My father, Li Shimin, requests Your Majesty to become the Retired Emperor.

Princess Tanigami was unable to obtain the position of Empress.

Therefore,

He often fooled around with King Shuming, even running to the roof of the palace and jumping off.

Fortunately, Songtsen Gampo arrived in time, saved her, and performed a ritual and prayer for her.

Princess Tianyan has finally returned to normal.

Princess Tianyan found Li Chengqian to be far too handsome.

then,

She stood up and suggested, "There's no point in just drinking like this. How about I dance for everyone?"

The reason why King Shuming was able to take a liking to Princess Tianyan was because Princess Tianyan was an exceptionally good dancer.

now,

King Shuming, seeing that Princess Tianyan wanted to dance to enhance the drinking experience,

King Shuming nodded in agreement.

Princess Tianyan smiled and said, "Everyone, please wait a moment while I go change my clothes."

She turned and went into the inner room.

Not long,

Princess Tianyan, you've come out of the room again.

Li Chengan glanced at her and saw that she was wearing a red kimono, with a tall and slender figure, a curvaceous figure, and a ribbon tied around her waist, highlighting her S-shaped curves.

A pair of jade-like legs were faintly visible beneath the hem of her skirt, and she wore wooden clogs on her feet.

Princess Tianyan looked at Li Chenggan and smiled sweetly: "Crown Prince of the Great Tang, everyone, then I shall make a fool of myself."

As Princess Tianyan finished speaking, her sleeves fluttered, and she began to dance gracefully.

I must say, Princess Tianyan's dance was really good.

Her dance was graceful and her movements were as light as a swallow.

Her waist swayed, supple and boneless, like a free-spirited red cloud in the sky.

Tian Yanhuang, with her alluring eyes like silk, kept stealing glances at Li Chenggan.

Li Chengan felt a little embarrassed by her fiery gaze.

Li Chengan thought to himself that this woman was truly passionate and unrestrained.

They dared to look at me like that in front of King Shuming.

Buyeo Bongmi is also good at dancing.

She came with Li Chenggan.

Her eyes were fixed intently on Princess Tianyan, wondering what this woman was up to. Could it be that she had also taken a liking to Li Chenggan?

Queen Seondeok, observing the expressions and knowing the situation perfectly well,

but,

She remained expressionless, said nothing, and continued drinking her tea as usual.

Yakushi Keiko was originally from the Japanese kingdom, and she knew more or less about Princess Tanegan.

Knowing that Princess Tianyan is a very mischievous woman, who knows what kind of trouble she might cause.

Could it be that she wanted to seduce Li Chenggan by displaying her peacock feathers?

now,

Princess Tianyan hopped around and landed in front of Li Chengqian, extending her right hand: "Crown Prince of Tang, come, let's hop together!"

Li Chenggan didn't want to dance with her because he felt it was somewhat inappropriate.

However, someone pushed him from behind, sending Li Chenggan shoving him right to the center of the hall.

Li Chenggan thought to himself, "Who is so wicked as to push me up here?"

He looked back, but couldn't make out who it was.

At this moment, Princess Tianyan took Li Chengqian's hand and led him to dance.

"Tap tap tap, tap tap tap!"

Princess Tianyan's wooden clogs made rhythmic sounds on the floor, which reminded Li Chengan of Xi Shi.

Legend has it that Xi Shi was skilled at dancing the "sounding clogs dance," so King Fuchai of Wu specially built a "sounding clogs corridor" for her.

Princess Tianyan said as she jumped, "Your Highness, do you know?"

The dance I'm performing originates from the Central Plains and was adapted from Xi Shi's "Sounding Clogs Dance."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengan suddenly realized and said, "No wonder."

"Some people say that our ancestors were Xu Fu, who was sent by the Qin Dynasty to find new men. I also believe that."

Li Chenggan has an exceptional talent for dancing; he learns it in no time.

The two worked together seamlessly and had excellent chemistry.

Li Chenggan's movements and dancing were quite a sight to behold.

At the height of her emotion, Princess Tianyan placed Li Chengqian's hand on her waist.

She couldn't help but press her flat stomach against Li Chengqian's body.

Her face turned bright red with embarrassment.

King Shuming watched this unfold, his teeth grinding with envy. He wondered what this woman was doing. Was she dancing, or flirting?

You two are standing way too close, but with so many people around, he couldn't lash out, so he could only suppress his anger.

Li Chengan also sensed that the woman with yellow eyes was intentionally or unintentionally getting closer to him.

He quickly took a step back, maintaining a certain distance from Princess Tianyan.

