Everyone turned to look.

Ministers: Here she comes again, here she comes again, she's here with something else!

Ordinary official: You're really bold! Our Emperor is so powerful, why would he be afraid of you?

The wealthy and powerful women: What a nuisance! They're always looking for trouble. I'm so glad they won't marry into my family.

The men: Tsk tsk, this girl is courting death!

Ladies: She really stands out!

Gentlemen: The princess is so beautiful, she's a real beauty.

Murong Yue tilted her head, looking Xiao Yuanshuang up and down, "You lost?"

"lose..."

Xiao Yuanshuang paused for a moment.

To prove that she was no less capable than men, she never neglected riding and archery when she was young, and her skills were on par with the Crown Prince.

It's just that she's gotten older, so she rarely shows off her riding and archery skills.

The people of Qing have no idea they possess these abilities.

Murong Yue is younger than him, and he's heard that her martial arts skills are mediocre. How could she possibly win?

How could I possibly lose?

She's definitely going to win this round.

Xiao Yuanshuang took a few more steps forward and raised her voice, "If I win, please grant me one request, Your Majesty."

"Don't worry, this is just a personal matter. I won't mention anything that would harm the diplomatic relations between the two countries."

"If I lose, I will leave it to His Majesty to decide."

She is very confident.

Even if I were to lose, the Qing Kingdom is known as a land of etiquette; what could they possibly do to me?

Everyone looked at Murong Yue. In this situation, no one could speak up, no matter what their thoughts were.

Murong Anle's brows were so furrowed they could have trapped a fly.

She secretly lowered her voice and pleaded with Li Xuanji for help, "What should we do?"

We absolutely mustn't let His Majesty make any promises; losing would be disastrous...

Li Xuanji sighed, "I hope Your Majesty will show mercy."

Um?

Murong Anle was completely bewildered.

Before Xiao Yuanshuang could even wipe the smile from her lips, she heard Murong Yue's words.

"Fine, you lost. Three hundred thousand units of grain."

Everyone understood that if Xiao Yuanshuang lost, she would have to give Qing Kingdom 300,000 taels of silver worth of grain.

This request was truly unexpected by everyone.

The ministers breathed a sigh of relief.

Good food, good food.

Xiao Yuanshuang was a little taken aback.

no.

Why are you so obsessed with food!

Do we have enough grain to buy three hundred thousand taels of silver? She turned to look at Lord Pi.

Pi was speechless.

How could this happen so suddenly? There are still 300,000 taels of silver worth of grain from Yue Kingdom that are stranded abroad.

Xiao Yuanche stepped forward, lowered his voice, and said somewhat angrily, "Royal sister, what are you up to now?"

"You've won, but what good has it done to anger the Empress and the Qing Kingdom?"

How can he remain a king after publicly humiliating Murong Yue?

He didn't think Murong Yue could win at all.

Xiao Yuanshuang had anticipated his obstruction, and kept her eyes fixed ahead, not even glancing at Xiao Yuanche.

He said in a nonchalant tone, "My dear second brother, why don't you ask me what conditions I would have set if I had won?"

Her words were ambiguous, but implied something.

Her water-smoky eyes glanced at Xiao Yuanche, then looked at Murong Yue standing on the high place.

Xiao Yuanche immediately understood, "Does Your Highness mean that if you win, you'll speak up for your second brother?"

"nature."

Of course not.

"Hehe, then I thank you very much, my royal sister. Once I become the Queen Consort of Qing, you will surely have a place in Qing."

snort.

Idiot.

Xiao Yuanshuang snorted coldly in her heart and stopped looking at Xiao Yuanche.

He said loudly, "In that case, Your Majesty, are you willing to sign a written agreement?"

They're actually afraid Murong Yue will change her mind?

Li Xuanji stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, let me draft this document."

Murong Yue nodded.

The other ministers, however, were filled with apprehension.

Isn't this document too hasty?

Who knows what the third princess of Yue is up to?

Li Xuanji, representing the Qing Kingdom, and Pi Daren, with droopy eyelids, representing the Yue Kingdom, signed a contract on the spot.

"Best of three. If Your Highness loses, Yue Kingdom will have to send 300,000 taels of silver worth of grain within half a month, based on the grain price in the capital of Qing Kingdom at that time."

"Does Your Highness find this feasible?"

This was the first time Li Xuanji had spoken so much with Xiao Yuanshuang.

Xiao Yuanshuang looked at him tenderly, "Aren't you afraid... that Yue Kingdom won't send grain?"

Li Xuanji lowered his eyes, not even looking at her, his tone cold and distant, "Then the lost grain will be used to offset this bet once it is recovered."

"As for 300,000 taels of silver, of course not."

First, they agreed on a transaction time of half a month, which was exactly the time when the message would be sent back and the grain would arrive in the capital of Qing Kingdom.

Moreover, by using the grain prices in Qing Kingdom as a benchmark, the Yue Kingdom was prevented from manipulating grain prices.

Just as Li Xuanji said, they were not afraid that the Yue Kingdom would renege on its promise.

The previous transaction is not yet complete.

The 300,000 taels of silver from the Qing Kingdom were divided in one payment, and the lost grain was still within the territory of the Qing Kingdom.

Li Xuanji had come up with such a thorough plan in just a quarter of an hour since he proposed the challenge.

If I could have someone like that to assist me, why would I have to worry about not ascending the throne?

"Lord Xuanji, you are truly leaving Yuan Shuang with absolutely no way out."

She smiled sadly, deliberately revealing a hint of fragility, like a small lily on a cliff edge or a daisy by a mountain spring.

Instantly aroused a strong protective instinct in the young masters of noble families.

Li Xuanji ignored it and had two copies of the agreement exchanged and signed.

The spring hunts of previous years were never this exciting.

People craned their necks to see what was going on.

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