"South of Dos and west of Shu, lies a vast territory," he said. "I intend to develop this region!"
It's enough to say half of it; you can't be too direct. If you say directly that you're legally allowed to live on this land, and that gets back to the Empress, it would be considered treason.
This place is sparsely populated, but the land is quite fertile, much better than this ghostly forest.
Also, I'm saying I want to develop it, not that I'm giving it to you. We can still turn our backs on each other later, right?
Su Zhongxiang understood immediately upon hearing this!
"Haha, Your Highness is truly straightforward!" Su Zhongxiang said. "Does Your Highness need our assistance in developing these lands?"
Lin Mo's lips twitched slightly. "Yes, of course we need it!"
The two looked at each other and nodded in satisfaction.
The betrothal gifts were thus happily agreed upon.
Next, we'll discuss the dowry.
Lin Mo cleared his throat and said, "I am currently fighting against the Dos people, and one of my troops is stationed on their sacred mountain. As you know, an army's supplies must be prepared before it can move."
"That damned Feng clan chieftain has been causing trouble on both sides of our territory!"
“That’s not difficult!” Su Zhongxiang said. “I will lead my men to attack their stronghold, so they won’t be able to spare any troops to harass Your Highness.”
As a native chieftain himself, the Su clan naturally knew the Feng clan's stronghold and activity locations.
With them keeping Lin Mo occupied, the Feng clan chieftain had no intention of harassing him.
In this way, the grain transport route will be safe.
The cooperation talks went very well, and both sides were very satisfied.
So Su Zhongxiang warmly greeted Lin Mo and then loudly ordered, "Enough with the chit-chat, son-in-law, please sit down!"
Son-in-law? Goodness, they've gotten along really fast!
Don't tell me that according to your chieftain's custom, you should consummate your marriage tonight!
Then, Su Zhongxiang shouted again, "Let the feast begin! Let the feast begin!"
Holy crap, the feast is about to begin? Lin Mo hadn't heard that phrase in a long time, and his anus immediately tightened.
"Son-in-law, what's wrong?" Su Zhongxiang asked, puzzled.
"Future father-in-law, can we use a different word?" Lin Mo thought bitterly.
"Why?"
"These things are hard to explain, just replace it!"
"Alright!"
Then, Su Zhongxiang waved his hand, music started playing, and the chefs brought up the dishes one after another.
Because he was a chieftain, he lived a very frugal life.
Therefore, the food served was not luxurious.
The first dish was thin leek soup, followed by a large bowl of peas, steamed wild river fish, and a mountain of flatbread.
However, since it was early winter, the flatbread got cold as soon as it was served.
"My dear son-in-law, I'm sorry to trouble you!" Su Zhongxiang said, "This is a remote mountain place, we don't have anything good to offer you."
Lin Mo, having also experienced hardship, didn't complain at all. "Father-in-law, when I fought alongside my father, it was even harder than this!" "Is that so? Hehe!"
The name Lin Wenzhong brought back many memories for Su Zhongxiang.
When Lin Wenzhong entered Sichuan, I led my clansmen to serve him. Lin Wenzhong treated them very well, and during that time, the two sides got along very well.
Later, Lin Wenzhong left Sichuan, and Li Hu's men arrived, leading to immense conflict.
Why? Because Li Hu's men don't treat them like human beings!
Where there is oppression, there is resistance.
The problem was that Li Hu also had a skilled and experienced fighter under his command, and Su Zhongxiang was no match for him, so he could only flee into the forest.
Several years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Lin Wenzhong was also a reason why Su Zhongxiang was willing to marry his daughter to Lin Mo.
Given Lin Wenzhong's character, his son is unlikely to be too bad.
With a sigh, Su Zhongxiang said, "My dear son-in-law, according to our customs, after the marriage agreement is made..."
Upon hearing this, Lin Mo almost spat out the pancake he had just bitten into.
"Good heavens, you're not really going to consummate the marriage today, are you?!" he asked in alarm. "Um, father-in-law, I haven't had my fill yet!"
Lin Mo replied bitterly, "Could you please let me eat my fill, then digest it, and then..."
"Huh?" Su Zhongxiang was confused. "We've only met once!"
"Just a meeting?" Lin Mo smiled awkwardly.
That won't work either. If you have a wet and salty abalone like this while eating, will you still have the appetite to continue eating?
However, Lin Mo couldn't very well refuse outright!
"Haha, my dear son-in-law, don't be shy. There's a saying in your Great Xia: 'Men should marry when they come of age, and women should marry when they come of age.' There's nothing to be embarrassed about!" After saying that, Su Zhongxiang waved his hand, and several female servants led a girl in.
"Oh my god, hurry up and eat a few more bites, or you won't be able to eat later."
Before I knew it, the girl was already in front of me.
"Greetings, Your Highness!" the girl said.
Lin Mo, however, was focused on eating and didn't notice much.
"Cough, cough, cough!" Even Xu Chu couldn't stand this behavior anymore, so he spoke up to remind him.
Lin Mo then realized what was happening, so he suppressed his emotions and looked up.
"Holy crap!" he exclaimed in surprise. "You're Miss Su?"
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