Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play

After Chen Yesheng returned without success, the entire Jiangnan Spy Team was at a loss. They thought that after finding Xie Jue, their task would be complete, and the Prince would ultimately see the bigger picture and persuade the young master to go home, especially since the rumors involved him. Who knew Xie Jue didn’t take it seriously, leaving them with a dilemma on how to report this matter to the Commander?

"What else can we do? Just tell the truth!" Chen Yesheng said. They had no solution and could only tell the truth. Whatever decision the Commander makes, they can’t stop it.

"Should we mention that we contacted the Prince?"

"What else?" Chen Yesheng replied irritably, "If we hide anything about this issue, we’ll suffer later. We should have never told the Commander about this matter in the first place."

"We didn’t specify, just mentioned there were such rumors. Who knew the Commander would react so strongly."

After everyone decided not to complain and went their separate ways, Chen Yesheng was worried, hoping the Commander would not send assassins in anger, which would be a mess. Therefore, when writing the letter, he exaggerated Xie Jue’s words, hoping the Commander would handle it calmly. Xie Jue was indeed no longer the Second Young Master of the Marquis Mansion but the only Prince of Beining, with a rank higher than the Commander.

Xie Jue had a simple meal and returned to the inn, while Fang Chuning was arranging the food for the inn with the soldiers, checking them thoroughly before sending them to the kitchen.

"Is their nine-tier pagoda impressive?" Fang Chuning asked curiously, "What’s on it?"

If he weren’t too tired, he would have liked to visit the renowned nine-tier pagoda of Sannan with Xie Jue. Only the High Priest and royal family members could enter, and its exterior was imposing, comparable to the Beiman temple.

"The High Priest said that since I do not inherit Sannan, I am not qualified to enter, so I only worshipped my aunt on the first tier." Xie Jue sneered coldly.

Fang Chuning clicked his tongue, incredulous, "Such a small Sannan dares to neglect you like this. Don’t worry, once we recover Sannan in the future, we can do whatever we want with it, even flatten it."

Xie Jue chuckled, recalling Chen Yesheng’s matter, wanting to speak but hesitating. Forget it, since he didn’t want to discuss it, then he wouldn’t ask. Many things don’t need to be spoken outright; Fang Chuning can understand.

With hundreds of thousands of troops pressing the border, King of Sannan must make a decision soon. Xie Jue was also waiting for the final decision of King of Sannan. Whether it’s to fight or to negotiate, there must be a statement; dragging it on like this is not feasible.

All the soldiers of the delegation believed Sannan was determined to surrender, so they also played, purchased, and waited for King of Sannan to agree to negotiations and begin their journey back to the city. At this point, King of Sannan had no other choice, whether provocation or sowing discord. Xie Jue had ways to deal with it, remaining passive. Apart from agreeing to negotiations, there was nothing else to say.

Therefore, when the news came from the palace that King of Sannan agreed to negotiate, Xie Jue was not surprised.

Han Ziqi personally came to escort Xie Jue and Fang Chuning to the palace to discuss the specifics of the negotiation. This time the High Priest also came, usually not involved in negotiating details, indicating he had reached an agreement with King of Sannan.

Once both sides were seated, palace attendants served hot tea, Fang Chuning and Mr. Gu sat beside Xie Jue on the left and right. Mr. Gu recorded the negotiation details. Opposite were King of Sannan, the High Priest, Han Ziqi, and the Third Prince; the Great Prince was not present. Xie Jue thought this Prince’s fiery temperament wasn’t suitable for negotiation to avoid conflict.

After multiple rounds of confrontation, both King of Sannan and Xie Jue had a rough understanding of each other’s bottom line.

Since it was a formal negotiation, everyone went straight to discussing their conditions without wasting words.

Xie Jue’s demands for Sannan were straightforward. As the main negotiator, he first stated his requirements, "All cities in Sannan will be under Beining’s jurisdiction; tens of thousands of troops will all disarm and return to farming. Sannan’s land policy and tax revenue will align with Beining after on-site adjustments by the Ministry of Revenue. The army is stationed in Sannan and takes over Sannan, the existing cities maintain the status quo. King of Sannan can keep three thousand private soldiers, be granted the title of Commandery Prince, and reside in Mudan City. The royal family’s assets will all belong to the Han Family, and we will not take a penny. The initially discussed compensation will be fully exempted, but the treasury surplus will go to Beining. The Ministry of Revenue will audit the accounts, and thus the land of Sannan will all belong to Beining."

Surrender mainly involved the army and land, while silver coins were secondary. In fact, Sannan’s reintegration was easier than Beiman’s because Sannan’s people didn’t need to migrate south; they could remain in their homes, just experiencing a change of dynasty and policy adjustments. The soldiers were originally from Sannan, now just disarming and returning to their families, no need for warfare. Deploying Beining’s entire army to Sannan was not realistic—familiar Sannan soldiers must assist; this is later talk. Initially, each city will have a stationed army to intimidate and manage, implementing new policies from Beining, causing only temporary unrest. Beining is adept at handling unrest from new policies, easy to manage.

King of Sannan also understood this inevitability. His demands were that the Sannan Royal Palace become his private property, and his assets should not be confiscated. He also asked for the land south of Mudan City in Sannan and business properties in the bustling area. Knowing Beining’s new policy requires land redistribution, he was Sannan’s king surrendering, enjoying privileges. Under Xie Jue’s agreement, he could own his land and properties, which was not difficult. Xie Jue agreed.

King of Sannan worried about being persecuted after surrender, thus requested two Death Exemption Tokens. Xie Jue was somewhat displeased but agreed. After agreeing, Han Ziqi tentatively mentioned Sannan’s surrender being honored only as Commandery Prince was too demeaning for his father, hoping they could grant a Vassal King title with six cities around Mudan City as vassal territory, and promised King of Sannan could never be required to enter the capital for homage.

Xie Jue was taken aback, Fang Chuning mocked, "Beining has abolished the Vassal King system. The Empress’s only brother doesn’t even have territory; King of Sannan wants territory? Shouldn’t the Empress also grant Prince Yan territory? Otherwise, how can you silence idle chatter? Also, Beiman surrendered; Prince Jingbei didn’t get territory and must reside in the capital under supervision. Shouldn’t Prince Jingbei also ask for territory? How come King of Sannan can demand territory? Beining just established and already has three Vassal Kings—do you think the young Empress is easy to bully, daring to make such bold demands? Or do you think you’re more important to the Empress than his brother?"

Mr. Gu wanted to speak but feared offending Prince Yan, so endured as Han Ziqi indeed made bold demands.

Han Ziqi argued based on reason, "Beiman is different from Sannan. Beiman couldn’t survive locally, seeking Beining’s help, thus surrendering. Our Sannan land is fertile, harvest abundant, trade flourishing; you gain this treasure land without lifting a soldier. My father’s wish to become a Vassal King isn’t greedy, as we only request six cities around Mudan City, merely a quarter of Sannan’s territory."