Chapter 1383

How do you prove your identity? Naturally, nobles and royalty from all countries need not say; those without such illustrious lineage must have a Recommendation letter, those without a recommendation letter must pay a hundred gold as a deposit, and those who cannot even come up with a hundred gold prove they have no qualification to come register.

At first only the Honglu Temple handled this, but they soon realized that relying on just a few of themselves they couldn't keep up, so they again petitioned the Emperor, asking the Ministry of Revenue for help; simply counting the silver was enough to keep the Ministry of Revenue busy. Initial estimates: just the deposits alone had already collected at least one million taels of gold, and of course this money would be refunded in the end. Actually, even if it weren't refunded, no one would fall out with the court of the Celestial Fragrance Kingdom over a hundred gold.

Hu Xiaotian found that the Celestial Fragrance Kingdom was indeed quite dark, using the affair of recruiting a prince-consort not only gained him plenty of attention but also brought him tangible benefits.

Relying on the Phoenix Cry Token sent by Liao Yuansheng, Hu Xiaotian directly entered the Honglu Temple, and the Honglu Temple Minister Wang Qiezhi also personally received him because of that token. Since the Honglu Temple took charge of registration, no more than twenty people have been granted a personal audience with Minister Wang Qiezhi, and Hu Xiaotian happens to be one of them.

Although it was noisy outside, the inner court of the Honglu Temple remained very tranquil. Wang Qiezhi is a kind‑middle‑aged man; in the Celestial Fragrance Kingdom he is known for his good rapport, having served as Honglu Temple Minister for ten years, and his relations with all countries are extremely harmonious. Such a person naturally knows which relationships need to be maintained and which people need care. The Phoenix Cry Token is a special pass issued by the Empress Dowager to imperial clansmen and senior officials; possessing such a thing means one's status is out of the ordinary, so Wang Qiezhi naturally dare not neglect him.

After meeting Hu Xiaotian, Wang Qiezhi only then realized that the person before him was none other than Hu Xiaotian, the regional hegemon who had risen like a comet in the Yongjiang River basin; his heart was also greatly stirred, and he hurriedly invited Hu Xiaotian to sit down and had tea served. He smiled and said, "I, Wang, did not expect Master Hu to come; please forgive any neglect."

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "The matter of the Celestial Fragrance Kingdom recruiting a prince‑consort has now become famous throughout the world; how could I not come to join the fun? In fact I had long wanted to visit the Celestial Fragrance Kingdom to pay my respects to Your Majesty the King, but I have been held up by trifling matters until now, when I finally have time. Taking this opportunity to come to the Celestial Fragrance Kingdom, first I wish to seek marriage with Princess Yingyue, and second I want to meet with Your Majesty the King to deepen mutual understanding and, by the way, discuss the state of the world; I hope Sir Wang will arrange this for me."

Wang Qiezhi nodded repeatedly and said, "I will certainly convey this to Your Majesty the King."

Hu Xiaotian said, "I hear that quite a few people have come to apply for the position of prince‑consort this time!"

Wang Qiezhi deliberately sighed and said, "Indeed, originally the Empress Dowager's intention was to select a prince‑consort from within the Celestial Fragrance Kingdom. But Princess Yingyue insisted on doing the selection herself, and the Empress Dowager could not override her wish, so she agreed to open the selection to heroes from all under heaven. She had not expected it to cause such a stir, but once the announcement was made, applicants came in droves. Our Honglu Temple is responsible for the preliminary screening, and the deadline is in two days. Judging by the current situation, the number of applicants will exceed ten thousand."

Hu Xiaotian thought to himself, they were pushing all the blame onto Long Xi Yue's shoulders. Long Xi Yue only has me in her heart—how could she agree to your lawless behavior? He didn't expose it, merely smiling and saying, "Picking one out of ten thousand isn't going to make the princess dazzled, is it?"

Wang Qiezhi said, "Of course it's impossible to let the princess choose from so many people. Our Honglu Temple will handle the preliminary screening. We'll filter out those who don't meet the requirements; even then there will still be ten thousand. After Mid‑Autumn, the Honglu Temple and the Ministry of Rites will conduct a second round of screening, removing the mixed‑quality fish‑eyed pearls, and we estimate this round will eliminate more than half. The remaining candidates will be divided into literary and military camps, with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel handling the selection, seeking those who excel in both civil and military affairs. After this round we expect fewer than a thousand will remain."

Hu Xiaotian chuckled and said, "Even a thousand is not few."

Wang Qiezhi said, "These one thousand will be personally examined by the Empress Dowager, who will set the test papers and from them select the final one hundred; thus Princess Yingyue only needs to pick her ideal husband from among these one hundred."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Hearing Sir Wang say that, I feel like beating a retreat."

Wang Qiezhi smiled and said, "Young Master Hu is heroic and youthful, dignified in appearance, accomplished in both civil and military arts, and his might shakes a region. With your qualifications, you hardly need to undergo all those examinations; in my view you should be able to enter the final list of one hundred directly." This was not Wang Qiezhi deliberately flattering Hu Xiaotian; just looking at Hu Xiaotian's appearance and considering his qualifications, Hu Xiaotian's name should certainly appear not only in the final hundred but even in the top ten.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Isn't it said that rules must not be broken?"

Wang Qiezhi said, "Any rule is set by people." This person is quite smooth.

Hu Xiaotian chuckled, handed a letter to Wang Qiezhi, and said, "This is a letter that a friend of Mr. Wang asked me to deliver to you; regarding the matter of an audience with the King, I hope Sir Wang will arrange it."

