She accidentally flirted with the villain and was fiercely criticized as the regent for forcibly mar

The young emperor then asked, "Since the Crown Prince of Northern Liao has come for the sake of diplomatic relations between our two countries, may I ask what plans your Han Dynasty has for us to convey regarding friendly relations?"

Yelü Jing waved his hand: "This is my first time visiting the Great Zhou, and I have brought small gifts for the Emperor and the Regent."

Those members of the Northern Liao delegation who were waiting outside were summoned and filed into the hall carrying trays containing various Northern Liao specialties, such as bear paws, deer antlers, horsewhips, wind chimes made of human bones, and waist drums made of human skin.

"Drums made of human skin? Wind chimes made of human bones! These Northern Liao people are truly barbaric and uncivilized, to think they'd do such things..."

Someone was both shocked and frightened. The word "horrible" was about to come out of their mouth when they were tightly covered by the people next to them: "Are you out of your mind?!" They also pointed at the regent.

The speaker recalled the wicked concubine who had taken in the regent, whom he had skinned alive and made into lanterns, which were then hung in front of the regent's mother's grave!

Although the revenge for killing one's mother is justified no matter how it is taken, skinning someone alive is still too cruel!

Xiao Che's indifferent phoenix eyes swept over the human skin waist drum and the human bone wind chime, without any emotion, as if those sinister objects were nothing more than ordinary items: "Very exquisite, reward Minister Xie! His son almost died, this will help him calm his nerves."

Vice Minister Xie's heart sank, and his face turned pale.

What does the Regent mean by this?

What did he find out?

Or did they never intend to let the Xie family go?

But the son was released on the orders of the regent, and on the surface, he was the Xie family's benefactor. Naturally, he could not refuse such a reward, otherwise he would be ungrateful and disrespectful!

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness."

The regent waved his hand.

Vice Minister Xie sat down with trepidation.

The people in the hall were drawn by the sound of the wheels rolling, and their gazes shifted from Vice Minister Xie's ashen face to the huge object that had just entered.

"What's that thing covered with red silk? It looks like a cage!"

"Could it be some kind of wild beast inside? I heard that when the Northern Liao went to the Great Liang, they sent a bear as a gift, but the bear smashed the cage and escaped, almost tearing the Great Liang emperor apart!"

"How outrageous! Provoking others everywhere, no wonder other countries seized the opportunity to attack them. They deserve it!"

……

"Although the Northern Liao people hold our sixteen prefectures in their hands, if they still dare to provoke us, we can join the ranks of those besieging and annihilating them. How dare they!"

"If it were a living creature, it should be breathing, but it isn't!"

……

The young emperor frowned: "What kind of treasure is this that the Crown Prince of Northern Liao sent, that it needs to be concealed so mysteriously?"

Yelü Jing waved his hand.

The people of Northern Liao pulled down the red silk.

What was revealed was a sedan chair, and sitting in it was a woman. She appeared to be without makeup, but a small red mole at the corner of her eye was clearly a deliberate touch, which made her eyes, which were shrouded in mist like distant mountains, and her pure and beautiful face even more captivating.

Her thick, black hair was tied up with six intricately carved pure silver hairpins, which hung down to the elegant tassels, shimmering with a silvery light under the brilliance of the pearls, unlike the dazzling luster of gemstones.

At the tender age of fifteen or sixteen, such attire is most refreshing and charming, like a jade tree in full bloom, elegant and delicate.

Her appearance was exceptionally beautiful.

Many people were taken aback.

Someone blurted out, "She's even more beautiful than the Princess of Funing!"

brush!

Accompanying the Regent's sharp gaze was Xiao Qing slamming her fist on the table and shouting angrily, "Bullshit! You reek of a trained prostitute; such a vulgar thing dares to be compared to Ningning!"

"One woman has made you all so blind; I think you should all resign and get out of the court as soon as possible!"

The official who had been speaking fell silent in fright, his face turning pale and covered in cold sweat.

He slapped his lips hard, regretting why he had talked nonsense!

Others, though they shared the same thought, saw the Regent's attitude and forced themselves to suppress it: "Of course! The County Princess is the best, the most suitable match for the Prince!"

The first half of the sentence is an evaluation of Jiang Ruining.

The regent was displeased.

