Confrontation
Xuan Tian Mo spoke on his own; however, the Emperor, who was seated on the throne, was thinking about something completely different from him. At this time, the old emperor turned his head and asked Zhang Yuan: “What did the one kneeling below say just now?” He was asking about the Persian medical practitioner. The Persian words had left the Emperor confused.
But with him being confused, Zhang Yuan was also confused! But since his master, the Emperor, had asked, he could not shake his head and use an ambiguous answer like “I don’t know” to irresponsibly handle it, thus he thought for a bit then said: “It’s most likely a greeting to Your Majesty. Something along the lines of long live Your Majesty or something like that! Either way, this is the first time meeting, so it would just be a salute and paying respects. Not much else could be said.”
The Emperor nodded and thought for a while, looking at the Persian; however, he muttered: “He does not look affable in the slightest. I wonder if all of the men from Persia look like this. With this sort of appearance, how can he practice medicine?”
Zhang Yuan rolled his eyes and quietly said: “If his medical abilities are good, that’s enough. What do you care what he looks like? It’s not as if you’re choosing girls for the palace.”
The Emperor and Zhang Yuan did not understand Persian and naturally could not understand what exactly that person was saying, and the eighth prince, Xuan Tian Mo, also did not understand Persian. In fact, it could be said that not a single person from Da Shun in the hall could understand Persian because Persia and Da Shun had not established diplomatic relations. There were other small countries in between, and the journey was far. Their languages were different, and the two sides had only heard stories of the other; however, there was no need for diplomatic relations.
Of course, not understanding was not understanding; however, it did not mean that there was no knowledge about it. At the very least, Feng Yu Heng could understand a bit. In truth, the so-called Persia was actually modern Iran, but in this era, it still belonged to Persia, and they spoke the ancient Persian language. Though it belonged to the same family as modern Iran’s language, there were still very big differences. It could be said that modern Iran’s language came about from the evolution of ancient Persian over the course of thousands of years, which even caused changes in the writing. It was very complicated. Feng Yu Heng was proficient in the language of Iran. Now with some guessing and conjecture, she pondered for a while; however, she also knew that the person had indeed said something along the lines of long live Your Majesty. It was just that it was said a bit bluntly.
The Emperor spoke to let him stand; however, he handed over the initiative to Xuan Tian Mo. After all, the person had been brought over by Xuan Tian Mo, and it was said that he would speak about Persian medicine. This caused the Emperor to feel a bit interested. He was already extremely curious about Feng Yu Heng’s ability to treat and save patients. Now that he heard that a Persian would personally speak about it, that was very much so capable of fulfilling his curiosity.
Xuan Tian Mo was rather intimate, telling the Emperor: “Father Emperor, this Persian practitioner of medicine also knows how to speak our Da Shun’s language. Son once spoke with him about the Persian medicine that younger sister had learned, but this practitioner had some different opinions.”
As he spoke, he gestured for the medical practitioner to speak, and the medical practitioner saluted to the Emperor once more, speaking in Chinese that was very awkward yet understandable: “His Highness the eighth prince once mentioned the Persian medicine that Imperial Daughter practiced, being able to use strange medical pills and tablets to save people and also being able to use a strange tube to pump water into a person’s body. Even more, she was able to use a blade to cut open a person’s skin and connect muscles to bone. This old one was extremely in awe upon hearing this because our Persia does not have this sort of medical technique!” The medical practitioner expressed his shock over this matter then began to speak about true Persian medicine.
As the people listened, they slowly became surprised because what they heard from the Persian was that although Persian medicine did have some mystical elements, it was not too different from Da Shun’s medicine. On the other hand, the medical pills, tablets and infusions that Feng Yu Heng used, the Persian told everyone very resolutely that “Persia does not have those things.” After speaking for nearly an hour, nearly everything about Persian medicine had been explained. Although it sounded quite fresh, the people realized that Imperial Daughter Ji An had always been saying that she had found a Persian master, but now that a Persian refuted it, where did Feng Yu Heng’s abilities come from?
Of course, there were also people that did not think much of it. Who cared where it came from, her being able to learn it was truly her ability, yet there were some people that were influenced by the eighth prince that began to call things into question after hearing the medical practitioner speak: “Imperial Daughter Ji An, shouldn’t you give us an explanation? You have been lying to everyone saying that your Persian master taught you medicine, but Persia does not have the medicine that you do. How do you plan to explain this?”
There were also people that snorted and said: “Lying to us is fine, but you even lied to His Majesty too. This is the crime of deceiving the emperor!”
Another person was even fiercer, “As I see it, even deceiving the emperor is light. Imperial Daughter Ji An wouldn’t happen to be spy, right?”
In an instant, under the guidance of a few people, discussion began to rise around the hall. Even the people that were not part of the eighth prince’s support began to feel suspicious. After all, the things that Feng Yu Heng had brought to Da Shun were too shocking, and she had said that the origin of everything was Persia. Even if the people did not considered whether or not she was a spy, they truly began to feel curious about the matter.