Wang Qiezhi nodded, feeling a bit puzzled, not knowing which friend had entrusted him with the letter. After Hu Xiaotian left, he carefully opened it and found inside a banknote for one hundred thousand taels of silver. Wang Qiezhi was startled, then his heart filled with wild joy—this Hu Xiaotian is certainly no ordinary person; his generosity is truly extraordinary.

Hu Xiaotian and Zhan Peng walked out of the Honglu Temple together, and Zhan Peng laughed and asked, "My lord, did today's affairs go smoothly?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "Very smoothly!" In the court there are those who like to get things done; Prince Fu Yang Longyue, although he did not show himself in person, has already investigated the process of this prince‑consort recruitment and all its key links in detail, and had Liao Yuansheng relay the information to Hu Xiaotian. This Wang Qiezhi may appear all‑harmonious on the surface, but he is greedy and stingy; to win him over and make him wholeheartedly work for you, you must subdue him with money. Hence Hu Xiaotian's gift was a red envelope of one hundred thousand taels of silver. Although Wang Qiezhi has taken advantage of this opportunity to line his pockets, such a huge red envelope is unprecedented. Taking people's money to eliminate their troubles and letting him help settle minor matters, sending Hu Xiaotian straight into the final list of one hundred should pose no problem.

When Hu Xiaotian arrived outside the Honglu Temple gate, he saw a group of people walking toward him; he could see clearly that they were Li Honghan of Xichuan, who had almost become his elder brother‑in‑law, and standing to Li Honghan's right was none other than Xichuan's chief strategist, Zhang Ziqian.

Hu Xiaotian and they were old acquaintances, although he and Li Honghan had never shared any pleasant memories; even when meeting on a narrow road one should exchange greetings, Hu Xiaotian smiled broadly and said, "Mr. Zhang!" He greeted Zhang Ziqian first, deliberately ignoring Li Honghan in order to give that fellow an awkward moment.

Li Honghan's lips curled with a faint cold smile.

Zhang Ziqian chuckled, and being old‑crafty and deep‑thinking he naturally knew Hu Xiaotian's purpose in greeting him first; he stepped forward and said, "Hu junior brother, haha, I didn't expect you to come too!" He then actively said to Hu Xiaotian, "My household's young general has also come!" Someone needs to play the role of bridging the gap.

Hu Xiaotian and Li Honghan's eyes met; thinking back to how Li Honghan had twice schemed against him, but for the sake of Xi Yan he let it go, Hu Xiaotian smiled, clasped his fists, and said, "Brother Li, I hope you have been well."

Li Honghan also clasped his fists in return and said, "Hu junior brother, you aren't the future prince‑consort of Dakang, are you? Why are you also coming to join the fun? If Princess Yongyang finds out, this will be hard to explain." He was basically bringing up old grievances.

Hu Xiaotian sighed and said, "It's just an old almanac; perhaps I'm born unlikable, and every engagement I make gets ruined—first with your sister, then with Princess Yongyang, and in the end they all part on bad notes and come to nothing."

Li Honghan had intended to mock him, but instead found himself hoisted by his own petard; he coldly looked at Hu Xiaotian and said, "Perhaps Hu junior brother's vision is too high, he looks down on everything."

Hu Xiaotian said, "I'm just a bitter child; what vision can I talk about? These days nothing is easy, and it's hard to be a son‑in‑law in peace and quiet. Hey, right—Brother Li, you already have a family, so why are you abandoning your wife to come join the fun?"

Li Honghan's complexion grew uglier and uglier.

Zhang Ziqian gave a dry cough and said, "Hu junior brother, you don't know that my household's young lady died of illness."

Hu Xiaotian said, "What a coincidence? But this is your fault, Brother Li—your sister‑in‑law treated you so well that even after her death you ought to remain unmarried to show your resolve; why rush to remarry? Aren't you afraid of gossip?"

Li Honghan could no longer suppress the fire in his heart, shouting angrily: "You……"

Zhang Ziqian hurriedly stepped between them, smiling: "Hu Xiaotian, we still have important matters to attend to, so we'll part for now; let's catch up later."

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said: "Great, great! By the way, have you seen my sister Wuyou lately? I've been worrying about her."

Li Honghan had taken only a few steps when hearing him mention his sister, he stopped again; Zhang Ziqian quietly tugged at his sleeve, urging him to leave. After they had walked away, Li Honghan gritted his teeth and said: "This bastard really makes me furious!"

Zhang Ziqian whispered: "Junior General, if you cannot tolerate small things, you will ruin great plans; he is deliberately provoking you, and if you get angry, you'll fall into his trap."

Li Honghan said: "Why did the Empress Dowager of the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom also invite him?"

Zhang Ziqian said meaningfully: "Because her true purpose is not to select a husband, but to choose the most advantageous ally."

Inside the Hall of Bright Virtue of the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom, Empress Dowager Long Xuanjiao languidly reclined on the chair, while Minister of Rites Wang Qiezhi stood respectfully.

Long Xuanjiao said: "Are you sure that's Hu Xiaotian?"

Wang Qiezhi replied: "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, it is indeed Hu Xiaotian himself."

"How do you feel about him?"

"This young man is talented and promising, handsome and suave, calm and decisive in his actions—truly an outstanding figure among his generation." Wang Qiezhi exclaimed in high praise.

Long Xuanjiao couldn't help but chuckle: "Wang Qiezhi, what exactly have you gained from him? To speak up for him like this?" (To be continued~^~)