Xia Yonglin had his own agenda for today's banquet. So, he specifically applied to the Divination Hall to clear out the Mountains and Rivers Hall for entertaining guests. The Mountains and Rivers Hall was the most imposing palace in the Bian Palace. The entire decoration work started from the previous night and lasted until dusk the next day. Almost all the maids and eunuchs in the Bian Palace were mobilized before the hall was decorated to Xia Yonglin's satisfaction.
After the decoration, the Mountains and Rivers Hall took on a brand - new look. Since it was a banquet to pray for the well - being of King Xia Jie, many lucky papers and auspicious inscriptions were pasted inside the hall. All of them were written by Shen Yu, the long - serving head of the Divination Hall. There were also many works painted or written by the Taoist priests from Huashan and the monks from Golden Summit Temple invited by Xia Yonglin. Gold foil paper and red silk were hung up. Overall, it cost a fortune, showing extreme extravagance. When Shen Qingfeng saw the decorated Mountains and Rivers Hall, he couldn't help frowning.
"Which of these things isn't wrung from the people's hard - earned money?!" Shen Qingfeng gritted his teeth. He was standing beside a dragon - shaped pillar near the entrance of the Mountains and Rivers Hall, complaining to Yu Shuang, who was in disguise. His eyes were fixed on Xia Yonglin and Xia Yanhe, who were fawning on and receiving guests inside the hall not far away. He frowned and said, "The war on the border is intense, but Xia Yonglin is squandering the state treasury's money. He doesn't even care that the common people have nothing but thin porridge and vegetables to eat. Such extravagance will surely make the people's lives miserable!"
Yu Shuang rubbed his disguise and nodded, saying, "My lord, please calm down."
Shen Qingfeng turned his head and sized Yu Shuang up and down. Yu Shuang was about seven feet tall, with well - proportioned muscles and a handsome face. But now his face was covered with a sallow human - skin - like mask, with spots on it and a full beard. Coupled with his muscles, he looked like a coolie.
Shen Qingfeng found it quite novel, and his anger subsided a little. He couldn't help reaching out and pinching Yu Shuang's biceps, joking, "If you really came to work in the palace, you'd surely be one of the best at carrying firewood, wouldn't you?"
Yu Shuang's face stiffened, and he said awkwardly, "My lord, please don't make fun of me..."
"Hahaha..." Shen Qingfeng laughed and said, "I won't joke anymore. I don't want you to work in the palace anyway. If the people from our Listening to the Wind Pavilion were castrated, they'd lose a lot of their prestige!"
Yu Shuang broke out in a cold sweat. "My lord..."
The place where they were standing was quite secluded. Shen Qingfeng didn't care about anything. Since he had nothing to do at the moment, and he was just standing there, he became quite curious about Yu Shuang's disguise.
Come to think of it, Yu Shuang in his previous life was very good at this kind of thing. After all, as he said, this was a necessary skill for the deputy leader of the "Traceless" organization. Shen Qingfeng had actually wanted to know how this kind of disguise was made for a long time, but in his previous life, Yu Shuang had always been loyal to Xia Chuli, so Shen Qingfeng had never found a suitable opportunity to ask.
"Is this disguise made of real human skin?" Shen Qingfeng began to dig deeper.
Yu Shuang shook his head honestly. "It's fake, made of cowhide and tiger skin imitations."
"Are the beards glued on?"
"They're hooked in..."
"What about the wrinkles?"
"They're painted and then baked..."
Just as Shen Qingfeng was engrossed in his research, a faint bird chirp suddenly came from the air. Yu Shuang immediately became serious. Shen Qingfeng followed his gaze and saw a pure - white pigeon standing on the beam above their heads, cooing. Yu Shuang squinted his eyes and lowered his voice. "There's news from Xiangcheng."
"Xiangcheng?" Shen Qingfeng was a bit stunned. He couldn't remember arranging any task that required a message to be sent from Xiangcheng.
Yu Shuang pursed his lips and whistled softly. The pigeon seemed to understand and flapped its wings, flying down and landing right on Yu Shuang's finger.
