Chapter 819: Chapter 816: Look at with New Eyes
Raising her head again, she saw the King of Xihuai still blocking the stairway and called out, “King of Xihuai?”
“Oh…” The King of Xihuai ca to his senses and hurriedly made way for her, smiling as he gestured for Bai Qingyan to proceed, “Please, Princess of Zhen!”
She was not polite with the King of Xihuai, nodding slightly to him. Looking towards Xiao Rongyan who was standing in front of the guest room door, she heard him instruct Yue Shi to prepare tea and snacks. Then he walked towards her, appearing respectful and courteous in the eyes of others.
“Please, Princess of Zhen…” The King of Xihuai stepped forward to invite Bai Qingyan once again.
She stepped into the bright room on the second floor.
“Please take the seat of honor, Princess of Zhen…” Xiao Rongyan said with a smile.
The King of Xihuai glanced at Xiao Rongyan and then at the Princess of Zhen: “Rongyan and the Princess of Zhen are betrothed, there is no need for such formality, after all, I am not an outsider.”
Bai Qingyan bypassed the round table made of huanghuali wood and sat at the main seat in front of the nanmu landscape screen, and spoke to the King of Xihuai: “I heard from Yue Shi that the King of Xihuai wanted to see . Coincidentally, I also have sothing to consult with the King of Xihuai, so I ca without prior notice. I hope the King of Xihuai will forgive my presumption.”
“No need to worry… Rongyan made all the arrangents along the way. The Princess of Zhen is betrothed to Rongyan, and I am a close friend of Rongyan, so I consider the Princess of Zhen as my own sister-in-law.” The King of Xihuai tried to build a closer relationship with Bai Qingyan so that he could ask for her help.
She smiled at the King of Xihuai and did not hold back, asking directly: “If that’s the case, I hope the King of Xihuai will tell frankly. How did the King of Xihuai learn specific information about the Masked Prince of Rong? How can you be so sure that the Masked Prince of Rong will arrive in Hancheng, the capital of Daliang, by late March or early April? Does Wei Kingdom have a spy in Rong, or has soone placed a spy beside the Masked Prince of Rong?”
The King of Xihuai did not expect the Princess of Zhen to ask such a sharp question right away. However, since he had a request for the Princess of Zhen, he had to be honest and could not hide anything. In fact, Wei Kingdom did have a spy beside the Masked Prince of Rong and had discovered so of his secrets. This… was the bargaining chip the King of Xihuai wanted to use to request Rong’s assistance to Wei Kingdom.
He glanced at Xiao Rongyan, who was handing tea from a servant to Bai Qingyan, then solemnly said to Bai Qingyan: “I treat the Princess of Zhen as one of my own, so I won’t beat around the bush. Wei Kingdom indeed has a spy in Rong and beside the Masked Prince of Rong. It was not intentionally arranged but happened by chance… The King of Rong unwittingly placed soone to serve the Masked Prince of Rong! Yan attacked Wei this ti, and my imperial brother died tragically… The Empress Dowager had no choice but to support the Young Emperor’s ascension. Now, Wei is plagued by internal and external troubles. We have sent emissaries to Yan multiple tis to seek peace… but Yan refuses to accept. I ask the Princess of Zhen to speak to the Crown Prince of Jin on Wei’s behalf, and Wei Kingdom will be eternally grateful!”
Bai Qingyan slightly adjusted her posture, placing one hand on the armrest of the chair: “I heard that the King of Xihuai traveled a long distance to Hancheng to seek the Masked Prince of Rong’s help for Wei Kingdom, but… I assu the King of Xihuai would not have co all this way with just a plea. Perhaps… the spy assigned to the Masked Prince of Rong has so leverage over him?”
The King of Xihuai was taken aback and beca more serious with Bai Qingyan. He had not expected the Princess of Zhen to be so astute, able to infer the whole from a part.
He did not respond imdiately, fearing that the Princess of Zhen might ask him to reveal what leverage the spy had over the Masked Prince of Rong. How would he handle that?
The King of Xihuai used to have a good imperial brother, so he never had to worry about state affairs. He had spent half his life indulging in pleasure and had never known what it ant to be cautious. But this ti, facing Bai Qingyan, he beca cautious for the first ti.
“The King of Xihuai and the Princess of Zhen have important matters to discuss. Rong… will take my leave.” Xiao Rongyan stood up and bowed lightly to Bai Qingyan and the King of Xihuai.
“Rongyan, stay!” The King of Xihuai waved his hand, signaling Xiao Rongyan to sit down, “You are my dear friend and the fiancé of the Princess of Zhen. There is nothing said today that you cannot hear.”
Xiao Rongyan looked at Bai Qingyan and, seeing her nod, he nodded too and sat down again, gesturing for the servants in the room to leave.
After a brief thought, the King of Xihuai bowed slightly to Bai Qingyan, taking her seriously because she was a woman. With full concentration, he began, “If the Princess of Zhen wishes to know the leverage over the Masked Prince of Rong, it is not impossible to say. However… this is Wei Kingdom’s bargaining chip to request the Masked Prince of Rong’s assistance. Naturally, if the Princess of Zhen is confident in persuading the Crown Prince of Jin to assist Wei Kingdom, then revealing this secret to the Princess of Zhen would not be inappropriate. But if the Princess of Zhen is not yet certain, this secret… cannot be told to the Princess of Zhen for the public interest, and privately…”
The King of Xihuai hesitated for a mont before looking at Bai Qingyan and speaking: “Rongyan knows well that I am a person who only indulges in pleasure, but even a pleasure-seeker has principles! Since I intend to make a deal with the Masked Prince of Rong, I cannot reveal this secret to the Princess of Zhen out of principle! I hope the Princess of Zhen will understand!”
Although he had spent half his life indulging in pleasure, under the protection of his imperial brother he had always found it hard to differentiate the importance and urgency of matters. But the King of Xihuai, despite being a self-proclaid wastrel, did not want to be despicable. Making a deal requires integrity and there is no reason to use leverage for double-dealing.
Bai Qingyan did not know much about the King of Xihuai, having only heard that the King of Xihuai of Wei was a pleasure-seeking, idle prince. This eting with the King of Xihuai was unexpected, and she had not had ti to send soone to investigate him thoroughly.
But… seeing the King of Xihuai value principles so much made Bai Qingyan look at him in a new light.
The way the King of Xihuai spoke just now also put Bai Qingyan at ease, as it seed that the King of Xihuai did not know the relationship between A Yu and Jin Kingdom, nor the connection between A Yu and the Bai family. Otherwise, why would the King of Xihuai keep this secret from her, a Jin Kingdom general?
The King of Xihuai should use this matter to threaten Jin Kingdom and her instead.
Even if the King of Xihuai was as shrewd as King Liang, right now Wei Kingdom was in dire straits, and the King of Xihuai did not have the luxury to play dumb with her. Upon eting, he should have imdiately shown his cards, forcing her hand.
She nodded to the King of Xihuai: “The King of Xihuai makes a good point. However… although Bai Qingyan cannot currently guarantee that she can persuade the Crown Prince of Jin to assist Wei Kingdom, I do have a strategy that could help Wei Kingdom survive.”
Xiao Rongyan’s hand tightened, but he remained expressionless, looking towards Bai Qingyan with a smile.
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