The people from Dongting had been in Beiyan for several months, but Beiyan had been giving them the cold shoulder, saying they would have to wait until the army returned to the capital before they could start talking, and also to see their sincerity. But in reality, it was an insult, a clear message to the Third Prince that even if he asked Jiang Jiuniang to act as a middleman, he wouldn't have a good time.
It's obvious that this is also a slap in the face to Jiang Jiuniang.
When Jiang Jiuniang first learned about these things, she didn't really care. After all, this was what the people of Dongting should do, and Beiyan was already being kind to them. But after what happened last night, she couldn't help but wonder whether the emperor wanted to intimidate the people of Dongting or her.
If the emperor really intends to treat her like this, then she wouldn't mind spending more time with the people of Dongting.
She certainly doesn't lack those things in her space; it's just a matter of what the Northern Yan Emperor chooses.
After welcoming the people inside, Jiang Jiuniang maintained the same attitude as before, appearing aloof and giving off an unapproachable vibe.
After exchanging greetings, the Third Prince took the initiative to explain his purpose.
"We've come today to introduce you to my cousin, and we hope you'll take good care of her as she lives here."
The Third Prince kept a very humble attitude. He had suffered the most at Jiang Jiuniang's hands, and he never dared to be too presumptuous.
Moreover, he needed to ask for a favor this time. Before he came, he had been telling his cousin not to be presumptuous in front of Jiang Jiuniang, for fear that his cousin would lose her temper and ruin things.
This reason was within Jiang Jiuniang's expectations. She nodded and said, "This is our duty. Even if the Third Prince doesn't come, we will still take good care of Princess Sheng'an. I always keep my word."
She paused for a moment, then added, "Of course, that's on the premise that the Third Prince can keep his word."
The Third Prince didn't speak, but handed the token and keepsake he brought to the maid beside Jiang Jiu Niang, before explaining, "I have already instructed the people over there that as long as they see the token and keepsake, they must unconditionally obey orders and carry out their duties, and I will not question anything."
"In addition, there are my properties here. Madam can take them whenever she needs them, but only for Madam herself."
This was his separate payment to Jiang Jiuniang, and had nothing to do with the emperor.
Of course, he also wanted to take this opportunity to build a good relationship with Jiang Jiuniang, so that there might be opportunities to cooperate in the future.
There are no permanent enemies in this world; as long as interests do not conflict, people can become friends.
Jiang Jiuniang, however, was not interested and said, "The Third Prince doesn't need to bribe me with the dirty money he earned in Beiyan. If you really have that kind of heart, you might as well donate this money to the people who have been persecuted by you. That way, I can look at you with more respect."
It must be said that the Third Prince's men are truly as tenacious as cockroaches. Despite the severe crackdown by the Northern Yan for so long, they have been able to persevere and even be put to use. This is the kind of force that the Northern Yan Emperor desperately needs.
Lu Baichuan and his team had been working hard to cultivate talent in this area, but before long, the emperor started acting recklessly.
It's no exaggeration to say that if Lu Baichuan and his men were to give up now, the dog emperor wouldn't last long before the country falls.
The Third Prince's smile was rather unpleasant, and Princess Sheng'an's face turned pale with fright. She really hadn't expected Jiang Jiuniang to speak so bluntly.
Before she came, her cousin told her that Jiang Jiuniang was easy to get along with, but now it seems that she is not easy to get along with at all!
“What you say is true, Madam. I will arrange for my men to do it as soon as I get back.”
"In addition, my cousin has prepared a gift for you today, madam. I hope you will accept it."
As he spoke, he winked at Princess Sheng'an, who quickly stood up and said, "Oh right, I heard that Madam likes these little trinkets. I made these myself, so please don't find them offensive."
The small box was opened to reveal a pearl hairpin, exquisitely crafted and clearly new.
Jiang Jiuniang's eyes lit up; she hadn't expected that Princess Sheng'an was also a hairpin maker.
With this skill, even a girl from an ordinary family can live a good life.
"Thank you, I like it very much. I just got back and didn't know what the princess liked, so I didn't have time to prepare anything. I'll have it delivered later..."
"No, no need!"
The princess quickly interrupted, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "If Madam doesn't mind, you could sell me more Lu Black Duck every day. I really like it!"
Lu Hei Ya (a type of braised duck) has purchase restrictions; apart from a few acquaintances, everyone else is subject to these restrictions.
As a citizen of Dongting, Princess Sheng'an certainly didn't have the privilege of buying more.
Anyway, she has everything she needs now, all she wants is to eat Lu Hei Ya (a type of braised duck).
