Chapter 597 A good show

"It's getting late. I wonder why Palace Master Luo suddenly called us here. What is his mission?"

Late at night, Yelu Qin and Xunzhen were invited to the main hall by Luo Tianjin. The two were confused and secretly guessed Luo Tianjin's intentions.

"I have prepared a gift for you two, I hope you will accept it." Luo Tianjin invited Yeluqin and Xunzhen to have tea, and said with a light smile, "Today, Mr. Shen from Dongshan Company is coming to visit us, have you heard about it?"

Upon hearing this, Yelu Qin and Xunzhen could not help but look at each other, both with confused expressions.

After a moment of hesitation, Xunzhen put down his teacup and said with a smile, "Mr. Shen is a wealthy businessman. Wherever he goes, he is always surrounded by people and he is very impressive. How could we not know?"

"There are two rare guests coming with Master Shen today. Do you know who they are?" Luo Tianjin asked calmly.

In fact, Yelu Qin and Xunzhen had already heard news about Zhao Yuan and Qiu Han from their subordinates.

However, even though they knew it, when asked by Luo Tianjin in person, they still looked confused, frowned slightly, and shook their heads one after another.

Seeing this, Luo Tianjin cast a playful look at Xie Xuan beside him and laughed out loud.

Yelu Qin was stunned and asked in confusion: "Why is Palace Master Luo laughing?"

"Prince Ning, you don't know." Xie Xuan continued, "In fact, the two people who traveled with Master Shen today are imperial envoys sent by the Song Dynasty court. One is Zhao Yuan, the second-rank Marquis of Tianji, and the other is Qiu Han, the fifth-rank Shaobao."

Yelu Qin and Xun Zhenwan did not expect Luo Tianjin to be honest with them, and were caught off guard.

"Imperial envoy?" Yeluqin pretended to be confused, "What imperial envoy? Why are you here?"

"The Imperial Envoy is here to seek amnesty." Luo Tianjin restrained his smile and spoke frankly.

"This..." Xunzhen hesitated for a moment and guessed, "As I expected, the Song Dynasty wants to borrow the power of the Central Plains martial arts world to help them fight against the Mongolian army..."

"That's right." Luo Tianjin nodded and said, "Zhao Yuan has told me directly that he intends to use the heroes of the martial arts world to expand the military strength of the Song Dynasty."

"I don't know..." Yeluqin said anxiously, "What is the plan of Lord Luo?"

"Prince Ning, what do you think I should do?" Luo Tianjin asked instead of answering, his smile becoming increasingly profound.

"This..." Yelu Qin looked embarrassed and stammered, "According to common sense, Lord Luo is a leader of the Han people, he is loyal and righteous, and he cares about the world. He should not refuse the Song court's request for help. But... Lord Luo has decided to establish himself as emperor, so it seems that he should not wade into this muddy water..."

"Prince Ning is right. I have no intention of getting involved in this mess." Luo Tianjin said righteously, "What's more, I have an agreement with the Young Prince Qin. How can I go back on my word and break my promise?"

Upon hearing this, Yelu Qin and Xunzhen couldn't help but show joy on their faces.

"So, Lord Luo has rejected Zhao Yuan?"

"good."

Xunzhen's mind suddenly changed, and he said worriedly, "Although Lord Luo has made up his mind, I'm afraid Zhao Yuan won't give up. After all, the imperial envoy sent by the Song court to recruit people is no joke, so how could he give up so easily?"

While saying this, a figure kept appearing in Xunzhen's mind, that was Liu Xunyi.

Up to this moment, she had completely guessed that Liu Xunyi's purpose of lurking beside Luo Tianjin was to work together with the Song court to win over Luo Tianjin to submit to the court.

When he thought about the fact that he had the leverage over Liu Xunyi again, a hint of pride flashed across Xunzhen's eyes.

"That's why I want to give you two a gift."

Luo Tianjin's voice interrupted Xunzhen's thoughts, perking her up, and she asked hastily, "I wonder... what gift it is?"

"Boom!"

Before he finished speaking, there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps outside the hall.

"The gifts have arrived, you two will know at a glance!"

Following Luo Tianjin's mysterious teasing, Liu Xunyi, panting, strode into the hall.

At this moment, he was holding the Wuji sword in his left hand and a black cloth bag stained with blood in his right hand.

Upon seeing Yelu Qin and Xunzhen, Liu Xunyi was stunned, and a sense of foreboding quickly rose in his heart.

"Meet the Palace Master!"

Suppressing the uneasiness in his heart, Liu Xunyi kowtowed to Luo Tianjin and threw the black cloth bag in his hand to the ground.

When he saw this thing, Xie Xuan's eyes suddenly changed. He recalled what Luo Tianjin said to him in the afternoon. He was shocked and looked at Luo Tianjin with a troubled look.

Luo Tianjin narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the bloodstained black cloth bag with a half-smile, and replied lightly: "Get up and talk."

"Thank you, Lord!"

Liu Xunyi glanced at Yeluqin and Xunzhen beside him, observing their reactions while guessing in his mind what they had said to Luo Tianjin.

After all, Xunzhen knew Liu Xunyi's true identity very well, which was undoubtedly a huge hidden danger.

Thinking of this, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but feel anxious and worried.

"Hehe... this is the gift I gave to you two." Luo Tianjin said to Xunzhen and Yeluqin, "After you read it, you will understand my sincerity towards the Young King of Qin."

"Oh?"

Yelu Qin stood up slowly with a curious look on his face, walked to the black cloth bag in two steps, looked around it, and then asked Liu Xunyi: "Liu Zhishan, what's inside?" "This..."

Liu Xunyi didn't know whether he should tell the truth to Yelu Qin, so he cast a hesitant look at Luo Tianjin.

