Chapter 17 Negotiation: "Let's send this esteemed official for a marriage alliance!"...

In addition, there is another reason.

She saw purity in Jin'an's eyes. Few officials who had served for three years could still have such clear and bright eyes. So it was not only because of his family background, but also because of those eyes that she spoke so frankly with him despite their short friendship.

Everyone said that her mother had committed suicide by self-immolation in Weiyang Palace, but Feng Tan never believed it. At that time, the situation was urgent, and the night before her mother sent her to the outer palace, she pressed her forehead against Feng Tan's and said, "Yong Le, don't be afraid, your mother will come to find you."

Mother was gentle but not rigid. There was a passage in Weiyang Palace leading to the outside world. She could have faked her death and set herself on fire to get out of the palace. Why would she really risk her life for her teacher? There must be a hidden reason.

What exactly happened back then? How did Mother die in that raging fire?

To find out the truth, Feng Tan needs Jin An's help. In addition, the Jiao Si clan records that Ren Pingsheng gave her mention that when Emperor Jianming was alive, he sent eunuchs to survey the waters off Linzhang. The team stayed on the island where the Jiao Si clan lived for half a year, and the relevant records are kept in the inner palace library.

So how to trick Jin An into handing him over is a big problem.

Feng Tan's mind raced with conflicting thoughts, but his smile remained genuine and open as he replied to Jin An, "We both work in the Six Ministries, so it's clear we have a deep connection. If Brother Jin An wishes to negotiate and attend the banquet with me, I am naturally willing."

"Great! Great!" Jin An laughed happily, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw two officials walking towards him from the corridor with their hands behind their backs. He greeted them, "Lord Ji, Lord Zheng, are you also coming to dine?"

Ji Guang was the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies. He had just received a message from the Cabinet and came to find Feng Tan. He looked at the young man sitting upright in the corridor and said, "Lord Feng, my name is Ji Guang. I am the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies. I have come to explain tomorrow's arrangements to you on the orders of the Grand Secretaries."

Feng Tan stood up, greeted him, and said, "This humble official greets Lord Ji."

The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies is a fourth-rank official in charge of the affairs of the Court of State Ceremonies. His rank is much higher than Feng Tan's. She shifted her gaze slightly and landed on Zheng Qingru, who was standing next to Ji Guang. She then bowed and said, "Greetings, Lord Zheng."

That night, Zheng Qingru had overheard Feng Tan and Gao Yu arguing outside the walls of Yongle Temple while accompanying Grand Tutor Feng, but due to the darkness and the urgency of the situation, he hadn't paid much attention to Feng Tan. Today, the sky was bright and the wind was calm, and the young man greeted him with a smile, his appearance not catching Zheng Qingru's eye at all.

Across the vast sky, clouds swirl and billow, spring light bursts forth, and one might mistake it for the return of an old friend.

Looking again, the boy was still the same boy, but the old friend was still nowhere to be found after all these years. He and Yongle only had some resemblance in appearance; their overall demeanor was completely different.

The young man stood in the sunlight, his body radiant, his smile as gentle as a spring breeze, and asked, "Lord Zheng, do I have flowers on my face?"

Zheng Qingru then came to his senses and bowed, saying, "It was my rudeness, I apologize."

The atmosphere became tense, so Jin'an tried to smooth things over by saying, "Tan-ge'er is handsome. I was also stunned for a long time when I first saw him!"

Ji Guang has been busy with peace talks these past few days and hasn't had enough sleep. He didn't want to waste any more time here, so he said to Feng Tan, "Lord Feng, you don't need to be on duty at the Six Ministries these next few days. The Cabinet has recommended you to come to the Court of State Ceremonial to participate in the negotiations. There are quite a few others who will be negotiating with you. Please come with me."

The Honglu Temple's office was located in Jiasui Ward, specifically south of the Ministry of Works and east of the Ministry of Revenue, facing west. The rear office housed the Imperial Pharmacy. The group emerged from Fengtian Gate and boarded a carriage waiting for them from the Honglu Temple. As they traveled, Ji Guang explained the members of both sides in this negotiation.

