Tianliangyuan

Chapter 207 Princess Qi Teaches Her Daughter

It must be said that because of the incident where the Nanzhao envoy insulted the princess, the Nanzhao Kingdom adopted an even lower stance.

After returning home, Qi Yunze naturally had to first report the progress and results of the matter to his father.

Marquis Dingnan nodded, looking satisfied.

Things proceeded exactly as they had planned.

"You did a good job on this matter, and Duan Xing was quick-witted enough. You two have done a great job this time."

“Father, there’s also Liu Bo. His appearance there was unexpected, but he wisely sided with us and successfully sowed discord between the two sides with his words.”

Marquis Dingnan smiled and said, "I understand. His Majesty will reward those who have contributed after this matter is over. However, it cannot be done under such a pretext."

"My son understands."

"Alright, you can go back now. Rest at home for a day tomorrow, and then go back to work."

"Yes, my son is resigning."

The Nanzhao envoys were forced to drink alcohol, and then deliberately made a loud noise and spoke recklessly about Princess Daxing. All of this was part of their plan.

Only in this way can we make the Nanzhao Kingdom lower its stance when proposing a marriage alliance, and at the same time, make them concede more benefits.

The struggle between nations is no small matter.

Any place you can't see or can't imagine, either you let me in, or I'll go in.

This time, it was clear that the Nanzhao Kingdom had lost.

Therefore, the King of Nanzhao could not find anything wrong with choosing Princess Qingping for a marriage alliance.

As expected, infighting broke out within the Nanzhao envoy delegation as a result.

The original plan was to find out which princess or county princess Daxing would marry into Nanzhao.

The King of Nanzhao now has a queen and even several princes.

If the woman marrying into the Daxing clan is still a member of the imperial family, then granting her the title of concubine would be sufficient.

However, since Nanzhao has made a mistake first, the matter of this princess or county princess to be sent for marriage must be carefully considered.

In the following rounds of negotiations, the Nanzhao Kingdom ultimately made concessions.

Princess Qingping married into the Nanzhao Kingdom as a princess and was honored as the Noble Consort of the King of Nanzhao, second only to the Queen. She was also granted the authority to hold the golden book and seal and was allowed to lead 3,000 personal guards.

In addition, the betrothal gifts prepared by the Nanzhao Kingdom to welcome Princess Daxing would naturally be increased by another 20%.

Besides silver, the only things Nanzhao could offer were medicinal herbs and tea.

However, this tribute already included a large quantity of precious medicinal herbs, so they had no choice but to grit their teeth and add five thousand taels of silver to the betrothal gifts.

This silver would naturally flow into the national treasury.

Princess Qingping married into the Nanzhao Kingdom as a princess, so her dowry should naturally be determined by the Ministry of Rites.

Because it involved diplomatic relations, the final dowry would be paid for by the national treasury.

Of course, the Prince Qi's residence will also provide some additional dowry, but not too much.

After all, this was not an ordinary daughter's wedding; everything was done according to proper etiquette.

The imperial decree bestowing the title of princess upon Princess Qingping has not yet been issued, but everyone knows that the marriage alliance is inevitable. Moreover, the Nanzhao Kingdom is quite self-aware and has expressed a correct attitude. They have always emphasized that it is Princess Daxing marrying down, but they have never said it is a marriage alliance.

Princess Qingping has been having a very difficult time lately.

The outside world is going crazy with rumors that she is going to marry into the Nanzhao Kingdom, but she already has someone she likes, so how could she be willing to marry so far away?

The problem is that the man she loves doesn't like her, and marrying into the Nanzhao Kingdom is a result she can't resist no matter what.

When Princess Qingping was ordered to recuperate in the inner courtyard, she knew that she had been effectively placed under house arrest.

Princess Qingping's birth mother was also confined to her quarters, but Princess Qingping's side received better treatment.

As Princess Leyang saw everyone in the manor making preparations for Princess Qingping's marriage, her feelings gradually became complicated.

To be honest, she really disliked her half-sister.

Firstly, because her half-sister always liked to take things from her, and sometimes she would even deliberately try to win favor with the father.

Secondly, one was born of a legitimate wife and the other of a concubine, and their ages were not much different, which might be why they were inherently incompatible.

Finally, Princess Qingping has a bad personality. In Princess Leyang's opinion, she is a troublemaker and scheming.

But now, seeing her half-sister about to marry far away, Princess Leyang felt a pang of sympathy for her.

In the past two years, Princess Qingping has been able to get whatever she wanted in the Prince's Mansion. Who would have thought that she would suddenly have to leave the capital, no, she should leave Daxing.

Princess Qi entered with several governesses. Princess Qingping sat blankly on the couch, her face ashen. She did not even rise to greet her stepmother when she entered.

Those around the princess wanted to reprimand her, but Princess Qi stopped them.

"Qingping, you will soon be bestowed the title of princess by His Majesty and marry the King of Nanzhao with the honor of a princess. Through the efforts of the court and your father’s repeated struggles, we have secured for you the rank of Imperial Concubine, second only to the Queen of Nanzhao."

Princess Qingping smiled bitterly: "Even a Noble Consort is still just a concubine!"

Princess Qi remained composed and continued, "These four are people bestowed upon us by the Empress in the palace, specializing in etiquette instruction. They will reside here from today onwards, and will begin teaching you etiquette tomorrow. You are the daughter of my Qi Prince's Mansion, but also a princess who will soon be conferred a title. Therefore, your every word and action will represent my Daxing royal family. I hope you will learn these etiquettes well, so that you can also demonstrate the demeanor of my Daxing princess in Nanzhao in the future."

Princess Qingping remained silent, and Princess Qi did not argue with her. With a single glance, everyone withdrew, while Princess Qi's confidantes stayed outside the door.

Princess Qingping's expression changed upon hearing the commotion: "What does Mother mean by this?"

"From now on, you will be the princess of Daxing. Although you are not my biological daughter, I have never mistreated you since you were a child. To be honest, among all the royal concubine daughters, your life is absolutely enviable. This time, when you marry into Nanzhao, the prince has also specially requested an imperial decree from the emperor, which allows the prince's mansion to allocate one hundred elite soldiers to you. The remaining personal guards will be selected by the emperor from the twelve guards. You will certainly not be wronged."

Princess Qingping's eyes flickered upon hearing this.

Can she really have her own bodyguards?

Would the Nanzhao Kingdom allow it?

“I know what you’re thinking. The princess who married the former king of Nanzhao back then was ill and simple-minded, not shrewd enough. You’re different. I know you’re smart and you’re good at scheming. If you can find a way to make the king of Nanzhao depose his queen, I, Daxing, will definitely support you to become the new queen of Nanzhao.”

Princess Qingping's eyes lit up, but then she became somewhat suspicious: "Is this really true?"

"You are a member of the imperial family of Daxing. Do you really think that the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children is still so important in the face of national interests?"

It was only at this moment that Princess Qingping suddenly realized why what she was learning was different from what the other concubine's daughters were learning.

So, from the very beginning, they wanted her to be a scheming woman?