Upon hearing this, Ruan Xizong's expression immediately changed, and he shook his head: "I have never heard of this matter."
Although he knew that his elder brother treated his sister-in-law badly, he had tried to persuade him, but his brother wouldn't listen. Moreover, he felt that his successful ascension to the throne was due to his elder brother's influence, so he didn't want to say anything more. He never expected that the emperor of Beilu would come to question him. Could something really have happened?
Ruan Xizong's heart sank. The coronation ceremony was imminent; if something like this happened, it would be a real problem. His face paled slightly, and he ordered the eunuchs outside the study...
"Go to the War King's Mansion immediately and declare war on the King."
"Yes, this servant will go immediately," the eunuch went to the Prince of Zhan's residence to fetch someone.
Inside the study, Ruan Xizong spoke gently: "Emperor Xie, don't worry. Although the War King has neglected Princess Qinyang somewhat, he wouldn't go so far as to kill her. He still has the big picture in mind."
He believed that his elder brother was a man of his word and would never do anything to kill the Princess Consort.
"Then I will wait. If Princess Qinyang is alright, I will not hold it against her, and our two countries will remain friendly nations. But if Princess Qinyang is really driven to her death, then don't blame us, the people of Beilu, for turning against her."
Ye Lingfeng appeared completely unaware of the situation, but his face was cold and sinister, shrouded in a sense of impending doom.
Ruan Xizong felt a chill run down his spine. His face darkened. He was being a pathetic emperor; he hadn't even ascended the throne yet, and he was already being threatened. However, he knew perfectly well that the Southern Ling Kingdom was no match for the Northern Lu Kingdom. Fighting would only lead to certain death, because the Western Shaoyi Kingdom was becoming increasingly arrogant. If they angered the Northern Lu Kingdom, and the two joined forces, the Southern Ling Kingdom would be doomed.
Inside the study, all was quiet. Ye Lingfeng and the others from the Northern Lu Kingdom were quietly drinking their tea.
Ruan Xizong became restless. Judging from Emperor Xie's expression, it seemed that the Prince of War had really killed Princess Qinyang, otherwise he would not have come to the palace to see him. Could it be that the Prince of War really killed Princess Qinyang?
The Prince of Zhan's residence wasn't too far from the palace, so an hour later, the eunuch who had gone to the residence to deliver the imperial decree returned. However, there was no one behind him. Ruan Xizong's face darkened, and he asked sharply, "Where is the Prince of Zhan?"
Although his elder brother had once lent him a helping hand, he was still the emperor after all, so his sharp edge came out, and he stared fiercely at the little eunuch kneeling below, who was afraid to speak.
"Your Majesty, I went to the Prince Zhan's residence. The steward there said that the Princess Consort committed suicide, and the Prince Zhan was unable to bear the blow and fell ill. He is currently running a high fever and is unconscious, so he is unable to come here."
"suicide?"
Ruan Xizong was initially startled, but then a slight smile appeared on his face. Since Princess Qinyang had committed suicide, Emperor Xie could no longer demand an explanation from her.
His expression caught Ye Lingfeng's eye, and Ye Lingfeng couldn't help but laugh, a hint of sarcasm in his eyes. This new ruler of Nanling Kingdom was indeed a bit too green. Did he think that a mere eunuch's words of suicide could resolve the matter between Beilu Kingdom and Nanling Kingdom?
Ruan Xizong, oblivious to Ye Lingfeng's expression, breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Emperor Xie, did you hear that? Princess Qinyang wasn't killed by the War King. What do you think of this?"
Ye Lingfeng glanced sideways at Ruan Xizong with a sinister look, saying nothing. His dark, cold eyes, like those of Satan, seemed to gather lightning and thunder, and a sudden gust of wind and rain lashed down on Ruan Xizong. Ruan Xizong's expression slowly changed. It seemed he had underestimated the situation. Now that Emperor Xie had spoken, he probably had no choice.
"I have investigated thoroughly. Your Prince Zhan, Ruan Xiyin, framed Princess Qinyang because of the alleged murder of his concubine. Today, my Empress went to Prince Zhan's residence to visit Princess Qinyang, but was blocked at the gate and not allowed to see her. In the end, the Empress forced her way in, and Prince Zhan led his men to block their way. In the end, Princess Qinyang had no choice but to commit suicide. Does this have nothing to do with your Nanling Kingdom?"
Ye Lingfeng stared aggressively at Ruan Xizong, whose face paled even more. Ruan Xizong was so angry that his fingers trembled slightly. He hated his elder brother deeply, but he also knew how cunning the man in front of him was. He clearly knew everything, but he hadn't said anything before.
As for the Emperor, he said he would treat Princess Qinyang well, but he didn't. Now that the Empress has gone to the Prince of Zhan's residence to take Princess Qinyang away, he should have just let her go. He doesn't like her, so why force her to stay? This has driven Princess Qinyang to her death, plunging both the Southern Ling Kingdom and the Northern Lu Kingdom into dire straits.
Ruan Xizong weakly clung to the last remaining reason.
"I have heard that Princess Qinyang killed the woman the King of War loved."
As soon as Ruan Xizong finished speaking, without Ye Lingfeng having to say anything, Wen Bin stood up and coldly and calmly refuted Ruan Xizong.
