Following behind was a carriage that was not luxurious but crafted with extremely fine workmanship.
The common people and noble ladies upstairs were inevitably somewhat disappointed. Since the Great Yan Emperor was entering the city by carriage, they would be unable to catch a glimpse of the world’s most beautiful man.
When Great Yan was preparing to reclaim Nanyan, to show they were only seeking to restore Great Yan’s legitimate rule… with no intention of offending Great Jin, they declared their willingness to send a prince as hostage to Great Jin. So the hostage prince’s residence had been prepared half a month ago.
At that time, Nanyan and Xiliang were jointly attacking Great Jin, and the Jin Emperor was also pleased to see Great Yan and Nanyan fight each other, to resolve Great Jin’s urgent crisis. To show on the surface that relations with Great Yan were close and friendly, the Jin Emperor designated an extremely luxurious residence to serve as the hostage residence.
But face-saving measures were just face-saving measures. When the Jin Emperor learned that Great Yan had taken Nanyan with almost no effort, he felt uncomfortable for quite some time.
For this visit of the Great Yan Emperor to Jin, the Crown Prince consulted with his advisors and decided to invite the Great Yan Emperor to stay at the hostage residence, with the fine-sounding reason of… letting the Great Yan Emperor see his son’s future living environment to put the Great Yan Emperor’s mind at ease.
Inside the carriage, Murong Li, who was to be sent as a hostage to the Jin Kingdom, knelt at Murong Yan’s feet. The eleven-year-old child looked up at his father’s sorrowful expression, his clear and clean gaze both resolute and peaceful: “Father Emperor, coming to be a hostage in place of Second Brother is my wish. I am the legitimate son, more convincing than Second Brother. Second Brother is naturally brave and skilled in battle. Given time, he will surely be a tiger general of our Great Yan. Being a hostage in Jin would surely waste Second Brother’s talents, which would be of no benefit to our Great Yan. I am just a child, not as skilled in martial arts as Second Brother, but I can discuss literature and composition, making it convenient to associate with Jin Kingdom’s noble young masters in the capital. Father Emperor… need not worry about me. I will constantly discipline myself with vigilance and not forget to study and practice martial arts.”
Though he said this, this was his legitimate second son, only eleven years old.
“You are only eleven years old. Being a hostage in Jin Kingdom, with no family, no relatives or friends, aren’t you afraid?” Murong Yan gazed at his son’s still tender face and asked in a low voice.
“I am afraid…” Murong Li’s eyes reddened. “But when the ten-year-old sons of Jin’s Bai family were beheaded, they were still singing the Bai Family Army’s military song loudly! Such backbone, such courage – I deeply admire it! Ninth Uncle once said, to become a dragon and elephant among all Buddhas, one must first be an ox and horse for all living beings. Though I am young and without talent, I also know our Great Yan’s predicament. If I can resolve Great Yan’s difficulties, I… am willing to feed myself to the tiger.”
Murong Yan closed his reddened eyes, choked with emotion and unable to speak. He raised his hand to touch his son’s head, unable to help coughing a few times: “Good child! Father Emperor’s several sons… are all excellent! With you brothers here for Great Yan, why worry… that we cannot become strong! Why worry that we cannot unify the world!”
Murong Li grasped Murong Yan’s hand, his eyes extremely red: “Father Emperor, please do not worry about me and take care of your health.”
Murong Yan nodded and instructed once more: “Remember… when you see Ninth Uncle, you must not get carried away. Your Ninth Uncle has risked life and death for our Great Yan. The slightest mistake could endanger your Ninth Uncle’s life.”
“Father Emperor, rest assured. I remember everything!” Murong Li kowtowed.
Murong Yan smiled as he helped Murong Li up: “Come… come here, let Father Emperor embrace you once more!”
People all say: Embrace grandsons, not sons!
But today Murong Yan was parting from his son, not knowing when they would meet again. His emotions… were truly beyond control.
Murong Yan gently embraced his son, tears brimming in the corners of his eyes.
The Crown Prince stood before the hostage residence gate, accompanied by officials from the Crown Prince’s residence, quietly awaiting the Great Yan Emperor and the prince.
