The atmosphere in the capital suddenly turned heavy and oppressive after Zhu Lvyun publicly declared her intent to marry during a banquet for foreign envoys.
During the great chaos in the Central Plains years ago, commoners suffered brutal massacres. The Zhu family refused to flee south to avoid disaster, instead persuading northern aristocratic families to unite against foreign invaders, propping up the collapsing empire.
It was only after seeing the Zhu family's blood-written plea that the Xie clan moved north with their entire family to assist in resisting the enemy.
When the Zhu kingdom fell and the last emperor fled south, both the Li family and court ministers chose to stand by indifferently. No matter how they tried to cover it up, this stain could not be erased.
Therefore, regardless of how Zhu Lvyun—the last remaining bloodline of the Zhu family—caused trouble, court ministers still sympathized with her, because everyone from the emperor and chancellor to local officials of the new dynasty had once sworn allegiance to the Zhu family.
The court ministers could not sit back and watch Zhu Lvyun marry far away, so they approved the Crown Prince's proposal to find a substitute bride.
The Ministry of Rites quickly selected suitable palace maids, each as beautiful as flowers. When their portraits were presented to the Yelu Chieftain, he laughed heartily and flatly refused.
Gold, silver, jewels, silk brocades, horses, cattle, sheep, territory, slaves... no matter what the Minister of Rites promised, the Yelu Chieftain remained unmoved.
The Yelu Tribe practiced Zoroastrianism. The minister spent heavily to bribe their high priest, asking him to persuade the chieftain, but the chieftain still refused to change his mind.
Fearing that Zhu Lvyun might cause more trouble, Li De placed her under house arrest in the princess' residence.
Within days, rumors spread through the capital claiming Zhu Lvyun had been secretly executed, causing an immediate uproar. Southern Chu spies seized the opportunity to spread further rumors.
The Yelu Tribe promptly incited other tribal forces, demanding to see Zhu Lvyun immediately or they would attack Chang'an!
Li De realized Zhu Lvyun's special status involved too many complications. He had her make a public appearance to stabilize the situation.
The court found itself in a dilemma, constrained by multiple considerations.
Du Du Pei angrily declared, "I'll go kill the Yelu Chieftain and his son to end this once and for all!"
Zheng Yu sharply rebuked Du Du Pei.
The Yelu Tribe had previously massacred Han people. The chieftain dared bring his son to the capital to form an alliance with the Han dynasty precisely because he was confident Li De wouldn't dare harm him. If Du Du Pei actually killed them, Yelu cavalry could reach Chang'an's outskirts in no time!
Moreover, if the Wei dynasty killed surrendering foreign tribes, they would lose credibility throughout the land. How could they pacify the northern tribes thereafter?
Ministers could only continue searching for someone to replace Zhu Lvyun.
Amid the tense situation reminiscent of an impending storm, Li Yaoying felt heavy-hearted.
This turmoil hadn't occurred in the book.
The Wei dynasty had indeed sent women for marriage alliances, but those women weren't princesses—they were low-status women selected from prisoners by the Ministry of Rites.
The Yelu Tribe hadn't opposed the Wei dynasty over marrying a princess either. They married Han women, received gold and treasures, helped the Wei court win over other Hu tribes, then returned to the grasslands.
Not long after, the Yelu Tribe was annexed by other forces. Those Han women fell into the hands of other tribes, suffered brutal assaults, and perished within six months.
Yaoying felt deeply unsettled.
Though Zhu Lvyun's affairs had nothing to do with her, she felt a strong sense of powerlessness—that fate could only be manipulated by others.
She ordered everyone in Emerald Fragrance Palace and the princely estate to watch their words and avoid going out unless necessary.
Zhu Lvyun's greatest skill was stirring up trouble while emerging unscathed herself, leaving others to bear the bitter consequences.
The Chief Secretary suggested Yaoying stay within the princely estate.
