Qin Wan was still a little confused: "What about Dongwu's sincerity? What does that mean?"
Miss Qian glanced out the window. Her husband, Sun Yat-sen, seemed to be paying attention to her all the time. He smiled at her and nodded slightly.
Miss Qian had just said, "The Sun family's relative is an official in Dongwu, stationed at the border. He's unaware of the court's movements, but he's been managing the border for many years and is happy to see the peace. So when we were trying to gather food and fodder, he noticed and helped us a lot. Of course, this isn't something I can say publicly; I'll just say it's my own way of repaying a favor."
"Okay, okay." Qin Wan's heart was touched: "I hope there will be no more war in the world."
The carriages transporting food and fodder entered Huzhou Prefecture in a mighty procession. Both the common people and the soldiers felt at ease. With merchants coming and food and drink available, everyone felt at ease.
Qin Wan specially hosted a banquet to entertain Miss Qian.
Miss Qian refused, "Food is already in short supply, don't waste it."
Qin Wan thought for a moment and said, "Then let's make some of our capital's specialties. You've been away from home for a long time, so you must be missing it, right?"
Miss Qian's eyes suddenly turned red. "I want to eat dumplings, dumplings stuffed with chives, chive boxes, chive pot stickers... I seem to be quite unsuccessful. Before I got pregnant, I didn't think much about these foods. After I had a child, I kept thinking about it. There are chefs from the capital in Dongwu, but after staying there for a long time, the taste of their food always seems to be a little lacking."
"Then let's eat!"
Qin Wan immediately arranged for someone to make it. It was not something rare, basically just home-cooked dishes, and what ordinary people eat at home. It took little time to make, but not much effort at all.
At the same time, Qin Wan asked someone to prepare some stir-fries to go with these staple foods.
As the aroma of chives drifted over the prefectural government residence, a guard came to announce, "Crown Princess, Prince Yong is here!"
"Please come in!"
Qin Wan was delighted and hurried out to greet him.
Prince Yong strode in and said with a loud laugh, "I can smell the aroma of wheat and chives from a distance. Are these fried chive dumplings?"
Qin Wan went up to him and said with a smile, "Uncle, you came by chance. Since we have limited resources, I made some home-cooked dishes."
Prince Yong's fierce eyes swept over Qin Wan and Miss Qian, and he bowed to Qin Wan and said with a smile, "Is this my niece-in-law of the Crown Princess?"
After saying this, he took a step back, lifted his skirt and knelt to greet the Crown Princess. "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to the Crown Princess."
How could Qin Wan let him really greet her? She quickly reached out to help him, but Prince Yong was so strong that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help him up.
Prince Yong insisted on bowing, then stood up and said with a smile, "The Crown Princess is quite strong. When I came here just now, I heard from the Governor of Yongzhou that the Crown Princess has good kung fu skills. Shall we practice with her later?"
Qin Wan was surprised for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll let the uncle teach me some Kung Fu. Dinner is about to start, so we can talk while we eat."
The situation is different now, and they are not so particular about eating.
A table was set up in the hall. Qin Wan and Prince Yong politely gave way to each other, but in the end, Qin Wan, the Crown Princess, took the first seat.
Prince Yong was on the left, and on the right were Miss Qian and her husband, who had brought emergency food supplies. Below them were several provincial governors and the Tongzhi of Beifucheng, who had been temporarily invited to take over the position of prefect.
Qin Wan raised her glass and said, "At this time when the country is in crisis, Miss Qian generously donated money, and the Sun family of Dongwu generously donated food and fodder. On behalf of the civil and military officials of the Great Zhou, and the people of the Great Zhou, I thank you both for your generosity."
Miss Qian quickly raised her fruit tea and said with a smile, "I don't deserve it."
Sun Wen also said: "Dongwu and the Great Zhou have had diplomatic relations for a long time. We only wish for peace in the Great Zhou. Only then can our two countries enjoy long-term prosperity and we can conduct our business with peace of mind."
"Please." Qin Wan raised her glass.
Prince Yong also raised his glass and said, "You two righteous men, indeed we deserve a toast."
Several provincial governors and the governor of Beifucheng also raised their glasses to toast.
Miss Qian and Sun Wen were terrified and quickly clinked their glasses and drank the next one.
Qin Wan raised her glass again to toast Prince Yong: "When the Imperial Uncle was not present, he was able to hand over the Yongzhou troops to me. This shows that the Imperial Uncle is dedicated to the country and the people. I have recorded everything you have done. Please, Imperial Uncle."
Prince Yong clinked glasses with Qin Wan and said with a smile, "I've been traveling a lot and don't like socializing. If you continue to be so polite, the food will get cold and I won't be happy."
"Then let's eat." Qin Wan drank the wine in the glass, then picked up the chopsticks and picked up some dishes for King Yong. Only then did everyone start eating.
Regardless of what others said, Miss Qian was really greedy for these things. She ate two palm-sized chive dumplings and fifteen dumplings, which were still not enough. She also wanted to eat pot stickers and ate a lot of vegetables.
Sun Wen was terrified: "Your stomach is hurting, eat less, or you will feel uncomfortable. Ouch..."
Sun Wen was truly afraid, but he was surprised to see how much Prince Yong and the provincial governors ate. "I've often heard my wife say that you people in the capital usually eat at least 20 or 30 dumplings. I didn't believe it. We only eat a few over there. But seeing it today, it's really..."
The Tongzhi of Beifu City laughed and said, "It's not just you Dongwu people. We who grew up in the south don't have much to eat."
A few people were chatting. Miss Qian was pregnant and easily tired. She felt sleepy before finishing her meal, so Sun Wen took her to rest.
Qin Wan then turned to Prince Yong and asked about the situation of the Qiang people: "Uncle, I wonder how the Qiang people are doing."
Prince Yong was delighted: "I'm here now, what else can I do? Everything will be fine."
Prince Yong paused and said, "The Third Prince of the Qiang tribe has been executed, and the First Prince has successfully ascended to the throne. He is preparing to send envoys to the capital to work for diplomatic relations between the two countries."
Qin Wan raised an eyebrow, looking at Prince Yong's gloating expression, and hesitantly said, "Could it be that they want to send a princess to marry? The eldest prince's daughter is probably still young, right? Or should I send a princess from the Great Zhou to marry?"
"Or perhaps, the eldest prince wants to marry his sister?"
Prince Yong laughed heartily. "The Crown Princess is intelligent. The current ruler of the Qiang tribe has a young daughter, so he plans to marry his younger sister to the King of Zhou as a gesture of sincerity. Of course, if the Great Zhou is willing to marry the princess, that's fine, but he already has a queen, so he can only have a concubine in the harem, which would be unfair to our princess. But that wouldn't be submission to the Great Zhou."
Qin Wan curled her lips, a hint of sarcasm in her eyes: "Normally, women are not allowed to participate in politics, saying that women know nothing. Yet, when it comes to diplomatic relations between the two countries, they want women to marry into the alliance, sacrificing their happiness."
"The princess is supported by the nation's resources, but the prince isn't? Since we're sending someone here, we might as well send a hostage. It's said that a woman's destiny is her father, her husband, and her son. So, if the Qiang people don't send a princess, but send a hostage, it's fine, right?"
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