The scorching sun was scorching hot, making people’s mouths dry.

It was almost noon when the newly appointed Ritual Minister, Wang Can, set off from the Palace with the honor guards and rushed all the way to Luyuan Garden.

The road from Meridian Gate to Luyuan Garden had long been evacuated by the Honour Guards in advance.

Due to the delay, the envoy team of Ying State failed to leave on time, so there was still no one on the street at this moment.

Both sides of the long street were still guarded by the Honour Guards of Da Yi, and there was not a single civilian to be seen.

When the honor guards arrived, it was extremely noisy in front of the official post.

The formation of the envoys was messy, and the warriors in Ying uniforms surrounded the Honour Guards of Da Yi who were guarding the streets and made a lot of noise. They kept making provocative actions.

The army of Da Yi was strictly disciplined, and no one dared to violate the rule.

Even if they were thrown clods of soil and spit, the imperial bodyguard of the Honour Guards still couldn't fight back, each with a solemn face, like a wooden man without emotion and consciousness.

Wang Xingzhi was a multi-talented man, and the six foreign languages he mastered included Ying language.

Without translation, he could understand the rude words of the warriors.

Although the Ying warriors were irritable and rude, it was Da Yi who missed the time to welcome them.

Wang Can suppressed the anger in his heart, raised his hand high, and signaled the honor guards to stop playing the music and to sound the gong three times instead.

It became quiet for a while.

When the warriors heard a few words from the envoy team, they immediately quietly retreated to the queue and stood back to their respective positions.

The front position of the team of envoys was a delicate wooden carriage carried by twelve people. In the carriage sat a man with white skin and a long and pointed face. This man was in his 40s, and he was wearing a dark purple robe with sleeves, a long blue-grey belt, and a tassel crown on his head. He should be one of the Ying Emperor's assistants, General Yuancang.

Behind this carriage, there was a small carriage. The door was tightly closed, and the person sitting inside was General Yuancang's wife.

Wang Can rode his horse forward and stopped at a suitable position. He dismounted and bowed his hands, his expression neither self-abased nor arrogant.

"I am Wang Can, also called Wang Xingzhi, the Ritual Minister, and I am ordered by His Majesty to welcome you. You must be exhausted from a long trip."

Even if he could speak the Ying language, as Da Yi's Ritual Minister, he could not break the rules. He should speak Shinese when talking with the envoys.

Next to the carriage was an interpreter from Ying State, who immediately translated Wang Can's words to the General.

The man with the mustache in purple clothes was imposing and motionless, and his eyes staring at Wang Can were full of hostility as if there had been sharp steel nails in his eyes that had wanted to pierce Wang Can.

After a while, he said a few words in a low tone.

The interpreter listened, sneered, and said to Wang Can.

"The General asked Lord Wang to kneel down and apologize to him."

Wang Can frowned, burning with anger. Then he replied with a stern face.

"I am a fourth-ranked official of Da Yi, and I can only bow down to His Majesty, the common people, and my parents."

"Even if I were to kneel to the Ying Emperor, it would be unreasonable since ancient times. What’s more, even if the General has made outstanding achievements in Ying State, you will always be His Majesty's courtier."

After a pause, Wang Can smiled with contempt in his eyes.

"Ha-ha, it's an unheard-of joke for a courtier to kneel down to another courtier, isn’t it?"

The interpreter was shocked. His triangular eyes narrowed resentfully, and then he translated the words to Yuancang.

With a sound of "bang", the man in the carriage was furious, slamming his fist hard on the board. Then he said something.

Without translation, Wang Can also knew that the General was annoyed by the long wait for the honor guards.

Wang Can looked calm, bowed to the carriage, clasped his fists deeply, and explained it in fluent Ying language.

The meaning of the statement was that the honor guards did not intentionally delay the time of the welcome but suddenly encountered auspiciousness on the way. The brigade was blocked by a colorful light arch.

After that, a white-robed god descended from the cloud to the light arch.

