Li Shuchen summoned Yan Wu and inquired, "Has the gift for Eunuch Feng been delivered?"
"In response to Your Highness, it was sent last night. We should receive news about it today."
After the heavy rain, the courtyard's bluestone brick path was still slippery. Yan Wu carefully pushed Li Shuchen towards the study, listening as he gave another order: "Find a way to spread word about Princess Dowager Mei's identity."
"Yes, sir."
Yan Wu answered while pushing him to the desk, laying a white fox fur over his legs before turning to leave and carry out his tasks.
At the same time in the imperial palace.
The Longshun Emperor was being served a meal by palace maids, his face full of contentment.
Hearing a eunuch announce that Li Yuanxiu had arrived, he quickly swallowed his food, his joy evident: "Quickly! Let Yuanxiu in!"
Today, Li Yuanxiu wore a plain white robe. To the Longshun Emperor's cloudy eyes, he looked like a walking silver ingot.
The Jin Kingdom's envoy had conveyed their terms: three million taels of silver in reparations, the cession of three frontier cities, and a request to marry a royal princess.
The cities were negotiable; Li Country was vast and resource-rich, so the Longshun Emperor didn't mind giving up a few declining frontier towns.
The royal princess was also manageable; Prince Zhong's Manor had several unmarried princesses, and the Mansion of Prince Shun also had Yu Zheng and Yu Luo who had just come of age.
It was only the silver that the Longshun Emperor was reluctant to part with.
But he feared the Jin Kingdom's fierce cavalry even more.
The current Li Country lacked capable generals and strong troops, so he dared not rashly provoke the Jin Kingdom.
The Longshun Emperor had no choice but to summon Li Yuanxiu, sighing and hinting: "Yuanxiu, your imperial uncle has been worried sick lately..."
In the hall, Li Yuanxiu stood respectfully at the lower end, his head bowed, staring at the white marble floor, his eyes dark and unreadable.
After a moment's thought, he feigned ignorance: "Imperial Uncle, your health is precious. Have you summoned the imperial physicians?"
"..." The Longshun Emperor fell silent.
His imperial nephew seemed a bit slow on the uptake today.
The Longshun Emperor decided to speak plainly: "I'm worried about the silver..."
"Your nephew is willing to ease Imperial Uncle's worries."
Longshun Emperor: !
His imperial nephew had finally caught on!
Then he heard his good nephew continue: "Your nephew is willing to go to the frontier, lead troops to fight the Jin rebels to the death, and relieve Imperial Uncle's concerns."
The Longshun Emperor's mouth twitched, his gaze full of doubt.
Previously, when bandits were rampant in the outskirts of the Capital City, Li Yuanxiu had volunteered to suppress them. Not only did he fail to quell the bandits, but he was kidnapped and a large ransom was extorted.
In the end, it was the Marquis of Xuanping's adopted son, Mo Wangshan, who rescued him.
Where did he get his confidence from?
If he couldn't even defeat mountain bandits, how could he hope to fight the Jin Kingdom?
The Longshun Emperor thought his mind wasn't quite right and decided to be more explicit: "I need silver!"
"Three million taels, for the peace talks."
With things laid out so clearly, Li Yuanxiu could no longer play dumb. He could only advise: "To appease the Jin with territory is like trying to put out a fire with firewood. As long as there's wood, the fire won't die out. Ambition will only be fed, not satisfied."
Just like how the Mansion of Prince Shun treated the Longshun Emperor, constantly offering him silver, yet it was like throwing meat buns at a dog...
Li Yuanxiu initially didn't agree with this approach, but Prince Shun, in order to gain the Longshun Emperor's trust and seize military power, forced him to curry favor with the Longshun Emperor using money.
At that time, the power struggle was an internal affair of Li Country, so he compromised.
Now, paying reparations in the peace talks was a matter of national humiliation and loss of sovereignty. He would not give in again.
Seeing him oppose, the Longshun Emperor angrily swept his sleeve, knocking the bowls and chopsticks to the ground with a clatter.
The surrounding palace maids and eunuchs were all frightened into trembling prostration.
The Longshun Emperor snorted through his nose: "Choose between three million taels of silver and your father's life!"
Hearing this, Li Yuanxiu suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot.
He knew the Longshun Emperor was shameless, but he didn't expect him to be this shameless!
