Harem Daily Life

Hearing her second brother talking about Brother Rui, Princess Derou slowly calmed down: "You're right. It's his loss that the Great Zhou didn't agree to the marriage. Humph, he doesn't even want to keep a beautiful woman like me by his side. It only proves that he has no luck with women."

Kang Mowan showed a hint of disdain and rolled his eyes.

"Okay, now that you've thought it through, don't cause trouble in this inn. This is not Xia Country after all. You should be more restrained and don't let others see you, otherwise it will damage the reputation of Xia Country." Kang Mowan gave instructions and then left.

When he reached his courtyard, an attendant came up and said, "Second Prince, Marquis Ningyuan has privately sent a message, saying he wants to arrange a meeting with you."

Kang Mowan frowned and looked around. Seeing that there were no outsiders, he asked in detail and then said, "Forget it, let's meet him and listen to what he wants to say. But this matter must be kept secret. Aunt must not know. We must also be wary of Shang Yuanzhou. These two are foxes. This time we follow them, we must be cautious in everything we do."

The follower nodded and went out to make contact.

In the middle of the night, several figures walked out of the backyard of the inn, went out the door and disappeared into the night.

The place where Ning Yuanhou had agreed to meet was at Baichuan Teahouse. When Kang Mowan arrived, the teahouse was closed. A waiter was waiting there and opened the door for him.

The waiter led the people to the private room on the second floor and then left.

"Second Prince, please take a seat. I hope you can forgive me for inviting you here so late at night." Marquis Ningyuan was very welcoming. Tea and snacks were already placed on the table. There were only the two of them in the room.

"Your Majesty, you are too polite. I wonder what you want me to come here for?" Kang Mowan did not touch the tea on the table and went straight to the point.

Ning Yuanhou said, "To be honest, it was the Empress who suggested that I meet with the Second Prince alone."

Kang Mowan's vigilance slowly subsided upon hearing this, and he jokingly said, "Oh, Her Majesty the Queen still remembers me. That's really rare!"

Kang Mowan felt a pang of pain in his heart when he thought about how he had tried to get close to Empress Tao during the day, but how Empress Tao had ultimately rejected his proposal. He had been sulking for a long time after returning home, but when he heard that Ningyuan Hou had come on the Empress's orders, he seemed to be comforted again, his anger instantly dissipating, and he even felt a little happy. What was going on?

Slightly suppressing his fluctuating emotions, Kang Mowan patiently waited for Ning Yuanhou's next words.

When Ningyuan Hou saw his expression change in an instant, he knew that his niece had made the right move. He couldn't help but give his niece a thumbs up. She was indeed someone who could win the emperor's heart. Even the second prince of the enemy country was pleased.

"In fact, after you left, the Queen summoned me in a hurry and asked me to make an appointment to meet with the Second Prince to express her apology." Marquis Ningyuan said as he poured a cup of tea for Kang Mowan.

"The Empress had no choice but to reject the Second Prince's proposal today. Firstly, from the perspective of our Great Zhou, the city was indeed captured with great difficulty, and it is not easy to give it up. Secondly, Princess Kangning did send people to stake out our territory, hoping to abduct the Empress and use her as a threat. If the Empress had not been accompanied by guards, I'm afraid she would have been taken away by your Princess and tortured by now. The Empress will remember this grudge deeply."

Kang Mowan frowned and said, "I really didn't know about the kidnapping. Maybe even my father didn't know about it. Alas, my aunt is a person who does things without considering the consequences in Xia Country. If it is really her who did it, then I can only say sorry in advance. Fortunately, the Queen is fine, otherwise, I will feel guilty for the rest of my life."

Seeing that what he said didn't sound like a lie, Ning Yuanhou temporarily accepted it as the truth and continued, "We naturally trust the Second Prince's character. That's why the Empress sent me here to discuss the peace talks between the two sides with him."

Kang Mowan picked up the teacup and drank the tea, which was a signal that he was willing to talk and trust Ningyuan Hou.

"Today, I understand what the Great Zhou means. You won't give up an inch of Ningdu City. If you insist, my aunt will eventually compromise. However, she won't sign an agreement so easily. As for what kind of trouble she will cause, that's unknown."

Ning Yuanhou smiled and said, "Princess Kang Ning is not the only one who can sign the agreement on behalf of Xia Kingdom." After that, Ning Yuanhou looked at Kang Mowan solemnly and said, "As a prince, does the Second Prince have to look at the mood of a princess who married out of the country?"

Kang Mowan pondered for a moment and laughed self-deprecatingly, "To be honest, I don't want to be constrained by her in every way, but... I'm not afraid of being laughed at by the Marquis. Although I'm a prince, my status in the entire Xia royal family is not high. Otherwise, all the thankless tasks would not fall on my shoulders."

Ningyuan Hou sighed, "Second Prince, you are capable and should do more. You have already shouldered a heavy responsibility by negotiating peace on behalf of your Xia monarch. We in the Great Zhou also hope to reach peace as soon as possible, so as not to waste our people and money due to a protracted war. If the Second Prince could sign and seal the peace agreement as soon as possible, we would be deeply grateful."

Kang Mowan looked embarrassed, and Ning Yuanhou said, "Of course, we will become the Second Prince's best partners from now on. If the Second Prince needs anything from the Great Zhou in the future, the Great Zhou will support him at all costs."

As soon as these words came out, Kang Mowan's eyes lit up, but then dimmed again: "I am an unpopular prince with no great ambitions. The Great Zhou really thinks highly of me."

Ning Yuanhou smiled and said, "The Xia Kingdom has not yet appointed a crown prince. Although the Second Prince's mother's family may not be of much help, he is the only prince in the entire Xia royal family who can truly get things done. Why should the Second Prince belittle himself? Everything is possible. If a peace agreement is signed, the Great Zhou can guarantee that half of Ningdu City's trade will be handled by the Second Prince. You can sell all of Xia Kingdom's crops to the Great Zhou, and we will buy as much as you can."

Kang Mowan was tempted. His mother's family had started out as merchants, but in recent years, they had been targeted by Shang Yuanzhou, and their business had plummeted. If they could open up trade with the Great Zhou, and do half of their business with them, it would bring him an endless stream of wealth.

Now that you have money, are you still worried that you won’t be able to recruit soldiers and accomplish great things?

Ningyuan Hou continued, "Our Queen said that the Second Prince is a musical genius and appreciates beautiful things. He is undoubtedly a peace-loving and open-minded person. If he inherits the Xia Kingdom in the future, he will prioritize the well-being of the people and will not arbitrarily provoke wars that would cause suffering to the people."

When Kang Mowan heard that Queen Tao had given him such a good evaluation, it was as if a brilliant firework had blossomed in his heart, making him extremely happy.

"The Queen Mother actually evaluates me like this?" Kang Mowan asked with a smile.

Ning Yuanhou nodded quickly: "Yes, the Queen has a picky eye, and not many people can win her praise."

As he spoke, Ning Yuanhou took a box beside him, opened it, and handed it to Kang Mowan: "The Queen also asked me to give this gift to the Second Prince, saying that the Second Prince is a kindred spirit and one can tell at a glance."

Kang Mowan took the box and saw that inside was a music score, which was written by Long Weiwei back then.

"A soulmate..." Kang Mowan felt like he had found a treasure when he got such a good music score. He took it in his hand and looked through it carefully, feeling very happy.

Ning Yuanhou took a sip of tea from his cup and breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the smirking Second Prince across from him, he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret: Wow, the Queen won. She actually won with just a piece of music. I lost two hundred taels on the bet...