After reading the princess's original fate, Prince Yi exclaimed: female-oriented fiction was terrifying indeed
She dared not think any further.
With each layer of thought she took, Yi Prefecture's importance in her heart increased, while the bargaining chips she could use to negotiate with the other party diminished.
Dali is in chaos. The king has died suddenly, the palace is sealed off, the remaining high-ranking officials are each harboring their own ambitions, and the Tubo cavalry on the border are already probing by burning villages.
She fled to Jiannan Circuit with her only trusted guard, Wang Batian, traversing mountains and valleys. Three of her attendants ran away and two fell ill along the way, leaving only her and Wang Batian in the end.
She didn't come to buy candy.
She came seeking help.
But seeking help requires leverage, and her biggest leverage at this moment is her identity and the geographical location of Dali.
If Prince Yi wanted to defend against the Tubo in the south or open up the southern trade route, Dali was an unavoidable step.
She had to make the other person feel useful.
Meng Jiuning took a deep breath, looked up, and revealed her delicate features.
She quickly combed her hair, which had been ruffled by the straw hat, with her fingers and straightened her collar.
The clothes were a men's coarse cloth robe she bought in a small town along the way, not the brocade skirt she wore in the capital, but she tied the belt neatly and smoothed out the wrinkles on the cuffs.
Then she walked towards the door of the private room.
Wang Batian raised his hand to stop her. "What are you doing?"
"Go see someone."
Whom are you going to see?
Meng Jiuning glanced at him sideways, and Wang Batian followed her gaze and looked up, seeing the shadow behind the bamboo curtain.
"That's the Prince Yi we've been looking for."
Wang Batian was stunned.
This guy is actually in a teahouse?
It's been so long, and you haven't said a single word?
They really don't take Wang Batian seriously!
Along the way, Meng Jiuning repeatedly reminded him that once they arrived in Yi Prefecture, they should first find out the situation before deciding whether to reveal their identity, and that they must not act rashly.
As a result, he got into a conflict at the city gate as soon as he entered the city, and then drew his sword and chopped at a table in a teahouse. Now, Prince Yi himself is sitting upstairs watching him perform the whole thing?
Meng Jiuning didn't give him time to process it.
She walked to the top of the stairs with extremely proper steps, her back straight, her chin slightly tucked in, and her hands folded in front of her abdomen. This was the standard etiquette of the women of the Dali court when they paid homage to the venerable ones. Even though she was wearing coarse cloth clothes, once she put on that set of etiquette that she had practiced since childhood, even the swaying of her skirt as she walked was exactly the same.
" Prince Yi." Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, each word ending clearly. "This humble woman has presumptuously visited and disturbed Your Highness's enjoyment; I am truly sorry."
There was no movement behind the bamboo curtain.
She continued speaking.
"I have long heard that the people's livelihood in Jiannan Circuit has improved and the business routes have flourished in recent years, but what I saw upon entering the city was even better than I had heard."
The city gate guards are disciplined and do not abuse their power for personal gain; the city is prosperous yet orderly; the people live and work in peace and contentment, and the night market is always bustling with activity. This shows that Your Highness's governance is not something that can be achieved overnight.
Her voice was steady and fluent, with just the right pauses between words, neither obsequious nor stiff, like a diplomatic speech that had been polished time and again.
"My brother was rude just now; it was due to his rustic nature and lack of understanding of the etiquette of the Central Plains. I hope Your Highness will forgive him, and I apologize on his behalf."
She leaned forward slightly, bending her waist to a precise angle.
She didn't perform a full ninety-degree bow, that would be too humble; nor did she give a casual nod, that would lack sincerity.
She was positioned at around 30 degrees Celsius, and with her hands folded and her eyes slightly lowered, she conveyed a sense of "humility without losing her dignity."
There was still no sound from behind the bamboo curtain.
Not even a teacup made a sound.
Meng Jiuning's fingertips twitched slightly inside her sleeve, but her voice and expression remained unchanged as she continued speaking.
"My name is Meng Jiuning," she said, raising her head slightly so her voice could travel through the bamboo curtain. "My father had a long-standing relationship with Jiannan Circuit. He has traveled a great distance to come here, firstly to pay homage to Your Highness, and secondly to discuss trade matters between our two regions. I humbly request Your Highness to grant me an audience."
She did not directly state her title as "Princess of Dali ".
This was something she had thought about repeatedly on the way.
If she reveals her identity right away, the other party will immediately assess Dali's value to them, and she currently has too few bargaining chips to offer.
It would be better to start with trade and geopolitics as a starting point to gauge the other party's attitude, and then reveal your true intentions when the negotiations are underway.
