My Beloved Concubine Only Wants to Eat Melons

Chapter 97

Since we've started, we might as well finish this melon.

Yanshu immediately asked the system, "Quick, tell me in detail, what's really going on here?"

The system began to explain, "The old Khan of Dangxia died five years ago, and the new Khan Hu Yuanmao took the throne. Actually, the new Khan is only 18 years old now, still just a youngster. For these five years, his mother Empress Dowager Xiao has been controlling state affairs."

"Besides this son, Empress Dowager Xiao also has a daughter, the Princess of Dangxia. The Empress Dowager loves this daughter very much. Back then, she carefully selected Che Hongtu, the annoying guy you see before you, to be the princess's consort. Why choose him? Because the princess was actually born with some health issues and has always been in poor health. Empress Dowager Xiao didn't care about anything else, she just thought this man looked quite honest and probably wouldn't dare to bully her daughter."

Hearing this, Yanshu couldn't help but interject, "So following the usual pattern, this man isn't actually honest, right? Don't tell me he's like Zhao Chengwen, Yuwen Yan's former consort, who kept several mistresses outside?"

The system replied, "It's not quite that bad. After all, Dangxia is a small country, and the capital is small too. Even if he had such intentions, he wouldn't have the ability to do so. However, Che Hongtu indeed isn't honest. He treats the princess well on the surface, but he's long harbored various schemes behind her back. Just consider this - two years after their marriage, the princess finally gave birth to a son, but it took a further toll on her already poor health. Even after the full month of postpartum confinement, she still couldn't get out of bed most days. Empress Dowager Xiao was very concerned and worried that the people around her daughter wouldn't know how to take care of her properly. So she sent one of her own clever palace maids to look after the princess. Who would have thought that not long after this maid arrived at the princess's residence, she and Che Hongtu would become involved with each other."

Yanshu exclaimed, "Oh my!" These two were truly lacking in virtue!

Especially this Che whatever-his-name-was. The Dangxia princess had given birth to his child at the cost of her health, and at such a time, he actually got involved with the Empress Dowager's maid?

She hurriedly asked the system, "So did the princess perhaps discover the affair between these two, and die from the shock of it?"

The system confirmed, "That's right. The affair was first discovered by the princess's personal maid. To be fair, this maid was a bit impulsive and didn't think things through carefully. She told the princess directly, not expecting that upon hearing the news, the princess would immediately suffer a fatal hemorrhage. They couldn't even save her in time."

Yanshu was at a loss for words and could only sigh, "Well, of course. She was already so weak she couldn't get out of bed. How could she withstand such a shock? So what happened after that? Did Empress Dowager Xiao find out about this? How come she didn't punish this man and the maid?"

The system explained, "Given Empress Dowager Xiao's style, if she had known, she would have had this man drawn and quartered at the very least. But unfortunately, after Che Hongtu discovered that their affair had been exposed, he immediately killed the maid who had informed the princess. To the outside world, he claimed that the maid had been caught stealing, which angered the princess to death. He even put on quite a show of crying and wailing before Empress Dowager Xiao, saying he had failed to take good care of the princess and wished he could follow her in death."

Yanshu asked, "... So Empress Dowager Xiao still doesn't know the truth? She was really fooled by him like that?"

The system confirmed, "That's right. After all, there was still a young grandson who needed care. Although Empress Dowager Xiao had some doubts about her daughter's death, for the sake of her young grandson, she still appointed this man as an envoy. If he can negotiate well with the Great Liang this time, he'll likely be given some important position when he returns."

Yanshu understood, "So that's why this Che whatever is making such outrageous demands, hoping to accomplish a great feat and return to seek an even higher position from his mother-in-law?"

The system replied, "Exactly, that's how it is."

Yanshu couldn't help but think, "Ha! Keep dreaming!" She figured even their mortal enemies, the Xiongrong, wouldn't dare to make such demands to the Great Liang, let alone a tiny country like Dangxia.

The others in the hall seemed to think the same way.

Upon hearing Che Hongtu's words, several Great Liang court officials immediately shook their heads and said, "Has this envoy perhaps had too much to drink? If the roles were reversed, would you agree to such demands?"

"Indeed, the Great Liang is not a vassal state of your Dangxia. Why should we humble ourselves to seek your friendship? And open up three cities? Even one city would be too much!"

"Exactly, and not requiring you to pay taxes? Are you expecting us to just give you money for free? What do you plan to offer the Great Liang in return? Will you also open up three cities? And not require us to pay taxes?"

Come to think of it, Dangxia was just a tiny piece of land. If they were to open up three cities, they'd probably have to give away their capital city.

