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"Father Emperor...summons me? To meet with Wutu Gu?"

Inside the Harem, Siao Mingxue almost couldn’t stand firm upon hearing the decree. The thing she had feared all along, had it finally arrived?

"You may leave for now, Princess. After you finish dressing up, you must immediately comply with the decree and go." The Palace Maid beside her seemed calmer than Siao Mingxue.

"Please hurry, Your Highness..." The old eunuch’s tone wasn’t exactly harsh, but rather carried a hint of pity.

Siao Mingxue was quite a likable child in the Harem. Lively and cheerful when younger, she grew up to be gentle and serene, kind to her subordinates, and never disdainful of the eunuchs. Compared to other arrogant princesses, she was far better.

Empress Consort Siao used to treasure this daughter even more than her sons, coddling her from childhood and using all her power to beg for the grace of an internal marriage from that cold-hearted Emperor.

After all, in the twenty years since the founding of Great Jin, there were plenty of princesses married off to the Martial Families, becoming widows, or even accidentally killed in bed by some reckless sons of those families. ..

Hand-picking a Scholar, she had hoped her daughter could live an ordinary and wealthy life. But who could have expected such an end, a marriage alliance with the Southern Barbarians?

None of her contemporaries among the princesses would have anticipated receiving such a treatment...

The gentlest child meeting the most terrible fate, it’s truly lamentable.

"Mother Du, what... what should I do?" Siao Mingxue asked, surprisingly calm as she dressed herself, looking at the reflection of the Palace Maid in the mirror.

"Your Highness, no need to panic..." The Palace Maid felt a chill to her core. She had diligently served this young mistress for half a year, spending much silver to ensure she maintained the treatment due to a princess; otherwise, who knew how she might have been mistreated by now.

But it seemed like her money had gone down the drain...

"Your Highness, are you willing to take a gamble?"

"What do you mean?" Siao Mingxue looked at her, puzzled.

"Your Highness... as you see the current situation, if you’re resigned to your fate, then I have nothing to say.

If you, Princess, have to go to the Southern Barbarians, I, your servant, will accompany you through fire and water.

But if you, Princess, want to seek a better future, then be brave during this audience with His Majesty. "

"Brave?"

"You are the rightful wife bestowed by His Majesty to the King of Qin, the future Princess Consort of Qin. That Wutu Gu is but a Barbarian, what qualification does he have to set his sights on you? At this time, you must argue your case with reason at the Imperial Court!"

"Argue with reason? Before Father Emperor?" Siao Mingxue silently gazed at her own reflection in the mirror.

"Are you afraid, Princess?" The Palace Maid challenged.

"What’s there to be afraid of?" Siao Mingxue suddenly laughed, "After all, how much worse could the worst outcome be?"

This laugh was very sudden, catching the Palace Maid dressing Siao Mingxue off-guard.

Looking at Siao Mingxue’s reflection, she suddenly felt somewhat unfamiliar with her; this fragile princess, who she thought would take much effort to persuade, had so quickly made up her mind.

To oppose that formidable Emperor in front of the entire Imperial Court, did this young girl really have the courage?

"This outfit won’t do..." Siao Mingxue looked at herself in the mirror, shaking her head slightly, "It’s too plain..."

"Your Highness...didn’t you always prefer simpler garments?"

"That’s for regular days with no formal occasions.

.." Siao Mingxue got up and assessed herself, "Now that I’m to appear at the Imperial Court and meet the ministers, as well as the Prince from the Southern Barbarians, it must be a bit more dignified. After Aunt Mingyue’s death, I am now the eldest princess of Great Jin.

By tradition, I am entitled to wear a Hundred Birds Phoenix Robe. Go, bring me one!"

"This..." The Palace Maid was shocked, "Your Highness, the Hundred Birds Phoenix Robe? That’s exclusive to Princess Mingyue, and we would need to request it from Cining Palace. Would the Empress Dowager agree?"

"She will!" Siao Mingxue said indifferently, "After all, it was her own decree for me to marry into the Southern Barbarians. If I disgracefully wail and create a fuss here, it’s her reputation that would suffer. As long as I’m willing to obey the decree, what’s a mere robe?"

