The Prime Minister and the Ninth Prince entered the grassland as envoys, but they dispatched almost half of the elite cavalry in the northern border. People who didn't know about this would think they were here to fight.

"Why did the Prime Minister lead his army into our grassland with such fanfare?"

Xiao Ning was not afraid of him either. At least in terms of military strength alone, they did not need to fear 30,000 cavalry for the time being.

But as soon as she finished her words, King Xiang appeared behind her with 10,000 elite soldiers.

With 40,000 people in total, plus Hu Li who might shoot a sneak attack or not, they have captured 80,000 of their lone men. If a real fight breaks out, it's hard to say who will win or lose.

"I heard that my Princess Dayu was bullied on the grassland, so I came here on behalf of Dayu to see who is so blind as to dare to bully my Princess Dayu." The Prime Minister was not shy at all.

This time it was Xiao Ning's turn to be speechless. Things like fighting for a bride, snatching a bride, and remarrying after the husband's death might be acceptable on the grassland, but in Dayu, it was extremely outrageous.

Section 127

She knew she was in the wrong, so she said politely, "There must be some misunderstanding about this matter. Please come to the tent and we can discuss it later."

"Okay." The Prime Minister agreed generously.

The group soon arrived at the yamen. The prime minister chose a location that was surrounded by mountains on three sides, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and very close to the yamen. He let Dayu's 40,000 elite troops stay there, and he and other envoys entered the yamen.

He did not have a formal meeting with Tuoba Xiong and others, but instead handed the emperor's edict to Prince Xiang. The edict was very simple, stating that there was chaos in the south and nearly half of the cities had been captured, so Prince Xiang needed to go back and take charge.

King Xiang held the imperial edict with a frown on his face.

"This is true, Your Highness Prince Xiang, don't worry." The Prime Minister knew what he was thinking, but the country was in turmoil and the people were living in misery. Someone was needed to put aside distractions and save the country from collapse.

The incident happened suddenly and the situation was critical, otherwise the emperor would not have ordered him and the Ninth Prince to go to the grassland immediately to recall Prince Xiang.

King Xiang put away the imperial edict and said only one sentence: "Okay, I will set off immediately."

"Your Highness can take 20,000 of the 30,000 cavalry with you. Together with your 10,000, a total of 30,000 elite troops should be able to help His Highness Prince Xiang."

This was beyond King Xiang's expectations. He looked at him in disbelief and said, "What the Prime Minister wants to do is to hand over the elite cavalry of the northern border to me?"

"For the country and the people, there is no distinction between you and me."

King Xiang was stunned for a moment. This old man was more patriotic and people-loving than his father.

He rarely bowed to the Prime Minister and said, "On behalf of the people in the south, I would like to thank you, Prime Minister."

After saying this, he turned and left to count the troops and immediately set out to the south.

Ye Qingwan felt strange. Nan Fang had been fine, so why did he suddenly become restless?

Moreover, the small border countries in the south are of average strength, and they only engage in small-scale fighting and stealing supplies. This is the first time I have seen such attacks on cities and territories.

Could it be that other forces are involved?

At this time, a man from the grassland suddenly came to invite the prime minister, saying that the Great Khan summoned him.

After the Prime Minister arrived, Xiao Ning was the only one in the tent.

Xiao Ning poured him a glass of milk wine: "Master Xiangguo, do you know me?"

"Xibo Xiaoning."

Xiao Ning smiled: "As expected, you are the Prime Minister. Your heart is as clear as a mirror. Nothing can be hidden from you."

"What do you want to do?" The Prime Minister was not interested in chatting with her.

Xiao Ning still laughed, but this time his laugh was a little crazy: "What do you want to do? Prime Minister, you actually asked me what I want to do? Could it be that Prime Minister really knows nothing about what happened back then?"

The Prime Minister looked at her slowly and said nothing.

Xiao Ning continued, "We Xibe people wholeheartedly submit to Dayu and the emperor, but what about him? How did he treat us? Not only did he exterminate our entire clan, he also wrongly accused us of betraying Dayu. All my father, brothers and relatives died in the battle, and no remains were left. After death, I have to bear the infamy for all eternity. What do you think I want to do?"

"You have brought this upon yourselves." The Prime Minister stared at her sharply, "When you colluded with the Emperor and framed Nangong Qiuming, you should have thought that this day would come."

How could the emperor let the world know that he had committed treason and murdered his brother? So before they cooperated with the emperor, they should have thought that no matter whether the plan succeeded or not, they, the Xibe people, would not survive.

Xiao Ning was choked, but still indignant: "Yes, my father and brother did something wrong, they don't deserve to die, then what did we Xibe people do wrong? How innocent are they?"

The Prime Minister did not tolerate her: "You are innocent. There are more than tens of thousands of people in Nangong Qiuming's mansion, from relatives and friends to retainers and servants. How innocent are they? Those who pleaded for Nangong Qiuming's family were killed in waves, and almost half of the court was killed."

“Did you know that after they were killed, their blood flowed into the moat, and for three days the water in the moat was red?

The tragedy of you Xibe people was caused by your father and brother. But the tragedy of Nangong Qiuming was caused by you. What did he do wrong?

The only thing he did wrong was that he was too eager to save his father and fell into your trap."

It was rare for the Prime Minister to speak so harshly. He was just feeling guilty. If he had not been careless enough to go to Jiangnan to provide disaster relief when the emperor was seriously ill, Nangong Qiuming would not have acted so rashly, resulting in a bloodbath in the entire court and even the capital.

"Since the Prime Minister is so disgusted with what the current emperor has done, he must work with me to seek justice for the dead." Seeing that the hard approach didn't work, Xiao Ning tried the soft approach.

But the Prime Minister just glanced at her calmly and said, "Although I despise your Majesty's behavior, I will never allow anyone to put my people of Dayu into war. So if Queen Dowager Xiao Ning can be your grassland queen dowager, then you and I can live in peace. But if you have any unreasonable thoughts, I advise you to think twice."

After saying that, he just turned around and left.

The Ninth Prince has already changed his clothes and come out. He was exhausted from the journey and it must have been very tiring for him.

When he heard Ye Qingwan's complaints and requests for help, he rushed here day and night and finally caught up.

Ever since Ye Qingwan was canonized as a princess and sent as an envoy to the grassland, he has been building up momentum in the capital, revealing Xibe Xiao Ning's life story to his father bit by bit.

As expected, after confirming Xibe Xiao Ning's identity, his father immediately ordered him to go to the grassland with the prime minister and bring Ye Qingwan back.

What allies, what family ties we have on the grasslands and in the Central Plains? His father, the emperor, loves his throne the most.

"Are you married to Hu Li?" he suddenly asked Ye Qingwan.

Ye Qingwan quickly shook her head: "I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense."

There was no ceremony, no bridal chamber, and even no holding of hands, so how can it not be called a marriage?

If this counts, then when I return to reality, tie up Papa Ma and dress him in a groom's suit, doesn't that mean he is my husband?