The Prodigal Son

In the morning, just after Qin Yu finished breakfast, Song Zhuo's son, Song Xian, came to visit.

"Lord Song, what brings you here?"

Qin Yu greeted him with a smile.

"Alright, stop pretending! Don't you know why I'm here?"

Song Xian smiled and glanced at Qin Yu. "I have some things to attend to later, so I'll keep it brief!"

As he spoke, Song Xian directly told Qin Yu his bottom line for the negotiations.

It's not impossible for the Yan state to establish an official market and engage in trade with Da Ning.

Let's start by offering five thousand top-quality warhorses as a sign of our sincerity!

Secondly, the Yan state should pay three million taels of silver in compensation for the attack on Dingzhou five years ago!

After the two sides began trading, Ningguo sold basic necessities such as grain, wine, and cloth to Yanguo.

The Yan state needed to trade warhorses, fine iron, leather, and other materials.

After hearing Song Xian's words, Qin Yu was speechless. "Does this even need to be discussed?"

The State of Yan isn't stupid!

If the State of Yan agrees to even these conditions, it can only mean that the State of Yan has reached a point of life and death!

If that's the case, then there's no need to talk, let's just go to war!

"I never intended to talk about it!"

Song Xian smiled, "The reason we're talking to Yan now is because Bei Qi's purpose in sending this envoy hasn't been revealed yet! We need to keep Yan hanging and see what the situation is like on Bei Qi's side before making any decisions!"

Of course, if the Yan state truly agrees to their conditions or offers even more enticing terms, then those two preconditions are not necessarily unchangeable.

"I understand now!"

Qin Yu grinned.

Keep the Yan state hanging on, simple!

Just take Yanli out for food and drinks!

However, Yanli had to pay the bill!

"Also, Yan Li is a prince after all, so don't use such harsh language!"

Song Xian then deliberately reminded Qin Yu.

He had some understanding of Qin Yu's character.

It would be inappropriate if he got carried away and cursed the ancestors of the Yan emperor for eighteen generations.

"Look at what you're saying! I'm a civilized person, I don't swear!"

Qin Yu said seriously.

A refined person?

Song Xian's lips twitched.

If you were a refined person, you wouldn't find a rude person in this imperial city!

Song Xian inwardly complained, then gave Qin Yu some instructions before taking his leave.

After seeing Song Xian off, Qin Yu took advantage of Luo Qingyi for a while before letting her go to Wanjia Restaurant, while he himself took Qi Dachui to Sifang Pavilion.

When he arrived at Sifangguan, he originally wanted to go and have a chat with Xiao Baoju.

It turned out that Xiao Baoju had already entered the palace this morning.

Left with no other choice, Qin Yu followed the people from the Sifang Pavilion to the courtyard where the Yan Kingdom delegation was located.

Upon seeing Qin Yu, Yan Li was momentarily taken aback, then asked with a smile, "Your country wouldn't have sent you here to discuss trade with me, would it?"

"What, am I not worthy to talk to you?" Qin Yu deliberately showed his dissatisfaction.

"No, no!"

Yan Li shook his head repeatedly, "I just think it's quite a coincidence! Perhaps, it's fate!"

"What do you mean by that?" Qin Yu asked, puzzled.

Yan Li smiled and said, "I was thinking last night that if your country didn't send someone to discuss trade with me today, I would pay a visit to the Duke of Wei's residence tomorrow! I didn't expect that your country would send you to talk to me instead."

Pressure!

He understood that the Empress of Ning was putting pressure on him indirectly!

Sending Qin Yu, this纨绔子弟 (playboy), to talk to him was clearly a way of telling him that Ningguo didn't take this matter seriously at all!

If you want to talk, then talk; if not, then get lost.

"Really?"

Qin Yu asked suspiciously, "What brings you here?"

"Let's go inside and talk about it!"

Yan Li seemed very happy and warmly invited Qin Yu into the house.

This surprised Qin Yu somewhat.

Is he playing Lao Tzu?

Want to take the initiative?

Soon, Qin Yu sat down in the room with Yan Li.

Yan Li ordered someone to serve tea to Qin Yu, then asked with a smile, "I heard that Young Master Qin has a congenitally severed meridian?"

"Um?"

Qin Yu secretly wondered, "You don't happen to have a way to cure congenital meridian disorders, do you?"

Is that why he wanted to visit the Qin family?

He must have heard about the old man regaining power and wants to use this as leverage to ask the old man to mediate.

Yan Li shook his head and smiled, "I don't have a specific method, but I can point you in the right direction!"

Qin Yu frowned slightly.

Is there only one direction?

Then what are you talking about!

You wouldn't expect me to broker the reopening of the border trade just by pointing out a direction, would you?

Yan Li, thinking Qin Yu didn't believe her, then asked again, "You should know Murong Dapan, right?"

"Of course I know!"

Qin Yu rolled his eyes at him.

Yan Li didn't take it to heart and explained with a smile, "Murong Dapan also has a congenital deficiency. When your country's Emperor Xiaowu was powerful and influential, our Yan Kingdom had a close relationship with Bei Qi, and thus learned some things about Murong Dapan from the Bei Qi royal family..."

"Including the reason why Murong Dapan was able to become a ninth-realm expert despite having a body with congenitally severed meridians?" Qin Yu asked with a smile.

He does believe that.

Emperor Xiaowu once gave the Northern Qi a sound beating. If it weren't for the Yan state constantly stirring up trouble behind the scenes, Emperor Xiaowu would probably have captured the Eastern Capital of the Northern Qi during his fourth Northern Expedition.

"More or less!"

Yan Li nodded and smiled, "I really don't know the specific method! But with this direction, you at least have hope of curing your congenital meridian deficiency."

While Yan Li was speaking, she was also secretly observing Qin Yu's expression.

Seeing that Qin Yu seemed interested, he felt much more at ease.

Tell me your conditions!

Qin Yu asked directly.

"I hope we can have a serious discussion about the border trade."

Yan Li said solemnly, "We both know that it's absolutely impossible to make ceding territory or launching a preemptive attack on Bei Qi the prerequisite for starting trade!"

These conditions...

It's not that it's unacceptable!

Let's have a serious talk. Whether we can reach an agreement is another matter entirely!

Or, how about giving him a piece of fine silk from Qi and Lu?

Qin Yu stroked his chin and thought for a moment, "Tell me first, what conditions can you offer?"

"You betrayed us with a sneak attack back then, and now you want to reopen the trade? You should at least show some sincerity first!"

"If you have no sincerity whatsoever, even if you have a way to cure me, we have nothing to talk about!"

Negotiation, you know!

Let the opponent reveal their hand first.

Yan Li smiled. "So, you're agreeing to my conditions?"

"I didn't agree to that!"

Qin Yu shook his head without hesitation, "I'm just a spoiled brat. Even if my congenital meridians are cured, I could never become a master! Show me your sincerity first before we talk about anything else!"

"Alright then! Why don't you tell me your terms first?"

Yan Li was not stupid and was unwilling to reveal his trump card easily.

Then, the two sides got into a tug-of-war.

Neither of them was willing to reveal their hand, and after much back and forth, they still couldn't reach a conclusion.

Just as the two were struggling, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

Upon closer listening, it sounded like fighting.

Could it be that Qi Dachui got into a fight with the guards of the Yan Kingdom delegation?

The two exchanged a glance, then quickly got up and walked outside...