Chapter Fifty-two: An Unwelcome Guest

  Qin Xi heard this, his face suddenly changed, and he hastily said: "This Xiao envoy is also too impatient, what did he come here for? If someone finds out, others will also know that I have arrived here, anyone can guess the reason."

  Just as he was speaking, a tall and slender elder with long whiskers led in a middle-aged scholar of about forty years old. Behind them followed several sturdy men with dark skin, wrapped in green cloth around their heads.

  The two of them quickly walked to Qin Yi's side and sat down. Qin Yi naturally recognized the tall, slender man as Wei Liangchen, the Song Dynasty envoy who had gone to negotiate with Wuzhu. And next to him was none other than the unexpected guest who had just been announced by his subordinate.

  The middle-aged scholar slightly bowed his head and said in a low voice, "I am Xiao Yi, at your service, young master Qin!"

  Qin Xi hastily returned a courtesy, but somewhat out of breath and in a low voice said: "Sir Xiao, why have you come to this place? There are many people here with loose tongues, if someone recognizes Sir Xiao, wouldn't that be disastrous?"

  Xiao Yi stroked his long mustache and said nonchalantly, "I've never been to Chu State before, how many people from the Southern Dynasty would recognize me? If I don't say anything, who would know my identity?"

  Wei Liangchen also wiped a cold sweat, then said: "Xiao Daoren heard that the military generals of Chu State have all come to attend this birthday banquet, and insisted on coming, saying he wanted to see what the Song general who killed the Ninth King looked like."

  "What? The 9th King is dead?" Qin Yi was shocked and lost his color, he had just arrived in Chuzhou, only knowing that the Jurchen-led Jin army had attacked Chuzhou several days ago but were repelled by the Song army.

  "Yes! I also met Liang Gongzi on the road the day before yesterday and learned about it from him. It is said that a white-robed young general killed the Ninth King. Could it be Han Yanzhi?" asked Xiao Yi coldly.

  "This is not very clear, I just knew it a moment ago and haven't investigated yet, but it's not difficult to find out. After all, for Han Shizhong, this can be considered a great achievement, he will never hide it!" Qin Xi said.

  "Hmph! If this matter were to reach the ears of the Fourth Prince and the Emperor, it's uncertain whether this peace talk can still be successful. Since our Great Jin marched south, there has never been a case where a prince died in battle. Who knows how furious the Emperor will be this time?" Xiao Yi's voice was low, but his tone was very stern.

  Qin Xi and Wei Liangchen were both startled, breaking out in a cold sweat. They hastily comforted and persuaded him for a while. Qin Xi even promised that if they could find out who this military general was, he would definitely think of a way to give the Jin State an explanation, in order to appease the spirit of the Ninth Prince in heaven.

  Xiao Yi's complexion slightly improved, and then he slowly started drinking wine.

  At this time, it was finally the turn of Yue Yun and his group to present their gifts. After Li Yu Rong presented a jade Guanyin, Yue Yun took out the sword he had taken from Wanyan Zongmin's corpse and respectfully presented it to Liu Mingcheng with both hands. He said: "I heard that General Liu's sword was lost during the defense of Chu State, so I specially present this sword. And I wish General Liu a life as evergreen trees, a long-flowing river, happy birthday, and eternal spring!"

  Liu Mingcheng was overjoyed when Yue Yun presented him with a precious sword after the crutch. Although he was a civil official, he also liked to wear a long sword.

  Liu Mingcheng took over the treasure sword and pulled it out to take a look. He saw that the sword was clear as water, with a sharp blade made of good Wootz steel, and the patterns on the sword body and scabbard were very exquisite. Moreover, there were some characters he didn't recognize carved on the hilt. Upon closer inspection, they seemed to be Jurchen script.

  "This sword... Could it be..." Liu Mingcheng was suddenly shocked in his heart.

  "Yes! This is the sword that was seized after the Ninth King of Jin, Wanyan Zongmin, was killed in battle." Yuke Yun said seriously.

  Liu Mingcheng was taken aback, and then his face became excited as he said: "General Yue, this is a symbol of your military exploits! How can you casually give it to someone? You should keep it well instead!"

  But he said so, his hand still tightly grasped the sword, with a reluctant look.

  Yue Yun smiled slightly and said with great enthusiasm: "It's just a sword paired with the Golden Nation's Ninth Prince, Lord Liu needn't take it too seriously! Yue Yun will continue to strive for more military achievements for our Great Song Dynasty in the future! This Wanyan Zongmin's sword is just the beginning!"

  "Good! Good! Good!" Liu Mingcheng exclaimed excitedly, uttering three "goods" in a row.

  He then solemnly said: "Just now I slightly underestimated General Yue, General Yue is young and promising, in the future he will surely make new achievements for our great Song Dynasty, let more of the Jin bandits surrender! I hope that one day, I can also see the imperial army recover the Central Plains and return to Bianjing!"

