Chapter 703: Chapter 256: The Envoy Makes Things Difficult

Due to their weak immunity, horses and infants had died in droves. After the Western Regions people kidnapped a large number of doctors from the border only to find it utterly useless, they proactively submitted to the Wei Dynasty so that Imperial Physicians would be dispatched to their rescue.

But after ten years of recuperation, the Western Regions had long since recovered. It was already a blessing from the heavens that they weren’t attacking the Wei Dynasty now. Volunteering to invite great scholars from the Wei Dynasty—no matter how you looked at it, something felt terribly wrong.

Upon his throne, Emperor Ruicheng also sensed something amiss. Even many courtiers suspected there was an ulterior motive hidden behind this request.

However, the Wei Dynasty had plenty of great scholars; losing a few would be of no consequence. Furthermore, it was the scholars who would be sent, not themselves. Trading one or two scholars to sound out the Western Regions’ intentions seemed like a fair trade.

Consequently, many courtiers eagerly stepped forward.

"Since the envoys of the Western Regions have made a request, Your Majesty has no reason to refuse.

"The Western Regions is a vassal state of the Wei Dynasty. Educating its people is a duty befitting a Celestial Country.

"I recommend Elder Wang, Wang Chengyuan. The old gentleman is quite renowned for his talent and has enlightened countless people. He often mentioned at poetry banquets that his lifelong wish is to educate the commoners and loyally serve the country..."

Before Wang Chengyuan’s in-laws and close friends could speak up for him, the Western Regions’ envoy eagerly interrupted.

"We have heard of Elder Wang as well. He is indeed a premier scholar of the Wei Dynasty. However, the old gentleman is over sixty this year. It’s not that we don’t want to invite Elder Wang to the Western Regions, but the journey spans thousands of miles, crossing deserts and the Gobi, with the looming threat of wolf packs. Elder Wang is advanced in age; even if he managed to survive the trek to the Western Regions, he likely wouldn’t be able to shoulder the heavy responsibility."

Hearing this, the courtiers all nodded.

"What you say does make some sense.

"Looking at you, it seems you already have a candidate in mind. May I ask which great scholar you wish to invite to accompany you to the Western Regions?"

The Western Regions’ envoy let out a hearty laugh. "It is none other than Scholar Zhao, who achieved the Six Firsts."

The venue fell silent once more—this time, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Xu Yanhe’s heart leapt into his throat. Under the table, his hand tightly gripped Zhao Jing’s hem. With trembling lips, he hissed through gritted teeth, "Those bastards! I knew they were up to no good. Turns out they really came specifically to plot against you!"

Xu Yanhe was so agitated that profanities slipped right out of his mouth. He was, after all, a young master of a prominent family. In the past, his speech had always been refined and scholarly, and his exemplary conduct was widely praised. But at this moment, how could he care about any of that! If it weren’t for Emperor Ruicheng sitting high on his throne, if it weren’t for the various ministers attending the banquet, and if causing a scene now wouldn’t bring any benefits but instead put Jing in an even more passive position, he would have loved nothing more than to disregard everything, pick up the hot soup from his desk, dump it right over the Western Regions envoys’ heads, and then beat them to a pulp.

The sheer audacity! Naming Jing right off the bat—why didn’t they just ask to take the Crown Prince to the Western Regions and set him up as a mascot? If this was the Western Regions people’s revenge for their three dead colleagues, Xu Yanhe could only conclude that someone was definitely scheming behind the scenes for them. After all, it was common knowledge that the Western Regions people excelled at physical combat but were somewhat lacking in brains. Perhaps that was too absolute. The upper echelons of the Western Regions, such as their King and his subordinate Left and Right Princes, were all figures of both courage and intellect. But that lack of intellect certainly applied to the envoys right in front of him! They weren’t that clever. They must have been bribed to carry out this scheme to kill two birds with one stone. If Jing really accompanied them to the Western Regions, considering the envoys firmly believed he was responsible for their colleagues’ deaths, could he possibly return alive? Absolutely not!

Xu Yanhe frantically signaled his brother, his father, and his grandfather with his eyes. Unfortunately, the latter two were seated too far away; even if he shot them a look, they couldn’t possibly catch it.

Fortunately, there was no need for his signaling at all. Officials from the Royalist Party had already stepped forward. They were impassioned, fiercely berating the Western Regions envoys for their wolfish ambitions.

"Zhao Jing has long-standing grievances with you. Demanding he go to the Western Regions is likely a ploy to harm him.

"Great scholars are all esteemed elders with outstanding virtue and profound knowledge. Although Zhao Jing excels in literary talent, he ultimately falls short when it comes to educating students and commoners. Selecting him for the Western Regions is entirely inappropriate.

"It has been decades since the founding of our Wei Dynasty, and we have only just produced a talent who achieved the Six Firsts. He is an auspicious sign for the Wei Dynasty. The scholars of our imperial court and beyond haven’t even had the chance to learn from him yet, so how could we possibly just hand him over to you?"

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