The victorious nation, Dahuang, sent officials to the negotiations in order of rank: Ji Guang, Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial; Qi Shan and Zhan Yu, Vice Ministers of the Left and Right Courts of State Ceremonial; Zheng Qingru, Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review (specially dispatched by the Emperor); and Feng Tan, Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Justice (recommended by the Cabinet). Royal attendees included Prince Jing, Feng Cheng, and Prince Chu, Feng Tingyan, as well as the heads of the three judicial departments: Xiao Yinshi, Left Censor-in-Chief; Gao Yu, Minister of Justice; and Nie Yanghong, Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

The Huachao delegation consisted of the Second Prince Xiao You, General Shen Shiyi, and a group of people from the Court of State Ceremonial.

Regardless of the outcome of tomorrow's negotiations, His Majesty will host a banquet at the Wushuang Palace the day after tomorrow. If the negotiations fail to reach a satisfactory conclusion, the delegation will remain in the capital after the banquet to continue negotiations with Dahuang until a result is achieved that satisfies both countries.

After Ji Guang introduced the two negotiating parties, he briefly explained the negotiation process and precautions. After getting off the carriage, everyone went to the reception hall of the Honglu Temple.

"Shen Shiyi, a female general of the Hua Dynasty?" Jin An asked with great interest when Ji Guang mentioned her name again. "We captured her brother Shen Ze three years ago. I'm afraid her purpose in coming here this time is not simple, is it?"

Ji Guang glanced at Jin An, then sat in the head seat and said coldly, "I can't control what she's doing here, but gentlemen, remember to make no mistakes tomorrow, and never retreat where you can't."

***

After two snowstorms, the capital city finally had a few sunny days. Today is the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Every household soaked beans last night, waiting to cook a bowl of hot Laba porridge this morning.

After finishing a bowl of hot porridge, Feng Tan felt warm all over. After checking her clothes again, she said to Uncle Meng, "Uncle Meng, I won't be on duty at the Six Ministries today. The Court of State Ceremonial is nearby, so there's no need to see me off!"

The Court of State Ceremonial established its negotiation hall in the Court of State Ceremonial, which was responsible for managing guests from all over the world. To showcase the grandeur of the Great Ming Dynasty, Emperor Jianming ordered the Ministry of Works to spend 50 million taels of silver to build the high hall of the Court of State Ceremonial. Looking out, the glazed tiles covering the double eaves of the high hall shimmered neatly under the dim light of the eastern sun, creating a magnificent and imposing scene.

Around 7 a.m., the negotiating envoys from both countries were seated on either side of a large five-foot-high rosewood desk. Jin An sat in a rosewood chair with openwork backrest and muttered to Feng Tan beside him, "My father always said that among the eighteen major government offices in the capital, the Court of State Ceremonial Affairs has the most impressive furnishings. After seeing it today, wow, my father was right!"

The Ministry of Works was responsible for surveying and constructing various locations in Dahuang. Jin'an's father served as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, so he naturally knew about the construction expenses of various government offices.

Before Feng Tan could reply, Ji Guang, sitting in the middle, glanced at him sideways with a warning look in his eyes. Jin An pursed his lips, touched his nose, and remained silent.

After waiting a while, the two members of the Dahuang royal family and the heads of the three judicial departments took their seats. Ji Guang stood up and, together with the negotiating officials, greeted the envoys from the Huachao Dynasty. The Huachao Dynasty envoys then returned the greeting.

After the ceremony, Ji Guang read out the details of the negotiation. The atmosphere was initially harmonious until the issue began to revolve around the ownership of Silu Prefecture.

The Hua Dynasty first sent troops to provoke the Huang Dynasty in the Linzhang sea area, intending to seize the rare treasures in the sea. After their defeat, the Huang Dynasty's border army directly seized Silu Prefecture of Hua. The Hua Dynasty's intention was to marry its emperor's princess to the Huang Dynasty in exchange for the return of the border lands and to restore friendly relations between the two countries.

Emperor Chongming meant that it was acceptable to exchange women for peace, but to think that one could get back Silu Prefecture with a princess sent for marriage was a pipe dream.

