Military exercises and the use of force are not Yan Shang's forte.
Mu Wanyao naturally protected Yan Shang, not wanting him to be bullied by Shi Mian.
However, Meng Zaishi challenged Yan Shang as the King of Wuman. If he did not respond, wouldn't it mean that Wei was incompetent?
Yan Shang gently pulled away the Mu Wanyao who was blocking him and said, "Does the king want me to be a soldier and go to the battlefield?"
Meng Zaishi smiled.
He teased, "Even if I want to, you can't. If anything happens to you, won't the little princess eat me?"
He looked at Mu Wanyao, and sure enough, Mu Wanyao's eyes were spitting fire, staring at him fiercely. Meng Zaishi's eyes dimmed slightly, and he laughed at himself in his heart, thinking that things were different now.
The young princess in his heart who walked side by side with him across the grasslands and between the stone walls, the princess who was drunk by him and fell on his shoulder, the princess who was so weak that she could only hide and cry... he has lost her.
He trained her to be a fearless girl, but now this fearless girl... has become his enemy.
Yan Shang took a step forward, vaguely blocking Meng Zaishi's sight of Mu Wanyao. Liu Ruozhu stood by, silently observing the subtle atmosphere between the three of them, as if he had sensed something.
Meng Zaishi came back to his senses and laughed heartily, "Of course I won't bully you. No matter how you send people and how you arrange your soldiers, as long as they are under 25 years old... After all, I also abide by this principle, and I don't use the Wuman people that I am used to. Let's compete, no matter we win or lose, we are friendly neighbors."
Having said that, if I don’t agree, I would be cowardly.
Yan Shang could only agree to it for now, and thought about how to deal with the military exercise later. After all, he had never been involved in this matter, and he had only visited the Ministry of War frequently to find out the combat power of Wu Man... Talking about military operations on paper was a bit unpleasant.
Mu Wanyao was standing beside him and was extremely unhappy.
She wanted to refute several times, but she knew that Meng Zaishi was targeting Yan Shang. Even if she refuted once, Meng Zaishi would find a new excuse to embarrass Yan Shang.
After Yan Shang agreed, Mu Wanyao blurted out: "You only know how to fight, you are a reckless man, a barbarian! King Wuman, we accepted your military competition, but if we challenge you to a literary competition, would you dare to accept?"
Meng Zaishi, Yan Shang, and even Liu Ruozhu all looked at Princess Danyang in surprise.
Mu Wan calmed himself down and said, "This time the ceremony is not only because of the New Year's Day, but also because next month is my father's birthday. We will have a military parade on my father's birthday, and at the same time, to celebrate, all of you envoys from the neighboring small countries can come up and compete with us in literary talent. How about poetry, calligraphy, chess, or painting? It's up to you to choose."
Since she had the reason to congratulate the emperor, it was difficult to refuse.
Meng Zaishi narrowed his eyes and said, "Princess, are you making fun of us? We can't even speak the Great Wei language fluently, and you want to compete with us in poetry, calligraphy, chess and painting?"
Mu Wanyao retorted, "You Wuman people are the ones who can't even speak the language of the Great Wei clearly. I see that other countries admire the culture of the Great Wei, and many people can recite poems and write couplets. The Great Wei has always welcomed envoys who come to learn our culture. Such a competition is still a friendly exchange."
She deliberately imitated Meng Zaishi's speech, but her voice was tender and crisp, which made people smile: "No matter success or failure, we are still friendly neighbors!"
Meng Zaishi remained silent.
After all, people from small countries cannot compare to the talents of people from the Great Wei. According to his understanding, people from the Great Wei were tested on poetry and prose when they became officials, so how could outsiders compare?
Mu Wan looked up and rolled her eyes slightly.
Yan Shang immediately disagreed: "Your Highness!"
How could she become more and more vulgar? As a good princess, it was okay to do so in private, but how could she roll her eyes in public? Even if rolling her eyes was beautiful, she couldn't do that.
