The central military tent.
Singing and dancing in peace and prosperity.
Bei Yibai and Bei Yiqian's duet dance concluded. The atmosphere within the tent was exceptionally joyful and harmonious. Ling Shumo placed her blue and white porcelain wine glass on the table and said with a smile, "Let me guess which one of you on the stage is the legendary most beautiful woman in the Beilin Empire..."
Just as she was about to examine it carefully, the Regent's voice, slightly apologetic, rang out, "Your Highness, I'm truly sorry. There was an accident just now. The Tenth Prince, Bei Yiqing, unfortunately passed away. Now, the one dancing in his place in the hall is the Eighth Prince, Bei Yiqian, the one on the left in the orange-pink dress."
When Bei Yiqian saw the Crown Princess of the Chisha Empire looking at him, he showed a smile that he had practiced many times in private, and prayed desperately in his heart that the other party would like him. He was absolutely unwilling to go back to that dilapidated wooden house with drafts on all sides.
Ling Shumo asked in confusion, "What kind of accident could happen in a military camp?"
The cause of Bei Yiqing's death could not be concealed, and anyone could find out by asking around, so the Regent told the truth.
Ling Shumo commented dryly, "Your Highness the Tenth Prince of the Beilin Empire is quite a strong-willed person."
The atmosphere was quiet for a brief moment.
The Regent glared at Lady Feng with dissatisfaction, then quickly smiled and tried to smooth things over. "I originally wanted to give the beautiful brotherly pair, Bei Yiqing and Bei Yibai, to Her Highness the Crown Princess as a gift. Now, due to force majeure, this pair has been temporarily replaced. If Her Highness the Crown Princess is not satisfied, you can just give them to someone under your command." As she spoke, she coughed lightly at the two people on the scene. "Don't just stand there like idiots. Don't you see Her Highness the Crown Princess's wine glass is empty?"
Bei Yiqian was the first to react. He walked a few steps to the table where Ling Shumo was sitting. He picked up the wine jug beside him and was about to fill Ling Shumo's empty glass. When he looked up, he found that Bei Yibai had arrived earlier than him and had already brought a glass of wine to Ling Shumo's lips.
Bei Yibai and Bei Yiqing were brothers from the same father, and his appearance was actually not much worse than Bei Yiqing's. However, at a poetry gathering hosted by a powerful figure, his poetry was slightly better than Bei Yiqing's, earning him the title of the Beilin Empire's most talented scholar. To make the name sound more appealing, Bei Yiqing was affectionately dubbed the Beilin Empire's most beautiful woman. As more people began to call them that, the two titles spread.
Seeing Bei Yiqian holding the wine jug in his hand, looking bewildered, Ling Shumo raised her hand and pointed at He Huiyuan, "General He's wine glass is empty too. Your Highness the Eighth Prince, please pour her a glass of wine."
Bei Yiqian quickly walked over to He Huiyuan, a flattering yet somewhat shy smile on his face. As he leaned over to pour the wine, the Adam's apple tie around his neck swayed slightly.
He Huiyuan looked up and saw Bei Yiqian's Adam's apple, faintly visible through the coral-pink ribbon. She hadn't even married yet, so how could she possibly resist such temptation? Her face flushed instantly, but she didn't realize her body's reaction and gulped down a glass of wine.
Ling Shumo, who was sitting slightly above her, saw her expression clearly and couldn't help but jokingly said, "A handsome man is a good match for a gentleman. If General He is interested in His Highness the Eighth Prince, then let him serve you in your tent tonight."
He Huiyuan took the opportunity to touch Bei Yiqian's hand while accepting the wine glass. "Then I thank Your Highness for your kindness," she said, a smile spreading across her face. Acquiring this beautiful woman was secondary. This Eighth Prince was specially presented to Your Highness by the Regent, yet Your Highness gave him to her instead. What did this mean? It meant that Your Highness now highly recognized her abilities.
The current emperor of the Beilin Empire is the seventh princess of the previous emperor. The young emperor is not satisfied with her status as a puppet emperor and always wants to get rid of the control of the regent.
The reason why she cooperated with the Regent in surrendering and making the Beilin Empire a vassal state of the Chisha Empire was because she wanted to stage a big show of false surrender.
The young emperor wanted to wait until the entire Chisha Empire relaxed its vigilance, and then secretly sent his trusted general to lead the cavalry to bypass Heishui City and raid the left army of the Chisha Empire.
If this strategy succeeded, the young emperor would be able to capture the crucial border crossing between the two countries, thereby not only reclaiming the ceded territory but also capturing the cities that once belonged to the Chisha Empire. Her name and achievements would be prominently recorded in the history books, rather than being denounced by historians as a hollow emperor sidelined by the regent.
If it failed, the trusted general would be pushed out as the scapegoat, and the imperial family would come forward to declare that the trusted general had rebelled without the young emperor's approval, and that her personal actions had nothing to do with the Beilin imperial family. The young emperor didn't need to bear the blame for the failure of his plan.
On the surface, this plan seemed flawless, and would be extremely beneficial to the little emperor regardless of victory or defeat.
But the little emperor would never have thought that the strategy she thought was presented to her by her advisers was actually thought up by the enemy general He Huiyuan.
The strategist who gave advice to the young emperor was appointed by the regent.
The army secretly led by the young emperor's trusted general, General Jianwu, is the only remaining military force of the royal family. When this army takes action, the regent will tell Ling Shumo their marching formation map exactly as it is.
In this way, the Regent, through Ling Shumo, eliminated the Beilin Imperial Family's vital forces, while the Chisha Empire effortlessly acquired a vast quantity of towns, jewels, and beauties. All the Regent needed to do was backstab a minor emperor, and both sides would achieve a win-win situation. Why not?
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