Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 29 Empress Wu's Nephew
The Tuyuhun envoy was named Murong Xin. When he learned that the Tang Dynasty would let his country sit at the head of the banquet, he was overjoyed. He went to a house and bowed to the people inside.

"Your Highness, I, Murong Xin, request an audience with you."

The person in the room was the Tuyuhun princess, also Princess Honghua of the Tang Dynasty, Li Ping.

Because the situation was critical, Tuyuhun King Murong Zhonglie even sent his wife in the diplomatic delegation to seek assistance from the Tang Dynasty.

"General Murong, if you have anything important to say, please talk outside." Princess Honghua's voice came from the room.

Murong Xin said, "The Honglu Temple just sent word that tomorrow, Tang officials will host a banquet on behalf of the Tang Emperor to entertain envoys from various countries, and our country will be at the head of the table."

Princess Honghua was surprised and asked, "Really?"

In previous years, Tubo always sat at one seat. Even if envoys from the Kingdom of the Caliphate came, they could only sit at the second seat. Tuyuhun had to compete with the Uighurs for the third seat.

Now that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty lets them sit at a table, it is obvious that he is sending some kind of message.

Murong Xin smiled and said, "I'm absolutely right. I think this is a sign that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty intends to send troops to aid us!"

Princess Honghua was not so optimistic.

Relying on her old connections, she has already found out the current situation in the court.

The Tang army is currently conquering the Western Turks. Before the war is over, it will be difficult to send troops to help Tuyuhun.

Having said that, even if the Tang Dynasty did not send troops, it still had room for maneuver.

The annual tribute from various countries to the Tang Dynasty was not only a feast of communication between the Tang Dynasty and foreign countries, but also an opportunity for various countries to conduct diplomatic activities.

Normally, it is difficult for envoys from various countries to meet each other. Even if they do meet, due to the host-guest relationship, one party is always at a disadvantage in the negotiations, making it difficult to reach an agreement on major issues.

It’s different in Chang’an. Everyone is a guest, no one can take advantage, and it’s easier to reach an agreement.

Princess Honghua said softly, "General, you can take the opportunity to talk to the Tanguts at tomorrow's banquet. Perhaps they will change their minds."

Murong Xin agreed.

On the other hand, Li Yifu was appointed as the banquet envoy by Li Zhi, and he was very excited.

He first went to Ganlu Palace to find Li Zhi, asked a few questions about the banquet, and found out the emperor's intentions, and had a clear idea in his mind.

Afterwards, he went straight to the Palace Department and the Ministry of Rites to discuss tomorrow's banquet with them.

The Ministry of Rites was the department headed by Xu Jingzong, and they were quite cooperative, but when they congratulated him, there was a hint of sourness in their tone.

The Palace Province is the territory of the aristocratic family faction, and the Palace Supervisor is Zhang Sun Chong.

He seemed to have calculated in advance that Li Yifu was going to go there, and no one knew where he hid.

Li Yifu had no choice but to negotiate with other officials of the Palace Province. Those officials did not deliberately oppose him, but just played Tai Chi and pushed the issue back and forth.

Fortunately, Li Yifu was a smart man and was very familiar with the procedures of the Palace Province. If he was a rookie who had just entered the officialdom, he would have been confused by this group of people and would have ended up not being able to accomplish anything.

At noon the next day, the banquet was held as scheduled in Zhaode Hall.

Li Yifu was well aware of Li Zhi's intentions, and at the banquet he respected Murong Xin very much, holding his hand and toasting with other envoys.

When the Tubo envoy Du Bu met him, he just sneered, drank two glasses of wine, and left early.

After the banquet, Murong Xin returned to the outer palace and reported the day's gains to Princess Honghua.

"Your Highness, the Tangut envoys have indeed changed their attitude, stating that as long as the Tang Dynasty supports us, they are willing to send troops to fight against Tubo."

Princess Honghua nodded and said, "Then we need to gain the support of the Tang Dynasty. Even if they don't send troops, it would be best if they could send a general to let the Tanguts know that they support us."

Murong Xin said, "You are absolutely right."

Princess Honghua added, "Except for the Tanguts, the most powerful nation left is the Eastern Women's Kingdom. If we can get their help, our chances of victory will increase a bit."

Murong Xin frowned and said, "They are not a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty and cannot enter the Honglu Temple. I went through great pains to find them, but the Queen of Dongnu was very arrogant and refused to see me."

Princess Honghua smiled and said, "Don't worry. Since Queen Bin has come to Chang'an in person, it means that the situation in the Kingdom of Eastern Women is not good either. There will always be a chance."

"But she doesn't see us, what can we do?"

Princess Honghua pondered and said, "They came to Chang'an to seek the protection of the Tang Dynasty. If we want to convince them, we still have to use the Tang Dynasty to pressure them."

Murong Xin said, "Then I can only ask the princess for help."

Princess Honghua said, "My grandmother once had a friend who was originally a Buddhist, but later returned to secular life and gave birth to a beautiful daughter, who is now the Empress of the Tang Dynasty. I wonder if this old ancestor would be willing to remember their old friendship."

Murong Xin was surprised and delighted, and said, "Please, Princess, put the king and the country first and give it a try!"

