Harem Daily Life

"Xia Kingdom's eldest princess Kang Ning and the second prince Kang Mowan pay their respects to His Majesty the Emperor of Great Zhou and His Majesty the Empress of Great Zhou."

After the ceremony, the emperor gave him a seat.

Tao Yanyan immediately noticed that the girl next to the eldest princess of Xia Kingdom looked at her with an unfriendly look. Thinking of the people on the list, she guessed that the young girl was the eldest princess's daughter.

Her eyes darkened, thinking that the Xia Kingdom came to negotiate peace this time and even brought a young girl with them. It was not difficult to guess what they were thinking. They must want to do the same as the Yan Kingdom did in the past and take the path of marriage.

She looked at her carefully. Princess De Rou's eyes were as deep as a deep pool, as if hiding endless mysteries. Her nose was tall and straight, with beautiful and strong lines. Her lips were like delicate and tempting rose petals, with a faint luster. She had a typical heavy face, exuding a unique exotic charm.

Noticing the Queen of the Great Zhou looking at her, Princess De Rou raised her chin slightly, with a hint of provocation in her eyes.

When Tao Yanyan saw her little movement, he sat up slightly straighter, his eyes turned colder, and he became indescribably dignified.

He Linzhang gave Ningyuan Hou a look, and Ningyuan Hou said, "The Xia Kingdom delegation has come a thousand miles to negotiate peace between the two sides. I wonder what the Xia Kingdom plans to do?"

Kang Ning gave Kang Mowan a look, and Kang Mowan said, "The war continues, and the people on the border are suffering. My Xia Kingdom is willing to reconcile with the Great Zhou. We hope that the Great Zhou army will withdraw from our Ningdu City. We are willing to offer 200,000 taels of silver. We will also open up border trade and allow us to communicate with each other."

Ning Yuanhou laughed and said, "Before, you, the Xia Kingdom, occupied the cities of my Great Zhou, and promised to cease hostilities only if my Great Zhou ceded the cities to you. You disregarded the rule of non-killing civilians during war between two nations and massacred the people of my Great Zhou border, committing countless atrocities. Now that my Great Zhou has won, are you acting like grandsons and demanding we withdraw from the occupied Ningdu City, only to compensate my Great Zhou with silver?"

"Marquis Ningyuan, you are at least a first-rank military marquis. Why do you speak so harshly and even curse at me?" Kang Ning was very angry and glared at Marquis Ningyuan.

"What? You did such a beastly thing, and I shouldn't scold you? Princess Kang, you've done more than just this one evil thing. Don't forget the group of people you sent, hoping to capture the Queen of Great Zhou and bring her back to threaten the army. How can such a shameless act of yours be anything but that of a grandson?"

Corning was exposed in public and felt a little embarrassed.

"You have no evidence, stop throwing mud at me." Kang Ning chose to deny it even if he was beaten to death.

Ning Yuanhou sneered, "God is watching what you do. You know exactly what you've done. Let's get back to the point. If you want to negotiate peace, you must adopt a peace-making attitude. I don't approve of the plan you proposed."

Ningyuan Hou glanced at the emperor and said, "Since we were the victims forced to fight, and we expended enormous manpower and financial resources to recapture the city and seize Ningdu from Xia, in order to teach Xia a lesson and prevent it from attacking again, we will not retreat from Ningdu. You will relocate the people, and Ningdu will be incorporated into the territory of Great Zhou."

"No!" Kang Ning said angrily, "You are just robbing people by trickery and taking advantage of their misfortune."

Ning Yuanhou refused to give in. "You are defeated now. Even if you disagree, what can you do to me? We still have hundreds of thousands of troops stationed at the border. If you want to fight, we, the Great Zhou, will fight to the end!"

Kang Ning was so angry that she was speechless. Shang Yuanzhou beside her quickly pulled her sleeve and said, "Since you are here to negotiate peace, why not sit down and discuss it slowly? Why are you so tense?"

