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"Our country will never break its promise to your country."
Prime Minister Jiang had just finished the morning court session and hadn't even returned to his residence when he was summoned back again.
He quickened his pace, feeling a bit puzzled. He had vaguely heard on the way that the eldest princess had been burned in a fire and that she was probably dead, but the royal family had not given any accurate information, so he was not going to speculate.
Even though it was almost winter, Prime Minister Jiang felt a faint sweat breaking out on his forehead, which was quite strange.
The emperor was reviewing memorials when he entered, and only looked up when he saw him arrive.
"This old minister pays his respects to Your Majesty."
"Please rise, Minister Jiang. Someone, bring a seat."
Prime Minister Jiang was somewhat alarmed that the emperor had actually offered him a seat; he wondered what the emperor wanted to do.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Unable to guess what the emperor wanted to do, she was even filled with trepidation when she sat down. At this moment, the most important thing was the matter of the eldest princess. Could it be that the emperor wanted to ask her about the eldest princess? But she had never met her before.
The moment he sat down, Prime Minister Jiang's mind began to race.
He summoned me at this critical juncture, and I heard there's another envoy coming. If the Princess is already dead, could it be for something concerning his household...?
His eldest daughter, Jiang Yuyao!
After thinking about this, Prime Minister Jiang realized that everything made sense, and he understood why the Prime Minister was in such a hurry to summon him.
At this point, all he could do was wait for the emperor to speak.
"Prime Minister, I've heard that you still have a daughter who is unmarried in your household." The words were spoken casually, and the look in his eyes seemed to be one of concern, but one could sense a pressure emanating from him.
People living under the emperor's nose have no say in their own decisions.
Before the palace maids could even take the tea, Prime Minister Jiang knelt down with a thud.
One of the daughters in the manor has already married out, and the only one he can use is Jiang Yuyao. If she is married off to another family, the Prime Minister's manor will one day be given a different surname, which he absolutely cannot agree to.
"Your Majesty, I have already arranged a marriage for my daughter, but I'm afraid..."
Prime Minister Jiang did not continue speaking, but lowered his head further and further, almost to the point of kowtowing.
The emperor certainly understood his intentions; he had risen to this position entirely through his lack of conscience. He simply wanted to marry his daughter off to a family of equal power.
However, he also had a victorious general in his household, which is why he first thought of Prime Minister Jiang's residence.
The emperor stared intently at the kneeling Prime Minister Jiang, put down his teacup, and said slowly, "Then do you know that the eldest princess died in the fire last night?"
Unexpectedly, royal secrets that had not yet been made public were told to him directly, but the more he knew, the closer he was to death.
It seems that the bigger the tree, the more the wind will blow against it. The emperor is likely wary of Jiang Yunxin in his household, but what about Jiang Yuyao?
It seems the emperor meant he could only protect one of them. If he protected his daughter, he would inevitably have to fight a war with the state he was marrying off to; if he protected his son, he would simply have to marry off his daughter, only losing one benefit.
"I have never heard of such a matter concerning my daughter being left to Your Majesty's discretion."
The moment his eyes shifted, Prime Minister Jiang made his decision. She was just a woman; allowing her to marry into a foreign land would be in her best interest, and it wouldn't be a waste of the time he had raised her.
Hearing that Prime Minister Jiang was so sensible, the dark cloud hanging over her heart dissipated, and she couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahahaha, good! Good! Since Prime Minister Jiang has said so, then I have no choice but to make my own decision."
"Guards, prepare the imperial decree!"
When Prime Minister Jiang returned, he discovered that the sweat was due to this. He was helpless; the emperor could take the lives of his entire family with a single word, and he had no other choice.
"Jiang Yuyao, receive the imperial decree!"
Having just heard that the eldest princess had died in a fire, Jiang Yuyao did not understand how this decree had anything to do with her.
"Jiang Yuyao of the Jiang family, with a refined and virtuous character... is hereby specially granted the title of Princess Lanxin, for fifteen days..."
"What! A marriage alliance!" Upon hearing this news, Jiang Yunxin was the first to stand up, and he didn't even allow Jiang Yuyao to receive the imperial decree.
"General, this is also the will of the Emperor and Prime Minister Jiang. I am just conveying the decree. I hope Miss Jiang will accept the decree and not make things difficult for me."
When Jiang Yuyao heard that it was actually her own father's idea, she realized he was a liar and believed him again.
"This humble woman will receive..."
Jiang Yunxin grasped Jiang Yuyao's wrist as she reached for the imperial decree. "Eunuch, is this really true?"
Upon seeing this, the eunuch's lips curled into a sarcastic smile. "General, it's normal that you haven't seen me before, given your long campaigns. However, refusing this imperial edict would be disobeying the imperial decree."
Jiang Yuyao shook off Jiang Yunxin's hand and accepted the imperial decree directly.
"Now that Princess Lanxin has accepted the decree, I will return to the palace to report to the Emperor."
After the person disappeared from sight, Jiang Yunxin snatched the imperial edict. His brows were furrowed, and his eyes were blazing with anger. "Jiang Yuyao, are you crazy? Have you ever seen what that neighboring country is like?"
Seeing Jiang Yunxin's furious expression, Jiang Yuyao found it somewhat amusing. She looked up and stared intently at Jiang Yunxin, saying in the calmest tone, "Then go ask your good father what he did."
