Marrying the Crown Prince

Zhang Siwu's arrogance was so outrageous that even civil officials, let alone military officers, couldn't tolerate it.

So why bother recruiting anyone else?

Go ahead and fight.

The table was overturned, and everyone rolled up their sleeves and rushed forward.

Zhou Zhou and Li Ziyan exchanged a glance, but neither of them spoke.

What else could we do? We couldn't stop them, and besides, we really wanted to rush up and beat up those bastards like Yun Qin.

So just watch quietly—don't kill him.

After another half incense stick's time, Li Ziyan finally ordered the guards to come forward and separate the people.

"This is utterly absurd! How could they beat the Yunqin envoy like this?" Li Ziyan feigned anger and reprimanded the court officials.

However, the laughter in his voice was quite obvious.

“You people of Chen Kingdom are all untrustworthy.” One of the Yun Qin people immediately stood up. “You were clearly just laughing and watching the show.”

His face was bruised and swollen from being punched, and he spoke with a slight lisp.

There was no other way; this time, the court officials were fighting specifically to get their hands on the faces of the Yun Qin people.

Faced with this question, Li Ziyan remained calm, saying, "This gentleman must have suffered a head injury and is not thinking clearly."

"Someone come here! Quickly take him down to rest."

He waved his hand, and the guards immediately stepped forward and dragged the man away.

The man thought he was about to be splattered with blood, so he struggled desperately, crying and screaming. His wails could be heard from a great distance.

Li Ziyan smiled faintly and looked at Zhang Siwu, "What the princess just said is correct. Our two countries are indeed in peace talks."

Zhang Siwu felt a tightness in her chest as she was being stared at. Her intuition told her that the emperor of Chen Kingdom probably already knew where to bury all the members of the Yun Qin delegation.

Thinking of this, she excitedly shrugged her shoulders.

Soon, Li Ziyan's voice rang out again—

"However, it seems that our peace talks have not been completed yet, so I would like to ask that you two stay with me for a while longer."

After saying that, he gestured to the guards to take action again.

A long sword was immediately placed against the necks of Zhang Siwu and Zhang Sicheng.

The head guard said in an icy tone, "Your Highness, Princess, this way please."

Some members of the Yunqin delegation wanted to protest, but they all shut their mouths when they saw the long sword gleaming with a cold light.

Then Li Ziyan swept up the mess on the ground and said, "This farce ends here."

The emperor issued an order to dismiss the guests, and the court officials dared not ask or speak further. They all bowed and said, "Your subject/your humble subject takes his leave."

As for the Yun-Qin delegation, "You should return to the post station. Tomorrow, someone from the Court of State Ceremonial will come to negotiate with you."

After everyone was ushered out of the palace, Li Ziyan and Zhou Zhou boarded a sedan chair and returned to Fengyi Palace.

Upon returning to Fengyi Palace, Zhou Zhou was already feeling quite exhausted and ordered the palace servants to boil some water.

As the scalding water enveloped her entire body and head, Zhou Zhou felt an unprecedented calm, a calm so profound that she could clearly hear her own heartbeat and feel the flow of blood through her body.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but it probably wasn't long. Suddenly, she emerged from the water, gasping for breath of fresh air.

She... figured it out.

Zhou Zhou quickly washed up, dried herself, changed into clean clothes, and walked out of the bathroom.

Li Ziyan was sitting on a soft couch playing chess pieces, and his expression had softened considerably compared to before.

Zhou Zhou sat down opposite him, looking intently at Li Ziyan, "I think this princess of Yun Qin is doing this on purpose."

"But what is her purpose? It seems... she doesn't want the peace talks to proceed smoothly."

Hearing Zhou Zhou say this, Li Ziyan nodded, "You're right, she did it on purpose, because she fabricated the reason for Lady Qingyuan's death."

Liu Jingyuan was posthumously granted the title of Second-Rank Marquis's Wife, with the honorary title of Qingyuan.

Lady Zhaoqing was posthumously granted the title of First-Rank Lady of the State, with the honorary title of Yijie.

Gao Yun was posthumously granted the title of Second-Rank Marquis's Wife, with the honorary title of Dinghua.

Chen Baichuan, the second son of Marquis Zhaoqing, was posthumously granted the title of Second-Rank Marquis. His posthumous title was Ninghua.

Yang Yu'an was posthumously granted the title of Second-Rank Marquis and the honorary title of Chengyi.

Zhou Laowu was posthumously granted the title of Second-Rank Marquis and the honorary title of Anmin.

……

Countless men who died in battle and women who sacrificed themselves for the greater good have been posthumously honored by Li Ziyan to comfort their families.

Hearing Li Ziyan say this, Zhou Zhou opened his mouth, but didn't have the courage to ask—how exactly did Liu Jingyuan die?

“She passed away peacefully.” Li Ziyan reached out and grasped her cold hand.

Zhou Zhou forced a smile. "Well, that's good."

After the banquet ended, Zhou Zhou went to the bathroom to sober up. At this time, Chen Muchuan asked to see him, because he was one of the few survivors in Anping County.

Before the city fell, he was already seriously injured. It was Liu Jingyuan who dragged him away and hid him while he was unconscious.

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Muchuan was awakened by a deafening cacophony of crying and cursing.

He braced himself against the terrain, struggling to evade his pursuers, and then he saw Liu Jingyuan hanging from a crooked tree.

Her clothes were stained with blood, some of it her own, some of it from others. In some places the blood had dried, while in others it was still gushing out.

As if sensing something, Liu Jingyuan raised her head. Due to the continuous loss of blood, her vision blurred and she could no longer see the scene in front of her.

But at this moment, their eyes still met in the air.

Her eyes were vacant, and it was unclear who she was looking at.

He trembled all over and covered his mouth tightly to keep from making a sound.

She struggled to move her hands and found that she could still move them, so she made one gesture after another.

Chen Muchuan watched her quietly, and when she finished typing a sentence, his eyes welled up with tears.

Tears blurred his vision, dripping onto the wounds on his face, sending piercing pain through him.

She said, "Don't come out, there's an ambush."

She said, "Live on, live on with everyone's lives."

She said, "I can't hold on anymore, it's so uncomfortable, it hurts so much, it really hurts."

She said, "Kill me..."

With trembling hands, Chen Muchuan drew the bow.

He took deep breaths to calm himself, and his hands gradually stopped trembling.

An arrow flew out at an astonishing speed, like a silver dragon, whistling as it pierced Liu Jingyuan's heart in an instant.

Liu Jingyuan smiled and looked up at the blazing sun.

The sky is so blue, so beautiful.

She's finally dead, finally free.

That's wonderful, that's wonderful...

After the recollection ended, Li Ziyan and Zhou Zhou leaned against each other, talking about the strange things that happened at the palace banquet that day—what was Zhang Siwu's purpose?

What are the benefits of angering the people of Chen Kingdom in the capital of Chen Kingdom?

Zhang Sicheng also wanted to know the answer to this question.

However, his method was much simpler and more brutal.

Li Ziyan arranged for Zhang Siwu and Zhang Sicheng to live in the same residence.

As soon as he entered the room, Zhang Sicheng kicked Zhang Siwu in the chest, "You bastard, with peace talks imminent, what are you up to by doing these things?"

On the battlefield, Zhang Siwu was also injured. Moreover, Zhang Sicheng was not an ordinary young master; he was also a ruthless character who fought on the battlefield.

He was not supported, so Zhang Siwu's body fell to the ground like a kite with a broken string, and he vomited a mouthful of blood.

She clutched her chest and knelt humbly on the ground, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger."