Chapter 96: The Zhou Emperor Shows Off
Su Changqing picked up the exam paper and flipped through it. He frowned and said, "I, the high and mighty Prime Minister, needs to grade such things?"
Su Wen"s expression turned solemn as he said, "Father! These people are the future of Great Zhou! How can you say that you"re helping me with the grading? It"s clearly for Great Zhou!"
Su Changqing said with a cold smile, "Don"t try to fool your father! You used such a method to fool everyone today, didn"t you? You even asked me to review and judge which are good or bad, so you"re obviously trying to control their hearts.
These scholars are very prideful, so for those "good ones" you picked, these people will inadvertently develop a favorable impression of you and protect you. Because if you"re trash, then wouldn"t your evaluation be worth dogs.h.i.+t? Then you want me to pick a bad one and embarra.s.s them, akin to killing the chicken to frighten the monkeys. Your methods aren"t bad at all!"
As he spoke, he also noticed the questions on the paper.
After pondering for a moment, Su Changqing smiled and said, "However, your first two questions are quite interesting. By doing this, you"ve omitted the drawbacks of your lack of knowledge. That way, I can be at ease. You can go back. After I"m done with the review, I"ll get someone to send it to you!"
Seeing that Su Changqing had agreed, Su Wen was overjoyed. He immediately smiled and said, "Dad, then can you just give me some money as well? Anyway, since you asked me if I was short of money just now, that means you must have wanted to give some to me. I"m sure you would be disappointed if I refused your kind intentions!"
Su Changqing looked at Su Wen and could not believe that there was such a shameless person in this world!
"Get lost! Hurry up and get lost! No money!" Su Changqing, who had always been calm, roared angrily.
Su Wen pursed his lips. "It"s fine if you don"t want to give it to me. How can you scold me?"
Su Changqing took out a piece of paper from his pocket and pa.s.sed it to Su Wen. "This is a message about the envoys of Yan Country, you can take a look at it first. If anything happens during the banquet, you can a.n.a.lyze and do as you deem fit!"
Su Wen looked at the name list in his hand and muttered to himself, "Xiao Kuang, 8th Stage Earth Rank, Yan County envoy guard captain, deputy envoy… w.a.n.g Ruoyu? a.s.sistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites? Male? Suspected to be the consort of Emperor Yan? Main envoy… Cao Jin. Before the envoy left the country, he did not have any official rank. Was conferred the t.i.tle of Chancellor of the Royal College. There"s still more…"
...
From the north side of the Great Zhou royal capital, a convoy slowly approached.
This was the Yan Country"s envoy party.
The leader was tall, standing over two meters. His shoulders were broad and his arms were abnormally thick, covered with thick corded muscles. He was riding a strange demonic-looking horse, its body purple in color while its eyes were blood red. Its body was similarly covered with muscles that resembled tumors at a close glance. It looked ferocious and terrifying.
However, these two complemented each other.
All of a sudden, a rather delicate male voice came from the carriage rack. "General Xiao, how long until we reach the capital of Great Zhou?"
The curtain of the carriage was lifted, revealing a man in his twenties.
This man was extremely fair and had effeminate features.
If Su Wen saw this, he would definitely be shocked. Wasn"t this the popular "young fresh meat" that cougars back in his world liked?
"Soon, we should arrive in two hours!" said Xiao Kuang in a deep voice.
"Another two hours? I"m already tired!" The man"s movements and tone even showed a feminine aura.
Xiao Kuang didn"t bother answering. He continued on his way without any intention of stopping.
"Lord Cao… let"s take a break…" w.a.n.g Ruoyu said with his coquettish tone.
A low growl came from the carriage beside him. "Shut up!"
Obviously, not everyone could not stand his mannerisms.
"I"m just tired. The b.u.mpy ride almost broke my bones… Sob…"
As he spoke, the man actually started to cry!
In another carriage, Cao Jin frowned. From his point of view, this fellow was here to rack up political achievements.
He shouted, "Old Xiao, let"s hurry!"
"Got it!"
The convoy sped up.
However, the occasional cries could still be heard.
One was unable to tell the gender just based on sound…..
In the royal palace, Su Wen and the others stood in a line.
There were quite a few people here today. The Third Prince had arrived as well!
Upon catching sight of Su Wen, the Third Prince glared daggers straight at him!
He already knew that Xie Yiyi was brought back to Su Wen"s residence. To the Third Prince, this was something he was unwilling to accept!
On the other side, Wu Lie also glared at Su Wen.
This was because Yan Luoying chose to stand beside Su Wen.
"Young Master Su, look, so many people are looking at you." Yan Luoying smiled.
Su Wen said calmly, "If you don"t stand by my side, at least there"s a r.e.t.a.r.d who won"t look at me."
Wu Lie got even more furious.
Martial artists already possessed sharp ears and eyes, and given their proximity, with Su Wen not having any intention of lowering his voice, Wu Lie heard everything clearly!
"Why don"t we wait in the hall? Are the Yan Country envoys worthy of such treatment?"
"Your Majesty"s decree, keep your mouth shut."
Someone in the crowd whispered.
Su Wen could not understand why Emperor Zhou would make these guests wait outside the hall as well.
Soon enough, the envoy from the Yan Country arrived.
There were a total of fifteen officials from all walks of life
Standing at the front was precisely Cao Jin.
Cao Jin looked about thirty years old. His eyes were long and narrow, and he was dressed like a government official.
Behind him were w.a.n.g Ruoyu and Xiao Kuang respectively.
The difference in status was obvious at a glance.
However, Xiao Kuang was positioned a bit behind w.a.n.g Ruoyu, and he kept his distance as he walked.
When they saw Su Wen and the others, they were also surprised!
"Are these people here to welcome us?"
"I suppose so? It seems like the Great Zhou still fears the Yan Country!"
"This negotiation will definitely end perfectly!"
Discussions broke out as Cao Jin frowned!
Welcome us? How is that possible?
Emperor Zhou was not a weak person. He had been at odds with the Yan Country for many years but had never backed down!
At this moment, a eunuch appeared in front of them and shouted, "His Majesty has decreed that the diplomatic delegation of the Yan Country will also wait for him in front of the palace!"
Cao Jin was expressionless as he led the delegation to the side.
Everyone was at a loss as to what was going on.
Suddenly, a strange sound was heard.
Su Wen raised his brows in recognition and surprise!
He now understood what was going on!
What a good Zhou Emperor… So he did so much for this?
Just as this thought surfaced in his mind, the sound got closer and closer. A golden sports car rushed out at an extremely fast speed!
Behind the car, a huge flame jet was spewing continuously.
Everyone in Great Zhou was not too affected, as they knew what this thing was. After Su Wen did the compet.i.tion in wealth, the name "sports car" had spread throughout the capital. However, this thing could only be created by the Spiritual Master Residence and not anyone else.
Who would have thought that Emperor Zhou would also use this to "compete" today.
Meanwhile, the Yan Country"s delegation had their mouths wide open in shock!
What kind of monster was this!?
So flashy?
With a loud screech, the sports car stopped in front of everyone.
Su Wen sneered in response. "Good fellow, you"ve practiced a lot."
The car door lifted up, and Emperor Zhou got out. He was dressed in a golden robe, and together with the golden sports car, he looked exceptionally domineering.
His gaze swept across the shocked faces of the people from the Yan Country. His eyes flashed with pride!
It was really comfortable to show off in front of an enemy!