"His Excellency Su, three days later is the birthday of our Khan, and he has ordered that it would be a double joy if we could welcome the Princess at the same time. What do you think?" said Baljun, bowing to the Han envoys present.

  Ever since three days ago, after Xu Haifeng and others defeated the Caesars, even Bao Yue showed him great respect and never mentioned the matter of welcoming the princess into the palace again. However, this matter was destined to happen from the beginning, and what was meant to come would still come, no matter how hard one tried to avoid it.

  Today, Bao Ju Eagle came early in the morning, just to discuss this matter.

  Su Chunwei glanced at the other three silent generals, knowing they were waiting for him to make a decision. He sighed inwardly and smiled: "Only three days of preparation, isn't this time a bit too tight?"

  Hu Yanluo revealed a happy smile and said, "We Xiongnu do not have as many rules as you Han people. Besides, the queen's bedroom has been prepared long ago, and three days of preparation is more than enough." Then he spoke seriously: "The Khan had personally instructed that in order to show true brotherly affection between our two countries, we especially chose to welcome the princess on her birthday, please understand, sir."

  Su Chunwei was helpless, knowing that Modu was no longer willing to drag things out, so the tone of his words also became more severe, and he could only say: "Since your country has already made preparations, then it's settled."

  Jianliu reached his goal and did not stay long. After some polite conversation, he bid farewell and returned to report to Modun.

  The only Xiongnu in the room left, and the three marshals in the court looked at each other, seeing hesitation and discontent in each other's eyes.

  Jin Guanghua, a general from the Northern Camp, indignantly said: "Why does the imperial court want to marry off the little princess to Modu? Isn't that equivalent to surrendering?"

  Along the way, everyone got along with him very well and knew that he was also a truly uncalculating soldier. In his heart, he had been dissatisfied with this marriage for a long time, and now that it had come to this point, he could no longer hold back and finally erupted.

  Xu Haifeng raised his index finger to his lips, making a silencing gesture, then said: "Brother Jin, please calm down and don't be rash. This matter is the imperial court's decision, we cannot lightly slander it, lest we bring trouble upon ourselves."

  Jin Guanghua looked at him and said with a fist: "General Xu, I, old Jin, admire heroes like you the most. Three days ago, when you defeated the Caesars in the arena, how majestic you were! How come your courage has become so small today?"

  Xu Haifeng sighed bitterly and thought to himself: How could I tell you that I have other plans in mind?

  Liu Jun sighed and persuaded: "Jin brother, I am also a member of the royal family. How can I bear to part with Princess Ting? But if it were not for this, the Xiongnu army would be pressing our borders at any time, and then it would be my great Han's millions of people who would suffer."

  With a cold laugh, Jin Guanghua said disdainfully: "The Xiongnu people are wolves with wild ambitions. Do you think that by presenting the princess as a token of goodwill, they won't harbor designs on the Han dynasty's territory?"

  Xu Haifeng was shocked in his heart. Although this person is rough, he sees things clearly. His words are surprisingly similar to what Jiang Kongming said.

  Su Chunwei's expression changed slightly, and he looked at him carefully for a while before asking: "Are these principles thought of by Brother Jin himself?"

  Jin Guanghua's rough face turned red, but he originally had a dark complexion, and if you didn't look closely, you really couldn't tell. He coughed twice and said embarrassedly: "It wasn't me, it was General Fang who thought of it."

  "Which General Fang?" asked Xu Haifeng curiously.

  Jin Guanghua looked at him in surprise and said, "Didn't General Fang tell you? He's your sworn big brother."

  Su Chunwei and Xu Haifeng exchanged a glance. Since it was him, having this insight wasn't surprising at all.

  This principle, the powerful ministers of the Han Dynasty all knew it well, but at this moment, the Great Han and Caesar were at odds. Although they had just won a great victory in Lin'an, they were still exhausting the people and draining the treasury. Moreover, according to scouts' reports, Caesar's men did not intend to stop here, and reinforcements were gathering in the east.

  At this moment, the Han cannot afford to fight on two fronts. To put it bluntly, sending the princess is just a delay tactic, hoping to quickly defeat Caesar and then free up resources to prepare for war with the Xiongnu.

  The Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu were two sworn enemies, and as long as one side was strong, they would inevitably send troops to attack the other. For hundreds of years, they had been at war or at peace, but neither could eliminate the other.

  "Never mind, this matter has already been settled and we don't need to discuss it anymore. Which general will go and inform the princess, three days later is her big happy day." Su Chunwei didn't want to discuss this matter again and stopped the topic right there.

  Three leaders looked at each other, all silent. This clearly wasn't a good assignment. Except for Xu Haifeng having his own plan, no one else was willing to take on this thankless task.

  "Cough, General Liu, you're in charge of the princess's safety and are her close relative, so why don't you take on this task?" Su Chunwei said, seeing no one else responding.

  Liu Junshu frowned and thought to himself, you have the highest official position here, why don't you go? Suddenly, a clever idea struck him, "Since entering the Xiongnu border, my Imperial Guard is no longer responsible for the safety of the princess. Everything has been handled by General Xu. I think it's best if he takes charge of this matter."

