Negotiation

  Article 109: Negotiation

  Ye Li ordered someone to send Yao Ji back and arrange for her to be taken care of. As soon as she returned to the mansion, Sun Nian came to report that someone had sent a gift specifically for the princess. Ye Li opened the box and saw that it was a piece of uncarved jadeite that had only been slightly processed. However, just by looking at its flawless green color, she knew that this was an extremely high-quality piece of jadeite. She furrowed her brow in thought, and as for the person who sent the gift, Ye Li also had some ideas. She looked up at Sun Nian and asked, "Did the other party leave their name and address?" Sun Nian smiled and said, "Your Highness doesn't need to worry, the king has already sent someone with a return gift. The king said that if Your Highness likes it, you can keep it; if not, then just deal with it as you please."

  Ye Li nodded and said: "Let's put it away for now, we'll talk about it later. Where is the king?"

  The king is in his study, and Feng Gongzi has returned.

  Ye Li nodded and turned around to head towards the study room.

  Before, Feng Zhiyao and they were in Yongzhou, the army was divided into two routes with Hei Yun riding one route northward, but it was nearly half a month later than them that they would arrive at the capital. Ye Li had just walked to the door of the study when Mo Xiuyao's voice came from inside, "A Li, come in." Ye Li pushed open the door and went in, Feng Zhiyao stood up and said, "Greetings, Your Highness." Ye Li nodded slightly and smiled, "Feng Gongzi doesn't need to be so polite." Feng Zhiyao looked at Ye Li again and then turned back to look at Mo Xiuyao, feeling that these two seemed a bit different from before, "Your Highness can just call me Feng San." Ye Li smiled and nodded in response, walking over to sit down beside Mo Xiuyao, "Didn't disturb you both, did I?" Mo Xiuyao shook his head, "Nothing important, A Li has something on her mind?" Ye Li recounted the events of running into Ye Lüe outside the city, glancing at Feng Zhiyao standing beside her, only mentioning in passing that she had run into Yaoji and Muyang, but didn't mention Yaoji's pregnancy. This kind of thing is still best left for the people involved to decide whether or not to tell others.

  Mo Xiu Yao raised an eyebrow at Ye Lu Ye's obvious intentional approach to Ye Li, and coldly smiled: "It seems that the pressure given by Ye Lu Hong is not enough for him, so he can be so leisurely strolling around Chu Jing. Feng San, spread the news that Ye Lu Ye has arrived in the capital and will participate in the selection of the imperial son-in-law." Feng Zhi Xiao raised an eyebrow and smiled, nodding silently in response. Once this news spreads, the nobles of Chu Jing will definitely lower their opinion of Ye Lu Ye by a notch. Arriving secretly in Chu Jing ahead of time is one thing, but participating in the selection of the imperial son-in-law is absolutely going too far. Indeed, Great Chu does not have a genuine princess to be married off, but the noble ladies of Great Chu are not to be casually picked and chosen by you Northern barbarians either.

  "Ary, I'm afraid you'll be busy soon. Have you finished looking at the flower name list I gave you earlier?" Mo Xiuyao asked softly as he turned to look at Ye Lian. Ye Lian nodded, and Mo Xiuyao continued: "You don't have to confirm who will go for the marriage proposal, just recommend two or three candidates to the Emperor and that's enough. The final candidate will still be decided by the Emperor."

  Ye Li furrowed her brow, somewhat perplexed: "In that case, won't we offend even more people?" Mo Xiuyao smiled and said: "The one in the palace who entrusted this task to you, would they give us an opportunity to not offend anyone? If we worry about offending people and arbitrarily choose a woman with a poor family background, it's not just the Northern Rong that will make trouble, but also the one in the palace might use the excuse of your incompetence to overturn the selection and re-select. At that time, even more people would be offended. Since that's the case, Ah Li doesn't need to consider those issues about offending or not offending people, just choose a few suitable candidates and send them up. As for which one the Emperor chooses, it's his own business; if he's not satisfied with any of them, all the better - let him select again himself."

  Ye Li nodded, "Understood, I will carefully examine the family background, intelligence and other aspects of these ladies." Putting aside all emotional and stance-related reasons, simply choosing a candidate based on identity and personal conditions would be much easier.

  Feng San's handling of affairs was not slow, and by that afternoon, the news of Beijun Seventh Prince's arrival in the capital had spread throughout the city. Even the inn where Yelü Ye stayed was clearly known, and originally he had intended to delay for a few days before going to see the Emperor of Great Chu, but now he could only put down his affairs and go to the palace to pay his respects. In his heart, he secretly cursed Mo Xiu Yao while also regretting his rash behavior that night in testing Mo Xiu Yao, which had also exposed himself.

