Chapter 167

Late at night, the back door of Prince Wei's mansion quietly opened, and a delicate little girl walked out of the back door. It was the apple of the eye of the royal family, the little princess of Prince Wei's mansion, Yang Yue. She looked at Tang Yuxian who was standing at the back door looking at her with tears in her eyes, and said, "Mother, mother, Yue'er can't bear to leave you, Yue'er doesn't want to leave, mother..."

　　Tang Yuxian looked at her beloved daughter, and she seemed to be back thirteen years ago, that night full of blood and fire, and the desperate eyes of her own son. She suddenly became hard-hearted and said to Yang Yue resolutely and tremblingly: "Yue'er, go, go quickly, go quickly, it will be too late if you don't leave! The farther the better!" The night when she said goodbye to Pang Jun that year appeared before her eyes again.

　　"Mom... Yue'er, Yue'er is gone..." Yang Yue looked at her mother deeply again, turned her head resolutely, ran deep into the dark alley, and soon disappeared without a trace.

　　Seeing her daughter's figure gradually disappearing, Tang Yuxian could no longer bear it. Her legs softened and she slowly knelt down, holding onto the door. Crystal clear tears rolled down from her beautiful eyes, "Mother... Mother..." The cries of her son back then and her daughter now kept interweaving in her mind, like two huge forces tearing at her heart, making her feel as if her heart was being cut by a knife.

　　In the darkness not far from the back door of the palace, Wei Wang Yang Tong, the head of the family, witnessed it all. Even though he had seen a lot of ups and downs, he couldn't help but shed tears when he saw the mother and daughter parting. In the past, he couldn't understand why Tang Yuxian was depressed because of Pang Jun during the first few years when she married into the palace. Now he finally understood.

　　Li Changluo at the side asked softly: "Prince, what should we do now? Do we need to catch up?"

　　Yang Tong shook his hand without saying anything, turned around and left. Looking at the prince's desolate back, Li Changluo also shook his head secretly and followed him away.

　　Tonight, Yang Yue found that her mother suddenly broke into the room and woke her up from her deep sleep. Then, she told her that the court wanted her to marry a Japanese man. Although she was young, she had been influenced by it since she was a child and had a rough idea of ​​what marriage was all about. She was scared to tears. Then her mother actually wanted to escape secretly, which scared her again. The mother and daughter hugged each other and cried for a long time. Only under Tang Yuxian's persuasion did they pack up some valuables and leave the Prince of Wei's Mansion.

　　In the dead of night in Tianjin, everything was silent except for the sound of the night watchmen. Yang Yue kept running, all the way to the Changning Marquis' Mansion. Tang Yuxian told her that Tianjin would be closed and under curfew at night, and no one was allowed to enter or leave, and they could only go out during the day. However, there were too many people during the day, and it was not easy to leave the palace. So she asked her to go to the Changning Marquis' Mansion overnight, and then ask for help from the people in the Changning Marquis' Mansion, and then leave Tianjin in disguise during the day and go to Songzhou where Pang Jun was.

　　Although I don't know whether the people in Changning Marquis' Mansion are willing to help, because this is a capital crime, this is the only way. If even this method doesn't work, then there is no need to think of other ways, especially not to count on the royal family or anyone in the court. No one knows who will harbor evil intentions.

　　There is still one street to go before reaching the Marquis Changning's Mansion. Yang Yue thought to herself that as long as she crossed this street, she would reach the Marquis Changning's Mansion. The old steward Sun of the Marquis Changning's Mansion loved her the most and would definitely be able to help her escape from the capital and then head to Songzhou. Not only would she be able to avoid going to faraway Japan to be a crown princess, but she would also be able to see her brother Jun whom she missed day and night. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but smile.

　　She watched the guards patrolling the street leave, then she took a deep breath and prepared to run directly to the gate of Changning Marquis Mansion. However, when she turned the corner and was about to start running, she bumped into someone, who bounced her to the ground.

