"MingEr, come sit." Seeing him coming, Qi Xutian showed a cheerful demeanour, pointing to an emerald-coloured object on his table, he said, "Ming Xun is famous in the world from An Yang and is rumoured to be more like wine than wine itself. It has always been hard to find, even harder than finding gold. It has only been known by its name for many years, not many people have seen it. The messenger brought it before, MingEr must take advantage of it this time."
Under everyone's attention, Qi Mingyue took his seat and nodded towards the An Yang messenger thankfully. He saw that the thing on the table was very peculiar in shape, neither round nor square. Its colour was as bright as green willow and heavier than amber, the texture was both vertical and horizontal, its shape was like the roots of an old tree. Its craggy undulation didn't look like a vessel at all, instead, it was more like a stone. Qi Mingyue couldn't help but look at Father Emperor unexpectedly. Seeing that he had a meaningful expression, he understood his intention.
Seeing this scene, the An Yang envoy stood up and said, "Your Second Highness, this is Ming Xun. Our An Yang Emperor has been enjoying it for many years. It has an elegant colour and shape, he likes it very much but, after all, it isn't easy to get. It's a pity that it’s only treated as a stone. It is Your Highness' birthday today, our Majesty ordered for us to come here. Now I can see that Your Royal Highness is elegant with a rare disposition, much like the colour and shape of this tea stone. This gift for Your Royal Highness is a perfect match."
After talking for such a long time at a stretch, he didn't mention exactly Ming Xun was. Since it was supposed to more like wine than wine itself, then it should be liquid. Why was it a rare stone? The ministers were puzzled and discussed one after another.
Although they had known of Ming Xun for a long time, they had never seen it, and of course, they didn't know the reason. Therefore, they looked up at His Highness one by one, only to see that he had picked up the stone and was playing with it in his hand. They couldn't see any embarrassment or worry on his face.
His Highness said to the An Yang messenger, "This kind of tea is very rare. It is produced in the deep sea in the polar regions or in the mountain regions with heavy boulders. No matter where it is found, it is a dangerous place. It is neither formed underground nor on a tree, but only found under a rock. I guessed correctly, right?"
Everyone heard him say this with a soft and clear childlike voice, they were amazed by his calm, polite, and elegant manner of speech. Whether it was his posture or words, they were smooth and graceful, it was incredible. Some people even exclaimed.
"Oh, did you steal my Father-- uh, dad’s book? Otherwise, how do you know? MuEr didn’t know before."
The tender voice turned out to be from a child. They saw a boy with wide eyes behind the An Yang messenger. His dark, shiny eyes looked like a cute puppy as they looked at Qi Mingyue, puzzled.
The An Yang messenger suddenly became nervous, pulling down what he didn’t know, and then he looked surprised. He said to Qi Mingyue, "Your Royal Highness is correct. Everyone knows Ming Xun around the world, but few people have seen it. Even if they are lucky enough to see it, most of them don't know its origin or why its shape is like this. Besides, Ming Xun's shapes are all different. It is even more difficult to know the common characteristics of one piece. How did Your Highness know what's written in An Yang's secret records?"
The ministers were surprised again, it seemed that His Royal Highness was actually right. It was just that didn't know who the little boy behind the An Yang messenger was, the messengers seemed to attach great importance to him.
Seeing that the boy still had his small head out and looked at him curiously, Qi Mingyie smiled at him, then picked up the stone, brought it up to his eye level and looked at it carefully. He said unhurriedly, "What's the difficulty? Ming Xun is not just a stone." Then he turned to say something to Ying Ran and she left the scene. Then, he continued, "The world only knows Ming Xun's name but doesn't know where it comes from. This stone is mistaken for Ming Xun but it's actually not Ming Xun."
"What do you mean, Your Highness?" A monster of Cang He couldn't keep himself from asking.
