Prince Bayar’s face was practically a store for soy sauce, sometimes purple, sometimes black, and those nearby could hear his teeth grinding. His eyes were filled with a desire to devour the opposite party, leaving everyone secretly distressed: the prince’s reputation on the grasslands wasn’t great, known for his arrogance and domineering nature.

No one knows why this troublesome figure was sent for negotiation. Isn’t this just adding chaos?

But Prince Bayar’s father is none other than the King of the Grasslands’ close brother, Lord Bater. Bayar’s mother is a trusted confidante beside Queen Ah Lan, granted to Lord Bater as Princess Consort, a top-tier noble in the Wang Capital.

This Prince Bayar is Lord Bater’s only heir, cherished beyond measure.

In Wang Capital, this prince overshadows even the less favored son of the King of the Grasslands.

With today’s insult, it’s unlikely the day will end peacefully.

The grasslands’ people glanced at each other and made cautious movements.

Unexpectedly, the prince, whom everyone thought couldn’t hold back, took a deep breath several times. Though his eyes were red with anger, he managed to restrain himself.

His gaze, cold like a venomous snake, stayed on Song Chongjin for a long time before he spoke icily: "I have always been magnanimous. Today’s incident will be remembered. I just hope everyone in Great Chu will take good care of their lives and stay within Great Chu forever. Do not step onto our grasslands, or I can’t guarantee you’ll leave alive—"

This was a blatant threat.

Song Chongjin still smiled, responding sharply, "Thank you, Prince Bayar, for the reminder. The same advice goes to the prince, do not step into Great Chu’s territory, or we can’t guarantee your safety either!"

Their gazes were frosty, confronting each other for a long while, before Song Chongjin smiled slightly, "Since Prince Bayar is magnanimous, let’s begin the negotiations—"

The grasslands’ negotiation officials cautiously eyed Prince Bayar.

Prince Bayar snorted coldly, stepped back, and sat down, giving his implicit approval.

Only then did both sides go through the procedures again, and the negotiations officially began.

Most of the terms had been mostly agreed upon, and now they were just reconfirming them.

Whether Prince Bayar came prepared or was holding back anger, he denied every clause upon reconfirmation, always finding some flaw.

For a dozen agreed-upon terms, he could find faults in almost every one. Even for the rare few he couldn’t find fault with, he would arrogantly claim he simply disliked the terms.

This intentional nitpicking was done without any concealment.

The officials from Great Chu revealed expressions of indignation, having spent months fighting hard, slamming tables and benches, speaking until their mouths were dry, even having several disputes, to grind out this agreement.

To easily have it denied like this? It’s too bullying!

Though they knew until the final step wasn’t reached, with the signing of the document, the other side could still recant at any time.

But someone so blatantly rogue like Prince Bayar was rare.

For all their hard work to be destroyed in one fell swoop, who could feel comfortable? Thus, they glared at the opposite side.

The grasslands’ negotiation officials were suffering inwardly.

Certainly, some terms were more beneficial for Great Chu, but it wasn’t without benefits for the grasslands, achieved through their painstaking efforts and schemes from Great Chu.

To be so easily denied, if it had to be renegotiated, there’s no guarantee it could reach such an agreement again.

Prince Bayar wasn’t aware, but they knew, the Great Chu officials across, were not easy opponents, all very shrewd, absolutely uncompromising on any interest.

Especially Lord Song, a real tough one who, if pushed, could immediately speak of rerouting. Could they really reroute, and make the grasslands a laughing stock?

These people became anxious, looking helplessly at Prince Bayar.

Song Chongjin and Qin Bohan, however, were not impatient. From the start of Prince Bayar’s nitpicking to the end, their expressions remained unchanged.

When Bayar finished speaking, Song Chongjin and Qin Bohan exchanged a glance, and Song Chongjin stood up, saying, "It seems your country is very dissatisfied with the previous terms?"

Prince Bayar provocatively smiled, "Not just very dissatisfied? I am a hundred percent dissatisfied! A thousand percent dissatisfied! As for the bilateral trade route, why should all benefits go to Great Chu? Don’t rely on... to become overbearing, I won’t fall for it!"

In the middle, a few words were indistinctly spoken, but Song Chongjin heard them clearly; those words referred to Queen Ah Lan.

Observing Prince Bayar’s suddenly spirited look when mentioning Queen Ah Lan, how could he not understand?

Suddenly feeling like he swallowed a fly, disgusted.

Frowning slightly, Song Chongjin calmly said, "If that’s the case, there’s no need for further negotiation. What do you think?"

He respectfully asked Qin Bohan.

Qin Bohan smiled faintly, standing up, "As Lord Song said! I had heard the grasslands were notoriously unreliable with promises; initially, I thought it was a misunderstanding. But now it’s clear this is the truth. Therefore, we have nothing more to discuss! Goodbye!"

Turning to leave, clean and decisive.

The officials from Great Chu were stunned momentarily, but immediately regained their composure, promptly rose, packed their documents, and orderly followed behind Qin Bohan and Song Chongjin out.

Beside them, Great Chu’s guards quickly formed ranks and escorted the officials to the center.

The grasslands’ people were still too stunned to react. Were they truly ending the negotiation? Were they really leaving?

Watching as Great Chu’s officials departed, the grasslands’ people finally began to react, looking anxiously at Prince Bayar.

Prince Bayar’s face was livid. He thought the treaty already negotiated between the two countries was something he could nitpick to test Great Chu’s bottom line and attitude.

He had sources indicating that Great Chu’s Emperor had issued an edict, demanding the treaty be completed and the diplomatic document signed before the year ends.

Thus, his nitpicking would frighten Great Chu’s side, causing them to panic first.

Hearing that defying an edict was a capital offense in Great Chu, would these officials not care for their lives?

Surely they’d soften and make concessions.

Then their side could use this as leverage to extract some benefits from Great Chu.

He planned well, but unfortunately, Great Chu didn’t follow common reasoning.

Their reaction was tougher than his, directly saying not to negotiate?

This left Prince Bayar momentarily clueless on what to do.

To call them back? Wouldn’t that undermine the prestige of the grasslands and slap him in the face?

But if he didn’t call them back and let them leave, he couldn’t explain it back home either.

For the first time, Prince Bayar found himself deeply troubled.

Facing the surrounding grassland officials’ eyes filled with worry, urgency, anger, and furious resentment, Prince Bayar coldly snorted, trying to maintain his composure: "Why fear? I believe Great Chu is merely retreating strategically, using this to leverage against us! If we retreat, how will negotiations proceed? I have a plan, after leaving them for several days, they will naturally become anxious!"

With that, he flung his sleeve and stormed out.

The grasslands’ officials were helpless. Great Chu’s people had already left, and Prince Bayar had gone out too. Staying wasn’t of any use; they had no choice but to follow him out.