invite
Song Lan lowered her head and said nothing, looking docile and ready to be manipulated. Yuan Zi, bored, sat back in her chair and took out a portrait.
Who was in the painting? Was it Yuan Zi herself? Or Yuan Ming? Yuan Zi quietly admired the portrait, muttering to herself, "Mother and Wen Cunxiao definitely won't kill her, but I sense something's amiss over there in Liang State."
Yuan Zi, who had calmed down, suddenly seemed to have a sudden thought, and her expression turned grim and terrifying. She crumpled the portrait into a ball and spread it at her feet.
Yuan Zi stood up and paced around the bedroom, her movements anxious, as if trying to convince herself: "The Liang State dared to launch an attack on the Northern Frontier camp without any reason, simply because they knew that the Qi State would not dare to make this known. The Liang army has wiped out a camp. If they don't fight back, the world will criticize the Liang State and also blame the Qi State for being weak and incompetent. Besides, if the Qi State really announced this to the world, would they fight or not? No wonder no one discussed this matter at court. It must have been suppressed by Wen Cunxiao."
Songlan listened attentively. These were things a maid could not hear, and Songlan cherished them very much.
Although Yuan Zi is indeed crazy sometimes, she really puts all her attention on dealing with her enemies and has no interest in anything else.
Just for this reason, the noble ladies that Song Lan served when she was young could not be as loyal as Yuan Zi.
Yuan Zi continued, "Based on Liang's current actions, they're probably testing Qi's bottom line. Once Qi can no longer tolerate it, Liang will have achieved its goal. Wen Cunxiao and his mother didn't object to Yuan Ming taking Mu City. It's not that they're particularly partial to Yuan Ming, but rather that they want her to be their pawn."
Yuan Zi's face looked grim. If Yuan Ming could hold on, she would definitely be able to return to the palace. But if she caused trouble for her at this time, she might become an eternal sinner of Qi State.
Yuan Zi couldn't help but pull her hair, her face became ferocious, and she turned herself into a crazy woman.
Song Lan was not surprised. At first, she thought Yuan Zi was scary, but after seeing it so many times, she couldn't help but feel that Yuan Zi had a beautiful face but made such neurotic expressions and movements - funny and ridiculous.
Of course I can’t laugh, otherwise I’ll cry later.
This night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. It was a clear night, but not a peaceful night.
Inside the Liang army camp, Hua Yuan listened to the intelligence gathered by the spies with a smile on his face.
"You mean, that woman is the abandoned princess of Qi Kingdom?"
"Your Majesty, the spy ambushed in the Zhang Mansion did indeed say so. This deposed princess drugged the entire mansion and looted the servants while they were weak. If the spy hadn't immediately sensed something was amiss and tried his best to hide the hidden items in the corner, this intelligence would have almost never been delivered."
Hua Yuan chuckled, "No wonder he's so capable." He paused, then added, "He's got a bad temper, too."
"It's time to send an envoy." Hua Yuan waved his hand and called over his personal guards. "Go visit the newly appointed city lord. If possible, please extend an invitation for me and invite her to a small gathering outside the city. I will prepare fine wine and treat her well."
Two days later, the Liang army, which had been lingering on the border of Qi State, finally sent an envoy, but he did not go to the capital. Instead, he went directly to meet the new master of Mu City, Yuan Ming, as the Liang Emperor said.
A large-scale banquet was held in the renamed Yuan Mansion.
Despite the grandeur of the banquet, it wasn't a lively affair. The hosts' faces were expressionless, especially Yuan Ming, who sat at the head of the table. His expression was frighteningly dark.
The envoy sent by Emperor Liang swaggered into the Yuan Mansion, ignoring everyone's expressions, and took a seat in a very lazy manner.
Seeing this, Zhong Yingqi cast a worried look at Yuan Ming. The envoy's attitude suggested he was seeking death today, giving Emperor Liang a pretext for sending troops.
The Liang envoy shook his wine glass, his eyes full of disdain: "Is this your country's wine? Tsk tsk tsk, it sounds like the horse urine of my Liang country."
After these words were spoken, the envoys laughed wildly.
As everyone on his side looked grim, Yuan Ming took a sip of the wine. This was Qi Country's famous wine, and the aroma was overflowing. After tasting it, Yuan Ming said regretfully, "Wild boars can't eat fine bran. Words are not enough, so everyone should try it."
"Tsk." Envoy Liang sneered, taking a casual sip. After finishing...it was indeed good. Seeing the boss's eyes light up, the other members of the delegation quickly took a few sips as well. A famous wine is indeed a famous wine, with a mellow aroma, a delicate taste, and a long aftertaste.
This is the fine wine that Yuan Ming carefully selected from Zhang He’s private treasure trove.
The wine was good, but the envoys were not impressed.
They criticized the famous wine from all aspects, praised the beautiful wine, talked about Yuan Ming's unpresentable status, commented on the dispute between Yuan Ming and Yuan Zi, and did not forget to mention the incident in which Zhong Yingqi almost died under the knife of their Emperor Liang.
After saying, "Wild boars can't eat fine bran," Yuan Ming didn't fight back, allowing the envoys to humiliate her. She ate her food and drank her wine expressionlessly, as if the envoys weren't talking about her at all. It was a kind of, you talk yours, I eat mine.
At first, Zhong Yingqi was worried that Yuan Ming would lose his temper, but now he thought that it was he who was losing his temper - this envoy's curses were really dirty.
After the delegation had eaten and drunk their fill, the leader slowly said to Yuan Ming, "The Emperor of Daliang has asked me to deliver a message to the newly appointed City Lord. Your Majesty, one day from now, when the moon is bright and clear, please meet the City Lord ten miles southeast of the city to enjoy the fine wines of Liang State. I hope that City Lord Yuan will come alone to this appointment."