Princess Honghua sighed, "You don't need to persuade me any more. I am already half Tuyuhun. For the king, I don't mind getting my head smashed."

The sixth day of the twelfth lunar month is the birthday of Empress Wu's mother, Yang.

In order to rush to celebrate Yang's birthday, the gate of Wu Mansion was almost broken by the crowds on the fourth day of the New Year, as everyone wanted to get an invitation.

On the morning of the fifth day, Wu Shun finally had some free time. At the request of his mother, Madam Yang, he went to the palace to pay a visit to Wu Meiniang.

This time Wu Shun did not bring his daughter, but brought his son Helan Minzhi.

The mother and son exchanged greetings in the back hall. Helan Minzhi smiled sweetly at Wu Meiniang and said, "Aunt Queen, your nephew misses you so much." The child is the same age as Li Zhong, twelve years old this year. He has a handsome face and is very lovable.

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "Go out and play. I want to talk to your mother. Yuping, take Minzhi to Qiumi Garden."

A palace maid responded and pulled Helan Minzhi out.

Wu Meiniang waved her hand and dismissed the other palace maids.

Seeing Wu Meiniang's stern face, Wu Shun smiled and said, "Hey, my dear sister, I'm not here to bother you this time. It's my mother who wants me to tell you something."

Wu Meiniang asked, "What instructions does mother have?"

Wu Shun laughed and said, "Do you still remember Princess Honghua who married the Tuyuhun?"

Wu Meiniang's eyes flickered slightly: "Oh, it's her, is she here in Chang'an too?"

"Isn't it? They came with the Tuyuhun envoys."

"What's up with her?"

Seeing her expression soften a bit, Wu Shun sat down next to her and said with a smile, "When mother was a wife, she and her grandmother were close friends. Now she has come to me and asked me for a small favor. I can't refuse, so I asked you to ask."

Wu Meiniang asked, "What does she want to ask mother?"

Wu Shun smiled and said, "It's not a big deal. I just hope that on the day of Mother's birthday party, we can invite a foreign envoy to our house and give them a room so they can talk privately for a few minutes."

Wu Meiniang asked, "Is she going to invite the Queen of the Eastern Women's Kingdom?"

Wu Shun was surprised and asked, "Sister, how do you know this?"

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "Don't ask too many questions. Just reply to your mother and agree to her request."

Wu Shun agreed.

Seeing that her sister's mood had improved, she chatted with her for a while. When she was about to leave, the palace maid Yuping asked to see her outside the palace.

Wu Meiniang ordered her in.

Yuping walked in with Helan Minzhi. Helan Minzhi had a bruise on his face and lowered his head without saying a word.

Wu Shun was startled, hugged Helan Minzhi, and said, "My son, what's wrong with your face?"

Helan Minzhi snorted and said nothing.

Wu Meiniang said in a deep voice: "Yuping, go ahead."

Yuping whispered, "Your Highness, the young man got into a fight with someone in Qiumi Garden."

Wu Shun was shocked and astonished, and asked, "Who did Minzhi fight with?" After all, this is the imperial palace, and the children in the palace are not the same as those outside.

The palace servant said, "It's Princess Gao An and a young eunuch..."

It turned out that when Helan Minzhi was playing in Qiumi Garden, he met Princess Gao'an and talked to her.

Later, when they learned that Princess Gao'an was the daughter of Concubine Xiao Shufei, they called Concubine Xiao Shufei a vixen, and the two children started quarreling.

Princess Gao An was no match for him in the argument. After just a few words, Princess Gao An burst into tears.

Helan Minzhi became even more proud and pinched Princess Gao'an's face. Seeing that he was the queen's nephew, others did not dare to intervene.

Just then, Xiaoji passed by and saw Princess Gaoan being bullied, so he came over to help her.

Helan Minzhi was rude to the princess, let alone a little eunuch. He raised his hand and punched and kicked him.

Xiaoji was quite tolerant at first, but later he couldn't help it and fought back with a few punches.

Helan Minzhi had been spoiled since he came to Chang'an and had never been bullied, so he was stunned by his beating.

Yuping took the opportunity to pull him back.

When Wu Shun heard that it was a young eunuch who had fought with his son, he asked, "Your Highness, your nephew is being bullied by a eunuch. Do you want to do anything about it?"

Wu Meiniang was silent for a while, then asked Yuping, "What's the name of that eunuch?"

The palace servant said, "It's Xiaoji, the internal official who follows the saint."

The Internal Affairs Minister was a ninth-rank official in the Imperial Household Supervisor's department. Wang Fusheng saw that Li Zhi liked Xiao Ji, so he promoted him to a minor official.

Wu Meiniang frowned and said, "It's him."

When Wu Shun heard that it was someone close to the emperor, she panicked, fearing that the emperor would find out about this, after all, it was her own son who bullied the princess first.

"Your Majesty, I think we should just forget about this matter. Don't make a big deal out of it and upset the Saint." She said with a smile.

Wu Meiniang glanced at her and said, "A mother is old and soft-hearted, so it's understandable that she can't stand her child's spoiled behavior. But as a mother, you have to take care of it, otherwise this child's future will be ruined in your hands!"

Wu Shun smiled and said, "Yes, yes, I will discipline him when I get back." He hurried away with Helan Minzhi.

(End of this chapter)