Ren Yaoqi's original intention in saying this was actually to comfort Xiao Jingxi, but she didn't expect that after hearing these words, Xiao Jingxi showed no joy on his face.
Yaoqi was wondering what was wrong with this young master today when Xiao Jingxi looked at her with slightly dimmed eyes and said, "I should be happy that you're not angry with me, but now I'd rather you were angry."
Xiao Jingxi's voice was extremely low when he said this, almost a murmur. If Ren Yaoqi hadn't been standing so close to him, she might not have heard it clearly.
Looking at Xiao Jingxi like this, Ren Yaoqi suddenly realized the difference between him and her. Although Xiao Jingxi always gave people the feeling of being omnipotent, and his abilities often made people overlook his age, when she first met Xiao Jingxi, he was just a fifteen-year-old boy, and now he was only twenty.
When facing major events, Xiao Jingxi could strategize and plan meticulously, even leaving no room for error, but when it came to matters of emotion, he might not necessarily be more mature than an ordinary young man of his age.
Thinking this, Ren Yaoqi looked at the dejected Xiao Jingxi before her and couldn't help feeling somewhat guilty.
"Although I'm not angry with you... if I said I dislike Yan Ningshuang, would you think I'm being petty?" Ren Yaoqi said awkwardly. She had never said such things before, and now speaking them in front of Xiao Jingxi inevitably carried a hint of jealousy. After saying this, her face flushed crimson enough to drip blood. Yet this feeling was actually quite novel—from her previous life to this one, she had never experienced this kind of awkward, girlish sentiment.
But clearly, her words pleased Xiao Jingxi. Just moments ago, his expression had been gloomy, but now the corners of his lips curved into a joyful arc.
"Is that true?" Xiao Jingxi lowered his head, looking at Ren Yaoqi as he asked softly.
The two of them were already standing close, and with Xiao Jingxi lowering his head like this, their breaths were almost mingling. Ren Yaoqi instinctively wanted to step back, but after a moment's thought, she bit her lip lightly and remained standing there without moving, even though Xiao Jingxi's proximity made her legs tremble slightly.
Ren Yaoqi looked up at Xiao Jingxi's bright eyes, which were like stars in the dark night, and gave an almost imperceptible nod.
The smile on Xiao Jingxi's face deepened, and the light in his eyes seemed to swirl into a vortex, capable of drowning someone in his gentle and focused gaze.
He took Ren Yaoqi's hand. Her lightly lowered eyelashes fluttered slightly. Seeing that she didn't pull away, Xiao Jingxi carefully embraced her once again.
Ren Yaoqi was still unaccustomed to being this close to a man, but this was Xiao Jingxi, and she couldn't help but soften. Only now did she belatedly realize that she couldn't bear to see him show even the slightest hint of grievance or sadness. Whether Xiao Jingxi was genuinely upset or merely pretending, she disliked seeing it.
Held in Xiao Jingxi's embrace, Ren Yaoqi felt somewhat dazed.
She even found herself lost in thought, wondering if she was beginning to understand what Xiao Jinglin meant by "a beauty's tears are a hero's grave." She was no hero, and she couldn't withstand the test of a beauty's charm.
"I love your pettiness. I love it dearly," Xiao Jingxi whispered softly into Ren Yaoqi's ear, his low, husky voice so pleasing it made one blush, heart race, and body tingle.Xiao Jingxi quietly held Ren Yaoqi for a while without any further movement, and Ren Yaoqi remained obediently still. The atmosphere was so beautiful it felt hard to part with.
In the end, it was Ren Yaoqi who moved first, her face flushed as she straightened up from Xiao Jingxi’s embrace. This time, Xiao Jingxi let her go.
“Did you come to see me for something else?” Ren Yaoqi glanced at Xiao Jingxi and asked softly.
Xiao Jingxi was in a good mood at the moment. He led Ren Yaoqi to sit in the middle of the room and casually poured her a cup of tea. “I heard you’ve agreed to Zhu Ruomei’s marriage proposal?”
“Zhu Ruomei is your man. Why would his marriage need my approval? He proposed to my maid, and I simply agreed,” Ren Yaoqi said, lowering her head.
Hearing this, Xiao Jingxi chuckled softly and looked at Ren Yaoqi. “Who said his marriage doesn’t need your approval? He is, after all, my man.”
The meaning behind Xiao Jingxi’s words was already quite clear, and Ren Yaoqi understood it perfectly. Yet, it was a statement she could neither agree with nor refute.
Xiao Jingxi didn’t want to put Ren Yaoqi in an awkward position, even though he loved seeing her blush and shy away. “I wanted to discuss with you whether his wedding date could be moved forward.”
Ren Yaoqi finally looked up at him, surprised. “Move the wedding date forward? To when?” The wedding date had been set by the Zhu family themselves, so for it to be suddenly changed and for Xiao Jingxi to bring it up with her was naturally surprising.
Xiao Jingxi pondered for a moment. “The sooner, the better. How about after the Dragon Boat Festival?”
Ren Yaoqi was even more surprised. Today was the second day of the month, and the Dragon Boat Festival was on the fifth. That meant Zhu Ruomei’s wedding would be scheduled for just a few days later.
“Why the rush? Has something happened?” If it weren’t for Zhu Ruomei’s age, Ren Yaoqi would have thought getting married by the end of the sixth month was already too early, worried they wouldn’t have enough time to prepare in just two or three months.
“I want Zhu Ruomei to go on a long journey. If his wedding isn’t moved forward, it might have to be postponed. I asked for his opinion, and he said he’d prefer to marry sooner,” Xiao Jingxi explained.
