Chapter 312: Presenting Betrothal Gifts
As soon as Tan Pan left, Fang Zheng’s face darkened.
“Hmph, an alliance? They haven’t even formed an alliance yet, and they’re already acting like Yan Kingdom is an inferior country!”
“Hah! An alliance? Is Zhao Kingdom even worthy?”
An attendant beside Fang Zheng asked, “Sir, could this matter of the Chu Kingdom’s high-yielding grain seeds be false? Should we wait for further news from the Chu Kingdom?”
“It’s easy to fabricate such rumors.”
Fang Zheng shook his head. “No. Pack your things quickly, and notify everyone that we’ll return to Yan Kingdom early tomorrow morning.”
“If Chu Tiankuo were to lie about this matter, it would mean making an enemy of Yan Kingdom and pushing Yan Kingdom towards Zhao Kingdom. The feud between Chu Kingdom and Zhao Kingdom is set in stone, so he wouldn’t be so foolish.”
“Now I also understand why Chu Tiankuo offered such a favorable price to our Yan Kingdom.”
“The Crown Prince of Chu Kingdom is taking another route—forcing Zhao Kingdom to its death.”
“However, regardless of how Chu Kingdom and Zhao Kingdom clash, as long as it doesn’t harm Yan Kingdom’s interests or endanger Yan Kingdom’s safety, our Yan Kingdom will not participate. We can maintain normal relations, conduct normal trade, and even profit from it!”
“After all, interactions between nations are not about feelings, nor are there any feelings to discuss. It’s just a matter of cooperation for mutual benefit.”
“Chu Kingdom is offering greater benefits, so why should our Yan Kingdom give that up?”
“We, Yan Kingdom, are not as ambitious as Zhao Kingdom, always thinking about dominating the world!”
“Yes!”
~
Early the next morning, Fang Zheng entered the palace to bid farewell to the Jin Kingdom Emperor and left Jin Kingdom with the young formation masters of Yan Kingdom.
As the group was about to leave the city, they happened to encounter Chu Tiankuo riding a horse towards the Jin Kingdom Imperial Palace.
Chu Tiankuo was riding a pitch-black Precious Horse, followed by a long procession of mule-drawn carts.
Each mule’s neck was adorned with a large red flower.
Each mule-drawn cart was loaded with a beautifully carved rosewood chest, and a large red flower was also tied to the door of each chest.
There were many curious onlookers on the streets.
“Whose family is sending betrothal gifts? This is too extravagant!”
“Fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine… I’ve counted fifty-nine mule-drawn carts! And there’s still such a long line behind! How many betrothal gifts are there in total?”
“Who is that Young Master? He’s so handsome! I wonder to whose family he’s presenting the betrothal gifts? He’s so good-looking, so the woman he’s going to marry must be beautiful as a flower!”
“That’s the Crown Prince of Chu Kingdom? He’s going to marry our Jin Kingdom’s Princess Xingnong, don’t you even recognize him? Didn’t you go to watch the Youth Formation Master Competition?”
“It was the busy farming season then, how could I have had the time! So it’s to marry Princess Xingnong, no wonder there are so many betrothal gifts! If there were fewer betrothal gifts, we wouldn’t be able to agree to marry Princess Xingnong to Chu Kingdom!”
“Exactly! In that case, our Princess’s dowry might be even more than these betrothal gifts!”
“That’s for sure, haven’t you seen that every family who loves their daughter will bring back the betrothal gifts given by the man’s side as part of her dowry? They’ll only accept a small portion symbolically. When Princess Xingnong gets married, it will definitely be a ten-mile red makeup procession!”
“Ten miles of red makeup is too little! It should be at least a hundred miles!”
“I just wonder what’s inside these chests? I heard Chu Kingdom is very poor, could it be all for show?”
“If they’re trying to fool our Princess Xingnong with those empty things, then we won’t marry her off! It’s not like Jin Kingdom doesn’t have good men! Why should our only princess marry so far away? Such a good princess, wouldn’t it be better for her to stay in Jin Kingdom? Why marry her off to a poor and remote place to suffer?”
“That’s right, the Heir Apparent of the Duke Protector of the Nation’s Residence is not bad.”
