Chapter 200: Showing Weakness
On the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, the King of Zhenbei arrived.
Three thousand guards stayed outside the inner city gate, and he only brought his son Qi Yun and daughter Qi Lan, as well as four personal guards, to the palace to meet the emperor.
"Your Highness, my minister Qi Xiong, with my legitimate son Qi Yun and my daughter Qi Lan, wishes the emperor a long life! Long live the emperor!"
The emperor looked up, a gentle smile appeared on his face for a moment, and he stood up, walked around the imperial desk, and personally reached out to help the King of Zhenbei: "My dear minister, please stand up quickly."
How could the King of Zhenbei dare to let him help him? He stepped back and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
After completing the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects in a proper manner, the King of Zhenbei stood up. He was dressed in a vassal king's robe, which made him look strong and majestic. He was around 40 years old, which was the prime of a man's life. He had lived in a fiefdom for a long time and held military power, which made him have the momentum of being in a high position.
Even when facing the emperor, his momentum was not inferior at all - of course, as a subject, he still had to be respectful, otherwise it would be a provocation to the king.
The emperor ordered loudly: "Come here, please take a seat!"
"Yes."
Zhenbei Wang thanked him again: "Your Majesty, please."
The emperor returned to the dragon throne and sat down. Zhenbei Wang was not polite. After thanking him, he lifted his robe and sat down. His two children stood obediently behind him.
"I feel deeply guilty for not educating my son properly." The emperor smiled bitterly, looking self-blaming and guilty. "Your Highness guarded the Mianbei area for me, but I couldn't even protect your daughter. I am really ashamed."
"Your Majesty, you are too kind." The King of Zhenbei stood up and saluted. "My daughter is the Princess of Jin. The accidental death was something no one expected. This matter has nothing to do with Your Majesty. Your Majesty does not need to blame yourself for it."
The emperor glanced at him and nodded slowly: "Later, I will let Tianyin, the rebellious son, apologize to the prince and explain the whole story."
The King of Zhenbei bowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Although Chu Tianyin is a prince, he is also his son-in-law. His daughter died at the hands of his son-in-law. It is reasonable for him, as a father-in-law, to give an explanation, but he must not act as a victim in front of the emperor.
"Your Excellency has come a long way and must be exhausted. I have already asked someone to prepare a banquet to welcome you." After the emperor finished speaking, he turned around and told Chen Hai, "Is the banquet ready?"
"It's ready, and the ministers are waiting in Guangyang Palace." Chen Hai bowed and replied, "Your Majesty and the Prince, please move."
The emperor nodded, stood up and said, "Your Excellency, please go together."
The King of Zhenbei also stood up: "Yes."
The emperor glanced at Qi Yun, who was dressed in brocade and jade belt, and smiled as he walked: " After not seeing each other for several years, Qi Yun has grown up so much. He is handsome and talented. It is true that a tiger father has a good son. "
"Your Majesty is too kind." The King of Zhenbei followed with a smile, "I only have this one legitimate son. The princess spoils him too much on weekdays. This time I brought him to the capital, just to let the emperor teach him a lesson and let him learn some rules. "
The emperor smiled and said, "It's a pity that I don't have a daughter of marriageable age, otherwise I will definitely marry the princess to Qi Yun."
This is the emperor's favor.
Even if he will not really marry the princess to him, it is still possible to win people's hearts by saying a few polite words.
The King of Zhenbei even said he dared not.
It's not that the emperor has no daughter of marriageable age. On the contrary, he now has two daughters who are of marriageable age. It's just that the sixth princess is staying with her mother at this time, and the emperor does not want to release her for the time being.
And the seventh princess Chu Qinghuang is something that Qi Yun can't even think about. The emperor will not consider it at all.
The two old foxes went back and forth, showing weakness in their words and deeds, silently minimizing the possible risks. On the surface, it looked like a harmonious picture of mutual trust and love between the monarch and his subjects.
The two walked along the palace corridor for a while, and the emperor pondered and said, "I remember that Prince Rong has a daughter who is gentle, knowledgeable and sensible. I will summon her to the palace tonight to ask her."
The King of Zhenbei thanked him respectfully and understood the emperor's intention.
On the way here, he had already found out the reason why the third prince killed his daughter... At least on the surface, it was indeed his daughter who was at fault first, so the King of Zhenbei could not come with the attitude of raising an army to accuse him.
The imperial power is supreme, and the majesty of the emperor cannot be offended.
As a minister, even if he holds great power and even if he has a fief in his hands, he must never be rude to the monarch, so no matter what the truth is, even if the third prince is really at fault first, his attitude must remain humble and show an attitude of "the monarch wants the minister to die, and the minister has to die".
In this way, the emperor would naturally feel guilty and want to compensate him.
His daughter has already been lost, and asking for justice in a domineering manner will only make the emperor hate him. Even if he gives him some explanation now, he will definitely find a way to save face in the future.
Taking the initiative to show weakness will bring unexpected benefits.