The servant passed on Qin Shuhuai's meaning, and Wei Chun understood Qin Shuhuai's intention. Qin Peng and Qin Shuhuai came in a hurry and did not bring any disguise items, so they just used makeup to adjust their appearance, then changed into servants' clothes and followed Wei Chun.
Bai Huai and the Emperor of Xiliang set up a tent outside the city. Each country sent a hundred soldiers to guard outside the tent. When Wei Chun led Qin Shuhuai and Qin Peng into the tent, Bai Huai and the Emperor of Xiliang, Li Hao, were already sitting in the tent. Li Hao sat in the first seat, Bai Huai sat on his left, and a young man knelt beside Bai Huai. He looked handsome and had a scholarly air.
Qin Peng glanced at the young man, followed Wei Chun, and knelt on the cushion behind Wei Chun.
Li Hao first introduced Bai Huai to Wei Chun: "General Wei, this is General Bai Huai, the envoy of Northern Yan."
Wei Chun bowed and nodded, and Li Hao then pointed to the young man behind Bai Huai: "Military Advisor Mr. Yan Gui."
In the army, people who can be called "Mr." usually hold the position of sergeant or military advisor. They are not high-ranking, but they have considerable power. This time, this "Yan Gui" was introduced by Li Hao himself, which shows that he is not an ordinary military advisor.
Wei Chun nodded towards Yan Gui, who respectfully raised his hands and slightly lowered his chin.
This was an etiquette only observed by the nobles of Northern Yan. Qin Peng and Qin Shuhuai couldn't help but look at each other, realizing that this Yan Gui was definitely not just a military strategist.
"General Wei, why are you here today? Where is General Wei Yan?"
After Li Hao introduced the people, he was a little confused. Wei Chun smiled and said, "General, what you mean is that today I will first find out what your majesty and the Northern Yan envoy mean. If we can talk, I will come and talk to you two. If not, then we can continue to fight and there is no need to meet."
After hearing this, Li Hao's face changed slightly: "Is Wei Yan so arrogant? I, the king of a country, came to negotiate, but he didn't even want to see me?!"
"Your Majesty suddenly sent troops to attack, forcing Qi to fight. Now that Your Majesty wants to negotiate, does Qi have to negotiate?"
Wei Chun sneered: "You think that our Qi Kingdom is a soft persimmon that is too easy to be manipulated!"
"General Wei, what you said is wrong," Bai Huai suddenly spoke up, and advised: "It was wrong for Xiliang to send troops first, but Qi first controlled the sale of salt to Xiliang, and Xiliang had no choice but to do so."
"In our country, salt can be sold or not," Wei Chun looked at Bai Huai and said coldly, "How can you force a sale like this? If you don't sell it, we'll go to war. If Xiliang can't buy it, are they planning to just rob it?!"
Bai Huai was choked by Wei Chun. Wei Chun was Wei Yan's military advisor. He might not be as good as Bai Huai in killing enemies on the battlefield, but when it comes to talking, he is no match to the other two present.
Yan Gui took a sip of wine and said calmly, "General Wei is right. Salt is a necessary thing. Xiliang is short of it. Qi is in an advantageous position. Since they have the ambition of a great country, they should not only help with supplies, but also trade normally. They took advantage of other countries' weaknesses to do mean things. Xiliang was helpless and tried to take it by force. It is not in accordance with etiquette, but it is forgivable. Now we are in this group, but it is just that your country said yesterday that it is willing to open the city for trade. If it can be resolved through negotiations, why should we go to war? General Wei, what do you think?"
Yan Gui's words were polite and restrained, and he didn't make people feel disgusted after giving in. Wei Chun looked better and nodded, saying, "Mr. Yan is right. I came here today to know the specific intentions of the two countries and report back to the court. If I can agree, I will agree. If not, we can talk about it later."
"I understand." Yan Gui nodded and tapped his palm with his fan: "We are all subjects, and we all have our own difficulties. Let's be honest with each other today, and there is no need to make things difficult for us."
"That's great."
Wei Chun responded.
Qin Peng and Qin Shuhuai were listening on the side, both focusing their attention on Yan Gui.
While this man was speaking, Bai Huai remained silent. Although he was sitting behind Bai Huai, Bai Huai was very respectful to him, which showed how high this man's status was.
Wei Chun was originally angry, but this man, who was in a high position, was able to give in. With just a few words, Wei Chun was calmed down and the tense situation was resolved, which shows how strong his character is.
