He looked at Mu Yanming for help, but at this moment, Mu Yanming's entire attention was on Mo Qinghuan.
Mo Qinghuan looked at the box, but couldn't see what the lock on the top of the box looked like.
Mu Yanming squeezed her hand. "Interested?"
She recalled the incident of the top courtesan in the Wanhua Tower. There was still a bit of uneasiness in her heart, so she withdrew her hand.
At this moment, the envoy let out a hearty laugh, with a hint of mockery in his tone.
"The great state of Li Kingdom, is there not even a single person who can unlock this lock?"
Mo Qinghuan wanted to give it a try, but Mu Yanming shook his head at her.
"What do you mean? Aren't you going to help the emperor?"
Mu Yanming said disdainfully, "Why should this king help him?"
Mo Qinghuan withdrew her gaze, lowered her head, and sat down.
Mu Linyi twitched the corner of his mouth and looked at the people below the stage.
Mu Yichen saw his father's predicament.
"Father, please allow your son to give it a try."
Mu Linyi nodded happily. "Good, you give it a try."
The envoy slightly curled his lips, looking very certain that no one could open it.
Mu Yichen walked to the front of the stage. Eunuch Shu held the box, but no matter how he fiddled with it for a long time, he couldn't open the box.
Mu Yichen walked back to the stage dejectedly. "Father, it's your son's incompetence."
Mu Linyi suppressed his anger and waved his hand impatiently, looking like he was chasing him away quickly and telling him not to embarrass him here.
After that, everyone shook their heads helplessly, and no one else dared to go up and try.
Seeing this, Mo Qinghuan glanced at Mu Yanming again.
Then she stood up and looked at the envoy. "I'll give it a try."
She left the low table and walked towards the front of the stage step by step, her steps as graceful as a lotus in bloom, each step exuding elegance.
When she reached the front of the stage, Eunuch Shu bowed and held the box, standing in front of Mo Qinghuan.
She carefully examined the lock.
Seeing that she didn't make a move for a long time, the people below the stage couldn't help but start whispering.
"Can you do it? If not, don't go up there and make a fool of yourself! Come down quickly!"
"Yeah, yeah, come down quickly."
Mu Yanming glared at the two gossiping people, and they immediately shut their mouths.
Mo Qinghuan reached out and touched the lock, then tapped on the box a few times.
—So that's how it is!
It actually follows the same rule as Sudoku.
Give it a try. As long as the rules are the same, it shouldn't be difficult to open.
She reached out and slid the grid on the lock horizontally, trying to restore the patterns on it.
The people below the stage held their breath, and their hearts rose and fell with Mo Qinghuan's movements.
Especially Mu Linyi. His eyes always followed Mo Qinghuan's hand.
The entire great hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
A few minutes later, a clicking sound came from the great hall. The lock on the top of the box sank and split into two parts.
Mo Qinghuan curled the corner of her mouth. She pulled the two parts to the sides, and the precious treasure inside the box came into Mu Linyi's sight.
Mu Yanming looked at Mo Qinghuan, his eyes filled with ineffable amazement.
Gu Qinglan bit her lips tightly, feeling extremely sad. How she wished that Mu Yanming's blazing eyes were on her at this moment.
Mu Linyi, who was sitting on the high throne, subconsciously let out a sigh of relief when he heard the sound. Then he said loudly, "Good, well done. There will be handsome rewards." With a smiling face, he stood up and walked to the box, wanting to see what precious treasure was inside.
But when he saw what was inside the box, his face immediately darkened.
There was a night pearl lying quietly inside the box. It was about the size of a pigeon egg. Now that the box was opened, the night pearl emitted a dazzling light.
However, the Li Kingdom had many treasures. When Mu Yanming fought in all directions, he also brought back many treasures from other countries.
Therefore, such a small night pearl was nothing special in the Li Kingdom.
And this envoy actually dared to use such a small lock, almost embarrassing him.
He returned to the dragon throne with a gloomy face. "Is this the precious treasure the envoy mentioned?"
The envoy had been stunned since Mo Qinghuan opened the box.
He never imagined that after he obtained this precious treasure, it took him three years to open it.
He used this item to win glory for the Northern Rong Tribe in many other countries.
He never thought that in the end, it would be a woman who opened it.
He stood up, placed his hand on his heart, and bowed respectfully to Mu Linyi. There was no trace of arrogance in his expression anymore, and there was even a bit of dejection.
Mo Qinghuan couldn't stand people who showed off with a rare item in their hands and made wild remarks the most.
She sneered and returned to the low table.
"Such a small night pearl may be regarded as a precious treasure in the Northern Rong Tribe, but in the Li Kingdom, it really doesn't count as a precious treasure. There are many night pearls in the national treasury that are brighter and more translucent than this one."
The envoy's face instantly turned ugly, and even the ministers gasped.
Although this was the truth, there weren't many people who would say it so straightforwardly.
Even the emperor would give the envoy some face.
This Princess Regent was really too arrogant.
But even so, no one stood up to say anything against Mo Qinghuan.
Because even the current emperor looked at the Princess Regent with approval in his eyes.
"Yes, it's the subject's slip of the tongue. Please forgive this humble subject, Your Majesty." The envoy's face turned red.
Mu Linyi raised his eyebrows and smiled. "It doesn't matter. It's just a small episode. The envoy doesn't need to take it to heart. Sit down and enjoy the meal."
Concubine Li also stood up to smooth things over. "Yes, next, let's enjoy the dance that your humble concubine specially prepared for this New Year's banquet."
She clapped her hands. The sound of string and bamboo instruments rang out. Red silk ribbons fell from the top of the great hall. More than a dozen dancing girls leaped in lightly from outside. Their figures were as graceful as startled swans. The dancing girls covered their faces with red veils and wore red clothes. They leaped onto the red silk ribbons and danced a dance on the thin red silk.
The people below the stage were fascinated, but Mo Qinghuan had no interest at all.
Her mind was full of what Gu Qinglan had said...
Thinking that she and Mu Yanming had been married for so long, although they had occasional intimate moments, after all, the two of them had not really been completely open with each other.
But last night, what if...
If Mu Yanming really had something to do with that top courtesan Shishi.
Then she...
Just as she was thinking about how to deal with the situation, a piece of meat suddenly appeared in her bowl.
She turned to look at Mu Yanming.
She heard Mu Yanming say softly, "Is the food not to your taste? I noticed you haven't eaten much tonight."
She withdrew her gaze, lowered her head, and didn't say anything.
The dinner ended quickly. The emperor took the envoy to visit the majesty and grandeur of the Li Kingdom's imperial palace.
Normally, they should have followed.
But Mu Yanming pulled her and left the imperial palace early.
In the carriage on the way back, Mu Yanming cornered Mo Qinghuan in a corner of the carriage.
She looked into his deep eyes and saw herself with an inquisitive look in them at this moment.
"Let this king explain it to you."
She gently shook her head. The smile on her face was very faint, full of strangeness and estrangement.
She didn't want to listen to Mu Yanming's explanation. She was afraid of hearing an answer that would make her collapse.
Just as the atmosphere was getting tense, the carriage suddenly jolted, and Mu Yanming's figure swayed over.