After chatting with Wu Guanhai for a while, Zhao Kang returned to the room.
Ye Hongxue was warming herself up by the fire. When she saw him coming, she moved to the side. Zhao Kang sat down. The former asked with a smile: "Have you met the ninth princess of Qi?"
"I saw it. She is a great beauty, but she is quite dangerous. The prince told me..."
After hearing what Zhao Kang said, Ye Hongxue hummed: "This is true. The Three Kingdoms Conquest was indeed proposed by Qi State at the beginning. She also proposed the step-by-step coordination of foot and horse riding, and it did have a good effect in the early stage."
Thinking of what Princess Mingzhu said before, Zhao Kang became curious: "Then why did this girl seem to remind me of something in her words just now?"
"Perhaps she has special plans in mind. All in all, this girl is not easy to get along with. You have to be careful the day after tomorrow."
Ye Hongxue couldn't help but feel worried as she spoke.
Zhao Kang nodded.
Compared with Qian State and Jing State, there are quite a lot of people coming from Qi State this time, excluding the guards.
There were as many as thirty scholars participating in the cultural conference alone. When you walked out of the room, you could see these people gathering together in twos and threes. They were obviously determined to gain a good reputation in this four-nation cultural conference.
Zhao Kang was not very interested, but Wu Guanhai was very chatty with them.
The scholars of Qi State also admired this prince of Jing State who could put down his figure.
But it's obviously not the same taste for Zhao Kang.
That's true, after all, not everyone is as open-minded about the war between the two countries as Princess Pearl.
In the blink of an eye, dusk has arrived.
As soon as Zhao Kang took a bite of the food sent by the reception staff of the State Guesthouse, people from Qi State came and knocked on the door.
"Guoshi Zhao, my Royal Highness the Princess is hosting a banquet in Queyue Tower. She has specially invited the Imperial Master to attend the banquet. I also ask the Imperial Master not to refuse."
Zhao Kang was stunned when he heard this and glanced at Ye Hongxue, Wu Guanhai and others opposite.
Wu Guanhai looked surprised, obviously not knowing about this.
Zhao Kang asked doubtfully: "Just invite me?"
The visitor from Qi Kingdom was obviously a little embarrassed and nodded lightly.
Putting down his chopsticks, Zhao Kang asked seriously: "Did the princess say that she could bring women with her?"
Ye Hongxue chuckled and said casually: "Those who are unintentional don't need to do anything extra. The key is to be conscious. Is that right, Your Highness the Prince?"
Wu Guanhai laughed and went to eat.
The visitor from Qi State said awkwardly: "His Highness has not explicitly mentioned this Imperial Preceptor."
He stood up with a smile, wiped the oil stains on the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief, and Zhao Kang said: "Okay, lead the way. Thanks to Her Royal Highness, let's go to a restaurant!"
"Don't overeat." Ye Hongxue chuckled.
Zhao Kang made a face and followed the Qi envoy away.
Queyue Tower, a famous restaurant in Yandu City, Zhao Kang arrived in a sedan chair.
When I got down to the ground, I saw that the restaurant was almost surrounded by Qi's guards.
Looking at the four-story restaurant, Zhao Kang smiled and said, "Let's see what kind of medicine you are selling in your gourd."
A lavender palace skirt makes the nine princesses of Qi look like fairies descending to earth, making people feel lost.
Seeing Zhao Kang arriving, she knelt down and saluted: "National Master."
Zhao Kang held up his hand and said: "Your Highness the Princess."
"I take the liberty of inviting you, and I hope that the Imperial Master will not blame you." Princess Mingzhu said with a smile.
"What are you saying, princess? This is Zhao Kang's honor."
After some polite exchanges, Princess Mingzhu asked the others to leave and led Zhao Kang into the box.
The food and drinks were all ready, and the two of them sat facing each other.
"First of all, a toast to the Imperial Master."
Princess Mingzhu picked up the wine glass, and Zhao Kang did not refuse. The two of them drank one glass of wine.
Zhao Kang didn't intend to argue too much. He went straight to the point and said with a smile: "Her Royal Highness the Princess only invited Zhao Kang. It shouldn't be as simple as just having a meal, right?"
Perhaps she didn't expect Zhao Kang to be so straightforward. Princess Mingzhu was stunned for a moment. She realized that she had lost her composure and then covered her mouth with a smile. Then a trace of sadness flashed between her eyebrows.
"Since the Imperial Master is quick to speak, Yan Ran will no longer pretend to be pretentious."
As she spoke, Princess Mingzhu sighed: "Yanran is here not only to wish Emperor Zhou a birthday."
"Is there any other purpose?" Zhao Kang became interested.
Nodding slightly, her eyes fell outside the window, and Princess Mingzhu said quietly: "In the battle with Qian State, Qi State suffered the most, with hundreds of thousands of troops dying on the battlefield. Jing State even divided its territory into three cities and fifteen County, 20 million silver."
"The defeat of this battle has shaken the foundation of Qi State. Although the foundation of Qi State is still there, its national strength is only a little bit stronger than your country. What do the National Masters think of this situation?"
Zhao Kang said without thinking: "Of course it's time to recuperate."
Princess Mingzhu nodded, with a bitter smile on her face: "Yes, it's a pity that others won't let you get what you want."
When Zhao Kang heard this, he already had a guess in his mind: "Could it be the State of Zhou?"
He himself knew about Jingguo's situation, but Qianguo had not taken action against Qiguo recently.
Then only the Kingdom of Zhou is left.
Princess Mingzhu hummed and said softly: "The State of Zhou sent people to Qi a month ago, blaming all the reasons for the defeat on our country, and demanding that our State of Qi cede the land of the two states and pay 300 million silver as compensation. Otherwise, we will send troops." Attack my country Qi."
Zhao Kang couldn't help being shocked: "What a clever Zhou Guo! He really doesn't want to suffer any losses!"
Princess Mingzhu said with a hint of resentment in her tone: "The Imperial Master is right. This has always been the case in the Zhou Kingdom."
"Among the four kingdoms now, the strength of Jing State is well preserved, and it is far away from Zhou State, so they dare not move lightly."
"And Qian State and Jing State's offensive and defensive alliance did not dare to attack, so they had no choice but to use our Qi State to make up for the losses."
Zhao Kang subconsciously said: "But I have to say this is a good choice."
As soon as he finished speaking, he realized something was wrong. Sure enough, even without looking at him, he could feel the resentful eyes looking at him with aggrieved eyes, and he couldn't help but laugh.
"Princess, continue, I'm listening."
Princess Mingzhu continued: "The conditions proposed by the Zhou State are too harsh, and our country will naturally not agree to it. However, if we do not agree, once the Zhou State really sends troops, the Qi State will never be able to stop it, and there may even be a risk of annihilation of the country."
"Having no choice, Yanran can only continue this time to wish Emperor Zhou a happy birthday and enter the Kingdom of Zhou."
Zhao Kang realized something and looked at Princess Mingzhu opposite in surprise: "You... are you here to get married?"
"The Imperial Master is right."
Princess Mingzhu sounded helpless: "The second prince of Zhou Kingdom, Li Musen, has always had thoughts about Yanran. If he doesn't agree to Zhou Kingdom's request, Yanran will have no choice but to get married."
As she spoke, Princess Mingzhu stood up and knelt down towards Zhao Kang: "Please also ask the Imperial Master to save me!"
Zhao Kang was stunned. He looked at Princess Mingzhu kneeling in front of him and quickly stood up and said, "This is impossible. Princess, what are you doing? Get up quickly."