Qi Mingyue took the long dagger presented by Ying Ran, pulled it out from its sheath, and a blade with a sharp edge akin to autumn water swept a cold sword light in front of everyone's eyes. Before people could feel frightened and even question his actions, a cool, water-like, warm fragrance like wine spread throughout the hall. "This thing inside the stone is what's truly rare." Qi Mingyue said with admiration, raised the strange stone to his eyes, tilted it, and dozens of drops of slightly viscous and transparent liquid poured into a jade cup, filling it completely.
Amidst the fragrant smell, he raised his cup, brought it over to his lips, and drank it with a tilt of his head. He smiled happily, "Father Emperor, this thing is really special."
The An Yang messenger was shocked to see that he drank Ming Xun like this, he was even more dismayed. He never thought that the Second Prince not only knew where Ming Xun was found but even the right method of tasting it, "Your Highness..."
Seeing the anxious appearance of the messenger, Qi Mingyue put down the cup and answered with a smile. "Mingyue just guessed it." Qi Mingyue chuckled upon seeing his expression of disbelief. He smiled and while revealing the attitude of a naughty child, he continued before the messenger could interrupt, "Mingyue has never left Cang He since he was born. How can it be possible for me to secretly read the highly secure secret book? Messenger, please rest assured. I really just guessed. Mingyue knows that for millions of years, trees can be fossilized under certain conditions, and some of them are condensed with rain and dew and from sparse fruits. Although they have turned into hard rocks today, they contain other things. They turn wood into jade, the jade has components inside, and it eventually becomes Ming Xun." With a sigh, he continued, "Although, for us, it has experienced countless coincidences before it became this. If not consumed in time, I'm afraid it would gradually dilute in the air until it disappears."
"Amazing..." It was the child behind the An Yang messenger who spoke. His stunned expression expressed the hearts of all the people present. The An Yang messenger couldn't help exclaiming in admiration, "Your Majesty has such a son, he would bring endless glory to Cang He in the future, which is enviable."
Qi Xutian laughed, "I have seen MingEr's ability for a long time and I look forward to the future." In the laughter, there was hidden meaning in his words which Qi Mingyue, of course, understood. He knew that Father Emperor thought of the agreement between them, so he laughed with him. Then he immediately turned back, laughing a little cunningly; when the day he grows up arrives, he would have to make up his mind.
Well, he remembered that eighteen was considered an adult. He wondered if Father Emperor would be able to wait?
At this moment when the atmosphere was lively, there was a loud noise outside the hall. Abruptly, someone yelled, "There are assassins! Protect His Majesty!" All of a sudden, the crowd was in turmoil, everyone was in danger and stood up in doubt.
Qi Mingyue had drunk Ming Xun already, although it wasn't wine, it was similar to it. It made people feel as if they were drunk. When he heard someone shouting, he remembered that today's banquet was originally for a show. He saw Father sitting there safe and sound, and felt relieved. He looked at both sides in curiosity and saw a few men in black rushing inside. The guards in the palace were resisting their invasion. It seemed that the people in the palace were not in danger. He felt that it was strange. Would Father Emperor arrange such a drama without any suspense?
As he thought about it, suddenly, he noticed that something was wrong in the palace. He was about to call for Hong Qui and Ying Ran, but he found that the two were not behind him and had disappeared.
At this moment, he stood up and unexpectedly, felt a figure standing behind him. Someone had approached him. He picked up the dagger on the table and stabbed it towards the stranger's shoulder without hesitation. At such a close distance, the other party had never expected such a young child to be able to do martial arts and to even have the courage to fight back at this time, the speed was even this fast. He was stunned. Suddenly, blood split on his light-coloured robe and seemed very conspicuous.
Qi Mingyue was sure at a glance that although the other party was injured, it wasn't too serious. He sighed in his heart, unfortunately, he missed the opportunity. Then, his vision went black; before sinking into the darkness, he felt doubtful...
This play was really brilliant, the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind[1]. Who on earth took advantage and attacked him at this time?
