Half a month later, the Prime Minister of the Azure Dragon Kingdom personally arrived at Qiu Ling Pass with eight million taels of silver to conduct the trade.
Regardless of how you put it, he was considered a half-sponsor. He was invited into the General's Mansion and met Zhu Lian.
Due to the poor relations between the two countries, coupled with the fact that the original owner had not been on the throne for long, the Azure Dragon Kingdom's Prime Minister Lu Chongyuan had never met the new monarch of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom before. Between the three... and formerly four kingdoms, the largest war before this had occurred twenty years ago when the Vermilion Bird Kingdom's emperor launched an attack on the Black Tortoise Kingdom, nearly slaughtering the entire Black Tortoise royal family before having his Queen installed as the Black Tortoise Emperor.
Alas, heaven was envious of talent. The legendary Chen Wang Shizi died of illness a few years later. Naturally, the Black Tortoise Kingdom became a subordinate state of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom. A few more years passed, and the Black Tortoise Kingdom was completely absorbed by the Vermilion Bird Kingdom. In the past decade or so, the Black Tortoise Kingdom had ceased to exist. The former Empress of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom, Nangong Huang, had been too ruthless. The Black Tortoise Kingdom had no successors, and the people had lived in fear of the brutal war for years, with no one daring to contemplate overthrowing the Vermilion Bird Kingdom.
Perhaps they had thought about it, but they were incapable of doing so.
Before meeting the person, Lu Chongyuan had been contemplating the reasons for his monarch's failure.
At the beginning of the year, the National Preceptor had predicted a natural disaster for the Vermilion Bird Kingdom. His spies in the Vermilion Bird Kingdom had also confirmed this. Unfortunately, just before the war, Qiu Ling Pass was suddenly sealed off, and he received no further news from the Vermilion Bird Kingdom.
At that time, he had already considered advising the Emperor to give up. However, they had stationed troops for a year and recruited soldiers, depleting the national treasury. If they did not fight, they would still have to support those people, leaving no room for retreat. The Emperor was also unwilling to retreat, so he personally led the army.
The next news he received from the Vermilion Bird Kingdom was a personal letter from the Empress of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom.
"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister of the Azure Dragon has arrived."
"Summon him."
He walked in. This was a border general's mansion, not comparable to the capital. Yet, the woman seated in the main seat seemed to be on the dragon throne, gazing at him.
Lu Chongyuan bowed and saluted, "Greetings, Your Majesty of the Vermilion Bird. Long live Your Majesty."
"Prime Minister, there is no need for such formality. Please be seated." Su Dan Novel Network
He sat in the second seat on the left. Before him sat the Prince of Qin of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom, with whom he had had a few encounters. She was a queen whose age was comparable to his mother's, yet her conduct was more decisive than his father's.
In fact, before he understood the Vermilion Bird Kingdom, Lu Chongyuan had never believed that a woman could lead troops into battle. His mother, the women in his father's harem, even the princesses and imperial consorts he had met, were merely women who employed underhanded tactics and had no bottom line when vying for a man's favor.
Knowing of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom's existence, and after a few skirmishes with this Princess of Qin, he finally realized that among women, there were those who could don armor and charge onto the battlefield as formidable generals. He realized that women could also be monarchs of a nation, and that a woman could so decisively annihilate a royal family.
Even for the sake of petty affections, this was something many could not achieve.
Influenced by what he had seen and heard, he, at twenty-five years old, was still unmarried. One reason was that he did not want his wife to become the kind of person he most detested. The second was his growing curiosity about the women of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom.
For instance, the Empress before him.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Prime Minister, you have traveled a long distance. You must be tired. The twenty-three thousand prisoners of war from the Azure Dragon Kingdom, and the remains of your country's Emperor, have all been well cared for by my people. I express my deepest regrets for the passing of your Emperor."
Lu Chongyuan: "..."
The Prince of Qin also coughed softly. In other circumstances, these polite words would have been justified. However, at this moment, having killed their Emperor, such words carried a sarcastic undertone.