  The next morning, the invitation to the welcome banquet for the Northern Rong prince was delivered to the Dingguo King's palace. Mo Xiuyao, who was accompanying Ye Li in the rear courtyard's martial arts training ground, raised an eyebrow and waved his hand to let the person go, then turned back to continue teaching Ye Li swordsmanship.

  "Your Highness, Prince Han and Gongzi have requested an audience." Qingfeng came over to report.

  Mo Xiuyao said somewhat displeased, "What is he doing here again?" Mo Xiuyao now had some deep doubts whether his decision to give Han Mingxi and the Han family to Ah Lian was a bit of a self-inflicted wound. Although there's no need to worry about loyalty issues, since Han Mingxi arrived in the capital, he came to see Ah Lian every other day, and even after moving out of the Ding Wang Fu to find another place to live, he still didn't show any signs of restraint. The vinegar-filled Duke Ding naturally forgot that there was also a married man, Leng Huan Yu, who had come to seek an audience together with him.

  Ye Li returned his sword to its scabbard and smiled, "Haven't you been busy discussing cooperation with Leng Huan Yu these past few days? I suppose you have some new ideas you want to ask me about." To Han Ming Xi, Leng Huan Yu was a big shot. This young master who seemed useless on the surface actually controlled half of the Dingguo Kingdom's industries. With his involvement, Han Ming Xi's business could naturally expand even further. Just thinking about it made him feel like he saw countless gold coins flying before his eyes, and these days were busy to the point where his feet didn't touch the ground. So... actually, people from the Han family were born with a fondness for accumulating wealth, it wasn't unique to Han Ming Yue alone.

  "This king will also go and listen, is Ah Lian welcoming?" Mo Xiu Yao asked.

  Ye Li lowered her head, suppressing a smile, pretending not to see the vinegar-filled expression on someone's face. She smiled and said: "Since Leng Huan Yu has also participated in seeing this, what secrets can there be for Wang Ye?" In fact, Ye Li occasionally felt that it might not be beneficial for their people to be clearly divided like this, but she was also clear that this was because the future of Dingguo King's mansion was set, and Mo Xiu Yao wanted to leave some power for himself in case something happened in the future. So, she was very understanding of Mo Xiu Yao's intentions.

  In the study, Mu Xiuyao and Ye Li walked in hand in hand. Leng Haoyu and Han Mingxi both stood up to greet them. Mu Xiuyao nodded slightly and smiled: "No need for formalities, please sit down."

  Ye Li smiled and looked at Han Mingxi, whose complexion had improved a lot, and said: "Mingxi, you came so early, is there something on your mind?" Han Mingxi nodded, raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Indeed, I have something to discuss. In the past few days, Leng Er and I have almost finalized our plans. Leng Er will be in charge of Da Chu's side, and after a while, I plan to visit Nan Zhao and Xi Ling. As for Bei Rong's side, you can..."

  "Let's talk about it slowly." In terms of business value, the four countries can be said to be the least developed country in Beijun. Many businesses in Zhongyuan are not feasible on the side of Beijun and cannot make much money. Ye Li thought for a moment: "It is said that there are many gold and silver mines in Beijun." Leng Hua Yu nodded: "Indeed, although Beijun is remote and cold, it has many

  "Born with gold and silver mines. Just look at those northern Xiongnu nobles." The slightly better-off nobles of the Northern Xiongnu, whether male or female, all liked to use large pieces of golden ornaments to adorn themselves, making themselves look like moving golden treasure chests. Although the people of the Central Plains despised the rough and unsophisticated barbarians from beyond the borders, who could say they didn't envy their extravagance in using gold like silver?

  "What does the princess mean?" Leng Haoyu hesitated, saying that even if they were offered a lot of gold, it would be hard to get involved. "However, all the larger mines in Beirong are controlled by the royal family, and the people of Beirong are extremely xenophobic. It's basically impossible for us to intervene in this matter."

  Ye Li shook her head and smiled: "No, I didn't plan to lay hands on someone else's gold mine. What's valuable in Beirong is not just the gold mine, but also their war horses."

  Han Mingxi frowned and said, "The war horses of the Northern Rong are restricted more severely than gold mines." The war horses of the Northern Rong were renowned throughout the land, but unfortunately, the Great Chu did not produce good horses. Currently, the cavalry of the Great Chu used a mix of horses from the Great Chu and the Northern Rong, as well as some crossbred with horses from neighboring countries. Compared to purebred Northern Rong horses, they were slightly inferior. Fortunately, the terrain within the Great Chu was not vast grasslands, so the role of cavalry was far less important than in the Northern Rong; otherwise, this would have been a major problem. Knowing that Ye Li asked this question was definitely for the sake of the Mohist army and the Black Cloud Cavalry, Han Mingxi couldn't help but feel a sour heart despite knowing he had no right to speak. He glanced at Mo Xiu Yao, who was quietly listening to their conversation, and said, "No matter how much money we offer, the Northern Rong will not sell us their horses. Even if we buy some, they would be inferior horses. Besides... shouldn't this issue be resolved by the imperial court or those in charge of the military? If you intervene in this matter, I'm afraid it might alert the imperial court and make things worse."

