If the throne is the only thing to be wagered on, then Xie Rang is the only one.

He spoke so frankly that Li Xu was left speechless.

Li Xu said tactfully, "Your Majesty, there's no need to make it sound so serious."

Xie Rang chuckled and said in a deep voice, "I am not joking. As long as I am alive, the military tally of the Li family will never be taken back, and the Li family army can be dispatched by the Grand Tutor at will. I know that you two are worried about the unpredictability of the emperor's heart, so I am naturally willing to provide guarantees."

Now that things have come to this point, even if they still have doubts, they can't continue to obstruct things.

Meng Wan looked at this one, then at that one, and then asked Yun Qing, "Child, have you explained things clearly to His Majesty?"

The clues Xie Rang revealed were more than just a few. During the march, Meng Wan and Li Xu both noticed them. They just didn't ask, but that doesn't mean they didn't know anything.

"That's clear."

Seeing their concerned looks, Yun Qing felt a surge of warmth in her heart. She lowered her voice, a rare occurrence for her: "Thanks to my parents, I have the opportunity to come here. This is my own choice, and I do not regret it. I also implore my parents to trust His Majesty this once."

Honestly, probably no one saw Yun Qing and Xie Rang together. Putting aside their social status, there are enough examples throughout history to teach them a lesson. That's why they hesitated so much at the beginning and tried to persuade Yun Qing.

Although the little girl was not their child, she was more like their child than their own, and had a personality that was exactly the same as Li Yunqing's.

"That's fine." The couple exchanged a glance and relented. "This is your business. As long as you don't regret it, we won't say anything more."

Once they confirmed that Yun Qing wasn't being forced by the young emperor, their hearts were already mostly at ease. As for the rest, they would have to wait and see how things developed between the two of them.

But that's a matter for the future. No one can say for sure what the future holds; only time will tell.

Yun Qing breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you, Father and Mother."

"No need to thank me, we're all family."

Now that things have been out in the open, the couple had a lot to talk about after being separated for so long. As for Li Yunshu, she didn't want to be a third wheel, so she left quickly.

Xie Rang reached out and hooked Yun Qing's fingertips together. After successfully holding her hand, Yun Qing turned to look at him in surprise: "So you can be nervous?"

When Xie Rang was talking to the couple, he seemed to be in complete control and successfully fooled Yun Qing. However, his palms were also covered in cold sweat, leaving Yun Qing completely stunned.

"I'm afraid I won't speak well."

In front of Yun Qing, Xie Rang saw no need to hide anything any longer. He smiled and said, "They are, after all, relatives of the Grand Tutor."

Because Yun Qing cares, he cares too.

"There's no need to be so nervous. Deciding to be with you is my decision. Whether they approve or not is just an attitude, which I will accept, but I won't take it too seriously."

There is a need to strike a balance between family and loved ones, and the outcome depends entirely on how the mediator acts.

Yun Qing is now acting as a middleman.

"Hmm," Xie Rang replied casually, "Let's go for a walk."

Today's feast for the troops is especially lively, with bonfires everywhere in the camp. There is plenty of meat and wine, and the soldiers seem very happy.

After fighting for some time, everyone has become familiar with the current emperor. When they saw him and Yunqing strolling around, some of the bolder ones even offered them drinks.

The general smiled and said, "This is a local specialty milk wine. Your Majesty and Lord Li, please try it!"

Yun Qing accepted it: "Thank you."

As its name suggests, the milk wine has a faint milky aroma when smelled. Yun Qing took a sip and found it sweet.

Seeing that she liked it, Xie Rang kindly reminded her, "This is milk wine that has been brewed many times, so the alcohol content is quite high. It would be best for you to drink less, Grand Tutor."

When it was just the two of them, Xie Rang certainly didn't mind, but now that they were outside, he didn't want others to see her drunk.

Yun Qing glanced at him indifferently: "It's alright, I'll be back soon."

Yun Qing had only come out for a walk to get some fresh air and relax, and she didn't plan to stay outside for long. She was aware of Xie Rang's possessive thoughts, but she usually wouldn't expose them if they weren't important.

Xie Rang understood the hidden meaning in her words and felt a surge of joy. Taking advantage of her inattention, he quickly kissed her cheek and instantly returned to his serious demeanor as the Emperor.

Yun Qing was both amused and exasperated: "Can't you be a little more discreet when we're out in public?"

Xie Rang muttered, "They've already been very restrained."

I've had even more outrageous ideas, but those aren't things I can talk about right now.

Yun Qing: ...

-

A few days passed.

The chaotic situation improved somewhat. The Rouran sent a formal letter of surrender and offered several princes and princesses as hostages to demonstrate their resolve. However, Xie Rang found this troublesome and refused.

He didn't want to provide meals for outsiders, and felt that it was a waste of resources to send people to watch over these people who had come to the capital.

Yun Qing also felt it was pointless, and she agreed with Xie Rang's idea in making this decision.

Whether or not a war will break out in the future is not something that can be decided by one or two protons; sending those people here won't make a difference.

After things calmed down, Yun Qing and Xie Rang didn't rush back to the capital. The grasslands were beautiful at this time of year, so they sent a small group of people with them and rode around to explore.

Lü Le and his men were ruthless; they burned a large area of ​​the grassland. If they hadn't made preparations in advance to extinguish the fire, who knows how long it would have burned.

"It's a pity, we don't know how long it will take for this place to be restored to its original state."

The landscape was desolate; the grass was scorched to the roots, leaving only black ash, and occasionally the carcasses of small animals could be seen. The air smelled rather unpleasant.

Xie Rang glanced at it and said, "It will get better slowly."

“That’s true.” Yun Qing’s eyes were full of smiles. “Just like the Da Xi of the past.”

They rode for an unknown amount of time before stopping by a stream. Further out were rolling mountains, and the temperature dropped, with a chilly wind blowing.

They dismounted, and Xie Rang casually took the thin cloak handed to him by the person behind him and draped it over Yun Qing's shoulders.

"From now on, Rouran will also be part of our territory." Yun Qing said with a faint smile, pointing to the distant mountains. "There are even more distant countries over there, but we don't need to cross over and disturb them."

North of the Rouran lies the continent further out. Perhaps some traveling merchants have already reached there, but they no longer need to expand their territory.

Sometimes, rapid, epoch-making development is not necessarily a good thing.

They should just keep what they're entitled to.

“The Grand Tutor is right.”

Xie Rang's gaze also fell on the mountain peak, and after a long while, he lowered his eyes and looked at Yun Qing with tenderness.

"Everything has settled down."