There was finally some movement in the private room.
It was the soft sound of a teacup being placed on the table.
Then a woman's voice drifted out from behind the curtain.
"If you wish to see our Prince, please register at the counter and take a number. There are three merchants ahead of you in the queue today."
Meng Jiuning stood at the top of the stairs, maintaining her composure for about five breaths, before she felt sweat begin to trickle down her back.
Gu Moran sat behind the bamboo curtain and put down the tea that had gone cold.
Xie Wanqing's earlier comment about "taking a number and waiting" was not at his instruction; it was Xie Wanqing's own judgment.
The more eager someone of unknown origin is to meet you, the less you should readily agree. Wait and see where their patience and bottom line lie.
He felt that Xie Wanqing's move was even more cunning than he had imagined.
However, he couldn't afford to praise her right now, because the azure light screen of the Eye of Detection had already unfolded before him.
He first looked at the burly man who was still standing there, holding the knife, with a constipated expression on his face.
[Name: Wang Batian ]
[Martial Arts Cultivation: Fourth Rank ]
[Identity: Only son of the former chieftain of the Dali Silver Mine Stronghold, and a trusted confidant of the deputy general of the former king of Kingdom of Dali ]
[Original Destiny Line: Escorting the Dali princess to the capital for help, he encounters Lin Qingdai, the daughter of the Great Yan of Dayan, at the Grand Commandant's Residence. He falls in love with her at first sight and relentlessly pursues her for over two years, never giving up despite repeated failures. During this time, he squanders his fortune, sells his sword for a hairpin, engages in street fights, and is whipped seventeen times, yet he remains undeterred. Finally, he moves Lin Qingdai's heart by sacrificing himself to shield her from an assassination attempt, and together they retire to the mountains of Dali.]
[Fate line offset: 82% (Due to Yi Prefecture's failure to buy candy, his public drawing of a knife being caught by the carpenter, resulting in loss of face and damage to Jiahao's aura)]
Gu Moran looked down.
[Additional information to the original fateline: During Wang Batian's pursuit of Lin Qingdai Lin Qingdai, he broke into her residence eleven times uninvited to deliver gifts. He was whipped out seven times, thrown into a water vat three times, and tied to a horse post to be exposed to the sun all day once, yet he persisted relentlessly.]
[ Lin Qingdai's initial evaluation of Wang Batian evolved as follows: Annoying → This guy is crazy → How come he's still alive? → Never mind, I wouldn't be happy even if he died →... Bastard, don't die!]
Gu Moran read through this original fate story from beginning to end, and then read it again.
I looked down at my hands.
These hands were still wrapped around Lin Qingdai's waist the night before last.
He then turned his gaze to the woman who was still standing at the door, bowing slightly.
[Name: Meng Jiuning ]
[Identity: Princess of Kingdom of Dali ]
[Destiny Tag: Daughter of Destiny, Pearl of Chaos]
[Martial Arts Cultivation: None (Poison-type Chosen One)]
[Original Fate Line: During the chaos in Dali, while in exile, he was captured by Zhaxi Dawa, a vanguard general under Chisang. Zhaxi Dawa was the direct murderer who led the army to break through the capital of Dali and massacre his father and the royal family.]
The two developed complex feelings for each other during their imprisonment and confrontation. After years of a torturous and entangled love affair, Zhaxi Dawa ultimately betrayed Chisang for her, and the two joined hands to rebuild Dali, creating a legendary tale.
After reading this passage, Gu Moran almost dropped her teacup.
An enemy general slaughtered her entire family, then imprisoned her. The two then fell in love, and together they rebuilt the country he had so cruelly destroyed?
Isn't this just plain crazy?
Even if one were to rebuild Dali using an enemy, shouldn't they at least kill him afterward?
This guy is totally insane. Why would he keep a woman with a blood feud by his side? Is it just to give him more nightmares?
He'd seen melodramatic plots before, but never one like this.
What are family feuds and national hatreds compared to love?
That's terrifying.
[Thanks to: Uncle's 10 update reminder tokens, maxlau's 2 capsules, Zhao Gou's 2 milk teas, Memories' Love Letters 2, Outrageous Love Letters + likes, Love to Eat, 5747's likes, Chen Cai, Qing Han, 1081's flowers, Your Wife, Da Qiao, Yu Jiu's milk tea, and everyone else for their likes for love.]
[This chapter was so hard to write because I wanted to write a different kind of classic female-oriented novel plot, but I always felt that Princess Ning's part was a bit toxic, and I didn't know how to change it properly. My head hurts...]