Fuyu Fengmei saw this and thought to herself, "This woman is shameless, blatantly seducing Li Chenggan."

She really wanted to go up and slap Princess Tianyan twice across the face.

but,

She couldn't do that in front of everyone.

Queen Seondeok was incredibly intelligent; she could naturally see through Princess Jeon-eum's intentions and sense her growing affection.

Kindeman thought to himself that this woman was really bold; if it were him, he would never have done such a thing.

In her view, in the world of relationships, men should take the initiative, and women should passively accept.

Only that kind of feeling is normal.

If the roles are reversed, it's unacceptable for a woman to actively seduce a man, especially a married woman who tries to seduce another man.

When Yakushi Keiko saw Princess Tada's flattering and sycophantic manner, her eyes blazed with fury.

She thought to herself, "This Princess Tianyan is really quite uninhibited. In public, she doesn't even try to hide her improper thoughts about Li Chengqian."

Doesn't Princess Tianyan fear that King Shuming will be jealous?

This kind of woman is capable of anything to achieve her goals.

After the dance ended, Princess Tianyan was covered in sweat, her face flushed, and she was panting heavily.

Her alluring eyes turned to Li Chenggan, and she said softly, "Your Highness, I didn't expect you to dance so well."

Li Chengan waved his hand: "Not at all, not at all. This is the first time in my life I've ever danced a dance like yours."

"Oh, really? Doesn't that mean we're on the same wavelength?"

"Uh," Li Chenggan really didn't know how to answer her, "Your Highness, you're joking, but anyway, you danced very well."

"Thank you. I hope we'll have the opportunity to collaborate on another piece in the future."

Even though the dance had been suspended for so long, Princess Tianyan's hand was still tightly holding Li Chengqian's hand.

Li Chengan quickly withdrew his hand.

Li Chengan turned around and returned to his seat.

The atmosphere at the scene seemed to have become more harmonious than before.

Li Chengqian wiped the sweat from his palms, which were sweaty from being held by Princess Tianyan for so long.

"Your Majesty, it is an honor for me and Songtsen Gampo to be here again, although we have experienced some misunderstandings."

However, overall,

It was still quite pleasant.

In that case, please, Your Majesty, order the release of Buyeo Pungjang and the withdrawal of the letter demanding Baekje's submission.

At the same time, please tell Your Majesty not to make things difficult for Queen Seondeok anymore, and not to mention anything about making Silla submit to you.

"This—," King Shuming paused, "today we'll only drink, not discuss state affairs."

Other things,

Please allow me to reconsider.

Hearing what King Shuming said, Li Chenggan decided not to push too hard.

Li Chenggan, holding onto the table, continued, "Also, there is something I would like to ask Your Majesty."

"Oh, what is it?"

"I've heard that your Wa-nu Kingdom and Yanqi have reached some agreements. Is that true?" Li Chenggan asked directly.

When King Shuming heard this, his heart skipped a beat, because this matter was highly confidential.

He couldn't understand how Li Chenggan knew.

He couldn't help but ask, "Crown Prince of Tang, how did you know about this?"

Li Chengan picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and looked intently at King Shuming: "To be honest, I have dealt with that Blue Brahma woman more than once."

and,

She is a wanted criminal on the run. I am about to arrest her.

"Oh, what do you mean?"

"Because last time, she sneaked into Chang'an and stole the imperial seal from the Bureau of Imperial Clothing."

That jade seal represents the highest power of our Great Tang Dynasty.

When the emperor issued decrees or commands, he always used the imperial seal.

Although the imperial seal has been retrieved, the Blue Rakshasa woman has escaped.

She thought that once she escaped, everything would be alright.

Actually, she was wrong.

It must be said that her method of committing the crime was quite clever.

However, some clues will eventually be left behind, which I have discovered and confirmed that the theft of the Imperial Seal was indeed the work of the Blue Bharadvaja.

That time,

I and Princess Qu Zhili of Gaochang devised a plan to lure her out, and it worked.

We combined our swords, and I injured her with my sword energy.

She fled to Zhongnan Mountain after being wounded, seeking Sun Simiao to treat her.

Sun Simiao was not an ordinary physician; he did not treat all his patients.

He has a sense of right and wrong.

When he learned that the Rakshasa woman had done many bad things, he immediately refused to treat her.

The Rakshasa woman was furious. In a fit of rage, I tried to coerce Sun Simiao into treating her injuries.

Just then, I and Qin Ying arrived.

Qin Ying chased her away.