　　Yang Yue rubbed her eyes and looked up, only to find that it was a middle-aged man with a smile on his face, which made her feel as if she was falling into the abyss...

　　At three o'clock in the morning, a servant from Prince Wei's mansion reported to Yang Tong, who couldn't sleep: an envoy from Japan came to visit.

　　When Yang Tong heard this, his heart skipped a beat. He quickly put on his clothes and went out to greet them. It turned out to be the chief envoy of the Japanese delegation, Kujo Noriaki, and the deputy envoy, Sanada Yukigen. Yang Tong asked with a surprised look on his face, "Are you Japanese people so ignorant of etiquette? You disturbed people's sleep in the middle of the night. Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you are envoys!"

　　Kujo Tomoaki said with a smile, "Your Highness, Prince of Wei, please be patient. It is indeed rude of me to come to visit you so late at night. However, Your Highness, Prince of Wei, you are wrong to say that I disturbed your sweet dreams. I believe that Your Highness can't sleep either, right?"

　　"What do you mean?" Yang Tong asked.

　　Kujo Tomuaki said with a smile, "Hahaha, King Wei, please be at ease. Every time I come to Tianjing, I am so fascinated by the splendor of the city that I can't sleep. I always have to walk around to calm down before falling asleep. But tonight, when I was strolling around, I unexpectedly ran into someone."

　　"Pa pa pa" Kujo Tomuaki clapped his hands a few times, and then someone from outside came into the hall with a little girl. When Yang Tong and Tang Yuxian beside him saw it, they almost fainted. The person who came turned out to be their beloved daughter Yang Yue!

　　Jiujo Deming said sinisterly, "Girls really change a lot when they grow up. At the Qianqiu Banquet, I saw Princess Mingyue from a distance. I saw that this girl looked a bit like the princess, so I chased her. But she didn't admit that she was the princess, so I took her to the Prince of Wei's mansion to let the prince and princess confirm. If she is really the princess, it would damage her reputation if she stayed overnight somewhere else. But if this girl is really not the princess, I like her very much, so I will ask your majesty to take her back and make her a concubine."

　　"You damn Japanese, I... I will kill you!!!!" Looking at the smug look of Kujo Touma, Tang Yuxian on the side finally couldn't help but explode. She was like a madman and wanted to rush forward to hurt Kujo Touma, but was stopped by Yang Tong.

　　"Xian'er, calm down," Yang Tong said to Jiujo Deming with a wry smile, "I am so grateful to your Excellency. Didn't I say today that Yue'er is a playful person and always likes to run around. Now, I don't know where she wants to run to again. Fortunately, she was met by your Excellency. Otherwise, if she met a bad guy, the consequences would be really unimaginable. But is such a playful woman suitable to be the Crown Princess of your country?" Yang Tong didn't expect Jiujo Deming to be so cautious that he even sent people to guard the front and back doors of the Prince of Wei's Mansion. He knew they did it on purpose, but he had no place to vent his anger.

　　Jiujo Tomoaki said, "No problem. Princess Mingyue is lively and active by nature, and she is lovable. Today, I also said in the court that there are many experienced etiquette teachers in Bi Country who can definitely teach Princess Mingyue how to become a virtuous queen."

　　Yang Tong was speechless and could only say to Yang Yue who was drooping her head: "Yue'er, come here quickly. I told you not to run around. Why don't you thank Ambassador Jiu Tiao for his help? I'll see if you dare to run around in the future."

　　"Hmph..." Yang Yue turned her head away and ignored them.

　　Kujo Deming smiled and waved his hand, saying: "It's okay, it's okay. It's getting late, and I won't disturb the prince, princess, and the little princess from rest. I'll take my leave first." After that, he left with the envoys.

　　"Oh..." Yang Tong glanced at Tang Yuxian and Yang Yue, shook his head, sighed, and left without saying anything.

　　"Mom..." Yang Yue fell into Tang Yuxian's arms and burst into tears.