As soon as he opened his mouth, Mu Wanyao knew what Yan Shang meant. Mu Wanyao snorted, restrained his expression a little, and said with his eyes still looking at Meng Zaishi, "Okay, okay, let's add conditions. How about you small countries unite to compete, and we, the girls of the Great Wei, compete with you? And they are all unmarried girls.
"So both sides have their shortcomings. Isn't this fair?"
Meng Zaishi looked at her for a long time and laughed: "Okay, I have discussed with other envoys and will come to fight. Princess, you have said so much, if we don't fight, wouldn't it be too bloodless for us men?"
He said loudly: "Your Highness, please wait for my reply."
Having said this, he turned around without any reluctance, climbed onto the horse's back, and rode away in a leisurely manner.
The people at the Princess's Mansion looked at Meng Zaishi's back. Everyone was silent, and heard Liu Ruozhu's worried voice: "Is this the King of Wuman? He actually has some heroic spirit. It is always unsettling to have such a person leading Wuman as a neighboring country of Wei."
Yan Shang said gently: "King Wuman is a hero, but my men of Wei are not necessarily inferior. My lady, don't worry."
Liu Ruozhu nodded and laughed at herself for thinking too much. This was not something she should be concerned about. She was more concerned about: "Second Brother Yan, you accepted the invitation of King Wuman to participate in the military parade. What should we do? You have never even been to the parade ground."
Yan Shang smiled bitterly, rubbed his forehead, and said: "...I don't care. I have to find a young man under the age of 25 first to see if there is any general who can help me."
But he already knew in his heart that there were not many people.
When he looked up information before, he had already gotten a rough idea of the situation in the Ministry of War. Just as he and his teacher had said, the old generals had died, and the new generals had not yet matured... The Wei Dynasty now had no talented generals.
Anyway, go find it first.
Mu Wanyao was very unhappy listening to this. She turned her head to the side and watched Liu Ruozhu and Yan Shang talking to each other. Her heart was twisted into a knot. She didn't know where those two got so much to say.
In her heart, she secretly hated herself for being a step late: Liu Ruozhu cared about Yan Shang, she, she could care too! She just didn't think of it at the beginning, and was a step late to Liu Ruozhu...
Liu Ruozhu is so annoying.
Mu Wanyao was unhappy in her heart, but she didn't care about Liu Ruozhu talking to Yan Shang. Suddenly, he turned around and asked her with a smile: "Your Highness asked King Wuman to agree to the literary talent competition, but does Your Highness plan to take charge of this matter?"
Mu Wan shook her head nonchalantly: "Yeah."
How could she miss the opportunity to take care of this matter and gain good reputation?
Liu Ruozhu was also worried: "As His Highness said, there are quite a few envoys who are good at our Great Wei culture. If we don't have a young man to fight, but only young girls... we need to be more cautious. We may not win."
Mu Wanyao said impatiently: "I know a little bit about the abilities of girls from aristocratic families."
Liu Ruozhu was startled, then blushed and bowed: "If your highness says so, then I shouldn't refuse. When your highness chooses people, you can include me."
Mu Wan turned around and asked: "What are you good at?"
Liu Ruozhu said softly, "It's all right."
Mu Wanyao disagreed in his heart: Not humble!
Yan Shang smiled and said, "The two ladies seem to be having a great time talking to each other."
Mu Wanyao immediately glared at him: ...How could he see that she and Liu Ruozhu were chatting happily? They were clearly rivals in love! She was clearly angry with Liu Ruozhu!
Are all the men in the world who have wives and concubines so blind? Do they all dream of harmony between their wives and concubines, without any fight for them?
Yan Shang turned his face away, pretending not to see Mu Wanyao's round eyes glaring at him. He liked to see her eyes when she was angry. Those eyes were round and bright, like stars, like lakes, and charming. Like a raging fire, it made his heart beat fast.
But Yan Shang couldn't show it, and couldn't always stare into her eyes.
His face was hot and he coughed twice.
-----
Yan Shang said that he planned to go back to the Secretariat and let Mu Wanyao and Liu Ruozhu go shopping in the East Market. In his imagination, after he left, Mu Wanyao and Liu Ruozhu would have a chance to spend time together. He was always caught in the middle, and felt that both ladies were weird, which made him very uncomfortable.
