"Yes, a month after the fall of Feng Kingdom, Jing Yan was reluctant to withdraw his troops and return home, precisely to wait for Princess Yue Jiang's marriage procession."
"Before the wedding procession I led saw the Yue Kingdom's marriage alliance, we heard the news that Princess Yue Jiang had been kidnapped by Jing Yan."
"This humble general was concerned that Jing Yan had a large force, and that the Jing Kingdom's soldiers had just led the Feng Kingdom to destroy the Feng Kingdom, so their morale was high and we could not easily engage in battle. Therefore, I returned."
The general, kneeling on the ground, explained in detail.
After hearing these words, An Chenghuan continued to look at the portrait of the beautiful woman in front of him with a solemn expression. The woman in the painting was wearing a pink dress and was dancing among the flowers, smiling radiantly in the bright sunlight.
After a long pause, he said, "Chu Lu, you did the right thing by not engaging in a direct confrontation with the Jing Kingdom. There is no need for you to apologize."
Chu Lu confessed with remorse: "This humble general failed to greet Princess Yue Jiang in time, causing an unexpected incident in the marriage alliance between An Yue and the other two countries. This is due to my dereliction of duty."
An Chenghuan understood perfectly: "The enmity between An and Jing is too deep, so Jingyan's actions are not surprising."
Originally, Feng Kingdom still existed, and the Yue Kingdom's marriage procession would pass through Feng Kingdom to reach An Kingdom.
However, Feng Kingdom's demise wasn't too late; An Chenghuan had already calculated that the Yue Kingdom's marriage procession would pass near Feng Kingdom a month later.
The news of Jing Kingdom's annihilation of Feng Kingdom was widely known. He believed that the Yue Kingdom's marriage procession would find out on the way and, to avoid trouble, would choose to bypass a mountain to reach An. An Chenghuan also sent people to welcome them in advance.
Unfortunately, their side was a step too slow, and Jing Yan intercepted the person.
Chu Lu: "But Your Highness's princess, who was sent to marry a foreign ruler, was abducted by Jing Yan, and Jing Yan still wants to marry her. This is a great humiliation for Your Highness and also a great humiliation for Anguo."
He scoffed, "I wonder how the Yue Kingdom educated Princess Yue Jiang. Doesn't she know about the feud between the An Kingdom and the Jing Kingdom, and that you and Jing Yan are on opposing sides?"
"She should have committed suicide to protect her own reputation and yours. How could she abandon you and throw herself into Jingyan's arms? Your Highness, please allow me to go to Yue Kingdom to demand an explanation."
Jing Yan kept Yue Jiang's "amnesia" a secret, so she didn't know that she had pretended to have amnesia in order to become Jing Yan's Crown Princess. However, this was no different from the betrayal in An Guo's eyes.
Chu Lu was furious.
“This is an unreasonable demand. Yue Jiang has not yet entered Anguo, and many things are still to be discussed. How can you let a weak woman commit suicide for this?”
“The Yue Kingdom has already sent Yue Jiang over according to the marriage agreement. The incident happened halfway there. Even if you went to the Yue Kingdom, what else could you do?” An Chenghuan rebuked.
Chu Lu was short of breath: "This humble general has not thought things through."
"Without any ulterior motives behind the marriage alliance between Anguo and Yueguo, I actually quite like Yue Jiang," An Chenghuan said, rubbing his temples and gazing at the portrait for a long time.
In fact, Yue Jiang was someone he had concealed and personally entered the Yue Kingdom for selection. He remembered Yue Jiang's intelligence and cunning, and he felt reluctant to let her fall into Jing Yan's hands.
He suddenly stood up and said, "I'm going to see my father."
An Chenghuan wanted to get Yue Jiang back from Jing Yan, so he not only met with his father, Emperor An Yunrui, but also summoned the prime minister and several other ministers of the An Kingdom court.
As soon as everyone sat down, An Chenghuan asked An Yunrui for permission: "Father, Yue Jiang is my wife. She cannot stay in Jing Kingdom for long. Please allow me to take Yue Jiang back."
An Yunrui's reign as emperor was unremarkable; he had always relied heavily on his son, An Chenghuan, behind the scenes.
He knew that this Crown Princess was personally selected by his son from the Moon Kingdom, and that his son had even shown him her portrait; she was an unparalleled beauty.
