The Hall of Cultivated Heart!

"Your subject, presenting himself to Your Majesty!"

The Xuan Emperor sat behind the dragon desk and looked at Ning Chen with displeasure. "What's this? Is it so hard to say Father Emperor?"

"Uh... Pardon, Your Majesty. Your subject has simply gotten used to it!"

"Your child, presenting himself to Father Emperor!"

Ning Chen knew better than to argue and made his bow a second time.

At that the Xuan Emperor finally smiled.

He picked up two memorials and handed them to Quan Sheng. "Take these to Ning Chen."

Eunuch Quan passed the memorials over to Ning Chen.

Ning Chen opened the first memorial. It was, of all things, a set of peace terms from the Zhaohe Kingdom.

Zhaohe was short of goods, and the Xuan Emperor had allowed Zhaohe to trade with the cities of the eastern frontier. It amounted to a trade arrangement of a sort.

But this time, coming back from the eastern frontier, Ning Chen had given the order forbidding the Zhaohe to set foot on Great Xuan soil.

As a result, several dozen shiploads of goods were stranded at sea. Most of the cargo was seafood, and all of it rotted aboard the ships. The losses were heavy.

The sovereign of the Zhaohe Kingdom had submitted a petition for peace. He hoped the Great Xuan would open the trade road, and offered that Zhaohe would acknowledge the Great Xuan as its master.

Ning Chen gave a cold snort and opened the second memorial.

This one came from Beilin Pass. It said that over the last year the Great Khan of the Tuoluo Kingdom — that is, the sovereign of the Tuoluo Kingdom — had brought six tribes of the Tuoluo Kingdom together under him, adding a hundred and fifty thousand men to his strength.

He had also been in frequent contact with Xiliang, and it looked very much as though he meant to make an alliance.

Seeing Ning Chen close the memorial, the Xuan Emperor asked, "What do you make of it?"

Ning Chen bowed. "Your Majesty... uh, Father Emperor, this…