Xie Jingyan said, "His Majesty has agreed."

Shen Wan was shocked and couldn't believe it. "How could the Emperor possibly agree to this?!"

Xie Jingyan said, "Your cousin's achievements in Meizhou alone are not enough. Add to that the dam collapse in Xizhou and the floods in Yuzhou that you dreamed about, and those three achievements together are not insignificant."

Shen Wan said, "But the last two things haven't happened yet. Even if my cousin helps us get through them, it's still not enough to get a get-out-of-jail-free card, right?"

"Add another two million taels of silver to help the imperial court build an iron cavalry force."

"..."

"Two million taels? That's way too much."

Shen Wan looked at Xie Jingyan and suspected that he was loyal to the court and not her cousin.

Xie Jingyan pinched Shen Wan's nose and said, "The two million taels were given to you voluntarily by your older cousin. I negotiated with him for one million six hundred thousand taels."

Shen Wan, "..."

I really can't imagine what it would be like for Xie Jingyan to help her cousin bargain with the emperor.

The Emperor will probably be angry that Xie Jingyan is siding with outsiders.

She looked at Xie Jingyan and said, "Are you asking my cousin to use the pardon token as a betrothal gift to marry Princess Qinghe?"

Xie Jingyan said, "The Prince An's mansion probably wouldn't dare accept this betrothal gift."

Shen Wan, "..."

She looked at Xie Jingyan, her voice rising two decibels, "You dare not accept it, yet you're asking for it on behalf of my cousin?"

Xie Jingyan looked at Shen Wan and said, "Have you forgotten what you dreamed about?"

Shen Wan frowned slightly, then relaxed her brows. "The Prince of Yanping killed the son of the Princess of Huyang?"

Xie Jingyan said, "Most of the things you dreamed about have happened. Some things you were able to avoid because you took precautions, but no one knows about the conflict between the Prince of Yanping's son and the son of the Princess of Huyang. Even the Prince of Yanping's son himself is unaware of it. This is something that is impossible to prevent, and it is very likely to be just like what you dreamed about."

“Killing the son of Princess Huyang is a crime; unless one has a pardon, even the Emperor cannot protect him.”