“And the Heir Apparent of the Marquis Zhongyong’s Residence is also a renowned talent!”
Fang Zheng couldn’t help but stop in his tracks.
The young formation masters of Yan Kingdom naturally recognized Chu Tiankuo and admired him greatly. After all, he had broken the Ancient Formation together with Xingnong in the end, which showed that their strength was comparable.
A male formation master exclaimed in surprise, “The Crown Prince of Chu Kingdom is presenting the betrothal gifts so soon?”
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“Is it soon? If I had such a capable fiancée like Princess Xingnong, I would also want to marry her back home as soon as possible!”
“That’s right! I wonder what these betrothal gifts are?”
A female formation master said, “As a Crown Prince marrying a princess, the betrothal gifts must be at least rare and precious treasures! I really want to know what they are!”
“I want to know too! Sir Fang, it’s still early, why don’t we take a look at what betrothal gifts the Crown Prince of Chu Kingdom has presented before we leave? Maybe the Crown Prince of Chu Kingdom will take this opportunity to present high-yielding grain seeds as a betrothal gift?”
The last sentence moved Fang Zheng. “You’re right! Then let’s take a look before we leave.”
Most importantly, Fang Zheng was also curious about how many betrothal gifts the Crown Prince of Chu Kingdom had presented.
The scene of a Crown Prince personally presenting betrothal gifts to a Princess for a marriage alliance between two countries is a rare sight throughout history!
Besides, everyone loves to watch such excitement, and Fang Zheng was no exception.
“However, we can’t see clearly from here. If we want to see clearly, we should go to the palace gate!”
“These things need to be inspected before they can enter the palace, and then we’ll be able to see the ‘filling’ inside.”
So, Fang Zheng led the group back to the palace gate.
They had been staying inside the palace, and now they said they had left something behind. Their luggage was left outside, and after undergoing an inspection, they were allowed to enter.
~
Inside the Imperial Palace, the Jin Kingdom Emperor had just finished his morning court session and returned to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility to have breakfast with Shen Ruoxi and Xingnong.
The breakfast was very sumptuous, with a total of thirty-six dishes, one could say there was everything imaginable, but the portions were very small, just enough for each person to have one bite of each dish.
This was also to avoid waste, so that the three of them could finish everything.
At this time, Eunuch Li walked in with hurried steps, but without any sign of panic: “Your Majesty, the Crown Prince of Chu Kingdom has come to present betrothal gifts!”
Xingnong: “…”
So suddenly? Why didn’t he tell her?
The Jin Kingdom Emperor was eating a dumpling when, upon hearing this, the whole dumpling slipped down his throat!
Fortunately, the dumplings for breakfast were made very small and delicate, only the ingredients were exquisite, so he didn’t choke. The Jin Kingdom Emperor took a big gulp of tea to calm himself down!
Upon hearing this, Shen Ruoxi’s face was filled with remorse: “Heavens! I almost forgot about such an important day!”
Shen Ruoxi looked at the Jin Kingdom Emperor: “Quick, quick, send someone to welcome him! Don’t let Tiankuo wait outside for too long, thinking we’re putting on airs!”
As she spoke, Shen Ruoxi stood up, not even finishing her breakfast.
There were many rules in the royal family, she had never experienced it before, she had no experience and didn’t know what to do, so she could only let the Jin Kingdom Emperor make arrangements.
The Jin Kingdom Emperor had a headache, he really wanted to put on airs, but he had an uncooperative wife!
The Jin Kingdom Emperor glanced at his eunuch.
Eunuch Li immediately understood and said, “Your Majesty, don’t worry, His Highness the Crown Prince of Chu Kingdom hasn’t reached the palace gate yet, and those betrothal gifts also need to be inspected before they can enter the palace. It won’t be so fast.”
The Jin Kingdom Emperor pulled Shen Ruoxi back to her seat and said, “Don’t worry! Finish your breakfast first.”
He had to have a good talk with her about this. Marrying off a daughter couldn’t appear to be done in a rush! That would make their daughter seem inferior!
Those who didn’t know better would think she was worried her daughter wouldn’t be able to get married!
