Altai and Atad had been waiting outside the hall for quite some time.
The younger brother, Atad, looked impatient, while the elder brother, Altai, still had bandages wrapped around his hand.
The two had gone to the residence of Yan Hai, the Minister of Rites, the previous night and recounted the incident, clamoring that any failure to give them a satisfactory answer would be a provocation against the Snow Eagle Court!
To soothe them and preserve stability in the north, Yan Hai had guaranteed that he would find the true culprits.
Based on their descriptions, Yan Hai had judged that the attackers were most likely the sons of noble families.
Liu Hao had indeed worn accessories that identified his status.
Today, Altai and Atad were determined to make the emperor of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty give them an explanation!
After a while, a palace eunuch summoned them to the court session.
As they made their way to the grand hall, both held their heads high in arrogant disdain.
They looked like envoys from a superior dynasty conducting an inspection of an inferior one.
Besides, today they felt they had justice on their side. In addition to making the emperor of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty punish the culprits, compensation for their medical expenses and the like would certainly be necessary.
Otherwise, the armies of the Northern Court were no vegetarians to be trifled with!
They had come with bellies full of grievances, but when they entered the Imperial Court and got a clear look at the new emperor of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty, they froze on the spot.
Wasn't this the brat who beat Altai up last night?
Why was he sitting on the throne?
Holy shit, he couldn't be the emperor, could he?!
Only then did Altai realize why that brat had said, "See you another day," after beating him.
So he wasn't afraid of my status as an envoy. He knew I would come looking for him.
Shit! I came looking for trouble, only to deliver myself right to his door!
At that first glance alone, the imposing air of the two noble envoys from the royal court shrank by half.
Their earlier swagger, as though they were the biggest badasses under heaven, was gone.
The civil and military officials throughout the court also found their behavior strange.
In the end, Yan Hai, the Minister of Rites, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, yesterday someone openly assaulted the royal court's envoys in a bustling district. Such conduct gravely undermines our nation's dignity. I humbly beseech Your Majesty to punish the culprits severely and uphold order in the court!"
He was the Minister of Rites, after all. Diplomacy was his job.
Placating envoys from the neighboring countries was his responsibility. If Altai and Atad remained angry and reported this to their Khan upon returning, prompting the armies of the Northern Court to march south, they would be in serious trouble.
Thus, when he saw Altai and Atad standing there in a daze, he assumed they did not know how to broach the subject and spoke up for them.
The civil officials began discussing which noble family's son had so little regard for national dignity that he dared to beat foreign envoys.
Once the truth was established, they would surely submit a joint memorial demanding severe punishment for that nobleman.
Hearing this, Li Chen's lips curled into an amused smile, and he slowly said, "Do you know why those two don't dare speak?"
Yan Hai shook his head, but a bad feeling crept over him.
Li Chen said teasingly, "I was the one who beat them yesterday. How do you think I should be severely punished, Minister?"
At those words, the entire court erupted in an uproar.
The civil officials who had wanted to chime in were so frightened that their hearts raced.
Meanwhile, Yan Hai's political enemies all suppressed their laughter, thinking that he certainly had guts to lodge an accusation against the emperor.
"I am terrified, Your Majesty! I did not know it was you! Please forgive me!"
Yan Hai was so frightened that he dropped to his knees on the spot.
Punish His Majesty severely? What a joke! How was that any different from courting death?
He stared incredulously at Altai and Atad beside him, thinking, Are you two setting me up?
Didn't you say a few noblemen's sons beat you? How did it turn out to be the emperor?
Had he known Li Chen was the one who beat them, Yan Hai would certainly have helped Li Chen stab them a few more times. How would he have dared complain?
Yan Hai felt that his luck had been rotten lately. Twice now, he had walked straight into the line of fire.
Last time, his subordinates had clamored for him to impeach His Majesty. This time, he had actually done it.
This calamity was written in his fate. There really was no escaping it.
