Chapter 120 The Imperial Son's Marriage: Gentle and Obedient, Worthy of Serving as a Broom and Bamboo Sweeper
Marrying?
Only then did Yuan Yan finally stop what he was doing, raise his head, and signal to the system to explain.
Seeing that Yuan Yan had finally given a response, the system breathed a sigh of relief and continued in one breath: [Host, Emperor Wu is considering the marriage of Tuoba Yu'er, and it seems he intends to bestow her upon a border general who has just lost his husband.]
"They were quite quick."
A minister who has lost his husband is probably not young. For Tuoba Hong to choose such a wife for Yu'er, who is in the prime of her youth, truly shows him no tenderness whatsoever.
Yuan Yan has been too busy these days and hasn't paid much attention to Yu'er's situation. He didn't even notice that Yu'er hadn't sent any letters for some time, so he was unaware of this news.
Upon hearing this, she raised an eyebrow slightly, raised her hand to summon her bodyguards, and ordered them to verify the information provided by the system.
The system then asked: "Host, what are you planning to do?"
“Tuoba Yu’er is already mine. Besides, I promised him that I would bring her back to the Phoenix Kingdom. If the news is true, I will naturally not leave her to fend for herself.” Yuan Yan pondered.
But how do we manage this?
The system was stumped, unable to come up with a solution. [Host, no matter how powerful you are, you can't control the affairs of the Wu Kingdom. Are you suggesting we send someone to steal his father and son out of the palace...?]
As it said this, it found it absurd, its voice filled with doubt.
“No, I want to get Tuoba Hong to send me her son without firing a single shot.” Yuan Yan seemed to have already thought of something, his voice firm.
The system was stunned: [Huh?]
It was meant to say that Tuoba Hong would only do such a thing if he had lost his mind, but then it saw Yuan Yan summon his ministers and discuss something.
After receiving the decree, the minister withdrew as instructed.
Not long after, Emperor Wu, Tuoba Hong, received a report that the Wule Kingdom intended to curry favor with the Huang Kingdom by offering a man as a marriage alliance.
The envoy sent by the King of Ule, carrying a portrait of the prince to be married, is already on his way to the Phoenix Kingdom.
"When did this happen? Why are you only reporting it now?" Tuoba Hong frowned, his voice turning somber.
The Kingdom of Ule is situated between the two countries. Although it is weak, its geographical location is crucial.
On the surface, they maintained a neutral stance, but in reality, they secretly favored the Wu Kingdom. They even helped the Wu Kingdom infiltrate spies to deal with the Huang Kingdom under the guise of an envoy's visit.
But now, seeing Yuan Yan lead his army to a great victory over the Wuliang coalition and seize two prefectures of Wu, the Wule king's already wavering attitude has completely sided with Yuan Yan.
When she received the hint from Yuan Yan's envoy that she would accept the marriage alliance, she was overjoyed and immediately agreed. She summoned all the men, had their portraits painted, and respectfully sent them to Yuan Yan for selection, thus beginning preparations for the marriage alliance.
Tuoba Hong was no fool. Seeing that Yuan Yan had suddenly started to win over the ruler of Wule and that the border troops were also making unusual moves, he couldn't help but think about other places and became extremely vigilant.
The Wu Kingdom suffered two defeats, depleting its national strength and greatly reducing its military power. At this moment, it was like a wounded and bleeding beast, severely weakened and unable to move. The other beasts that had once submitted to its territory began to stir restlessly.
Yuan Yan's actions were far from ordinary. Was she planning to unite with neighboring smaller states and use a different method to continue nibbling away at and annexing Wu Kingdom? Or was she planning to use Wu Kingdom as a route to launch another military campaign and completely conquer Wu Kingdom?
As Tuoba Hong thought of this, his heart felt as if shrouded in dark clouds, and his expression grew increasingly solemn.
She summoned her ministers to discuss countermeasures.
