HBWnovel Chapter 187 Heroes' Gathering
Chapter 187 Heroes' Gathering
Chapter 187 Heroes' Gathering
"Have you figured out why the envoy from the Northern Han Kingdom has come?" Lin Fei asked calmly, sitting in the hall with his eyes closed and leaning back in his chair.
Standing below him was Su Jie, the original steward of the Marquis of Shenwei's mansion. Ever since Lin Fei was bestowed a mansion by Emperor Li Yu of Tang, Su Jie was also sent to Lin Fei's mansion by Su Lie.
Su Jie was one of the few acquaintances Lin Fei knew in the capital, and Lin Fei felt quite at ease entrusting the affairs of the mansion to him.
Su Jie is now the head steward of Lin Fei's mansion, and within this mansion, he is second only to the emperor.
Su Jie stood beside Lin Fei and bowed, saying, "Young Master, those Northern Han envoys went straight into the palace as soon as they entered the capital. They haven't come out yet, and this old servant has no way of finding out why they came."
It's no wonder Lin Fei attached such importance to the envoys from the Northern Han Kingdom, as the delegation sent by the Northern Han Kingdom this time was exceptionally large—representing the Han family of Huaiyin, the Wei and Huo families of Pingyang, the Li family of Longxi, and the Ban family of Fufeng. In addition, the imperial Liu family itself was also present, making up half of the twelve prominent families of the Northern Han Kingdom in this delegation.
The arrival of such a large contingent in the Southern Tang Kingdom suggests that something significant is about to happen.
Now that Lin Fei is a legitimate prince of the Southern Tang Dynasty, he naturally has to be concerned about the affairs of the country. Because in the not-too-distant future, he will likely not only be a prince, but also become the supreme ruler of the entire Southern Tang Kingdom.
"Did they not come out of the palace after entering it?" Lin Fei asked thoughtfully. "Uncle Jie, please keep a close eye on them for me. If any of the Northern Han envoys come out of the palace, report to me immediately."
"Yes, young master!" Su Jie replied, and was about to turn around and leave when suddenly someone ran in from outside the door, looking very nervous: "Your Highness, Your Highness!"
Now, everyone in the manor calls Lin Fei "Prince" or "Your Highness," and only Su Jie, an old man from the Shenwei Marquis's manor, calls Lin Fei "Young Master."
Su Jie frowned and said in a deep voice, "How can you be so unruly in front of His Highness!"
"Alright, it seems there's something important. Uncle Jie, please don't blame him." Lin Fei waved his hand and asked the servant, "What happened? You look so nervous."
The servant respectfully reported, "Your Highness, Chief Steward Wang from the Imperial Palace has arrived, carrying His Majesty's imperial edict."
Everyone in the capital now knows that the position of Crown Prince of the Southern Tang Dynasty has been undecided. Now, an imperial edict has suddenly arrived, and the chief eunuch of the palace has come in person. It's hard to say whether this is a blessing or a curse, so it's no wonder that this servant is so nervous.
Lin Fei's eyes darted around: "Chief Steward Wang? Could it be that you've come about the Northern Han envoy?"
With the Northern Han envoys arriving in the capital in a high-profile manner and the royal palace steward personally visiting the residence, Lin Fei found it hard not to connect the two events.
"Young master, this old servant will go and invite Steward Wang in," Su Jie said.
"No need!" Lin Fei stopped Su Jie and stood up directly: "Since he came with an imperial decree, I should go and greet him myself! Otherwise, outsiders might say that I am being impolite."
……
Lin Fei walked directly towards the door, while Steward Wang had already entered the mansion led by the servants.
When Lin Fei saw Chief Steward Wang, he was about to bow when Chief Steward Wang smiled kindly and said, "No need for formalities, Your Highness. His Majesty has given the order, so just listen to the decree!"
As he spoke, Steward Wang unfolded the imperial edict of the Tang Emperor and began to read it aloud.
It turned out that the imperial edict summoned Lin Fei to the palace for an audience, but the specific reason for the summons was not stated in the edict.
"Chief Steward Wang, is this about those Northern Han envoys?" Lin Fei asked Chief Steward Wang after receiving the imperial edict.
"Your Highness is indeed astute. Indeed, it is about those Northern Han envoys." Chief Steward Wang said, then suddenly lowered his voice: "To be honest, Your Highness, besides Your Highness, the Second Prince has also been summoned to the palace by His Majesty. It is probably related to the position of Crown Prince, so Your Highness should make preparations as soon as possible."
Lin Fei was somewhat stunned upon hearing Chief Steward Wang's words—this Chief Steward Wang was the Grand Steward of the Imperial Palace, always responsible only to Emperor Li Yu of Tang. Why would he suddenly reveal this information to him? Was it a gesture of goodwill, or was it at the behest of his adoptive father, the Emperor?
Before Lin Fei could think further, Steward Wang said, "Your Highness, please prepare to enter the palace. I still need to go to the Second Prince's residence to deliver the imperial decree, so I won't disturb Your Highness any longer!"
After saying that, Steward Wang turned and left Lin Fei's residence.
The attitude of Chief Steward Wang was quite intriguing. Lin Fei changed his clothes and headed into the palace.
Before Lin Fei could even enter the hall, he heard a voice behind him laugh, "Brother, you've arrived early! What, are you afraid you'll miss the first bite if you're late?"
Lin Fei just sneered and didn't retort - if a dog bites you, you can't bite it back, can you?
In Lin Fei's eyes, only figures like Qin Zhongshan and Xue Bahuang were worthy of his anger, while Li Longqian was nothing more than a clown, and Lin Fei did not take him to heart.
Seeing that Lin Fei ignored him, Li Longqian also felt somewhat bored. However, his greatest characteristic was his lack of self-awareness; relying on the fact that the position of crown prince was not yet determined, he wanted to compete with Lin Fei. Seeing that Lin Fei ignored him, Li Longqian was not discouraged, but instead smiled and said, "Brother, do you know why Father summoned us here?"
Lin Fei glanced at him: "Do you know?"
"Of course!" Li Longqian finally felt he had the upper hand over Lin Fei and said smugly, "It seems that my brother's information network isn't very good!"
When the Northern Han envoys entered the palace, in addition to being received by the Tang Emperor, some important officials naturally accompanied them. Lin Fei would not ask Su Lie about this matter, and the news about Li Longqian was undoubtedly given to him by Prime Minister Wang You.
Everyone knows that Prime Minister Wang You has now made it clear that he is on the side of the Second Prince Li Longqian and is fully supporting Li Longqian to become the Crown Prince.
Li Longqian, beaming with pride, boasted to Lin Fei, "Your Majesty may not know this yet, but Liu Buhui, who is ranked number one on the Wind and Cloud Ranking, is about to be promoted to the Dharma Aspect! This time, a special Heroes' Gathering is being held to invite the young masters of the world to attend the ceremony. Those envoys from the Northern Han Dynasty came to the capital this time to deliver invitations to the Southern Tang royal family."
He wore a mocking expression: "Oh, right, I forgot that Your Majesty is only ranked twenty-third on the Heroes Ranking. You didn't even make it into the top twenty. No wonder! It seems that the Northern Han Kingdom didn't specifically invite Your Majesty to attend this Heroes' Gathering!"
Lin Fei didn't take Li Longqian's sarcasm to heart. It was true that he was only ranked twenty-third, but where did Li Longqian rank? He couldn't even make the list.
What Lin Fei was more concerned about was the meaning behind Li Longqian's words—was Liu Buhui, the "Dragon and Tiger Divine Physician," about to be promoted to the Dharma Physician level?