The four men couldn't help but tighten their grip on their weapons and take a step forward simultaneously.
"Lord Cao, what are you—" Before the guard could finish his sentence, he was forcefully shoved aside by Prince Qi.
The other three quickly closed ranks to block Xiao Rongche.
"What are you trying to do?" one of the guards cried out in alarm.
The four of them drew their swords and pointed them at Prince Qi, making it clear that they would strike if he took another step forward.
Seeing them draw their swords against Prince Qi, the guards Xiao Rongche had brought with him immediately drew their own blades and aimed them right back.
Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Cao Mo was frightened out of his wits.
He hurriedly reached out to stop them, his face filled with panic.
"Don't misunderstand, this is His Highness Prince Qi. Is Minister Wang inside? Our prince wishes to see him."
The guards furrowed their brows, their gazes sweeping over Xiao Rongche, who was wearing an eye patch.
"What is going on here?" a thunderous shout boomed from behind the crowd.
The newcomer was clad in armor and gripped a thick-bladed sword; his imposing and fierce demeanor made it obvious that he was not someone to be trifled with.
When the four guards responsible for watching the door saw Qi Xiong approaching, their eyes instantly filled with the relief of having survived a disaster.
The guard who had just been shoved to the ground by Prince Qi immediately began to complain.
"Captain, the prince of the Dongzhao Kingdom suddenly charged over looking for Minister Wang and tried to force his way in. When your subordinates tried to stop him, they even wanted to attack us."
Qi Xiong looked at Xiao Rongche, his eyes brimming with disdain.
"I had heard that the Dongzhao Kingdom was a nation of etiquette, but I never expected their manners to be like this. If even a prince acts with such crude, unruly, and rule-breaking behavior, one can only imagine how terrible the customs of the Dongzhao Kingdom must be."
Cao Mo was just about to retort when he was interrupted by Xiao Rongche.
He pointed his finger right at Qi Xiong's face, spittle flying onto the captain's face as he shouted.
"What kind of thing are you, to dare dictate terms in front of this prince? Hurry up and bring the imperial physician out, or I will kill you!"
Cao Mo's eyes widened as he looked at Xiao Rongche in disbelief.
An imperial physician? An imperial physician from the Shuobei Kingdom?
Qi Xiong's thick eyebrows twisted into a deep frown as he asked, completely bewildered, "What imperial physician?"
Xiao Rongche roared in agitation; if it weren't for the people holding him back on either side, he would have lunged right at Qi Xiong.
"The imperial physician to treat my eyes! Didn't Gong Linjue have you bring him over?"
Hearing this, Qi Xiong's face was full of confusion.
What did this have to do with Prince Wei?
What imperial physician? How come he didn't know anything about it?
Right at that moment, the door to the room was opened from the inside.
Wang Nie, with a coat draped over his shoulders, first glanced at Xiao Rongche and then signaled Qi Xiong with his eyes.
Qi Xiong's heart stirred, a flash of understanding passing through his eyes.
There must be something going on here that he just wasn't aware of.
He walked over to stand beside Wang Nie, silently handing the matter over for him to handle.
Seeing Wang Nie come out, Cao Mo's hanging heart finally settled.
Panting, he began to introduce them, "Your Highness, this is Wang Nie, the Minister of Rites of the Shuobei Kingdom, and the chief envoy of this delegation."
"Minister Wang, this is our His Highness Prince Qi."
Wang Nie's lips curled up slightly as he asked with a look of feigned ignorance, "I have long heard that your esteemed country has two very capable princes. Seeing you today, what on earth has happened to His Highness Prince Qi's eye?"
Hearing him say this, Xiao Rongche completely exploded.
He couldn't see Wang Nie's face clearly, so he could only point at the blurry dark silhouette that had just appeared in his vision and question him loudly.
"What do you mean by that? Where is the imperial physician Gong Linjue promised me? He agreed to save my left eye!"
Wang Nie feigned confusion and said, "If Your Highness's eye is blind, you should seek treatment from the imperial physicians of your own Dongzhao Kingdom. What does this have to do with our Shuobei Kingdom? When did Prince Wei ever promise you an imperial physician? How come this official has never heard of such a thing?"
"Furthermore, I've heard that your esteemed country's County Princess Linghui is a divine doctor who can bring the dead back to life. If even she cannot cure it, how could our Shuobei Kingdom possibly have an imperial physician capable of doing so? Your Highness must be joking."
The highly pitched, deliberately prolonged drawl at the end of his sentence fell into Xiao Rongche's ears like a knife sharpening against his heart.
Dragging back and forth, relentlessly torturing him.
