"embassy?"

"ambassador?"

"Trade corridor?"

"..."

When Murong Xi finished presenting Jing Zhe's proposal in the court, it immediately caused a great uproar, and all the court officials, including Emperor An, were on high alert.

That includes Jing Zhe, of course, but he was faking it.

Although the suggestion originated from Jing Zhe, he couldn't say it aloud or let anyone know that it was his idea. So, Jing Zhe had already told Murong Xi yesterday not to mention it.

However, after listening, Emperor An glanced at him intentionally or unintentionally, and Jing Zhe quickly turned his head away, pretending not to see it.

The court was already buzzing with discussion, but Emperor An waved his hand, signaling everyone to quiet down. Then he looked at Murong Xi and said, "The cooperation model that the Empress mentioned... is truly novel. I've never heard of it before, but it's indeed quite good. Did the Empress come up with this suggestion?"

"Yes, I had a sudden inspiration last night and came up with this method of cooperation..."

"It seems the Empress was quite busy after court yesterday!"

"..."

Murong Xi felt that Emperor An's words had a hidden meaning, and recalling the romantic scene with Jing Zhe yesterday, her face instantly turned red, and she quickly lowered her head.

Seeing this, Emperor An understood.

After a moment of calm, Murong Xi raised his head again: "I wonder if His Majesty the Emperor is satisfied with this method of cooperation?"

At one moment, Murong Xi suddenly felt an impulse and anticipation: how wonderful it would be if Emperor An didn't agree...

Now that Jing Zhe has become a high-ranking official of the second rank, if I insist, I should be able to arrange a marriage alliance with him, right?

Last night, she tossed and turned in bed, constantly thinking about what Chu Xia had said.

She's been magnanimous for over twenty years, so what's wrong with being selfish just once? If she goes back to Yueyao Kingdom, she's afraid she'll never meet him again, which is why she sometimes has impulsive moments where she doesn't care about anything, and that's exactly what's happening now.

It's a pity that she brought up the cooperation herself, and such cooperation would be more beneficial to Anguo. Unless Emperor An is stupid, how could he refuse?

The best course of action would be to refrain from mentioning cooperation once it was a foregone conclusion that Jing Zhe would be promoted to the second rank. However, he would probably be so angry that he would vomit blood if he did that.

Women are always contradictory, and Murong Xi was no exception. It was as if there were two thoughts within her: one that made her pursue her goals recklessly, and the other that made her consider the bigger picture. Clearly, the second thought was slightly more dominant, allowing her to remain rational.

Emperor An was not in a hurry and asked with a smile, "What are your thoughts on the Empress's proposal, my dear ministers?"

As a result, the court officials immediately expressed their opinions, and everyone's opinion was in favor, with very few people raising any objections.

At this moment, Emperor An called out to Prime Minister Zhu, "What are your thoughts on the Empress's proposal?"

Zhu Tong stepped forward and replied, “Your Majesty, as the saying goes, unity benefits both sides, while division harms both. Although this describes the state of a country, it is equally applicable to the diplomacy between two countries.”

However, the "cooperation" in this context refers to cooperation. Cooperation between two countries is much better than confrontation. Moreover, as the Queen said, if Anguo and Yueyaoguo cooperate, they can exchange their respective rich specialties, which would be a good thing for the people.

The Western Frontier and Southern Qi pose a threat to the Yueyao Kingdom, and so does the An Kingdom. An alliance between the two would serve as a deterrent to them as well.

Emperor An nodded slightly, but his brows furrowed slightly.

Clearly, as a monarch, he did not want to hear only positive voices regarding such bilateral cooperation.

Having served as prime minister for many years, Zhu Tong was well aware of this principle. Upon seeing Emperor An frown, he immediately changed the subject: "However, establishing embassies throughout the country would require a huge investment of manpower and financial resources for both An and Yueyao. It would be a waste of resources and manpower for the sake of cooperation."

Emperor An nodded in satisfaction. Empress Yueyao had come seeking cooperation, and since she was the weaker party, he naturally couldn't agree so easily.

"The Queen has also heard this. Establishing an embassy would require enormous manpower and resources, and the suggestion to build a trade route is indeed good, but laying a dedicated route and setting up relay stations along the way would also be extremely costly..."

Anyone in business knows that bargaining is necessary, and it's clear that Andi is trying to "lower the price".

Murong Xi was struggling with her decision when she suddenly heard this. Her eyebrows rose, and she exclaimed excitedly, "Since it's such a huge expense, then... let's just forget about it!"

"Let it go...?"

Emperor An had already figured out how to "lower the price" and make demands, but Murong Xi's "Forget it" completely shocked him. Even though he had been emperor for so many years, he had never seen this kind of negotiation before, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Jing Zhe was also taken aback.

Didn't we agree yesterday that we would only cooperate, not form a marriage alliance? Why the sudden change of heart?

At the same time, she was secretly relieved that Zhu Xinning was resting at home today and did not come to court. Otherwise, she would have been furious and might have thought that she was lying to her, that the cooperation with Murong Xi was a pretense, and that her real intention was to get promoted and marry into a powerful family.

"Yes, my original intention in proposing this was to benefit the people of both countries through cooperation with Anguo, but I did not expect it to be such a waste of resources and manpower, which is not what I wanted. Even if I am heartbroken, it is not acceptable! So, let's just forget about it!"

Murong Xi said with a smile.

Is this what it looks like when you're sad and upset?

How come I didn't notice at all?

Emperor An came to his senses and asked in confusion, "But the Empress traveled all the way to An Kingdom to seek cooperation, didn't she? If we don't cooperate now, how will we explain it to the people of Yueyao when we return?"

At this moment, a faint smile appeared on Murong Xi's lips, while her eyes hardened considerably: "Well... since we can't cooperate through this method, then we'll have to—"

At this point, she looked at Jing Zhe and said, "We have no choice but to arrange a marriage alliance!"

"..."

In this life, why not be bold and selfish just once?

Moreover, it was their emperor himself who said it was a waste of manpower and resources and that cooperation would be difficult, so you can't blame her!

Thinking of this, Murong Xi felt a little better, but she was still uneasy and wondering how Jing Zhe would answer: would he still refuse so ruthlessly if his second sister Zhu Xinning was not around?

Seeing that Murong Xi had finally come to her senses, Chu Xia was also very happy: "The Empress is right. Since His Majesty Emperor An has rejected our proposal, it seems that we have no choice but to arrange a marriage alliance!"

"..."

When did I refuse?

I am just…

Emperor An was very troubled, so he could only ask, "President Jing, what's your opinion on this matter?"

Jing Zhe was even more annoyed. Couldn't he just agree to the proposal? He'd tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the bait, and now he'd have to clean up the mess...

"Your Majesty, in fact, our Emperor did not refuse the cooperation. The reason he said the cooperation would be difficult was because he was afraid that Yueyao Kingdom did not have enough energy and time, and wanted to take care of Your Majesty!"

"..."

————