At that time, Qin Ying was a little careless and was poisoned by her.

Later, Sun Simiao cured Qin Ying of the poison.

Unexpectedly, the Blue Rakshasa woman traveled across the ocean to this place, saying that the healers here could heal her injuries.

and,

I've heard that there's a connection between the Blue Rascal and the Great King.

King Shuming listened quietly. He knew some of the things Li Chenggan was talking about, but he was hearing about others for the first time.

Now that Li Chengan already knows, he no longer needs to hide it.

King Shuming nodded upon thinking about this: "Indeed, I and Yanqi have reached some agreements."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengan straightened his back and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, I must solemnly remind you, as you surely already know..."

Not long ago, I fought against Yanqi in the Western Regions.

Only because Chang'an was besieged by the allied forces of the Bearded Man of Fuyu and Li Yuanli, my father wrote to me asking me to return to rescue Chang'an, so I withdrew from the battlefield in Yanqi.

but,

Yanqi attacked Dunhuang without any reason and massacred one of our cities.

I'll have to settle this score with them sooner or later.

If we say,

If you form an alliance with Yanqi,

I believe this matter is rather inappropriate.

Li Chengan's voice was clear and resonant.

Li Chengqian's words were few, but they hit the nail on the head.

If the Wa (倭) Kingdom truly formed an alliance with Yanqi, they could launch a two-pronged attack on the Tang Dynasty, one in the east and the other in the west.

So,

The Tang Dynasty would then be attacked from both sides, which would be extremely dangerous for it.

Therefore,

Li Chenggan must dismantle their alliance.

King Shuming was no ordinary man either. Why was he being so arrogant this time?

One of the reasons is that

They have formed an alliance with Yanqi, which has given them more leverage.

King Shuming knew that the grape wine from Yanqi sold exceptionally well and was very popular.

Throughout the Western Regions,

It was even sold in the Tang Dynasty and other eastern countries.

Li Chengan was right. The reason why Yanqi's grape wine is so popular is because Yanqi benefited from the Silk Road.

Without the Silk Road, how could Yanqi's fine wines have been sold?

The wine industry is highly profitable, with low costs and high profits.

It was precisely because of the financial support from Yanqi that King Shuming could be so arrogant.

Only then did he dare to write a letter to Buyeo Uija urging him to surrender.

of course,

He also knew that Buyeo Uija would never surrender to them.

Even so, he still had to make a gesture to let Buyeo Uija know that their Wa (Japanese) country was the overlord of the East.

Whether it's Baekje, Silla, or Goguryeo, they will all eventually submit to the Japanese.

Otherwise, the Wa people might send troops to attack them.

With the financial support of Yanqi, they could expand their army on a large scale, especially their navy.

It must be said that the navy of the Wa people was extremely powerful.

They frequently fought against pirates; how could they manage without a powerful navy?

Last time, Buyeo Uija sent his general, Neji, to launch a surprise attack on the Wa (Japanese) kingdom.

The reason why Ni Zhi turned back halfway was that he discovered that the navy of the Wa people was powerful and could not be easily defeated.

He happened to run into Li Chenggan again.

Li Chengan advised him not to launch a surprise attack on the Japanese.

Ni Zhi did him a favor.

Although Wa was just an island nation, their navy was arguably even more powerful than that of the Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period.

This is not an exaggeration.

They drew inspiration from the military deployment and administration of the Eastern Wu navy and built a powerful naval force.

Objectively speaking, a powerful navy is a source of pride for King Shuming.

In his view, the navies of Baekje, Silla, and Goguryeo were no match for those of the Wa (Japanese) kingdom.

He didn't even take the Tang Dynasty's navy seriously.

In King Shuming's mind, the Tang Dynasty's military strength lay only in its land-based armies.

The navy wasn't that powerful.

It was precisely because of this that the Tang Dynasty was able to easily defeat the Eastern Turks, Tuyuhun, Dangxiang, and Yanqi.

However, it would probably not be so easy for the Tang Dynasty to defeat the Wuwa Kingdom.

King Shuming was quite confident in the navy of the Wa people, and with the support of Yanqi, what did he have to fear?

King Shuming's gaze swept over the crowd: "Crown Prince of the Great Tang, Songtsen Gampo, Queen Shande, it is fate that you have all come here today."

"Well then, tomorrow morning, I would like to invite you to visit our navy. What do you say?"

Li Chenggan understood that King Shuming intended to demonstrate his power.

He exchanged glances with Songtsen Gampo and Jindeman, and nodded: "Since Your Majesty is so hospitable, then let's go and take a look."