After "doing things" with Jing Zhe for a while, Murong Xi knew that her face must be frighteningly red at this moment, and if Chu Xia came in, she would definitely notice something was wrong.
Even excluding that, she's practically naked and alone in a room with Jing Zhe, a man and a woman. If Chu Xia isn't stupid, she'll definitely think of something!
We can't let her in!
After the initial shock, Murong Xi calmed down.
"No...no need, take it away and drink it yourself!"
Murong Xi tried to keep her tone calm as she spoke to the door.
"Oh, is there anything the Empress needs Chu Xia to do?"
"No, you can just go listen to storytelling."
"So...you haven't finished talking yet?"
"N-no, I'm talking about it..."
"Alright, then I'll go now, Your Majesty! Call me if you need anything!"
"Oh, okay..."
Although it was early summer when she escorted Jing Zhe into the house—after all, she felt that Murong Xi had something to say to him—this was Jing Zhe's territory, and she was worried that something might happen between the two of them, so she used the excuse of bringing tea to check on him.
After standing at the door for a while and not finding anything unusual inside, Chu Xia finally went downstairs.
Hearing her footsteps coming downstairs, Murong Xi and Jing Zhe exchanged another glance and both breathed a sigh of relief. Jing Zhe then went to the door and locked it from the inside.
"What...what are you doing!"
Upon seeing this, Murong Xi exclaimed in surprise.
"If she had just pushed the door open, would you have thought that was a good idea? If you think it would have been, then I'll open the door."
"..."
Murong Xi remained silent, clearly agreeing with his statement.
Jing Zhe walked over with a grin: "You have to believe in my character. How could I be that kind of person? Besides, if I really were that kind of person, even if I didn't lock the door, wouldn't I still be able to do bad things?"
"..."
Murong Xi didn't answer, but just rolled her eyes at Jing Zhe, letting him figure it out himself. Jing Zhe thought Murong Xi was particularly playful and cute, and laughed foolishly.
Seeing Jing Zhe grinning foolishly, Murong Xi pursed her lips, ultimately not asking "What are you laughing at?" Instead, she changed her question to, "What do you want to say? Can you really... bring long-term peace and stability to Yueyao Kingdom?"
"I wouldn't lie to you so easily, would I?"
Jing Zhe nodded, then pointed to the blanket wrapped around Murong Xi and said, "I think you should change your clothes, or at least put on what you're wearing now! Otherwise, when the Holy Maiden comes back and sees you like this, she'll definitely be suspicious, won't she?"
"..."
"Are you afraid I'll see? I'll just turn around!"
For once, Jing Zhe acted like a true gentleman. After speaking, he turned his back, but a wicked smile appeared on his lips.
After a moment of stunned silence, Murong Xi took the blanket off.
The green dress was now only half of it, still hanging below her waist. Although Jing Zhe had his back turned, she really didn't feel like waving it around in front of him. She went to the closet to find a new dress, and after thinking about it, she decided to just put the green dress back on. It was a bit tight, but it gave her the most sense of security.
So she put the top half of the green dress back on and reached behind her to button up the top button. But when she was about to button up the bottom buttons, she realized that after playing around with Jing Zhe for a while, she didn't have much strength left in her hands and couldn't button them up at all!
I tried to unbutton the button I had just put on, but I couldn't even get it off.
Murong Xi was busy trying to unbutton the top button when Jing Zhe turned around, muttering to himself, "It's been so long, you must be dressed by now, right?"
"You...who told you to turn around?"
All the embarrassing things that happened to him today made Murong Xi almost cry.
"I thought you were already dressed..."
While saying this, Jing Zhe was secretly laughing to himself. He had already guessed that Murong Xi would most likely not be able to wear this dress, so in the end he would have to help her.
"Never mind, I'll help you!"
"don't want…"
"If you don't take it now, the Holy Maiden will find out when she comes back! Besides, I already helped the Empress take it off, so there's no big deal if she puts it back on, is there?"
"..."
Murong Xi bit her lip and simply stopped talking. Jing Zhe took this as her consent, walked over, put his hand on her shoulder and turned her to the side, then helped her button up her clothes.
This time, Jing Zhe didn't take the opportunity to grope her, which relieved Murong Xi. After he finished tying the door, she quickly turned around and went to the door to unlock it, so that Chu Xia wouldn't be suspicious if she came back and found the door locked from the inside.
With a blank expression, Murong Xi went to the table near where Jing Zhe was, pulled up a chair, and waited for Jing Zhe to sit down before she sat opposite him, feeling much safer then.
"Alright, go ahead and speak!"
Jing Zhe also asked seriously, "Do you really insist on a marriage alliance?"
"..."
Hearing this, Murong Xi was somewhat bewildered.
"Have you ever thought about becoming a revolutionary queen?"
"innovation?"
"Yes, the first thing you did after you ascended the throne was to reject the Western Frontier and arrange a marriage alliance with Anguo. That was a kind of reform."
Hearing his explanation, Murong Xi thought for a moment and then nodded. Compared with the original Empress Yueyao, she could indeed be considered a reformative empress.
"Since we are going to reform, we don't necessarily need to resort to marriage alliances to ensure the prosperity and strength of the Yueyao Kingdom!"
"If we don't go for a marriage alliance... then what should we do?"
Murong Xi was clearly energized, temporarily forgetting the awkwardness between her and Jing Zhe, and stared intently at him.
"Your purpose in seeking a marriage alliance is merely to make Anguo a reliance for Yueyao Kingdom, thereby ensuring that it is not threatened by the Western Frontier. In fact, you could have used a different approach. For example, I have heard that Yueyao Kingdom has a developed textile industry, and its manufacturing of various fragrances and women's cosmetics is much better than that of Anguo."
Murong Xi nodded after listening and continued to look at Jing Zhe.
"Then you can take advantage of this trip to Anguo to discuss with Emperor An the possibility of establishing a trade route between Laixi and Liangzhou. Through this route, you can transport various specialties of Yueyao Kingdom to Anguo, and Yueyao Kingdom can also obtain the goods or money you need from Anguo."
Furthermore, Anguo will establish embassies in major cities of Laixi and Yueyao, with Anguo officials stationed there. This will allow Anguo to handle trade matters and also keep Anguo informed of the situation in Yueyao. If any unrest occurs in the Western Frontier, Liangzhou can immediately dispatch troops, using the trade routes to reach Laixi as quickly as possible and fight alongside the Yueyao soldiers!
After listening to his words, Murong Xi's brows sometimes relaxed and sometimes furrowed. Finally, after hearing that Anguo had sent officials to be stationed in Yueyao, his brows furrowed again and never relaxed again.
Throughout history, there has never been a country that would allow officials from other countries to be stationed in its own country. Doesn't that sound like inviting a wolf into the house?
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