[1] to pursue a narrow gain while neglecting a greater danger.
In the hall, all the men in black were taken down. Qi Xutian slowly stood up from the dragon chair. The people in the hall remained silent and thought that the assassin was captured, but found that His Second Highness was missing!
His Majesty must be furious, the ministers grew anxious. At this time, a courtier admonished, "Your Majesty, when the Second Prince went missing, there was chaos in the hall, but no suspicious people had entered before. According to this minister, this matter was done by someone who was inside. Otherwise, it's impossible to get into the palace so easily. Maybe he was pretending to be a palace man, or... it was... "
There were not many An Yang envoys and attendants, but they were not small in number. They were all unknown faces and their details weren't known. In the entire hall, they were the most suspicious. Even if it was not done by their people, some people may have mixed into their group to hide.
Although the words were not spoken, many people understood the meaning of those unfinished words. An Yang messenger and their attendants were indeed very suspicious, but there is no evidence at present. How should they be questioned? If it lead to a disagreement between Cang He and An Yang, it wouldn't be good for everyone.
After thinking of this, no one dared to clarify the words anymore. An Yang's envoys were all very aware and knew how to protect themselves. At this time, no matter what was being said, it was better to say nothing and remain quiet. They silently waited for Qi Xutian to speak.
They saw that His Majesty stood up and walked to the seat of His Second Highness, looked at the pool of blood on the ground without saying a word, but his expression was deep and unpredictable. After a while, he raised his head, "Dismissed." After saying this, he didn't mention the matter again and left first.
Although the group of ministers felt relieved, they also felt a little strange. His Majesty had always loved His Second Highness. At this time, there was no response. Could it be that he was internally furious and planned to investigate secretly? Shaking their heads, they thought that His Majesty's heart was unpredictable. It would be better to remain calm and wait for the matter to be finalized.
•×•×•×•
Qi Mingyue woke up from the darkness, the shaking told him that he was in a carriage. Although his hands and feet were bound, there was no pain in his body. It seemed that the other party had not hurt him. He still lay there motionlessly, slowly adjusted his breathing to make himself appear asleep.
Since he had asked the royal doctor for drugs before, he often took them to adapt himself to them. The drugs used in the palace were all made of precious medicinal materials, which made him a little worried about whether he would be able to adapt to inferior drugs or not. However, when he woke up, the carriage was still on the road; it was obvious they hadn't reached their destination yet and he had woken up too soon.
Gradually, he went into a state in which he was half-asleep and half-awake, it was like he was asleep but not actually sleeping. This way, there was no apprehension of being seen though and he was also able to retain a trace of awareness to observe the surrounding situation.
The crisp sound of horses' hooves on the road was clear and audible, the carriage was stable. It seemed that they were either on the road or in a very large estate. There were no voices around and it was very quiet. After a while, the carriage stopped.
"Task completed?" A low, stern male voice sounded.
"Yes." The one who answered sounded younger and there was no sign of emotion.
"Go in."
As soon as the voice fell, someone opened the carriage door. He only listened to the sound for a while. Suddenly, through his closed eyes, he felt the surroundings brighten. Apparently, it was already daytime.
Someone stretched out their hands and held him in their arm, Qi Mingyue suddenly smelled a faint scent of blood on the man. He was the man who was injured by his dagger, Qi Mingyue was sure. Thinking of the dagger, it seemed to have fallen on the ground at that time, it was a pity; it would have been taken after being searched even if he had it on his person. He also had several bags of powder hidden within his robes, he wasn't sure if they had already found them.
He felt himself being placed on a bed, the ropes on his hands and feet were loosened and the soft feeling of the mattress made him certain that this must be a very well-decorated bedroom.
He heard the footsteps leave. After a long time, when he was sure that there was no one in the room, he slowly opened his eyes. But he saw someone sitting at the table with his back to him.
"You're awake." It was a man with a deep, thick voice.
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