"I think the Emperor of Nanling Kingdom must understand the history of infighting between wives and concubines. Even if your War Prince's Mansion has no evidence that our Princess Qinyang killed someone, so what? It's common for concubines to be poisoned if they make mistakes. Our princess is of such high status that it's perfectly normal for her to punish a concubine by poisoning her. Not to mention the royal family, even ordinary wealthy families often punish concubines. What's wrong with that? Yet your Nanling Kingdom turns a blind eye to this. Now that the War Prince has forced our Princess Qinyang to her death, you still bring up the concubine. What is a concubine? Today, the Emperor of Nanling Kingdom will definitely give us Beilu an explanation, otherwise our two families will be sworn enemies from now on."
Wenbin spoke clearly and calmly. What he said made a lot of sense. Since ancient times, in the struggle between wives and concubines, it was normal for the principal wife to poison a concubine if she made a mistake. Princess Qinyang was of noble status, so it was not a big deal if she poisoned a concubine. Now that the War King had forced Princess Qinyang to her death, this matter naturally had to be explained.
Ruan Xizong's face turned pale as he calmly looked at Ye Lingfeng opposite him: "How does Emperor Xie intend to handle this matter?"
Only now did Ruan Xizong realize that Ye Lingfeng had come prepared. Since he came prepared, he must have made some preparations.
Ye Lingfeng's usually cold and gloomy face suddenly softened, and he smiled elegantly: "Since your people from Nanling Kingdom killed our Princess Qinyang from Beilu, you should naturally make some kind of gesture. So, cede Lianshui City to our Beilu Kingdom as compensation."
"What?" Ruan Xizong had never even considered this question. Ye Lingfeng of Beilu Kingdom directly demanded that Nanling Kingdom cede a city to them. Is a woman worth a city? This is clearly coercion.
Ruan Xizong's face was incredibly handsome. In contrast to his unpleasant expression, Ye Lingfeng's face was even more radiant. An already outstanding person, coupled with a good mood, truly shone with brilliance. He elegantly stroked the jade ring on his thumb, gently touching it without looking at Ruan Xizong.
The more he acted this way, the more flustered Ruan Xizong became, his mind a jumbled mess and he couldn't speak for a moment. But Ye Lingfeng wasn't going to let him off the hook and continued with another sentence.
“When our Princess Qinyang married into the Southern Ling Kingdom, she brought a considerable dowry with her. I wish to have all the dowry from the War Prince’s residence handed over.”
Now, not only Nguyen Hee Thong, but also Ji Thieu Thanh and Wen Bin and others felt that their emperor was cunning. Seeing Nguyen Hee Thong's face turn white, then green, then red, they were extremely pleased.
Given the situation, Nguyen Hee Trong was unable to express any opinion, and finally managed to manage to utter a single sentence.
"We can discuss this matter later. I am about to ascend the throne, so we will discuss it after the coronation."
"Very well, I will wait until after the new emperor ascends the throne. If your Southern Ling Kingdom does not show sincerity, I think other countries will."
His words were a cold warning: if Bei Lu and Shao Yi joined forces, they could capture not only Lian Shui City, but two more cities.
After warning Ruan Xizong, Ye Lingfeng stood up without ceremony and led his men out of the study.
Before they had gone far, they heard the sound of things being smashed coming from the study. Ji Shaocheng said cheerfully, "Serves them right. They were disrespectful to our Northern Lu Kingdom by the Southern Ling Kingdom. They asked for their own death."
The group left the palace and returned to Luohua Pavilion. In Luohua Pavilion, Hailing had already woken up. After listening to Ye Lingfeng recount what had happened, she couldn't help but shed a tear for the emperor of Nanling Kingdom. Compared to Ye, Ruan Xizong was really too naive. That young emperor must be furious.
Not only that, Ye Lingfeng also sent Shi Zhu and others out secretly to keep an eye on the situation in the Nanling Kingdom's palace. They soon received news that the young emperor had summoned the Nanling Kingdom's court officials to the palace to discuss matters, which were clearly the conditions proposed by the Beilu Kingdom.
The people of Nanling Kingdom are now like ants on a hot pan, extremely anxious. To make matters worse, with a new emperor ascending the throne, this has happened. They are beset by the remnants of the Crown Prince's faction internally, and the Shaoyi Kingdom is eyeing them covetously from the outside. If Beilu Kingdom really joins forces with Shaoyi, Nanling Kingdom will face annihilation.
For a time, the Southern Ling Kingdom was in a state of constant panic. Ruan Xizong was even more resentful of his elder brother, Ruan Xiyin, for causing him trouble at such a time. Unfortunately, Ruan Xiyin was unconscious and could not even offer him any advice.
The people in Luohua Pavilion were quite different from those in Nanling Kingdom; they were relaxed and carefree. Ye Lingfeng had only brought Hailing out to relax. Although Hailing was upset because Princess Qinyang was injured, she felt relieved now that the princess was alright. After dinner, Ye Lingfeng took Hailing and Xiaomao to stroll through the night market in Nanling Kingdom.
The night market was bustling with people, and lanterns hung all over the street, dancing in the night breeze like long, swaying ribbons.
The kitten had never seen such a sight before, so it babbled incoherently and waved its hands excitedly. Hailing bought it many fun things, and the little guy giggled and was in a great mood, occasionally giving Hailing a kiss.
Ye Lingfeng's face turned sinister. This kid was clearly taking advantage of his woman. What was most infuriating was that he didn't even kiss him. This brat, after giving him a kiss, even gave him a stern look. How hateful.