But the second half of the sentence was very pleasing to the ear, and he liked it.

He gave a very faint "hmm".

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The living Yama, you can't mess with him!

Yelü Jing observed everything intently, a half-smile playing on his lips.

Xiao Che took a sip of his wine, then spoke coldly and concisely, without the slightest hint of politeness: "Finish what you've said."

Yelü Jing, the dignified Crown Prince of Northern Liao, fought his way out from among his brothers at the age of ten. With his iron-fisted methods, no one has ever dared to speak to him like this before!

However, he participated in the war between the two countries eight years ago. Moreover, the ruthless methods and fearless fighting style of this regent of the Great Zhou Dynasty make him an even more ruthless person than him. He should not offend him for the time being!

He took a deep breath, suppressing his displeasure: "This woman is my Northern Liao priestess, the most beautiful woman, and also a princess of Northern Liao. Since we are to break off the alliance between our two countries, the most noble princess of Northern Liao should naturally marry into Great Zhou!"

The most noble princess?

No one in the entire hall believed it.

Official A sneered and whispered, "Unless it's a useless ruler from a defeated country, no ruler would offer his own daughter for a marriage alliance! Besides, someone as arrogant as the Northern Liao would never humiliate themselves like that!"

Madam Zheng sized up the young woman in the sedan chair. Her experience of half a lifetime in the power struggles of the inner court told her that this woman was definitely not simple: "Nine times out of ten, she is like the 'slender horses' of Jiangnan, a beautiful girl specially selected from poor families by people from the Northern Liao, and raised from childhood."

"Her seductive skills and scheming are top-notch. She claims to be a noblewoman or princess, but in reality, she's just a plaything!"

Those around her who could hear her whispering all nodded in agreement: "That's right! This kind of plaything, if married to a subject, becomes a spy. If married to an enemy country, she's a traitor!"

The clansman's eyes flashed with a murderous glint: "Such a beauty, trained since childhood, knows best how to subdue men. Even if she is sober now, she is still human and has weaknesses. Once she is seen through, she will give spies an opportunity to take advantage of her."

"Whoever marries her could be compromised and become a poisonous nail driven into the imperial city!"

Official Bingjue was not chosen as the person to marry the princess, and was left with only worry: "Indeed, but for the sake of those sixteen prefectures, the marriage is inevitable. Moreover, if we cannot get rid of her in a short time, unilaterally breaking the alliance will give those countries that are eyeing the Great Zhou a pretext to attack us."

Shao Yunting's gaze swept across the faces of the Empress Dowager and Grand Tutor Cui, his hand holding the wine cup trembling.

It is hoped that the Empress Dowager's faction will not make rash decisions in order to restrain the Regent, disregarding the well-being of the court!

Zheng Lingyi felt uneasy, fearing that the Northern Liao people would target the Regent.

After all, he is now the most powerful person in the Great Zhou. If we can control him with emotions, it is equivalent to controlling the Great Zhou.

Ningning is smart, but she doesn't know those seductive tricks.

Moreover, since Grand Secretary Jiang is not in the capital and there is no infighting among his wives and concubines in the mansion, Ningning probably doesn't understand those sordid schemes!

Yelü Jing could vaguely hear some discussions and realized that the people of the Great Zhou had seen through his plan.

But so what?

It would be best if he could successfully create turmoil within the Great Zhou territory, but it wouldn't matter if he couldn't, since he brought more than just this one into the Great Zhou!

You can guard against what's out in the open, but you can't necessarily guard against what's hidden.

He looked at the Regent: "I've heard that Your Highness has not yet married a principal wife. Would my younger sister be a suitable match?"

Xiao Che didn't even raise an eyebrow: "What kind of thing is this, daring to associate itself with me!"

puff!

Someone laughed out loud.

Xin Yang, supporting her soon-to-be-born belly, spoke with a gentle and loving tone: "The spies sent by Crown Prince Yelü to gather information don't seem very bright! The number of the Regent's principal wife, secondary wives, and even concubines has already been decided, and everyone in the court knows it."

"The Empress Dowager is the Prince's most precious treasure, and no one can compare to her! Moreover, the Empress Dowager is jealous, domineering, and intolerant of others. If the beautiful princess were to enter the Regent's Palace, she might not survive until next spring!"