Chapter 72: Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.

After several days of tug-of-war, the negotiations at the Honglu Temple came to a temporary end. The work of redefining the border between the two countries was very difficult to finish, because in the delegation, there were people who were responsible for cursing like shrews, and there were also people who translated and wrote official documents like old scholars.

If not, the record of the negotiation would appear very vulgar. Although the process was indeed just a scene of verbal abuse between the two parties.

Qing was the victorious country, and the official in charge of the specific negotiations at the Honglu Temple was extremely firm in his attitude at the beginning of the negotiations, which made the Northern Qi delegation blush and reluctantly declare that they would talk later.

When the negotiations started again, they got some news and changed their attitude. They kept delaying time shamelessly, and no one knew what they were waiting for.

Fan Xian was also ordered to participate in this negotiation, and was given an official position of neither importance nor rank, with another term added to his title.

However, when the news came back that Yan Bingyun was captured by the royal masters in Shangjing City of Northern Qi, the first thing that Qing Kingdom thought about was how to conceal this matter. Because they had flying birds that could deliver messages at an extremely fast speed, they wanted to use the information gap to quickly win the peace talks and not let this matter become a bargaining chip for the Northern Qi delegation.

But there were people in the upper echelons of Qing State who were in collusion with foreign countries. Within half a day, the note with the three words "Yan Bingyun" was handed to the officials of the other side. Therefore, in the last negotiation, Northern Qi State offered a new price.

Prisoner exchange - exchange Sean and Si Lili for Yan Bingyun.

Even though this two-for-one deal was a loss-making one, Emperor Qing agreed to it.

At this point, officials from both sides exchanged letters of credence and everyone was happy.

Tonight was the day when the Qing royal family would host a banquet for the negotiating officials of the two countries. As night fell, after Li An finished his work during the day, he and Wang Shisanlang headed towards the palace.

At this time, the palace was full of guests, including officials from the country, envoys from Northern Qi, and guests from Dongyi City. The people were talking and laughing, and the atmosphere was harmonious, as if the war had long gone, and they walked inside along the passage of the palace gate.

The banquet was held in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.

"Wang Qinian, what is your relationship with this Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests?" Fan Xian asked the greasy fat man beside him while accepting the body search by the imperial guards.

Wang Qinian responded cheerfully: "You are joking, my Lord. I have nothing to do with this Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests."

As they were talking, they saw Li An coming. Fan Xian said nothing more, but just nodded at Li An with an inexplicable look on his face.

Are you asking me to forget what happened last night? Li An thought to himself and nodded in response, indicating that he understood.

"Sir, this is a routine inspection." A soldier came forward and said.

Li An just glanced at him and was about to speak when he was interrupted by a male voice.

"How dare you!" A man with alpaca hair stepped forward. It was the second prince Li Chengze. "Do you know who this is? Mr. Li, the fifth grandmaster in the world and a famous fortune teller in Kyoto. Is he someone you can search?"

The soldier stopped talking after hearing this, clasped his fists and retreated. He also understood His Highness's intention. What difference does it make whether a master carries a weapon or not?

"Greetings, Mr. Li. I'm sorry Chengze hasn't visited me in recent days." The Second Prince also folded his hands in front of his chest and bowed. When Li An smiled and nodded at him, he turned around and greeted Fan Xian: "Fan Xian, you have made great contributions this time. It seems that you will be promoted. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

After a few brief greetings, they walked inside together.

But not long after they left, the prince and his entourage also arrived at the palace gate and walked forward in silence.

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests was already full of people, and maids carrying food trays and fruits were walking back and forth, making the scene extremely lively. Li An casually stopped a palace maid, explained his identity, and then followed the palace maid to his seat.

That was a seat at the back of the second row on the left side of the hall - Li An just stated his identity as a university bachelor.

After sitting down with Wang Shisanlang and listening to the conversation between the court officials on the left and right, Li An realized that not only Chen Pingping would not come, but even the Prime Minister Lin Ruofu was sick at home. The guests on the right were all envoys from Northern Qi and Dongyi City.

Li An looked carefully and saw Yun Zhilan. He looked cold and was also looking at him. He and Wang Shisanlang behind him were both disciples of Si Gu Jian, so they both carried swords with them. This was also a rule of Si Gu Jian's disciples. As for Li An himself, he was wearing a green shirt and had nothing in his hands. At this time, he was eating grapes on the table to get through the boring opening.

On the high platform, three people were sitting on the left and right sides, namely the eldest princess, the crown prince and the second prince.

As Fan Xian was the deputy envoy of the negotiation team, even though he was only an assistant lawyer, he was sitting in the front middle seat at this time, chatting with the ministers around him.

He was also observing his surroundings silently. After a moment, he sensed something unusual and looked at Yun Zhilan.

Yun Zhilan's martial arts level is quite high. After sensing Fan Xian's gaze, he used his sword intent to look him in the eye. Because Fan Xian had previously been assassinated in Niulan Street and killed two female disciples from Dongyi City, the gaze between the two was full of gunpowder, which made the others present watch all this happen with gloating.

Just when the atmosphere was tense, there was suddenly a burst of music in the palace, with waves of sounds of zithers and harps being played.

The princess's attendant female official walked up to Fan Xian and said, "Sir Fan, the princess wants to see you."

Fan Xian had a strange expression on his face. He stood up and followed, arriving in front of the eldest princess.

"These past few days, I've been waiting for you to come and kill me." The eldest princess said softly with a smile and graceful manner.

Fan Xian frowned and did not reply.

Seeing this, the princess did not feel bored, and continued with a smile, a hint of seriousness in her voice: "If you swear allegiance to me, I can make your wish come true. Wan'er and the inner treasury will be handed over to you."

"If you want to drive the princess out of Kyoto, is that okay?" Fan Xian answered with a smile, but there was murderous intent in his eyes.

The eldest princess chuckled, raised her chin slightly, and said provocatively: "It's so interesting, you must try it."

"I will definitely not let the princess down!" Fan Xian responded loudly.

To outsiders, this scene would only seem like the two people are having a pleasant conversation, but they are unaware of the swordplay involved.

"Mr. Zhuang is here!" the eunuch outside the door shouted.

When this voice was heard, everyone in the hall stood up and watched the old man step into the hall.

The man was dressed in white, holding a scroll in his hand, with white eyebrows and hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and a solemn expression as he walked slowly. When he reached the left side of the platform, he stood below the eldest princess and observed Fan Xian.

"The inheritance of literature and art is embodied in one person." Fan Xian pondered, bowed to Zhuang Mohan, and then returned to his seat.

Even Ang Lee looked over and gave her a very high score for her appearance and temperament.

"Your Majesty has arrived, and all officials are here to welcome you." A eunuch's shrill voice came.

"My Emperor, Holy Peace!"

The ministers of Qing State all knelt on cushions and saluted respectfully, while the envoys of other countries stood up and bowed. Only Li An sat aside and said nothing.

At this time, Emperor Qing also came out with the Queen.

The condescending attitude made the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests seem to be filled with a solemn atmosphere.

He sat down on the dragon chair, his majestic eyes swept across the crowd below, and finally stopped at Li An who was sitting in a corner, and said gently:
"Be flat."

(End of this chapter)