Who knew that Mu Wan would grab him and say coldly: "Just wait for me. I will send you back to the Secretariat after I finish my work."
Yan Shang: "Your Highness, there is no need to trouble you like this..."
Mu Wanyao said, "If you dare to leave, don't come to my house again in the future."
Yan Shang had no choice but to stand there and wait for her.
Seeing the princess walk into a shop in the East Market, Yan Shang stood helplessly beside the carriage waiting. Liu Ruozhu, who had been waiting obediently, burst out laughing. Yan Shang turned his head to look, and Liu Ruozhu covered her mouth with a red face.
Liu Ruozhu: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed at Second Brother Yan. But Second Brother Yan had to listen to His Highness when His Highness said that. I really think, I think... it's very interesting.
"Brother Yan doesn't look like the Brother Yan I know anymore."
The Yan Shang she knew was always so calm and composed, and would not change his expression even when faced with a huge crisis.
Perhaps only Princess Danyang can disrupt his plans?
Liu Ruozhu thought mischievously: I really like seeing Second Brother Yan get humiliated.
Yan Shang looked at Liu Ruozhu helplessly, said with shame, smiled, and became calm again.
After Mu Wanyao asked when her "merit stone" would arrive in Chang'an, she asked Yan Shang and Liu Ruozhu to get in the car together and sent them back to their respective places.
Liu Ruozhu's heart was moved, thinking that His Highness really wasn't as cold as he seemed. His Highness looked like he didn't like her, but he actually took the initiative to send her home.
Mu Wanyao counted the days in her mind, thinking that the "merit stone" would arrive in Chang'an before her father's birthday, and then she relaxed. And looking at Yan Shang and Liu Ruozhu in the same carriage, Mu Wanyao smiled in her heart: the reason why she let Liu Ruozhu get on the carriage was that she hoped that Liu Ruozhu would see how she and Yan Shang got along and retreat.
However, it was very strange that three people were in the same car.
Mu Wanyao wanted to talk to Yan Shang so that Liu Ruozhu could face reality; but Liu Ruozhu kept talking to her and asking her all kinds of questions, which made Mu Wanyao very annoyed and she had no chance to talk to Yan Shang.
Yan Shang sat aside and watched the two girls talking. Seeing that Mu Wanyao had to patiently pay attention to Liu Ruozhu, he smiled slightly. It was the first time he saw Mu Wanyao being pestered by a girl but having no choice.
The carriage entered the imperial city and Yan Shang was about to get off.
Mu Wanyao seized the opportunity and tried to get rid of Liu Ruozhu's discussion with her about the strings. She grabbed Mu Li, bent over and opened the car door, and chased Yan Shang with a voice: "Hey!"
Yan Shang got off the carriage, stood beside it, and looked back at her. She was bent over, holding the door with one hand, and the white gauze inlaid with pearls and jade in her hand fluttered slightly.
She leaned forward slightly to look at him. Her face was gorgeous and her skin was as white as cream. With just this casual movement, her clothes half-covered her, revealing a little bit of her slender curves between the snow-capped hills below her neck.
Yan Shang immediately pulled her clothes and blocked her chest. His ears turned red: "...Your Highness's clothes are not properly put on."
Mu Wanyao was slightly startled, and then she looked down casually, and a smile spread across her face. She raised her chin towards him, her eyes charming, and motioned for him to come closer.
Through the curtain, Liu Ruozhu, who was sitting in the car with her book in her arms, saw the princess kneeling in front of the car door, leaning over to let Yan Shang get close, whispering into Yan Shang's ear, but no one knew what she was saying. But those two... Liu Ruozhu blushed and her heart beat fast, thinking: They are so close.
If the grandfather saw this, he would definitely say that the princess was "frivolous".
Mu Wanyao smiled at Yan Shang and said, "I made a special trip to send you back to the Imperial City, and you just turned around and left. Don't you have any expression at all?"