  Su Chunwei hesitated for a moment, then said: "You handle it, I still have to prepare for the wedding, so I'll take my leave first." After finishing speaking, he threw down the three of them and went out the door first.

  The three martial arts generals cursed in their hearts at the same time, what a cunning white-faced dead rabbit, slipping away quickly.

  Liu Junshu thought to himself, "You can escape, why can't I?" So he clasped his fists and said, "General, I suddenly remembered that it's time for the Imperial Guard soldiers to practice their drills. This matter is troubling you two." After speaking, he turned around and escaped without looking back, not even responding to Jin Guanghua's shouts.

  Jin Guanghua was a straightforward person, who had never been cunning, and was unwilling to go to the princess's place to suffer, but couldn't say it out loud. Looking at Xu Haifeng, he made a few awkward noises, but still couldn't get a word out.

  Xu Haifeng couldn't bear to watch him suffer anymore, so he let out a sigh and said: "This matter is better left for me to handle."

  Jin Guanghua let out a sigh of relief, his face filled with gratitude: "Thank you, General Xu. If you have any orders in the future, I will definitely not refuse."

  Xu Haifeng knew that he was a straightforward person, and since he had said so, he would absolutely not go back on his word. He was delighted in his heart, but still pretended to decline for a while before leaving the main hall to come to the courtyard where the princess temporarily resided.

  The guards of the courtyard were all elite troops of the Black Flag Army, and under Jiang Kungming's arrangement and design, unless it was someone like Abbot Hongyuan, no one could get close.

  But for Xu Haifeng, this place was no different from his own home. He didn't even report his presence and directly entered Liu Ting's boudoir with a clear conscience.

  Inside the room, apart from Liu Ting and her quadruplet sisters, Tang Rou'er was also accompanying the Prime Minister. Seeing Xu Haifeng enter, they all stood up together to help him remove his armor, using a cool towel to wipe away the sweat on his forehead, and sat down relaxedly in the comfortable and spacious long chair, letting several little maids massage his shoulders and legs, feeling quite at ease.

  Xu Haifeng took a look at the four identical small faces and was quite moved in his heart. Liu Ting's four little girls were named after the Four Arts of qin, qi, shu, and hua, and each one had real talent and learning. If they were to stay in Xiongnu, it would indeed be a pity to part with them. Fortunately, he had promised Liu Ting that he would take them away together, so they couldn't follow Liu Ting into the palace.

  Tang Rou'er scooped up a spoonful of ice sugar lotus seed and sent it into Xu Haifeng's big mouth, asking: "Big brother has come to see us, is there something?"

  Xu Haifeng put his arm around her soft waist and smiled: "Can't you come to see us if nothing's wrong?"

  Tang Rou'er smiled, her voice soft as she said, "Big brother, every day when you come back, don't you first go to Lin sister's place to report before coming to see us?" Her tone seemed to carry a hint of subtle bitterness, yet it gave Xu Haifeng an immense sense of accomplishment.

  Xu Haifeng evilly smiled as he looked at her pretty face and said: "I'm afraid that if I had come here first, I wouldn't have been able to resist eating you all up."

  As soon as these words came out, including the four maidservants who were skilled in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, all blushed with shame.

  Seeing their extremely moving and shy appearance, Xu Haifeng felt a surge of impulse, but he knew it wasn't the right time, so he suppressed his desire with difficulty and said seriously: "Ting'er, I came this time to tell you that three days later is Modu's birthday, and he has already decided to welcome you into the family on that day."

  Liu Ting responded with a simple "uh-huh", her expression unchanged, as if Xu Haifeng's words were nothing but an uninteresting trivial matter that had nothing to do with her.

  Xu Haifeng was surprised and asked: "Ting'er, what's wrong with you?"

  Liu Ting raised her pretty face and asked in surprise: "I'm fine, why are you asking like that, big brother?"

  "Aren't you worried?" Xǔ Hǎifēng asked, stroking her small face with his hand.

  Liu Ting slightly tilted her head, pressing one side of her face against Xu Haifeng's large hand. She moved it around a few times, letting her delicate skin touch the rough calluses on his palm. Then she smiled and said: "Big brother has promised to rescue me, so what do I still need to worry about?"

  Xu Haifeng couldn't believe that Liu Ting was even more confident than himself, and for a moment he felt deeply moved. He pulled Liu Ting into his arms and solemnly promised: "Don't worry, I've made all the arrangements, just follow my instructions and I guarantee I'll be able to bring you back to Da Han safely."

  "Hmm." Liu Ting replied softly.

  Xu Haifeng suddenly let out a few sinister laughs and said, "Once we return to the Great Han, it will be time for you to fulfill your promise. I hope you won't disappoint me then."

  Liu Ting and Tang Rou'er blushed again, they naturally knew what Xu Haifeng was referring to, lowered their heads and didn't dare respond.

  Xu Haifeng only felt a warmth in his heart, he looked out the open window into the distance and thought to himself: Jiang Kungming, you have never disappointed me before, so don't disappoint me this time either.