The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

Ling Silang's mind raced. The Da Fan were best at raising horses. Da Shun also had horses, but they weren't as well-raised as those raised by the Da Fan. The difference was particularly striking when the horses from the two countries were placed side by side.

The Shun people were numerous and skilled in battle, but in mounted combat, the Great Barbarians generally held the upper hand.

“This matter is quite serious. After all, Crown Prince of the Great Barbarians made a request to His Majesty, but now you have gone back on your word. How about this, we will give you two thousand warhorses as compensation and replace you with someone else.”

Two thousand horses, you really dare to dream of that.

“Impossible.” The Crown Prince of Dafan refused outright. “It’s just a matter of changing the person. If you really don’t want to change them, I…” He looked at Du Mingxian with disdain, “I can also choose not to change the person.”

Ling Silang's heart tightened, but he remained calm. "In that case, it's good not to change the person. Congratulations to the Crown Prince of Dafan."

The Crown Prince of Dafan was surprised that Ling Silang, who seemed to like the eldest daughter of the Wen family, would actually back down on this matter. He was immediately displeased. "Didn't you say you were already engaged? Now you're not even trying to fight for it. Are you even a man?"

"That's not how it works. Miss Wen's marriage to a foreign ruler can avoid conflict between the two countries, save a lot of trouble, and protect the homes and lives of many people. We cannot be selfish and not do it because of our own selfish desires."

The Great Barbarian Prince: "..." It seems like things have gone a bit too far.

The situation became somewhat tense. Ling Silang stood still, as did Du Mingxian, while only the Crown Prince of Dafan hesitated between his warhorse and the woman.

"Who...who knows what your second young lady from the Wen family looks like? What if she's an ugly duckling too?"

Ling Silang was very confident, "Many people here have seen Miss Wen before, so we can let them be our witnesses to see if she is indeed a beauty of unparalleled grace."

"If it's so good, why doesn't she attend Your Majesty's birthday celebration?"

Lord Wen then stepped forward to explain, “Your Highness, my wife is ill, and my youngest daughter was unable to attend in order to take care of her mother.”

The Crown Prince of Dafan was very suspicious, but he didn't say it. If this marriage was really settled today, he would lose face in the future. In Litian, it would be even more difficult to discuss the exchange of marriages in the future.

"Fifteen hundred warhorses, offered in exchange for a marriage. If you are not satisfied with this offer, I will not proceed with the marriage."

Ling Silang felt relieved. "Your Majesty, since the Crown Prince of Dafan is so sincere, why not change the marriage? It would be a beautiful story."

The Emperor was quite satisfied. "Very well, since that's the case, then let Miss Wen, Wen Shiyan, marry into the family. I will issue an edict to bestow upon Wen Shiyan the title of Princess."

"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty." Lord Wen knelt down to express his gratitude.

After this little episode, Du Mingxian returned to her position, while Ling Silang wanted to return to his previous inconspicuous position, but was stopped by the Crown Prince of Dafan.

"This gentleman is truly eloquent. In that case, you shall sit beside me and explain to me the customs of the Great Shun Dynasty."

"Yes." Ling Silang walked over, and the Crown Prince of Dafan pointed to the seat next to him.

In Da Shun, men and women were separated, but envoys from other countries were not. Some of them brought their princesses with them when they came for marriage alliances, such as the Da Fan.

They want to marry one person and bring another to the country.

Ling Silang stood still. The princess of the Great Barbarian Kingdom was sitting on the other side of the table, and he didn't want to get involved in that kind of trouble.

"Does this lord look down on me, a princess of the Great Barbarian Kingdom?" Princess Aina of the Great Barbarian Kingdom spoke with a hint of coquetry, her voice soft and gentle, enough to melt anyone's heart.

Ling Silang bowed first before speaking, “Princess, the people of Dafan are open-minded and it is not a problem for men and women to sit together. However, we in Dashun pay more attention to etiquette, and it would not be good for the princess’s reputation if men and women sat together.”

"Ah, is that so?" Aina seemed to have just heard about it, but after her surprise, she stared at him with great interest. "It's nothing, I think this gentleman's way of doing things is to my liking. If I were to be called a heretic along with him, Aina would be happy."

There were no songs or dances in the main hall at this moment, and no one was deliberately talking. Most of them were watching Ling Silang and Princess Aina's conversation.

Du Mingxian felt that the prince and princess of this great foreign land were disgusting. They only knew how to stare at other people's things, without even considering whether other people were happy or not.

“Princess, please be careful with your words. I already have a fiancée.” After saying this, Ling Silang deliberately stood on the other side of the Great Barbarian Prince Aiqi.

The Emperor, seated in the main seat, smiled upon seeing this scene. "Alright, Lord Qi, please return to your seat."

"Yes."

Just as Ling Silang was about to leave, Princess Aina called out to him, "Wait."

Ling Silang stopped and turned around. He saw Princess Aina stand up and say to the emperor sitting in the main seat, "Your Majesty, I am also here for a marriage alliance. I found this Lord Qi to be a suitable match, so I chose him as my marriage partner this time."

People immediately began to whisper among themselves. They really hadn't expected that the big guy would do such outrageous things one after another.

The Emperor frowned, his tone becoming more serious, "Princess Aina, he is my subject."

“Before I came, my father told me that anyone I choose is fine.”

The Emperor simply asked Aina, "Crown Prince Aina, do you agree with Princess Aina's idea?"

Having just learned her lesson, Aiqi didn't want to speak, but when called upon, she reluctantly stood up, saying, "Your Majesty, regarding Aina's husband, my father did say that she should choose for herself, but... this Lord Qi seems to have a very low official rank, and his seat is in a very remote location. For someone like him to be Aina's husband, he should first be promoted."

"Your Majesty." Ling Silang turned around, lifted his robe, and knelt down.

The Emperor's expression was very unpleasant. "Does Lord Qi have something to say?"

Although Ling Silang had not been in officialdom for very long, the emperor had a habit of calling his ministers "my beloved ministers" when he was happy, and "my lord" when he was unhappy.

So the emperor is in a very bad mood right now.

"Your Majesty, although the Great Barbarians have been using the pretext of marriage alliances and peace talks, they have no intention of seeking peace whatsoever. First, they took a fancy to the eldest daughter of the Wen family, then demanded a replacement, and then there were the remarks made by the Great Barbarian princess. This is clearly an attempt to control the government of our Great Shun Dynasty."

The Emperor asked in a deep voice, "What makes you say that?"

"I have no background or status, and I only got into the government by luck and some knowledge. As a minor official, I have a good chance and I am fortunate to have entered the Ministry of Rites, which is already an exceptional promotion."

“But now Princess Aina wants to promote me directly with just a few words. How can others control the court of our Great Shun? If word gets out, what face will our Great Shun have left?”

"It's not acceptable to have this relationship with someone or that relationship; we can't let others lead us by the nose."