This time, Lu Qing was indeed right.

Only two days had passed since the secret letter, and there was already new information.

This news was even more attention-grabbing than the previous one.

After the news broke that Lu Zhang was demoted to guard the border, even before Lu Zhang set out, the Jie King had already received the message. He sent a letter to the Capital, essentially stating that when he, the Jie King, agreed to send his only precious daughter to Jin Country for an arranged marriage, the condition was that Emperor Jin promised to marry her to his most favored son.

Originally, sending his daughter so far away, the Jie King was already enduring the pain of missing her. Unexpectedly, in such a short time, Lu Zhang had fallen from grace and was sent to the border, which clearly was not in line with the initial agreement.

Moreover, he had heard in Jie Country that when Emperor Jin demoted Prince Xiaoyao to a commoner, he even suggested allowing Prince Shuo’s daughter to divorce the demoted Prince Xiaoyao.

Therefore, the Jie King believed that his daughter should receive the same treatment, and he requested Emperor Jin to issue a decree allowing his daughter, Princess Yan Shu, to divorce Lu Zhang; he would also quickly send people to the Capital to bring his daughter back. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

As for the dowry sent alongside for the arranged marriage, he wouldn’t mind leaving it with Lu Zhang, not taking it back to Jie Country with Yan Shu.

Unexpectedly, after reading the letter, Emperor Jin outright rejected it without another word.

Emperor Jin’s reasoning was that Yan Shu’s situation was different from Zhu Yu’s. Lu Qing was demoted to a commoner. At the time of the arranged marriage, it was agreed that Prince Shuo’s daughter would marry Prince Xiaoyao. Since Lu Qing was no longer Prince Xiaoyao, if Prince Shuo did not wish to acknowledge the marriage and Zhu Yu also did not wish to continue with Lu Qing, then it was only natural to allow the divorce.

However, although Lu Zhang’s status changed from being in the Capital, enjoying glory and comfort, to being sent to guard the border, potentially facing hardships at the frontier, he remained a Prince, still Prince Yi. Neither his title nor status had changed.

When the marriage was arranged, Emperor Jin never promised that the Princess from Jie Country would always stay in the Capital, enjoying prosperity with Lu Zhang. Being sent to guard the border demonstrated his deep trust from the Emperor, and could not be seen as him falling out of favor.

Thus, Lu Zhang’s marriage, just like when it was first arranged, did not violate the initial promise to the Jie King. There is no reason to retract it, nor to agree to a divorce casually.

Otherwise, finding a random reason to invalidate an arranged marriage would be treating the imperial edict as waste paper.

Emperor Jin’s decisive response also displeased the Jie King, who immediately sent another envoy to the Capital. This time, the tone and attitude were somewhat rude, boldly telling Emperor Jin that it would be best to amicably dissolve the marriage between Lu Zhang and Yan Shu. If he didn’t return his precious daughter, any consequences should be on Emperor Jin’s conscience.

This was already a fairly blatant threat.

Emperor Jin had always been very wary of Jie Country, and seeing the increasingly audacious attitude of the Jie King, he was instantly furious and ordered the envoy sent by the Jie King to be taken away and executed.

The officials in the court hurriedly advised against this, arguing that regardless of the Jie King’s lack of respect, you can’t just behead the messenger.

As they say, "In a war between two nations, messengers are not killed," and now the Jie King was already emotionally charged, such actions would easily shatter the facade of peace.

Some suggested that since the Jie people were valiant warriors, it wasn’t necessary to stubbornly insist on such a marriage matter, for the sake of appearances. It would be better to allow the divorce, not offend Jie Country, and provide Prince Yi a chance to find a more suitable wife than a coarse Jie girl.

However, it was clear these suggestions did not resonate with Emperor Jin, but rather aggravated him further, until he was so infuriated he passed out for a while and later spat out a mouthful of blood.

After that, Emperor Jin did not attend court for two consecutive days, and only before this latest secret letter was sent did he meet with a few senior ministers in the South Study Room, still not well enough to attend morning court normally.

Meanwhile, because those in court were ultimately unable to persuade Emperor Jin to change his mind, the envoy sent by the Jie King ended up being executed.

This news would likely soon reach Jie Land, and as for what reaction Jie Land would have, it’s unclear for now. However, it’s rumored that there seems to be frequent movement of horses at the Jie border, yet there are no signs of crossing the boundary or large army gatherings, so Jin Country’s border guards can’t do anything but watch closely.

This change may not have much impact inside the Capital, but for the people living near the border, it is unsettling, causing panic and rumors among the populace.

After this secret letter, until they crossed the border between Jin Country and Lan Country, entering Lan Land, they did not receive any new news.

After several days and nights of rushing, their pace slowed shortly after entering Lan Land.

Aside from the area bordering Jin Country, which had a climate similar to Jin, the deeper into Lan Land they went, the more the climate changed. Mountains became more prevalent, the trees grew much denser, and even the grass on the ground became thicker.

Lan Land has always been humid and hot. As they trekked over mountains, they suffered greatly, with the forest full of water vapor and various snakes, insects, mice, and ants.

Thus, although the moisture made their clothes sticky and cling to their bodies, hot and uncomfortable, they could not loosen or remove them, lest they attract the forest’s insects or venomous snakes.

The thick grass, wet with moisture, became particularly slippery, making a fall inevitable, forcing them to slow down their pace.

At night, they could only find a wind-sheltered spot, build a fire to slightly dry their clothes, and make themselves somewhat comfortable.

Fortunately, Lan Land had no fierce wild animals, so apart from the hardship on the road, there was no other danger.

Zhu Yu was somewhat grateful that since deciding to follow Lu Qing on travels, she had been undergoing exercises for physical fitness and self-defense as guided by him. Her physical condition had improved significantly compared to when she first arrived here.

Otherwise, enduring these daily trials of "steaming then roasting," she might not have been able to endure.