Feeling Yan Hai's gaze, Altai was helpless too. I didn't even say anything. You insisted on opening your mouth, and now you're blaming me?
Now it's awkward, isn't it? We can't even play dumb anymore.
The atmosphere in the grand hall grew tense. Even the chancellor, Zhao Wenyuan, did not dare interject at that moment.
After a while, Li Chen's voice rang out through the hall.
"Go outside and slap yourself a hundred times. Come back when you're finished."
"Thank you for your boundless mercy, Your Majesty!"
Yan Hai raced out of the hall. Soon, smack, smack, smack came from outside.
He slapped himself viciously hard, as though afraid Li Chen might not hear.
By the time Yan Hai returned, his face had swollen like a pig's head.
This punishment was already lenient. Once someone offended the emperor, their punishment depended entirely on the emperor's mood.
After that lesson, Yan Hai no longer dared speak out of turn and kept away from the two envoys as though avoiding gods of plague.
Altai reacted more quickly. He knelt and bowed to Li Chen in his capacity as a foreign envoy, hoping to put this incident behind them.
Seeing his elder brother kneel, Atad also dropped to his knees.
They were the only two royal court envoys to have knelt in the past several centuries. All the others had merely offered a simple bow.
So what if Altai's hand had been broken? He had been the one looking for trouble last night.
If anyone else had struck him, he could still have argued his case.
But the one who struck him was the emperor of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty himself. Altai knew he could not talk his way out of that, so he might as well change the subject.
"Rise. If you have business, state it." Li Chen's words remained simple and direct.
"I have come on the orders of our Khan to seek a marriage alliance with the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty and strengthen the friendship between our two nations. I hope Your Majesty will grant your approval!" Altai said solemnly.
Many officials had already guessed as much. The Ninth Princess had turned eighteen and was one of the Twin Beauties of the Imperial Capital.
Presumably, this was why the royal court's envoys had come.
Trading one princess for decades of peace along the border seemed like a very worthwhile bargain to the civil officials.
The military officials were displeased, but they remained silent. They were used to it anyway. His Majesty would most likely agree for the sake of stability.
Sure enough, they had guessed correctly.
With a smile, Li Chen said, "No problem. Your Khan is truly thoughtful. He must know that I have only just ascended the throne and my harem is empty, which is why he made this proposal. I cannot refuse his kindness."
"Let's do this. I've heard your Khan has quite a few sisters. Send me ten unmarried ones. If there aren't enough, make up the numbers with blood relatives from the royal clan. After all, only sending your own blood relatives can ensure closer ties between our two dynasties."
"I've heard there are many northern tribes, with exceptional talents emerging constantly. I don't ask for much. Each tribe can contribute two hundred to five hundred beauties as bridal attendants. Two hundred is the minimum, anyway. If you want to give me more, I'll turn none away."
"As for the dowry, just have your Khan prepare fifty thousand fine horses and ten thousand tonnes of premium beef."
Even after saying all that, Li Chen seemed somewhat unsatisfied. Yet the entire court had already erupted, and the two envoys stood petrified on the spot.
Yes, the emperor had agreed, but the moment he opened his mouth, he was the one making demands!
All along, it had been the Northern Court making demands. To keep those barbarians in line, the late emperor and his predecessors had believed that giving them these things could buy decades of peace and stabilize the situation, so after some discussion, they would agree.
But in recent years, the Northern Court's demands had become increasingly frequent, which was truly infuriating.
Who could have imagined that the new emperor, Li Chen, would turn the heavens upside down and righteously demand things from them instead?
Altai and Atad were utterly dumbfounded. Aren't those our lines?
And we've never asked for so much! How dare your Heavenly Strategy Dynasty open its lion's maw this wide?
Li Chen thought nothing of it. I've given you so much already. Now I'm taking it all back, principal and interest.
I'm already in the Saint Realm. Who would still put up with you?!
Before you continue