The abandoned concubine who transmigrated woke up shouting "Long live the widow!"

Apart from the snow melting in the courtyard, nothing else had changed at Yichun Palace. The Imperial Household Department had delivered a lot of meat and vegetables.

The original palace maids and eunuchs knew Princess Zhan's temperament; she didn't want them to get close, so they just did their jobs.

Xiaoman and Liqiu prepared a few simple dishes, and after lunch, Jingxue took the two girls to rest.

In the afternoon, the Imperial Guards came to inform her that the banquet would be held in Minghua Palace. Jingxue knew that it was a small palace, the place where the Three Dukes held a full moon celebration.

It's clear that the reception for the Nanzhao delegation this time won't be as grand as that for the Cangbei delegation.

After changing into her formal attire, she gave Yingying a few more instructions, telling her not to mistake people for each other again, as she was taking her to see the highest-ranking official in Bei Ye, the Emperor.

Yingying was quite obedient. When she left Yichun Palace, she ran into the Nanzhao delegation. Leopard and Eagle were not with her, and the little girl stopped crying.

However, Jingxue pulled her to the Nanzhao princess and said, "Your Highness, our child was a little rude this morning, I'm sorry! I'll have her bow and apologize to you! Yingying, come here."

Yingying obediently curtsied and said, "I'm sorry, Your Highness, I was rude. Please forgive me!"

Princess Nanzhao subconsciously extended the hand that wasn't wrapped around the small snake, gesturing, "It's alright, this princess won't hold a grudge against a child like you, please dispense with the formalities!"

Just then, a gust of wind blew a dry leaf, which landed right on Princess Nanzhao's hair. Jingxue quickly and naturally removed the leaf and threw it away.

Princess Nanzhao felt as if she had been bitten by a mosquito, but she didn't pay much attention to it.

Everything happened too fast. Only the High Priest sensed something was wrong and hurriedly said, "Let's go! Don't keep Emperor Beiye waiting."

Jingxue chimed in, "Alright, Yingying, Her Highness has forgiven you. Let's go! We'll come visit Her Highness sometime."

She pulled Yingying along, a barely perceptible smile appearing on her face. Wow! It all came so easily!

Princess Nanzhao's hair has already entered the space.

Upon arriving at Minghua Palace, just as Jingxue had predicted, there were hardly any family members or even officials present.

Today's guests include officials from the Six Ministries, Prime Minister Zou, two princes, and a county prince.

The Empress did not come; only the Empress Dowager and the Emperor sat at the head of the table.

Most officials had seen the two children that Jingxue was leading, as had the Emperor and Empress Dowager. So, Jingxue and Yingying sat down next to Ye Muchen, while Runyue and the other two stood behind her.

The Nanzhao delegation paid a grand salute to the emperor and presented many gifts. Jingxue raised an eyebrow as she looked at the boxes of precious medicinal herbs, pearls, and agates.

The Nanzhao Kingdom was quite wealthy!

The Emperor said, "Envoys from Nanzhao, please be seated! I know the purpose of your visit, but this is no small matter and we need to discuss it carefully."

"Yes! Thank you, Your Majesty." The members of the delegation sat down according to their assigned seats.

Then the banquet began, and the emperor asked some trivial questions, which the Nanzhao princess answered one by one.

Jingxue noticed that very few people were eating at the banquet, although some dancers did come up and perform a few dances.

Finally, the emperor announced the end of the banquet, saying that he would arrange for two princes to lead officials from the six ministries to hold talks with the delegation.

Looking at the banquet as it was, Jingxue couldn't help but sigh, "Both the country and the individual must be strong!"

It's really unpleasant to have to beg for help!

Back at Yichun Palace, Jingxue sent several maids to rest early in the morning. She went into her spatial dimension to find the robot nurse to do a paternity test.

Jingxue was puzzled. If Princess Nanzhao was really An'an and Yingying's mother, how could she not recognize her own children?

Has she lost her memory again?

The fastest paternity test results take six hours to come out.

After the banquet, the Emperor kept Prince Zhan, Prince Rui, and Prince Jin behind.

Inside the Hall of Diligent Governance, the Emperor sat behind his desk.

"Prince Jin, your memorial is not very detailed. I think this Princess Nanzhao is about twenty years old and doesn't seem to be in very good health. I know that the Emperor of Nanzhao only has this one princess. Does she not have a husband?" the Emperor asked.

"Your Majesty, their Nanzhao princess has been missing for over ten years and was only found about half a year ago. She was not married. If the Nanzhao emperor hadn't insisted on seeing her alive or dead, he probably would have made his nephew the crown prince."

The emperor asked, "Could there be a female emperor in Nanzhao in the future?"

Prince Jin nodded. "Because of this matter, many people in their country oppose it. Nanzhao can be said to be beset by internal and external troubles, which is why they came out to ask for help."

“But our Northern Night has just experienced two years of drought, and our national treasury is not rich. If we go to war, our national strength will definitely be affected.”

"So Your Majesty means you won't help?" King Jinjun, being a military general, asked directly.

"That's not it. That's why I've summoned you here to discuss this."

Ye Muchen said, “Your Majesty, there are two ways to help: one is to provide material assistance, and the other is to send troops. However, there are also two possible outcomes: one is that we can defeat the foreign invaders, and the other is the opposite.”

"As for supplies, it seems we don't have anything to offer. Besides, Nanzhao doesn't seem to lack supplies, let alone those fire muskets that they fear," Ye Musi said.

"Xue'er had an iron shield made a few days ago. I wonder if it can withstand those fire muskets?"

After Ye Muchen finished speaking, the other three looked at him in unison. The Emperor asked, "Really? If those shields can withstand the fire muskets, then does Bei Ye not need to send troops? Even if we do send troops, we can still win the battle, right?"

“But it seems that the Nanzhao Kingdom has never seen a fire musket before, right? So, it’s still unknown whether we can withstand it,” Ye Musi said.

Prince Jin said, "I estimate that Nanzhao has spies who have seen this. Why don't we show it to the Nanzhao envoy?"

The Emperor thought of Jingxue again, "How about this! Let Princess Zhan participate in the negotiations, since the one from Nanzhao is also a princess."

Ye Muchen said, "Your Majesty, is it inappropriate for Xue'er to participate in the negotiation? After all, she is just a woman from the inner quarters, you..."

The Emperor wasn't stupid; he knew there was a hidden meaning in Ye Muchen's words.

Prince Jin also found the Emperor's words unbelievable. Wasn't Princess Zhan the daughter of Jing Zhiyuan? What skills could she possibly have besides being beautiful?

“Your Majesty, I also feel that this is somewhat inappropriate,” said Prince Jin.

The Emperor waved his hand and said, "There's nothing wrong with it. Prince Jin has been away from the capital for a long time and doesn't know about Princess Zhan's abilities."

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid Xue'er won't agree," Ye Muchen said.

Prince Jin: The world has changed. How dare Princess Zhan refuse the Emperor's arrangements?

The Emperor glared at Ye Muchen. “Tomorrow morning at court, I will issue a reward order. Whoever can resolve the Nanzhao problem without firing a single shot will receive a unique reward.”

Ye Muchen: My brother is really ruthless! He didn't even have to lift a finger. Why doesn't he just fly to the sky?

Prince Jin was dumbfounded. Had he misheard or had the emperor misspoke? Why did it sound so mysterious?

Seeing that no one spoke, the emperor said again, "Let Princess Zhan participate in the negotiations for the time being, at least let her learn more about the situation in the foreign lands. Also, bring that shield into the palace."

"Your Majesty, that shield couldn't have been made from ordinary pig iron, could it?" Ye Muchen asked.