These days, he had been busy investigating and gathering evidence, hoping to clear his father's false charges. Now, before he had made any progress, he was suddenly threatened by the Longshun Emperor...
The Longshun Emperor stood up, his chin raised arrogantly: "All under heaven belongs to the king, all within the four seas are the king's subjects. Everything in Li Country is mine, and all the silver you've earned in Li Country is also mine! I'm only asking for a mere three million taels, yet you keep making excuses. Do you have any respect for me at all?"
"The blade on the execution platform is not for show. Moreover, there is solid evidence of your father's plot against the imperial heir. If I want him dead by the third watch, he won't live past the fifth."
"However, considering our blood ties, I'll give you a choice. Three million taels to ensure he spends his remaining years in Zhao Prison, eating and drinking well."
"What do you say?"
As his words fell, the hall fell into silence.
Li Yuanxiu sank into a long silence, his body tense, his hands repeatedly clenching into fists and then relaxing.
After a long while, he closed his eyes briefly and asked, "Does Imperial Uncle keep his word?"
"My word is as good as gold!"
A sarcastic smile tugged at Li Yuanxiu's lips. He didn't believe it at all.
However, he had to protect his father's life first, to buy time for his elder brother to break him out of prison.
Since the emperor was heartless, they would overthrow him.
His elder brother was right; they had troops and wealth, as well as the bloodline of the Li Country royal family. Why should they endure such humiliation?
The reputation of staging a coup and regicide might not sound good, but history is written by the victors.
Seeing him agree, the Longshun Emperor smiled triumphantly: "Tomorrow, deliver the silver to the Ministry of Revenue."
"Imperial Uncle, I'm afraid it would be difficult for me to gather so much silver in such a short time..."
"Oh, for each day of delay, one of your father's arms will be removed."
"..."
Prince Shun only had one arm left...
Li Yuanxiu could only grit his teeth and agree.
After returning to the mansion, while he mobilized the silver, his elder brother Li Yuanshan was secretly maneuvering troops.
Everything was progressing according to Li Shuchen's plans.
Including the choice for the political marriage.
After receiving the shoe insoles embroidered by his mother, Eunuch Feng casually reminded the Longshun Emperor that the princesses from Prince Zhong's Manor all had personalities like Prince Zhong – arrogant, impulsive, and thoughtless.
Sending them for the political marriage might end up creating enmity.
In contrast, the princesses from the Mansion of Prince Shun were gentle and virtuous, accomplished in both talent and virtue. Princess Yu Zheng and Princess Yu Luo were renowned as the twin beauties of the Capital City.
Perhaps they could win the favor of the Jin Kingdom's ruler and ease the relations between the two countries.
The Longshun Emperor found this quite reasonable, but he had difficulty making decisions and began to struggle with choosing which princess to send for the marriage.
Later, after some thought, he drafted two imperial edicts, directly sending both sisters for the political marriage.
If one didn't gain favor, there was still the other – a dual approach of quality and quantity!
When the imperial edict arrived at the Mansion of Prince Shun, it caught Li Yuanxiu off guard.
"Shameless!"
"Even considering the three million taels, he should have chosen our cousins from Prince Zhong's Manor, not my second and third sisters! How dare he only bully our Prince Shun's Mansion?"
Li Yuanxiu clenched his fist and slammed it against the wall, leaving a crimson bloodstain.
Seeing this, Ru Yin quickly ordered the maids to fetch medicine for wounds and pulled out a handkerchief, tenderly treating his injury.
"Instead of hurting yourself, my lord, why not think of a way to help the second and third princesses escape this marriage?"
"I'll go discuss it with my elder brother!"
*
A few days later.
The Jin Kingdom's envoy was pressing urgently. To avoid any unforeseen circumstances, the Longshun Emperor ordered the Marquis of Xuanping to dispatch people to escort the silver and the two princesses on their journey as soon as possible.
As the large procession wound its way to the valley of Mi Mountain, Yan Qinghe had already led a team of secret guards to ambush on both sides of the canyon slopes, quietly waiting.
They wore the camouflage suits gifted by Qi Huan, blending in with the withered yellow grassland. Another group of masked men passed by not far from them without noticing their presence.
The two groups of men lurked silently, patiently waiting for the distant procession to gradually approach.
