met free Chapter 230 Fallen leaves return to their roots
Chapter 230 Fallen leaves return to their roots
The atmosphere in the lobby suddenly became heavy.
“Northern Qi is a defeated nation, and the initiative is in our hands.” The Prince of Zhenbei said to Zhao Yi, “You should focus on recovering and don’t worry Manman.”
Zhao Yi said gently, "Thank you for your concern, Father-in-law."
"Your Highness, please change into some casual clothes before entering the palace," Princess Zhenbei said calmly. "The envoy has only been in the capital for two or three hours, and the Emperor has already sent someone to invite you to the palace. It shouldn't be about discussing the marriage alliance."
The Prince of Zhenbei's face was cold and stern: "His Majesty has summoned the envoy from Northern Qi."
“Once the envoys have met with the Emperor and presented their credentials, they should propose a marriage alliance.” Princess Zhenbei frowned slightly. “Until the choice of the princess to marry the Northern Qi princess is finalized, there is still room for maneuver.”
After a pause, the Princess Consort of Zhenbei reminded him, "If Northern Qi really marries our son, it will be an open secret. You must show the composure of a great general and use force first, then diplomacy."
The Prince of Zhenbei grunted in acknowledgment, waited a moment, and seeing that the Princess Consort of Zhenbei had no further instructions, went to the main courtyard to bathe and change.
Having lived more than half his life, the Prince of Zhenbei was unwilling to be disciplined by others, but preferred to be managed by his Princess Consort.
-
Emperor Jing'an summoned the envoy from Northern Qi to the Golden Palace, where all the officials were present.
The Prince of Qi, along with Princess Guangning and the chief and deputy envoys, entered the palace and bowed to Emperor Jing'an: "The envoys of Northern Qi pay their respects to Your Majesty."
"You may rise." Emperor Jing'an's gaze swept over Princess Guangning, and he slowly said, "What brings this envoy from afar to our country?"
Seeing that Emperor Jing'an was pretending to be ignorant, Prince Qi lowered his eyes to hide the gloom in them: "Your Majesty is skilled in both literature and military affairs, and is good at maintaining good relations with neighboring countries and securing the borders. My father specially sent an envoy to establish friendly relations with your country and also hopes to establish marriage alliances with your country."
After saying this, the King of Qi took out the letter of state and presented it to Emperor Jing'an.
Emperor Jing'an opened the official letter and extracted the demands of Northern Qi.
They wanted to reclaim the cities lost by Northern Qi and establish trade between the two countries.
To show their sincerity, they were willing to marry the princess to the Great Zhou Dynasty and provide a generous dowry.
This dowry was actually compensation for attacking the Great Zhou.
"You think you can just send a princess to marry into the Great Zhou and then take back the cities that the Great Zhou's soldiers fought and lost with their blood? That's wishful thinking."
Emperor Jing'an closed the letter and placed it on the table: "If this is the attitude of your Northern Qi in making peace, then your plans are likely to fail."
King Qi's face darkened, and he looked at the deputy envoy beside him.
"Your Majesty, Northern Qi and Great Zhou are neighbors and have been at war for many years. Both countries have suffered heavy casualties, and the people have been forced to leave their homes and become displaced. Great Zhou suffered a natural disaster last year, and its treasury is empty. It may not be able to support the war any longer and needs to recuperate. A marriage alliance between the two countries would be beneficial to both sides."
At this point, the deputy envoy changed the subject: "Your Majesty, Princess Guangning has long admired the Prince of Zhenbei, who is known for his bravery and invincibility in battle, and whose offspring are even more outstanding than his. If Princess Guangning can marry the eldest son of the Prince of Zhenbei as she wishes, those cities will be considered as her dowry."
"Your Majesty, our Emperor dotes on Princess Guangning and is willing to sign an alliance with the Great Zhou for her sake, promising never to invade the Great Zhou again." The deputy envoy bowed and said, "We hope Your Majesty will grant your permission."
The hall was completely silent, and all the officials looked at the Prince of Zhenbei.
Everyone assumed that Princess Guangning was going to enter the harem, or that she would choose one of the two princes.
Who knew that Princess Guangning was going to marry the eldest son of the Prince of Zhenbei.