Ren Yaoqi glanced at Xiao Jingxi. If Xiao Jingxi was sending Zhu Ruomei on a long journey, it must be for an important task. Ren Yaoqi initially wanted to ask for details, especially since Xueli was her maid, and it would be remiss of her not to inquire. However, she was also afraid these matters might be something she shouldn’t ask about, as doing so might put Xiao Jingxi in a difficult position.
Seeing Ren Yaoqi’s expression, Xiao Jingxi naturally understood what she was thinking. He smiled and said, “You know that besides the ten young ladies the Empress Dowager selected to accompany her to Yanbei, there are also three court officials? On the surface, they’re here for the Thousand Gold Banquet and the book Yanshan River Atlas, but that’s not their true purpose.”
Hearing this, Ren Yaoqi immediately recalled what she had learned from Yuan Dayong’s investigation. Among those officials, perhaps only Pei Zhiyan was truly here for Yanshan River Atlas, while the other two were here to discuss reopening border trade with the Liao people.
Ren Yaoqi nodded. “I had someone look into it before.” Looking back now, it was clear that Yuan Dayong’s ability to uncover this information must have been with Xiao Jingxi’s guidance.Xiao Jingxi did not hold the notion that women of the inner household should not inquire into matters of the outer court. Xiao Jinglin was also a woman, yet that did not hinder Xiao Jingxi from admiring her in certain aspects. And since Ren Yaoqi was soon to become his wife, and she too was a woman he admired, Xiao Jingxi did not mind Ren Yaoqi knowing about these matters.
“When the new Liao king ascended the throne, he was only fifteen years old, inevitably young and impulsive. In the years since his succession, he has led troops south to invade every year, yet no matter what, he could not breach Jiajing Pass, greatly diminishing his prestige within the Liao kingdom. The last wife of the old Liao king, Queen Shunzhen, was the niece of the head of the Northern Great King’s Council. Queen Shunzhen allied with the Northern Council in an attempt to install her own young son to replace him. To win over the Southern Council, the new Liao king married the daughter of the Southern Council’s Great King. Though this Southern Council Great King usually keeps a low profile, few in the Liao kingdom can match his cunning. This time, the Liao king secretly sent envoys to the capital to sue for peace with the Great Zhou court—this was the Southern Council Great King’s idea.” Xiao Jingxi analyzed the situation in the Liao kingdom for Ren Yaoqi.
Ren Yaoqi lowered her gaze and thought for a moment. “The Liao kingdom has suffered a defeat this time and is actively seeking peace… Are they planning to cede territory or pay reparations?”
Unexpectedly, Xiao Jingxi laughed upon hearing this, though the smile did not reach his eyes. “Pay reparations, but not from the Liao kingdom to Great Zhou. Rather, Great Zhou will pay the Liao kingdom.”
Ren Yaoqi raised an eyebrow at this. “There’s such a good deal?”
“The court has been resting and recuperating in the southern regions these years and is not short on silver,” Xiao Jingxi said calmly.
Ren Yaoqi pondered carefully and soon understood: the court was not short on silver but lacked control over Yanbei.
The Liao people had suffered a defeat at the hands of the Yanbei Army, yet they bypassed the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion to sue for peace with the court. Seeking peace was a pretense; harboring ill intentions was the truth.
Currently, the Southern and Northern Councils of the Liao kingdom were each governing independently, and it would not be a short-term matter to determine a victor. Moreover, the new Liao king’s prestige had greatly diminished, making it impossible for him to lead troops south to attack cities again in the near future. Thus, the Liao king wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to catch his breath and purge his own ranks, hence proposing the reopening of border trade between the two countries.
No matter how powerful the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion was, it was still only a feudal prince. Great Zhou was still surnamed Li.
The Liao people knew that compared to the Liao kingdom separated by the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion was the fishbone stuck in the throat of the Great Zhou court—unable to be spat out or swallowed, festering and suppurating over time. Therefore, even after suffering a defeat, the Liao people dared to demand that Great Zhou pay them annual tribute and allow the reopening of border trade.
Because if the Liao people ceased hostilities with Yanbei, the existence of the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion would become awkward. Without war, if Yanbei still wanted to support such a large army, the common people would grow resentful. Over time, the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion would have no choice but to reduce its forces. In this way, it would become much simpler and more justified for the Great Zhou court to deal with the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion.
Thinking this, Ren Yaoqi broke out in a cold sweat and could not help but sigh. “No wonder you said this Southern Council Great King is deep and cunning. This plan to kill two birds with one stone is indeed brilliant.”
By the time the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion was forced into a weakened position, the Liao kingdom would have already resolved its internal affairs, and its national strength would have gradually recovered through the reopened border trade. When they then sent troops south again, where would Great Zhou find the strength to resist?Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingxi smiled. Speaking with Ren Yaoqi was always his most relaxed time. He didn't need to guard against her, nor worry that she wouldn't understand. Often, just by him starting a topic, she could grasp eight or nine parts out of ten. He had rarely met women as intelligent as her.
"So, the Yanbei Prince's Mansion wants to prevent this peace negotiation between the court and the Great Liao?" Ren Yaoqi asked.
Hearing this, Xiao Jingxi did not answer immediately. He thought for a moment, then looked at Ren Yaoqi with a smile. "If that were truly the case, aren't you afraid we would become the sinners of the entire Great Zhou? After all, for ordinary people, avoiding war is always good." Xiao Jingxi felt quite at ease including Ren Yaoqi within the scope of "us."
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