Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play-Chapter 860 - 836: I Was Wrong
Han Ziqi and Xie Jue were indeed negotiating the details of the peace talks. Originally, the conditions negotiated by King of Sangnan were almost entirely invalidated. Xie Jue overturned most of the terms favorable to Sangnan, which were painstakingly secured by King of Sangnan. At that time, Xie Jue was eager to conclude the talks quickly, so he made concessions step by step, allowing almost everything to Sangnan as long as it didn’t involve principles. Now, the situation has completely reversed, and Xie Jue stands firm on renegotiations. Han Ziqi also recognizes that the tide has turned, and he must comply with the renegotiation, as he has no other choice. The Northern Ning army is unstoppable, and they couldn’t withstand it. Now, after much negotiation, Sangnan only retains a single royal title, and it’s not hereditary. Originally, like Prince Jingbei, this title was hereditary, but now it can only be inherited once. The fertile land of Mudan City and the trading terms they desired have been abolished by Xie Jue, leaving only one or two provisions. This was what Xie Jue agreed to, fearing that backing them into a corner might result in retaliation. The conditions Han Ziqi wanted were mostly unattainable. He desperately explained to Xie Jue that this was all a conspiracy by the High Priest and not related to their Royal Family. He had done everything in his power to quell the anger of the Mudan City people. He had never collaborated with the High Priest. Xie Jue also knew it was the High Priest’s conspiracy, but it didn’t stop him from being harsh with Han Ziqi. Han Ziqi was both angry and helpless.
The Third Prince too had no other choice; surviving the turmoil was already a blessing from Xie Jue. Xie Jue did not make things difficult for them or harm the Royal Family, but he dealt with the Priest Court mercilessly, almost eradicating it completely. He wanted all traces of the priests to vanish among the people of Sangnan as quickly as possible.
Dugu Jing, after reviewing the terms negotiated by Sangnan, felt that the Sangnan Royal Family was truly pitiable. If such terms were given to Beiman back then, he and his brother would never have agreed. The border would have surely reignited in warfare. But Sangnan lacked the strength to threaten the border of Northern Ning and could only passively suffer losses and be gradually annexed by Northern Ning.
He was pleased to see this outcome because, now, in Northern Ning, the only Princes are Xie Jue and Prince Jingbei, though Xie Xun can confer many titles, obtaining a different-surname royal title is extremely difficult. Both Sangnan and Beiman have surrendered; the worse the conditions for Sangnan, the more favorable they appear for Beiman. Whether for Xie Xun, Xie Jue, or the entire court, the circumstances for Beiman are somewhat better than for Sangnan.
Dugu Jing thought, Xie Jue still carries half of the Royal Family’s bloodline, and Sangnan had better luck and cards than Beiman, but they managed to ruin their hand.
It’s truly regrettable!
Of course, Dugu Jing was happy to watch the show.
In the end, Han Ziqi was forced to agree to all the conditions proposed by Xie Jue. Xie Jue conceded only one condition, and Han Ziqi had no choice. The Jiangnan troops were approaching Mudan City, and he never expected Sangnan’s army to lose so miserably; they stood no chance against Northern Ning.
"Prince, the tragedy caused by the High Priest is regrettable. My father was bewitched by him and immolated himself in the palace. We are all victims. From the moment we welcomed you into the city to the peace talks, I have been dedicated to facilitating the peace talks and had no intention of large-scale conflict. The deaths of General Fang and the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry are not something we wished for. I hope the Prince would consider reinstating the conditions agreed upon in the initial peace talks. We... the Han Family will do our utmost to help you quell the Sangnan unrest, restore Sangnan’s prosperity, and cooperate with you to implement new policies. During the policy implementation, the elite families of Sangnan will certainly obstruct it, but without our Royal Family’s help, the policy implementation will face difficulties. Our Royal Family still holds value for Northern Ning. In return, I hope for fair treatment." Dugu Jing considered these terms and found them unfair. Without the experience of this tumult, Han Ziqi would never have calmly negotiated with Xie Jue; he would have been furious long ago. He was never someone with such a good temper.
"Princely Heir, before your High Priest made a mistake, you were on par with the King of Sangnan. Once a mistake is made, it’s solely his fault? He represents Sangnan, and Sangnan must pay for his actions. He is a member of Sangnan. You hope I’ll be lenient with just one ’I wasn’t aware’. Then who will uphold justice for my innocent fallen soldiers? Princely Heir, if you claim innocence, why didn’t the incident happen at Chaoyang Palace, but instead coincidentally occurred half an hour after you left? This is either your tacit approval of the High Priest’s actions; if successful, it’s a contribution of your Sangnan people; if failed, it’s solely his fault. You get all the good, but there’s no such logic?" Xie Jue’s voice was extremely cold. He didn’t even want to drag the conversation further with Han Ziqi.
Han Ziqi almost swore to the heavens, "When I left, it was only to escort my mother concubine and sister, not intentionally. I didn’t know the High Priest would do such a thing. Cousin, our Royal Family are your blood relatives; you cannot abandon us."
"How am I not helping? Sparing you all, giving you shelter, silver coins. You can make a living for yourself in the future. What else are you unsatisfied with?" Xie Jue was even colder. "You surrendered, yet still want to act as kings. That is too greedy."
Han Ziqi was speechless. Xie Jue’s words blocked all his routes. He was left with only one path—to see if Xie Xun could negotiate slightly better terms for him.
Before Xie Jue, he feared he wouldn’t get anything.
Originally, after the peace talks ended, there was supposed to be a farewell banquet hosted by Sangnan. But with the chaos now, who had the heart to host any banquets? Not clashing weapons was already fortunate.
Dugu Jing thought, this is for the best, a quick resolution, so after the Sangnan affair is settled, he can return to the capital. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Late at night, Xie Jue stood alone before Chaoyang Palace, silent.
He even hoped for a miracle to happen before Chaoyang Palace, that the person who always loved to joke with him would suddenly appear, laughing, saying: Ting Feng, I’m kidding with you. I just got injured, escaped long ago, scared you, didn’t I? Come, let brother hug you!
Xie Jue thought, Anning, if you just appear now, I’ll promise you anything. From now on, I’ll fulfill all your wishes, no matter the scorn, no matter the challenges, we will face them together. I will never let you face them alone, nor let you be anxious.
Anning, I was wrong!
In despair, Xie Jue thought; he truly knew he was wrong. Had he known this day would come... he wouldn’t have treated Fang Chuning coldly, wouldn’t have given up on hard-won emotions.
Anning... Anning...
The evening breeze carried his sorrowful yearning, but the one he yearned for was nowhere to be found; in front of him were only the broken remnants of Chaoyang Palace, empty and cold yet quiet.
