Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 151 The Queen of Silla, Mother and Son Reunited

Before the Silla envoys even arrived in Luoyang, the question of whether the Silla queen had sent envoys to welcome back her son had already become the talk of the town in the city's restaurants and teahouses. This topic overshadowed the gloom brought about by the deaths of Prince Shao and Princess Yongtai, and became a topic of conversation among some noble young men.

"I've heard that the Queen of Silla was a rare beauty. Although Xiao Xiang's father, Xiao Hongjing, was once one of the most handsome men in Chang'an, Xiao Xiang's appearance surpasses his father's, so he probably resembles his mother more."

"Therefore, judging from Prime Minister Xiao's demeanor and bearing, it is enough to deduce just how beautiful the Queen of Silla must have been."

"I wonder if such a beauty, and the ruler of Silla, also keeps a lot of male lovers? Hahaha..."

The huge tavern erupted in laughter. Cui Shi was surrounded by the young noblemen like a star being the moon, and they toasted and laughed all the while.

"Kong Beihai often said, 'As long as the seats are always full of guests and the cups are never empty, I have no worries.' Drinking with you all is a wonderful gathering of good friends, and I am deeply gratified. It is my honor!"

“Lord Cui is too modest. It is our honor to be called a friend by Lord Cui. Xie Lingyun once said that if there is a bushel of talent in the world, Cao Zijian will have eight bushels, I will have one bushel, and the rest of the world will share the remaining bushel. In my opinion, Lord Cui is the one who has eight bushels. How can Xiao Muchen compare to Lord Cui!”

The speaker was none other than Song Zhiwen, who had once desperately wanted to become the Empress's male favorite.

Many young scholars echoed in unison, while Su Weidao, Zong Chuke, and others listened with slight smiles and remained silent.

"That's right, that's right. Speaking of which, Xiao Muchen is really a man of deep affection. In the past few years, he has devoted all his attention to one woman. His former poetic talent has never been displayed again. What about the number one talent of the Great Zhou? Now he is nothing but a faded flower, hahaha..."

"Well said! Who can compare to Cui Sheren's lines, 'The mandarin duck quilt is filled with thoughts at night, the dragon mirror reflects affection at dawn. I recall a dream as the lamp flickers and falls, my departed soul is startled by the dark horse. Alas, morning and evening, I am alone in the tower, filled with sorrow.' Truly, his writing is brilliant and unparalleled!"

Cui Shi thoroughly enjoyed the flattery from these literary figures, seemingly finally feeling that he had won a round against Xiao Muchen in terms of poetic talent.

But thinking that he had finally obtained the position of Zhongshu Sheren with the help of Princess Taiping, Xiao Muchen was promoted to prime minister as soon as he returned, once again putting him above him, he found it hard to swallow his anger.

Thinking about it, he couldn't help but slam the wine cup heavily onto the table. Everyone fell silent when they saw his expression change drastically.

Cui Shi realized he had lost his composure and quickly smiled, saying, "It's alright, everyone, please continue your conversation!"

"I wonder when this Silla envoy will arrive in the capital of our Great Zhou, and who he is? Could it be that the Queen of Silla herself has come to visit her son in the capital?" someone asked with a laugh.

“I don’t think so. He hasn’t returned for over ten years. How could he abandon Silla at this time? I’ve heard that the struggle for the throne among the nobles of Silla is no less fierce than…” At this point, the man paused and immediately changed his tone, “What I mean is, what’s more important than the throne than a son? A son can be born again, but once the throne is gone, it’s gone forever!”

"Hahaha... That's very true. Perhaps the Queen of Silla already has a large family of children, hahaha..."

……

In another tea room separated by a wall, Xiao Muchen and Murong Huan sat opposite Di Renjie, sipping tea and listening intently to everything.

Di Renjie also felt very embarrassed and said, "Zicheng, don't take these idle rumors to heart. I have met your mother. Eight years ago, I went to Silla as an envoy. At that time, with the support of some loyal ministers of the Silla royal family, your mother drove out of the capital of Silla the favorite concubine of King Jinpyeong, Mihee, who had controlled the Silla court for more than ten years. She saved the entire Silla royal family and reformed some of the bad policies of Silla."

However, since Mi-hee had many supporters and was deeply entrenched in the court, it took your mother nearly eight years to bring Mi-hee's remaining power back into her own hands. Now that Mi-hee is dead, those who followed her have either died or surrendered to the Silla royal family, and the Silla court has finally stabilized and achieved unification.

She was quite a remarkable woman. For the sake of the people of Silla, she sacrificed her own family and maintained a friendly alliance with Tang for over a decade, even sending her nephew to study in our Great Zhou.

After a moment of silence, he continued...