Thinking of last night’s absurd idea of inviting Xiao Rongyan to accompany him in welcoming the Great Yan Emperor, the Crown Prince couldn’t help but praise Xiao Rongyan: “Fortunately, Rongyan didn’t come today. I wouldn’t mind Rongyan’s merchant status, but if the Great Yan Emperor became unhappy about this matter and it reached Father Emperor, Father Emperor would inevitably feel I had lost my sense of propriety.”
Quan Yu smiled and said: “How could everyone in the world be like Your Highness, not caring about status and only valuing a person’s talent! But Master Xiao indeed understands propriety. Though it was difficult to refuse Your Highness last night, and he agreed, early this morning, he sent someone to say he had drunk too much wine last night and couldn’t get up, and even sent generous gifts to apologize to Your Highness. He is a careful and thoughtful person.”
The Crown Prince nodded, deeply agreeing.
Last night Xiao Rongyan went to the Crown Prince’s residence for a banquet, presenting the Crown Prince with a peerless luminous pearl. He told the Crown Prince about his adventures in Nanyan, encountering the Ninth Prince of Nanyan, and through the Ninth Prince of Nanyan becoming acquainted with Feng Yao, the most powerful chief eunuch beside the Great Yan Emperor, planning to do some business together.
The Crown Prince couldn’t help but marvel at Xiao Rongyan’s luck and his money-making abilities. Perhaps having drunk too much wine, thinking that Xiao Rongyan was acquainted with the chief eunuch beside the Great Yan Emperor, the Crown Prince casually invited Xiao Rongyan to join him in welcoming the Great Yan Emperor.
Fortunately, Xiao Rongyan understood advance and retreat, and was not a petty person who only wanted to curry favor with powerful people. This also proved his good judgment of character.
Seeing that Great Yan’s cavalry was slowly approaching, the Crown Prince assumed the dignity befitting a great nation’s heir apparent and walked down the high steps, smiling as he looked into the distance.
Soon, that exquisite carriage slowly stopped before the hostage residence gate.
Seeing an old eunuch beside the Great Yan Emperor helping the Great Yan Emperor descend from the carriage, the Crown Prince quickly stepped forward, lowering his eyes and bowing first: “Greetings to the Great Yan Emperor…”
“Your Highness need not be overly formal.”
That gentle and warm voice reached him, making one feel as comfortable as bathing in the spring breeze.
The Crown Prince smiled as he raised his head. When he saw the Great Yan Emperor’s sickly pale complexion, he was slightly stunned.
The Great Yan Emperor, known as the world’s most beautiful man, had features even more stunning and dazzling than a woman’s, with every detail appearing exquisite. Under the morning light… the Yan Emperor seemed to be bathed in sanctity, beautiful and sacred. A glimpse was enough to steal one’s soul.
After being dazed for a moment, the Crown Prince felt he had been rude and quickly looked toward Murong Li who was getting out of the carriage. Based on Murong Li’s age and appearance almost identical to Murong Yan, he deduced this should be the Great Yan Emperor’s legitimate second son, and his heart immediately jumped.
Unexpectedly, the Great Yan Emperor had sent his legitimate son as a hostage to the Jin Kingdom?!
As the host, the Crown Prince bowed first: “That the Fourth Prince remains in Jin Kingdom for the alliance between our two nations is truly noble righteousness. I admire this greatly!”
“I dare not accept such praise from Your Highness.” Murong Li returned the courtesy properly.
“Your Majesty, Fourth Prince, please…” The Crown Prince gestured for Great Yan Emperor Murong Yan and Murong Li to proceed, walking alongside them while saying: “This place was personally ordered by my Father Emperor as lodging for the Fourth Prince. All the servants and maids are temporary. Presumably, Your Majesty would not feel at ease having strangers serve the Fourth Prince who has traveled so far. Once Your Majesty and the Fourth Prince are settled, I will take these servants and maids away. Also, there is no plaque hanging at the residence gate yet. I thought that since the Fourth Prince will be living here, it would be most appropriate for the Fourth Prince to name it.”
This was Jin Kingdom’s sincerity toward Great Yan – they would not place any of their people in the hostage residence, and would give hostage Murong Li the greatest freedom.