Zhu Lian's mind was not truly on this matter. Upon realizing the incongruity, she also felt something was amiss. Thus, she said, "The Azure Dragon Kingdom has experienced such an event. Prime Minister, you must have many affairs to attend to. I will not detain you further. Once the ransom is paid, Prime Minister, you may return. I hope the Vermilion Bird and Azure Dragon Kingdoms can restore good relations and coexist peacefully in the future."
Lu Chongyuan: "..."
Although, wasn't this dismissal somewhat ill-timed?
However, when one is under another's roof, one must bow. No matter how much he felt the Empress's words were excessive, he could only respond courteously on the surface.
"Your Majesty speaks wisely. The eight million taels of silver that Your Majesty requires have already been delivered outside the city gates and can be brought in now."
"Then let them be brought in."
Lu Chongyuan, remembering his other purpose for coming, quickly said, "I have another matter I wish to discuss with Your Majesty on this trip."
Zhu Lian glanced behind her and frowned, "What is it?"
"Your Majesty." He stood and walked to the center. "The Azure Dragon Kingdom and the Vermilion Bird Kingdom have always been on good terms. The former Emperor's transgression this time was due to the instigation of wicked individuals. That sorcerer who sowed discord and incited war has already been ordered to be executed by me. I have specifically brought his head here to beg for your forgiveness."
With that, he knelt and bowed to Zhu Lian.
"The Azure Dragon wishes to mend relations with the Vermilion Bird. Your Majesty just mentioned that in wars between two countries, it is the common people who suffer. For the sake of peace between the Vermilion Bird and the Azure Dragon... coexistence, the Azure Dragon wishes to form a marital alliance with the Vermilion Bird. Five of the Azure Dragon Kingdom's princes are still unmarried. If Your Majesty is willing, the princes of the Azure Dragon Kingdom are willing to humble themselves and enter Your Majesty's harem."
The first half was still quite normal, but as he listened, Zhu Lian began to hear something amiss.
"Peaceful coexistence requires sincerity. Matters between two countries cannot be guaranteed by the marriage of two individuals. Furthermore, with the precedent of the Black Tortoise Kingdom, does the Azure Dragon Kingdom truly have such intentions?"
Lu Chongyuan was once again speechless at her words.
The precedent of the Black Tortoise Kingdom.
What did this mean? Was she planning to emulate Empress Huizhen's actions and annihilate the Azure Dragon royal family as well?
Even if she did have such intentions, wouldn't it be inappropriate to state them so openly?
"Your Majesty is joking."
"This is not a joke," Zhu Lian said. "At the beginning of this year, I dismissed my harem. I have a Queen and do not need concubines. My elder sister and elder brother are already married, and there are no eligible individuals of marriageable age in the royal family. This matter need not be discussed further."
Lu Chongyuan instantly understood.
It seemed that this Empress, like Empress Huizhen, was a rare romantic figure of the ages.
He had also heard about the Queen before. It seemed that at that time, it was he himself who had personally shot their Emperor.
If she had agreed, it would mean placing two individuals with a paternal vendetta into her own harem simultaneously. This did not seem ideal.
Therefore, he immediately dismissed this idea.
"Since Your Majesty has decided so, I will not press the matter further. The Azure Dragon Kingdom will surely be law-abiding from now on. I also hope that Your Majesty will refrain from causing trouble for the sake of the people of both countries."
"It is easy to say," she smiled. "The Vermilion Bird has always been: I do not offend others, and others do not offend me."
Lu Chongyuan felt that his country had been subtly criticized again.
"Since there is nothing else, I will not keep you company. Prince of Qin and Prime Minister, please exchange your goods and then escort the Prime Minister out of the city for me."
The Prince of Qin, seeing her lack of interest, knew it was because the Queen had suddenly fallen ill and she was eager to see her. Therefore, he did not refuse but gestured to Lu Chongyuan.
"Prime Minister, this way please."
Lu Chongyuan stood up and cupped his hands in salute to her. "Your Majesty, I take my leave."