With such a start, Qin Peng and Qin Shuhuai knew who the key today lies.
"Seven years ago, Beiyan exchanged two cities on the border with Qi for trade in exchange for the return of Qin Shuhuai, the hostage of your country. Now the two countries are peaceful and prosperous, and the demand for business is growing. The two cities are no longer enough to support the normal business exchanges between the two countries. The people do business privately, and many of them evade taxes. Beiyan does not have any other excessive demands this time. It only hopes that a few more cities on the border of Northern Qi can be opened for normal business exchanges."
Bai Huai spoke first, his tone was calm and even, and it was obvious that he had been preparing for a long time. Yan Gui took out a document from his sleeve, walked up to Wei Chun like an ordinary servant, and handed the document to Wei Chun.
When handing over the document, Yan Gui raised his head and looked at Qin Peng.
His eyes seemed to see something clearly, but it disappeared in a flash. Before Qin Peng could react, he smiled slightly, and his dull features actually became more colorful.
Qin Shuhuai noticed his gaze and frowned. Yan Gui quickly lowered his head and stepped back.
“How many cities do you plan to open?”
Wei Chun lowered his head to look at the document and opened his mouth. Bai Huai quickly responded, "All open."
Qin Shuhuai and Qin Peng looked up suddenly, their eyes slightly cold.
The border was fully open and business was flourishing, but the border risk also increased. Qi would never agree to this condition. It was no wonder that Beiyan did not even negotiate with Qi and directly joined forces with Xiliang to fight.
"But...it's not impossible to talk about it."
When the atmosphere between the two sides cooled down, Yan Gui suddenly spoke.
Everyone looked at Yan Gui. Yan Gui looked calm. He took a sip of sake, raised his head with a smile, and said to Qin Peng: "If Her Royal Highness the Princess of your country came in person to negotiate, Beiyan might be able to give in a little."
"You!!" Wei Chun stood up angrily. Qin Peng grabbed Wei Chun. Qin Shuhuai took a sip of wine and said calmly, "Mr. Yan, do you remember the battle in Pengcheng four years ago?"
Four years ago in Pengcheng, Northern Yan's 200,000-strong army stormed the city of Qiongzhou, which was defended by 20,000 soldiers. Not only did they fail to capture Pengcheng, but they were ambushed outside the city by the 20,000 soldiers. Qi had 100,000 treacherous enemies, and captured 100,000 of them. They also captured the Northern Yan commander-in-chief and sent his head to Zhao Yu.
That was the battle in which Qin Shuhuai completely established his position in the northern army, the turning point for the complete rise of Qi State, and the greatest humiliation for Northern Yan in all these years.
Bai Huai's face froze, and Yan Gui's eyes were cold, but the smile on his lips remained the same.
Qin Shuhuai took a sip of tea and said calmly, "After all, our regent Qin Shuhuai is the brother-in-law of your monarch Zhao Yu. If Zhao Yu is willing to come in person to negotiate, it may not be impossible for Qi to give in a little."
As he spoke, Qin Shuhuai raised his head and looked at Yan Gui.
The two people's eyes met, and murderous intent was invisible between them.
"The engagement between the Princess and the Prince of Huai'an has been cancelled," Yan Gui's voice finally turned cold, "It is shameless for the Prince Regent of your country to still have a relationship with the Princess."
Qin Shuhuai sneered: "Whether the engagement has been cancelled or not, doesn't your country know?"
Yan Gui didn't say anything. King Xiliang was a little confused, but he still spoke hurriedly.
"I have another request," he asked his attendant to deliver the document to Wei Chun, and said solemnly, "I hope Qi can stabilize the price of salt and stabilize the supply of salt with Xiliang every year. Any request is negotiable."
Wei Chun nodded, not noticing the tension between Yan Gui and Qin Shuhuai, and said to the King of Xiliang and Bai Huai, "Don't worry, I will take the document back and have the Marshal convey the two countries' intentions to the court. We will know the details when the court sends envoys."
"That's good. That's good."
The King of Xiliang nodded and sighed, "No one wants to fight a war."
Everyone present nodded in agreement, except Qin Shuhuai and Yan Gui, who just stared at each other coldly, not giving in at all.
After the group chatted for a while, both parties signed an agreement to temporarily cease fire for one month, and then went back.