As the words fell, Che Hongtu raised his head and said, "The Great Liang is after all a vast and powerful country, with territory and population many times that of our Dangxia. Surely you won't be so petty as to haggle over such matters with Dangxia?"

At these words, everyone raised their eyebrows -

Huh, so this person is expecting to get something for nothing?

Not to mention that the Great Liang isn't stupid, but if they were to agree to such unreasonable conditions in front of so many foreign envoys today, what would the other countries think?

How could he be so delusional!

Sure enough, hearing him speak like this, the emperor on the throne finally couldn't bear it anymore and said, "There's a saying, 'Courtesy demands reciprocity.' Our sages have said, 'To give without receiving is not courteous. To receive without giving is also not courteous.' Based on what this envoy is saying, it seems your country has no intention of fostering good relations with the Great Liang. Perhaps you should go back and reconsider."

As these words fell, everyone nodded in agreement.

However, Che Hongtu smiled and said, "I think it's Your Majesty who needs to reconsider. Doesn't Your Majesty know how many Xiongrong invasions Dangxia has blocked for the Great Liang over the years? I'll be frank with Your Majesty, in recent years the Xiongrong Khan has been eager to establish good relations with our Dangxia. If you lose Dangxia as an ally today, the Great Liang may regret it in the future."

What?

At these words, all the Great Liang court officials frowned - was he implying that if they didn't agree to Dangxia's demands today, Dangxia would ally with the Xiongrong?

It was well known that the Xiongrong were the Great Liang's greatest enemy. Given Dangxia's current attitude, wasn't this a blatant threat?

At once, everyone's anger rose another notch.

Yuwen Lan felt the same way.

At this point, all traces of a smile had vanished from his face. He coldly said to Che Hongtu, "If I'm not mistaken, in just the last thirty years alone, the Xiongrong have killed three Khans of Dangxia, dozens of your generals, and countless civilians. Those barbarians are what they are by nature. If you say your country has been blocking the Xiongrong for our Great Liang, that's really not necessary. If you can still ally with them despite such deep national and personal enmity, then by all means, go ahead. I can only wish both parties well."

As his words fell, everyone chimed in agreement, "That's right, if you want to ally with them, go ahead. Only today did we learn that Dangxia is such a spineless country."

"Indeed, to be able to swallow such deep hatred, no wonder they have the audacity to make such demands."

"Exactly..."

Faced with such reactions, Che Hongtu paused, finally showing some panic in his eyes.

Seeing this, Yanshu couldn't help but laugh coldly in her heart. Serve him right, he had messed up!

Hmph, how dare he threaten her little emperor like this. Just wait, the real show was yet to come!

Probably because he had been so angry at the evening banquet, Yuwen Lan's face remained cold and expressionless even after returning to Ganlu Palace.

Seeing this, Yanshu dismissed all the unnecessary attendants and asked him, "Is Your Majesty still angry because of that Dangxia envoy?"

Yuwen Lan didn't deny it. He just gave a cold laugh and said, "I didn't expect such a small country to be so thick-skinned and shameless."

Huh, how dare they use the Xiongrong to threaten him?

Let them go ahead then. He'd like to see the Xiongrong not swallow them whole, bones and all.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Yanshu hurriedly said, "Actually, there's more to this matter. According to my information, the Dangxia Khan and Empress Dowager Xiao truly do want to establish good relations with us. It's all because of this Che whatever who wants to accomplish a great feat and return for rewards. That's why he dared to speak so presumptuously this time."

Yuwen Lan frowned at her words, "Is that so?"

Yanshu nodded vigorously, "Absolutely true. By the way, does Your Majesty know how long it takes to travel from the capital to the Great Liang's capital at the fastest speed?"

Yuwen Lan was still confused, "Why do you ask?"

Yanshu righteously declared, "Because this man called Che Hongtu caused the death of his own wife, who was the Princess of Dangxia and the beloved daughter of Empress Dowager Xiao. This matter is not yet known within Dangxia. As a person of justice, how could I simply stand by and do nothing?"

Yuwen Lan: "..."

Well, he had never imagined there would be such a twist.

Nevertheless, since this was the case, Che Hongtu could only blame himself for being too clever for his own good.

...

From the capital of Da Liang to the capital of Dangxia was a full two thousand li.

However, if one rode hard on horseback, a secret letter could arrive in three to five days.

So it wasn't long before Empress Dowager Xiao in the Dangxia palace received news that was enough to enrage her—it turned out that her most beloved daughter had been angered to death by her own husband.

The secret letter was very detailed and assertive, clearly stating the time and place of her daughter's death, the names of the servants who attended her, and even describing the times and locations when Che Hongtu met with the palace maid she had sent to the princess's residence, as well as the gold and silver jewelry Che Hongtu had given to win the maid's favor.

