Chapter 532 - 263: Diplomacy of Two Nations

Chapter 532: Chapter 263: Diplomacy of Two Nations

Finally, as if afraid Zheng Xiu hadn’t understood, he winked.

’Zheng Xiu got it. This guy must have found out about the four girls becoming Mystics, which was why he said there were "more and more Mystics."’

’Zheng Xiu actually wanted to tell Qing Shisan that he’d always been his treasured subordinate, but the thought seemed a bit sappy and open to misinterpretation. Instead, he stepped forward, clapped Qing Shisan on the shoulder, and said in a grave, meaningful tone, "Qing Pi..."’

Qing Shisan: "Hm?"

"Becoming a Mystic isn’t entirely a good thing. If you really want to be one, I’ll find a suitable Deceitful Object for you later."

Qing Shisan grinned at his words, chuckling to himself without responding.

’He figured Zheng Xiu was joking.’

’Mystics weren’t a dime a dozen; you couldn’t just become one whenever you felt like it.’

But Zheng Xiu wasn’t joking at all.

Zhu had, on various occasions, already delivered the Painter and Orchid Deceitful Objects into Zheng Xiu’s hands.

If he kept confronting Zhu, Zheng Xiu suspected he might get even more.

Zhu had lived among Humans for a thousand years and was unfathomable. Zheng Xiu had no idea what other cards he held; perhaps he had other Deceitful Objects.

After a few more encounters, since Zheng Xiu’s Prisoner was the natural enemy of Deceitful Objects, he would, barring any accidents, only accumulate more and more of them.

Qing Shisan saw to the carriage, then returned to the Red King Mansion with the Prince.

The lotus ponds on either side of the winding corridors were desolate.

"Oh, right,"

Qing Shisan suddenly remembered something to tell Zheng Xiu.

"My lord, you might want to go see the Second Lady."

Zheng Xiu paused. "The Second Lady? What’s wrong?"

Qing Shisan habitually pulled out his pipe and put it to his lips, but his hand froze mid-motion. Remembering his resolution, he pursed his lips and sheepishly tucked the pipe back into his sash. He clicked his tongue and said with a sigh, "It happened earlier today. The Second Lady received a letter. After reading it, she lost all interest in even checking the accounts and returned to the mansion looking terribly worried."

"What did the letter say?"

Zheng Xiu asked.

Qing Shisan feigned offense. "My lord, do you think I’m the kind of person who secretly reads other people’s letters?"

"Hm?"

Qing Shisan lowered his head. "As it happens, this time, I really didn’t look."

Zheng Xiu nodded. "Alright. I’ll go ask her myself in a bit."

"By the way, my lord, there’s one more thing. It might not concern you directly, but I think you should be aware of it."

Just as Zheng Xiu was about to head to the Second Lady’s room to check on her, Qing Shisan’s words stopped him.

Qing Shisan sidled up to Zheng Xiu and lowered his voice. "A few days ago, envoys from the Northern Kingdom were stopped at the border. They say they’re here on the Northern Barbarian Wolf King’s orders to negotiate peace with Daqian. I hear the Emperor has already issued a decree allowing them passage and has dispatched a team of elite Divine Martial Army soldiers. They’re force-marching north to escort the envoys south. Barring any mishaps, they should reach the Capital City by mid-October."

Qing Shisan put heavy emphasis on the word "escort."

Zheng Xiu frowned at the news. After a moment, he waved a hand to dismiss Qing Pi. "Good work. I understand."

Qing Shisan left with a grin. With a SWOOSH, he melted into the shadows and vanished.

Qing Shisan was right; the matter didn’t have much to do with Zheng Xiu. Diplomatic affairs with neighboring countries fell under the purview of the Ministry of Rites. As the Red King, he was currently only in charge of the Disaster Prevention Bureau. The Six Ministries weren’t his responsibility, and he couldn’t be bothered with them anyway.

But the reason Qing Shisan had brought it up was that, no matter what, Zheng Xiu was a Prince, second only to one man and above all others. It was impossible for it to be completely unrelated to him. Qing Shisan was worried that if Zheng Xiu remained ignorant, he might get burned when trouble eventually flared up, suffering a major setback for being unprepared.

Zheng Xiu, the newly appointed Exotic Clan King, was currently enjoying a meteoric rise, his influence at its zenith. It would be impossible for him not to attract envy In the Court. However, he was currently held in high esteem by the Great Emperor, had taken the place of the former Night Lord, and commanded countless Odd People. No one dared try to sabotage the Red King at a time like this.

Even the notoriously arrogant and domineering Second Prince had been lying low lately, making no moves.

The Northern Barbarians had always been Daqian’s "foreign scourge." The war twenty years ago had dragged on for years, leaving Daqian severely weakened and making an orphan of Zheng Xiu. Two hundred years before that, they had even allied with the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions in an attempt to pull the rug out from under Daqian, only to be stopped outside Richan Valley by the Knights and Xie Yunliu.

The Northern Barbarians were known as the "Wolf Pack of the wilderness," or "Desert Wolves" for short. They lived in nomadic Tribes, and in the several hundred years since Daqian’s founding, this was the first time they had ever sent envoys to negotiate peace. Regardless of the outcome, this was a major event worthy of being recorded in the annals of history.

Zheng Xiu then recalled Venerable Wei Yang ordering Yan Jiji to design and improve Siege Equipment. This gave him a bad feeling.

’Everyone’s on edge. It’s a powder keg waiting for a spark.’

As his thoughts churned, Zheng Xiu’s expression grew solemn. These peace talks with the "envoys of the Northern Kingdom" seemed to be a critical turning point in the relationship between the two nations. It appeared Venerable Wei Yang had known about this for some time and was already actively making preparations.

If the peace talks failed, it would likely mean war.

A home cannot exist without a country. Zheng Xiu had always firmly believed this.

Unless he became the Emperor himself, the Zheng Clan’s current glory and wealth were built upon the foundation of a stable social order. If the two nations went to war and the conflict spread, all the gold, jewels, famous paintings, and antiques would become worthless. Human lives would be as insignificant as ants and grass, and Zheng Xiu had no desire to see such a scenario unfold.

With a heavy heart, Zheng Xiu walked toward the Second Lady’s chambers. The dim, yellow glow of a lamp filtered through the paper window.

Zheng Xiu stepped forward and knocked on the door.