If trouble truly occurred, the estate guards could hold out for some time.Worried about Xie Guifei, Yaoying thought it over and decided to bring her mother out of the palace. Both mother and daughter moved into the princely residence.
...
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince's advisors were also at their wits' end.
No matter how they tempted, coaxed, or threatened, the Yelu Chieftain insisted on marrying Zhu Lvyun.
That day, Commandant Qin Fei personally went to negotiate with the Yelu Chieftain. Returning to the Crown Prince's Palace, he said angrily, "Your Highness, the Yelu Chieftain still refuses to consider a substitute!"
Li Xuanzhen frowned slightly.
Wei Ming stood by the window and bowed to Li Xuanzhen. "Your Highness, at this point, only one person can make the Yelu Chieftain relent."
The other advisors in the room looked at him expectantly. "Who?"
Wei Ming raised his eyes and looked directly at Li Xuanzhen, enunciating each word clearly: "The Seventh Princess."
Everyone was stunned.
The study fell into a deathly silence, so quiet one could hear a pin drop.
Wei Ming spoke with confidence: "Your Highness, the Seventh Princess is a peerless beauty, unmatched in the Central Plains. If we simply let the Yelu Chieftain catch a glimpse of her, he will surely agree to the substitution. That's the first point. Secondly, the Seventh Princess is the Emperor's own daughter, her mother is Xie Guifei, her status is noble. With her as the substitute bride, the Yelu Chieftain has no excuse to make unreasonable demands."
The others snapped out of their daze and nodded in agreement.
The Seventh Princess was naturally beautiful. Although the Yelu Chieftain was from a different tribe and elderly, he was still a man. As long as he was a man, it could be managed.
Li Xuanzhen was lost in thought for a moment, the scene of encountering Li Yaoying at the city gate that day surfacing in his mind.
The exquisitely dressed young lady rode a Wusun horse, emerging slowly from the twilight steeped in the rich fragrance of late spring blossoms. She lifted her hand to raise the veil of her hat, the golden light spilling across the sky settling in her glossy, dark hair. She cast a faint glance towards the battle flags fluttering in the wind at the horizon, then broke into a smile.
In that instant, the blooming flower trees lining the road paled in comparison, and the bustling city gate fell utterly silent.
The soft spring breeze lifted a stray lock of hair at her temple.
Everyone present felt an unbearable itch, wanting to reach out and smooth that mischievous strand of black hair, yet afraid of disturbing such a celestial being, they dared not even breathe loudly.
Even though Li Xuanzhen and Xie Guifei's mother and children were like fire and water, at that moment, like the onlookers, he was momentarily dazed by his seventh sister's otherworldly beauty.
If she could speak, she would topple kingdoms; even if heartless, she would still captivate.
A peerless beauty should be just like this.
Truly radiant beyond compare.
No wonder Wei Ming, a strategist who usually disregarded matters of the heart, was so certain her beauty could sway the Yelu Chieftain.
Li Xuanzhen remained lost in thought for a while.
If Li Yaoying were his own sister, he would certainly not treat her so cruelly.
Unfortunately, she was Xie Guifei's daughter.
The Xie family deserved to die, Xie Guifei deserved to die, and Xie Guifei's daughter deserved to die too.
Wei Ming watched the distracted Li Xuanzhen, his expression darkening. "Your Highness, one must be decisive when necessary. Only the Seventh Princess's kingdom-toppling beauty can move the Yelu Chieftain."
All eyes turned to Li Xuanzhen, waiting for his decision.
Li Xuanzhen lowered his gaze and remained silent for a long time.
Wei Ming's expression grew increasingly grim.
Qin Fei scratched his head and spoke up, breaking the eerie silence. "Will the Seventh Princess agree to be the substitute bride?"
What young, beautiful princess would willingly leave the Central Plains to travel to the grasslands for a political marriage, marrying an old man?
The Yelu Tribe lived an almost savage existence, and they had the barbaric custom of levirate marriage: a son inheriting his father's wives, a younger brother inheriting his elder brother's widow.