Yan Shang exchanged a glance with her, his expression flickered before he lowered his head.
Mu Wanyao knew that he had such a sharp mind. He guessed what she meant with just one look at her.
But Yan Erlang, who had already guessed what she meant, took a step back calmly, lowered his head and said slowly: "Your Highness, do you still want me to give you a gift?"
Mu Wanyao: "No need for gifts, just a kiss."
Yan Shang: “…”
He lowered his head, as if he couldn't see her. Mu Wan shook her head and saw that his eyes were red and his eyelashes were trembling. She couldn't help but feel sympathy for him, thinking that he was frightened by her and was a little stiff.
Yan Shang: "In public..."
Mu Wanyao said kindly, "I'll use Mu Li to block it, so others can't see it."
Yan Shang: "What can that block? Everyone knows... we can't do that! Your Highness..."
He raised his eyes and looked at her earnestly, and the moment he raised his eyes, Mu Wanyao quickly leaned over and kissed him on the lips.
He stepped back in shock, his heart beating wildly, and the redness in the corners of his eyes suddenly spread to his entire face and even his neck. He grabbed the door frame and looked around to see if anyone had seen him.
Mu Wan laughed so hard that he almost fell against the door and couldn't stand up.
Just then I heard Yan Shang's low voice, slightly dissatisfied: "Your Highness!"
Mu Wan raised her head and smiled slightly, with star-like light still in her eyes.
Yan Shang couldn't get angry anymore. After a while, he whispered, "Then I'm leaving."
Mu Wan waved to him.
Back in the car, Mu Wan shook her hand and covered her slightly hot cheeks. As she laughed to herself, she saw Liu Ruozhu's face flushed. Obviously, people who were far away might not be able to see the scene just now, but Liu Ruozhu, who was sitting in the car, must have seen it.
Mu Wan shook her hair lazily and glanced at Liu Ruozhu, implying that Liu Ruozhu should give up.
Liu Ruozhu whispered: "...Your Highness is so bold."
Mu Wan shook her head slowly and leisurely: "What's the big deal? Life in this world is not easy for women. We should learn to make ourselves happier."
Liu Ruozhu stared at the princess for a long while. Mu Wanyao had almost forgotten what she had said. Then she saw Liu Ruozhu nod, as if she understood something.
Mu Wan looked away guiltily: "Please restrain yourself. Don't teach Mr. Liu's granddaughter bad things."
Liu Ruozhu has been led astray, won't Mr. Liu be looking for her to kill her?
-----
There is still more than half a month away from the birthday of the Emperor of Wei. Only after the birthday celebration will the envoys from various countries leave here with the rewards from Wei.
And now everyone is mainly busy with two things: literary fighting and military exercises.
Seeing that King Wuman was devoted to military exercises and might give up the marriage with Princess Danyang, King Qin made a special trip to find King Wuman, but returned disappointed.
At the same time, Princess Danyang's reputation almost reached its peak during this month.
There was no other reason, it was just because the poetry competition held by the Hanlin Academy for scholars from all over the world was themed "Marriage Alliance".
Not to mention the distant marriages, isn’t there only Princess Danyang among the nearby marriages?
Princess Danyang's name was constantly mentioned, and scholars wrote poems about her, praising her contributions to Wei and the friendship between Wei and its neighboring countries. Some people also used this as an excuse to talk about how difficult it has been since ancient times for princesses to marry into other countries.
Among these poems, there was one that was very outstanding and easy to remember. When Mu Wanyao knew about it, the poem had spread among the people.
However, the author of this poem, Mu Wanyao, was confused for a moment: "Feng Xianyu? Does he have such talent?"
But then I think about it, writing poetry is probably just "occasionally coming up with a good line", which is nothing great.
Mu Wanyao was more concerned: "But if Feng Xianyu presented his poem without the support of his aunt, he would be suspected of escaping her control. He would gain fame, but perhaps his aunt would not forgive him."
Because Fang Tong was still being held in the Ministry of War, Mu Wanyao could only ask more people to take care of him, and the guards around him were replaced.
