What iron essence!
She flicked her sleeve then returned to her seat. It was nothing more than low-quality steel with low carbon content, but it was indeed harder than iron.
She helplessly sighed. In this sort of era, a weapon that was harder than iron was indeed a key to victory on the battlefield.
At this time, she saw Li Kun take two things from his attendant’s hand. One was a letter and the other was a scroll.
“Your Majesty, this is a letter personally written by this lowly prince’s father Emperor.” Saying this, he handed the letter to the eunuch that had walked over. He then held the scroll and continued: “The thing in this lowly prince’s hands is a portrait of my Zong Sui’s sixth princess. Not to hide it from your Majesty, but the sixth princess is my younger sister. She will be 15 this year and is in the prime of her youth. Father Emperor is grateful for Da Shun blessing us with this heavenly grace. With this marriage, we hope that the relation between our two countries will deepen even further. We hope that your Majesty will assent.”
The Emperor looked at the letter from the Emperor of Zong Sui. It was hard to tell from his expression if he was happy or unhappy. Hearing Li Kun personally mention the marriage, he simply nodded: “Un.”
Li Kun smiled and said: “This lowly prince’s younger sister has been doted on by my father Emperor and is the most beautiful princess in my Zong Sui. Perhaps she was spoiled by my father Emperor’s doting, but she actually named the seventh prince, his Highness Prince Chun, as her desired partner.” Saying this, he looked towards Xuan Tian Hua. Not to mention the princess of Zong Sui, even this prince had to be impressed by Xuan Tian Hua’s appearance. Everyone said that Da Shun had a seventh prince that looked like a deity. Now that he had seen him today, it was just as expected.
“Tsk!” Everyone sneered. They wanted the seventh prince, Xuan Tian Hua, for a political marriage? Can Zong Sui stop messing around? No matter how they looked, the seventh prince did not look like someone who would ever marry, let alone marry for political reasons. That person was most suited to just standing there and being worshipped by tens of thousands of people. For him to be part of a political marriage, was that not pulling him from the realm of the gods, which was quite a blasphemous thing to do.
At this time, the Emperor finally raised his head from the letter, but he looked at Li Kun and said: “A marriage bringing the two nations closer is naturally a good thing, but which prince will be chosen for this marriage, I fear that Zong Sui has no say in this matter!”
Feng Yu Heng smiled to herself. Thinking about it, the Emperor wanted to begin negotiations with this prince from Zong Sui.
Sure enough, they heard Li Kun say: “This is natural, and this lowly prince understands, but my father Emperor truly dotes on my younger sister too much. That’s why when this lowly prince was about to depart for Da Shun, he said that only his Highness Prince Chun agreeing to this marriage, would my Zong Sui want to give over the method for producing iron essence, and it will be the sixth princess who will personally come to teach this method!”
Everyone was shocked!
Everyone in the hall once filled with the sounds of sobs.
No wonder Zong Sui’s prince was so bold. It turned out that their old emperor actually came up with this sort of idea. Using this political marriage to trade for the method of producing iron essence, and it would be the sixth princess that came to teach it. No matter how one looked at it, it was a good deal! But their method of choosing a person for this political marriage was too cunning. Who knew if the Emperor and his Highness the seventh prince would agree.
For a while, the entire audience was silent, as everyone began to speculate what the result of this political marriage would be. The men were also felt sorry for his Highness the seventh prince, but they hoped that this matter would be accomplished. The women were all indignant and hated that they could not rush forward and beat that Li Kun for blaspheming their Prince Chun.
As for Li Kun, he had plenty of patience. The Emperor did not speak, and he did not press, as he just stood there and waited. But his appearance seemed to be filled with confidence, as he did not believe that the Emperor would shake his head and say no.
Suddenly, a cold snort came from where the princes sat, followed by a gloomy voice, saying: “Weapons are important, but if we were to be like you Zong Sui and wildly run forward to hack and slash without any knowledge of formations and arrays, who knows how many lives victory would cost.”
Feng Yu Heng did not even need to look to know that it was Xuan Tian Ming speaking. Only two generals that had truly picked up swords and spears to fight on a battlefield had come today. One was Xuan Tian Ming, and the other was General Ping Nan.
Hearing Xuan Tian Ming say this, General Ping Nan nodded: “That’s right. When fighting on a battlefield, in addition to weapons, wisdom is also necessary.”
The two people saying this made it clear that they were protecting Xuan Tian Hua. They did not hope that this prince that was like a deity would need to be part of something like a political marriage.
But if there were people who protected him, there would be people who tore away at this protection. The person who did this was none other than the current prime minister and Feng Yu Heng’s father, Feng Jin Yuan. They only heard him say immediately after General Ping Nan: “But if our Da Shun’s soldiers are brave, and their generals have wisdom, if everyone is able to wield a weapon made of iron essence, it would drastically reduce the number of people killed and injured in battle. For the country and for the people, this is a benefit of the highest order.”
In truth, regardless of which faction one stood in, everyone was thinking this same thing. Feng Jin Yuan had simply said what they were thinking.
General Ping Nan and Xuan Tian Ming naturally understood this reasoning. They had both stood on the battlefield, and they had witnessed the death and injury of numerous soldiers. It was as Feng Jin Yuan said. If they had bravery and wisdom then added weapons, the number of deaths and injuries would be reduced drastically. This deal was worth it.
A smile came to Li Kun’s face, as he said: “More importantly, aside from the current world, we must think about the future grandchildren.”
Just as he said this, they saw the seventh prince, Xuan Tian Hua, who had yet to speak, stand up. Walking over to the middle of the hall, he kneeled on one knee and loudly said to the Emperor: “Father Emperor, for Da Shun and its citizens and for Da Shun’s future generations, son… accepts the marriage proposal.”