  Ye Li smiled slyly and said: "Of course no one would dare sell it openly. But isn't there a kind of business called... smuggling?"

  "Smuggling?"

  "Private transaction, no tax without going through customs. A profit of 10,000."

  Leng Hao Yu rubbed his temples and smiled, "The princess means that we secretly send someone to buy horses? In Bei Rong, selling good horses to foreigners is a capital offense."

  Ye Li smiled and said, "No matter which country's people are, they all love money, and merchants value profit. With a 50% profit, they can take risks; for a 100% profit, they dare to trample on human laws; and if there is a 300% profit, even if it means death, there will be no shortage of people who will risk their lives to fight for it." If death were useful, there wouldn't be so many crimes in this world. "Don't worry too much, the northern region is vast and sparsely populated, with scarce products. Grains, fabrics, porcelain, tea leaves - they want what we give them. If we can also collect some medicinal herbs, fur, and other things on the side, that would be even better. Over time, we will have our own channels to get what we want."

  Han Mingxi's eyes lit up, and he smiled: "I understand. The situation in Beirong is different from ours and Xiling Nanjiang, so we can't deal with the problem of Beirong in the same way. However, since we are preparing to do business in Xiling and Nanjiang, we can also take the opportunity to send the specialties of Xiling, Nanjiang, and Dachu to Beirong. It's easy to make money from those wealthy Beirong nobles. Originally, it wasn't that no one did this business, but the road was too far and the grasslands were very dangerous, so they were all small-time merchants. But if it were us, we wouldn't have to worry about safety issues. Even if we couldn't use the name of Dingwangfu, with just the military power of Dingwangfu, we could assemble a team to protect the safety of those goods."

  Mo Xuyao was also very interested in the war horses of Beijun, and smiled lightly: "This time's marriage alliance is a good opportunity. We can definitely send someone to follow the marriage alliance team to take a look at Beijun. I will memorialize the Emperor later, allowing merchants to travel with the marriage alliance team to Beijun, which can also be considered as making some contributions to the diplomatic relations between the two countries." The other three people were silent, perhaps they were thinking about making contributions to the treasury of the Dingguo Kingdom and the future military strength of the Mo family's army.

  Mo Xiu Yao also agreed, and Leng Hao Yu smiled: "Since that's the case, then it's settled. Brother Han will go to Xi Ling and Nan Jiang, and Bei Rong can make another trip there too. There's still over a month before departure, so there's still time for arrangements on the Da Chu side."

  Han Mingxi nodded indifferently, and Ye Li took out a small iron token from her body and threw it to Han Mingxi: "Big brother should still be in Nanjiang now. If you need any help, you can go find him. This is the Yanwang Token of the Yanwang Pavilion, take it with you just in case. In Xiling, if you encounter something difficult to handle, Ling Pavilion Master will lend a hand on account of the Yanwang Token." Han Mingxi naturally understood the origin of the Yanwang Token and took it in his hand, looking at Ye Li with some hesitation. Ye Li waved her hand, indicating that he didn't need to say more: "Whoever is useful gets it. I've been in Chu Jing for a while now, and it's probably not too much trouble for Ling Pavilion Master either. If we keep owing him like this, isn't it a waste? As for Bing Shu Sheng... his chances of coming to Da Chu are slim anyway." A few days ago, news came that Liang Lao Ye had been found by Bing Shu Sheng and brought back to Xiling. Before finding the Biliu Grass, Bing Shu Sheng's harm was limited. Of course, if he insisted on appearing in Chu Jing, she wouldn't mind taking action - even if she didn't kill him, she would cripple him. Presumably, Ling Tiejian wouldn't blame her for it either.

  Leng Hao Yu exclaimed: "The princess is really generous, even the Yan Wang order is so easily handed over." As he spoke, he also glanced at Mo Xiu Yao, thinking that the Yan Wang order was given by the prince to the princess for protection. Now that the princess had personally handed it over to another man, who knows where the prince's anger would be vented? Of course, it would be best if it was the culprit himself, the debauched young master Han Ming Xiu. After all, it is said that one does not die for a friend but dies for wealth. Besides, this was something he had brought upon himself.