"I asked him to go to Danfeng Garden to get some things overnight." Luo Tianjin smiled calmly, "The imperial envoy of the Song Dynasty is now staying in Danfeng Garden."

"hiss!"

Yelu Qin took a breath, and under Liu Xunyi's complicated gaze, he picked up the cloth bag and slowly untied it.

Along with a strong smell of blood, a bloody severed hand suddenly appeared in front of everyone.

"Ok?"

Upon seeing this, Xie Xuan was shocked and subconsciously raised a question. But he concealed it very well. Before Xunzhen and Yeluqin noticed anything unusual, he gently covered his mouth and nose with his hands, as if he was uncomfortable with the sudden smell of blood.

When Luo Tianjin saw the severed hand, an indescribable gleam flashed in his eyes, but on the surface he remained calm and composed.

"This...this is..."

"This is Qiu Han's left hand." Liu Xunyi explained, "Qiu Han spoke rudely to the Palace Master today, and I was ordered to teach him a lesson."

"This this……"

Yelu Qin was speechless for a long time. He looked at his severed hand, then at the cold Liu Xunyi, and then at Luo Tianjin who was smiling without saying a word. Finally, his brows relaxed and he laughed unscrupulously.

"Good! Very good! Excellent!" Yelu Qin praised repeatedly, "I am honored to see this gift tonight. I believe that the young king will also like this gift very much."

After that, Yeluqin threw down his severed hand, bowed to Luo Tianjin, and said solemnly: "Lord Luo's words are as good as gold, and this king admires you very much! Lord Luo, don't worry, the promise of the young prince Qin will never change. Our two families will be in a good alliance for eternity and will never betray each other."

Yelu Qin's words made Liu Xunyi smack his lips and let his imagination run wild. He became more and more curious about what the promise between Prince Shao Qin and Luo Tianjin was.
"Since Prince Ning and Miss Xunzhen are very satisfied with the gifts, I believe you two can sleep well tonight." Luo Tianjin said with a smile, "It's getting late, you two should go back and rest early."

"Farewell!"

After the greetings, Yelu Qin and Xunzhen put away Qiu Han’s severed hand and left the hall with satisfaction.

Seeing the two walking away, Liu Xunyi's eyes suddenly changed, and he knelt down on the ground with a plop, bowed his hands to apologize to Luo Tianjin: "I failed to retrieve Qiu Han's head, I hope the palace master will punish me!"

Faced with Liu Xunyi's fear and trepidation, Luo Tianjin said nothing and just stared at him silently.

"Liu Xunyi, why are you like this?" Xie Xuan asked.

"First, I have never met Qiu Han before and have no grudges against him, so I cannot bear to take his life." Liu Xunyi said ashamedly, "Second, he is an official appointed by the court after all. Although he may be disrespectful when he comes here, it is his duty. He is thinking about the fate of the Song Dynasty and the safety of the world, so he is not a bad person in essence. Therefore... I want to spare his life to fight against the northern barbarians on the battlefield, which can also be regarded as doing my part for the people of the world. Third, Qiu Han was wrong to contradict the Lord of the Palace, but... his crime is not punishable by death. If I take his life for this, I am afraid that it will be bad for the reputation of the Lord of the Palace if the matter is publicized."

"In that case, why did you take his hand?"

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi looked conflicted and stammered, "To be honest, this hand... was not cut off by me, but was offered by Qiu Han on his own initiative under the order of Lord Zhao."

"Oh?" This aroused Luo Tianjin's interest. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why?"

"Because Lord Zhao didn't want Qiu Han's recklessness to make the palace master dissatisfied with the Song Dynasty court." Liu Xunyi took the opportunity to say, "Lord Zhao said that Qiu Han didn't know the rules and should be punished. In fact...even I was shocked."

"In that case, this Lord Zhao is quite sincere." Luo Tianjin said with a sly smile, "In order to please me, he is willing to sacrifice his own confidants, which makes me look a little petty. Haha..."

"Master, I admit my guilt." Liu Xunyi couldn't guess what Luo Tianjin was thinking, so she admitted her fault again and again, "I know the rules of the mansion. I disobeyed the orders of the Master without authorization, so I should be severely punished. I will... leave it to the Master to decide."

After saying that, Liu Xunyi leaned over and kowtowed, pressing his forehead tightly to the ground, looking determined as if he was willing to die.

Seeing this, Luo Tianjin and Xie Xuan looked at each other, and a strange smile appeared on the corners of their mouths.

"Brother Xie, what did I tell Liu Xunyi?"

"The Palace Master ordered Liu Xunyi to retrieve Qiu Han's head..."

"Really?" Luo Tianjin pretended to be hesitant, "Are you sure you remember? Is it really the 'head'?"

"This..." Xie Xuan's eyes moved, and he said thoughtfully, "It seems to be... and it seems not to be. No, no! What the mansion wants is not the 'head', but the 'handwriting'..."

"This 'hand' is not that 'head'. The difference of one word can make a world of difference. You and I cannot wrongly accuse the innocent based on 'false accusations'."

"What the Palace Master said is absolutely right!"

After saying that, Luo Tianjin slowly stood up, stretched his limbs lazily, and walked out of the hall leisurely accompanied by Xie Xuan.

"I'm really old, and my memory is not as good as it used to be. Haha..."

"The Palace Master is in his prime, not old at all. It's just that he has been busy with many things recently and is a little tired..."

Luo Tianjin and Xie Xuan sang in unison, talked and laughed, and gradually disappeared in the snow and wind.

Liu Xunyi had prepared for the storm, but unexpectedly, it turned out to be calm and peaceful.

In the central hall, he knelt on the ground alone, full of confusion, stunned, and surprised for a long time without closing his mouth.

……

(End of this chapter)