Inside the Qi Capital Imperial Palace, on the square outside the Imperial Hall, there was a long line of gifts pulled by carriages and horses. They were all betrothal gifts from the Huyan family.
The Emperor and Empress appeared together and walked around the long line of carriages. Vast Cloud Map was smiling. It was obvious that he was very happy and satisfied.
The Empress looked at the gift list and frowned. "Your Majesty, there's something I don't know if I should say."
"If you want to say it, then say it. If you don't want to say it, then don't force it." Vast Cloud Map patted a box on a carriage.
But the Empress still said, "The Huyan family is a bit rude."
Bu Xun, who was accompanying her, couldn't help but look up at her.
Vast Cloud Map was startled. He turned around and asked, "What do you mean?"
The Empress held up the gift list and said, "It's not that I think this gift is too small. It's just that our daughter is the Eldest Princess and is marrying into the Huyan family. But I looked at this gift list carefully. It looks like there are a lot of things, but there's nothing valuable. I'm afraid it's not even as good as the betrothal gifts from some rich families. I'm not greedy, but is the Huyan family not even willing to go through with it? Do they feel that they've wronged them? "
"You're thinking too much. I know the Huyan family's wealth better than you do. It's not necessarily comparable to a normal rich family." Although Vast Cloud Map said this, he still took the gift list and looked at it. Because he knew the Huyan family's wealth, he wanted to see the Huyan family's sincerity.
He looked at the name of the gift list and stopped at the last inconspicuous item. He nodded slightly and pointed at it. "Empress, do you know the origin of this knife?"
The Empress looked at it. "Sunlight Knife? Isn't it a gift from a general's family? Could it be that there's something else? "
"Woman's view! How can this knife be compared to the betrothal gifts from rich families? "Vast Cloud Map pointed at the Imperial Palace." This knife is enough to block my entire Imperial Palace! "
"…" The Empress was surprised.
Vast Cloud Map said, "Bu Xun, bring the knife!"
"Yes!" Bu Xun turned around and left.
Soon, two eunuchs carried a long knife. There were many scratches on the knife. The red silk flower tied on the knife proved that it was indeed a betrothal gift!
Vast Cloud Diagram grabbed the saber with one hand. Dong! Then, he stretched out his hand and touched the marks on the blade. Then, he slowly said, "Back then, Huyan Wuhen was merely a lowly general in the border army who commanded three thousand men and horses. It just so happened that the Great Jin State had launched a surprise invasion. The border army was in a state of emergency, and our country's reinforcements were unable to arrive in time. Huyan Wuhen used a stratagem to lure out most of the enemy's cultivators who were guarding the commander-in-chief. Then, he dug up the river and unleashed a torrent of water, causing the enemy's army to be routed in one fell swoop. Then, he took advantage of the enemy's retreat. With the cooperation of several cultivators, he personally led a thousand cavalrymen to pursue the enemy for dozens of miles. He charged into the enemy's tens of thousands of exhausted and wounded soldiers, and personally beheaded the enemy's commander-in-chief, the Great General of Jin State, Tian Zixin! In this battle, we fought against the many and raised the prestige of our nation. The collapse of the 300,000 strong army of the Jin Nation also caused great damage to the vitality of the Jin Nation. We won't be able to invade again for many years to come! "
With a wave of his saber, the edge of the saber was placed horizontally in front of the Empress. The Empress was so frightened that she hurriedly took a few steps back.
"It was this saber that beheaded Tian Zixin! Huyan Wuhen became famous after this battle. The late Emperor personally summoned him and personally asked for the saber in his hand. He danced with the saber in front of hundreds of thousands of soldiers to liven things up. He even praised that this was the treasured saber of the nation! On the spot, he issued a decree to reward Huyan Wuhen generously and ordered him to establish the Valiant Cavalry Army. This is how the Valiant Cavalry Army of today came to be! Empress, this is the treasured saber that charged and broke through enemy lines for the Great Qi Kingdom. How can the betrothal gifts of those rich families compare to it? Without this saber, how many rich families would be ruined and their people dead? Even ten thousand betrothal gifts from those rich families can't compare to it! This is the Huyan family's heirloom. To even take out an heirloom as a betrothal gift, this is true sincerity. You still think that the gift is not enough? "
The Empress was indeed unaware of the details. She immediately said awkwardly, "Your Majesty is right. This concubine's eyesight is too shallow!"
Standing in front of the saber and looking at it, Vast Cloud Map asked, "Bu Xun, how can the Great General not have a saber?"
Bu Xun was stunned. He didn't know what the Empress meant, nor did he know how to reply.
Vast Cloud Map glanced at him. "Since the Great General used the nation's treasured saber as a betrothal gift, Guaren will return the favor! Gather skilled craftsmen. Guaren will forge the best saber in the world and gift it to the Great General. Ruler and subject will never betray each other! "
"Yes!" Bu Xun acknowledged and took the saber from the Empress. He passed it to the eunuch behind him and had him keep it well.
As they left the betrothal gifts, the Empress asked again, "Your Majesty, you should find some time to visit Qingqing. If she makes a big fuss, this concubine won't be able to persuade her!"
Vast Cloud Map said, "Then continue to persuade her. Guaren has even accepted the Huyan family's betrothal gifts. I won't be able to change her mind. There are some things she can mess around with, but there are some things she can't do. Guaren doesn't want to make a fool of herself on the day of the wedding! Empress, you are in charge of the harem. You must do your best. Since you enjoy the Empress' blessings, you must bear the Empress' responsibilities and obligations. If you aren't willing to bear this responsibility, you can tell Guaren! "
These understated words caused the Empress' heart to tremble. She forced a smile and said, "This concubine understands. I definitely won't disappoint Your Majesty."
