Chapter 159: How Dare They Bully My Your Majesty?

The officials of Da Wei were a formidable sight, while the envoys from the six other kingdoms looked weak and helpless.

In the blink of an eye, the man from Beimeng had been dragged out, with the Da Wei court clamoring for blood.

’Could we be next?’

In fact, all of the Seven Kingdoms had, by sheer coincidence, brought along a passably handsome man. The plan was to offer him to the Empress, using a marriage alliance as a pretext to gain a foothold and later funnel in spies from their own countries.

But now, it seemed that plan was a non-starter.

After all, finding a man who could defeat Li Wei was next to impossible. And even if they did, they would never be willing to just give him away.

Just as the envoys from the six kingdoms were on edge, the Da Wei Empress suddenly turned to them with a beaming smile. "I’m so sorry, did I frighten you?"

"You know, in the thousands of years of Da Wei’s history, I am the only empress to have ever emerged. I’m exceptionally rare and precious. So, my ministers are quite protective of me. They can’t bear to see me being bullied."

Xiao Yang shamelessly sang her own praises.

The envoys of the six kingdoms stared at the Da Wei Empress’s beautiful, harmless-looking face, speechless for a long moment. ’Does she think we’re blind?’

She was the one who had just killed the envoy from Beimeng.

BANG! He was killed instantly. She even deliberately slowed the motion of putting away her hidden weapon. Though they couldn’t tell what kind of weapon it was, her actions made it clear to them what she had done.

She killed the envoy from Beimeng!

She’d taken out a powerful Beimeng warrior from so far away. A single strike to the head.

At that speed, from that distance... even the fastest assassin would probably be unable to get near the Empress.

And then there was the Xirong battlefield. Rumor had it that a trail of rolling thunder had, in the blink of an eye, turned five thousand Xirong cavalrymen into a field of severed limbs.

Everything pointed to one conclusion: the Empress of Da Wei possessed a superweapon, one that could level an entire nation with ease!

And now this empress, who killed without so much as blinking, was claiming that *she* was the one being bullied?!

"Indeed, the man from Beimeng was in the wrong. Your Majesty has been wronged."

"Your Majesty is still young. It is only right that your ministers protect you. Only right."

"The people of Beimeng are so thoughtless. It was truly wrong of them to frighten Your Majesty..."

The crowd chimed in with pleasantries. The rest of the reception proceeded on much more harmonious terms, with everyone presenting their gifts as a show of consolation.

They had no desire to insult the Empress, only to find themselves unable to ever leave Da Wei.

They hadn’t come with the mission of provoking a conflict between nations—just to gather some intelligence. It wasn’t worth causing such a scene.

The outcome of future wars had nothing to do with them, but their lives were their own.

Those who followed were tactful enough not to offer men as gifts. They had no intention of poking the bear.

There was, however, one who was more audacious. The Fourth Prince of Heisha, Yu Mo, was the only prince among the envoys of the Seven Kingdoms, and he was also the most peculiar.

Yu Mo looked at Xiao Yang. "I had only heard of the Empress’s renowned might before, but seeing you today truly inspires my admiration. I have long admired the culture of Da Wei and wish to remain here to study for a time. I wonder if I might have that honor?"

The one who seemed most likely to stir up trouble was, in fact, the most polite.

And regardless of what schemes he might be plotting, the way he phrased his request made it difficult to refuse.

Xiao Yang replied, "Of course, I welcome you. However, the Fourth Prince is a man of noble status. This matter will require a National Letter from King Heisha. Otherwise, if anything were to happen to you, I would have a difficult time answering to him."

Yu Mo smiled, his expression exuding endless charm. "I understand."

It wasn’t overt seduction, and yet it felt like seduction was in his every gesture.

Xiao Yang’s brow twitched. ’This man... he reminds me of someone, but I can’t quite place it.’

The reception for the envoys soon concluded. At least, as far as Xiao Yang was concerned, a good time was had by all.

Then, she was ambushed at Zichen Palace.

Prince Jing, Prime Minister Song, Grand Tutor Xu, the Minister of War, Rong Yin... more than a dozen men in all were waiting to block her at the door.

