The Prodigal Son

"Me? With her?"

Upon hearing Qin Yu's words, Lü Si jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, "Who do you think you are?"

Seeing Lü Si's strong reaction, Qin Yu couldn't help but curl his lips, "Ruan Zhi is more than a match for you, okay? It's not like you're being wronged!"

Although Ruan Zhi's status in the palace was not as high as Shangguan Youyi's, he was still a close attendant of Zhao Luan.

So many people want to curry favor with Ruan Zhi but don't even have the chance!

He also felt that Ruan Zhi was not good enough for him?

Where does his inexplicable confidence come from?

Lu Si bulged his eyes and snorted, "Stop talking nonsense! I have absolutely nothing to do with her!"

"No way?"

Qin Yu's gossip-loving eyes burned even brighter. As he led them to the side, he teased Lü Si, "I saw Ruan Zhi kick you just now! Not everyone is qualified to be kicked by Ruan Zhi, the Holy Envoy."

As soon as Qin Yu finished speaking, Song Xian laughed.

Under Qin Yu's persistent questioning, Song Xian finally revealed the truth.

Lü Si and Ruan Zhi did not have the ambiguous relationship that Qin Yu imagined.

Ruan Zhi kicked Lü Si simply because he wanted to kick him.

The reason for this was that Lü Si had angered Ruan Zhi quite a bit along the way.

If it weren't for the relationship between the Lü family and the Empress Dowager, Ruan Zhi would probably have ordered Lü Si to be hung up and whipped long ago.

"What do you mean I made her angry?"

Lu Si was displeased and scoffed, "She clearly brought this on herself!"

His words only fueled Qin Yu's curiosity. "Tell me, what happened?"

Faced with Qin Yu's question, Lü Si immediately became annoyed: "Why are you asking me everything like a gossip?"

"It's just about crying, what's wrong with talking about it?"

Song Xian glanced at Lü Si with a mocking look, and was about to say something more when Lü Si hurriedly covered Song Xian's mouth.

However, Qin Yu, who was burning with gossip, pulled him back.

Under Qin Yu's persistent questioning, Song Xian finally revealed the truth.

Previously, when they tricked Zhao Yan, Lü Si's mother pretended to have a miscarriage, and Lü Si believed it to be true and cried his eyes out.

Ruan Zhi was ordered by Zhao Luan to deliver a message to Lü Si, but Lü Si treated Ruan Zhi with harsh words and said that he would not let her go.

Ruan Zhi came with them this time and made fun of Lü Si about this quite a bit.

Feeling ashamed, Lü Si sought revenge on Ruan Zhi in various ways throughout the journey.

Previously, when they passed through the post station in Ningzhou, that bastard Lü Si found a dead snake from somewhere and threw it at Ruan Zhi, almost scaring Ruan Zhi out of his wits.

If it weren't for the relationship between the Lü family and the Empress Dowager, Ruan Zhi would probably have skinned him alive.

From that moment on, the feud between the two was permanently established...

After hearing Song Xian's words, Qin Yu couldn't help but feel annoyed.

That son of a bitch!

It was fortunate that he met Ruan Zhi.

If he were to run into Yun Ying, he would probably be beaten to a pulp for playing such a game!

"What are you looking at?"

Lu Si glanced at Qin Yu with displeasure and snorted, "She brought this on herself! Does she think I'll be afraid of her just because she holds the title of Holy Envoy?"

"Yes, it has to be you!"

Qin Yu gave Lü Si a thumbs up and led them to sit down in the pavilion in the courtyard.

It was only at this point that Song Xian told Qin Yu about Xi Ya's situation.

Xi Ya is an important minister of the State of Chu. He once served as Minister of Revenue and Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince, and now serves as Grand Secretary and Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince...

Song Xian spent about 15 minutes telling Qin Yu about Xi Ya's situation.

After learning about Xi Ya's situation, Qin Yu couldn't help but ponder it to himself.

Judging from what Song Xian said, this Xi Ya is probably not easy to deal with!

Qin Yu pondered for a moment, then asked Song Xian, "Has His Majesty set a bottom line for our negotiations?"

"No!"

Song Xian shook his head. "His Majesty said that you are fully in charge of this negotiation!"

Ah!

She really thinks highly of herself.

What I fear most is this kind of negotiation without a clear bottom line.

