FID – Chapter 681

Chapter 681: Prince, Please Take Care of Me in the Future

When the princess said these words, she had the air of someone who had decided to throw caution to the wind.

She had always been bold in her actions and words. Since her intentions had already been seen through, there was no need to hide them anymore.

However, her boldness did not provoke any reaction from Feng Qingbai.

It was as if the words she spoke were not directed at him at all.

He kept her at arm’s length.

This indifference hurt more than a direct rejection.

The boat had docked, and Feng Qingbai nodded to the two of them. “It’s getting late. I’ll head back to rest. You two can continue chatting.”

With that, he left the cabin and disembarked without looking back.

The princess sat on the boat, staring at his retreating figure, her teeth clenched in anger.

A light laugh was heard nearby.

“Fourteenth Brother, is it funny? Well, I suppose it’s true—besides watching others laugh, you have nothing else to do,” she mocked, standing up and adjusting her clothes. With graceful steps, she walked away.

This kind of sarcasm didn’t affect Duan Ting in the slightest. After all, he had been mocked by royal children for years because of his disability.

Leisurely pouring himself a glass of wine, he spoke as the woman was about to leave the boat, “You’re at least my sister. Don’t say I, as your older brother, didn’t warn you. The King of Nanling is not someone you should provoke. In the end, you’ll only end up crying.”

“No need to trouble Fourteenth Brother,” she sneered.

A cripple, lecturing me? Ha.

She had always gotten whatever she wanted.

Since the day the Nanling envoy arrived in the territory, the people of Beicang had been waiting.

They were waiting for news from the capital, to see how the current royal family would handle the assassination of the general, and what kind of responsibility Nanling would take on.

They were waiting to see how the Beicang royal family would avenge the general.

During this time, the Nanling envoy had met with Beicang’s royal family and officials numerous times. Finally, Beicang’s royal family relented and agreed to set a date for negotiations.

The first topic to be discussed, naturally, was the assassination of Beicang’s Grand General at the Nanling border.

At the time, the two countries had worked together to investigate, but they couldn’t uncover any substantial evidence. However, since the incident occurred in Nanling, Beicang naturally placed the blame on them, insisting that they bear responsibility.

The purpose of this negotiation was essentially to reach a conclusion—Nanling would take responsibility for what they owed, but they would not accept blame for matters that were not their fault.

The location for the negotiations was set at the Yanghe Hall.

Before the appointed time, officials from both countries gradually made their way into the hall, taking their seats and preparing for the discussions.

Feng Qingbai was the last to arrive, wearing his usual purple robe. He walked at the back of the group, his pace as calm and unhurried as always. His handsome face was devoid of any expression, his deep, long eyes tranquil and calm.

His emotions were impossible to read.

Near the steps and columns of Yanghe Hall, a woman dressed in fine attire, her smile both charming and a little bold, greeted him, “Your Highness, I’d like to preemptively wish for the success of our negotiations today. In the future… Please take care of me.”

Feng Qingbai’s gaze, almost imperceptibly, turned cold as he glanced at the woman and walked past her.

“Thank you for your kind words, Seventeenth Princess.”

As everyone arrived, the doors of the hall slowly closed.

What was being discussed inside was unknown to those outside.

The Seventeenth Princess’s smile remained unchanged as she waved, “Let’s go. Return to my palace, and help me choose my dowry!”

“Congratulations, Princess, congratulations!” The two personal maids immediately chimed in with their compliments.

“I also thank you for your good wishes. Reward!”

“Thank you, Princess!”

The sound of the woman’s cheerful laughter faded as she disappeared from the entrance of the hall.

Inside the hall, however, the atmosphere was serious and tense.

The officials from Beicang were not easy to deal with. As soon as they sat down, the first thing they brought up was the significant loss Beicang suffered from the death of General Luo Beichuan.

A good general was hard to come by. Losing a high-ranking officer in the court meant that it could take decades to nurture another capable person.

The two countries had been in constant conflict over border issues for years, and the death of Beicang’s grand general had significantly weakened the military strength of Beicang’s forces.

If a person dies on the battlefield, there is little to say.

However, the problem was that Luo Beichuan had been sent as an envoy to Nanling and was subsequently killed on Nanling’s territory.

This raised suspicions of a conspiracy.

The officials from both countries launched into a heated debate on the matter, each passionately making their case, shouting so loudly their faces turned red and necks thick, neither side willing to back down.

As the most powerful figures in the two countries, Beicang’s Emperor and Feng Qingbai remained silent, allowing the two sides to argue.

When the debate eventually subsided and a temporary calm settled, thes Emperor finally spoke, “Your Highness, what do you think of this? Our grand general indeed died within Nanling’s borders. Regardless of who the murderer is or what their intentions were, Nanling cannot avoid responsibility in this matter. You failed to protect our envoy.”

“Your Majesty’s words are misguided,” Feng Qingbai responded with a faint smile. “Though the grand general died in our Nanling, the reasons behind his death are worth considering. Let’s not even talk about General Luo, but about Prince Ting. During his stay in Nanling, he resided in the Nanling King’s manor. 

That night, there were attempts to breach the manor’s defenses and carry out an assassination. Fortunately, the guards at the manor stopped them, but the identity of the assassin is intriguing.” 

Feng Qingbai smiled and took several tokens from his chest, placing them one by one on the table. “I’ve heard that the symbols on these tokens are affiliated with an organization within Beicang. Could the assassin’s identity be related to this organization?”

The officials from Beicang looked at the tokens on the table, and some of them subtly changed their expressions.

It confirmed Feng Qingbai’s words.

“Even though the tokens alone cannot conclusively prove that the assassin was from Beicang, the fact that an assassin attempted to kill someone means there were individuals targeting the envoy, putting them in danger,” Feng Qingbai continued calmly before the Emperor could speak. “Knowing the situation was dangerous but not informing the Nanling royal family or seeking help, and then blaming Nanling for the incident when it went wrong—this is not fair. If you eat fish at a restaurant and choke on a bone, should you blame the restaurant for selling you the fish?”

This statement made the Nanling envoy group officials lower their heads, trying not to laugh.

“Furthermore, I have a theory. The assassin chose to strike when the envoy group was about to cross the border, clearly to sabotage the peace talks and stir up discord between our two countries.” Feng Qingbai looked at the Emperor, whose expression had darkened. 

“I believe Your Majesty has also considered this. If Your Majesty insists on holding Nanling responsible, we will take on what is ours to bear. But if the real culprit is allowed to go free, leaving General Luo to rest in peace with unavenged death, and if we continue to fight each other and let third parties benefit from it—does Your Majesty truly wish to see that happen?”

The officials from Beicang remained silent.

What he said was not without reason, and they actually knew very well that Luo Beichuan’s death had nothing to do with Feng Qingbai or the Nanling royal family.

They were not foolish enough to kill an envoy on their own soil, only to render the peace treaty they had just signed useless and invite a powerful enemy.

Someone was stirring the pot.

If Beicang insisted on blaming Nanling, it would likely play into the hands of the other party.

At the same time, Nanling’s strength was on par with Beicang’s. If they were to tear apart the facade of peace, the outcome would be a mutually destructive situation.

Someone was waiting in the background to reap the benefits of the conflict!