Prince Yu, standing to the side, glanced at the Northern Qi envoy without making a sound, pondered for a moment, and then discerned Northern Qi's intentions.
The root cause of Northern Qi's defeat to Great Zhou lay with the Prince of Zhenbei.
They wanted to remove this obstacle.
Emperor Jing'an was not a foolish ruler, and he was well aware of Northern Qi's intentions; this marriage could not be arranged.
"Our soldiers fought against the Northern Qi, and the several cities they captured have long been incorporated into the territory of the Great Zhou."
The Prince of Zhenbei looked sharply at the deputy envoy from Northern Qi: "Does Northern Qi intend to use several of its lost cities as dowry?"
The deputy envoy was taken aback and was about to speak.
The Prince of Zhenbei spoke first: "Do you intend to continue the war, recapture those lost cities, and then cede them to the Great Zhou as dowry?"
He paused, then said, "Or perhaps I misunderstood. Do you intend to cede a few more cities to Princess Guangning as part of her dowry?"
The deputy envoy's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly said, "That's not it... It's several cities bordering the northern border of the Great Zhou..."
"Then you should send the dowry back first." The Prince of Zhenbei sneered, "I'll be waiting here."
The deputy envoy was speechless. If they could win, they would have already done so. Why bother with a marriage alliance?
The Duke of Zhao said to his deputy, "This old minister has a question, and I am not sure whether I should speak of it."
The deputy envoy's expression softened, and he gestured for the Duke of Zhao to continue.
The Duke of Zhao asked, "In this battle between the two countries in the north, which country was defeated?"
The deputy envoy's face was a mixture of pale and ashen, and he remained silent.
The Duke of Zhao, oblivious to the situation, continued, "The Northern Qi envoy keeps talking about using the cities conquered by the Great Zhou as dowry."
At this point, he chuckled and said, "This old minister vaguely thought that the Northern Qi had captured several cities from the Great Zhou and wanted to return them to the Great Zhou in exchange for Princess Guangning marrying the eldest son of the Prince of Zhenbei."
The envoy from Northern Qi was ridiculed by the Duke of Zhao, and was extremely embarrassed.
The deputy envoy took a deep breath and said to Emperor Jing'an, "Your Majesty, you lived in Northern Qi for a period of time when you were young, and our Emperor had a very close relationship with you and Princess Yizhen. It is precisely because of this friendship that our Emperor wanted to form a marriage alliance with Great Zhou to fulfill Princess Yizhen's last wish."
When Emperor Jing'an saw the jade pendant at the envoy's waist, his fingers clenched into fists.
"The matter of a marriage alliance is of utmost importance, concerning the alliance between our two countries, and cannot be settled in a few words." The deputy envoy regained his composure: "We hope His Majesty will give us a reply after the negotiations between our two countries conclude."
Emperor Jing'an looked at the deputy envoy with a cold gaze, but the deputy envoy said, "Your Majesty, our Emperor has instructed me to convey a few words of private message to you."
Emperor Jing'an dismissed all officials, leaving only the deputy envoy.
The deputy envoy stood in the center of the hall and bowed to Emperor Jing'an again: "Your Majesty, I extend my greetings to Your Majesty."
Emperor Jing'an said coldly, "What does Your Majesty mean by this?"
The deputy envoy smiled and said, "Our Emperor said that Princess Yizhen longs to return to her homeland. If His Majesty agrees to the marriage alliance, then Princess Yizhen will be allowed to return to her roots."
The image of Yi Zhen's tearful eyes flashed through Emperor Jing'an's mind as she said, "Brother, Yi Zhen is waiting for you to take me back to the country."
Seeing that Emperor Jing'an seemed to be softening, the deputy envoy said cryptically, "Your Majesty, you should be most at ease knowing that Princess Guangning has married the eldest son of the Prince of Zhenbei."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Jing'an's expression shifted.
“The Prince of Zhenbei is loyal to the Great Zhou Dynasty and should share the Emperor’s burdens. He will not disobey the imperial decree.”
After saying this, the deputy envoy took his leave.
Emperor Jing'an watched the deputy envoy's departing figure, remaining motionless for a long time.
He didn't know how much time had passed before he slowly blinked his sore eyes.
"Cao Chunxiang," Emperor Jing'an inquired, "has the Prince of Zhenbei left the palace?"