"Someone from Tianhai? One of Wu Xian's people?"
Whenever Tianhai came up, Shen Tang thought of Wu Xian.
As it turned out, she had guessed right.
"Wu Xian came to ask me for Zhao Feng? He can't be that petty, can he? His trusted general hasn't been mistreated here..." Shen Tang wore her most innocent expression while saying the most shameless things. In the end, she sighed and waved a hand. "Bring him in..."
The Tianhai envoy was shown into the humble reception hall.
It was called a reception hall, but in truth, it was where Shen Tang worked every day. There wasn't a single decorative piece to spruce the place up, only stack upon stack of bamboo slips and official documents. She was poor to begin with, and Wu Xian knew it. There was no need to save face by pretending otherwise.
"What should I call you, Envoy?"
The envoy Wu Xian had sent was a man whose looks were nothing remarkable. He appeared to be around thirty, wore a scholar's robe, and had a refined, scholarly air and a delicate bearing. A small leather cap engraved with a subtle pattern sat on his head. He wasn't burly, but neither did he look frail.
"Xu Xie of Tianhai, courtesy name Wenzhu. I pay my respects to Lord Shen."
He had clearly done his homework before coming.
Despite seeing that Shen Tang was short, youthful in appearance, and strikingly beautiful, he showed no surprise, much less the slightest trace of condescension or arrogance. On the contrary, he was respectful and cautious, treating Shen Tang entirely as an equal to his own lord, Wu Xian.
Xu Xie?
Xu Wenzhu?
She'd never heard of him.
He hadn't appeared in the allied army's tent earlier, either.
Shen Tang skipped the pleasantries and went