　　"My poor daughter..." Tang Yuxian also hugged her daughter tightly, tears streaming down her face...

　　The news that Yang Yue ran away from home late at night and was brought back by the Japanese envoys inevitably spread in the court the next day. Some people felt gloating, some felt regretful, some were deeply relieved, and some were extremely angry.

　　Kujo Tokuaki ignored Yang Tong, whose face was livid, and asked Yang Shao, "Your Majesty, may I ask what you have considered about the marriage between the two countries? Can you give me a clear answer? Once I get the answer, I will write back to Daying immediately and ask His Majesty the Emperor of Biguo to prepare a wedding and betrothal gifts for Prince Byodoin and marry Princess Mingyue as soon as possible as the Crown Princess of Biguo."

　　"Father," Zhao Wang Yang Sheng said at this time, "I think that the matter of marriage alliance needs to be carefully considered. Our Great Jin has been established for a hundred years and has always subdued enemies with force and won people over with virtue. We have never negotiated peace with enemy countries through marriage. This practice cannot be allowed to continue. Once a precedent is set, both big countries like Beihu and small countries like Xuyang will follow suit, and there will be no peace from then on."

　　Kujo Tomoaki said, "Your Highness, Prince Zhao is wrong. This marriage is a good example of the friendship between Qin and Jin. Using a woman can bring permanent peace to the border, so that soldiers will no longer have to sacrifice themselves and can enjoy family happiness. This is a good thing. How can there be no peace forever?"

　　"Father, once the soldiers on the border know that their loved ones and children, whom they fought so hard to protect, were taken away so easily by outsiders, what will they think..."

　　"That's enough!" Yang Shao interrupted Yang Sheng and stared at Kujo Tomoaki for a long time before saying, "I approve your request for marriage."

　　Kujo Tokuaki said with a delighted look on his face, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty of the Great Jin Kingdom. This time, my Great Ying is marrying Princess Mingyue. The betrothal gifts are as follows: 20 East Sea Night Pearls, 100 Great Ying top-quality painted screens, 500 sets of Japanese tortoise-shell ornaments, 100,000 taels of silver, 10,000 taels of gold, 20 three-foot-high corals, 5,000 Japanese war horses, and jewelry and treasures with a total value of more than 300,000 taels of silver. I wonder if Your Majesty is satisfied with these betrothal gifts?"

　　To be honest, the betrothal gift from the Japanese was quite sincere. When the crown prince married Nie Xingyan's granddaughter as his principal wife, the betrothal gift was just like this. It was obvious that the Japanese came prepared this time. Although Yang Shao was reluctant, he had to accept it: "Well, it's not bad, my royal brother, what do you think of this betrothal gift?"

　　Yang Tong stepped out of the line, looking hopeless and said, "My brother, the emperor has the final say, and I will obey you."

　　"Okay," Yang Shao said with finality, "I have heard that the prince of the East Sea Ying Kingdom, Pingdengyuan, is of noble character, filial and good at both civil and military affairs. He has now reached the age of twenty. I have also heard that the daughter of Wei Wang Yang Tong, Yang Yue, is skillful and generous, gentle and honest, and has outstanding character and appearance. I am very pleased to hear this. It is auspicious and a good match made in heaven. I now decree to grant the marriage. Princess Mingyue will be promoted to Princess Mingyue and given the imperial seal and clothes. I hope you will abide by the rules of being a woman and promote the civilization of our country, so that the two countries will be united forever. Respect your country and do not disappoint me. All the ceremonies will be handled by the Ministry of Rites and the Supervisor of the Imperial Observatory. Choose an auspicious day for the wedding!"

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　　Gu Yanan: 39 years old, wife of Fei Longhai, the legitimate son of the Liaodong Governor, biological mother of Fei Qingyu, daughter of Gu Changsheng, the leader of the Demon Cult and a top martial arts master, she roughly knows about Pang Jun's dark identity and accidentally lost her virginity to Pang Jun in an incident.