No title, no marriage? Do you think I'm some kind of lapdog?

[Congratulations, host, you have successfully unlocked today's check-in task.]

[Unique: Court of State Ceremonial, completing negotiations will upgrade special units by one level.]

Day two.

Before the morning light even shone through the window, Su Chuang had already opened his eyes and couldn't fall back asleep.

He lay motionless on the couch, mentally reviewing the moves he would make that day.

Not a single mistake can be made!

At the third quarter of Chenshi (7:45 AM), the Honglu Temple met with the Xiongnu envoys to begin negotiations!

The three-step strategy that Jia Xu had mentioned yesterday had been deeply ingrained in his mind.

Having a strategist is a great advantage!

"My lord, it's time to rise."

Zhao Yun's voice rang out from outside the door, unwavering!

"good!"

Su Chuang responded, and immediately a maidservant helped him get up and dress.

The man in the bronze mirror looked greedy, cowardly, and useless.

……

Chen Shi (7-9 AM), in a side hall of the Honglu Temple.

Su Chuang sat in the main seat on one side of Daqian, his fingers unconsciously rubbing his cuffs.

On the opposite side, Wanyan Zongbi led eight Xiongnu envoys in single file.

"The Duke of Su is indeed punctual."

Wanyan Zongbi sat down with an imposing air, his gaze sharp as a knife, as if he wanted to kill Su Chuang with a single blow.

"You flatter me, Your Majesty. I dare not delay what Your Majesty has entrusted to me."

Su Chuang smiled ingratiatingly and leaned forward, looking just like a shop assistant listening to the shopkeeper's instructions.

Anyone who didn't know better would think he was there for a banquet.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a brand-new curved sword at Wanyan Zongbi's waist.

The negotiations started faster than expected.

Wanyan Zongbi pushed a roll of sheepskin across the table:

"Sanjo."

"First, the annual tribute of grain during the Great Qian Dynasty was ten million dan;"

"Secondly, open the horse market at Yumen Pass, allowing our warhorses to freely enter and exit;"

"Third—" he paused, his voice turning somber, "hand over the murderer who killed my envoy."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

"Zilong, where are the snacks in that box we brought? Quickly serve some to the envoys."

Su Chuang blinked, didn't take the sheepskin, and instead turned to look at Zhao Yun behind him.

"My lord, that's breakfast prepared for you..."

"Just take it when I tell you to!"

Su Chuang glared at Wanyan Zongbi, then turned back and gave him a smirk.

"Please don't be offended, sir. I didn't eat enough this morning, so my mind is a bit slow."

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Zongbi's temple throbbed with a vein.

When the snack box was brought out, Su Chuang personally pinched a piece of osmanthus cake and handed it over.

"Please try it, it's from a time-honored brand in Beijing."

At that moment, Zhao Yun deliberately pretended to knock over the weapon rack standing next to him.

With a clang, the curved dagger with the character "Xiao" that had been taken from the fake angel fell straight onto the brick floor between the two men.

The blade was drawn three inches from its sheath, and the character "Xiao" was clearly engraved on it.

Wanyan Zongbi's pupils contracted.

Su Chuang seemed startled and hurriedly got up to pick it up, accidentally knocking over a teacup in the process.

He spilled warm water all over the table and frantically wiped it up, muttering to himself.

"Oh dear, look at me... My apologies, my apologies..."

Once seated, Wanyan Zongbi's expression had changed.

"This knife..."

He kept his voice very low.

"knife?"

Su Chuang looked down blankly, as if only then noticing.

"Oh, I found it a few days ago. It looked pretty sharp, so I kept it for self-defense."

He spoke casually, tossing the knife aside.

"Let's continue. What did you say was the annual tribute amount?"

Wanyan Zongbi stared at the knife for a full three breaths without saying a word.

When he spoke again, his tone had softened slightly: "...Five million dan is also acceptable."

"One hundred thousand loads..."

"One million dan!"

"make a deal!"

First act, done.

"Let's have some tea~"

After two rounds of tea, the argument escalated to the horse market.

Wanyan Zongbi insisted on keeping it open year-round, but Su Chuang counted on his fingers.

"The spring market lasts three months, and the autumn market lasts three months, which is already a month longer than in previous years."

