In Dawei, there was a fourth princess, renowned for her beauty, known throughout the world.
Yan Huisheng naturally knew that Yuan Zhao wasn’t lying, but he didn’t want any fourth princess. He looked at Yuan Zhao, "Thank you for your kind intentions, Crown Prince, but I have no interest in beauties."
"Just because you’re not interested, it doesn’t mean that the Daliang Emperor isn’t." Yuan Zhao replied, "I’ve heard that the Daliang Emperor has been heartbroken since the loss of his beloved concubine, neglecting state affairs for months. If my sister could ease his pain, he would surely be delighted."
Yan Huisheng responded calmly, "My father is taking good care of his health these days.", changing his tone, he added, "However, if Dawei is generous enough, willing to send both the second prince and the fourth princess to Daliang, we would happily accept."
Yuan Zhao raised his eyebrows, "Where exactly has the Prince of Yan taken a liking to my brother?"
"Apart from Crown Prince Yuan Zhao, the only one to come close is the Second Prince Yuan Chen, I can just about tolerate him." Yan Huisheng replied.
Yuan Zhao shook his head, "You must know that Nanchu has captured Dingnan City when you say that. If I wished for peace, it wouldn’t be only with Daliang, but also with Nanchu. My brother has been sent by me to propose a peace treaty with the Princess of Nanchu. His appearance is also quite pleasing. If the Nanchu Princess takes a fancy to him, it wouldn’t be impossible, after all, I promised her that I would select a servant for her from Dawei and send him to Nanchu to console her."
Yan Huisheng raised his eyebrows, "Prince Yuan, if this is your calculation, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. My cousin and cousin-in-law are in love. She’s not the kind of person who would accept a servant in the palace."
"That’s yet to be determined, isn’t it? You’re not the princess." Yuan Zhao replied, "My brother won’t be sent to Daliang as a bargain chip, if you don’t want to accept my sister, then we won’t send anyone."
"Then, apart from this condition, all other conditions should be met." Yan Huisheng didn’t argue.
"No." Yuan Zhao shook his head, "The king will allow the twelve cities seized by Daliang, and the three neighboring cities, to surrender to Daliang. The others will be returned to Dawei. Dawei can offer a hundred thousand taels of gold, a thousand fine horses, and a blueprint for improving the construction of crossbows. These are the only terms."
Yan Huisheng chuckled coldly, "It seems that the Crown Prince has no intention for peace talks. Then let’s continue the fight! Let’s see who can hold onto the captured cities, or if Dawei can withstand the continuous siege from Nanchu, losing another twenty to thirty cities."
With that, Yan Huisheng got up and left.
Luo Yan shouted angrily, "Stand still."
Yan Huisheng simply ignored him.
Luo Yan drew his sword to advance. This time, Yun An stepped forward as well, drawing his own sword, glaring coldly at Luo Yan.
"Stop." Yuan Zhao ordered, "Let the Prince of Yan go."
"Your Highness." Luo Yan stomped and turned around, saying desperately, "What are you afraid of?"
Yuan Zhao looked grim. It wasn’t that he was afraid of Yan Huisheng, but rather, he dreaded Su Rong’s powerful army. Nanchu didn’t originally have so many soldiers; it was Yan Huisheng, Crown Prince of Daliang, who had lent Su Rong an army of three hundred thousand, only to later send another two hundred thousand as reinforcements.
This army was originally nurtured by Zhang Ping. Zhang Ping was initially capable of becoming a severe problem for Daliang, but who would have thought that Su Rong, with his skills, would win over Zhang Ping’s legitimate son, Zhang Mao, and his illegitimate son, Zhang Yun, especially Zhang Yun, who silently assassinated Zhang Ping and took over the Jibei Army. Therefore, now, all of it was in Yan Huisheng’s hands, and lent to Nanchu.
Yan Huisheng has no fear of continuing to fight, but if he does, there is no certainty, and if there is a stalemate with Yan Huisheng, then Su Rong will continue to seize the opportunity, and a large portion of Dawei will fall into the hands of Nanchu.