She claimed to be the Great Imperial God of Amaterasu of Ying State and was very happy to learn that Ying State and Da Yi had diplomatic relations. She specially met the honor guards in person, hoping that the friendship between the two countries would last forever.

This was the countermeasure Wang Can came up with on the road.

Because it was too late to meet them, he needed some wisdom to calm General Yuancang down.

Based on Wang Can's understanding of the national culture of Ying State, he knew that the Great Imperial God of Amaterasu was the god that people of Ying State believed in.

When it came to the Great Imperial God of Amaterasu, it might be possible to successfully lie, so as not to make the irritable and arrogant envoys of Ying State babble at will.

Wang Can's fluent Ying language really shook the entire corps of envoys so that for a long time after he finished speaking, the two sides were silent.

The mustachioed General was stunned as if his brain had been stuck. He just stared at Wang Can, dumbfounded and admiring.

The interpreter turned his head and looked into the carriage several times, waiting for the General to speak.

There was a slight movement at the back of the team. It was the small carriage's door that opened to one side, and a graceful woman in a gown with a rosy cherry blossom pattern, Mrs. Yuancang, showed up.

Hearing that an official of Da Yi could speak the Ying language and described the experience of witnessing the Great Imperial God of Amaterasu, the madam was very interested and wanted to see this fourth-ranked official of Da Yi with her own eyes.

Wang Can breathed a sigh of relief, and the matter was settled.

At this time, the inside officer presented Da Yi's imperial edict to Wang Can.

Wang Can took the yellow scroll with both hands and looked straight at Yuancang.

"I am about to announce His Majesty's order. Please get out of the carriage, General."

After the interpreter translated it, Yuancang smiled and waved his hand to reply.

The expression on the interpreter's face was exactly the same as that of the mustached man.

"The General said he would not get out of the carriage. Please read the imperial edict immediately."

The sincerity on Wang Can's face slowly faded, turning into a serious look.

"General Yuancang, please get off the carriage immediately." He repeated it loudly in Shinese.

The man in the carriage remained motionless.

When the interpreter saw it, he sneered at Wang Can with a deliberately high tone.

"As the General just said, please read the imperial edict immediately, Lord Wang!"

The anger in Wang Can's heart rushed to the top of his head instantly. His bright eyes were facing Yuancang without any obstruction. His face was completely fearless, and he emphasized it again.

"General, please get off of the carriage immediately!"

Ying State was not a vassal state of Da Yi. If he met the Emperor of Da Yi, Yuancang did not have to kneel to Huanan Xin.

But getting out of the carriage and listening to the Emperor's imperial edict was the etiquette that the envoys of Ying State should do.

Now that this General had launched provocations again and again, didn't he take the national prestige of Da Yi in his eyes?

In this case, Wang Can, as an official of the Ministry of Rites, should do his part when he saw the move.

When there was a stalemate, the envoy team of Ying Sate suddenly became restless from the rear.

More than a dozen black-haired prickly-eared hounds rushed out, barking loudly and dashing into Da Yi's honor guards.

For a while, the queue was in chaos. Screaming and mourning overlapped. Copper lamps and incense burners were thrown all over the floor.

Honour Guards on both sides of the street looked anxious. Without orders from their superiors, they could only stand by and watch the young palace maids and eunuchs being bitten by beasts.

Wang Can was horrified. He was about to rush forward when he was thrown down by an inside officer, only to be spared from being bitten by a hound.

Across the billowing smoke and dust, he heard the wild and exaggerated laughter of the warriors of Ying State.

It turned out that these ferocious beasts were deliberately released by them.

Wang Can almost fainted in anger.

The Emperor promoted him as Ritual Minister, but he failed to do his errands well.

For this, Wang Can felt ashamed.

A dark shadow swept past Wang Can with a cold wind, as fast as a sharp arrow from the string.

Immediately afterwards, there were several mournful whines from the hounds.

The smoke and dust dissipated, and clarity was regained.

Wang Can was surprised to see that a hound was being bitten in the throat by a spotted leopard.

Around it, several hounds fell in a pool of blood and lost their breath.