Chapter 29: You're already in the Sage Realm, who would still indulge you

Altai and Altad had been waiting outside the hall for a long time.

Younger brother Altad's face was a bit impatient, and older brother Altai still had bandages wrapped around his hand.

They had gone to the mansion of the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Yan Hai, last night and explained this matter, clamoring that if they didn't give them a satisfactory answer, it would be a provocation to the Snow Eagle Wang Ting!

At that time, in order to appease their emotions and for the sake of the stable situation in the north, Yan Hai promised that he would definitely find the real culprit for them.

According to their description, Yan Hai judged that the few people who beat them were most likely noble descendants.

Liu Hao indeed had accessories proving his identity on him.

Today, Altai and Altad were determined to have the Emperor of the May Tian Ce Dynasty give them an explanation!

After waiting for a while, the eunuch in the palace summoned them to the morning court.

On the way to the main hall, they were all in a haughty attitude.

It was like envoys of a superior dynasty going to inspect an inferior dynasty.

What's more, today they felt they were still in the right; besides wanting the Emperor of the May Tian Ce Dynasty to punish the culprit, medical expenses and the like were definitely indispensable.

Otherwise, the army of the Northern Wang Ting was not a vegetarian!

They had originally held a belly full of words, but when they walked to the court and saw the face of the new Emperor of the May Tian Ce Dynasty clearly, they instantly froze in place.

Isn't this the kid who beat Altai last night?

How is he sitting on the throne?

Damn, he wouldn't be the Emperor, would he!

Altai only then reacted to why that kid said 'see you another day' after beating him yesterday.

It turned out he wasn't afraid of his identity as an envoy; he knew he would come to find him.

Oh no, he still wanted to find trouble, but ended up delivering it to his door!

Just at the first glance, the momentum of the two Wang Ting noble envoys dropped by half.

There was no feeling of being crazy and hanging in the sky just now.

The civil and military officials of the full court saw their appearance and also felt very strange.

Finally, it was the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Yan Hai, who stood out and said: "I report to the Emperor, yesterday someone publicly beat the Wang Ting envoys in the bustling area. This behavior truly violates the national body. This humble official begs the Emperor to punish the culprit strictly to rectify the court discipline!"

He was the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and diplomacy was his job.

Appeasing the envoys of various countries around was his task; if Altai and Altad didn't vent their anger, and they went back to tell their Khan, the army of the Northern Wang Ting would go south, then the trouble would be big.

So seeing Altai and Altad frozen in place, he thought these two people didn't know how to speak, so he said it himself.

The civil officials began to discuss which noble descendant was so ignorant of the national body that he dared to beat the envoys.

Once they found out, they must jointly submit a memorial to punish this noble severely.

Hearing this, Li Chen couldn't help but hook a playful smile at the corner of his mouth and slowly opened his mouth: "Do you know why they don't dare to speak?"

Yan Hai shook his head, but had a bad premonition.

Li Chen said jokingly: "I beat them yesterday. Does the Minister think how I should punish myself strictly?"

As soon as this was said, the full court was in an uproar.

Those civil officials who wanted to help were even more scared, their heartbeats accelerating.

And Yan Hai's political enemies were all holding back their laughter, pondering that this guy was truly bold, actually daring to participate in the Emperor.

"This official is terrified! This official didn't know it was the Emperor! I hope the Emperor will forgive me!"

Yan Hai was scared to the point of kneeling on the ground at that time.

Punish the Emperor strictly? Are you kidding! What's the difference between this and looking for death!

He looked at Altai and Altad beside him with disbelief, thinking in his heart: Are you two pitting me?

Didn't you say a few noble descendants beat you? How come it was the Emperor who made the move?

If he had truly known it was Li Chen who beat them, Yan Hai would definitely have helped Li Chen stab them a few more times; how would he dare to complain?

Yan Hai felt that he had been very unlucky recently, hitting the muzzle of the gun twice.

Last time his subordinate was clamoring to participate in the Emperor, and this time he really participated in the Emperor. There was a calamity in his life, and he truly couldn't hide.

