The Northern Di didn't celebrate the Spring Festival or have the custom of Chinese New Year, so the envoy group had set off for the Great Jin long ago.
The emperor had been keeping it from Xiao Jinghan, intending to take him by surprise.
"I'll set off tomorrow," Xiao Jinghan said, knowing that the emperor was doing it on purpose.
"If you leave, how can I explain it to the Northern Di envoy group?" the emperor looked embarrassed.
"The Northern Di was defeated in the war. There's no need to explain anything to them. If they're not convinced, I'll just defeat them again," Xiao Jinghan said calmly.
Hearing this, the emperor felt a headache coming on. "It'll be satisfying for you to fight another battle, but where will we get the provisions? Look at these memorials." He brought over a stack of memorials. "Banditry, floods, locust plagues, earthquakes... They're all asking for relief. What can I give them?"
Xiao Jinghan stood there silently.
"Then there's the Southern Border. What did we say before? We supported the crown princess of the Southern Border to ascend the throne, and even King Zhen was taken away. After such a long time, the Southern Border still hasn't been pacified. And the remnants of the Southern Border army keep invading our border. If we go to war with the Northern Di now, won't the Southern Border take advantage of it?" The emperor thought Xiao Jinghan didn't understand the difficulties of running a country.
Xiao Jinghan stood upright, looking straight ahead.
Seeing him like this, the emperor got even angrier. He could say all kinds of sweet words to Yi Qing, but now he was like a mute. "Alright, as long as you can solve the problem of the alliance by marriage, it doesn't matter who marries whom, as long as both parties agree."
Xiao Jinghan bowed and stepped back.
"I'll take it as you've agreed," the emperor called out from behind.
Xiao Jinghan didn't want to agree, but if he was too stubborn at this point, the emperor would lose face, and so would the Great Jin.
When he got home, he locked himself in the study. This matter was really a headache.
Yi Qing had just finished preparing the medicine. Hearing that Xiao Jinghan was back, she came to find him.
Normally, he would go to the pharmacy to find her when he came back. Why did he go straight to the study alone today? Did the dog emperor give him a difficult problem?
She knocked on the door. Hearing Xiao Jinghan's voice, she pushed the door open. "What did the dog emperor want from you?"
Xiao Jinghan gave a helpless smile. "The Northern Di envoy group will arrive in the capital in three days."
"Then you have to marry into their family?" Yi Qing knew what was going on.
"The emperor said that if I can solve this problem perfectly, I don't have to marry."
"He's the emperor. Why should he make you solve this problem?" Yi Qing was angry.
Xiao Jinghan pulled Yi Qing into his arms. "If I'm no longer a general, will you still be willing to be with me?"
"I didn't know you were a general when I got together with you," Yi Qing said, indicating that she didn't care about this at all. "But you're a god on the battlefield. You can't leave your territory."
Xiao Jinghan hugged Yi Qing tightly. He knew Yi Qing understood him. "If I have to choose, I'll choose you."
"Don't be so discouraged. There are still three days. We'll definitely come up with a way within three days," Yi Qing said firmly.
Xiao Jinghan didn't answer. It was almost impossible to change the alliance by marriage between the two countries in three days.
Yi Qing also knew it was impossible, so she thought about poisoning the Northern Di princess who was coming for the alliance by marriage. Then there would be no need for the alliance.
But this idea was quickly dismissed. Such a thing definitely couldn't be hidden from the dog emperor. Who knew what trouble he would cause then.
Three days passed quickly. The two of them sent Xiao Duo to the academy, but they still hadn't come up with a way to solve the problem of the alliance by marriage.
The Northern Di envoy group arrived in the capital. Xiao Jinghan and Yi Qing entered the palace to attend the welcoming banquet. Yi Qing just wanted to take a look at the Northern Di princess.
The queen sent Mu Yu to invite Yi Qing over. The queen would also attend the banquet in full regalia today and hadn't finished dressing up yet.
"Your Majesty, Lady Xiao is here," Mu Yu bowed.
"You can all leave," the queen said to the servants, looking at herself in the bronze mirror. "Yi Qing, come and see how my makeup looks today?"
"Your Majesty, no matter what clothes you wear, it's an honor for the clothes to be able to set off your Majesty's beauty," Yi Qing flattered smoothly, but her expression was nonchalant.
The queen laughed. "If you're willing to flatter people, no one can escape your charm."
It was a pity that Yi Qing wasn't willing. Whether she would say nice things or not depended on her mood.
"You already know about the Northern Di envoy group coming for the alliance by marriage, right?" the queen turned around and looked at Yi Qing.
"Does your Majesty want me to put the overall situation first and just be content that the general's heart is still with me?"
The queen knew Yi Qing was extremely smart. "At this point, do you have any other choices?"
Yi Qing didn't answer.
"This is for the sake of the Great Jin," the queen added.
"The Northern Di was clearly defeated in the war, but they're forcing Xiao Jinghan to marry their princess. What's the logic in that? The Great Jin clearly won, but we still have to talk about the grandeur of a great nation and ask our officials to make such sacrifices. Your Majesty, please tell me what the meaning of such sacrifices is?" Yi Qing asked directly.
The queen was speechless.
"As long as Xiao Jinghan doesn't agree, no one can force him to marry someone else. As long as there's another woman in Xiao Jinghan's mansion, I, Yi Qing, will step down immediately," she said and then left.
The queen stood there stunned. Most women in the world were patient and humble. Yi Qing was really different.
When Yi Qing got to the front, Xiao Jinghan was already waiting there.
"Did the queen make things difficult for you?" Xiao Jinghan asked in a low voice.
"How could she make things difficult for me?" Yi Qing didn't care at all. "I'm going to see what this Northern Di princess is like. How dare she try to steal my man."
Xiao Jinghan laughed.
Today, when receiving the Northern Di envoy group, Xiao Jinghan and Yi Qing were sitting together. They actually saw an acquaintance in the Northern Di envoy group. The one leading the envoy group was actually Prince Nian. There was an old man with a scepter behind him. He should be a priest from the temple.
"General Xiao, we meet again," Prince Nian greeted Xiao Jinghan warmly. "Thank you, Lady Xiao. Lajuo has completely recovered."
Yi Qing ignored him. His way of showing gratitude was really special: making other people's lives a mess.
"Prince Nian, please take your seat," the courtier in charge of ceremonies said quickly when he saw that General Xiao and Lady Xiao were both unhappy.
Prince Nian led his people to their seats. There was a veiled woman following behind him. She should be Princess Dina, who was coming for the alliance by marriage this time.
"Purple eyes," Yi Qing whispered in Xiao Jinghan's ear.
Princess Dina actually had purple eyes. Yi Qing thought that according to the skin color of the Northern Di people, it was impossible for a girl with purple eyes to appear. But purple eyes were a mutated pupil, so it wasn't completely impossible.
Xiao Jinghan leaned towards Yi Qing and gave her a doting smile. "Could it be that my lady is the first one to fall in love?"
"Don't you understand the phrase 'even I feel pity for her when I see her'?" Yi Qing joked.
Their little actions looked very intimate to others. The emperor couldn't even bear to look.
The courtier in charge of ceremonies read out the congratulatory speech, which was mostly about hoping for good relations between the two countries. Yi Qing didn't understand those difficult words. After the speech was read, the banquet began. The emperor stood up and drank with the Northern Di envoy group.
Yi Qing's attention was all on Princess Dina. She thought that Princess Dina would lift her veil when she drank, and maybe she could get a glimpse of her beauty. As a result, when Princess Dina lifted her veil, Yi Qing was actually in a daze for a moment.