The Nanliang envoy returned to the Nanliang military camp and relayed Marquis Dongxiang’s demands to the Prince of Nanliang, who naturally refused to agree.

If they were truly honest, such a war wouldn’t exist, nor would they be buried in the pit they dug to trap Daqi, only to be kicked into it by Marquis Dongxiang.

The compensation conditions were proposed by Nanliang, and Daqi didn’t add anything more, already being exceedingly generous.

The conditions they proposed were met by Daqi, and even allowed Nanliang to substitute ancient paintings and calligraphy in place of money, which was already a concession.

Nerliang still had words of complaint, truly one who refuses a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit.

The Nanliang soldiers advised the Prince of Nanliang that they had been warring with Marquis Dongxiang for so long and understood his temper; complying with him was fine, but opposing him was a path paved with peril.

The Prince of Nanliang clenched his fists tight, yet had no strategy to employ.

If it weren’t for General Shi leading forty thousand troops to join Zhao Xu and weakening the court’s power, would he need to suffer Daqi’s constraints?!

Zhao Xu is indeed the one who most eagerly wishes for the court to war with Daqi!

To deal with foreign aggression, internal disorder must first be settled, only then can one engage Daqi in a victorious battle.

Whatever Daqi took, he would reclaim it twice over!

The Prince of Nanliang agreed to Marquis Dongxiang’s conditions.

The Nanliang envoy breathed a sigh of relief and quickly sent someone to inform Daqi.

The next day, the Nanliang envoy came to Daqi’s camp to discuss the matter, hoping for an extension to forty-five days; one month was indeed too short.

After all, preparing money and grain takes time, Nanliang really lacks adequate funds.

The Nanliang envoy spoke softly and kindly, nearly bowing down to plead before Marquis Dongxiang.

Marquis Dongxiang agreed.

The Nanliang envoy felt moved.

How did he perceive Marquis Dongxiang of Daqi to be even more accommodating than their Prince of Nanliang?

Was it his illusion?

The negotiation for truce thus paused at this juncture.

Daqi’s task was to wait, to see if they would fight or return victorious in one and a half months.

And the next day, news arrived from the Nanliang camp.

The Prince of Nanliang had left the military camp with half of the troops.

This was to lead troops to eliminate Zhao Xu.

Although Marquis Dongxiang was domineering, he kept his word; if he promised Nanliang one and a half months to gather money and grain, he would not break it.

During this one and a half months, even if there were no troops remaining at the Nanliang border, Marquis Dongxiang would not attack.

Upon learning of the Prince of Nanliang’s actions, Prince NanAn and the others worried for Zhao Xu.

Although General Shi brought forty thousand troops to join Zhao Xu, the troops remaining at the Nanliang border were not few; Zhao Xu was in a precarious situation.

The one most concerned about Zhao Xu was Xie Jingchen, after all, Zhao Xu was his cousin.

The only way to alleviate Zhao Xu’s peril was to involve Beimo.

It was time to help Zhao Xu propose to Beimo’s Princess Jing Mountain.

Only, ever since Su Jin became pregnant, Xie Jingchen had little time to accompany her; now her delivery was imminent, yet he had to go to Beimo to help Zhao Xu propose, if delayed, he might return after the child was born.

Xie Jingchen couldn’t utter the words, Su Jin understandingly said, "You should go to Beimo."

"I should be accompanying you," Xie Jingchen replied.

"There will be plenty of time to accompany me in the future, major events are more important," Su Jin stated.

The Emperor of Nanliang destroyed the Donglin Prince Mansion, along with the fate of the Princess Consort, Nanliang’s downfall was what Xie Jingchen most wished to witness.

He was Zhao Xu’s cousin, but as the Heir of Prince Zhenbei of Daqi, he couldn’t mobilize Daqi’s forces to help Zhao Xu and could only support him indirectly.

As soon as Beimo got involved, Nanliang would be doomed to fall.

The imminent delivery required accompaniment, but weighing the importance, Su Jin was clearheaded.

"Make haste and return promptly," Su Jin said.

To show her support for Xie Jingchen, Su Jin helped Xie Jingchen pack.

However, just as the packing was completed, the situation changed.

Prince NanAn and the others heard about Xie Jingchen’s plan to help Zhao Xu propose to Beimo, and they directly put an end to it.

The sister-in-law had endured much hardship seeking him at the border, now she was about to give birth, yet he wasn’t there to accompany her, wasn’t he afraid of the Emperor rewarding him with a beating?

Prince NanAn and the others expressed their unanimous disapproval of Xie Jingchen going to Beimo.

They spoke earnestly and used sincere words.

Even Xie Jingchen felt moved.

Rarely does he find brothers who genuinely care about him and steer him onto the right path.

Xie Jingchen listened quietly and then said, "Should I not deal with this?"

"Deal with it!"

"Certainly need to deal with it!" Prince NanAn proclaimed.

Xie Jingchen looked at them.

Let him deal with it, yet they didn’t want him to go to Beimo.

Did they expect him to resolve the matter just by writing a letter, considering Zhao Xu had thrashed Prince Beimo twice?

What exactly did they plan to do?

Just as he began to ask, Prince NanAn lightly coughed and said, "We’ve been eyeing this task long before, you shouldn’t snatch it."

Xie Jingchen, "..."

Xie Jingchen held his forehead.

"Proposing is a serious matter, not child’s play," Xie Jingchen stated.

The task must succeed, failure is not an option.

Prince NanAn sat beside Xie Jingchen, patted his shoulder, and said, "You’re not worried about us handling matters, are you?"

Xie Jingchen looked at them.

He couldn’t ignore the metaphorical "unreliable" engraved on their foreheads.

Seeing the skeptical look, Prince NanAn and the others were displeased, "What kind of look is that?"

"It’s your extreme distrust towards your brothers!"

Xie Jingchen contemplated the likelihood of them botching the task.

Reflecting, Chu Shun might be a bit unreliable, but they had never failed an assigned task.

The execution was bizarre and might inadvertently cause setbacks to some allies.

In this instance, Zhao Xu seemed likely to suffer.

After thrashing the brother-in-law once, he did it a second time, stubbornly turning a good situation sour; suffering significantly seemed justified. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Then this task is yours," Xie Jingchen said.

"Don’t worry, I guarantee Brother Zhao will win the beauty," Prince NanAn chuckled confidently.

The more he smiled like that, the more uneasy Xie Jingchen felt.

His cousin could only pray for his own well-being.

The group returned to their tents to pack, preparing to set off for Beimo.

Xie Jingchen planned to stay with Su Jin, and Qin Hanhan was also pregnant, Prince NanAn and the Heir of Marquis Beining didn’t want Chu Shun to go either.

Seeking a bride was such a minor task; they three were more than capable.

But they wouldn’t allow, Qin Hanhan wanted Chu Shun to go.

She’d barely been able to help at the border; how could she be a burden?

She wasn’t knowledgeable about the battles, but knew Zhao Xu was Chu Shun’s good friend, Prince NanAn and the others were eager to go to Beimo, Chu Shun surely wished to as well.

Others had thoughtfully cared for her; she had to care for others in return.

Besides, it was just a one-month departure; she wouldn’t give birth yet, and even if Prince Zhenbei of Daqi’s Heir were absent for half a year, his wife would fare well, wouldn’t she?

She was a daughter of Southern Border, inherently resilient.

Compared to Princess Fu Yun and Miss Zhou Qi, she had been accompanied by Chu Shun during her pregnancy for several months and was content with that.

Chu Shun insisted on accompanying her, so Qin Hanhan threatened to return to Capital City, forcing Chu Shun to head to Beimo.