Both of them had their own ulterior motives and were overjoyed at the prospect of achieving their goals.
Maimaiti returned to the Kingdom of Mingyue and informed the king about Qi Guze's fall off the cliff.
Upon hearing this, the King of Mingyue was overjoyed and said, "I have endured for so many days, and even had to swallow my pride and negotiate peace in order to kill him. This has truly made me lose face."
Maimaiti stepped forward and said, "Now that our greatest threat has been eliminated, I propose that we send troops as soon as possible to prevent them from recovering. At that time, we will surely defeat them decisively."
"Do any of you ministers have any further opinions?" The King of Mingyue Kingdom stood up and looked around the court.
"We leave everything to the monarch's decision," the ministers said in unison.
"Good! Let's march north and trample Chang'an!" the King of Mingyue said with great pride.
The next day, the troops of the Mingyue Kingdom marched towards Chang'an City.
When the news arrived, the capital was in an uproar, with civil and military officials offering conflicting accounts.
Some advocate for peace talks, but the Mingyue Kingdom has ulterior motives. First, they assassinated the regent, and then they marched north with their troops. Their schemes are all interconnected. Moreover, our dynasty is weak, which is an indisputable fact. To go to war rashly would be irresponsible to the people of this world.
“There are no capable people in the court right now. Moreover, it is clear that Maimaiti and his men have come here to figure out the layout of Chang’an. I’m afraid this is a ploy to lure us away from our base. When we launch a northern expedition, they will strike directly at our heart. It would be better to send a princess to marry into the enemy, which could reduce the war.” The Minister of Revenue immediately spoke up.
Over the years, he has amassed a considerable fortune in the Ministry of Revenue. If a war were to break out and such a large deficit were to be discovered, he would be unable to explain himself.
However, some people advocated going to war, saying that what was the Dark Moon Kingdom compared to them? They could fight them to the bitter end.
The general had been eager to try: "Your Majesty, the Mingyue Kingdom is just a small country, yet it dares to act so recklessly. They must be certain that we won't send troops. Why not just catch them off guard?"
The group argued for a long time, but couldn't reach a conclusion.
The emperor, annoyed by the noise, waved his hand and said, "Stop arguing. Let me think about it myself. Court adjourned."
When Ah Qi learned that the Mingyue Kingdom was advancing on this side, he thought it was feasible, but there was no need to actually fight. After all, wars always result in death, and he was already the crown prince. Once he became emperor, the benefits that could only be obtained by sacrificing lives would be readily available to him.
After thinking it over, he decided to contact the Mingyue Kingdom and make some secret plans. Then he got up and went to the East Palace to meet the person in charge there.
The person in charge of the Eastern Palace is actually the High Priest of the Underworld Moon Kingdom. He is lurking here for two reasons: to protect Ah Qi's life and to help him pass on messages.
Ah Qi went to great lengths to get her in, but these days she hasn't had any real opportunity to use her skills, so naturally, this so-called high priestess has nothing better to do than sit idle.
The high priest was currently observing the celestial phenomena and saw that the Purple Star was twinkling in two places, yet they were very close at hand, which clearly indicated something was amiss.
Just then, Ah Qi arrived.
She frowned, realizing that something had happened in the previous dynasty: "Why would His Highness the Crown Prince think of me?"
"I need you to deliver a message, instructing the Mingyue Kingdom's army to temporarily besiege the enemy without attacking, awaiting peace negotiations," Ah Qi said in a low voice.
"Your Highness, rest assured, I will definitely deliver the message in a timely manner," she replied with a deep bow.
The two discussed for a while longer, and she memorized all the details, secretly marveling at how thoughtful His Highness the Crown Prince was, even more so than Princess Mingyue back then.
Late at night, the High Priestess slipped out of Chang'an and headed straight for the Kingdom of Mingyue. She possessed the skill of lightness and agility, and after a whole night of running, she finally arrived at the capital of Mingyue at dawn.
After delivering the message to the king, the king frowned and asked, "Who is this Ninth Princess, and why did he specifically name her as a condition for peace talks?"
"This Ninth Princess is only ten years old and is a rare beauty. However, that's all I know. Ah Qi instructed me that the Ninth Princess is the most important part of his plan, and that I must get her to the Underworld Moon Kingdom. As for the rest, he can arrange it as he sees fit," the High Priest explained.
Although the King of Mingyue Kingdom was puzzled, he figured that Ah Qi wouldn't do anything detrimental to Mingyue Kingdom, so he nodded in agreement and quickly drafted an imperial edict to be delivered to Maimaiti by the High Priest on his way back to Chang'an.
To be honest, the people of the Dark Moon Kingdom had known about Ah Qi's existence for a long time. They originally thought he could help them, but he hadn't been able to find them for a long time. Now, just when they were taking a risky move, he suddenly made contact with them.
But this is good, as it saves them manpower.
Inside the military tent, Maimaiti frowned as he looked at the imperial edict and cursed, "This was supposed to be a great opportunity for me to make a name for myself, but unexpectedly, a Cheng Yaojin appeared out of nowhere."
Although he was helpless, he had no choice but to comply and send the peace terms into Chang'an.
In the imperial court, the current emperor frowned as he looked at the peace terms that had been sent. The terms mentioned that the Ninth Princess of Chang'an was a rare beauty, and the Mingyue Kingdom hoped to marry her. If the request was accepted, the Mingyue Kingdom would immediately withdraw its troops and send generous betrothal gifts. However, if the request was not accepted, the army would continue to besiege Chang'an, killing anyone who came out, and killing both if they came out in pairs.
The implication is clear: you have no choice but to agree, whether you like it or not; the coercion is palpable.
The Emperor is in a dilemma. He can persuade the Mingyue Kingdom to withdraw its troops by sacrificing the Ninth Princess, but this reason is far-fetched. The reason given is that the Emperor admires her beauty, but she is only ten years old.
The Emperor could not fathom the intentions of the Mingyue Kingdom, because it was entirely Ah Qi's idea. He saw the Ninth Princess as an obstacle between himself and Consort Min, and he had to find a way to get rid of her, otherwise many of his plans would be hindered and difficult to implement.
Just as the army of the Dark Moon Kingdom was pressing on the border, he took advantage of the situation and put forward this condition.
Consort Min heard the rumors circulating in the palace, so she went to the Emperor herself to plead. She prostrated herself on the ground and begged tearfully, "Your Majesty, that is your own flesh and blood. It's not that I am unwilling to exchange her for peace in Chang'an, but she is only ten years old. Even if you don't think of me, you should at least think of her."
"How could a mere woman like you understand matters of state?"
"With an army pressing in and no one in the court capable of handling this, why not exchange women for peace? Besides, this was personally requested by the Mingyue Kingdom, not something I can control." Although the Emperor felt reluctant, this was a condition proposed by the Mingyue Kingdom, and he could not change it. Thus, the Ninth Princess would suffer.
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