If Tuoba Hongyun marries into the Xiaoyao Prince's Mansion, wouldn't that give the Xie family confidence? And give them the capital to oppose us!

"Ah Li, didn't you say that your love with the Princess was stronger than gold? You even refused my decree to let you take a concubine before, but now you're willing to marry Princess Tuoba?"

The implication is that Xie Liwei is suspected of deceiving the emperor!

"Your Majesty, it is true that my love for the Princess is stronger than gold. I did not say that I would marry her myself. I have so many cousins, and Princess Tuoba can choose any one of them. She can simply give her first child to my cousin, and he will treat him as his own child."

Tuoba Yunwu understood his meaning and immediately became furious, "How dare you, Great Chen, treat my Northern Qing princess Qirong like this!"

The Xie family did have a prominent position in the Great Chen Dynasty, but that was in the past. Now, apart from Xie Liwei, no one from the Xie family holds an official position in the court, and Xie Liwei is just a prince in name only.

He even felt that Xie Liwei was unworthy of Tuoba Hongyun! And he actually wanted his cousin to insult his sister!

"Your Highness, a marriage alliance between our two countries symbolizes friendly relations and requires someone capable of shouldering this important responsibility!"

The implication is that they are not worthy!

"Oh, so Prince Tuoba also knows that your mission represents your country? If so, why have you repeatedly made things difficult for my princess?"

The topic circled back to the beginning, and Tuoba Yunwu was choked up again.

Why is this carefree prince so difficult to deal with!

"Alright, Ali," Yuwen Wuji interrupted him. "I know you've lost your child and are suffering both physically and mentally. No amount of external compensation can satisfy you. But you must understand that what's done is done, and you have no choice but to accept it while you're ahead."

Xie Liwei remained silent, so Yuwen Wuji seized the opportunity to say, "Since Prince Tuoba is willing to compensate you with yellow gemstones and gold, let's let this matter rest. In this way, I will decide that this matter ends here."

If Xie Liwei continues to cause trouble, and Tuoba Hongyun really marries into the Xie family, then things will be in big trouble!

Xie Liwei remained silent and sullen, while Li Wei, after being summoned out by the eunuch, hurriedly returned.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Horse Administration just reported that the Fifth Prince's horse went mad and lost control because of mad horse grass. Someone is deliberately framing the Fifth Prince!"

Yuwen Wuji immediately stood up. "What did you say!"

He no longer cared that he was in front of the delegations from Beiqing and Donglin. Or rather, he did it on purpose.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Guards detected the scent of mad horse grass on the clothes of the Northern Qing delegation!"

Tuoba Yunwu gasped, looking at Yuwen Wuji glaring angrily, and then at the pairs of fierce eyes staring at him from all around. He knew that he might not be able to get out this time!

"This wasn't done by Beiqing! Beiqing won honorably and would never resort to such underhanded tactics! The warriors of Beiqing would never win for the sake of winning!"

Yuwen Wuji snorted coldly, "Then what about the hidden weapon that Princess Tuoba shot in front of everyone just now!"

Tuoba Yunwu was speechless. What a coincidence!

They, the Northern Qing, really didn't intend to harm the Fifth Prince of the Great Chen!

Yuwen Wuji took a few deep breaths and said, "Until this matter is investigated thoroughly, it would be best for Prince Tuoba not to leave the post station!"

The implication was that they were to be placed under house arrest.

Yuwen Wuji turned and left, and the polo match was called off.

The news that Bei Qing had poisoned the Fifth Prince with mad horse grass and that Princess Tuoba had shot a hidden weapon at the Princess of Xiaoyao spread throughout the capital. For a time, people from Da Chen would spit on anyone from Bei Qing with malice!

That's going too far! We're just here as guests, and they've caused so much trouble in their country. Isn't that just looking down on us?

Everyone who participated in the betting was given their money back—a first for the casino owner. It just goes to show how dishonest the people of Beiqing are; otherwise, why would he have worked so hard for nothing?

Song Yaozhu brought Poyun back to the palace and carefully tended to its big buttocks.

"Luckily, the hidden weapon wasn't poisoned, otherwise I really would have let Tuoba Hongyun live." Song Yaozhu fed Poyun a big, red apple.

Poyun chewed loudly, occasionally letting out a joyful snort. He was enjoying his meal!

"This water has been stirred up quite a bit." Xie Liwei felt that he was just like the kind of troublemaker that Granny Qin was talking about, who was always stirring up trouble for Huang Yuwen Wuji.

"Beiqing says they didn't use the 'mad horse grass juice'. Who do you think it was?"

Xie Liwei shrugged indifferently, "It has nothing to do with me. But with the Mad Horse Grass incident, not only has Da Chen gotten its revenge, but it can also settle accounts with Bei Qing. It's beneficial to Da Chen."

After feeding Po Yun an apple, Song Yaozhu patted his head before coming out of the stable.

"I think it's Consort Shu."

After Xie Liwei finished thinking, he nodded. After this incident, the Fifth Prince would no longer be criticized for being incompetent; instead, everyone would feel sorry for him, as he had fought for the country but was framed and injured.

"But it's also good, at least the Emperor has no reason to punish those people."

Those people refer to the Imperial Guards that Consort Shu selected for the Fifth Prince to participate in the competition.

Originally, the candidates could have been chosen from noble families or military families, but Consort Shu felt that those people would only care about showing off and would not highlight the Fifth Prince's abilities, so she chose a member of the Imperial Guard with an ordinary family background but good abilities.

If she had initially chosen someone from a military family, given their experience and knowledge, they wouldn't have let the men's team lose so badly.

However, because of this incident, the Northern Qing sent people over again to negotiate, but Yuwen Wuji extorted a large sum of money from them before they were allowed to take the Tuoba siblings away.

The delegation from Beiqing arrived arrogantly and left in a sorry state. Before leaving, they still left behind a yellow gemstone and a hundred taels of gold.

Having suffered such a great loss, Bei Qing harbored deep resentment towards Da Chen. Tuoba Yunwu, in particular, believed that revenge was a dish best served cold; once he came to power, he would make Da Chen pay for today's humiliation!

But that's a story for another time.

The Eastern Lin delegation, on the other hand, used the excuse that Dongfang Shi was unwell and was recuperating in Da Chen. It was clearly Bei Qing who caused the trouble, yet they were eating and using Da Chen's resources. Just the daily cost of their tonic soups alone was considerable. Yuwen Wuji really wanted them to leave quickly, and he had the imperial physician check their pulses every day.

However, Dongfang Shi's body was indeed severely depleted. The imperial physician dared not tell Dongfang Shi the truth, but he still told Yuwen Wuji the truth.

"The Regent's body has been invaded by snake venom, and his internal organs have been damaged, especially his heart, which is now barely holding on. He is only being kept alive now; although he looks no different from an ordinary person, he could die suddenly at any time."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Wuji was alarmed. If he were to die in Dachen, who knew how Donglin would try to take advantage of him!

Get rid of them! They must be sent away immediately!