Hearing that he accepted the marriage proposal, all of the officials let out a sigh of relief, but some young misses already began wiping away tears.
For a long time, Xuan Tian Hua had been a dream for them. They all knew that they would not have the fortune of getting such a good man, but it would be fine if Xuan Tian Hua never married in this lifetime. If he truly were to marry someone, they would definitely view that person as the enemy. Today, Xuan Tian Huan was forced to accept the marriage proposal, so the princess of Zong Sui was their enemy. The young misses in the hall had already reached a silence consensus. As long as that princess dared to marry, they would definitely take a good look at her!
Xuan Tian Hua agreeing to the marriage allowed Li Kun to let out a sigh of relief, but the Emperor closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As for Xuan Tian Ming, he firmly held onto the armrests of his wheelchair and stared straight at Li Kun, hating that he could not break his body into ten thousand parts.
Xuan Tian Hua did not get up, waiting for the Emperor to respond. Feng Yu Heng looked at the figure of the person kneeling there and suddenly recalled the time from the Winter disaster. He had held her hand and waded through the snow with her from the outskirts back to the capital. Neither person spoke, as the two continued walking. Their hands were ice-cold, but they could still feel a trace of warmth coming from the other.
She had lived two lives. One life was spent mingling in a military barracks and had gone to rescue people from the battlefield three times. In another life, she entered a life with a wealthy family, but every day was spent with a glint and flash of daggers and swords. She had never experienced what it meant to be at ease or what stability meant or what it meant to enjoy years of quiet. But that time she walked back to the capital while holding hands with Xuan Tian Hua seemed to be the heavens suddenly opening up a path for her. As long as she held this person’s hand and carried on, she would be able to walk the path that led to the haven of peace that she secretly desired but was reluctant to acknowledge.
Xuan Tian Hua had that sort of ability. He was calming to look at and was able to cleanse the filth from the world.
But now, that haven of peace was about to be taken away by someone else using these methods! This was equivalent to Xuan Tian Hua being sold by the Emperor!
This was something she truly could not endure!
The Emperor opened his eyes and gave a slight nod. He was about to agree to this marriage, but Feng Yu Heng suddenly stood up “Father Emperor, please wait!”
She did not control this shout very well, and it was too loud, giving everyone in the hall a great shock.
Feng Jin Yuan was even more scared out of his wits, “A-Heng! Sit down!” He blurted out this warning and reprimand. Without thinking of the time and place, he only cared to use his position as her father to try and stop this daughter from continuing, “This is a matter relating to the country. How could there be any room for a girl to say anything! Shut your mouth!”
“There’s no harm!” From atop the stage, the Emperor spoke. His voice was a bit low, but no matter how one listened, it carried a glimmer of hope, “Today is a banquet to celebrate the new year. There is no need for dear minister Feng to be too ceremonial. We want to hear what wise opinion does county princess Ji An have to offer?”
The Emperor had already spoken, so Feng Jin Yuan could not say anything. He could only stare at Feng Yu Heng, as he began to speculate wildly. He truly could not understand this daughter. At this sort of time, regardless of what happened, there should not have been anything that mattered to her? How come she suddenly spoke out?
Everyone looked at Feng Yu Heng, as even Xuan Tian Ming’s gaze held some curiosity.
She stepped forward and hastily gave Xuan Tian Ming a reassuring smile. When she passed Xuan Tian Hua, she helped him stand up then quietly said: “A-Heng will not allow seventh brother to be part of such a dilemma. Seventh brother, set your mind at ease!” She then turned around and gave Li Kun a shallow salute: “Respects to the prince of Zong Sui.”
Li Kun was very thorough with his courtesy, as he cupped his hands and bowed to return this courtesy, saying: “I have heard about the famous county princess Ji An. This lowly prince pays respects.”
The corners of Feng Yu Heng’s lips curled up into a smile, but it did not have any trace of the bashfulness that a young girl should have when faced with an unfamiliar man. It was poised and caused people to feel at ease. But the words she said were extremely shocking “Zong Sui’s iron essence is indeed ahead of the current technology, and this county princess is quite impressed. Just now, your Highness said that our Da Shun can try out these weapons. I wonder if that is still the case.”
Li Kun nodded, ‘Naturally, that is still the case. The weapons made of iron essence are still here. County princess may try whichever type she wishes.”
“Good.” Feng Yu Heng smiled then turned around, suddenly kneeling to the Emperor, “Father Emperor, A-Heng has a presumptuous request.”
The Emperor looked at Feng Yu Heng and felt that this girl was most likely going to give him a pleasant surprise, thus his mood improved a great deal, “Speak!”
Feng Yu Heng said: “A-Heng learned a number of crafts from my Persian master while in the Northwest. Before he left, master once gave A-Heng a dagger to protect myself. A-Heng has always kept that dagger on hand. Because I was not allowed to bring weapons into the palace, that dagger has been left in my carriage outside the palace. Would father Emperor allow A-Heng to retrieve it?”
“Oh?” The Emperor became interested, “You want to compare your dagger to the weapons made of iron essence from Zong Sui?”
Feng Yu Heng replied: “Indeed.”
“Then what if it loses? What if it wins?”
She smiled, “If it loses, then it loses. Either way, A-Heng is responding to the prince of Zong Sui’s invitation to test the weapons. At worst, everything continues as it would with nothing changing. If it wins…”
“County princess feels that there is a chance of winning?” This was said by Li Kun, his voice filled with confidence, “In a hundred years, iron essence has not lost once.”
“That so.” Feng Yu Heng smiled and said: “Then this county princess will make a bet with your Highness. If the iron essence wins this time, then Zong Sui will get what it wants. If the iron essence loses…” She looked at Xuan Tian Hua and said in a serious manner: “Seventh brother will not get married!”