Seeing that her son seemed normal on weekdays, but the fact that the Yue Kingdom princess had fallen into the hands of the Jing Kingdom, and that the An Kingdom was in the wrong for the past grievances, An Yunrui couldn't bring himself to say it outright again.
He hesitated, saying, "Huan'er, have you forgotten the enmity between An and Jing? How can Jingyan so easily repay the debt?"
"Therefore, I have invited the Prime Minister and other ministers to come here with Your Majesty to discuss our strategies," An Chenghuan said calmly, glancing around at everyone in the hall as he spoke.
"What good plan does Your Highness have?" Prime Minister Jin is a veteran minister of Anguo. He was promoted and left to him by An Chenghuan's grandfather. The current Emperor An is said to be An Yunrui, but Prime Minister Jin is more loyal to An Chenghuan.
When His Highness made a request, Prime Minister Jin stepped forward to offer him a way out.
An Chenghuan wanted to get Yue Jiang back, but he knew it wouldn't be easy and would require a huge price to pay, so he apologized slightly.
"There's no good solution. The reason why Jing Kingdom harbors such deep hatred for An Kingdom is because Emperor Jing committed suicide by crashing into the An Kingdom's court palace, resulting in the loss of fifteen cities and their inhabitants."
“The Feng Kingdom has been destroyed, and the Jing Kingdom has reclaimed thirteen cities. I intend to return the remaining two cities in the hands of the An Kingdom to the Jing Kingdom as a trade, and also return the twenty years of tribute that the Jing Kingdom has paid to the An Kingdom, in order to redeem Princess Yue Jiang.”
These words shocked not only Prime Minister Jin and other officials, but also An Yunrui, who questioned An Chenghuan.
“Two cities are fine, but do you know how much one million taels a year would cost over twenty years? The price is too high. Anguo can’t afford it.”
Prime Minister Jin hesitated, but he first asked, "Your Highness, is it worth it?"
An Chenghuan: "Of course, Anguo is the first country to marry the Yueguo princess as its crown princess, which is of different significance. Yueguo has promised to pay more tribute to Anguo in the future. With Yueguo's long-term prosperity, why bother about Jingguo's money?"
"There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. Those two cities are a thorn in the side of the Jing Kingdom. If we exchange them for a woman, I think the Jing Kingdom would have no reason to refuse."
“Your imperial grandfather forced Emperor Jing to his death back then!” An Yunrui said anxiously, “Jing Kingdom has been suppressed by An Kingdom for many years. What if he wants to see us make a fool of ourselves and refuses to agree? What if he makes even more demanding requests?”
"Your Majesty, I have already been humiliated by having my wife stolen by Jing Yan," An Chenghuan said, his eyelashes half-closed, dark shadows on his pupils, his hands clenched tightly beneath his sleeves, not hesitating to mock himself.
“This is exactly the scene that Jingyan wants. Your son will meet with Jingyan in person. Perhaps there is a glimmer of hope.”
“If Anguo wants to become a strong nation, it must resolve its current internal predicament. I know whether it is worth salvaging the ally Yueguo.”
An Yunrui: "Those old-timers in Anguo are the most cunning. Your grandfather couldn't shake them until his death. If you push them too far, they'll bite back."
"Why don't you apologize to them? Then you won't need to form a marriage alliance with the Yue Kingdom to resolve the predicament."
"Forty years have passed, and not even a mosquito from either country dares to fly into the other's country. You still dare to see Jing Yan? Are you crazy?"
“Your Majesty, I am not only doing this for Yue Jiang, but also for the sake of An Guo. If the old guard and the young scions do not respect us, An Guo will only become more and more corrupt. Your Majesty will not give up,” An Chenghuan insisted.
Seeing that An Chenghuan was determined, Prime Minister Jin, as the Prime Minister of Anguo, knew that Anguo was not as glorious as it appeared on the surface, but was in serious trouble internally, which needed to be resolved urgently.
He bowed before An Yunrui could raise any objections, saying, "Your Highness is absolutely right."
An Yunrui's next words caught in his throat, and he turned pale with anger: "Fine, fine, you all have ideas. What do you need me to do? Go, go see Jing Yan."
He flung his hand away in anger and left.
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