"But she never forgot you, nor your father. Although she became the queen of Silla, she never remarried and spent most of her life in solitude, devoting herself to the people of Silla."

At this point, Di Renjie changed the subject again, "However, Silla believed in the true bone system. If one is not of royal blood, it is indeed difficult to inherit the throne. Your mother has no other children besides you. She only has a nephew, Kim Ja-qiu, and a niece, Kim Si-man, who are favored by her. Kim Ja-qiu is the son of her older sister, Princess Myeongdeok, while Kim Si-man is the daughter of her cousin."

If you are unwilling to go to Silla, she will most likely choose one of the two as her successor.

This tells him not to feel any psychological burden because of these rumors.

Xiao Muchen nodded, then a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes as he asked, "Why does Prime Minister Di know so much about my mother?"

Di Renjie smiled and said, "In my life, I have sincerely admired two women. One is the current sage, and the other is your mother. On that mission, your mother summoned me alone and talked with me for a long time. She asked me to give you more guidance and care so that you could live peacefully in the Great Zhou."

She informed me of this mission to the Great Zhou Dynasty in advance through a letter.

The envoy she sent was none other than her niece, Kim Si-man.

Xiao Muchen nodded again, his heart filled with mixed feelings. He looked at Di Renjie with even more gratitude: "No wonder when Zicheng first entered officialdom, he always received Di Xiang's help whenever he encountered a difficult problem. It was not a coincidence, but Di Xiang's intention. Zicheng will never forget Di Xiang's thoughts on rebuilding Zicheng."

Di Renjie sighed again and looked at him, saying, "Do you think my high regard for you is only because of your mother, Zicheng? Your good fortune today is entirely due to yourself. Life is full of injustices and hardships, but you have never been resentful or lost your true self because of the misfortunes that God has imposed on you."

Like your mother, you have always kept the well-being of the people in your heart, and this is truly commendable.

The sage valued this very quality in you, which is why he promoted you to the position of prime minister.

At this point, Di Renjie suddenly coughed, and Xiao Muchen immediately got up and patted him on the back.

"Prime Minister Di, are you alright?"

Seeing that the once vigorous and spirited pillars of the Great Zhou had gradually aged, and that their bodies were showing more and more ailments and exhaustion, Xiao Muchen felt an overwhelming sadness and sorrow.

Murong Huan quickly came over to take his pulse.

Di Renjie waved his hand and sighed, "Birth, aging, sickness and death are the natural order of life. All things in heaven and earth are constantly being born and going. This is the law of nature, and there is no need to worry about it."

At this point, he glanced at Murong Huan again: "My dear wife, in the five years since you married into Zicheng, I have witnessed your charm. However, due to your difficult background, I am afraid that there will be more and more troubles in the future. I am afraid that I will not be able to accompany you for much longer. You must take good care of yourselves in the future!"

"Prime Minister Di!"

"Alright, let's not talk about these unhappy things. Cui Chenglan is always competitive and willing to sell her body for a better career. She is frivolous and has no gentlemanly integrity. But there is a saying that is true: 'When good friends gather, I feel happy and content. As long as the wine in my cup is not empty, I have no worries.'"

"Come! Let's drink!"

……

The day of the Mid-Autumn Festival coincided with the arrival of the Silla envoys in Luoyang. The Empress intended to host a banquet for the envoys at the Wanshang Palace to celebrate the festival. Unexpectedly, on this day, the Empress ordered Xiao Muchen to lead a large group of officials from the Court of State Ceremonial to welcome the Silla envoys.

When the large procession arrived at the city gate, the leading Silla man showed his documents to the officials of the Court of State Ceremonies of the Great Zhou Dynasty. After confirming their identities, the delegation drove through the city gate and arrived at Zhengpingfang.

The embassy arranged by the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial was located in Zhengpingfang, not far from the Ziwei Palace, but very close to the residence of Princess Taiping.

When the carriage stopped, two people stepped out. One was an elderly woman who appeared to be quite old. She was wearing a dark black dress and had many wrinkles on her face. Her gentle smile rippled outwards. When the woman's gaze fell on Xiao Muchen, she couldn't look away for a long time, staring at him with an inexplicable expression.

The other was a very beautiful young woman, and upon closer inspection, her features bore a striking resemblance to Xiao Muchen.

"This must be Princess Hye-sun of Silla. We pay our respects to Princess Hye-sun!"

Xiao Muchen led the officials in bowing, and Princess Huishan sized him up for a long time before smiling gently and sweetly, "You are Xiao Muchen, the youngest prime minister of the Great Zhou. You truly have an extraordinary bearing, just as Rong Zhi did."

"Your Highness is too kind!"