Qin Peng accompanied Wei Chun as they walked out, chatting with Li Hao and Bai Huai, while Qin Shuhuai and Yan Gui walked behind them.
"What's your surname, sir?"
Yan Gui held the folding fan and tapped his palm. Qin Shuhuai clasped his hands in his sleeves, his face unchanged: "Qin."
"Oh, it seems like he is a royal relative?"
Yan Gui laughed: "No wonder, I said that you and your country's regent look quite similar."
"I'm afraid Mr. Yan's surname is not Yan?"
Qin Shuhuai said calmly: "Sir, you look like your country's monarch Zhao Yu."
Yan Gui's expression remained unchanged. The two of them walked to the door of the tent in silence. Yan Gui finally raised his head.
"Recognized it?"
Qin Shuhuai stopped and looked back at Zhao Yu.
Zhao Yu looked at him with a smile: "Qin Shuhuai, you are so shameless."
"Peng Peng is my wife," Qin Shuhuai knew what he was talking about, his face calm, "Whether you admit it or not, even if you delete all the records about my engagement with Peng Peng from the Beiyan household register, it won't change the fact that she died as my wife."
As soon as he finished speaking, a sharp blade suddenly popped out from the folding fan in Zhao Yu's hand. Zhao Yu raised his hand and rushed towards Qin Shuhuai. Qin Shuhuai dodged to the side and raised his hand to block Zhao Yu's attack.
"She will be buried in the imperial mausoleum of my Zhao family." Zhao Yu finally lost his smile and said coldly: "She will be buried with me, Qin Shuhuai, don't even think about it in your life!"
Hearing this, Qin Shuhuai frowned: "Xiaoyu, she is your sister, you are too biased."
Qin Shuhuai disliked Zhao Yu for this reason.
He had long felt that Zhao Yu was a little too biased towards Zhao Peng.
How absurd is it to let his sister be buried with him? He is the monarch of a country, and he will have an empress, concubines and children in the future, but he let his sister be buried with him. If the news gets out, what will people think?
He had reminded Zhao Peng many times in those days, but Zhao Yu was always well-behaved in front of Zhao Peng and never crossed the line. Occasionally, Zhao Peng would tell Qin Shuhuai, "He was frightened when he was in the cold palace."
During those years in the cold palace, Zhao Yu, despite being a prince, had an extremely weak character, and it was always Zhao Peng who protected him.
When he had a nightmare, it was Zhao Peng who was by his side; when he was sick, it was Zhao Peng who was by his side. He and Zhao Peng had lived and slept together since they were young, so it should be understandable that they were closer.
Qin Shuhuai also kept telling himself that he was just being overly suspicious.
However, Zhao Yu's various actions after Zhao Peng's death made Qin Shuhuai feel shocked.
Zhao Yu unilaterally destroyed his and Zhao Peng's marriage certificate. According to the Beiyan household registration, it was as if he and Zhao Peng had never been married.
Zhao Yu took Zhao Peng's body back and placed it in the royal mausoleum. Many years after he returned to Qi, he learned that Zhao Yu had built his own imperial mausoleum and then placed Zhao Peng in it.
Being buried with the emperor was a position that should have belonged to the empress.
Qin Shuhuai didn't want to think too much, so he could only remind her at this moment: "The relationship between a sister and a brother shouldn't be so biased."
"If you let me be impartial," Zhao Yu turned the folding fan in his hand, and the two of them exchanged more than ten moves in an instant. Zhao Yu's eyes were filled with bloodthirsty color: "You also see if you are worthy of it!"
Qin Shuhuai frowned, raised his hand into a fist, and struck Zhao Yu straight in the chest.
At this moment, Qin Peng's voice came from outside: "Sir, aren't you leaving yet?"
Qin Shuhuai paused with his fist, and Zhao Yu laughed sarcastically.
"New love?"
Qin Shuhuai lowered his eyes, put away his fist, turned around and walked out.
Qin Peng and Wei Chun were waiting outside. Qin Shuhuai walked to Qin Peng and saluted Wei Chun. Then the three of them led the soldiers into the city together.
After walking a few steps, Qin Peng looked up at Qin Shuhuai and asked, "What did you say to Yan Gui?"
Qin Shuhuai turned to look at her with calm eyes, and it was hard to tell what he was looking at. Qin Peng was about to speak again when Qin Shuhuai suddenly raised his hands, put his arms around her shoulders, and pulled her into his arms.
