The man with his back to them immediately replied, his tone tinged with a bit of deference and arrogance. "His Majesty the King is fine now. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. By the way, could Your Majesty allow me to take a look at the Glass Pearl?"
A hint of uneasiness flashed across the young emperor's face. He still had no idea where the Glass Pearl was and didn't know how to cover up today's incident.
After a long while without a reply, a look of confusion and impatience appeared on Lan Xi's face.
"Why doesn't Your Majesty respond? Could it be that the Glass Pearl is missing?"
As he spoke, his expression became increasingly grim. If something really happened to the Glass Pearl, it would be a major issue, concerning the alliance between the two countries.
Thinking about the fact that those people had been reluctant to let him see the emperor before, could there really be something wrong?
His expression gradually became more serious.
Shi Muyuan, who had arrived late, of course didn't miss this scene. She chuckled softly and walked over slowly.
"Of course the Glass Pearl is still here. It has recently been taken to the Baotuo Temple for consecration. Such an important item of your country surely cannot be left unattended."
Hearing this comforting words, Lan Xi's complexion improved a lot. He turned around and saw a beautiful figure approaching against the light.
When the figure got closer, he finally saw the face of the person clearly. A look of amazement flashed across his eyes involuntarily.
With delicate features lightly made up, eyebrows like paintings, and thin lips smiling gently, all the flowers and plants in the imperial garden paled in comparison. At this moment, there was only her in his eyes and nothing else.
However, Lan Xi quickly came to his senses and resumed his previous dissolute appearance.
"May I ask who this young lady is?"
His manner was frivolous, and he could easily be regarded as a good - for - nothing playboy.
For example, now, Xiao Xiao couldn't stand his frivolous attitude at all. She directly stepped in front of her mistress and shouted angrily, "How dare you! Don't you even know who you're talking to? How dare you speak so rashly!"
Hearing this, Lan Xi didn't show any sign of backing down and still looked the same.
"What? You didn't even announce your names when you came. Do you expect me, a foreign envoy, to guess out of thin air?"
This statement seemed reasonable. Shi Muyuan stopped Xiao Xiao from saying more and stepped forward with a smiling face.
"I suppose the envoy has never been to the Great Liang before. Otherwise, you wouldn't even fail to recognize me."
She directly revealed her title, which was giving the man in front of her a way out.
Lan Xi wasn't a fool. He immediately bowed.
"It's my fault. I didn't do enough research before coming. Otherwise, I wouldn't have failed to recognize Her Majesty the Empress Dowager."
Since the words had been said to this extent, this matter was temporarily covered up.
Shi Muyuan sat down beside them. "The envoy came here this time mainly for the Glass Pearl, right?"
"Since Her Majesty the Empress Dowager already knows, I won't beat around the bush. A few days ago, the King had a dream that the Glass Pearl was stolen. Anyway, it used to be the national treasure of our country. So, the King sent me here to check."
So that was it. Since they had already said so, it was impossible for them to continue to refuse.
Ji Heng anxiously cast a look. They all knew that the Glass Pearl was lost. How could they produce it now?
Shi Muyuan was the calmest one. "It's not that we're unwilling to let the envoy take a look. It's just that the Glass Pearl is currently being consecrated in the Baotuo Temple. If we rashly take it back now, we might offend the Buddha."
She paused at this point. Everyone present wasn't a fool. They didn't know what would happen if they really offended the Buddha.
Although Lan Xi himself didn't believe in such things, his country did, including the King.
There was no way. He could only compromise temporarily.
"Does Her Majesty the Empress Dowager know approximately when the Glass Pearl can be taken back? I still have to go back and report to the King as soon as possible."
No one had expected that he would ask such a question. It immediately stumped Shi Muyuan and Ji Heng.
How could they know when they could get the Glass Pearl back? They couldn't find it for the time being.
The atmosphere fell silent. Lan Xi narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling that something was wrong.
"Does the Empress Dowager not even know when I can take a look at the item? Or is it that the Empress Dowager simply can't find where the item is?"
Xiao Xiao frowned and stepped forward to speak for her mistress. "The envoy's way of talking to the Empress Dowager is a bit too presumptuous. Even your King wouldn't dare to talk to the Empress Dowager like this."
Lan Xi didn't change his attitude because of what Xiao Xiao said. He insisted on his own idea.
"So, did the Empress Dowager and the Emperor really lose the Glass Pearl?"
His interrogative tone made both of them feel very unhappy, but it was the truth.
Seeing that they hadn't refuted him for a long time, Lan Xi became even more angry.
"That's the national treasure of our country. Considering the alliance between the two countries and out of trust in the Great Liang, we sent the national treasure here. We never thought that you would treat it so carelessly."
After saying this angrily, he was about to leave, probably planning to go back and report. But if this matter spread to the Western Regions, it would surely lead to a war between the two countries, and others might take advantage of it.
It had been so hard for them to achieve a hundred - year friendship between the two countries. They mustn't easily break the alliance treaty.
After thinking for a moment, just as Shi Muyuan was about to step forward to stop him, a voice suddenly came from outside.
"Why is the envoy in such a hurry? Why not take a look at what's in my hand first?"
As the voice spoke, Qin Feng strode into the pavilion in the imperial garden.
No one had expected him to suddenly appear here.
Lan Xi looked at the newcomer warily. "I remember you're the chief general of the Qiang State. I heard that you betrayed your master and now you're in the Great Liang. Do you really want to stay here?"
"That's my business. Your words seem to be overstepping the mark. Well, you've done all this for this Glass Pearl, haven't you?"
After saying that, a box appeared in Qin Feng's hand. Then, the box was opened, and the item inside was revealed.
When they saw clearly what the glittering and translucent bead was, they all got excited.
"The Glass Pearl!"
Lan Xi shouted out excitedly. He carefully picked up the box and examined the Glass Pearl.
The young emperor and Shi Muyuan were caught off guard. It wasn't until Qin Feng walked over to remind them. "Shouldn't Her Majesty the Empress Dowager and His Majesty the Emperor be happy? Hearing that the envoy was coming, I went to the Baotuo Temple early this morning and brought back the Glass Pearl."
Hearing this, the two immediately reacted and followed his words.