Yuan Ming did not answer, as if she did not hear his words.
"City Lord, City Lord Yuan!" The other party shouted a few more times, but when he saw that Yuan Ming still didn't answer, his face was filled with anger.
"City Master Yuan, do you want to remain mute forever?"
Yuan Ming seemed to have heard it at this moment. She raised her long eyelashes and glanced at him inadvertently, with impatience flashing in her eyes.
When Zhong Yingqi saw this, the depression in his heart disappeared, and he even felt a little sympathy for the envoys in front of him. Of course, this sympathy only lasted for a moment.
The envoys noticed something was wrong. The impatient ones stood up immediately, but suddenly sat down again with weak legs.
"What's going on?" someone exclaimed.
The envoys who had just been speaking so eloquently at the banquet now collapsed to the ground, their wine glasses dropping from their hands with a clang. Yuan Ming took another sip of his wine and slowly approached them with a smile.
"When I get back later, I'll tell Emperor Liang that I'll keep the appointment."
Yuan Ming grabbed the hair of an envoy with one hand, as he was the one who had been shouting the loudest just now.
"But before that, I must teach you a lesson. No matter how weak Qi State is, our ancestors were once wealthy and on equal footing with Liang State. A lean camel is bigger than a horse, and we will not tolerate your barking like a dog against a small country."
After a few bangs, Yuan Ming grabbed the envoy's hair and knocked him against the wine table. He knocked him about ten times until a red mark appeared on his forehead. Only then did Yuan Ming stop.
Seeing this, an angry envoy cursed, "You despicable villains, you actually poisoned the wine. The envoys are in front, and the army is behind. Yuan Ming! If you have the guts, kill us now and let us leave our names in the history books."
Yuan Ming sneered, "Why should I help you? You must have been kicked in the head by a donkey."
After saying this, Yuan Ming's hands kept moving, slapping one person a few times, kicking another, completely using the envoys as punching bags. After a series of operations, the envoys, who had been arrogant and proud, were now bruised and battered.
Yuan Ming was delighted, clapped his hands, and said to Zhong Yingqi: "Throw these people out. Wild boars can't eat fine bran. Drinking so much wine is really a waste of my kindness."
Zhong Yingqi responded with a smile, and when he passed the fallen envoys, he accidentally stepped on their backs.
Zhong Yingqi ordered the envoys to be thrown out of the city and sent more troops to the city garrison. Seeing Yuan Ming's calm demeanor, he asked with the answer in mind, "Your Highness, are you really not afraid of the Liang army's invasion?"
"I'm afraid. Bringing a bunch of old, weak, and sick people to fight against the other side's young and strong soldiers, and dragging behind them the court parasites who are sucking my blood. Just thinking about it, there is no chance of winning. But..."
Yuan Ming changed the subject: "Judging from the current situation, Emperor Liang has no immediate plans to attack Qi State. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent the envoys to ask me to attend the appointment. He also wouldn't have said a word about asking Qi State to pay a price in exchange for peace."
"Your Highness, what do you think Emperor Liang is going to do?" Zhong Yingqi frowned, still feeling uneasy. "Do you really want to go to the appointment?"
"Of course." Yuan Ming stretched his joints, as if ready to do something big. "If it weren't for Emperor Liang's invitation, I wouldn't have dared to take my anger out on the envoys. At first, I just wanted to use some soft bone powder and then get rid of them completely to avoid being pissed off. Now that things have taken a turn for the better, how can I pass up this opportunity?"
Zhong Yingqi: "But the other party asked Your Highness to go to the appointment alone, I am very worried."
"Worried? Worried about me? Or worried about..." Yuan Ming looked at Zhong Yingqi with a cunning look, "Worried about the people you always hold in your heart?"
Zhong Yingqi's eyes moved slightly: "Why did your highness suddenly ask this?"
Yuan Ming smiled bitterly and didn't tell the reason. However, Zhong Yingqi keenly sensed the hint of sarcasm hidden in Yuan Ming's expression. Yuan Ming turned to leave, and Zhong Yingqi called her:
"Your Highness, please speak frankly if you have anything to say. I have always felt that Your Highness has some misunderstandings about me, but I have deep respect for Your Highness. In these times of crisis, we should be even more honest with each other."
Yuan Ming turned around, showing no emotion, but simply said, "General, you misunderstood. I see others as I see myself. I don't have a problem with you, but I'm not satisfied with myself."
Yuan Ming spoke the last few words softly, but they were the truth. She left Zhong Yingqi behind and went straight to the room where Zhang He was being held, as if to avoid any further questions from Zhong Yingqi.
The disgust Yuan Ming felt for Zhong Yingqi, which often baffled her, wasn't directed at Zhong Yingqi, but at herself. The mockery and disgust she felt weighed heavily on Yuan Ming's heart.
What was he mocking? He was mocking how a tyrant like himself could transform himself into a man admired by a sincere general.
What did he hate? He hated the chaotic Qi Kingdom. He hated himself for having to rush into battle for those termites. He hated the kindhearted weaklings who didn't even have the courage to wield their swords against the villains who had hurt him.
Yuan Ming came to the cell where Zhang He was imprisoned, leaned against the door frame, and said to Fang'er with regret: "I handed Zhang He over to you, not for you to cry about your experience in front of him. He won't feel sorry for you at all."
Yuan Ming suddenly felt powerless. Fang'er was crying, looking heartbroken, while Zhang He was laughing heartily, without any awareness of being a prisoner.
It shouldn't be like this.
The evil wolf has been tied up, why don't the weak sheep dare to seek justice from it, as if tears are their only weapon.
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