#677 - The Invisible Battlefield (VIII)
Yan Huaqing personally poured tea for Li Zimu, held the cup with both hands, and even used the honorific "you".
Clearly, this action was an undisguised gesture of weakness.
However, as far as Li Zimu was concerned, she understood that Wei Changtian's intention in having Yan Huaqing pour tea for her was not so simple.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Smiling as she took the teacup and sipped it lightly, Li Zimu raised her head and said, “It’s just that this tea is a little cold.”
“Ah?”
Yan Huaqing was stunned, never expecting Li Zimu to say something like that.
He hesitated for a moment, forcing a smile onto his lips.
“Then I will pour you another cup that is a little warmer.”
“Mm.”
Li Zimu didn't even say thank you, just watched Yan Huaqing walk not far away to pour out the tea, and actually poured another cup and brought it back.
Soon, Yan Huaqing placed the teacup beside Li Zimu for the second time.
This time, however, the latter didn't even drink it before softly saying:
“This is just right.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“...”
A "thank you" finally made Yan Huaqing breathe a sigh of relief, and also made Wei Changtian next to him nod slightly.
The reason he had Yan Huaqing pour tea for Li Zimu was actually to have Li Zimu judge whether the former was truly admitting defeat, or just pretending.
Judging from Li Zimu's current performance, she not only understood his meaning, but also gave the answer.
“Have you thought about the matter of withdrawing troops?”
“I have!”
Yan Huaqing shuddered violently, hurriedly bending over and replying: “Young Master Wei, just give me two days! Within two days, the Great Jue soldiers will definitely withdraw from the front lines!”
“One... no, half a month! Within half a month, they can all withdraw from Tianshan!”
“Mm.”
Not dwelling too much on the small details of the timing, Wei Changtian asked calmly again: “Besides that?”
“Besides that?”
Yan Huaqing instantly understood Wei Changtian's meaning, and hurriedly promised again: “Young Master Wei, the fault for this war lies entirely with Great Jue's intention to take advantage of others' misfortune, all expenses of your country's army should be borne by our dynasty!”
“As for the other compensation matters...”
“...”
Soon, Yan Huaqing began to talk about the matter of "war reparations" on his own.
He was afraid that saying too little would displease Wei Changtian and he would really be killed, and he was even more afraid that the price he offered would not be as good as Yan Huanwen's, so at the moment he could be said to be not "stingy" at all, giving numbers that were more exaggerated than the last.
And when he got to the end, seeing that Wei Changtian's expression seemed relatively satisfied, he gritted his teeth and led the topic to Yan Huanwen.
“Young Master Wei, rest assured, everything I just said counts and I will never go back on my word.”
“As for my imperial father's side, what do you think...”
“Oh?”
Raising his eyes to look over, Wei Changtian said with a non-smiling expression: “What does Your Highness want?”
“This...”
Yan Huaqing hesitated for a long time, but in the end, he didn't dare to directly say what was in his heart, so he lowered his head and replied awkwardly: “I only hope that Young Master can treat my imperial father kindly...”
“Treat him kindly?”
Wei Changtian laughed, too lazy to beat around the bush with Yan Huaqing, and directly interrupted him:
“Your Highness, if you want Yan Huanwen to die, then I can give him a quick death, and I can also have the news of his death immediately transmitted to Great Jue, so that your succession to the throne will no longer have any ritual obstacles.”
“But before that, you have to give me a definite answer.”
“Do you want him dead or alive?”
“...”
A deathly silence, a pin drop could be heard.
Although everyone had already had a clear understanding of Yan Huaqing's purpose, when Wei Changtian directly asked it in such a straightforward way, everyone inevitably held their breath.
Several gazes were concentrated on Yan Huaqing, until the latter said with some difficulty:
“Then... please, please trouble Young Master.”
“...”
In the end, Yan Huaqing still gave the expected answer.
It could be seen that he felt some guilt in his heart, but this guilt did not outweigh the temptation of the emperor's power.
Making a choice and saying a choice out loud have completely different meanings at certain times.
Therefore, no matter how much Yan Huaqing had hoped that Yan Huanwen would die in Liangzhou and never return to Great Jue, his tone was still full of pain at this time.
But before he could finish his grief, Wei Changtian suddenly changed the subject, causing his sad emotions to vanish in an instant.
“Your Highness, killing people is fine, but your father is, after all, still the emperor of Great Jue. If I kill him, wouldn't I be resented by the people of Great Jue for the rest of my life?”
Looking at Yan Huaqing, who suddenly raised his head, Wei Changtian smiled lightly:
“Of course, I'm not afraid of being resented by others, anyway, I don't know how many people already hate me.”
“But after helping you do such a big thing, you should pay something more, right?”
“That's natural.”
Hearing that Wei Changtian had not gone back on his word, but just wanted to raise more conditions, Yan Huaqing's heart couldn't help but breathe a heavy sigh of relief.
Since the words had already been spoken to this point, he no longer pretended, but directly asked:
“But I don't know what else Young Master wants?”
“It's very simple, only two things.”
Wei Changtian complained in his heart, “You little brat is ruthless enough,” but on the surface, he said calmly:
“First, from today onwards, Great Jue will no longer be able to set up defenses within five hundred miles around this Zishan Palace.”
“Ordinary people can enter and exit, but there cannot be a single soldier or soldier.”
“Your Highness, can you agree to this?”
“...”
Five hundred miles around the Zishan Palace, Great Jue will not set up defenses.
Without a doubt, Wei Changtian wanted to completely control the teleportation array.
And this matter was not too harsh for Yan Huaqing.
Although the Seventh Demon Land is located within the territory of Great Jue, it is a remote place with few people, not even a village, let alone a city.
Therefore, strictly speaking, there is not much difference between this place being in the hands of the demon clan and in the hands of Wei Changtian.
After all, just relying on a teleportation array, it is impossible for Wei Changtian to do something like "divine soldiers descending from the sky".
Thinking of this, Yan Huaqing no longer hesitated and nodded lightly.
“Okay, I agree.”
“But I don't know what the second thing is?”
“The second thing...”
Wei Changtian did not answer immediately, but first turned his head and asked Chu Xianping.
“What time is it?”
“Replying to Young Master...”
Although Chu Xianping was still surprised by the bizarre development of this negotiation, he still immediately replied:
“It's already early Shen Shi.”
“Shen Shi...”
Wei Changtian nodded slightly and looked at Yan Huaqing again.
“Your Highness, there is still more than an hour before nightfall.”
“I don't care what method you use, and I don't care whether this matter is difficult or easy for you.”
“In short, I want to receive news from Tianshan before nightfall.”
“And the content of this news must be...”
At this point, although Wei Changtian had not finished speaking, Yan Huaqing had already felt a trace of unease.
Including Xu Heng, Tang Chen, and even Chu Xianping and Li Zimu, everyone looked at Wei Changtian in disbelief at a certain moment, with that sentence echoing in their ears—
“The enemy's camp is in great chaos, and the Jue and Ji kingdoms suddenly turn against each other and kill each other.”
