit of each, enough to please young ladies.
However, Shen Zaiye continued, “Perfect. We’ve prepared various entertainments at the guesthouse. To welcome the Zhao envoys, His Majesty has specifically instructed me to experience your skills firsthand. Once everyone is settled and has had lunch, let’s have some fun this afternoon.”
Breaking out in a cold sweat, Li Jin stiffly agreed. He wondered if Wei’s emperor intended to show their dominance from the start by having Chancellor Shen test his abilities.
This was serious. He had to maintain Zhao’s dignity!
So upon reaching the guesthouse, while others rested in their rooms, Li Jin found a bow and practiced earnestly. Feeling somewhat prepared, he then found a sword and practiced while musing that Great Wei truly deserved its reputation as the strongest of the three kingdoms. Being an envoy here was no easy task.
Shen Zaiye leisurely accompanied them through lunch and tea before taking Li Jin to a nearby horse range.
“Let’s just have some casual fun. No need to take it too seriously,” Shen Zaiye said soothingly as they mounted horses and took up bows.
Hearing this, Li Jin did relax somewhat. He smiled, “Yes, just for fun. It’s not a competition…”
Before he could finish speaking, Shen Zaiye had already galloped off!
Li Jin: “…”
There were ten targets on each side of the range. After a quick assessment, Li Jin hurriedly gave chase, rapidly firing ten arrows. Three missed completely, five hit the outer rings, and two struck the bullseye.
Reaching the end, Li Jin quickly turned to check Shen Zaiye’s results. All ten arrows had hit the targets, with eight bullseyes.
Chancellor Shen sat on his horse, still smiling gently. “I was fortunate. This was just to limber up. No need for Chancellor Li to take it to heart.”
“Alright.” Though somewhat irritated, Li Jin had no grounds to complain when outmatched. He dismounted and followed Shen Zaiye inside.
“Wei people prefer sabers,” Shen Zaiye said as they reached the weapons rack, drawing out a large three-ringed saber. He looked at Li Jin. “I hear Chancellor Li excels with the sword. Shall we spar with swords then?”
Li Jin was surprised. “Chancellor Shen knows martial arts?”
He had thought civil officials wouldn’t know martial arts, at most archery for accompanying the emperor on hunts.
“Just a little,” Shen Zaiye said, putting down the saber and drawing a longsword. He smiled, “We’ll stop at first touch.”
“Alright.” Li Jin nodded, selecting a suitable sword. He bowed in salute, then assumed his stance.
Shen Zaiye narrowed his eyes, watching Li Jin’s attack. He parried, then swept horizontally, forcing Li Jin back three steps before kicking him squarely in the chest!
“Oof!” Li Jin spat out half his lunch, turning back to look at Shen Zaiye in shock.
What happened to stopping at first touch?
“Are you alright?” Shen Zaiye frowned, helping Li Jin up with great remorse. He tossed aside his sword. “My fault for not controlling my strength. How could I treat an honored guest like this? Should we call a doctor?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Seeing Shen Zaiye’s sincerity, Li Jin felt he had overthought things. It wasn’t intentional; his skills were lacking.
“Ah, we should stop with these rough activities,” Shen Zaiye said earnestly. “Let’s return to the guesthouse and have a friendly competition in calligraphy instead.”
Li Jin nodded, holding his chest as he followed.
In the guesthouse courtyard, a writing desk had been set up. The envoys and some Wei officials gathered around. Li Jin asked nervously, “Is this a competition?”
Shen Zaiye smiled kindly. “Just a friendly exchange. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad.”
Li Jin nodded, chose a model text, and began copying. Shen Zaiye took some paper and with a flourish wrote four large characters: “鸡犬着衣” (Even chickens and dogs wear clothes).
Yang Wanqing, who understood calligraphy, exclaimed in surprise, “I didn’t know Chancellor Shen had achieved such a level in calligraphy!”
Hearing this, Li Jin knew there was no point in continuing. He put down his brush awkwardly and turned to Shen Zaiye, bowing. “The Wei Chancellor excels in both martial and literary arts. I am in awe.”
If this was the Wei emperor’s way of asserting dominance, he had to accept it. There was no helping it; he was outmatched in every way.
However, Zhanlu, who was watching from the side, shook his head helplessly. Others might not know, but he did – his master hadn’t received any imperial orders today. This was entirely on a whim.
But why was he giving Chancellor Li such a hard time? Looking at Li Jin’s pitiful state, even Zhanlu felt sorry for him.
Shen Zaiye bowed modestly. “Chancellor Li surely has other exceptional qualities. I merely dabble in these trivial skills; there’s nothing to admire. It’s getting late. I’ll take my leave now. We’ll meet again at the palace tomorrow.”
“Take care, Chancellor,” Li Jin respectfully saw him out. Turning back, he couldn’t help but rub his still-aching chest.
Yang Wanqing, observing nearby, couldn’t help asking, “Has Your Excellency offended the Wei Chancellor before?”
“We’ve never met,” Li Jin frowned. “How could I have offended him? Today must have been just accidents.”
(End of Chapter)