There were even cases of brothers sharing a wife!The marriage of the Seventh Princess to the Yelu Tribe could be described as a phoenix descending into a chicken coop—and that would still be flattering the tribe.
In truth, it was more like a noble, luminous pearl falling into a foul and filthy sewer, left to be trampled upon.
Even a rough man like Qin Fei felt a pang of heartache.
"There's another person..." He scratched his head and held up two fingers. "This one is a true troublemaker. If he were to stir up trouble, he could turn Chang'an upside down."
Everyone exchanged glances, understanding that he was referring to the Second Prince, Li Zhongqian.
Li Zhongqian was born with immense strength, fierce and formidable. In battle, he could single-handedly take on a hundred men. Arrogant and unrestrained, he killed without mercy and held no one in regard—except for his younger sister, whom he doted on as if she were a precious treasure. Every time he returned victorious from a campaign, his first priority was to have his subordinates scour the land for rare and exotic treasures to present to her.
The Seventh Princess was naturally beautiful, her fame for loveliness spreading far and wide. Her mother, Consort Xie, was the legitimate daughter of a prestigious family. By the time the princess turned thirteen, suitors were already flocking to seek her hand.
Li Zhongqian dismissed these aristocratic suitors as frivolous and unworthy of his sister.
Whenever anyone dared to come seeking marriage, he would storm over with his twin hammers, fiercely demanding that the suitor withstand three blows from him. Those who failed had no hope of marrying his sister.
In these turbulent times, most scions of noble families in the capital were skilled in archery and horsemanship. But Li Zhongqian was the bravest of the brave, his strength unmatched. Who could possibly withstand three full-force blows from his hammers?
Over the past two years, he had injured dozens of young nobles. Even the eldest son of the Pei family, who was as renowned as the Crown Prince Li Xuanzhen, had been defeated by his hammers.
If Li Zhongqian looked down upon the talented and accomplished sons of noble families, how could he possibly accept a sixty-year-old tribal chieftain from a foreign race?
Wei Ming let out a light scoff. "The Seventh Princess is merely a woman. Consort Xie is weak and foolish, hardly worth fearing. As long as the Yelu Chieftain agrees to the substitution, the Emperor will issue the marriage decree. Once the imperial word is given, it cannot be revoked. What can the princess do, even if she refuses? As for the Second Prince, he happens to be away from the capital—truly, heaven is on our side."
Qin Fei frowned and asked, "But what about when the Second Prince returns?"
Wei Ming curled his lips slightly, his tone meaningful. "Then it will no longer be our concern."
Qin Fei was stunned for a moment, feeling a chilling cold creeping up from the soles of his feet.
Wei Ming’s plan to substitute the Seventh Princess for the Fukang Princess was clearly a scheme within a scheme!
A meticulously layered, interlocking trap!
Sacrificing the Seventh Princess would not only appease the Yelu Chieftain, avoid war, and relieve the Crown Prince and the Emperor of their worries—it would also sever the Second Prince’s support and sow discord between the Emperor, the Second Prince, and Consort Xie. A single move with multiple gains.
And the Second Prince, who had always doted on his sister, would surely go mad with rage upon learning that she had been forced into a proxy marriage.
When that happened, eliminating him would be as easy as turning over a hand.
Wei Ming was truly ruthless—his real target was the Second Prince!
Qin Fei hesitated, on the verge of speaking but holding back.
He felt nothing but contempt for Wei Ming’s scheming against the Seventh Princess, but when it came to the Second Prince, he dared not say more.
The struggle for the throne had always been a fight to the death—there was no room for mercy.
Especially since there was already a blood feud between the Crown Prince and the Second Prince over their mothers.
...
Everyone turned their eyes to Li Xuanzhen.
Li Xuanzhen’s face showed no expression. "Allow me to consider this further."
Wei Ming sighed and was about to say something when a voice reported from outside the curtain: "Your Highness, something has happened at the princess’s residence!"
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