However, Wu Kingdom had just suffered a major defeat, and even if it discovered the unusual movements of Huang Kingdom and wanted to take preventative measures, it was truly powerless to do so. The ministers gathered together to discuss the matter for a long time, but they still couldn't come up with a foolproof solution.
"Your Majesty, I have a method that may resolve the current predicament," a minister finally stepped forward and spoke.
Tuoba Hong looked at his minister: "If you have any good ideas, please speak frankly."
The minister's suggestion was simple: rather than waiting for the Phoenix Kingdom to unite with other countries to attack them, it would be better to take the initiative to show weakness and goodwill to the Phoenix Kingdom, buy time, and gain a chance to recuperate.
"How to show goodwill?" Tuoba Hong frowned.
Given the long-standing relationship between the two countries, the contradictions have long been irreconcilable.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the minister spoke.
"A marriage alliance," the minister said confidently. "If the Kingdom of Ule can offer a man as a marriage alliance, why can't we?"
Before Tuoba Hong could even express his opinion, the ministers beside him couldn't help but voice their opposition.
"Absurd! How could the royal son of my Great Wu marry a false emperor!"
"Lord Zhou, please don't be angry. This is only a temporary measure. Given the current situation, if you disagree, I wonder if there is a better way?" The minister shook his head.
Lord Zhou choked, but still stubbornly insisted, "Even so, we cannot resort to such a drastic measure..."
They offered up their imperial son to the Phoenix Kingdom in exchange for a marriage alliance. If the ancestors of the Wu Kingdom knew of this, they would surely be ashamed.
"What do you mean by 'worst option'? Between losing face and the safety of the nation, which is more important, Lord Zhou, surely you know that?" the man continued.
The other ministers nearby joined the argument, and the incessant noise made Tuoba Hong increasingly irritable.
"Alright, all of you, stop it." Tuoba Hong silenced the voices, his eyes dark and brooding.
As the minister who made the proposal said, compared to the safety of the country, a temporary bowing out is nothing. It's just a marriage alliance; what she lacks least are men.
Once Tuoba Hong made a decision, it was irreversible. He immediately ordered the selection of a suitable imperial son, contacted envoys, and prepared for the marriage alliance.
Not long after, Yuan Yan received a report from the envoy, along with a letter from the Kingdom of Wu.
The letter stated that, in order to show his sincerity in repenting and to make peace with the Phoenix Kingdom, Emperor Wu was willing to send his most beloved eldest son to marry into the royal family.
【Host, your method isn't working either.】
The system pondered as it looked at the official letter, [The person sent by Wu Kingdom for a marriage alliance is not Tuoba Yu'er. All your efforts have been in vain.]
"That's not necessarily true." Yuan Yan remained calm and composed, seemingly unconcerned, and continued reviewing the memorials on his desk.
The memorial in my hand came from the newly appointed Censor Ge Miao. Its words were sharp and critical of current affairs, revealing him to be a remarkably outspoken and opinionated young man.
After Yuan Yan finished reading the entire document, he couldn't help but laugh. He casually circled Ge Miao's name and said, "It's her."
Ge Miao was appointed as the Phoenix Envoy by Yuan Yan to negotiate a marriage alliance with the Wu Kingdom.
Following the imperial decree, Ge Miao was sent as an envoy to the Kingdom of Wu. As instructed by Yuan Yan, he made exorbitant demands before the Emperor of Wu, requesting a large dowry.
On the surface, it was a dowry for the legitimate son of the emperor, but in reality, it was reparations from the Wu Kingdom for the wars it had waged multiple times.
When the Wu Kingdom's ruler and his ministers heard Ge Miao mention the cities, they almost turned on each other on the spot, but considering the Huang Kingdom's army and Yuan Yan's extraordinary abilities, they could only hold back.
After much haggling, the two sides finally managed to reach a reluctant agreement.
Just as Emperor Wu was heartbroken, Ge Miao began to cause trouble again.
In front of all the ministers of Wu Kingdom, she stated that she had heard that the legitimate son of Wu Kingdom was of ordinary appearance and was not worthy of the Emperor.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Wu's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot; it was beyond just ugly.
