The whole family is obsessed with love? The princess woke them up one after another.

"Are you all insane?" the third princess roared. "Five thousand fine horses? How is that possible?"

impossible?

Nothing is impossible in this world!

Five thousand horsepower won't do, but we can talk about it!

Thus... the courtiers in the hall worked together to have a friendly exchange with Qi Yan.

Let's have a proper talk about the compensation issue.

Thus, the civil officials put on a spectacular performance on their "battlefield."

Finally, the conversation shifted from five thousand horses to eight hundred.

The civil officials were all quite satisfied.

Eight hundred is fine too.

The horses of Qi are truly fine.

The civil officials, who had just fought a major battle together, all forgot about their own faction. They looked at each other with smiles on their faces, finding each other more agreeable than ever before.

The atmosphere in the hall was incredibly harmonious.

The exhilarating feeling of working together against the enemy brought immense comfort to everyone.

They all wore joyful expressions, and Emperor Kangwu's eyes were filled with laughter.

Grand Secretary Zhang looked at Qi Zhiyu with admiration.

Princess Chen'an's move was brilliant.

Let the ministers experience the satisfaction of working together to achieve victory.

In the future, when they are on different sides, will they miss the joy they felt at this moment?

Princess Chen'an not only tricked Qi Yanhe, but also dragged the King of Wu into her scheme.

Internal strife versus uniting to fight for external interests—the latter is naturally more fulfilling.

Moreover, uniting against external forces to benefit Da Rui is tantamount to seeking personal gain.

Internal strife, no matter how much, can only create a limited pool of resources. But if other countries are annexed, the benefits...

None of these officials in the court are fools; they can tell which interests are greater and which benefits are more numerous.

This time, Prince Rui doesn't even need to win over the Wu King's faction; those people will weigh things up on their own.

When the benefits are great enough, they will cut their losses and abandon the King of Wu to join the King of Rui.

Princess Chen'an... she's taken open schemes to the extreme.

The bright future lies ahead; it's just a matter of who chooses to take it.

Following the King of Wu is a dead end, but following the King of Rui... is a path to heaven!

How to choose... it's just a matter of time.

Grand Secretary Zhang glanced at the King of Wu, whose face was completely devoid of color, and sighed inwardly.

The King of Wu... was quite pitiful.

"Eight hundred?" Qi Zhiyu scoffed. "Not even a round number?"

"Prince Qi, you are the Third Princess's husband, my uncle-in-law. Don't you have any manners befitting an elder?"

The third princess was shocked.

Qi Zhiyu still knows that she is an elder?

"How about this, a thousand horses!" Qi Zhiyu held up one finger and said decisively, "That way it'll be easier to settle the accounts."

Qi Yanhe: "..."

What's the point of settling accounts here?

However, since Qi Zhiyu insisted on pushing her luck, he couldn't be blamed.

"One thousand it is, but I must clarify that the last two hundred horses are not quite the same." Qi Yanhe agreed.

"What? You're sending me some old, weak, sick, and disabled people?" Qi Zhiyu glanced at Qi Yanhe with disdain. "You're so stingy. Would you even consider sending those?"

Qi Yanhe smiled and explained, "No."

"Those two hundred horses are actually stronger than the eight hundred horses we just promised."

"However, those two hundred horses were wild horses and had not yet been tamed."

"Are you kidding me? What would I do with a wild horse?" Qi Zhiyu was immediately furious. "Are you playing me for a fool?"

"Princess, please don't be anxious," Qi Yanhe said with a smile. "The secret to the strength of our Qi Kingdom's horses lies in the fact that we have a large number of wild horses."

"We will capture wild horses and then breed them."

"It is precisely because of these generations of improvements that the Qi Kingdom has produced such high-quality horses today."

"Those two hundred wild horses were captured this year and kept for breeding."

"However, they haven't been tamed yet."

Qi Zhiyu scoffed, "What use is it to me if it's not tamed?"

"Your Highness is mistaken," Qi Yan said with a good-natured smile. "Those wild horses can reproduce."

"Just use them to reproduce."

"The foal that was born was exceptionally strong."

Qi Zhiyu thought for a moment and said, "...That's fine too."

"Alright, I'll write a letter to my brother, and then have a thousand horses sent to the border," Qi Yanhe said.

Send them to the border... When that happens, those two hundred wild horses will riot and catch the border guards of Da Rui off guard.

At that time, it wouldn't be a big deal for their Qi Kingdom to take over a city of Da Rui.

Besides, they weren't attacking Da Rui; rather, there was unrest on Da Rui's border, and they were there to protect Da Rui.

It's not unusual for the Qi Kingdom to give up a city in return for their military and manpower contributions.

Even if Da Rui didn't want to compensate them, their Qi Kingdom's soldiers had already occupied the city.

Whether they withdraw or not, and how they withdraw, is entirely up to the Qi Kingdom.

If he doesn't skin Da Rui alive by then, he'll be letting down all the apologies he's made over the past few days!

What goes around comes around. Qi Zhiyu could never have imagined that her insatiable greed was the very culprit that ruined her life!

"Your Highness Qi is so generous!" Qi Zhiyu clapped his hands and laughed.

"Since it's a misunderstanding, let's talk it out." Qi Zhiyu looked at Emperor Kangwu. "Grandfather, let's draw up a written agreement."

"I believe Prince Qi won't renege on his promise, but what if his men pretend to comply but secretly refuse to give us the horses?"

"After all, Prince Qi has a history of offenses."

Qi Yan took a deep breath.

He endured it all for the sake of the border cities of Da Rui!

Emperor Kangwu laughed heartily: "Chen'an is indeed very thoughtful."

He immediately ordered people to prepare writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

Qi Yanhe had no choice but to sign and affix his seal to the written agreement.

Qi Yanhe needed to go back to write a letter to his elder brother, so he naturally took his leave first.

Qi Yanhe left, and the craftsman who had committed suicide by poison was also carried away, so as not to be disturbed by seeing him here.

"Look, King Wu, you saw and heard it yourself. The fact that your son was beaten has absolutely nothing to do with my second brother," Qi Zhiyu said, turning to look at King Wu.

The King of Wu was completely listless, as if all his energy had been drained away.

"Hmm." King Wu responded casually, then cupped his hands and said, "Father, now that the matter has been investigated, I shall take my leave."

Emperor Kangwu nodded and instructed, "Go back and let the child recover properly."

"Yes," King Wu replied, bowing.

His lowered eyes were filled with deep mockery.

What kind of benevolent elder is Father Emperor putting on here?

If he really cares about his son so much, why doesn't he let the imperial physician take a look?

Why not bestow good medicinal herbs upon them?

Favoritism, it really is favoritism.

King Wu had Qi Jinghong carried away.

Since there was nothing else to discuss, the ministers all left the court session.

Only Grand Secretary Zhang remained in the same spot, unmoved.

"Does Grand Secretary Zhang have anything else to say?" Emperor Kangwu asked.

Grand Secretary Zhang cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I am getting old, and I have things on my mind that keep me awake at night."

"Your Majesty, I humbly request your clarification."