"...Besides, I can't make decisions about the border troops either."

Su Chuang looked troubled, but...

"Can't make the decision?"

"Then what's the point of having a spineless duke like you come and talk!"

Wanyan Zongbi sneered.

"Yes, yes, the messenger is right."

Su Chuang wasn't annoyed. He lowered his head, took a sip of tea, and suddenly seemed to remember something.

"By the way, a few days ago, they seized a batch of smuggled crossbows in the capital. Guess what happened?"

"The markings engraved on the crossbow are very similar to the emblem of a craftsman's workshop that I saw when I was doing business on the grasslands."

He paused, as if talking to himself:

"That craft workshop seems to belong to... the Third Prince?"

"Alas, I heard that the Third Prince has been having some bad luck lately, and no one in the tribe is placing orders with him anymore."

Wanyan Zongbi's hand, which was gripping the teacup, suddenly tightened.

Su Chuang, however, seemed completely oblivious, and looked up with a smile on his face again:

"Look at me, I've gone off on a tangent. Let's get back to the horse market, how about... another two months of trimming?"

The second act is complete.

---

As noon approached, the negotiations stalled on the last point—handing over the killer.

Wanyan Zongbi refused to budge an inch, while Su Chuang looked distressed. After a stalemate lasting about fifteen minutes, Su Chuang suddenly let out a long sigh.

Actually...

He leaned back, his voice weary.

"His Majesty truly desires peace talks."

"But I don't have the final say—you don't know, after what happened with the Second Prince, the generals in the army were practically going crazy."

He pulled a rolled-up report from his sleeve and gently pushed it in front of the other person.

"Yesterday, Yumen Pass received an additional 30,000 troops, and the Shuofang Army is also moving towards the border."

"General Li declared that if they couldn't reach an agreement, he would lead his men out of the pass to 'hunt'."

Su Chuang smiled bitterly.

"Tell me, isn't it difficult for a mere duke like me, caught in the middle?"

Wanyan Zongbi unfolded the briefing, his face growing paler with each reading.

It bears the official seal of the Ministry of War, and the garrison number and transfer date are clearly stated.

This was naturally Lu Bing's doing.

Suddenly, the faint sound of horses' hooves came from outside the hall, growing louder as a cavalry troop passed by the outer wall of the Honglu Temple.

Wanyan Zongbi suddenly looked up, but Su Chuang had already stood up and was looking out the window.

"Oh, the Imperial Guards are changing shifts."

He turned around, his smile tinged with helplessness.

"Listen to this noise... How about this, regarding handing over the murderer, let's each compromise?"

Wanyan Zongbi stared at him for a long while, then squeezed out a question through gritted teeth: "How do we retreat?"

"I can't befriend people. But—"

Su Chuang took out a gold note from his pocket and gently placed it on the parchment scroll.

"Fifty thousand taels of gold will be used to compensate the families of the deceased. In addition, the market tax will be reduced by another 10%."

He paused, lowering his voice:

"Envoy, this winter must be tough on the grasslands. Having grain and money is better than getting nothing at all."

Wanyan Zongbi's hand rested on the curved sword, his knuckles turning white.

Inside the hall, you could hear a pin drop.

Finally, he grabbed the gold note and stood up: "The terms are to be drafted as follows, and signed and sealed in three days."

"readily!"

Su Chuang clapped his hands and laughed, but there was little warmth in his laughter.

At 1-3 PM, Su Chuang walked out of the Court of State Ceremonial.

The sunlight was blinding, so he squinted. The system notification in his mind sounded precisely on time:

[Negotiation task completion rate: 80%]

[Conditions for reaching the agreement: The agreement must be significantly beneficial to the Great Qian Dynasty]

[Rewards: 300 S-rank special unit "Mo Dao Guard" (can be upgraded to SS-rank "Xuan Jia Mo Dao Guard")]

The final mission, "Assassinate Wanyan Zongbi," is now active. Completing it will unlock an SS-level rating and a full set of equipment.

Zhao Yun led his horse over and whispered, "My lord, shall we return to the manor?"

"Let's go back." Su Chuang mounted his horse and rode half a street away, then suddenly asked, "Where is Lu Bing?"

"The usual place."

"Let him come to see me."

"Prepare for the decapitation strike!"