"But...Your Highness, obtaining that would delay us quite a bit, and His Majesty is waiting for you..."

"Then let him wait..."

"Your Highness?" The Palace Maid looked up, feeling that maybe Siao Mingxue was being too arrogant, but when she raised her head, she was instantly taken aback.

There was Siao Mingxue, appearing the same as before, yet for some reason, her entire presence seemed entirely different, especially those eyes – jet black with a hint of burning gold!

"You..."

"Is there a problem?" Siao Mingxue looked at the other person.

"No..." The palace maid subconsciously dared not meet her gaze, "I just feel... Your Highness seems a bit different from before."

"Is that so?" Upon hearing this, Siao Mingxue glanced again at herself in the mirror. She also felt that, since the moment the other person said they were willing to take a risk, for some unknown reason, a rush of blood surged to her head, and everything seemed different.

The previous fear and trepidation seemed to have vanished in an instant. She did not know why, but at this moment, she was not afraid at all.

Whether it was facing her own father, the Emperor, or that disgusting Southern Barbarian!

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"You want Mingyue’s clothes?"

Inside the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager looked at the trembling palace maid below and couldn’t help laughing, "Did I hear that right?"

The maid buried her head even deeper. She didn’t understand what had possessed her to actually follow that girl’s orders and ask the Empress Dowager for clothes.

The surrounding elder maids couldn’t help but cover their mouths and snicker. This destitute princess, what a great audacity!

"Give them to her," the Empress Dowager said.

"Empress Dowager?" The head maid was stunned, somewhat incredulous.

"After all, she is a pitiful child. A small request before she leaves is not too much," the Empress Dowager squinted slightly, seemingly reluctant to dwell on the matter, "However... the clothes of Siao Mingyue are not something that ordinary women can pull off. Since she has asked for them, if she becomes a laughingstock later, don’t say this old woman didn’t warn her. "

"This..."

"Thank you, Empress Dowager!" The maid below hurriedly expressed her gratitude, afraid that something else untoward might occur.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager insisted, the elder maids did not dare to object, but in their hearts, they anticipated some sort of spectacle. A na?ve young girl, what does she want to do? Does she wish to make a last-ditch attempt to change her fate?

It is both pitiful... and laughable...

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"Reporting to Your Majesty!"

In the great hall, a third-rank guard clad in armor strode in quickly and knelt down on the half-kneeling steps, reporting the latest important news, "The Jiangnan Delegation has arrived outside the Vermilion Bird Gate, and Chen Qing, the King of Qin, requests an audience with Your Majesty!!"

"Oh??"

At this, both civil and military officials couldn’t help but brighten up. Today’s court assembly was indeed lively. The barbarian from the Southern Barbarians had been summoned, and Chen Qing himself had actually come!

There was sure to be a good show. It’s uncertain whether it was the Emperor’s intention, but facing the barbarian who came to claim his wife, it remained to be seen what the recently formidable King of Qin intended to do.

"The timing is quite opportune..." The Emperor smiled slightly, "Summon him!"

"Summon the King of Qin to the hall!"

All eyes turned towards the entrance of the great hall, including Wutu Gu, who had behaved arrogantly since entering the hall; now, he also looked towards the entrance.

Soon, figures approached the great hall. Leading them was a person dressed in white, followed by a woman clad in black.

This time, it was said that only twenty people came from Jiangnan, yet today, to meet the Emperor, Chen Qing... brought only one person!

"Interesting..." Wutu Gu stroked his chin.

Three years ago, Chen Qing, as a newly-appointed Imperial Scholar, entered Lyuzhou as an official.

Within just three years, he effectively took control over Jiangnan—defeating Duke of Qin Lumings, driving back Princess Royale Siao Mingyue, single-handedly resolving the Jiangnan zombie incident, and winning a great victory under the court’s campaign, pressing Great Jin to confer for the first time an imperial title on someone not of the royal bloodline!

Now coming here accompanied by just one woman, it seems... indeed, he is more worth keeping than Lumings...