Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 101: Oil? Foul air?
“Greetings, Your Highness the Princess.” After enduring numerous hardships, Yuan Cai finally met Xia Qingqing.
“General Yuan, please have a seat. You’ve traveled a long way to Anyang; is there an important matter?”
“In response to Your Highness, the Eldest Prince wishes to assemble a large army to conquer the Cai Kingdom and seek justice!” Yuan Cai spoke with righteousness and passion, as if the sordid deeds were not the Eldest Prince’s doing at all.
In fact, Yuan Cai believed that the princess merely wanted an excuse and a cover for her brother. As long as she had this excuse, the princess would undoubtedly support the Eldest Prince; after all, they were siblings.
However, Xia Qingqing’s next question left Yuan Cai dumbfounded.
“General Yuan, does my elder brother wish to seek justice for the thirty thousand Imperial Guard, or for the twenty thousand fleeing soldiers?”
Yuan Cai was truly taken aback, never expecting the princess to so directly expose the wounds, showing no mercy whatsoever. After pondering for a moment, he cautiously asked, “Your Highness, previously the Eldest Prince had Li Wei send a letter. Did you receive it?”
“I have read it.”
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“Then you…”
Xia Qingqing spoke very straightforwardly, “In private, he is my elder brother. But in public, he is a prince who has made mistakes. If my brother is in danger, I will definitely save him! But if it is to sacrifice the Great Xia Kingdom for his ambition, I do not agree!
“Come here, immediately escort General Yuan out of Anyang; he must not be allowed to stay!”
Yuan Cai stood there in a daze, being dragged out of the Anyang City Lord’s residence. After that, he was unceremoniously “escorted” out of Anyang by the fierce soldiers.
By the time he left Anyang, it was already sunset. Watching the dim sky in the west, Yuan Cai’s expression kept changing, and finally, without saying a word, he spurred his horse into a gallop, with his bodyguards quickly following behind.
The subsequent events need not be elaborated; the Eldest Prince nearly spat blood in fury—how could this happen?!
Meanwhile, Xia Qingqing’s decisive action in expelling Yuan Cai was witnessed by Ye Mingquan, the Minister of Rites of the Cai Kingdom, throughout the entire process. That night, he couldn’t sleep, staring at the bright moon while muttering to himself, “I didn’t expect this princess to be tougher than Li Xian! I miscalculated!”
The next day, the negotiations truly began, starting with sharp exchanges. Ye Mingquan revealed his true capabilities, no longer daring to underestimate the princess; however, the Anyang side was not just the princess—there were also Xu Ren, Fang Shijing, and Beichen Yuqing, with Ling Zhifeng backing them. Each time a condition was settled, Xu Ren had Ling Zhifeng divinate its fortune; if the divination was unfavorable, they would immediately retract it!
Ye Mingquan found it puzzling; why did Anyang refuse conditions that seemed to harbor hidden traps? After a day’s negotiations, they discussed over a dozen conditions, nine of which had traps, yet all nine were retracted just before being finalized!
On the third day of negotiations, due to the intense discussions, Ling Zhifeng had to step in to assess the fortunes on-site, allowing everyone to truly experience the miraculousness of the diviner.
The crowd did not know whether Ling Zhifeng’s divination was accurate; however, just seeing Ye Mingquan’s dejected and ashen face was enough to explain everything.
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Having learned this lesson, Ye Mingquan finally stopped setting traps and completed the negotiations straightforwardly; this allowed the negotiations to reach an agreement in just five days.
The final negotiation terms roughly included:
First, the Emperor of the Cai Kingdom needed to send envoys to visit the Emperor of the Great Xia Kingdom and present a spiritual herb. (Due to the defeat of the Imperial Forest Army, the apology turned into a visit.)
Second, both sides would cease hostilities and not pursue past grievances, intending to trade with each other, with neither side allowed to create difficulties or impose any restrictions.
Third, there would be an exchange of prisoners. However, the Anyang side only agreed to exchange prisoners of the Imperial Guard Army and did not mention the servants of the Eldest Prince.