"Lord Ji, you have misunderstood. Our dynasty not only sent Princess Liling to marry into the state, but also offered to pay 80 million taels of silver in exchange for Silu Prefecture."

The speaker was Xiao You, the second prince of the Hua Dynasty. He wore a jade crown and a moon-white brocade robe with dark dragon patterns. He was handsome and, although not very old, he was mature and refined in his manners, giving people a sense of elegance.

The struggle among the princes of Huachao is fierce. The Second Prince, having been appointed by imperial decree, must have his own exceptional abilities. Moreover, the outcome of this negotiation concerns his personal imperial future. For both public and private reasons, he will not easily compromise or cede Silu Prefecture.

Upon hearing this, Ji Guang pondered for a moment, then looked at Zheng Qingru beside him. Their eyes met, and after a short while, Ji Guang spoke: "Huachao's sincerity is considerable, but compared to the vast profits of a prefecture over the next few years, 80 million taels of silver... is far from enough."

Upon hearing this, Xiao You twirled the bone ring on his finger, suppressing the anger in his heart, and sneered, "It is true that my Great Hua was defeated, but that doesn't mean we can't fight again! My dynasty is willing to exchange the legitimate princess and eighty million taels of silver for this, isn't that enough?! What more do you want, you're asking for?!"

“Young people are just so hot-tempered,” Ji Guang gestured to a young eunuch serving in the hall to pour Xiao You a cup of cool tea. “Second Prince, have a cup of cool tea to cool down.”

Shen Shiyi strode in from outside the door, her slender yet strong fingers snatching the cup of cold tea from the eunuch's hand. She slammed the large knife onto the rosewood table with a clang, tilted her head back, drank the tea, and said in a cool voice, "I've long heard that the officials of the Great Huang are as stingy as misers when negotiating. Seeing it today, I can see that it is indeed true."

The two vice ministers of the Court of State Ceremonial glared at him, but Ji Guang remained calm and said, "General Shen is mistaken. Roosters are aggressive. The battle in the waters off Linzhang was not started by our country. The name 'Iron Rooster' should never be associated with any of the officials of our Dahuang Dynasty."

Jin An couldn't help but burst out laughing. Feng Tan twisted his arm hard under the table, and his laughter subsided a little.

The Hua Dynasty's negotiating envoy's face turned ashen, but Shen Shiyi laughed heartily, picked up the broadsword on the table and casually twirled it in his hand, leaned forward and stared intently at Ji Guang, saying, "After conquering Silu Prefecture, the Huang Dynasty did not choose to continue the attack, but instead withdrew its troops and returned to the capital... If they did not take advantage of such a good opportunity to pursue the victory, either the army would be short of money, or the army would be short of food, or... they would be short of both money and food."

She slammed her broadsword on the rosewood table and laughed, "You're so poor you're practically a dog. We'd give you eighty million taels of silver and you still wouldn't take it. What are you pretending to be so rich for?"

Ji Guang remained calm and composed upon hearing this, his expression unchanged. "General Shen is quick-witted and a heroine among women. However, in a war between two nations, how can we judge the variables by common sense? It would be best for Huachao not to probe the strength of our dynasty, whether it is real or feigned."

“Of course.” Shen Shiyi’s smile deepened. “Dahua has come to negotiate peace; how could they possibly provoke war? My words just now were merely my personal speculation, so please don’t take them to heart, sirs. However, our dynasty’s willingness to exchange Silu Prefecture for eighty million taels of silver is already a show of utmost sincerity. If the Huang Dynasty does not agree, that’s fine too! Our dynasty will only pay the Huang Dynasty fifty million taels for its departure expenses, but…”

“We should always have a give-and-take, shouldn’t we? My dynasty is willing to send its legitimate princess for a marriage alliance, but your dynasty’s legitimate princess is not yet of marriageable age, so I won’t force her to come.” She paused, her gaze falling on Zheng Qingru, staring at him intently, and then playfully raised her chin, saying, “Why not send this gentleman for the marriage alliance? He’s handsome and refined, I like him very much!”

Prince Jing, Feng Cheng, sitting in the audience, suddenly changed his expression and shouted, "Absurd!"