"This is my first time on a mission to the Great Zhou. I am quite curious about the customs and culture of the Great Zhou, but I don't know much about them. I would like to trouble Prime Minister Xiao to introduce them to me in more detail."

"Princess, please rest assured, I will do my utmost to introduce you to the magnificent scenery of my Great Zhou and Luoyang City." After saying this, Xiao Muchen raised his hand and gestured for Princess Huishan and the old woman to go to the embassy together.

After Princess Huishan and the old woman entered the embassy, ​​the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial had all left. Xiao Muchen then arranged for some people to bring some clothing and other necessities, treating them with the highest level of courtesy.

After everything was prepared, Xiao Muchen took his leave, but at that moment, Princess Huishan called out, "Wait! Xiao Muchen, don't you want to know about your mother from me?"

Xiao Muchen turned around and politely returned her bow, saying, "Uncle Lu and Aunt Ning have told me a lot about my mother, and Prime Minister Di has also told me everything. As the Queen of Silla, my mother did everything she was supposed to do. I have nothing but respect for the Queen of Silla."

Upon hearing this, Princess Huishan glanced at the old woman, a hint of melancholy in her eyes.

“But we heard that you’re not doing too well in the Great Zhou. Although you’ve risen through the ranks in your career, you’ve suffered a lot, especially with the wife you married… who seems to have brought you a lot of trouble.”

“It has nothing to do with her!” Xiao Muchen interrupted immediately. “The princess must have heard a rumor. I’m doing just fine.”

Unexpectedly, mentioning his wife caused such a drastic change in his expression.

Princess Huishan was momentarily at a loss for words, but the old woman spoke up with a question:

"Has the poison in your body been cured?"

Upon hearing the voice, Xiao Muchen suddenly looked at the old woman. For some reason, he felt that the woman's gaze was so familiar.

"I brought back a rare medicine from Silla, which is specifically for treating cold poisoning. Do you want it...?"

Before she could finish speaking, Xiao Muchen took the brocade box from her hand and decisively said, "Thank you!"

Just as he was about to leave, the woman asked again, "Could you take me to see your wife?"

Only then did Xiao Muchen realize what was happening. He looked at the woman again and asked in a low voice, "Who are you?"

"Xiao Muchen, she is..."

Princess Huishan was about to answer when the woman gestured for her to stop.

“Take me to your wife, and I will tell you.”

Xiao Muchen did not refuse. At Princess Huishan's prompting, he took the old woman with him and boarded the carriage, heading straight to the Xiao residence.

In the Xiao residence, Murong Huan had already instructed Aunt Ning to prepare dishes in preparation for his return.

But when he saw the old woman, Murong Huan was also surprised and stunned. Before the old woman could speak, Xue Li ran over happily and jumped into the old woman's arms, barking very eagerly.

Xiao Muchen was still wondering why the snow fox was so affectionate with the old woman when he saw Aunt Ning and Uncle Lu suddenly kneel down and say in hoarse voices, "Princess, you've finally returned! You're still worried about your son, aren't you?"

Xiao Muchen was stunned for a moment, and then he saw that the woman had already peeled off the wrinkled skin on her face, revealing a well-maintained and very beautiful face, and this face was indeed seven or eight parts similar to Xiao Muchen's.

"So you are... the Queen of Silla?" Murong Huan asked tentatively.

The woman looked at Murong Huan and nodded, then asked, "Yes, you are the wife that A-Chen married five years ago?"

I'm so sorry I couldn't attend your wedding five years ago; I also heard that someone caused trouble at your wedding banquet.

Murong Huan said, "It's alright. You are the King of Silla, and you have many things to attend to. Neither Zicheng nor I will blame you. However, why are you in the mission this time? Wouldn't it be very dangerous if your identity were exposed?"

"I have made arrangements for Silla. Someone will temporarily handle the affairs of Silla for me, so there will be no danger."

"Even so, it's still inevitable..."

Murong Huan was about to say that it was inevitable that someone would leak the news. If the King of Silla died in the Great Zhou, there would inevitably be another bloody change of regime in Silla, which might even affect the alliance between the two countries.

As Murong Huan was pondering, he heard the Queen of Silla say with great satisfaction and praise, "You are indeed a wise and kind young lady. My son has good taste."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "What they're saying isn't wrong either. I came back this time to take A-Chen to Silla, under the guise of a marriage alliance."

"Under the guise of a marriage alliance?"

"Yes!" Queen Silla looked at Murong Huan and said, "However, it's just a fake marriage alliance. I want to take him away. If you're willing, you can leave with us."

I won't separate you two; I just want to ensure my son's safety.

Murong Huan saw a deep worry in her eyes and asked:
Why do you think that way?