Yuan Zhao took a deep breath and immediately sent a message, "Bring me a pen, I need to send a letter to my brother, send someone to catch up to him."
Someone immediately brought the prepared ink and brush.
Yuan Zhao immediately wrote a letter, altering the earlier bottom line he had told Yuan Chen to, indicating that he could hold his ground in discussions with Nangong Zheng and Su Rong, and agree to Nanchu’s conditions as needed, except for the siege artillery.
After meeting with Yan Huisheng today, he understood that right now, the greatest threat to him was not from Daliang, but rather from Nanchu. He could hold off Yan Huisheng by not agreeing to his harsh conditions, but with Nanchu, he couldn’t afford to offend Su Rong. Right now, the person who needs to withdraw the most is Su Rong, and so, even if her conditions are harsh, he had to try to agree to them.
Luo Yan watched as Yuan Zhao wrote the letter, simmering with anger, "Your Highness, why did you bring me along if you have no use for me?"
Yuan Zhao reached out, taking her hand, "Don’t be angry, I’m frustrated as well, but as I’ve said, the current situation doesn’t allow me to vent, if Dawei doesn’t seek peace, there will be widespread conflicts, losing half of the territory, the consequences are serious. You should understand, I needn’t repeat it again and again. Be good, right now I don’t need you to act, but after the peace talks, I will need you. After the peace talks, you will need to gather a large number of people for me to strengthen the Poison Doctor Sect. I will get back at them sooner or later. There’s no worry for firewood when the green hills are kept."
It was the first time Yuan Zhao had ever held Luo Yan’s hand. After all, she was a girl and needed some coaxing, so she instantly calmed down, "Alright, for your sake, I’ll listen to you."
Yuan Zhao stood up, "Let’s go, we’ll go back. Wait for news from Nanchu, then negotiate with Daliang." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
Luo Yan nodded.
After Yan Huisheng left, seeing that Yuan Zhao didn’t take action nor sent troops to attack, he realized that Yuan Zhao was a calm and rational person. He understood that it was impossible to keep fighting. Taking the initiative to propose peace talks indeed gave him some advantage.
Xie Lin whispered, "Your Highness, the fourth princess of Dawei is a beauty. Will you not take her? Even if you don’t take her as the officially recognized princess consort, you can still make her a side consort or a consort."
Yan Huisheng turned to look at him, "Do you want her?"
Xie Lin’s face changed instantly, he shook his head vigorously, almost banging it like a drum, "I don’t wish to have her, I don’t dare to."
Yan Huisheng replied, "A beauty can wreak havoc on a country, and I don’t want it."
Xie Lin let out a mischievous laugh, "That’s not necessarily true. A beauty ruins the foolish, not the wise. You will surely be an enlightened ruler in the future, a beauty would simply be an adornment. Dawei’s beauty is not to be missed."
Upon hearing this, Yan Huisheng glanced at him, "Then why don’t you take her?"
"I can’t, I’m not qualified." Xie Lin quickly replied.
Yan Huisheng thought of someone, he turned to Xie Lin and said, "Are you still thinking about Qin Luan? If you have feelings for her, I will grant marriage between you and her once the Qin Family is rehabilitated. She has been serving as a female official in the Eastern Palace, and I’ve never touched her - she is still pure. Although she has a low status now, and the Qin family will not be as prestigious as before even after the rehabilitation, she has a good older brother who was personally invited by Su Rong to Nanchu. With Qin Ruo’s abilities, he would undoubtedly achieve high rank in the future. Having her brother as her backing, Qin Luan is not without a prominent family, and your father and mother would presumably agree."
At this, Xie Lin’s voice softened, "Your Highness, are you serious?"
"Of course."
After hesitating for a moment, Xie Lin said, "Well, does she agree? If she agrees, I...I would be happy to."
Yan Huisheng nodded, "Alright, I’ll keep this in mind. Once we return to the capital, we’ll ask her."
Xie Lin quickly nodded, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your kind consideration."
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