When Mo Qi Qi hears what the foreign king said, she gets really excited and grasps his hands just as tight, overwhelmed and speechless.
Jun Qian Che unhappily clears his throat.
That grabs Mo Qi Qi’s attention, causing her to turn towards him. When she sees the dark expression on his face, she becomes curious. Why does he look so angry?
When Jun Qian Che glares at their entwining hands, she follows his gaze and finally realizes what they have been doing. Her heart jumps in shock. She lets go of the King’s hand and talks to him in English, explaining that the people in Hua Chen Kingdom puts importance to segregation between men and women. Touching any body part of a female is considered disrespectful.
When the King hears that, he immediately apologizes to Jun Qian Che politely.
Jun Qian Che turns to Mo Qi Qi curiously, “Do you understand what the King is saying, Empress? And what did you say to him?”
Mo Qi Qi quickly translates everything for him, “Answering Your Majesty, chenqie told him that Hua Chen Kingdom puts importance into segregation between genders and that he cannot simply touch a woman. He replied that he did not know there is such a thing and has offered Your Majesty a courteous apology.”
“Do you really understand his language, Empress?” asks Jun Qian Che calmly. Although he appears calm and guessed that Mo Qi Qi speaks this language, it is still very surprising to hear it from her own mouth.
Mo Qi Qi suddenly feels superior over this lot! Turns out Jun Qian Che and these bunch of old ministers cannot understand this language! Hahaha! Turns out, there will be a moment where even Jun Qian Che will have to ask her for help! Even he has things he cannot do!
Mo Qi Qi arrogantly replies him, “Answering Your Majesty, chenqie can understand him. The language that he is speaking on is English. Chenqie coincidentally can converse in that.”
The other ministers sigh in relief before hurriedly buttering up to her, “Oh, the Empress is too outstanding.”
“True! Who knew the Empress could speak a foreign language, how talented! She isn’t Duke Zhen’s daughter for nothing!”
Mo Qi Qi looks at Jun Qian Che’s face before adding, “These praises are too much for bengong. Bengong is the Emperor’s Empress, it is bengong’s responsibility and honor to share his burden.”
Only then does the look on Jun Qian Che’s face improve. He looks at Mo Qi Qi before calmly saying, “Then, ask the King what he has been talking about. He seemed rather anxious.”
Mo Qi Qi nods before talking to the King in English. Once the King shares his side of the story, she finally understands why he has been looking so restless.
“Replying to Your Majesty, the foreign King’s entourage accidentally bumped into and injured a man outside the city. The man called his friends and demanded money for compensation. The entourage tried to reason with them since they do not have Hua Chen’s money with them. They offered to give them goods from the west, instead. The men refused and the two sides fought. The interpreter got hit as well. Now, the Queen has been taken hostage by those people. They demand 10,000 liang of silver within four hours. Two hours have passed now. Chenqie hope Your Majesty will send people to save the Queen.”
Jun Qian Che is enraged when he hears that, “How could that happen! Zhen did not expect there to be such people in Hua Chen Kingdom. They actually dared to attack foreign entourage!”
“Your Majesty, chenqie think that this has been staged by those people to extort money. You need to hurry and save the Queen. If anything happens to her while she is in Hua Chen Kingdom, it will not be good for us.”
“Somebody come! Take people with you to where the Queen has been detained. Incarcerate the perpetrators and send them to the Punishment Bureau to be handled!” orders Jun Qian Che solemnly.
“Yes!” the imperial guards are immediately on the move.
It did not take them very long to save the Queen. When the Queen and King are reunited, they embrace each other while weeping; they clearly have deep affection for each other.
The King turns to Mo Qi Qi and thank her from the bottom of his heart.
Mo Qi Qi smiles generously at them while replying courteously.
The foreign Queen asks about Mo Qi Qi’s identity, and it is only then does the King realize that she is the Empress. The pair thank her formally.