Jiang Jiuniang was both amused and exasperated. She hadn't expected that the princess from Dongting who came for the marriage alliance was such a foodie. That made things easier.
She had someone give Princess Sheng'an a token, which was essentially a membership card, and said, "From now on, Princess, you can wear this and make any purchases you like."
"Thank you, I like this very much too!"
Princess Sheng'an held the small token in both hands, as if she had received a precious gift.
Seeing his cousin so happy, the Third Prince breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they didn't reject each other and could get along well, he could go back with peace of mind.
The food that Jiang Jiuniang had brought over consisted of small pastries made by Yu Shi according to the recipes provided by Jiang Jiuniang. They were soft, fluffy, and very delicious. Princess Sheng'an ate them with great pleasure, completely forgetting the fright she had felt earlier from Jiang Jiuniang.
While she ate, Jiang Jiuniang continued to discuss matters with the Third Prince. After setting some demands, she added, "However, let me make this clear from the start: the conditions I agree to today are only valid as long as the Lu family still has a voice in the capital. I imagine the Third Prince is aware of what happened at last night's banquet. The Emperor has begun to be wary of the Lu family. How long can the Lu family still hold its position? Nobody knows."
"As long as we are still here, we will take care of Princess Sheng'an as agreed. But if something happens, we will be too busy to take care of ourselves and will naturally stop interfering in the princess's affairs. At that time, our agreement will no longer be valid, and our Lu family will no longer care about the Northern Yan Dynasty. You Eastern Court can do whatever you want."
Hearing Jiang Jiuniang's words, the Third Prince was somewhat surprised: "You have done so much for Bei Yan, are you really willing to give it up so easily?"
"What good will it do if we don't give up? They'll just think we're bad at judging people."
Jiang Jiuniang gave a self-deprecating laugh. She was quite open-minded, but Lu Baichuan would be upset for a while.
"As long as Madam is willing, Dongting..."
The Third Prince was somewhat excited. He had long wanted to poach talent from others, but he had never had the opportunity. Now that the opportunity was right in front of him, it would be foolish not to take advantage of it.
If Jiang Jiuniang agrees, Dongting can not only immediately turn the tide of his current defeat, but he can even sit in the position he has always dreamed of!
"No, I don't want to."
Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Jiuniang refused.
She had considered this idea before, but it was just a thought; she really looked down on Dongting's methods.
The Third Prince pursed his lips, somewhat embarrassed, and touched his nose, but still said unwillingly, "Since you know that the Northern Yan Emperor is starting to fear you, why are you still willing to work for him? If you're like this now, won't he wipe you out in the future? Going to the Eastern Court is the best choice."
"That is not true. Although the Emperor of Beiyan is somewhat wary of the Lu family, he has not done anything to harm the Lu family so far, nor has he harmed the common people. Putting aside everything else, the Emperor of Beiyan cares about the people, which is something your Eastern Court cannot do."
"I'll pretend the Third Prince never mentioned what happened today, otherwise there's no need for our cooperation to continue."
Jiang Jiuniang made things clear at once, saving him from having to come to her door repeatedly and sowing discord between the Lu family and the emperor.
The Third Prince still cared a lot about this cooperation, and as expected, he stopped talking and became much more well-behaved.
Meanwhile, someone had already informed the emperor about the Dongting people's visit to the Lu family.
The emperor was reading the memorials and thinking about how to apologize to Lu Baichuan and his wife. He knew he had done wrong and had to admit it.
Then I heard the news that the Third Prince of Dongting and Princess Sheng'an had gone to the Lu family.
What are the people from Dongting doing at the Lu family's place?
The emperor frowned, a certain thought forming in his mind, but he quickly suppressed it, his intuition telling him to trust the Lu family.
The servant replied, "The Third Prince of Dongting will take Princess Sheng'an to meet Madam Lu and ask her to take good care of her. He will also hand over the remaining tokens."
The emperor breathed a sigh of relief, realizing he had indeed been worrying unnecessarily.
He thought that after what happened last night, Jiang Jiuniang was angry and wanted to seek refuge with the people of Dongting.
This really sounds like Jiang Jiuniang's style.
However, he was clearly overthinking things again. He inwardly berated himself and waved his hand, saying, "Go down. From now on, you don't need to keep an eye on the Lu family anymore."
Since he had promised the Empress to trust the Lu family, he had to keep his word, even if it was just a gamble.
"yes."
The people below withdrew. The emperor was a little tired and wanted to go out for a walk. Just as he got up, someone came again. He was very impatient and said, "We'll talk later. I'm going for a walk."
