Negotiation (2)

The negotiation would be held in the field thirty-five li (*17,5 km) from Licheng. The horse-drawn carriage sped along, following the horse ridden by Prince Uta.

Also following the carriage were ten horses, ridden by Gasdar six military officials and four civil officials.

During the negotiation, the troops from the two kingdoms weren't allowed to set foot in that place. Hence, the Gasdarian Army, led by Asima, and several of his colleagues could only wait in front of the city walls of Media.

Throughout the journey, Yi Fen always felt restless. Her heart was pounding, and her hands couldn't stop shaking.

Yi Mei had noticed her pale face from the moment they set off.

Yi Fen said that everything would be fine, but in her heart, she was actually afraid. And the closer they got to the negotiation site, the more afraid she became.

"Your Highness, are you alright?", Yi Mei couldn't help but asking.

Yi Fen could only nod without speaking. She was afraid that if she opened her mouth, she would vomit.

They traveled three or four hours before finally seeing a large military tent not far ahead.

When the horse-drawn carriage finally stopped, Yi Fen let out a heavy breath. 

Fortunately, no one told her to get off the carriage, so she could use the time to mentally prepare herself.

Although the title "Princess Consort An" hadn't been officially revoked, it didn't mean that the military and civil officials who supported King An would still be respectful towards her. 

"Greetings, Your Highness Prince Uta," Yi Fen heard the deep voice of someone familiar outside, which instantly filled her heart with sorrow.

It was the voice of her father, General Yi of the Northern Border Army, Yi Xun.

She reached out and grasped Yi Mei's hand tightly.

Then she heard Prince Uta replied, "This Prince apologizes for keeping General Yi and honorable gentlemen waiting for so long. We had to slow down our horses because we had a carriage with us."

General Yi Xun acted like he didn't notice the horse carriage that stopped not far from them. With thunderous laughter, he invited Prince Uta to enter the tent.

From beginning to end, no one cared about Yi Fen's existence.

Yi Mei bit her lip, looked aggrieved.

"Your Highness..." 

Yi Fen snorted inside her heart.

What was she feeling sad for? If it wasn't for the fact that she (Yi Mei) deliberately leaked her itinerary to the enemy, none of this would have happened.

The kidnapping wouldn't have happened, and she wouldn't have lost her virtue.

Yi Fen shook her head and smiled sadly.

"That's to be expected. There's no need to mention it."

Since no one asked them to get off, Yi Fen and Yi Mei remained sitting in the carriage, not talking.

But not long after, there was a commotion from the direction of the tent. Yi Fen couldn't help but peek out from behind the wooden curtain. 

She saw a Gasdar military official with an angry expression walking towards them.

Yi Fen released the wooden curtain she was holding and sat up straight. "It's time," she whispered.

Before long, Yi Fen heard three loud knocks from outside the carriage, accompanied by the voice of a man speaking Great Yuan with a strange accent.

Dong dong dong!

"You two, come down now! Talk to those Great Yuan people! They've really gone too far," he barked.

With an annoyed expression, Yi Mei slid open the carriage door. She saw that the man was standing with his back to them and both hands on his hips.

She got off the carriage first, then she turned around to help Yi Fen. Afterwards, she held Yi Fen's hand and led her to slowly follow the man.

The arguments inside the military tent stopped instantly when she entered. Contemptuous gazes fell upon her, but Yi Fen didn't show any panic.

Yi Fen heard an elderly Great Yuan civil official snort, "Still daring to appear in public. Truly an eye-opener."

Another civil official glanced at General Yi Xun and scoffed, "General Yi is a loyal, courageous, and dignified subject of my Great Yuan. It's a pity; he failed to educate his daughter."

Yi Fen's hands shook slightly, clenching until her knuckles turned white. Yet her expression remained unchanged.

The expression of General Yi Xun also darkened. He pounded the table angrily and shouted, "Shameless woman! Still daring to show your face after doing such a disgraceful deed."

Prince Uta and the Gasdar officials looked confused. Unable to hold back, one of them asked, "What does General Yi mean? What disgraceful deed?" 

That elderly Great Yuan civil official chuckled, "What disgraceful deed? A married woman ran away from home and lived with foreign men for half a year. Tell me, was that disgraceful or not?"

Prince Uta pretended to be confused. He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.

"Why would it be shameful? This prince had sent a letter of explanation at that time.

"While This Prince and several subordinates were on our way to Xingshan, we saw that Princess An's entourage was having difficulty dealing with robbers. We kindly helped and tried our best to heal the injured guards. Afterwards, Princess An became unconscious due to a head injury.

"This Prince took Princess An back to Media for treatment, and it's only been a few days since she woke up. Tell me, which one is the shameful deed? We have never once done anything that was not in accordance with morality."

Yi Fen immediately looked in his direction. So that's the news he told her family at that time?

The Great Yuan civil official wanted to argue, but General Yi interrupted the conversation, saying, "Now is not the time to discuss matters regarding a woman's virtue. Negotiation is still ongoing; let's focus on more important things." 

"There's nothing to negotiate anymore, right?" Another Great Yuan civil official chimmed in. "The conditions put forward by my Great Yuan are all that. If the Gasdar Kingdom wants to open the trade route, then those conditions must be fulfilled."

Prince Uta furrowed his eyebrows. These Great Yuan officials were as cunning as a bunch of old foxes. They wanted to get more without paying a penny.

Prince Uta turned his gaze toward Yi Fen.

He showed a polite smile, and as if he had just remembered something, he said, "Why is Princess An just standing there? Please sit down. This Prince heard that Her Highness is very talented. Can we hear Your Highness' opinion on this matter?"

Immediately, booming laughter filled the entire military tent. The officials from Great Yuan wore scornful expressions.

"Prince Uta is very good at joking. Hear an opinion from a woman? We, the Great Yuan people, uphold the teachings of the Sages. Men and women have their own responsibilities. Men rule the country, and women manage and nurture the family. For thousands of years, it has always been like that.

"By bringing this woman to this negotiation venue, this scholar wants to know what His Highness the Prince is actually planning."

Those Gasdar officials were irritated by the attitude shown by these Great Yuan people. They showed no respect, even to the Eldest Prince of their Gasdar Kingdom.

They didn't want to accept this kind of treatment!

Just as the argument was about to escalate again, a soldier from Great Yuan Kingdom rushed from outside and forced his way into the tent.

His whole body was covered in sword wounds, and one of his arms was gone.

The soldier's face was covered in blood splatters. He hollered as he held up a bloody letter.

"We're under attack! Gasdar Cavalry came from the west. They were attacking Licheng. There are a total of 200,000 troops. King An is in danger! General Yi, you should return to Licheng!"

Everyone in the tent jumped up from their seats. Prince Uta and the Gasdar officials showed extremely shocked expressions.

An attack? 200.000 cavalries? Attacking the city of Licheng?

At the same time, a word appeared in Yi Fen's mind: impossible!

During this half-year, she wasn't just sitting around and doing nothing.

Although she couldn't stay in the city of Media for long, she managed to calculate the extent of their military power with just one look. 

This was a talent of hers that no one knew—not even his father, General Yi Xun.

If a man was born with this talent, then this was a good thing. However, if this talent was owned by a woman, then this would be a troublesome thing.

The men in Great Yuan didn't like it if their wives were too smart or had other talents outside the four arts. Therefore, they made various kinds of regulations for women. The purpose was to maintain the dominance of the men.

Yi Fen had been hiding this talent for dozens of years of her life.

In the city of Media, she concluded that Gasdar only had approximately 50,000 cavalries.

This was due to the difficulty for the Gasdarians to breed their horses.