Hearing that the battle was going well, Shen Youying's furrowed brows relaxed, but when she heard that her father was unwilling to withdraw his troops and wanted to fight again, she was still a little worried: "The Northern Rong may not be so easy to conquer."
Otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to conquer it despite the reigns of several emperors since the founding of the dynasty.
Xue Shen also thought of something, but fearing that saying it would only make her worry, he could only reassure her, "The Emperor is afraid of war, and there are many pro-peace factions in the court, so he may not agree. Perhaps the army will be able to return to the capital soon."
Shen Youying nodded, but there was still some worry between her brows.
Not wanting her to overthink, Xue Shen helped her to her feet and said, "Shall we go for a walk? I heard from Liu Yun that you've been having more severe symptoms lately and haven't had much of an appetite."
Shen Youying said, "It's not that serious. I just felt a little nauseous and missed the bird's nest porridge I was supposed to have for lunch." She glared at Xue Shen, "You eat with me every day. Don't you know whether I have a good appetite or not?"
Shen Youying looked down at her lower abdomen and said with some concern, "I feel like I've gained a lot of weight recently. Have I been eating too much rich food?"
Xue Shen stopped, looked her up and down, and shook his head, saying, "I don't see any signs of weight gain."
Shen Youying asked in confusion, "Really? But I clearly feel that my face has become much rounder and I have more fat around my waist."
Xue Shen suppressed a laugh, pinched her waist with his hand, and said seriously, "Is that so? We'll have to go back inside and check carefully to find out."
It took Shen Youying a beat to realize that he was teasing her again. She glared at him and walked ahead on her own.
*
While the two were strolling in the Prince's residence, Emperor Cheng'an had already received the battle report and urgently summoned the Crown Prince and a group of trusted ministers to the palace.
Prime Minister Wang Yuanguang arrived a little late. When he saw that Xie Lianhong was not among the group of important officials, his brows twitched. He remembered the news that his wife had brought back earlier—the Princess Consort of Qin had attended the birthday banquet of Old Madam Xie.
Princess Qin and the Xie family had always maintained contact, so it would be strange if they suddenly stopped. But clearly, the Emperor didn't think so. The urgent summons today indicated that there was something important to discuss, but Xie Lian Hong was not included.
Wang Yuanguang had always been at odds with Xie Lianhong, so he was naturally happy to see this happen and stepped forward briskly to pay his respects.
Emperor Cheng'an dispensed with the formalities, and seeing that everyone had arrived, he began to explain the purpose of gathering everyone today.
"Just now, news of a victory came from the front lines, saying that our army has driven the Northern Rong people back five hundred li."
When the news of victory was mentioned, Emperor Cheng'an showed no joy. He tapped the dragon table with his finger, signaling the chief eunuch Qi Zhong to pass the battle report to everyone: "Commander Shen Mingjiang wants Chen Sheng to pursue him. In his letter, he requested that the court send more provisions so that he can crush the Northern Rong royal court."
Xue Heng was the first to finish reading the battle report and said, "General Shen's letter makes a lot of sense. The Northern Rong have been a problem for many years. Now that our army's morale is high, we can strike hard against the Northern Rong in one fell swoop and bring peace to the border for several years."
Emperor Cheng'an remained noncommittal, then turned his gaze to Wang Yuanguang: "What does Minister Wang think?"
Wang Yuanguang, observing the emperor's expressions, keenly sensed that Emperor Cheng'an did not agree with the crown prince's idea. After a moment's thought, he understood what Emperor Cheng'an was worried about, and thus followed his wishes, saying, "I think this is inappropriate. The Northern Rong live deep in the heart of the grasslands and have a geographical advantage. War is also exhausting for the people and costly. If we really go there, how much of the people's hard-earned money will be wasted? Now that we have already repelled the Northern Rong, it would be better to send envoys to negotiate peace and establish a friendly alliance between the two countries, which can also ensure peace on the border."
After Wang Yuanguang uttered these words, the remaining court officials echoed his sentiments.
Emperor Cheng'an nodded: "I also have the same idea. In fact, the letter from the Northern Rong seeking peace was sent yesterday. The envoy is still waiting at the post station. The Northern Rong king's sincerity in seeking peace is very evident."
Xue Heng frowned upon hearing this and said, "The Northern Rong people are cunning and treacherous. They have been driven back by General Shen and have no choice but to negotiate peace. However, they have not been seriously injured in this battle and may break the alliance at any time and make a comeback."
Wang Yuanguang disagreed, saying, "In previous years, the Northern Rong people would only invade during the autumn and winter when food was scarce. Now that spring is approaching, the grasslands are lush with water and grass, and food is plentiful. The Northern Rong people will not start a war casually."
Xue Heng said, "The new Northern Rong King is clearly ambitious and will never be content with a corner of the country."
The two argued back and forth, giving Emperor Cheng'an a headache. He raised his hand to stop their debate.
He clearly agreed with the peace talks, saying to Xue Heng, "The Crown Prince is young and impetuous, and does not understand the cost and expense of war. The border people have already suffered terribly in just one or two months of fighting, why continue?"
Xue Heng was about to speak again when Emperor Cheng'an interrupted him: "Your Highness need not say more. This matter is settled. Minister Wang and the Court of State Ceremonial will be in charge of the peace talks with the Northern Rong. I will also send Qi Zhong to the border to deliver an imperial edict to recall the army."
Xue Heng looked at him in disbelief, but when he heard that he was going to send the Grand Eunuch Qi Zhong to the border, he suddenly understood his plan.
Emperor Cheng'an is wary of Shen Mingjiang.
The Shen family already enjoyed a high reputation in the army, and now that they have personally led the troops to defeat the Northern Rong, their reputation will surely rise even higher after their triumphant return.
If the Shen family were still the same as before, Emperor Cheng'an might be wary, but he wouldn't take any initiative to do anything.
But now, the Shen family has another identity—Shen Mingjiang's legitimate daughter has married the Prince of Qin.
Emperor Cheng'an feared that the Shen family would become an ally of Prince Qin, which is why he was so eager to suppress them. He may not have genuinely wanted to negotiate peace with the Northern Rong, but he simply didn't want Shen Mingjiang to gain further military merit and continue to grow powerful.
Having seen through Emperor Cheng'an's intentions, Xue Heng lost all interest in saying anything more, and simply listened numbly as Emperor Cheng'an discussed the details of the peace talks with his court officials.
After the discussion ended, he returned to the Eastern Palace. Thinking of Qi Zhong, who was about to be ordered to go to the border, he hesitated for a long time before finally writing a letter.
"Send it secretly to the Prince of Qin's residence."
If Qi Zhong was only going to announce the ceasefire, that would be fine. But he was afraid that the other party was also carrying a secret decree, which would be detrimental to Shen Mingjiang.
His feelings toward Xue Shen were complicated. He couldn't bring himself to be completely hostile to Xue Shen, but Empress Zhou's words were like a thorn in his heart, something he couldn't spit out or swallow. He didn't even have the courage to confront Xue Shen.
The eunuch who delivered the message left, and Xue Heng leaned back wearily in his chair, hoping that his worst guess was wrong.
*
When Qi Zhong received Xue Heng's secret letter, he had already led his men out of the capital overnight to the border, and Xue Shen naturally received the news as well.
He stared at the brief, confidential message with an unreadable expression. His tense expression softened, but he said nothing and finally just sighed.
Xue Shen carefully put away the secret letter, picked up a pen and wrote a letter, handing it to his secret guard: "Send this to General Shen as quickly as possible, making sure it reaches him before Qi Zhong."
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