"So, what do you think we should want?"

Qin Yu's gaze fell on Song Xian again.

"Money and provisions will definitely be needed!"

Song Xian smiled, "Furthermore, our trade with Chu must not be interrupted! If Chu is willing to cede Gongzhou, that would be even better!"

"..."

Qin Yu looked at Song Xian with a dark expression.

Ceding Gongzhou?

I don't even dare to think about it, how dare you?

Unless we wipe out all the troops that Shi Hong has stockpiled in northern Gongzhou!

Otherwise, even if they were to kill the Chu Kingdom, they certainly wouldn't be willing to cede Gongzhou.

Meeting Qin Yu's gaze, Song Xian couldn't help but laugh, "Negotiation! Isn't it just about asking for the moon and then haggling?"

"That's true!"

Qin Yu smiled. "Okay, you should hurry up and draft a rough list first, and we'll talk about it properly tonight! Let's set a bottom line for ourselves first!"

"Can!"

Song Xian readily agreed.

Afterwards, Song Xian talked to Qin Yu about Yu Jing.

A few days before they left the capital, Zhao Luan had already appointed Du Zhiwen, the Minister of Personnel, as Imperial Commissioner to be responsible for assessing and appointing some officials in Min County, and to coordinate subsequent disaster relief and reconstruction efforts in Min County.

The emperor appointed Gao Yi's son, Gao Dan, as an imperial envoy to deliver the imperial decree to Yu Jing, bestowing upon Yu Jing the title of Prince of Fengyi, with his fief in Ganyang County, Fengzhou. Yu Jing was also ordered to return to the capital with the Ning army to receive his title.

In addition, in order to solve the problem of the shortage of court officials, Zhao Luan has issued an edict to hold additional special examinations and to allow officials of various departments to recommend talented people.

Qin Yu was relieved to learn that Yu Jing had ultimately chosen to submit.

Yes, not bad, you made the right choice after all.

A prince is quite good!

Moreover, he was granted a prefecture to govern himself.

In his own little territory, he was practically a local tyrant!

For Yu Jing, this result may not be a bad thing.

You should know that Zhao Luan had previously hoped that he would die at the hands of the Yan people!

"What's the situation in the Yan Kingdom right now?"

At this moment, Qin Yu asked again.

"I'm not quite sure about that."

Song Xian shook his head slightly. "However, before we set off from the capital, the court had not received any news of the Yan Kingdom's advance on Xuanzhou."

"The Yan Kingdom hasn't made a move for so long, they probably won't attack Xuanzhou."

Qin Yu pondered, "They might even cede Guanzhou to us, but only if we offer them terms that satisfy them!"

Guanzhou is separated from the Yan State by the Yi River, a natural barrier. If the Yan State wants to protect Guanzhou, it will definitely have to invest more manpower and military force.

For the Yan state at present, this is clearly not a worthwhile deal.

They didn't pay much to seize Guanzhou, so rather than spending a lot of manpower and resources to occupy it, they might as well use Guanzhou to exchange for the benefits they wanted.

"Yes, my father mentioned this before we left the capital."

Song Xian nodded and said, "Therefore, when we negotiate with the State of Chu, we must take into account the benefits we can offer the people of Yan!"

The wool comes from the pig!

The benefits given to the State of Yan must be repaid to the State of Chu!

"That's what I think too."

Qin Yu nodded in agreement, then pondered, "Perhaps we should talk to the people of Yan first!"

Should we negotiate with the Yan state?

Lu Si was taken aback, then frowned and looked at Qin Yu: "On what grounds do we negotiate with Yan? His Majesty only allowed us to negotiate with Chu, not Yan."

"We're so far from the capital; we can't wait for His Majesty to tell us what to do!" Qin Yu said matter-of-factly. "Besides, these two matters should have been handled together!"

Upon hearing this, Lü Si's face darkened. "You negotiated with the Yan Kingdom without imperial decree, overstepping your authority! Be careful you don't get charged with usurping power! If you want to be punished, don't drag me into it!"

Song Xian lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked, "Do you want to first see if the Yan Kingdom has any intention of withdrawing from Guanzhou?"

"almost!"

Qin Yu nodded slightly. "Furthermore, if the Yan state does indeed have this idea, perhaps we can ask them to help us negotiate with the Chu state!"