Altai felt Yan Hai's gaze and was also very helpless. I didn't even speak, you had to add this sentence, blame me?

Now it's awkward, isn't it? Neither of us can play dumb even if we wanted to.

The atmosphere inside the great hall began to grow heavy; even the Chancellor, Zhao Zhao Wenyuan, dared not interject at this moment.

After a while, Li Chen's voice rang out in the hall.

"Go out and slap yourself one hundred times. You may come back in only when you are finished."

"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!"

Yan Hai ran out of the hall at lightning speed, and soon, the sound of 'slap, slap, slap' could be heard from outside.

The force of those slaps was extremely ruthless, as if he were afraid Li Chen wouldn't hear them.

By the time Yan Hai returned, his face was already swollen like a pig's head.

This punishment was already considered light, because having offended the Emperor, the punishment depended entirely on the Emperor's mood.

After this lesson, Yan Hai never dared to speak out of turn again, staying as far away from the two envoys as if they were a plague.

!

Altai reacted relatively quickly; he performed a kowtow, paying respects to Li Chen in the capacity of a foreign envoy, hoping to gloss over this matter.

His younger brother, Atade, seeing that his older brother had already knelt, also knelt on the ground.

They were the only two envoys from the Wang Ting in the last few hundred years to have knelt; all other Wang Ting envoys had merely performed a simple bow.

So what if Altai's hand was broken? Last night, it was he who had been looking for trouble for no reason.

If it had been someone else who had acted, he could still have argued his case.

But the one who acted was the Emperor of the May Tian Ce Dynasty; he knew he couldn't talk his way out of this, so he might as well change the subject.

"Rise. If you have something to say, say it." Li Chen's words remained as simple and direct as ever.

"Your humble servant has come this time, under the orders of our Khan, to seek a marriage alliance with the May Tian Ce Dynasty to consolidate the friendly relations between our two nations. I hope Your Majesty will grant your approval!" Altai said with a straight face.

Many court officials had already guessed this; the Ninth Princess had already turned eighteen and was one of the two peerless beauties of the Imperial Capital.

It was estimated that the Wang Ting envoys had come this time precisely for this matter.

A single princess could trade for decades of peace on the border; the civil officials felt it was still quite a bargain.

The military officials felt somewhat displeased, but they remained silent; they were used to it anyway, and the Emperor would likely agree for the sake of stability.

And believe it or not, they guessed right.

Li Chen spoke with a smile on his face: "No problem. Your Khan is quite thoughtful. He must know that I have just ascended the throne and my harem is empty, which is why he made this proposal. I cannot refuse his good intentions."

"How about this: I hear your Khan has many sisters. Send me ten unmarried ones. If that's not enough, you can make up the numbers with royal blood relatives. After all, only if your blood relatives come can we ensure that the relationship between our two dynasties becomes closer."

"I hear there are many tribes in the north, and talented people emerge frequently. I don't want much—just have each tribe provide 200 to 500 beauties as dowry. 200 is the minimum; if you want to give me more, I won't turn them away."

"As for the dowry, just have your Khan prepare 50,000 fine horses and 10,000 tons of top-quality beef."

Li Chen seemed still unsatisfied after saying all this, but the entire court was in an uproar, and the two envoys were petrified on the spot.

Indeed, the Emperor had agreed, but he was demanding things right from the start!

It had always been the Northern Wang Ting doing the demanding. The late Emperor and previous emperors, in order to keep these barbarians somewhat settled, felt that sending these things could trade for decades of peace and stabilize the situation, so they would agree after some discussion.

But in recent years, the Northern Wang Ting's demands had become increasingly frequent, which was truly infuriating.

Who knew that the new Emperor, Li Chen, would turn the tables and demand things back with righteous indignation.

Altai and Atade were both stunned. Aren't these our lines?

And we never asked for this much; your May Tian Ce Dynasty is actually opening its mouth like a lion?

Li Chen didn't think so. I've already given you so much; now I'm going to take it back with interest.

I'm already in the Sage Realm, who's going to indulge you anymore!

(End of chapter)