Su Xiaoqi, clever and quick-witted, understood the meaning behind Emperor Yongxing's words as soon as she heard them.
He was asking if she had a way to rescue her husband from his predicament.
Su Xiaoqi smiled slightly. This was a question she was perfectly suited to answer.
Ever since she had seen the sheepskin scroll, she had been waiting for this very moment.
Of course, if it wasn't absolutely necessary, she hoped this step would never be reached.
After all, reaching this point would mean Shen Yun would have to take risks.
However, she was also taking a gamble.
She was betting that Emperor Yongxing trusted Shen Yun deeply and would not want to abandon such a capable minister.
Even if he were to be punished, he should at least be given a chance to defend himself.
And that was the chance she needed.
Now it had arrived!
Su Xiaoqi wasted no more time. She stood up and bowed to the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me, your subject has something to say."
"Reporting to His Majesty, your subject's husband does indeed know this language.
It is called English, and it comes from the other side of the continent. Your subject learned some of it at home from her husband."
Su Xiaoqi spoke softly and steadily. Her voice was light and melodious, and when it filled the hall, it made everyone feel as if they were basking in a gentle spring breeze.
Yet, the weight of her words was immense.
Each syllable seemed to land on everyone's hearts, pressing them down, solidifying them.
Du Yiyi, sitting beside her, was afraid she might say something wrong and incur Emperor Yongxing's wrath. She subtly tugged at Su Xiaoqi's sleeve.
Su Xiaoqi offered her a reassuring smile and then gently squeezed the fingers of Shen Yun, who was holding her hand, before continuing her narration:
"Take virtue as the foundation and heart as the root. Spring breeze brings all things. A gentleman has virtue. His heart is white, peaceful and auspicious!"
(This is for plot purposes; please refrain from critical analysis.)
Her soft, beautiful voice echoed through the grand hall.
It wasn't loud, but it seemed to clear the mind, as if the soul had been cleansed by a mountain stream.
Everyone stared at her with wide eyes.
Though they understood nothing, it sounded wonderful.
Shen Yun was greatly surprised.
Until he heard Su Xiaoqi speak, he had thought she didn't truly understand.
While he wanted to have faith in her, this script was truly too rare.
At least, before this moment, he had never seen a book written in this script in the Great Liang Dynasty.
Nor had he ever heard anyone speak this language.
Emperor Yongxing was also greatly astonished.
Consort Li, seated to his right, sat up straight in shock.
As she sided with her son, she had naturally hoped Su Xiaoqi would not know.
But hearing her speak, she couldn't help but marvel.
Prince Zhou had an even stronger reaction.
He had been leaning back, holding his wine cup, in a posture that suggested he was ready to enjoy a good show.
However, upon hearing Su Xiaoqi recite that passage in her clear and pleasant voice,
his hands began to tremble, and the wine cup in his hand fell with a "dong."
Fortunately, it was a silver cup, so it didn't break.
But when it landed on the carpet, the dull, suppressed sound was particularly irritating.
Emperor Yongxing, who had been immersed in Su Xiaoqi's beautiful voice and found it extremely enjoyable,
was suddenly interrupted by this annoying sound and involuntarily shot a glare at Liang Jingning.
Liang Jingning shrunk his neck, regretting his momentary lapse in composure.
Across from him, Liang Jingchen looked deeply at Su Xiaoqi, knowing she would be able to.
The moment he first held the sheepskin scroll, he knew that if anyone in this hall understood this script, it would be her.
But seeing Shen Yun sitting beside her, Liang Jingchen's heart sank, and he let out a barely perceptible sigh.
Why was it that their backgrounds were the same, yet he was not the one who met her first!
He only blamed himself for passing by the City God Temple in Mianzhou City so many times without looking more closely!
A moment after Su Xiaoqi finished, someone, he didn't know who, began to clap.
Then another joined in, then a third, and soon the hall was filled with continuous applause.
Even Emperor Yongxing clapped a few times, generously.
He thought the envoys from Northern Chu would have no further grounds for complaint.
After all, with the way Su Xiaoqi presented herself, anyone could see she genuinely knew the script.
Otherwise, she couldn't have made it up so fluently.
However, Emperor Yongxing's thoughts were still too simplistic.
As soon as the applause stopped, Chu Legge stood up again.
This time, he was not alone. He pulled a companion next to him and loudly announced to everyone that the script was not English at all.
Instead, it was a European script.
And the person beside him was from that European continent.
He recognized the writing on it.
At these words, everyone looked at each other again with jaws dropped.
The situation had taken so many twists and turns that everyone had long forgotten their own stances and was solely focused on watching the unfolding spectacle.
However, those who were familiar with Su Xiaoqi or cared about her were not worried for her at all.
Because they firmly believed she knew it, so what if a genuine European person appeared?
But those who were not close to Su Xiaoqi, or didn't know her, felt a sense of unease.
They thought Su Xiaoqi had probably bitten off more than she could chew this time.
Originally, if she had been the only one in the hall who knew that script,
then, with the advantage of no one else understanding it, she could have passed perfectly.
But who knew that by doing so, she would encounter a real European.
This was like a fake Li Gui meeting the real Li Kui, a fatal encounter!
However, Su Xiaoqi, the person in question, glanced at the expressions on the faces of everyone within her sight, remained unhurried, and gave a faint smile.
She stepped forward and looked at the so-called European person pushed forward by Chu Legge.
He had a refined appearance, deep-set eyes, and his irises were a deep blue. He also sported a full beard, just like Chu Legge.
This did indeed resemble someone from Europe.
At first, they were too far apart, and she hadn't bothered to look closely at the people Chu Legge had brought with him.
Coupled with his beard, which was quite deceptive, leading people to mistakenly believe he was from Northern Chu.
That was why she hadn't recognized him earlier.
She believed Chu Legge did not have the audacity to truly deceive the emperor.
This person must truly know English.
But what of it?
She refused to believe that after seeing the content on the sheepskin scroll, he would still dare to speak!
Su Xiaoqi took the sheepskin scroll and stared intently at him, asking him to translate it in English.
Upon hearing Su Xiaoqi's fluent speech, the European man looked surprised.
If he hadn't heard the previous passage clearly, he could now definitively confirm that the person before him truly knew their country's language.
Hearing the familiar accent, he felt a sense of kinship, as if he had met an old acquaintance in a foreign land.
He couldn't help but excitedly introduce himself to her and inquire about her origins.
He wondered if she, like him, had come from Europe.
Like him, one day she had walked east, and as she walked, she had mistakenly entered the Nine Continents of the East.
Su Xiaoqi replied in the Da Liang official dialect, "Your name is Boger Smith. I am not from Europe.
However, I have known Europeans before." Su Xiaoqi casually lied.
She had no old acquaintances to reminisce with those who came looking for trouble.
While her expression was friendly, she harbored a deep dislike for Europeans in her heart.
In her view, these people from the West were either there to cause trouble
or to carry out their so-called colonization plans.
They were not good people.
Chu Legge dared to use him like this, and sooner or later, he would face repercussions.
"Mr. Smith, quickly tell everyone that the content on the sheepskin scroll is not what she said.
She is deceiving the emperor!"
Chu Legge, standing behind, seeing the two chatting so amiably,
couldn't help but feel anxious.
This Smith was a scoundrel, greedy and lustful. He couldn't move when he saw a beautiful woman.
Damn it!