Seeing all this, Empress Dowager Xiao believed seven or eight parts of it. In her fury, she immediately sent people to reinvestigate.

Before the investigation results came out, she received an official letter from the Da Liang court.

The letter indignantly detailed the actions of their envoy Che Hongtu in Da Liang, and severely criticized Dangxia for lacking sincerity and backbone, actually disregarding national enmity and family hatred to seek alliance with the greedy and brutal Xiongrong.

After reading the letter, Empress Dowager Xiao was naturally furious and immediately dispatched a new team of envoys to Da Liang.

...

Meanwhile, in the capital of Da Liang, the new work of the "Carefree Young Master" once again appeared before readers.

—The story from the Eight Sides Bookstore that had revealed the protagonist's identity last time still left people wanting more, so now everyone was curious to see if this new story would again have named characters and satisfying revenge.

Once again, people rushed to buy and read it.

After reading, people discovered that although this story didn't specify names, it took place in a foreign country and was equally distinctive.

In the story, the princess was innocent and lovable, gentle and kind, deeply cherished by her mother since childhood. When she came of age, her mother carefully selected a consort for her after much consideration.

Who knew that the consort, though outwardly righteous and kind, was actually lecherous and despicable. While being soft-spoken and obedient to the princess, he was secretly involved with a maid in the household, doing all sorts of disgraceful things. Eventually, when the truth came to light, the princess couldn't accept that the husband she trusted was such a scoundrel. In her anger and distress, she suffered postpartum hemorrhage and unfortunately passed away.

As for the husband, in his panic, he actually planned to silence witnesses to cover up his crimes.

Fortunately, the Empress Dowager was wise and saw through his schemes in time. In her fury, she immediately had this hypocrite and his mistress both executed to comfort her daughter's spirit in heaven.

And...

After reading this story, righteous readers naturally scorned the unfaithful consort, lamented the early demise of the princess, and praised the wisdom and decisiveness of the Empress Dowager.

Regarding this, the Empress Dowager who had heard Yanshu read the story aloud was somewhat puzzled.

As Yanshu's biggest fan, the Empress Dowager naturally knew that this was written about the royal family of Dangxia.

She said, "Wasn't that Empress Dowager Xiao deceived by her son-in-law for a long time? If it weren't for His Majesty sending a secret letter, she still wouldn't know the truth. Why did you write her as so wise?"

Yanshu smiled and said, "Because this story is meant for the people of Dangxia to read, so naturally I had to portray their Empress Dowager in a good light. Moreover, revenge is best served quickly, so readers will feel satisfied. Also, Empress Dowager Xiao must be full of guilt towards her daughter after learning the truth. If this story can make her feel better, it will also benefit the relationship between our two countries."

The Empress Dowager finally understood and nodded, "I see, so it's about flattering Empress Dowager Xiao."

Yanshu chuckled, "Indeed, after all, it's better to have one more friend than one more enemy."

The Empress Dowager also laughed, "That's certainly true. But this Che Hongtu is really infuriating. I wonder when their people will arrive in the capital? We must make sure he doesn't escape."

Yanshu said, "Soon, soon. After learning the truth, they must be anxious to bring him back for trial as quickly as possible."

Now they needed to make sure the guards at the embassy were extra vigilant to prevent that man from escaping.

Sure enough, after six or seven days, new envoys from Dangxia arrived in the capital.

This new envoy was an old minister of Dangxia who had always advocated for friendly relations with Da Liang. Upon arrival, he completely changed Che Hongtu's rhetoric and earnestly explained the stance of the Dangxia court.

Da Liang was also magnanimous. After some discussion between both sides, a decision was quickly reached—each side would open one border city for trade, allowing citizens of both countries to do business, with taxes reduced by half to show mutual sincerity.

When this news came out, both sides were satisfied. Compared to other countries, Da Liang had not shown favoritism, so there were no objections. It could be called a win-win situation.

Afterwards, envoys from various countries bid farewell and set off on their return journeys.

The Dangxia envoy also hurriedly returned to their capital with the criminal Che Hongtu. Thanks to the escort of Da Liang guards, Che Hongtu's several attempts to escape were unsuccessful.

It was heard that Empress Dowager Xiao was already furious, waiting to punish Che Hongtu. His punishment would likely be even worse than in the story.

Yanshu silently lit a candle in her heart for this man.

She had seen many who had done unconscionable things, but rarely one who could be so arrogant after doing so.

Hah, there was no need for divine justice—before her, all demons and monsters had nowhere to hide!