Jun Qian Che orders the servant to prepare the foreign royalty some place to stay and lets them rest first. He will then arrange a banquet later, to properly welcome them.
The King and Queen returns to rest first. The rest of the ministers retreat as well.
Now that she serves no purpose any longer, Mo Qi Qi turns to Jun Qian Che before curtsying, “If there is nothing else, chenqie would like to retreat first.”
Just as she is about to walk away, Jun Qian Che suddenly speaks, “Zhen would like to know how the Empress know that language. Why have you never spoken it before? Zhen could tell that even Duke Zhen was surprised. You seem to owe zhen an explanation, Empress.”
Mo Qi Qi suddenly feels like strangling Jun Qian Che. This piece of trash, utterly ungrateful towards his benefactor! The King and Queen have just left and he immediately finds fault on her! If she had known this, she would not have helped him!
Although her heart says that, her lips says the complete opposite. She looks around shadily before saying, “It is a magical story, Your Majesty! One day, chenqie had a dream. A celestial offered to give chenqie a special set of skill. Chenqie said yes, because why not? When chenqie woke up, chenqie realized that chenqie suddenly knew how to speak English. That’s how it went. Can you believe it, Your Majesty?”
Jun Qian Che narrows his eyes before speaking icily, “Go on and speak nonsense, Mo Qi Qi. See if zhen will not kill you.”
Mo Qi Qi smiles arrogantly, “You will not. You need chenqie as a translator.”
Jun Qian Che glances at him, “At least you still have some wit inside that head of yours.”
Mo Qi Qi clicks her tongue while smiling.
Jun Qian Che gets up and walks towards her, “Go back to your palace. There will be a banquet for the foreign entourage later, do not be late.”
Mo Qi Qi curtsy in front of him, “Yes. Chenqie shall retreat first.”
Ban Xiang greets Mo Qi Qi in worry when she returns to Feng Yang Palace, “You are back, Your Ladyship. Were you discovered?”
Mo Qi Qi scowls, “I think Jun Qian Che is my star of calamity. He always ruins my plan!”
Ban Xiang grows even more worried when she hears that, “You were discovered?”
“No, I was not discovered. I was dragged straight to court, instead!”
Ban Xiang gasps, “The court? Don’t tell this servant that His Majesty intended to punish you in front of all the ministers?”
Mo Qi Qi immediately breaks the suspense and turns to Ban Xiang happily, “Nope. His Majesty needed my help.” Then, she begins telling Ban Xiang everything.
Ban Xiang smiles happily, “You are too outstanding, Your Ladyship! His Majesty ought to hold you in higher esteem now!”
Mo Qi Qi looks at her in disdain, “Never mind that. I will be happy if he only as much as give me less trouble after this!”
“Why are you saying so, Your Ladyship? All the concubines inside the palace wish to attract His Majesty’s attention, why are you dismissing this so lightly?” Suspicion begins to rise inside Ban Xiang’s heart. Could a person change so much from amnesia?
“Other people are other people, that is their business. Never mind that, let’s talk about the foreign King instead. I did not expect to meet an English speaker here. It feels like fate.” Although their skin colors are different, this encounter somehow feels intimate. She used to work with a lot of foreigners in her line of work back then, but it is rare to meet them here. She must treat the King and Queen well; who knows, they might return the favor later in the future.
With that in mind, Mo Qi Qi stands up excitedly, “Ban Xiang, let’s go to the imperial kitchen!”
Ban Xiang does not understand why she suddenly wants to go to the imperial kitchen, but she does not ask any question and simply follows the lead.
The banquet later in the night is very lively. Officials bring their wives and daughters to the palace for the banquet, and when they see the Empress communicating with the royal couple in English, their respect for her magnifies tenfold.
The dishes prepared are sumptuous and grand, truly fit for a king.
However, a new problem arises. The royal couple does not know how to use chopsticks. They can only look at the tantalizing dishes, but cannot eat. The situation gets a little awkward.