  Most of the guests sitting were from Chu State, and they all hated Jin's cruelty. They heard Liu Mingcheng and Yue Yun's conversation very clearly, and couldn't help but feel great joy in their hearts, applauding and cheering loudly.

  "Hum! Daydreaming!"

  This cold ridicule and sarcasm was not a small voice, and it just so happened that the applause of the guests had just stopped, so everyone heard it clearly. Many people glared at each other, looking around to see who had the audacity to say such an impolite thing to Lord Liu.

  Qin Xi was now regretful to the point of turning green, glaring at Wei Liangchen with a gaze that revealed his accusatory intent. And Wei Liangchen was even more frightened, breaking out in cold sweat, because the person who had spoken these words was none other than the Golden Envoy, Xiao Yi.

  "Who said that?" Liu Mingcheng was also furious at this time, and he encountered someone who was so sarcastic on his own birthday party, naturally sparking anger in his heart.

  Xiao Yi also knew he had acted impulsively at this time. He had just heard Yue Yun and Liu Mingcheng singing in harmony, looking straight at Jin Ren as if he was nothing, and Yue Yun had just admitted to being the one who killed Wan Yan Zongmin, even bringing his legacy sword as a gift. It was infuriating and unbearable.

  The hall was originally very noisy, and he said that it would not attract much attention. But who knew that Chu State had a habit of applauding only three times. After the third time, the applause stopped suddenly, as if someone had given an order, and his words stood out.

  At this moment, Xiao Yi couldn't hide it even if he wanted to. The people nearby all knew it was him and were staring at him. Those farther away took a glance and also tacitly turned to look at him together. Although he had disguised himself as a Han person, his appearance, temperament, and demeanor clearly indicated that he wasn't a citizen of the Song Dynasty. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, how could he deny it?

  "How dare you? Do you have the guts to say it but not to admit it?" Liu Tao was also furious in her heart, and such a person who dared to scold her father as a daydreamer actually appeared at the birthday banquet.

  The words have been spoken, and it's impossible to take them back now. This Liu Mingcheng is just a provincial governor, offending him won't be a big deal. Xiao Yi has already made up his mind, he decided to go all out.

  Anyway, Wuzong had already agreed to negotiate with the Song Dynasty, and his identity as a special envoy of the Jin Dynasty was originally intended to be made public only after arriving in Lin'an, but now it has been exposed prematurely in Chuzhou. Although there are some unfavorable factors, it also gives him a protective charm. After all, when two countries are at odds, they do not kill envoys who come in good faith. Moreover, Wuzong had previously instructed him that the Song people were weak and timid, and as long as he maintained a tough attitude during negotiations, he would naturally be able to suppress them.

  Then Xiao Yi slowly stood up and said: "The one who says you are daydreaming is this official! How? Don't you dare to disobey?"

  Most people didn't know Xiao Yi, but when they heard him speak, his accent was very similar to that of the northern region. Liu Tao couldn't help but want to loudly scold him, but was persuaded by those around him, saying it wasn't suitable to stir up trouble at a banquet celebrating someone's longevity.

  Liu Mingcheng saw his fearless appearance, and also sat at the same table with Qin Xi and Wei Liangchen. He knew that this person must be a big shot. So he suppressed his anger and asked: "Who are you? Why do you mock me?"

  Xiao Yi said coldly, "I am Xiao Yi, the envoy of the Great Jin Dynasty, serving as the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. I am currently on my way to Lin'an, the capital of a vassal state, and passed through your esteemed region. I heard that Lord Liu is celebrating his 50th birthday, so I came to offer my congratulations. However, I did not expect that Lord Liu would utter such impolite words about my country at the banquet. Therefore, I must rebuke him!"

  Xiao Yi's words caused a huge commotion among the people present. These guests were mostly from Chu State, and since Chu State was located on the front line of the Song-Jin war, they all had family members who had died at the hands of the Jin people, and they all hated the Jin people to the bone. When they heard that this rude guy was actually an envoy of the Jin country, they were even more shocked and angry. Several military generals even drew their weapons, ready to rush forward and chop Xiao Yi into a pulp.

  The four burly men behind Xiao Yi also drew their weapons and stood guard beside him, saying in broken Chinese: "We are envoys of the Great Jin Dynasty. You... do you think you can take advantage of us because we're outnumbered?"

  Everyone who heard them turn "the many bully the few" into "the few bully the many" couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  Liu Mingcheng was startled to hear that Xiao Yi was actually an envoy of the Jin State, and his heart felt a chill. As someone who had been in office for many years, he naturally knew that his superior was most afraid of the Jin State, and he wanted to seek peace with them wholeheartedly. Now that the Jin State's envoys had arrived with Song Envoy Wei Liangchen, it seemed likely that they would indeed negotiate a peace treaty.

  At this time, Han Shizhong also stood up. Among the people present, his official position was the highest. He walked towards Xiao Yi with his head held high and a big stride...