The ninth son of the emperor was demoted at the beginning. I have a famous Chinese general.

“Could it be that…?”

A thought suddenly flashed through Ning Quan's mind.

Could it be that...Sikong Ruo is interested in me?

Ning Quan's heart beat violently and almost jumped out of his chest.

"Ahem, okay, the poem is done. I'm going back to the car to rest."

Ning Quan suppressed his inner throbbing, said a few words in a hurry, and turned back to the carriage.

Ning Quan's heart was still pounding until he returned to the carriage.

If Sikong Ruo really was interested in him, he could take her into his room.

Doesn't that mean that the power of King Zhenbei will also fall into his hands?

Wouldn’t this be a great help to your future?

But soon, Ning Quan shook his head again.

Don't be too self-indulgent.

Sikong Ruo only admired him, which was far from being love.

Besides, even if Sikong Ruo was interested, not to mention that he couldn't get past Li Wanyue, the King of Zhenbei and His Majesty would never agree.

How could it be possible for a prince with bloodline from the previous dynasty to marry the daughter of the King of Zhenbei, who holds a large army?

I'm afraid that by then, not only the Zhenbei Palace will suffer, His Majesty will be the first to kill him.

"Oh, never mind! Better not let your imagination run wild."

Ning Quan sighed softly.

...........

the other side.

The residence of the eldest prince of Hexi.

Liu Yuanqing was kneeling on the ground, trembling.

Sitting in front of him was the eldest prince Ning Zhen.

Liu Yuanqing was released by Sikong Ruo the day before yesterday and returned with a letter from Sikong Ruo to the eldest prince.

"Snapped."

"This really makes me so angry."

After reading the letter, Ning Zhen slammed the table and trembled with anger.

In the letter, Sikong Ruo asked him for one million taels of silver in compensation, and made it clear that if he did not give it, he would make a big deal out of it and report it to the emperor.

How could Ning Zhen not be annoyed by this?

"Trash, you are a trash!"

"As the deputy general of the Hexi Army, four thousand men can't defeat two thousand men! What use do I have for you?"

Ning Zhen roared, his eyes as red as blood.

"Your Highness, spare your life!"

Liu Yuanqing was so frightened that he kowtowed and begged for mercy.

"Hmph, spare my life?"

"Now that things have come to this, you still want to spare my life?"

"Do you know what conditions Sikong Ruo proposed? She wants me to pay her one million silver coins as compensation."

"One million silver coins are enough to cover the expenses of the Hexi Army for half a year."

"So... your death is not worth a pity at all."

Ning Zhen said hatefully.

"Your Highness, please calm down. Lieutenant General Liu has always worked hard and made great contributions. Please spare his life and allow him to make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence."

At this time, Zheng Qiu, the chief official of the Prince's Mansion, advised.

"Humph, spare his life?"

"Let's not talk about his incompetence, which has put me in a very disadvantageous position."

"Just one million taels of silver, where can I get it?"

"Is he taking it for me?"

Ning Zhen gritted his teeth and said.

"Your Highness, it's true that Vice Admiral Liu made a mistake, but this time there was a reason for it. No one expected Sikong Ruo to be in the convoy."

"Therefore, Your Highness, please spare Lieutenant General Liu's life and give him the opportunity to redeem himself for his crime."

Zheng Qiu continued to persuade.

"Hey, never mind. I'm also at fault in this matter."

"For your sake, I will spare his life."

After a moment of silence, Ning Zhen sighed.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for sparing your life."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuanqing was overjoyed and immediately kowtowed to express his gratitude.

"Get up."

"You may be spared the death penalty, but you cannot escape the punishment of life. I will fine you two years' salary. I hope you will remember this lesson and never disappoint me again."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Liu Yuanqing kowtowed in gratitude and quickly withdrew.

"Your Highness, how do you plan to deal with this matter?"

After Liu Yuanqing left, Zheng Qiu spoke.

"Is there any need to ask? Of course I can only agree to her terms."

Ning Zhen smiled bitterly.

"Well, Your Highness is right to think so. Since Sikong Ruo has asked Your Highness for compensation, it means that she does not want to pursue the matter any further."

"We gave her the silver, and the matter is over. This way, we don't have to tear our faces with the King of Zhenbei, and there will be room for future cooperation."

"As for His Majesty, as long as the King of Zhenbei doesn't pursue the matter, I think the most he will do is reprimand Your Highness a few times, and there won't be any actual losses."

Zheng Qiu agreed.

"Yes, that's what I thought too."

"It's just one million taels of silver. It makes me sad just thinking about it."

Ning Zhen sighed slightly.

"Your Highness, one million taels is indeed not a small amount."

"But compared to the throne of Daqian, which is more important?"

Hearing Ning Zhen's words, Zheng Qiu spoke slowly.

"Yes, the throne is the most important thing. Money is nothing."

"You should immediately write a letter and send it to Sikong Ruo, telling her that the king agrees to pay compensation."

"When her caravan passes through Hexi, I will personally hand over the compensation to her."

Ning Zhen took a deep breath and said solemnly.

"Yes, I understand."

Zheng Qiu bowed.

........

At night, the moonlight shines.

The convoy set up camp on an open space beside the official road.

Hundreds of carriages were gathered together in a defensive formation, with hundreds of tents inside.

At this moment, the camp was brightly lit and the soldiers were busy cooking.

Sikong Ruo and Li Wanyue were standing together chatting.

"Sister Wanyue, I want to ask you a favor, please."

Suddenly, Sikong Ruo blinked his eyes and looked at Li Wanyue expectantly.

"Oh, what is it?"

Li Wanyue blinked her big watery eyes and asked in confusion.

"Sister Wanyue, please tell His Highness that he can give me the two poems he wrote today."

Sikong Ruo pulled Li Wanyue's sleeve and shook it, saying coquettishly.

"What's wrong with that? Of course you can."

Li Wanyue smiled and pursed her lips.

"That's great."

"Thank you, Sister Wanyue."

Seeing Li Wanyue agreed, Sikong Ruo immediately cheered and jumped up excitedly.

"Silly girl, look how happy I am for you."

Seeing Sikong Ruo's happy expression, Li Wanyue shook her head and laughed.

Although she and Sikong Ruo were not familiar with each other before, they got along very well along the way.

She was especially moved by the fact that Sikong Ruo almost died while protecting the convoy.

So of course she would help with this little thing.

"What are you talking about? You look so happy."

At this time, Ning Quan got off the carriage, looked at the two women with a smile and asked.

"Hehe, nothing much, we're just chatting."

Li Wanyue said with a sweet smile.

"Chatting can make you two so happy. I can't tell that your relationship is getting better and better."

Ning Quan teased.

"Of course, we are closer than sisters now."

Li Wanyue smiled sweetly.

"Your Highness, I want to ask you a favor."

"Can you please give those two poems you wrote this afternoon to Sister Ruo'er? She wants them."

Then, Li Wanyue said to Ning Quan playfully.

"Haha, easy to say."

"Since Wan'er has spoken, I will obey."

Ning Quan smiled slightly.

"Husband, you are so kind."

Upon hearing this, Li Wanyue excitedly ran into Ning Quan's arms.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Sikong Ruo was also very happy and quickly bowed to express his gratitude.