When Lu Xiaoyang went to He Jiuniang to explain her choice, He Jiuniang wasn't surprised. She just nodded and said, "As long as you don't regret it, that's fine."

Lu Xiaoyang said very seriously, "Third Aunt, I know. Although being an official is glamorous, I still feel that it is not as carefree and unrestrained as doing business. With Third Uncle and Leizi at home, I will not encounter any major problems in doing business in the future. I like doing business and will also help Third Aunt handle business matters so that Third Aunt has no worries."

He will remember the kindness his family showed him for the rest of his life.

He Jiuniang patted him on the shoulder and said, "Well done!"

Compared to the Lu family's calm and joy, Xun Wang was somewhat anxious and agitated. He wanted to contact the Crown Prince of Dongting to discuss whether they could cause some trouble at the Crown Prince of Beiyan's enthronement ceremony, since the more chaotic Beiyan was, the more advantageous it would be for them.

"What happened? What did Dongting say?"

Xun Wang rubbed his temple with one hand, looking very tired.

He risked coming to the capital to sabotage the coronation ceremony. If he cooperated with the Crown Prince of the Eastern Court and was investigated, it would divert some of the Eastern Court's attention. However, if all the attention was focused on him, it would be a loss.

He would also benefit from the Eastern Court, and he would never let the Eastern Court take the benefits for free.

"The Crown Prince of Dongting is seriously ill and is still in a coma."

"He's unconscious, but there are others around, aren't there? Does Dongting have no one else who can make decisions besides him?"

Xun Wang slammed his hand on the table, hitting it too hard and his hand hurt a little, but he was in a bad mood and didn't care about that.

"The other party doesn't seem very willing to cooperate with us. We contacted someone close to the Crown Prince of Dongting, and they said that the safety of their Crown Prince should be the priority, and other matters can be discussed later."

The subordinates don't seem to have much confidence when they speak. The plan was going well, so why did things fall apart now?

Xun Wang smashed the teacup beside him and said irritably, "I don't know what the Eastern Court was thinking, sending such a sickly person over here. What can he possibly accomplish? Isn't this just delaying important matters? We've cooperated with them for so long and received so many benefits. Now they want to kick us while we're down? No way!"

"I heard he was quite ill and almost died. It was only after the young lady prescribed medicine for him that he was able to stay alive."

The subordinate recounted everything he had learned, concluding, "The Crown Prince of Dongting's condition is not optimistic; he probably won't wake up. Perhaps we should find a different partner?"

"Who else can we replace them with at this point? Nantai has been ineffective since the death of its crown prince, living a life of hiding its head and being cowardly. Xiteng is even weaker than the sun. What's the point of cooperating with them?"

Why do I get angrier the more I talk about it?

I really miss the times I worked with the Third Prince.

"Then I'll go and investigate further!"

The subordinate hurriedly left, fearing that his master's anger would soon be directed at him.

Xun Wang sat alone for a long time, going over everything his subordinates had just said, and suddenly felt a little melancholy.

How can we get that daughter back? If she's one of our own, getting her to do everything in her power to wake up the Crown Prince of Dongting shouldn't be too difficult.

No, if it can prolong life, why can't it wake people up?

Could it be that his good daughter was responsible for keeping the Crown Prince of Dongting in a coma?

He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and tried his best to comfort himself, telling himself not to be angry, that was his daughter, and her value was far greater than that of the Crown Prince of Dongting.

Within a few days, envoys from other countries also arrived one after another, but their condition was much worse than that of the Eastern Court. The closer they got to the capital of the Northern Yan Kingdom, the more assassination attempts they encountered.

No one knows who the Northern Yan royal family has offended. There were ambushes all along the way, and their people suffered heavy casualties. It's really not easy for them to have made it to the capital alive.

The envoys were eager to demand compensation from Bei Yan as soon as they arrived. If it weren't for attending this grand ceremony, they wouldn't have traveled thousands of miles to come here, and they wouldn't have encountered so many dangers.

The crown prince was also very troubled. He had sent people to welcome him in advance, but he still encountered this situation.

What's most infuriating is that those assassins are all deadly, leaving no room for error. Moreover, each wave of assassins is different, and there's more than one person behind them.

The crown prince sent many people to investigate, but there was still no news.

As compensation, the Crown Prince bestowed many fine gifts upon the people of Nantai and Xiteng, which made them somewhat more obedient, waiting for Beiyan to give them an explanation.

When envoys arrive in the capital, it is natural to arrange for someone to accompany them. When there is nothing to do, they can stroll around the city and experience the local customs and culture of Beiyan. In fact, the main purpose is to show them the current prosperity of Beiyan and make them give up any inappropriate thoughts.

On the afternoon of the second day after the Xi Teng envoy arrived in the capital, the Crown Princess summoned He Jiu Niang to the palace and immediately began to complain upon meeting her.

"Xiteng sent a princess this time, wanting to form a marriage alliance with our Beiyan. There are quite a few eligible young talents in the Beiyan royal family, but since she is a princess, it is not easy to arrange a marriage for her. We can only arrange marriages for the princes of marriageable age. However, among the princes of marriageable age, only Prince Jing is unmarried, but Prince Jing is stationed at the border, which is causing great concern."

The Crown Princess, who was pregnant, had a bitter expression on her face and kept talking.

Listening to her rambling, He Jiuniang realized that she had been complaining but hadn't gotten to the point for a long time, so she couldn't help but ask directly: "Then the princess's target isn't His Highness the Crown Prince, is it?"

The Crown Princess paused, then almost burst into tears: "That's right! She's a princess, after all. It's not right for her to be a concubine for another prince. But if His Highness were to ascend the throne and be made a concubine directly, that would save face for both sides."

Moreover, that was what Xiteng originally intended as well.

"Would Your Majesty be willing to give up your husband?"

He Jiuniang was eating melon seeds, her face full of amusement.

The Crown Princess's eyes instantly turned resentful: "What do you think?"

If they wanted to, why would they have rushed to summon He Jiu Niang into the palace?

"Isn't that settled? He's your husband. If you don't agree, how can anyone bully you?"

He Jiuniang knew that it was normal for men in this era to have multiple wives and concubines, but the Crown Prince's attitude towards his Crown Princess was different. He had never considered taking a concubine after many years of marriage, so he would not easily agree to it.

However, with Bei Yan facing internal and external troubles, if the Crown Prince wants to stabilize the court, he might actually consider making Princess Naxi Teng his concubine, which would be considered an alliance with Xi Teng.

That's what they say, but He Jiuniang doesn't think that men who rely on women to stabilize the court have any ability. It all depends on how the Crown Prince chooses.

“But the courtiers will say that I am jealous and unworthy to be the mother of the nation.”

The Crown Princess lowered her head sadly, placing her hands on her high, protruding belly. She knew the Crown Prince was in a difficult situation, and if she truly cared for him, she should have taken the initiative to let him marry Princess Xiteng.

But that's her husband; how could she give him up so easily?