"Alright, Guaren still has matters to attend to. As for the specifics of the wedding, I need to discuss it with Bu Xun." Vast Cloud Map left after saying this.
Bu Xun bowed to the Empress and left as well.
Along the way, a tall and sturdy eunuch appeared and waited at a certain intersection. It was the eunuch who had captured Linghu Qiu.
Bu Xun paused for a moment and listened to the eunuch's report in a low voice. Then, he gave a few more instructions before leaving. He quickly caught up to Vast Cloud Map and reported, "Your Majesty, Niu Youdao didn't obey orders to return to the capital. Instead, he ran away. He should have left the State of Qi by now."
Vast Cloud Map was startled. He stopped and turned around, asking, "What happened?"
Bu Xun smiled bitterly. "At a point in the farm to the west, people from the administrative office stopped Niu Youdao. He was fine at first, but who would have thought that as soon as the sky turned dark, he would suddenly set the farm on fire. Taking advantage of the chaos he created, he slipped away in the middle of the night. His whereabouts are unknown."
The corner of Vast Cloud Map's mouth twitched. Niu Youdao's escape was a small matter, but he hadn't fulfilled the promise he had made to Sir Yu Cang. It was a little embarrassing, even though the other party might not pursue the matter. However, he still found it a little strange. "He ran away with the warhorse?"
He knew that it was a little unreasonable to order a foreign cultivator around Niu Youdao to do as he pleased, so he had something to rely on. Niu Youdao had come for the warhorse. As long as he could seize Niu Youdao's warhorse, Niu Youdao would naturally have to listen obediently.
Bu Xun also found it a little strange. "He doesn't seem to have put any thought into the matter of the warhorse. Recently, there hasn't been a large loss of horses from the various farms that was out of control."
Vast Cloud Map: "Didn't he come for the warhorse?"
Bu Xun: "Logically speaking, he should have come for the warhorse. Looking at the current situation, there are only two possibilities. Either he had secretly accumulated a batch of warhorses a long time ago, but it's hard to hide the feeding of such a large number of warhorses from the School Affairs Station's spies. Thousands of horses can't be taken care of by a small patch of grassland, so they need to be grazed in a large area. If he secretly stockpiled a large amount of fodder, unless he had prepared it a long time ago, it would be hard for his sudden stockpiling to go unnoticed. The other possibility is that he's hiding and hasn't left at all. He's still preparing for the warhorse. "
Vast Cloud Map: "Why is he running?"
Bu Xun: "His recent behavior is a little strange. Considering Linghu Qiu's identity in Waning Moon Pavilion, could it be related to Waning Moon Pavilion? What is Linghu Qiu's intention in staying by Niu Youdao's side? Linghu Qiu should know something, but Linghu Qiu won't say anything until he sees Niu Youdao. This old servant is considering whether to use his own Bitter Divine Pill on him. "
Speaking of Waning Moon Pavilion, Vast Cloud Map asked: "Do you have any clues about the disciples of the three major sects who were killed?"
Bu Xun: "It's still the same. We only found the corpses and relics. All of them were killed, even the accompanying Golden Wings. No one knows what happened. Not to mention the fifteen disciples, just the sudden death of three birds is a huge loss for the three major sects! "
Starry Night Sea, ships advanced in the waves.
Guan Fangyi knocked on the door of Niu Youdao's guest room and entered. She saw Niu Youdao standing in front of the window with his hands behind his back, looking at the sea. On the couch beside him, Black Peony's corpse was still lying quietly.
There were some things that Guan Fangyi didn't know if she should say, but it had been a few days, so she decided to remind him.
"Taoist Grandpa!" Guan Fangyi playfully teased him. She rarely called him Taoist Grandpa in all seriousness.
Niu Youdao didn't turn around and asked: "What is it? Speak!"
Standing in front of the corpse and looking at it, Guan Fangyi sighed: "I say, Daoye, I know you are very sad about Miss Peony …"
Niu Youdao interrupted: "What am I sad about?"
Guan Fangyi: "Aren't you sad? Everyone has seven emotions and six desires. They all have joy, anger, sorrow, and joy. If you say you are sad, no one will laugh at you. "
Niu Youdao shook his head: "In the jianghu, whether it's wind or rain, I've seen many things like separation and death. I'm already used to it. I'm not sad. There's no point in being sad. If you must say that I'm sad, perhaps I am sad."
"Alright, let's not talk about whether it's sad or not. It's just that the road back to Qingshan County is too far, and we don't know how long we'll have to drift on the sea. Leaving Miss Peony like this isn't a solution."
"What do you want to say?"
"Before Miss Peony passed away, she also said that floating on the sea was quite good. She also quite liked it. Why don't you consider fulfilling her wish? It might not be a bad thing to make the blue sea her final home."
Her words were rather tactful, but in fact, she wanted Niu Youdao to bury Black Peony at sea. Some things had to be faced with reality. At such a long distance, the corpse would be so disgusting. When the time came, it wouldn't be nice to say it out loud.
Niu Youdao turned around and walked to the bed. Staring at Black Peony's quiet face, he calmly said: "You're wrong. She didn't like to drift on the sea. She had been drifting almost all her life. After following me, she finally found a home with great difficulty. Qingshan County is her home! She was drifting when she was alive, so how could she still be drifting after death? I want to bring her home. No one can stop me. I want to bring her home. I want to bring her home! "
Guan Fangyi stared at him and bit her lip. The other party had spoken to this point, and she was actually powerless to say anything more. She couldn't say a single word.
In the end, she lowered her head and left.
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