Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

On the way, Su Qianrou remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.

"Rou'er," Su Jing'an's voice suddenly came from behind.

Su Qianrou turned her head and looked back. "Father, you're back."

Seeing her downcast mood, Su Jing'an knew that she must already know, "I know everything."

"Mm," Su Qianrou nodded.

"Don't worry, your father is here. He won't let you marry into the Western Regions."

Su Qianrou did not respond, but asked, "Father, is it true that the Western Regions used two cities as betrothal gifts?"

"Hmph, what do you mean by betrothal gifts? They're just humiliating Yunyue."

Su Qianrou looked at him, puzzled.

"Talk as you walk."

"it is good".

Then, the two walked together toward the Ink Bamboo Courtyard.

"Father, what's the deal with those two cities?"

“Three years ago, the Western Regions suddenly attacked. Logically speaking, we Yunyue should have won, because they only had 30,000 troops while we had 70,000. However, we lost in the end, and Lanzhou and Liangzhou were taken away by them. Now, they are using Lanzhou and Liangzhou as betrothal gifts. This is simply disregarding Yunyue.”

“I heard that my uncle requested to send troops. Could he have been the commander back then?”

"No, it's General Liu."

"Liu Mingye".

"Ok".

"Does no one suspect that there might be something going on?"

"He was never a military commander. If General Liu hadn't been murdered, if the young master of Liu hadn't suffered from a leg ailment, if the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion hadn't had anyone else to rely on, the Liu family army wouldn't have been handed over to him. Fortunately, we had your uncle. If it weren't for his efforts to turn the tide, we would have lost more than just Lanzhou and Liangzhou. That's why the Duke of Zhenguo entrusted the Liu family army to your uncle afterward."

Su Qianrou remained silent, lost in thought.

Su Jing'an then said, "We must take back Lanzhou and Liangzhou, but we should take them back openly and honestly, not through such a humiliating method as marriage alliance. Yunyue is a great nation. Do we have to be afraid of the Western Regions? If we really accept the marriage alliance, what will become of Yunyue's reputation? But they are actually thinking of submitting. A bunch of cowards."

“When your father says these things, they will only think that your father is doing it for his own selfish reasons.”

“Even if it weren’t you, I would not agree to a marriage alliance. Even if the national treasury was empty and could not withstand the war in the past, I would not agree. How much more so now that the national treasury is full and the food is plentiful.”

"Father, there's no need to be so angry. Didn't you say that the Regent also disagrees with the marriage alliance?"

"His Highness disagrees, but those ministers are persistent. I'm afraid His Highness won't be able to withstand the pressure and will eventually have to agree."

"Father, do you know why the Western Regions suddenly want to arrange a marriage alliance?"

"It is said that Prince Bru took a liking to you and, after returning home, could not forget you. He even fell ill from longing for you. Therefore, the king of the Western Regions sent someone to propose marriage."

"Does Dad think it's possible?"

"That's impossible. That Blue is obviously an arrogant and ambitious person. How could he possibly fall ill from missing you?"

"There must be more to this story."

"Everyone knows this, but it's probably impossible to find out in a short time."

"Father thinks it might be the work of Prince Qing or Prince Min."

"you mean".

"As everyone knows, my father dotes on me. If I were to marry into the Western Regions, he would inevitably harbor resentment towards the prince. Even if he didn't initially, if I were to die in the Western Regions, would my father... still be able to remain indifferent?"

Su Jing'an fell into deep thought. "If you put it that way, it's quite possible. In your opinion, was this done by Prince Qing or Prince Min?"

"King Min".

Why?

"Intuition," Su Qianrou didn't tell the truth, because now was not the time.

Su Jing'an didn't ask any more questions.

In the following days, Su Qianrou continued to go to Shengming Academy to give lectures on time every day, as if she had not been affected at all.

Just then, she returned to Youlan Courtyard and was about to enter the room when Li An ran in and called out, "Miss."

Su Qianrou looked at him and saw that he was flustered. She asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Miss, something terrible has happened! The Duke of Su, the Duke of Ming, and Lord Wang, Lord Xu, and more than twenty other ministers are all kneeling at the entrance of the Imperial Study, begging the Regent to issue an edict for you to go on a marriage alliance."

"Miss, what should we do now? What if the prince really agrees?" Chunzhu asked nervously.

Su Qianrou has no other choice but to pray that Mu Jinchen won't agree, otherwise she will have no choice but to marry into the Western Regions.

At this moment, a servant came in and reported, "Miss, the young master Liu and Miss Liu from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion have arrived."

Before Su Qianrou could react, Liu Xinyue pushed Liu Chengjun in.

"Why are you here?" Su Qianrou asked, somewhat surprised, especially when she saw Liu Chengjun.

"It's been a long time. How has Princess Ping Le been lately?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I'm fine." Then, he looked at Chunzhu and said, "Chunzhu, bring some tea."

"Yes".

"Your Highness, Xinyue, let's go over there and talk."

"it is good".

Then, the three of them sat down at the stone table.

"Why has the young master come here? I can have Qiulan go to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to treat you. There's no need for you to come all the way here yourself."

"I have not come here today for treatment."

"That is……".

"Now many ministers are kneeling at the entrance of the Imperial Study, begging the Regent to agree to your marriage alliance. Are you aware of this?"

"I know".

What are your plans?

"Not at the moment."

"I have a way that might help you."

"I don't know what method it is."

“We will announce to the public that we are already engaged and will get married soon. After everything is over, we will find an excuse to cancel the wedding.”

"I doubt anyone would believe that."

"There have been rumors circulating outside that you..." Liu Chengyun said somewhat embarrassedly.

Su Qianrou looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"You said you... like me, and given that you always went to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion before, I think you'll believe it."

"However, you should know that the Western Regions are offering two cities as a dowry. Faced with such a great temptation, even if I am already engaged, those ministers will probably still ask me to break off the engagement."

"Then let's say we've already had physical intimacy, but that might not be good for your reputation."

"This is not a foolproof plan. Once the matter is exposed, neither our Su family nor your Zhenguo Duke's Mansion can escape the blame."

"Is there really no way at all?" Liu Xinyue asked.

Liu Chengyun couldn't help but feel guilty. "I'm sorry, it's because of our Duke Zhenguo that you've been implicated. If my second uncle hadn't failed to defend Lanzhou and Liangzhou, the Western Regions wouldn't be using these two cities as a betrothal gift, leaving you with no way out."

"Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war; Your Highness need not blame yourself."

"Sister Rou, why don't you leave? Take advantage of the fact that the imperial decree hasn't been issued yet and leave as far away as possible. Even if you can never come back in this lifetime, it's better than marrying into the Western Regions."

"If I leave, what will happen to my family? Should I make them bear the consequences for me?"

"This won't work, that won't work, are we just going to sit here and wait to die?"

Neither Su Qianrou nor Liu Chengjun spoke.