Then, Yu Shuang skillfully removed the message tube from the pigeon's leg, shook out the letter paper, and handed it to Shen Qingfeng.
Shen Qingfeng took it, read it quickly, then crumpled the paper into a ball and motioned for Yu Shuang to release the pigeon.
"A sudden piece of good news," Shen Qingfeng said, looking at the pigeon flying further and further away with his hands behind his back. He smiled faintly. "The Western Rong Kingdom thinks our banquet isn't chaotic enough and has added fuel to the fire."
Yu Shuang looked at Shen Qingfeng in confusion.
Shen Qingfeng looked at him and asked, "Do you remember when King Xia Jie refused to resume trade with the Western Rong Kingdom?"
Yu Shuang nodded.
"The Western Rong Kingdom is a small country. Before the trade, it was extremely poor and weak. It was only able to survive because of the trade. But a tiny country simply doesn't have the resources to support self - sufficiency. Now that the trade has stopped, they can't hold on any longer." Shen Qingfeng said, "So, they've sent envoys to seek peace. The envoys have just entered Lige City."
"Are the envoys from the Western Rong Kingdom going to enter the Bian Palace to meet the king today?" Yu Shuang asked.
"Most likely," Shen Qingfeng replied. "Xiangcheng said in the letter that they seem very anxious. After all, the Western Rong Kingdom can't last much longer."
Shen Qingfeng thought for a while, then turned to Yu Shuang and said, "King Xia Jie has closed all the official roads leading to the Western Rong Kingdom. If these envoys can come, they must have taken a small path. That means King Xia Jie may not even know that the envoys from the Western Rong Kingdom have come."
Shen Qingfeng stretched out his hand, twirled a small lock of his hair, and rubbed it gently. "Yu Shuang, why do you think the envoys of a small country would dare to barge into the capital of the Li Xia Kingdom?"
Yu Shuang paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't know, my lord. Please enlighten me."
Shen Qingfeng smiled and said, "The Western Rong Kingdom has been squeezed by the Li Xia Kingdom and is on the verge of collapse. At this time, if they dare to come to the Li Xia Kingdom, they either come with full sincerity or full hostility. Don't forget that not long ago, Yuwen Qian from the Eastern Hu went to the Western Rong Kingdom again. We still have some time. Leave the matters in the palace to others. You go and check those envoys to see if they have anything related to the Eastern Hu. If we can use it, use it to fan the flames."
After hearing this, Yu Shuang paused, looking surprised. "My lord, do you want to force the Western Rong Kingdom to rebel? But that will increase the pressure on the border, which won't do us any good."
Shen Qingfeng took a deep breath and said, "Just do as I say."
Yu Shuang paused. Although he didn't understand Shen Qingfeng's actions, he still clasped his fists and said, "Yes."
Shen Qingfeng watched as Yu Shuang flashed a few times and disappeared on the roof. He slowly clenched his fist and pressed it against his chest.
He had his reasons for forcing the Western Rong Kingdom to rebel. Annoying King Xia Jie was only a small part of it. More importantly, it was a way for him to pave the way for Lu Yan.
After all, he was now on guard against Xia Chuli. In his previous life, Shen Qingfeng had seen Xia Chuli - cruel, decisive, and willing to do anything for power. So, Shen Qingfeng had to consider the situation where, after he and Lu Yan helped Xia Chuli ascend the throne, Xia Chuli might turn around and kill Lu Yan.
At that time, if the border was invaded by the coalition forces of the Western Rong and the Eastern Hu, Chen Luo and the already exhausted Qimen would surely not be able to hold out. Then, Lu Yan would have to step in.
That is to say, it would be impossible for Xia Chuli to kill Lu Yan to silence him after ascending the throne, because in a short period of time, he couldn't find anyone to replace Lu Yan. Just like in his previous life, he needed Lu Yan to help him defend the northern border and protect the country.
Thinking of this, a warm feeling suddenly welled up in Shen Qingfeng's heart.
"I wonder if the wedding dress that I asked A Man to commission has been made?"
Shen Qingfeng slowly let his hands hang by his sides. His face was full of tenderness and longing.
"I have to ask A Man to fetch it back."