Chapter 468 It's all about timing and fate; I'm truly lucky.

He just wanted to give himself a bath; it wasn't some incredible task.

Ji Qingwu inwardly condemned herself for overthinking things.

Zhao Mingyan reached out to pick up the cotton towel, but she snatched it away again.

He asked in surprise, "What are you doing, Awu? You should go out quickly, the water is getting cold."

Ji Qingwu pursed her lips and said, "I'll do it."

This time, Ji Qingwu no longer hesitated and diligently scrubbed his body, leaving no part underwater unwashed.

Even when she encountered obstacles, she took a deep breath, lifted it up, and continued scrubbing.

Ji Qingwu didn't even notice the increasingly rapid breathing around her ears; she had only one goal now.

That is—completely clean from head to toe!

Zhao Mingyan has now experienced what it means to have a sweet burden.

Especially after the bath powder was applied to her body, her soft, boneless hands roamed all over her body.

Zhao Mingyan's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

Ji Qingwu was already absorbed in completing her task. When she finally finished bathing and was completely clean, she took a few breaths, threw the towel aside, and looked at the man's body in front of her with satisfaction, as if admiring her own work.

She raised her fair, rosy cheeks and asked, "What does Your Majesty think?"

Zhao Mingyan didn't hold back his praise, saying, "Excellent!"

Ji Qingwu shook his head with a hint of smugness.

Zhao Mingyan added, "But there is still room for improvement."

Ji Qingwu asked, "What room for improvement?"

Zhao Mingyan moved his arm slightly, his hand underwater supporting her buttocks, and she pressed against his well-defined waist and abdomen.

"Why don't we discuss this together?"

Not just once, but several times.

*

After Yuwen Tianqing was captured, he was imprisoned with Gao Zhaoyue.

They waited for a long time, until it was dark and midnight, and finally the Emperor of Beili appeared.

Ji Qingwu was drowsy, but Zhao Mingyan kissed her on the face and said he was going to see someone from Xijin.

She immediately perked up and insisted on going along.

Lifting the door of the spacious military council tent, Ji Qingwu found more than a dozen people inside.

The Northern Li army that was previously dispatched has returned in batches. The Hu brothers have already returned, but Feng Xiang and Wei Ting have not yet returned.

The Hu brothers bowed slightly to Ji Qingwu, to which she responded with a faint smile.

When Gao Zhaoyue saw Ji Qingwu following behind the Emperor of Beili, she felt that she was very different from when she saw her yesterday. Although she still had that beautiful face, so tender that it looked like it could be pinched to release water.

But her eyes were moist and sticky, and anyone who looked at her would know that the Emperor of Beili was her beloved and the person she trusted most.

Once a woman is captivated by a man, she cannot escape his grasp.

Gao Zhaoyue snorted coldly and turned her gaze back to the emperor sitting at the head of the table, saying, "Tianqing only brought a hundred men. Is he really here to seek peace? We hope that the two countries can stop the war."

"Cease the war?"

Zhao Mingyan calmly replied, "Okay."

Yuwen Tianqing asked suspiciously, "You're willing to agree? It's that simple?"

Zhao Mingyan raised his hand, and Li Yuzong stepped forward, took out a document, and said loudly: "Xijin cedes three hundred li of grassland west of Yingchou Gorge, and Beili establishes a border market with three hundred Xuanjia guards stationed there."

Yuwen Tianqing said, "I knew you wouldn't let Xijin off so easily."

But this treaty wasn't entirely unacceptable. Just as he was pondering this, Li Yuzong took a breath and spoke again in a shrill voice.

"Send the fourth prince of Xijin, Yuwen Tianqing, as a hostage; the garrison of Beili may freely travel along the Yumen trade route; Xijin shall not raise adult breeding horses for ten years; any troop deployment exceeding one thousand must be reported thirty days in advance..."

Many more followed, and the more Yuwen Tianqing listened, the more gloomy his face became.

Ji Qingwu, who was sitting to the side listening, had a flicker in his eyes.

If the army can suppress Xijin, there will be no more trouble. Moreover, by choosing Yuwen Tianqing as a hostage, Xijin will have no one worthy of the throne, and internal strife will surely occur.

If Xijin agrees, they will not have time to compete with Beili for at least a decade.

As soon as Li Yuzong finished speaking, Yuwen Tianqing said with a livid face, "These terms are going too far! Sending me to Beili as a hostage is worse than killing me right now."

Gao Zhaoyue remained relatively calm. She raised her voice and said, "Do you think we have no other means? My clan's magic is not limited to beast taming and using Gu!"

"But I'm also tired of fighting on the battlefield. Otherwise, if we had fought with our backs to the wall, we might not have lost to Beili."

The Tianyue Clan does indeed possess many secret techniques unknown to the world; Gao Zhaoyue was not lying.

Emperor Wusu sat calmly behind the long table. He had ordered Li Yuzong to draft twelve items, but he did not expect them to agree to them all.

The first three points are the most important.

Negotiations between the two countries must be a two-way street.

Zhao Mingyan picked up a cup of tea and sipped it slowly.

"No rush, you two should think it over carefully."

But at this moment, Ji Qingwu suddenly brought out a pot of flowers and placed it on the table in front of her, and she fiddled with its slender leaves with her fingers.

"Xijin, do you wish to destroy the nation?"

Upon hearing her clear and melodious voice, everyone in the tent turned to look at her.

Gao Zhaoyue said sternly, "Your tone is far too arrogant in front of me, little girl!"

Zhao Mingyan glanced at her coldly and said, "How about we add another condition: you will go and keep vigil for Yuwen Shuo?"

Gao Zhaoyue felt a chill run down her spine under his cold gaze. She gritted her teeth and said, "Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Bei Li is dreaming if they think they can completely destroy Xi Jin!"

Ji Qingwu smiled and said easily, "It's not difficult, it just takes a hundred years."

She pointed to the object in front of her and introduced it: "This herb is also called Yin-Yang Broken Weaver Grass. It can be eaten or burned into ash and reused. If you sprinkle this herb in the Xijin River, what do you think will happen?"

Gao Zhaoyue and Yuwen Tianqing stared at her in shock.

The Beili general in the tent gasped, and the Hu brothers were even more stunned.

Ji Qingwu said slowly, "No one in Xijin has a son. A hundred years from now, there will be no one to carry on the family line. The country will cease to exist and be completely destroyed."

The negotiations ended in an eerie silence.

It also achieved unexpected results.

Gao Zhaoyue agreed to these terms, and Yuwen Tianqing also agreed to go to Beili as a hostage; they had no other choice.

Seeing that the matter had been resolved smoothly, Ji Qingwu winked at the emperor sitting at the head of the table, and then left with the pot of herbs.

Chi Rui watched with admiration as Ji Qingwu walked away.

Yuwen Tianqing clenched his fists until they turned blue at the thought of being a hostage in Beili. Gao Zhaoyue was unwilling, but she had no choice but to accept it, and she patted her son on the back.

Zhao Mingyan glanced at the document bearing his seal and signature, stood up, and spoke calmly.

"It's all about timing and fate; I'm truly blessed."

Li Yuzong rarely saw the emperor looking so smug, and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

The Beili general in the tent also burst into laughter.

The laughter was deafening, with the Hu brothers laughing the loudest.

If they knew that being a soldier was so enjoyable, without being mistreated or resentful, they would have come long ago.