He is much taller than her. Qin Peng is not as tall as Zhao Peng. Qin Shuhuai has grown a lot taller over the years and is now a head taller than Qin Peng.
Most of the clothes in Qi State had wide sleeves. Qin Shuhuai raised his hands and put them on Qin Peng's shoulders, holding her in his arms. From behind, it seemed as if Qin Peng was completely wrapped in his sleeves.
Qin Peng was stunned for a moment. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, he felt a little embarrassed, but he couldn't bear to offend Qin Shuhuai in front of so many people, so he whispered, "Let go of your hand, what are you doing?"
Qin Shuhuai pulled her into his arms without saying a word.
"Peng Peng."
"Um?"
"When will you marry me?"
“…”
"Let's not worry about the prince's affairs for now. Let's go sign the marriage certificate, shall we?"
"Qin Shuhuai..."
Qin Peng was a little amused: "How can you be so confident that I will marry you?"
Qin Shuhuai didn't look at her. He looked at the city gate that was getting closer and closer and said directly: "Why me? You know better than me."
Qin Peng was slightly stunned, and Qin Shuhuai didn't say much.
Some words should not be said at the right time.
The two walked back to the city together. After arriving safely in the city, Wei Chun breathed a sigh of relief.
"Prince, Princess, this matter..."
"Send a message back to the court first."
Qin Shuhuai said calmly: "According to the normal process, I will ask the court to send me and the princess here, and then we can formally discuss it with them."
Wei Chun nodded, and Qin Peng continued, "Don't announce our coming in advance."
“It’s natural.”
Wei Chun responded and then went to deal with the subsequent chores.
After returning to the city, Qin Shuhuai finally let go of Qin Peng and changed from hugging him to pulling him.
Now that the temporary truce agreement has been signed, Xu Cheng immediately began to resume normal life, repairing houses and clearing the wounded. Qin Peng wanted to see Wei Yan, but Wei Yan was injured now, and she couldn't let Qin Shuhuai know, so she declined and said, "You go back first, I have something to do."
"Is Wei Yan seriously injured?"
Qin Shuhuai spoke directly.
Qin Peng: “…”
Well, she underestimated Qin Shuhuai too much.
She felt a little guilty, but Qin Shuhuai didn't look at her and said calmly, "If you want to go and take care of him, go ahead. I'll go with you."
"Did you guess it?"
"Um."
Qin Shuhuai's voice was a little muffled, and he turned to look at her.
"Peng Peng, I hope you can trust me a little more."
Qin Peng pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and explained, "I can entrust my life and death to you when it comes to my own affairs. But I can't do that with the Wei family."
"The Wei family only has Wei Yan." She sighed, "In a family full of loyal and brave people, I can't let him make any mistakes because of my negligence. Not to mention you, I can't even believe it myself."
"learn."
Qin Shuhuai nodded: "For you, trusting someone is a gamble. You can give me all your chips, but not other people's chips, right?"
Qin Peng was slightly stunned.
At this moment, they were in an alley, with no one around. Outside the alley, people were walking hurriedly. Qin Shuhuai approached her, and Qin Peng could not help but take a step back and leaned against the wall.
Qin Shuhuai raised his hands and leaned against the wall, his wide sleeves hanging down, hiding the faces of both of them. He leaned very close to her, looking down at her.
"Peng Peng, you can give me everything you own, right?"
He was too close to her, and Qin Peng could feel his burning temperature. She couldn't help but blush and feel a little flustered.
It seemed that Qin Shuhuai had been trying to seduce her all the time since they met! !
She turned her head away and said stiffly, "You are too close to me."
"Hmm?" Qin Shuhuai raised his voice but did not step away: "Answer me first, or I can get closer."
Qin Peng took a deep breath, took action himself, reached out and pushed him away, then jumped away in panic, away from Qin Shuhuai.
Qin Shuhuai withdrew his hands, clasped them in his sleeves, stood up, and looked at Qin Peng, whose face was flushed, with a smile.
There was a smile on his lips, as if he knew her answer.
"Stop laughing!" Qin Peng was a little embarrassed and turned away. Qin Shuhuai followed her, coughed lightly, lowered his head and followed with a smile: "Okay, don't laugh."
Qin Peng's heart was beating fast, and Qin Shuhuai followed quietly without making any other moves.
The two returned to Wei Mansion together and came to Wei Yan's room.
Wei Yan's room was filled with the smell of medicine, and the doctor was standing guard. Qin Peng walked in, frowned, and asked, "Is the general's condition stable?"
