บท 205: One Summer's Night

Something was wrong. Initially, Zhang Xiu hadn't realised it. Ever since the emperor had declared war on the north on the day of the empress' coronation ceremony, he'd been waiting for Liu Yao to call him in as a confidante. The sixth prince and his supporters had predicted that Zhang Xiu would be of great use to the emperor at this point; who better to send to the north to assist in the unrest with the unruly barbarians than the envoy responsible for establishing diplomatic relations with them in the first place?

The sixth prince'd had it all planned out. Zhang Xiu position as a negotiator familiar with the north wasn't just a commodity to the emperor but also to him. With Zhang Xiu there to influence the ebb and flow of the fighting, there would be little trouble in manipulating the situation in their favour.

ความคิดของผู้สร้าง
Queeniecat

(1) Motherly bearing that was exemplar to all: An phrase used to describe the empress as the mother of the nation as well as a role model to women.

(2) The dog biting Lu Dong Bin: A phrase that was first used in Legend of the Eight Mortals, a novel written by a Taoist in the Qing Dynasty and later popularised in Dream of the Red Chamber, a classic novel from the same era. Lu Dong Bin, one of the eight immortals, found the mythical dog of another immortal Er Lang Shen, trapped in a magic painting. To rescue it, he opened the circle but the dog mistook all immortals for its enemy and bit him. The second line of this saying is ‘failure to recognise another’s good intentions’.

(3) Give a slap and then give a sweet date: To cause someone harm and then give them a boon after to soften the blow and incite forgiveness or repair the relationship somewhat.

A/N: Thank you very much for reading and for the lovely gifts, comments, golden tickets and power stones! <3 I think this chapter reveals something that some of my dear readers have been wondering about since Vol 2 of the novel...