They had come about Beimeng.

A moment ago at the banquet, they couldn’t allow the Emperor to lose face in front of the other kingdoms, so they had all sounded fierce and imposing. In reality, their hearts were pounding. They did not want to go to war with Beimeng.

Cursing the man from Beimeng was one thing, but killing him? Even if Da Wei didn’t want to fight, Beimeng wouldn’t let this go. This was going to be a huge mess.

Prince Jing was pushed forward as their representative. "Your Majesty, you don’t actually intend to go to war with Beimeng, do you? Li Wei may be powerful, but we just finished fighting Xirong and our losses were not insignificant. Beimeng is on par with us, and their combat strength is more than ten times that of Xirong. Fighting them would be a tremendous drain on our people and resources, and our odds of victory are slim."

Xiao Yang said simply, "Beimeng has coal mines—abundant and easy to work. They also have iron mines—plentiful and easy to work."

After she finished, she patted Prince Jing on the shoulder. "Now, look at me. Don’t you think I was terribly wronged, being cursed by Beimeng like that? I, the sovereign of a nation, looked down upon and publicly humiliated. Was it excessive for me to kill him? Since Beimeng bullies their empress like this, is it too much for me to demand a little compensation from them?"

Prince Jing: "..."

Prince Jing was speechless. Prince Jing was stunned. Prince Jing’s mouth twitched.

Finally, he clenched his jaw and squeezed out a sentence through his teeth. "That Beimeng envoy was inhuman! How dare he bully our Majesty?"

Tears welled up in Xiao Yang’s eyes as if she were deeply moved. "I knew you were the best, Uncle. I lost my father when I was little, and then my mother. In this whole world, only you dote on me the most."

Prince Jing, who had been merely annoyed before, was now absolutely incensed. "Do they think the Xiao Family has no one to stand up for it? Do they think they can bully us just because a girl from our family sits on the throne? This Prince will make them pay a terrible price!"

The others: "..."

They could only watch as the Emperor completely bamboozled Prince Jing with just a few words.

Seeing Prince Jing getting carried away, Prime Minister Song tried to reason with him. "My Prince, calm down, calm down. This matter requires careful consideration."

Prince Jing replied, "Indeed. This Prince needs to think it over carefully... so I can curse those bastards to death when the time comes."

’That’s not what we meant for you to think about!!’

Grand Tutor Xu was also taken aback. "Your Majesty, if you wish to start a war, have you already made thorough preparations?"

Li Wei spoke. "Five days ago, Her Majesty sent a secret decree to the border. The grand army is already making preparations. Her Majesty does not intend to start a war, but if Beimeng makes a move, I will depart at once."

Only then did the officials realize the Emperor had been preparing for Beimeng all along.

’Ah, no, that’s not right. Don’t tell me she’s had her eye on Beimeng’s iron and coal mines this whole time?’

Looking at the Little Emperor’s deceptively sweet smile, they felt they had stumbled upon the truth. This was precisely her plan.

Xiao Lv and Xiao Hong approached. The moment Xiao Lv saw his father’s expression, he knew the man had been duped again. It was exhausting to watch this happen every time.

He lowered his voice and pleaded, "Your Majesty, could you please pick on someone else next time? My father is getting old; he can’t withstand being toyed with like this all the time."

Xiao Yang’s eyes darted slyly. "Cousin, they only act this way because they think a woman is easy to bully. If you were the emperor, do you think they would dare treat you this way?"

Xiao Lv: "..."

’Could you please stop bringing up the throne every five seconds?’

’You’ve completely infuriated Beimeng, and now you want to dump this mess on me?’

Xiao Yang turned her head. "My other cousin is also exceptionally outstanding and possesses a truly royal demeanor."

Xiao Hong’s eye twitched. He shot Xiao Lv an irritated glare. ’Why did you have to go and provoke her?’

Xiao Hong chimed in, "Our father, the Prince, is still in his prime! This is the perfect age for him to venture out and make his mark. Besides, Father dotes on Your Majesty the most. He must be eager to claim justice on your behalf."

When the throne was on the line, the father-son bond in the Prince Jing Mansion was as fragile as smoke...