The Prime Minister of Wu Kingdom, suppressing his anger, stepped forward and said, "Then what do you intend to do?"
Ge Miao said arrogantly, "This time it is the Wu Kingdom that is sending a man as a bride, not the Huang Kingdom that is eagerly seeking a marriage alliance. If your country's sincerity is insufficient, then the marriage alliance can be called off."
These words are extremely rude, even arrogant, and any subject with a modicum of backbone would probably find them intolerable.
A Wuguo general nearly slammed his fist on the table in anger.
The voices of other ministers echoed from the side.
Some ministers requested that Tuoba Hong execute the Phoenix Envoy, believing that things had come to this point and there was no point in continuing negotiations with the Phoenix Kingdom.
Ge Miao listened to the ministers of Wu Kingdom shouting that they wanted to kill her and cut off her head to send to Yuan Yan, but her expression remained calm, without even a trace of fear.
She glanced sideways, raised her head, and said, "Kill me if you want. Since I dared to come to Wu Kingdom, I have already disregarded life and death. I will leave it to your country to decide."
"If anything happens to me, His Majesty will take care of it for me."
Her attitude further fueled the indignation of some ministers.
Amidst the righteous indignation of the assembled officials, Tuoba Hong restrained himself from retaliating.
If she could, wouldn't she want to go to war with the Phoenix Kingdom?
Unfortunately, Tuoba Hong knew perfectly well that the Wu Kingdom at that time simply did not have the ability to fight again.
If she loses the bet and then loses to Yuan Yan, she fears even the Phoenix Chair she sits on will have to change owners.
"Among all my sons, Hejia is of average appearance, but he is gentle and obedient, and is fit to serve me."
"I wish to follow the ancient custom and select a beautiful young woman from among the noble men of the imperial clan to serve as a concubine to accompany Hejia in her dowry. This is to show my sincerity and to make peace with the Huang Kingdom."
Tuoba Hongzhen truly lived up to her reputation as a formidable woman, capable of enduring what ordinary people could not.
She understood the current situation and knew that Wu Kingdom was weak, so she could not clash with Yuan Yan at this time.
Despite Ge Miao's clearly provocative attitude, Tuoba Hong still stopped the ministers from speaking and said with narrowed eyes.
"Your Majesty, I thank Your Majesty the Emperor Wu for your kind intentions. However, the selection of these concubines still requires careful consideration..."
Thinking of His Majesty's instructions before his mission, Ge Miao began to pick and choose, using the excuse that his status as a male member of the imperial clan was not noble enough.
After much back and forth, Emperor Wu finally agreed to select several of the most beautiful of the eligible princes as dowries for his legitimate son, Prince Hejia, to marry into the Phoenix Kingdom.
Ge Miao finally achieved his true goal. He remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he felt a sense of joy because he had not failed His Majesty's entrustment.
"Then I will await good news." Ge Miao, having gained the upper hand, couldn't help but laugh smugly.
That smile was particularly irritating to the eyes of the Wu Kingdom's ruler and his ministers.
"Guards, please escort the Phoenix Envoy to rest." Tuoba Hong felt as if he had been forced to swallow a fly; he was extremely displeased but could not retaliate. He could only swallow his humiliation along with the assembled ministers.
Emperor Wu wanted to choose a prince to accompany He Jia in her dowry, and the news of the marriage alliance with the Phoenix Kingdom spread throughout the palace.
Tuoba Yu'er was known for her good looks among the princes, so she was naturally included in the shortlist.
Originally, Tuoba Hong intended to marry him to Hu Nanhu, a border general who had just lost his husband, but now he had to give up the idea and choose another royal man to marry. He selected Tuoba Yu'er and several of his handsome younger brothers as concubines and prepared to send them to the Phoenix Kingdom together.
Upon learning that she wouldn't have to marry another woman, Yu'er almost immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
She already belongs to Yuan Yan, and there is absolutely no way she could marry someone else.
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