Chapter 100

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"Your Highness, Princess." After enduring countless hardships, Yuan Cai finally met Xia Qingqing.

"General Yuan, please be seated. You've come all the way from afar to Anyang. Is there something important?"

"Your Highness, the First Prince wishes to raise an army to punish the Cai Kingdom and seek justice!" Yuan Cai spoke with righteous indignation and fervor, as if the First Prince had nothing to do with the dirty deeds.

In fact, Yuan Cai believed that the princess only wanted an excuse and a cover-up, nothing more. With this excuse, the princess would certainly support the First Prince, after all, they were still siblings.

However, Xia Qingqing's next question left Yuan Cai stunned.

"General Yuan, does my elder brother want to seek justice for the thirty thousand Imperial Guards, or for the twenty thousand fleeing auxiliary troops?"

Yuan Cai was truly stunned, never expecting the princess to so directly expose the wound without any consideration. After some thought, he cautiously asked, "Your Highness, the First Prince had Li Wei deliver a letter earlier. Did you receive it?"

"I have already read it."

"Then you—"

Xia Qingqing's tone was straightforward: "In private, he is my elder brother. But in public, he is a prince who has made mistakes. If my elder brother is in mortal danger, I will certainly save him! But if it is for his ambition to destroy the Great Xia Kingdom, I will not agree!"

"Guards, immediately escort General Yuan out of Anyang, without delay!"

Yuan Cai was dazed and was dragged out of the Anyang City Hall. Then, he was rudely "escorted" out of Anyang by the fierce Anyang soldiers. By the time he left Anyang, it was already sunset. Looking at the dim sky in the west, Yuan Cai's expression kept changing, and he finally spurred his horse into a wild gallop, with his personal guards hurrying to follow.

Needless to say, the First Prince almost spat out a mouthful of blood—how could this happen?!

Speaking of Xia Qingqing's straightforward expulsion of Yuan Cai, Ye Mingquan, the Minister of Rites of the Cai Kingdom, had witnessed the entire process and couldn't sleep that night. Looking at the bright moon, he muttered to himself, "I didn't expect the princess to be even more resolute than Li Xian! I miscalculated!"

The next day, the negotiations truly began, and from the start, it was a battle of wits. Ye Mingquan put in his best effort, no longer underestimating the princess. However, the Anyang side was not just the princess; there were also Xu Ren, Fang Shijing, and Bei Chen Yuqing, with Ling Zhifeng behind them. Before confirming each condition, Xu Ren would always have Ling Zhifeng divine the auspiciousness. If the divination was inauspicious, they would immediately retract!

Ye Mingquan was curious, wondering why the Anyang side rejected conditions that seemed to have hidden traps. After a day of negotiations, they discussed over a dozen conditions, nine of which had traps, and all nine were retracted just before the seal was to be affixed!

On the third day of negotiations, due to the intense discussions, Ling Zhifeng had to step in to judge the auspiciousness on the spot, truly demonstrating the mystique of a fangshi (Taoist priest).

Although the others didn't know if Ling Zhifeng's divinations were accurate, Ye Mingquan's dejected and sullen face was enough to speak volumes.

With this lesson, Ye Mingquan no longer set any traps and conducted the negotiations in a straightforward manner, which allowed the negotiations to be completed in just five days.

The final negotiated conditions were roughly as follows:

1. The Emperor of the Cai Kingdom must send an envoy to visit the Emperor of the Great Xia Kingdom and present a spirit medicine. The apology for the defeat of the Imperial Guards was changed to a visit.

2. Both sides would cease hostilities, and all past events would not be pursued. They would also engage in trade, with neither side allowed to create any obstacles or restrictions.

3. Prisoners would be exchanged. However, Anyang only agreed to exchange the prisoners from the Imperial Guards, making no mention of the First Prince's auxiliary troops.

4. The Cai Kingdom promised not to invade the Great Xia Kingdom for the next five years under any pretext. If the Great Xia Kingdom attacked first, this condition would be nullified.

5. The former prime minister's family would be handed over to Anyang for disposal. Anyang stated that this was not a promise but a commitment to execute the former prime minister's family.

After both sides reviewed the conditions, they signed and sealed the agreement.

Then, after some preparation, Bei Chen Yuqing led a team to accompany Ye Mingquan on a mission to the Cai Kingdom.

Watching Ye Mingquan and his entourage depart, Xia Qingqing sighed, "Because of the defeat of the Imperial Guards, we have lost too many benefits!"

Xu Ren smiled and said, "The princess has done very well. The two most important matters—trade and the exchange of the former prime minister—have been achieved. The rest is not important."

"Have I done well?"

"Yes."

After receiving Xu Ren's affirmation, Xia Qingqing immediately smiled. At that moment, Xia Qingqing's smile was very happy and content, with a hint of pride. A touch of innocent, girlish joy appeared on her face.

Deep down, Xia Qingqing was overjoyed—I am no longer a useless princess who can't get married! The hasty wedding at the beginning of the year had hurt her pride, making her feel as if she couldn't get married!

The end of the negotiations also meant that Anyang could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Xia Qingqing immediately sent a messenger to Li Xian to report the good news.

What about Li Xian, who was two thousand miles away?

At that moment, Li Xian was supervising the construction of a tunnel. The person in charge of supervision was Ge Zhengfeng.

"Boom!" The ground trembled, and a dull sound echoed.

"Ugh, I can't even get a good nap!" Li Xian complained as he got up.

Ge Zhengfeng, who was planning the internal construction and feng shui of the imperial tomb, glanced at Li Xian and continued working.

Li Xian went over to take a look but couldn't understand anything—it was all a mess, at least to Li Xian. It included not only the construction plans but also things like formations and earth qi.

Soon, a messenger came to report the situation.

"We have already excavated a tunnel sixty zhang (about 200 meters) long and twenty zhang (about 66 meters) deep. By noon tomorrow, we will reach the first position for setting up the feng shui formation."

Ge Zhengfeng stood up, made a mark on the wall, and suddenly smiled, "Li Xian, this gunpowder is indeed excellent, faster than magic, though a bit dangerous.

"Excellent. At this rate, in half a year, we will penetrate the mountain base and approach ground level. Then we can build an imperial tomb under the mountain. Once completed, this tomb will rank among the best in the entire Yingzhou. With the mountain as the tomb, the mountain range as the river, and the surrounding mountains as guardians, it's brilliant!"

"Hehe," Li Xian laughed foolishly, thinking that building a tomb under a mountain was a measure taken in another world, during the Tang Dynasty. The project was small, but the tomb was grand, almost like a different version of a cuckoo occupying a magpie's nest, directly occupying a place in the world.

However, unexpected events always happen when people are most complacent, and this time was no exception!

Just as Ge Zhengfeng finished speaking, another explosion occurred, but the results were not good. After the explosion, they heard panicked screams and the sound of flowing water, as if they had opened up an underground lake.

"What's happening?" Li Xian and Ge Zhengfeng rushed out and were stunned!

They saw that instead of the tunnel through the mountain, black liquid was gushing out. The liquid flowed hundreds of meters down the sloping tunnel, quickly flooding the construction site. Many workers were fleeing in all directions, and several corpses were floating in the black liquid.

Even more workers were collapsing as they fled!

"Is this oil?!" Li Xian's heart pounded!

The black, viscous liquid seemed to be oil, but the smell was a bit off.

However, what Ge Zhengfeng said next shocked Li Xian, "Everyone, quickly get away! This is underground foul air, containing the residual souls of ancient powerful beings. Touching it means certain death!"

...