Fourth, the Cai Kingdom promised that for the next five years, they would not invade the Great Xia Kingdom under any pretext—if the Great Xia Kingdom dared to attack first, this clause would become void.
Fifth, the former Prime Minister’s family would be handed over to Anyang for disposition. Anyang stated (not promised) that they would execute the entire family of the former Prime Minister of the Cai Kingdom.
In the end, both sides completed their inspections and signed and sealed the agreement together.
After some brief preparations, Beichen Yuqing led a group of people to accompany Ye Mingquan on his diplomatic mission to the Cai Kingdom.
As she watched Ye Mingquan and his party leave, Xia Qingqing sighed, “The defeat of the Imperial Guard Army has cost us too many benefits!”
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Xu Ren smiled and said, “The princess has done very well. The two most important matters of trade and the disposal of the Prime Minister have been accomplished; the rest is no longer significant.”
“Did I really do well?”
“Yes.”
Upon receiving Xu Ren’s affirmation, Xia Qingqing immediately smiled; in that moment, she looked very happy, satisfied, and a little proud. A hint of innocent joy, like that of a young girl, appeared on Xia Qingqing’s face.
Deep down, Xia Qingqing was overjoyed—I am finally no longer a useless princess who can’t get married! The hasty wedding earlier this year had hurt her pride, making her feel as if she would never find a husband!
With the conclusion of the negotiations, it also meant that everyone in Anyang could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Xia Qingqing immediately sent someone to deliver the good news to Li Xian over a thousand miles away.
What about Li Xian, who was two thousand miles away?
At this moment, Li Xian was supervising the craftsmen as they excavated a tunnel. The one responsible for oversight was Ge Zhengfeng.
“Boom…” The ground trembled, and a dull sound echoed.
“Oh, I can’t even take a decent nap!” Li Xian complained as he got up.
Ge Zhengfeng, who was planning the specific construction and feng shui orientation of the royal tomb, glanced at Li Xian before returning to his work.
Li Xian leaned over to take a look but understood nothing; it all seemed chaotic—at least that was how it appeared to him. There were not only directions for the construction project but also formations and things like earthly energy.
Before long, a messenger entered to report the situation.
“We have currently excavated a cave sixty zhang deep, going twenty zhang underground. It is expected that by noon tomorrow, we will reach the location for the first feng shui formation.”
Ge Zhengfeng stood up, marked something on the wall, and suddenly smiled, “Li Xian, this gunpowder is indeed impressive; it’s faster than spells, though a bit dangerous.
At this rate, in six months, we will break through to the mountain base and get close to the surface. By then, we can build an Imperial tomb beneath the mountain. This Imperial tomb, once completed, will rank among the best in the entire Yingzhou. With the mountain as a tomb, the mountain range as a river, and surrounded by peaks, it’s brilliant!”
“Hehe…” Li Xian chuckled foolishly, thinking that building an Imperial tomb in the mountains was akin to the practices of another world, the Tang Dynasty; the project would be small in scale but incredibly magnificent—almost like a different version of taking over a nest—directly occupying a location in the world.
However, unexpected events always tend to occur at the most triumphant moments, and this time was no exception!
Just after Ge Zhengfeng finished speaking, the next explosion occurred, but the results of the blast did not seem very good. After the explosion ended, panicked screams and a muffled rushing water sound could be heard outside. It seemed they had broken through to an underground lake.
“What’s going on?” Li Xian and Ge Zhengfeng rushed out, both of them stunned!
They saw what should have been the entrance to the mountain peak actually spewing forth black liquid, which shot out several hundred meters along the inclined entrance, quickly flooding the construction site; countless craftsmen were fleeing in all directions. Moreover, several corpses floated in the black liquid.
As they fled, more craftsmen kept collapsing!
“Is this… oil?!” Li Xian’s heart raced!
The black, viscous liquid undoubtedly resembled oil! But why did the smell seem a bit off?
However, what Ge Zhengfeng said next astonished Li Xian, “Everyone, get away quickly! This is underground foul gas, containing the remnants of ancient powers; those who come into contact will surely die!”