He bowed to He Linzhang and said to Ningyuan Hou, "Xia Kingdom is willing to increase the silver price to 300,000 taels. I hope that Great Zhou will show mercy and withdraw its troops."

Tao Yanyan looked at the man in his fifties and knew he was Shang Yuanzhou. He looked gentle and refined, and might have been considered a handsome man in his youth, but the calculating look in his eyes was very unpleasant.

Ning Yuanhou waved his hand and said, "This is not a matter of money. This is a matter of teaching Xia a lesson. Xia has resorted to violence at will, and you should be taught a profound lesson."

Shang Yuanzhou was also a little depressed, but what could he do? It was Xia Guo's fault that he was not as skilled as others and lost!

Kang Mowan gritted his teeth, wanting to play the emotional card to ease the current situation, and said: "I hope your Majesty is well. I didn't expect that in just over a year, your Majesty has already taken the throne of the Empress. Congratulations."

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "Thank you, Second Prince. When you returned, you sent some rare fruits to me, and I ate some too. You're so thoughtful."

Kang Mowan smiled and said, "Xia Country doesn't have much else, but it does have a rich variety of fruits. If Your Majesty likes it, we can discuss opening up trade. Ningdu City is Xia Country's neighbor to the Great Zhou. If it is opened up, it will surely benefit both sides. We will also reduce all trade taxes and make Ningdu City a transit point for the supply of goods."

Tao Yanyan glanced at Kang Mowan and said, "What a coincidence! His Majesty previously said that once Ningdu City is ceded to us, we will reduce taxes for three years so that we can rest and recuperate. I think the Second Prince has the same idea."

Tao Yanyan's words poured cold water on Kang Mowan. He didn't expect that Queen Tao was also so vigilant and would not give in at all.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at the emperor and empress with complicated eyes. This couple was really difficult to deal with.

Kang Ning paused, glanced at He Linzhang, and said, "Your Majesty, if you are still not satisfied with 300,000 taels, we are willing to increase it by another 100,000 taels and send a princess as a bride. What do you think, as long as the Great Zhou withdraws its troops?"

After she finished speaking, she gestured to her daughter beside her. Princess Derou stood up and saluted He Linzhang gracefully: "Derou greets His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Zhou."

"This is my biological daughter, she is seventeen years old this year. She is willing to enter the palace as a concubine to improve the friendship between the two countries." Kang Ning said.

He Linzhang just took a look and then looked away.

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "Perhaps the princess didn't get the information before she came. Our emperor has long since stopped selecting concubines and marrying off princesses, and no longer accepts concubines into the harem. Princess Derou, come here to experience the customs and people of the Great Zhou, and then return."

Everyone in the Xia Kingdom was stunned. They didn't expect that the Great Zhou would not accept the final bargaining chip for marriage.

"As for the compensation in silver, three hundred thousand is three hundred thousand. It's not much. Once the city's letter of confederation is signed, your mission to negotiate peace will be completed. If you hurry up, you can go back to celebrate the New Year." Tao Yanyan said to Kang Ning with a smile. His attitude was quite good, but his words were sharp.

"Your Majesty is in charge of the harem. It is better to ask the Emperor of the Great Zhou to decide the political affairs of the two countries. Didn't the Queen Mother teach Your Majesty that the harem should not interfere in politics?" Kang Ning said in a bad tone.

Tao Yanyan's face suddenly turned cold. "Since I'm sitting here today, I naturally have a say. You, a defeated nation, come here to negotiate peace, yet you accuse me of my faults. Who gives you the confidence? You don't want to negotiate peace anymore, do you? Well, you can go back. My Great Zhou army will not withdraw from Ningdu City anyway. At worst, I can use the 300,000 taels to capture another city to offset the loss."

Everyone in the Xia Kingdom's expression suddenly changed, and they looked at Queen Tao with gritted teeth.