"His injuries are stable," the doctor sighed, "but he hit his head when he fell. I don't know when he will wake up."
Qin Peng was slightly startled, then nodded and said, "It's okay. My uncle is a lucky man and will definitely wake up."
Although he said so, Qin Peng was still not at ease, so he simply stayed with Wei Yan.
When it was time for dinner, Qin Peng fed Wei Yan personally. Qin Shuhuai watched Qin Peng feed Wei Yan medicine with an anxious look on his face.
He looked at her calmly for a while, and finally said, "Let me do it."
"Hmm?" Qin Peng looked up at Qin Shuhuai, and after understanding what he meant, he shook his head and said, "You are not meticulous."
Qin Shuhuai said nothing. Qin Peng fed him two more mouthfuls. He simply snatched the bowl and handed it to the guard beside him. He said calmly, "Let him feed."
Qin Peng finally realized what Qin Shuhuai meant. She pursed her lips and said, "Wei Yan is the only one left in the Wei family. I am his eldest sister-in-law. I promised the old lady that I would take good care of him."
Qin Shuhuai didn't say anything. He lowered his eyes for a long time, then slowly said, "I understand, but it's just feeding, you don't have to do it yourself."
He understood, and he knew that the Wei family had different feelings towards Qin Peng.
After all, Qin Peng has been married into the Wei family for nearly eleven years, and she has a husband who is the eldest son of the Wei family.
Qin Shuhuai felt like something was stuck in his throat, so he turned his head and walked out.
Qin Peng sat in the room and didn't say much.
Qin Shuhuai has never been a person who makes trouble for no reason. He will be angry for a while and then he will calm down naturally.
She was left to look after Wei Yan, and now that Wei Yan was unconscious, if she was not careful and let the killer sneak in, the consequence would be irreversible.
Qin Peng was worried, so he prepared a soft bed outside and rested there at night.
Qin Shuhuai was waiting for Qin Peng in the room. Qin Peng's room was next to his, so he knew as soon as Qin Peng arrived.
However, when it was late at night and Qin Peng didn't come back, he finally couldn't help asking Zhao Yi: "Where is she?"
"The princess is resting in Wei Yan's room..."
Before he finished speaking, Qin Shuhuai stood up.
He strode into Wei Yan's room and kicked the door open. Qin Peng subconsciously turned over, drew his sword, and stabbed straight forward in the mist!
Qin Shuhuai pinched the sword blade with two fingers and said coldly: "Go back!"
Qin Peng heard the voice and opened his sleepy eyes: "Shu Huai?"
"I'll let Zhao Yi watch over it and go back to sleep."
Qin Peng felt uneasy and shook his head, saying, "No need, I'll keep watch..."
Before he finished speaking, Qin Shuhuai took action directly, pressed Qin Peng's acupoints, snatched Qin Peng's sword, carried the man on his shoulder and walked back.
Qin Peng was carried back by Qin Shuhuai, his face flushed as he asked, "What are you doing?"
Qin Shuhuai said nothing. He held his breath and carried Qin Peng to his bedroom. He closed the door, lowered the bed curtains, looked at Qin Peng coldly and said, "You can try to run away."
After saying that, he unblocked Qin Peng's acupoints.
Keeping the acupoints sealed for a long time is not good for the body.
Qin Peng didn't believe it, and tried to escape as soon as the acupuncture points were released. Qin Shuhuai pulled her back, rolled over and pressed on her, put his hand on her belt, and said calmly: "Continue."
Qin Peng suddenly became weak, and she cried, "I won't run away anymore. I won't run away anymore."
Qin Shuhuai rolled off her body, and Qin Peng turned away, trying to get away from him. Qin Shuhuai pulled her into his arms and hugged her from behind.
Qin Peng stared outside, still feeling a little panicked.
"Trust me once." Qin Shuhuai spoke from behind her: "I promise that Wei Yan will be fine. If anything happens to him, I will pay for his life."
Listening to Qin Shuhuai's words, Qin Peng told herself rationally that she couldn't afford to take the risk on the Wei family, and she couldn't trust them.
However, deep down in her heart, she understood it very clearly.
At this moment, she wanted to believe him.
Qin Shuhuai didn't hear her response and sighed.
He buried his head in her neck from behind and hugged her tightly.
"Why are there so many people around you? I'll be angry, Pengpeng."