The young eunuch held a tray in his hands, looking somewhat troubled: "But this was sent to the palace by Madam Lu. She said it was a token handed over by the Third Prince of the Eastern Court, and that it would be directly at the Emperor's disposal from now on."
Originally, this power was supposed to be handed over to Jiang Jiuniang, but now Jiang Jiuniang is directly sending things to him, which is to show her loyalty.
The emperor stopped and picked it up to examine it. The totem on it was indeed unique to the Eastern Court, but he did not accept it. He simply said, "I am very pleased with Lady Lu's loyalty. I will send it to her for safekeeping and also reward her with some gold and silver jewelry as a token of my appreciation for handling this matter well."
Only now did he realize how ridiculous his actions were. It was strange how he had suddenly lost his mind and been led by the nose.
The young eunuch was somewhat surprised and asked incredulously, "Your Majesty, this is the influence of the Third Prince of the Eastern Court..."
He had served the emperor for a long time, and sometimes he knew what the emperor was thinking. Logically speaking, the emperor had always wanted this power, so why did he not want it now that it was offered to him?
"Do as I say."
The emperor waved his hand and left.
The young eunuch looked at the contents of the tray, somewhat puzzled, but still followed the emperor's instructions and retrieved some gold and silver jewelry from the storeroom, which he then delivered to Jiang Jiuniang.
Along with the letter sent out of the palace, there was also a letter from the Empress.
This was handed to the eunuch by someone who stopped him on his way out of the palace. The eunuch said that the Empress had specifically instructed him to personally deliver it to Jiang Jiuniang.
The young eunuch dared not refuse and respectfully handed the letter to Jiang Jiuniang.
After seeing off the Third Prince of Dongting and his entourage, Jiang Jiuniang was just about to take a nap when someone from the palace arrived.
I initially thought they were coming to cause trouble, but it turned out to be a reward.
Upon hearing that the emperor had returned the tokens and even sent her jewels, Jiang Jiuniang remained calm and composed, even managing to utter the words "thank you for your great favor" weakly.
It wasn't until the young eunuch brought out the letter written in the Empress's own handwriting that he said, "This is a letter that Her Majesty the Empress specifically instructed me to give to you, Madam. Please take a look."
Jiang Jiuniang took the letter; the envelope was addressed to her by Jiuniang.
The Empress's handwriting was typical of the small regular script with delicate flowers, very elegant and petite, making it clear at a glance that the writer was a very gentle and dignified woman.
Jiang Jiuniang's agitated mood was greatly soothed. She put the letter into her bosom, had her maid give her some silver to send the eunuch away, and then took the envelope back to her room to open it.
Jiang Jiuniang considered many possibilities, but she never expected that this would be the Empress's apology letter.
In her letter, the Empress directly admitted that the events of the previous night were indeed at the Emperor's behest. She also stated that she had explained the matter to the Emperor, who realized his mistake and had already banished the person who had offered the slanderous advice from the capital. As for the damage caused to the Lu family, she said she would make amends gradually and hoped that the Lu family would give the Emperor another chance.
Finally, the Empress even stated that as long as she lived, no one would ever be able to take away the Lu family's position.
Jiang Jiuniang's gloomy mood was instantly cured. She was indeed angry at the emperor's actions and attitude, which were clearly a case of discarding a useful tool after it has served its purpose.
The Empress was indeed a virtuous and kind woman. She noticed the Emperor's strange behavior immediately and probably had a heart-to-heart talk with him overnight. She also requested to be confined to her quarters today, making her stance clear and thus prompting the Emperor to pull back from the brink.
At the same time, an apology letter was sent to appease the Lu family. Both the emperor and the Lu family were given an explanation, and efforts were being made to achieve a win-win situation.
After reading the letter, Jiang Jiuniang sighed.
The letter was short, but she saw the Queen's helplessness and sadness, and more importantly, her sincerity.
The Empress was, after all, the first woman Jiang Jiuniang had treated like a best friend since she came into this world. She didn't want to strain their relationship over this matter. Moreover, with the Empress's guarantee and the Emperor's choice, the Lu family could be more accommodating.
After thinking for a moment, she walked to the table and began to reply to the letter.
However, she did not mince words but explained her and Lu Baichuan's thoughts. They never thought of mercenaries being self-respecting. They chose to follow the emperor because they felt he was worth it. If the emperor no longer needed them, they could retire at any time without needing to subtly remind them, which would only make everyone unhappy.
She then expressed her understanding and advised the Empress not to take it to heart. She said that she would go to the palace to explain things to the Empress in person after the Empress's confinement was lifted in a few days.
When Lu Baichuan returned home that evening, Jiang Jiuniang handed him the letter and, seeing his reaction, asked, "What do you think?"
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