And it was at this time that the eighth prince spoke up once more: “Setting aside the medicine, but our Da Shun’s new steel must not be much of a secret, right? Persian medical practitioner, have you heard of it?”
The Persian nodded, “We in Persia have heard about Da Shun producing something that is a hundred times harder than iron called steel. His Majesty, our ruler, respects it greatly, but Persia is still unable to produce steel.”
Once these words came out, the people felt even more lost. Steel actually did not come from Persia? They had always believed that it was the Persians who had discovered steel first, and Feng Yu Heng’s master had taught it to her. But now that a Persian had said that their country did not have that sort of thing, where did Feng Yu Heng’s ability to produce steel come from?
All of the confused gazes were focused on Feng Yu Heng. It was as though they were waiting for her to give a response; however, Feng Yu Heng did not explain anything. Instead, she smiled and asked the eighth prince: “Eighth brother, what is the meaning of this? Specifically calling a strange person here to speak about their local situation, what is it for? What is the thinking behind this? Or is eighth brother wanting to egg on a diplomatic relationship between Da Shun and Persia? Don’t blame me for not reminding eighth brother. Persia is quite far from our Da Shun. There is even a large body of water in the middle! That large body of water is not something that a normal boat can cross. Without a large cruiser, it’s completely impossible. And based on what I know, cruisers that are capable of crossing that body of water, our Da Shun does not have any.”
The eighth prince laughed loudly, “What would this prince egg on a diplomatic relationship between Persia and Da Shun for? It was just a bit of curiosity toward younger sister’s abilities. You repeatedly said that you learned them from your Persian master, but the things that you learned, Persia is not able to do at all. Is this not something that invites curiosity?” As he spoke, he suddenly turned toward the Emperor: “Father Emperor, to tell you the truth, son happened to meet these Persians in the desert. They had originally come to the deserts to perform their dance to earn some money, and this medical practitioner is their traveling doctor. Son remembered that younger sister’s master was also Persian, thus I specially invited them back. Who knew that with a bit of conversation, I found that Persia is a small country that is truly too different from what ninth sister said! They don’t know any of the strange medical techniques, nor do they have any of the strange medicines, and even more, they don’t have steel. Son just thought that this was strange. If Persia did not have it, where did younger sister learn all of her abilities?”
After he finished speaking, the medical practitioner said: “I heard that Da Shun’s imperial daughter also knows a type of archery; however, we Persians are not skilled in hunting with bow and arrow. That sort of wondrous technique has also never appeared in the imperial family.”
Once these words came out, even the Emperor became intrigued by this matter. Of course, he was not thinking about whether or not Feng Yu Heng was a spy. He was just curious as to where exactly Feng Yu Heng’s abilities had come from. Like a curious little child, what he was concerned about was on a completely different point. “A-Heng, quickly tell Us. Where did you learn your abilities? Did you meet a deity in the mountains?”
Everyone was speechless. Those people that had spoken up for the eighth prince were left feeling completely stumped by the Emperor. They could not figure out how they should continue with the situation, but it was the eighth prince that spoke up, saying: “Father Emperor, as son sees it, this matter may not be as simple as you imagine. Imperial Daughter Ji An has brought out so many lies, but what exactly is she hiding behind her? Son has heard that the archery skills that she knows, the people of Qian Zhou also know. Could it be...”
“Eighth brother, stop messing around!” Suddenly, the fourth prince, Xuan Tian Yi, interjected, “Oh, you’re saying that she’s from Qian Zhou? A spy from Qian Zhou? A spy from Qian Zhou led a group of soldiers from Da Shun to go and eradicate Qian Zhou. If this is a spy, let’s take in a few more. In the end, the four neighboring countries will send their spies into Da Shun, and not only will our Da Shun obtain medicine and steel that have never existed before, but that spy will then turn around and lead soldiers to eradicate their own country. This truly would not require any of Da Shun’s effort!”
Feng Zi Rui also could not bear to continue listening, as he shouted from below: “My second sister was born in Da Shun and raised in Da Shun. When would she have become one of Qian Zhou’s people?”
“That’s right!” The Yao family also lost it, “A-Heng is a child that we watched be born and grow up. How is it that she became a spy in Your Highness’ words?”
In regards to this, the eighth prince also had a response: “Spies are not differentiated by whether they were born there or taken in later on. This prince did not say that she was a spy for Qian Zhou from the day that she was born. This prince was just suspicious of the abilities that she had learned after spending three years in the Northwest. Of course, this sort of suspicion grew after meeting these Persians and learning about the situation in Persia.”
“Oh!” Xuan Tian Ming suddenly laughed, “This prince was in the Northwest for many years. Is eighth brother suspecting that this prince is a spy for that place? Really, you were just saying that you had no interest in our A-Heng. Since you have no interest, why do you seem to hate that you can’t investigate the entirety of her ancestry? What is the meaning of this? Is this not something that would only be investigated if two sides wanted to get married? Eighth brother, this is not honest of you. There are so many women in the world. What are you stealing your brother’s wife for?”
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