Several more days passed in the blink of an eye, and the peace talks between the An Du King and the Great Yan remained deadlocked.
King Andu demanded that the Great Yan return their three cities, and the Northern Liang Dynasty was willing to compensate the Great Yan Dynasty with ten million taels of silver, thirty thousand cattle, and fifty thousand sheep.
The officials of Great Yan naturally disagreed, because the governor's conditions showed no sincerity in negotiating.
With this little bit of stuff, you can't even exchange it for one city, let alone three.
As the victorious state, the Great Yan would not agree to this, let alone its emperor or even its court officials.
The Great Yan's condition for a truce was that they would receive at least 30 million taels of silver and 50,000 cattle and sheep as compensation; the city would not be returned.
The King of Andu naturally disagreed and demanded to meet with the Emperor of the Great Yan Dynasty for face-to-face negotiations.
After all, in previous conflicts between the two countries, Great Yan had never gained any advantage.
Although Northern Yan captured three cities from Northern Liang this time, Northern Liang's strength is still considerable.
If we push Northern Liang too far, they might launch a full-scale invasion, which would be too much for Great Yan to handle.
In addition, since the Great Yan had been waiting for the Northern Liang for so long, the emperor finally decided to hold a state banquet in the palace in seven days to entertain the Andu King.
This is a state banquet, and all officials of the third rank or above in Beijing are required to attend.
Although Yan Qingqing was a woman, she held the title of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince and was a person with real power in the court, so she was naturally required to attend.
Besides Yan Qingqing, several other first-rank noblewomen were also eligible to participate, such as Madam Pei.
A state banquet was officially held in the palace seven days later.
Yan Qingqing knew that today was an exceptionally dangerous day, and she instructed Mu Xi to make sure the safety of her family was ensured.
Mu Xi looked at Yan Qingqing and assured her, "Madam, rest assured, with Mu Xi here, I will not let them suffer any mishaps."
Yan Qingqing still instructed her, "Don't be careless. Although there are several hundred guards in the manor, you probably won't be able to withstand a large army pressing in."
There are secret passages in our mansion. If the situation becomes dangerous, we can retreat inside.
I do not want any casualties within the manor. Furthermore, if there is anyone in the manor who betrays us, kill them on the spot, no matter who they are!
Although Yan Qingqing had all the servants in Mingzhao Prefecture investigated, some inevitably slipped through the net.
Mu Xi agreed to all of them.
Yan Qingqing soon entered the palace, where a lively scene unfolded.
The bright red palace lanterns swayed in the wind, symbolizing that tonight was destined to be an extraordinary night.
Soon the emperor arrived at the banquet with his concubines, and Yan Qingqing sat down in her seat.
After paying his respects to the emperor, the Andu King spoke directly, saying, "My Northern Liang sincerely wants to apologize to the Great Yan."
Therefore, I have specially brought my most precious gift from Northern Liang to present to His Majesty the Emperor of Great Yan.
The emperor was naturally pleased to hear that Great Yan was so sincere, and said, "The King of Northern Liang is thoughtful, and the Governor of Andu is also thoughtful."
Then the King of Andu had a pot of flowers brought out. Although it was called a flower, it was past its blooming season and was covered with small, thorny balls.
Some ministers said with dissatisfaction, "King Andu, has your Northern Liang become so poor that you're trying to fool our Emperor with two pots of rotten grass picked from the wild?"
The emperor was also displeased upon seeing this.
Upon hearing this, the Governor laughed and said, "It seems that you gentlemen do not know its value. This flower is called Manda, and it is a treasure of our Northern Liang. This thing can be used as medicine, and it is especially effective in treating pain."
Especially for treating bruises and sprains, in the deadly battlefield, if His Majesty could cultivate it on a large scale, it would also benefit your country.”
This era was one where medical skills were scarce, so having such a medicine was quite a good thing.
Just as the emperor was about to speak, Yan Qingqing stood up and said, "This flower is also called Datura, and it is full of poison."
If accidentally ingested, it can cause nerve damage, hallucinations, and in severe cases, death.
Yan Qingqing did not deny that this thing had some benefits, but it was ultimately more harmful than beneficial; otherwise, it would not have been banned in her previous life.
After Yan Qingqing said that, the emperor and the ministers present all changed their expressions.
Upon seeing this, Eunuch Xiang quickly instructed the eunuch beside him to take the thing out and deal with it, as it would be disastrous if it harmed the Emperor's health.
The governor gave Yan Qingqing a dark look; this woman was truly a troublemaker.
He originally intended to popularize this technology throughout the Great Yan, so that he could control the entire Great Yan.
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Consort Yu spoke up coquettishly, "Oh dear, Governor An has really meant well but has done something wrong."
This flower has its advantages and disadvantages, but it's really not anything special.
I wonder what other precious gifts your Northern Liang has left? Why don't you hurry up and present them?
Otherwise, if our Emperor becomes displeased, he won't let you Northern Liang off the hook.
Consort Yu's words, seemingly condemning the Governor, were actually meant to help him out of a predicament.
After scanning back and forth between the two of them a few times, Yan Qingqing understood.
He then sat back down in his seat.
Looking at Yan Qingqing with a forced smile, the Governor said, "As expected of the Grand Tutor of the court, Lady Mingzhao is truly knowledgeable. I have another treasure here, but I don't know if Lady Mingzhao recognizes it."
Without waiting for Yan Qingqing's reply, he immediately had someone bring out a transparent jar containing some bright red liquid.
The ministers present exchanged bewildered glances. What was this thing? It looked somewhat like blood.
The governor picked up the jar, poured himself a cup, and drank it all in one gulp. Then, he looked at Yan Qingqing provocatively and asked, "I wonder if Lady Mingzhao has the courage to try it?"
After the King of Andu said that, everyone felt that this thing was unusual, and they all began to speculate.
The most common speculation is that it was caused by human blood. It is said that the people of Beiliang had the habit of eating raw meat and drinking blood, and sometimes even ate raw human flesh.
This King Andu was clearly trying to provoke Lady Mingzhao, so it certainly wasn't ordinary animal blood.
Thinking of this, the ministers couldn't help but feel nauseous. Moreover, Yan Qingqing was a woman of noble status; how could she possibly bear it?
However, this is a confrontation between two countries. If Yan Qingqing backs down, it will damage the reputation of Great Yan.
Yan Qingqing had made great contributions to the Great Yan Dynasty, and the emperor respected her greatly. He could not allow Yan Qingqing to suffer such humiliation.
But just as he was about to speak, Yan Qingqing stood up and laughed, "Such an elegant thing, yet the Governor-General does it so crudely. He really has failed to draw a tiger and ended up with a dog instead."
Yan Qingqing's words were very sarcastic.
He then bowed to the emperor and said, "I wonder if I may borrow Your Majesty's glass cup?"
Upon hearing this, the emperor quickly agreed and immediately ordered someone to fetch the glass cup from his storeroom.
Soon, a palace servant brought over a glass cup.
Yan Qingqing stepped forward, picked up the jar, and poured a cup into a glass goblet.
He then picked up the glass cup, shook it twice, and said, "Fine wine in a luminous cup, I long to drink, but the pipa urges me on."
Do not laugh at me, drunk and lying on the battlefield; how many have returned from ancient battles?
Salute to all the soldiers who defend our country!
He then drank the wine in the glass goblet in one gulp.
Yan Qingqing's movements went from elegant and graceful to passionate and impassioned at the end, leaving everyone present stunned.
Such a Lady Mingzhao, such a Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, is truly captivating.
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