bastard returns

"Really, the empress thinks so? Xuan'er is indeed a good candidate for the mission?" After the emperor heard this, he suddenly glanced at the empress expressionlessly, and the empress suddenly felt a thump in her heart, thinking, it's broken.

The emperor is not a perfunctory person, how could he fail to see the empress' plan, the empress only wanted to push Sikong Xuan out, but she was too impatient, the emperor noticed her intention, immediately smiled and changed her words: "Of course , Xuan'er may be really young, and the concubine only said so, this trip to Yanjing to discuss the lives and deaths of tens of thousands of soldiers is of great importance, so naturally it would be better to send experienced ministers out." Finished speaking , the queen took a step back a little timidly, and stopped talking.

She didn't breathe a sigh of relief until she confirmed that the emperor had looked away from her.

Over there Sikong Xuan was still kneeling, with a great determination not to die until the Yellow River, as if he really had to go, no matter how much Shu tried to persuade him, he couldn't persuade him, so he could only stand aside and worry.

The emperor showed a strange expression, "Xuan'er, my father knows that you want to relieve my father's worries, but this is a big matter. With your experience, I'm afraid..."

"The child knows that the father is worried that the child has never been exposed to such matters. If the child is not handled properly, his life will be in danger. But when the child read the sage book before, there was a famous saying in the book, if the chick does not leave home to spread its wings, the bird will die." It will be a baby bird that will never be able to fly for the rest of its life. Although the child is very grateful for the protection and protection of the father, but he is not willing to be a baby bird that will never be able to fly for the rest of his life. Presumably with Father's current great talent and general plan, he was not raised under the protection of the elders like a son-in-law."

Sikong Xuan's words were not only very pleasing to the ears, but also left the emperor speechless and didn't know how to refute.

"As for the matter of experience, please rest assured, Father. Have you forgotten that my son has lived in the folk for several years, and he knows everything about the common people very well, and he does not lack the experience of socializing with others. If Father agrees, I am confident that I can find out the real situation of Da Xia, even if the two dynasties cannot stop the war because of this, I must find out the reason why Da Xia suddenly mobilized troops, please help me."

There was complete silence all around, not only the ministers had no one to speak, but also the eunuchs who were by the emperor's side at any time did not dare to take a breath.

Shu looked at the emperor worriedly, fearing that he would agree to his son's ridiculous request, and after an unknown amount of time, the emperor spoke slowly and said a word.

For a moment, everyone present had different expressions, the empress was full of disbelief, Concubine Shu Hui's eyes were full of astonishment, even Sikong Xuan stayed there, only the emperor, with a very faint smile on his lips, Chong Sikongxuan nodded as if approving.

Two days later, nearly a hundred well-equipped imperial guards surrounded two luxurious carriages and left the city gate from the north of Huajing.

The frontmost one of the carriages was painted golden. On the wooden walls of the carriage, exquisite craftsmen carved several dragons flying in the clouds, and the roof was inlaid with a fist-sized dark green. The glazed beads are shining brightly under the sunlight. As for the horses pulling the cart, not only are each of them extremely handsome, but there are as many as eight of them. During the battle, nine out of ten people will start to guess which relative and noble prince is in the car.

After all, whether it is an eight-horse carriage or a Tenglong golden chariot, there is only one thing represented, that is, the person in the carriage must be a prince-level figure, otherwise the idle royal relatives, even the prince, will not be able to enjoy it. to such treatment.

In the spacious carriage, Sikong Xuan sat very unnaturally on the tiger-skin soft seat in the center, staring at the incense burner in front of him, and did not even dare to move.

It's not that he doesn't want to move, but that the clothes he's wearing at the moment are not only extremely cumbersome and gorgeous, but also very heavy. Apart from maintaining a straight-faced appearance, no matter what posture he takes, he finds it awkward.

Apart from the sound of cart wheels running over the official road and the sound of horseshoes crisscrossing outside, I couldn't hear anything else, and I don't know how long it took, Sikong Xuan must have been bored, so he finally turned his head and sat facing him. A young man at the bottom said: "My lord, I heard that it will take half a month to go to Yanjing, but is it true?"

Compared with Sikong Xuan's upright appearance, Ning Yuan is really much looser. Although he is also an official uniform and official hat, he leans slightly on another soft cushion in a very comfortable posture, while tasting his clothes. Tea, holding a book at the same time, looking engrossed.

Seeing Sikongxuan talking to himself suddenly, Ning Yuan raised his head and saw his appearance, as if he understood something, he chuckled and said: "Now we have left the city, and those who saw us off have gone back, there is no need to go back If His Highness finds it troublesome to wear this clothes on your body, you can take it off first."

Hearing the words, Sikongxuan felt as if he had been pardoned, and quickly took off the belt studded with all kinds of precious stones, and then took off the robe embroidered with dragon patterns with gold thread, until only his white shirt was left, even the top of his head The golden crown used to bind the hair was also taken off, and it was naturally tied with a hair band. Then he twisted his neck and said, "It's better to be so comfortable. I just dressed like that when I went out of the city, which made me lose my way. Neither will leave."

