jdhmnovel Chapter 169 Stinks
Chapter 169 Stinks
The emperor learned the details of today's events from Si Qing and laughed so hard he almost fell over: "Did your prince really say that?"
Si Qing sighed helplessly, "The prince avoids the Northern Di princess like the plague, saying the most nasty things he can think of, it's truly..."
"Is Yelü Dan truly stinking?" the emperor asked, glancing at Xie Jinghan with a mocking tone. "Or are you saying this on purpose?"
“Indeed, she stinks horribly.” Xie Jinghan said with a cold face, clearly impatient. “If Your Majesty is interested in her, you might as well take her into the harem. She is more beautiful than Consort Zhang and younger than Consort Zhang.”
Upon hearing this, the emperor glared and bristled, "What are you saying? Do you think I am a tyrannical ruler who lusts after beautiful women?"
“Yelü Dan is clearly very cunning. She took the initiative to propose to you at the banquet today, so she must have other motives. Such a person cannot enter the palace.”
The emperor shook his head repeatedly as he spoke.
"If she can't enter the palace, does that mean she can enter the Prince Jing's residence?" Xie Jinghan was very dissatisfied with the emperor's inaction at the banquet and retorted, "Brother, don't forget that the border defense map is still in the Prince's residence. She probably came here for the border defense map."
The emperor stroked his chin, then slammed his hand on the table in sudden realization: "She has a clear goal in mind! No wonder she immediately asked to marry you."
"However..." the emperor teased, "She is beautiful, are you really not even a little bit tempted?"
"Just a stinking woman," Xie Jinghan scoffed. "Not even worth a finger of the princess."
The emperor was overjoyed and said, "I never imagined that I would hear such sweet words from you in my lifetime. If your princess knew, I don't know how moved she would be."
Xie Jinghan remained expressionless, clearly unaffected by the emperor's words.
After watching the spectacle to his heart's content, the emperor finally became serious: "She knew that the border defense map was in your possession, which is why she proposed to marry you. But... once she marries you, how will she return to the Northern Barbarians?"
"In my opinion, there are probably other reasons why she did this."
The emperor was always quick to sense things, and when he connected the matter to the Northern Barbarians, the identity of one person immediately came to mind.
"Do you think... it might be related to Prince Xin?" The emperor lowered his voice. "After all, Prince Xin still has half of the Northern Di blood in his veins. Perhaps he wants to do his part for the Northern Di."
Upon hearing this, Xie Jinghan gave him a disdainful look.
Seeing this, the emperor's face turned cold: "What kind of expression is that? If I have said anything wrong, just point it out."
"Brother, if you had to choose between the Northern Di and the Great Li as emperor, would you choose the Northern Di, which is located in the desert, or the Great Li, which is rich in land?" Xie Jinghan asked.
"Naturally, it's Dali," the emperor replied without hesitation.
He only realized what was happening after he finished answering.
"You mean Prince Xin..."
“From beginning to end, the position that Prince Xin wanted was the dragon throne under your backside, Your Majesty,” Xie Jinghan said in a deep voice. “He doesn’t even look at the Northern Barbarians.”
“However, what Your Majesty said makes sense,” Xie Jinghan said in a low voice. “Perhaps it was Prince Xin who made Yelü Dan change his mind.”
Under the emperor's gaze, he said, word by word, "As early as when Yelü Dan came to the capital, I received intelligence that she came to rebuild the border trade between the two countries."
But to my surprise, she changed her mind at today's welcome banquet.
It's hard to say that this has nothing to do with King Xin.
The emperor's face darkened as he pondered for a moment: "Prince Xin has been hiding for so many years, all for my throne. You cannot let your guard down."
"Although I met Yelü Dan today, I could tell that she is a woman of deep thought and strong will, and not someone who follows the crowd. If Prince Xin was able to persuade her, he must have presented her with conditions that she could not refuse."
"You should find out more about her situation with the Northern Barbarians," the emperor advised. "Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle."
"Your Majesty, I have already sent people to inquire about this." Xie Jinghan frowned. "However, this is a secret of the royal court, and it cannot be found out in just a few days."
“Before the intelligence arrives,” Xie Jinghan narrowed his peach blossom eyes slightly, “we will deal with whatever comes our way.”
Seeing his expression, the emperor smiled and sighed, "Since you already have a plan in mind, I will naturally not interfere with you."
“But before that…” he suppressed a laugh, “you should first think about how to appease your princess.”
Upon hearing this, Xie Jinghan, who was confident of victory, looked up in astonishment.
Seeing the rare helplessness on his face, the emperor couldn't help but laugh. He looked at him with a slightly sympathetic gaze: "The people in Consort Zhang's palace don't learn their lesson. They took it upon themselves to spread the news of today's welcoming banquet."
"Although the Empress handled it well, the news still reached Shu Yao's ears first."
"If you need anything, go to my private treasury..."
Before the emperor could finish speaking, Xie Jinghan, who was always composed and self-possessed, strode out of the Taiji Hall.
Seeing Xie Jinghan's hurried departure, the emperor found it both amusing and heartbreaking.
"I never expected..." the emperor said quietly, "that Jing Han could care so much about a woman."
Standing behind him, Li Dehai smiled upon hearing his words and said, "Your Majesty, didn't you always hope that the Prince could find a wife who would care for and understand you?"
"Now it seems that your wish has come true."
As he spoke, Li Dehai added, "Perhaps in a few years, you will be able to see the young heir and princess of the Jing Prince's Mansion."
Upon hearing this, the emperor's expression, which had been one of sorrow, changed.
He stroked his chin and nodded firmly: "You're right. I've been waiting for this for so many years, and finally I see hope."
"Send someone to inquire tomorrow if there has been any progress with Chief Physician Zhou." Upon receiving the emperor's order, Li Dehai immediately agreed.
Xie Jinghan, who strode out of the Taiji Hall, had a cold expression on his face.
Si Qing followed beside him, not daring to look closely, and simply kept her head down, following behind Xie Jinghan.
When did the news get out?
Upon Xie Jinghan's question, Si Qing's face showed a pained expression: "I have been by your side all this time and I did not know about these things!"
As he spoke, he felt extremely aggrieved, cursing the troublemaker Consort Zhang in his heart again and again.
If it weren't for Consort Zhang's instructions, why would her palace servants have made a scene in front of the Princess?
Thinking of this, Si Qing said fiercely, "I really don't know what Consort Zhang is thinking. You and the Princess don't get along. Is it to her advantage?"
Xie Jinghan scoffed lightly upon hearing this.
Si Qing caught a glimpse of the coldness in his eyes, and an unbelievable guess suddenly popped into her mind.
“Your Highness…you wouldn’t be thinking of telling His Majesty about that…” he murmured, “but if that happens, His Majesty will probably be so angry that he’ll die.”