  Ye Li raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Ling Gezhu's gift, doesn't cost a dime." In fact, even if Ling Tienhan didn't show up in the end, she wouldn't have really wanted Bingsheng's life. Who knows whether Ling Tienhan would weigh brotherly love heavily and use all his might to avenge Bingsheng? However, at that time, crippling his martial arts was unavoidable; as long as she spared Bingsheng's life, looking at her big brother's face, Ling Tienhan wouldn't dare find trouble with her. Leng Huan Yu rubbed his nose and lowered his head to drink tea, "Is the Yanwang Order something that can be measured by money? That's something many people would rather spend a fortune on but still can't buy, right? Having the Yanwang Order means you can basically walk sideways in Xiling as long as you don't provoke the Western Tomb Imperial Family."

  After finishing the proper business, Han Mingxi looked at Ye Li with a frown and said: "Yesterday, early in the morning, Yelü Ye's people searched the entire capital for good jade, I don't know what they're using it for. I've never heard that the Northern Rong people like jade artifacts." Although Yelü Ye had sent people to buy them anonymously in batches, his mistake was that he shouldn't have gone to the shops under Han's name. Several shops' good jade were all bought by strangers, and the shopkeepers would naturally not forget to report it to their masters. And although the Tianyi Pavilion no longer existed in Great Chu, Han Mingxi still had many people under his command, so investigating the sales routes of various jade artifact antique jewelry stores in the capital as well as the identities of the buyers was not a big problem. Ye Li naturally knew what Yelü Ye was using those jades for and calmly sneered: "It seems that the Northern Rong is indeed very wealthy."

  Yelü's mood didn't improve as she recalled how her schedule was ruined yesterday due to a certain prince's showy behavior. Especially since that person even deliberately sent over a piece of jade to provoke her. With a flicker in her eyes, Yelü smiled and said: "Help me spread the word, I want to find the most exceptional piece of fine jade as a birthday gift for His Highness." Leng Hua Yu looked at Mo Xiu Yao then back at Yelü, somewhat perplexed by Yelü's intention.

  Han Mingxi was the first to react, shaking his fan and laughing: "So we can take out all the good jade we've been hoarding and sell it. As soon as this news comes out, I'm sure that even if the price doubles, there will be people who want to buy it. And...the princess is right, aren't the Beijiang people rich? I'll definitely send the news to Ye Lü Wangzi first, so he won't fall behind." As for what the Beijiang prince would do with the jade, whether he would use it as a betrothal gift for the princess or take it all back to Beijiang, that was none of their business. Leng Huan Yu nodded in agreement: "Come to think of it, we've never heard what the princess likes before, and that's cost us a lot of money. Luckily, I have some things on hand that I want to get rid of, so I'll just sell them cheaply to the Beijiang prince. However...hmm, does the princess need to keep one good piece for you?" If it were really snatched up by the wealthy and arrogant Beijiang prince, what would happen to the king's birthday gift? Don't look at the king's usual gentle and magnanimous appearance - when he gets petty, no one can stand it. Over the years, he and Feng San had a deep understanding of this.

  Ye Li glanced at Mo Xiu Yao and smiled with pursed lips: "No need, I was just saying that."

  Han Mingxi raised an eyebrow, with a hint of sadness in his sigh. "The King's birthday is approaching, how coincidental... I was also born in June. In previous years, I would celebrate with my older brother, but now..."

  Leng Haoyu's body stiffened, staring warily at Han Mingxi. This guy didn't have to die just yet, and he had just gotten married, too.

  Ye Li smiled and said: "Ming Xi is also born in June? Then let's spend the birthday in the capital before leaving."

  Han Mingxi blinked, "You just know how to give me gifts?"

  "Of course, tell me what you like and I'll go prepare it." Ye Li nodded, thinking that with her relationship with Han Mingxi, not giving a birthday gift was unacceptable. Moreover, considering Han Mingxi's current situation, she and Mo Xiuyao had also put in a lot of effort. Han Mingxi smiled brightly, "That's great, no matter what you prepare, I'll like it." After finishing speaking, he even fearlessly raised an eyebrow at Mo Xiuyao.

  Mo Xiuyao's calm eyes flashed a hint of sharpness, and he smiled faintly: "A Li is right, it just so happens that Brother Han also has a birthday in June. Naturally, I and A Li must express our well-wishes. Don't worry, I will definitely give Brother Han a surprising gift." The last sentence was spoken in a voice that could almost be described as gentle, but the listener's heart felt chilled to the bone.

  Leng Hua Yu pulled Han Ming Xiang away, laughing dryly: "Although I haven't known Brother Han for long, we can still be considered old friends. Brother Han, let's go discuss how you want to spend your birthday first." Without caring about Han Ming Xiang's objections, he grabbed him and dragged him out directly. Han Ming Xiang, who was only slightly skilled in lightness technique but had mediocre martial arts skills, couldn't even struggle as he was pulled away by Leng Hua Yu, who seemed mediocre but was actually highly skilled.