The guard asked, "If Your Highness doesn't want to quarrel with the Princess, you should suppress Feng Xianyu's poem and not let him win first place."
Mu Wanyao paused for a moment, shook his head, and said softly: "It is not easy for these scholars without background to move up, and it does not harm my interests. Even if I don't say I will help them, there is no need to block their way. Don't bother."
The guard said: "Even if your highness doesn't care, the princess may not forgive him."
Mu Wanyao said, "It all depends on Feng Xianyu's luck. Princesses...are usually hard to please. It's easy to get close to them, but it's hard to get them off the boat."
So the matter was never mentioned again.
-----
The court arranged the procedures for the literary competition and the military drill almost exactly, and the troops stationed around the capital began to be frequently mobilized.
Because the Wuman King specifically pointed out Yan Shang, no matter how others arranged it, the Wei side had to take Yan Shang with them. The ministers only sympathized with Yan Shang, thinking that it was his fault for provoking the Wuman King.
When the prince heard that the Ministry of War had begun to mobilize troops and the King of Wuman insisted that Yan Shang take the field, he thought for a while and then threw Yang Sanlang Yang Si over.
The prince wanted to take this opportunity to seize some military power from the King of Qin. At least Yang Si participated in the military exercise, and the others on the prince's side followed Yang Si. After the military exercise was over, the prince would not let go of the troops in the capital as long as he could get a little bit of it.
The King of Qin naturally knew that the two sides were fighting each other secretly.
The Prince of Jin's mansion was as peaceful as ever, as if the struggles among the various forces in Chang'an had nothing to do with the Prince of Jin. Apart from going to the palace every day to be a filial son, the Prince of Jin stayed in the mansion to accompany his concubine.
Chunhua's baby is about to be born, and now is a critical period. The Jinwang Mansion is about to welcome the first child, and everyone is excited and nervous, hoping that the child will be born safely.
Princess Jin was taking good care of Chunhua, but she was also sad because she saw that all the concubines in the Jin Palace were pregnant, but she just couldn't get pregnant... Now that Chunhua was about to give birth, Princess Jin's mood was complicated.
-----
In the past month, Yan Shang's name has been mentioned frequently by the Ministry of War.
Mu Wanyao's name was mentioned by scholars all over the country, and it was said that someone even wrote a letter saying that a plaque should be erected for Princess Danyang to reward her for her merits in marrying a foreign princess. The court naturally ignored such nonsense, but they would also use this matter as a topic of conversation and joke during casual conversations.
After the procedures for the civil fighting and military parade were decided, since both were intended to be held on the same day, the emperor's birthday, it was natural to ask His Majesty the Emperor to see if he had any objections.
The emperor was quite moved after seeing how they had turned things into this state out of no reason and pondered for a long time.
The emperor said, "Summon the King of Wuman to an audience."
-----
When the King of Wuman came to the audience, the emperor was in the Xingqing Palace.
Ambergris was burning in the hall, and Meng Zaishi followed the etiquette of the Wei Dynasty and kowtowed to the emperor. When he stood up, he glanced at the emperor calmly.
Unlike the dignified and solemn emperor seen at the ceremony that night, in private, the emperor was just a thin middle-aged man with a slightly sunken face due to his thinness. His temples were gray and his face looked vicissitudes.
The emperor met him in his ordinary clothes, casually gathered his clothes and sat under the window of the Mingtang, flipping through a book. After Meng Zaishi arrived, the eunuch changed the tea, and the emperor signaled the Wuman King not to be so rigid and to sit down and talk.
The whole hall was silent.
Two palace maids accidentally spilled the fruit when they put down their fruit plates. Their faces changed drastically and they were about to kneel down and beg for mercy, but a smart eunuch pulled them by the collar and pushed them out.
The eunuch calmly took the fruit plate down and replaced it with a new one. He also changed the incense in the burner. As he walked away, he accidentally exchanged a glance with Meng Zaishi.
Meng Zaishi said nonchalantly: This eunuch is so organized and actually very handsome.