The eldest princess is dead, but a woman is still needed to take her place in a political marriage. A tall tree catches the wind, so the emperor has his eye on the Jiang family. Considering that Prime Minister Jiang hasn't returned home yet, it can be inferred that the emperor has summoned him.
Therefore, the victim was herself!
"In your eyes, women are nothing but sacrifices, right? So who are you putting on this hypocritical act for?"
It was nothing more than a display of his incompetence. Jiang Yuyao lowered her eyes and stopped looking at her. She snatched the imperial edict, held it back in front of him, and said with extreme sarcasm, "You should be happy that a princess has appeared in the manor, my good brother."
Her retreating figure was so resolute, it seemed that what hurt her more than the marriage alliance was the attitude of her family.
In such a short time, I never expected my father to agree so quickly. I never expected it.
However, he shouldn't blame himself for being ruthless. The Jiang family had only risen by stepping on the corpses of others, so it was only natural that others would overthrow it now.
The Jiang family mansion is vast and its power is growing. If the emperor were to learn of the evidence, wouldn't he be delighted?
Jiang Yunxin never expected his younger sister to have changed so much. She had become even more ruthless, and she no longer cared about their sibling relationship!
Before long, Jiang Yunxin saw his father return to the mansion, but his expression was somewhat grave.
"Father~"
Upon seeing the man approach, Prime Minister Jiang, who had not yet changed out of his court robes, led Jiang Yunxin to his study.
Let's talk about it somewhere else.
They were in a hurry, as if something big had happened, and indeed it was.
Before he could even close the door after entering the study, Jiang Yunxin immediately questioned, "Why did Father agree so easily!"
Prime Minister Jiang threw his hat onto the table, knocking the pen and paper off the table and onto the floor.
"Then what do you think I, as a father, should do?"
The two men were evenly matched in their imposing manner. "You are the Grand General, and I am the Prime Minister. The Emperor has long coveted our power, fearing that we would rebel. It's just that the Princess was unlucky and was burned to death in a fire!"
In their words, women were truly not worth mentioning. Seeing Prime Minister Jiang's attitude, Jiang Yunxin understood why he had agreed so quickly.
He disregarded local customs and angrily declared, "At worst, we'll rebel!"
Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Jiang's eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn't help but slap him, thinking that he was possessed by an evil spirit and wanted to slap it away.
"How dare you! Do you want your entire family's ancestors for eighteen generations to be buried with you?!"
He pointed at Jiang Yunxin, but his trembling fingers showed that his anger had reached a very high level.
Jiang Yunxin's head was turned to the side by the slap, and even though his mouth was bleeding, he only gave a sarcastic smile.
Her eyes were bloodshot and filled with hatred. "Father just let my sister go for a political marriage so easily. Several princesses who were sent for political marriages have disappeared without a trace. How could Father bear to let my sister go?"
Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Jiang did not rush to speak, but instead lowered his head and chuckled, then looked up and said sarcastically, "You are siblings, born of the same mother. Do you think your father has not seen through your intentions?"
"She can never be your wife. There is no possibility between you two. Compared to that, you couldn't compare before and you can't compare now."
After uttering those words, Prime Minister Jiang disappeared at the end of the corridor. Unbeknownst to Jiang Yunxin, not even a single tear rolled down his left eye.
He just stared blankly. If he didn't make any changes, Jiang Yuyao would be going to a neighboring country by carriage in fifteen days, and he would never see her again.
He made a bold decision!
"You're insane, all for a woman!"
When Xie Yunyin heard that Jiang Yunxin wanted to make plans ahead of time for the sake of a woman, he thought he was crazy. He had waited so long for this moment, and if he just waited for the Crown Prince and his group to rebel, he could then act like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
Now he's telling himself he's going to rebel ahead of schedule.
Jiang Yunxin clenched his fists. "I'm not crazy. I can't bear to send Jiang Yuyao to the neighboring country! You're the one who saved her, but you've left this mess in our Jiang family. If you don't help me, don't blame me."
Xie Yunyin saw that the slap mark on Jiang Yunxin's face had not yet faded, and it was clear that he had been slapped by Prime Minister Jiang.
He's really gone mad, actually trying to emulate others who would rather have a beautiful woman than their empire!
Xie Yunyin breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know what to say. Looking at Jiang Yunxin, he was as if he had been given a bewitching drug, completely bewitched.
"She's just a woman. Are you really going to ruin our plans for her? We can always find a woman who's about the same size." He spoke earnestly, hoping to rouse Jiang Yunxin, but Jiang Yunxin wouldn't listen to anything he said.
"Ha, you treat it like a commodity, something you can just exchange whenever you want."
Xie Yunyin was driven crazy by Jiang Yunxin's words. "General, you have been through the battlefield, you know that rebellion is not so simple. Why not just seize the people directly?"
This seemed to awaken Jiang Yunxin, and his eyes suddenly brightened.
"You're right!"
Seeing his confidence, Xie Yunyin realized that he had made a mistake, but as long as he wasn't dragged into it, it was none of his business whether it was a blessing or a curse.
"Have you thought it through?" Xie Yunyin stared intently at Jiang Yunxin, reminding him that he must not act impulsively.
"Of course, just wait and see!"
Since they're so determined, there's nothing more to say. The person's been stolen, and the two countries can just wait for war to break out.
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