Ning Yuan didn't know that Sikong Xuan could relax so suddenly, he couldn't help being a little stunned, "Now you are not only a prince, but also Prince Xi, the first prince of my dynasty. With the ostentation that a prince should have, even if you don't want to wear that court dress, you still have to wear it when it's time to wear it."

Thinking of the scene where the courtiers tried their best to see him off this morning, Sikong Xuan was a little speechless, shook his head and said, "Forget it, I don't care much about my name, as long as I can help my mother." okay."

Ning Yuan smiled lightly and said: "Don't worry about this matter, Concubine Hui is your biological mother, and now you suddenly become a prince, it will only increase the status of Concubine Hui, didn't you see the emperor come and go that day?" What is the empress's expression after receiving the will of canonization?"

Thinking of this, Sikong Xuan couldn't help but smile knowingly.

In fact, he would suddenly speak to the emperor and ask him to go on a mission, not because he really wanted to solve the emperor's worries and problems, because he had no pure and true feelings for his father, the emperor, because of his troubled childhood. .

After Concubine Shu Hui returned to the palace, although she was indeed favored by the emperor, she was at a disadvantage because the Shu clan had long since withered, without half of her relatives alive, so she was inevitably at a disadvantage in the harem game against the queen.Even though Concubine Shu Hui has become as careful as dust because of the bad things she suffered in the past, Sikong Xuan also pleases the emperor, so that even if the empress wants to target them, there will be no chance to do so under Concubine Shu Hui's impeccable dealings, but Sikong Xuan has already understood this It's not a problem to go down. The empress has been in the harem for many years, and the eldest prince has also gotten close to many courtiers. If you don't want to be pulled down by them one day, just relying on the emperor's pity and love is not enough.

So Sikong Xuan thought of taking advantage of this opportunity. If he could really make a contribution to the emperor and make the emperor start to value himself seriously, then the queen should take back any bad thoughts she had under the sway of the mouse, and she would also Concubine Shu Hui will not be allowed to live like walking on eggshells every day.

Unexpectedly, the effect would be so beyond his expectation.

The emperor agreed to his request without saying anything, and even issued an imperial decree on the spot, naming him Prince Xi and asking him to go to Daxia for peace talks on behalf of Dazhou.

Sikongxuan remembered that as soon as the imperial decree came out of the emperor's mouth, the queen's face turned green. After all, according to the prince's title of prince, he should be respected. There has never been a prince in this dynasty. The eldest prince doesn't even have the slightest title, but the youngest prince, Sikong Xuan, came from behind and became the first prince of the dynasty. How can the empress not be angry.

But such a big event, even if the queen is angry, she can only stare blankly and have no right to intervene. In this way, in the next two days, Huajing held a hastily held a conferring hall of Prince Xi, and then hastily prepared After a while, the group of people who went to negotiate set off on the road.

Regarding Sikong Xuan being crowned king suddenly, others may think that the emperor rewarded him too much, but Ning Yuan saw that it was just the emperor trying to make himself look good, thinking that the envoy sent by Daxia back then, Huyan Yuanchen, had the title of prince In the body, it would be fine if the general courtiers sent by the Dazhou Sect this time, but since it is the prince who is going, naturally he should not be too shabby, and it is inevitable to have some seals. Sending people with such identities to negotiate is also regarded as a protective talisman for Sikong Xuan. The higher his status outside, even if the Xia people intend to harm him, they have to weigh it carefully. After all, killing an envoy is not the same as killing an envoy. Prince is not the same thing.

As for why Ning Yuan went on the road with Sikong Xuan, it was also the emperor's intention.

After the canonization ceremony was over, Ning Yuan was recruited into the palace by the emperor and arranged for him to accompany Sikong Xuan. Ning Yuan really didn't expect that the emperor still remembered him, and he was very grateful to him for helping to settle the three southeastern states last time. I was deeply impressed by the locust disaster, and felt that he should be able to help Si Kongxuan, so he asked him to accompany him.

Of course Ning Yuan would not refuse, even if the emperor didn't mention it, he still wanted to go to Daxia to find out the whereabouts of Huyan Yuanchen. He didn't believe that this person would "disappear", so he had to find out what happened.

Of course, apart from Ning Yuan, the emperor also arranged for several clerical officials who were familiar with the customs of Daxia to follow. Now those people are resting in the carriage behind, and only Sikong Xuan and Ning Yuan have a close relationship, so that Ning Yuan came over ride with him.

"Although I have never been to Yanjing, I also know that the trip is far away. Even if I hurry up, half a month will be considered fast. Fortunately, the weather has been good recently, and the road will not be too tiring." Ning Yuan said: "This section Someday, Your Highness, you should also take a good look at the roster of the big Xia dignitaries, so as to save Yanjing from making a fool of yourself."

Sikongxuan rubbed his nose, and suddenly said: "I really don't understand, since the other party has proposed peace talks, why not just find a city at the border, and let us go to Yanjing, could it be a demonstration? "

"It's not wrong for you to regard this as a demonstration." Ning Yuan said: "In this world, the weak prey on the strong. If we make a trip to save the common people and soldiers from the flames of war, it will not be considered a disadvantage."

Sikong Xuan nodded, picked up a roster that recorded all the dignitaries of Great Xia, and looked at it seriously.

Half a month later, this group of envoys finally arrived at the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty—below the gate of Yanjing.