Liu Wenji replaced the incense and retreated behind the beaded curtain, not to disturb the conversation between the emperor and King Wuman. He was sweating on his back because of the noise made by the palace maids, but fortunately he managed it safely and did not disturb the emperor.
Liu Wenzhi is on duty today. He knows that in serving the emperor, in addition to observing the emperor's words and expressions, it is also extremely important to remain calm.
-----
The emperor flipped through the memorial in his hand and asked Meng Zaishi nonchalantly, "I heard that it was the Wuman King who suggested this military exercise?"
Meng Zaishi bowed and said loudly: "Yes."
The emperor flipped through the memorials, smiling, "I seem to have seen the name Yan Shang frequently. I heard someone say that you specifically pointed to him. What? Did the ministers of the Great Wei offend the King of Wuman?"
Meng Zaishi answered cautiously: "It's just some private disputes."
Since he didn't know the emperor's attitude, he certainly wouldn't act arrogantly.
The emperor said with great interest: "In the past month, I have not only heard Yan Shang's name frequently, but also Yao Yao's name. In every poetry and prose event held by the Hanlin Academy, everyone has to write about Yao Yao...Yao Yao's reputation is quite high now."
Meng Zaishi listened for a long time before he realized that the "Yaoyao" the emperor was talking about was Princess Danyang.
Meng Zaishi could only praise the princess's charm, which was admirable.
The emperor lowered his eyes and said, "Since you are so impressed, why don't you want to marry her?"
Meng Zaishi suddenly looked up. He knew that the rule of the Wei Dynasty was that one could not look up in front of the emperor, but he really couldn't help it and wanted to see what the emperor meant.
The emperor sneered, "I have heard about the incident at Nanshan. King Wuman, look at what you have done to my courtiers and the princess. One was forced to perform a military exercise by you, while the other was famous and wanted to make a scene known to the world..."
The emperor said slowly: "Look, if you just marry Danyang, wouldn't there be so many problems?"
The stone-faced man looked slightly tense and chilled.
As a king, he was not afraid of the rotten Emperor of Wei. His eyes were cold and sharp, and he said slowly: "Your Majesty, do you think I handled the Nanshan incident improperly?"
The emperor said, "Yaoyao lost his temper and attacked you, causing you to be seriously injured. He could have used this as a threat to the Wei Kingdom and asked for the princess' hand in marriage. But it ended up like this. I am curious about what conditions you and Yan Shang agreed on to make you give up your request for Danyang's hand in marriage?"
Meng Zaishi was shocked.
Meeting the emperor's deep eyes.
Suddenly, I realized that none of their methods escaped the emperor's eyes. Although the emperor did not ask, he always knew what they were doing. And...even their respective purposes, perhaps the emperor saw through them.
But does the emperor's tone indicate that he is doubting Yan Shang?
Normally, Meng Zaishi wouldn't mind giving Yan Shang a look. The Great Wei Emperor hated Yan Shang, which was a good thing for Wu Man. But now Meng Zaishi was negotiating with the Great Wei officials through Yan Shang... If Yan Shang was demoted by the Emperor at this time, or something else happened, it would be bad for Wu Man.
Meng Zaishi smiled and said, "I don't understand what your majesty means. I have my reasons for giving up my proposal to marry Princess Danyang. Wei and Wuman are allies. We can have good relations in other ways. After thinking it over, I think I should give up something that is not good for Wuman, even if I still admire Princess Danyang."
The emperor was curious: "What's the reason?"
Meng Zaishi raised his head and after a long silence, he said, "She can't have children."
Instantly, Meng Zaishi caught the blank expression on the emperor's face. The emperor seemed not to understand what he said and stared at him: "Say it again."
Outside the pearl curtain, Liu Wenji's eyes narrowed and he was secretly shocked: Princess Danyang can't have children?
Then...what about Yan Shang?
-----
After Meng Zaishi left, Liu Wenji suppressed his worries and went in to serve. However, he saw the emperor leaning over the table, suddenly opening his mouth and spurting out a large mouthful of blood.
The emperor's condition was critical, and Xingqing Palace became busy and people stayed awake all night.
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