The next morning at the court, Zhao Jun didn't even show his face. Officials from the Court of Diplomatic Missions and the Ministry of Rites represented him, exchanging a few perfunctory pleasantries before seeing the Wei people off.
Ding Yun, naturally, left with them.
She was going to Wei as a marriage alliance.
There were even quite a few dowry palace maids.
Setting aside other matters, Zhao was at least putting on a good show. Although Wei had stated that Princess Anping would marry as a mere concubine, they had, with great effort, crafted an appearance as if she were marrying to become a consort.
However, just as their group had traveled a few steps out of the capital, a thunderous roar and a deafening crack echoed from the imperial palace, creating a commotion of considerable magnitude!
The thunderous roar was the collapse of the ground beneath Lengning Palace.
The entire palace sank, buried, and disappeared into an unfathomable depth, along with the corpse of the deposed empress stored within.
The deafening crack was a bolt of lightning that struck directly at the front and rear halls of Qianqing Hall, destroying the entire structure.
Zhao Jun was trapped beneath the rubble.
For a time, the imperial palace was thrown into disarray. Some were frantically trying to rescue him, while others, in their terror, could not help but exclaim that this was divine retribution.
The imperial palace was almost in chaos.
Ministers and nobles also hurried into the palace.
Even the consorts and princes in the harem were subtly stirring, with some perhaps already fantasizing about what they would do if the emperor were to unfortunately pass away.
And all of this, naturally, was Ding Yun's gift to her father, Zhao Jun, a gift she had specially arranged by spending all the points she had accumulated over time.
The skills she chose to employ were the "Crow's Mouth" and "Magpie's Mouth," which were somewhat related to "Speaking Truth to Power." One was a wish for Qianqing Palace to be destroyed by a bolt of lightning, and the other was a wish for her mother to sink along with her palace, becoming a natural tomb undisturbed for a hundred years.
Since these involved "Speaking Truth to Power," even though these skills were only used temporarily, they consumed all of Ding Yun's points. However, the effect was clearly satisfactory.
It was definitely worth the price.
Listening to the sounds from afar, Ding Yun, seated in the carriage, finally showed a rare hint of a smile, thinking inwardly that this was merely an appetizer. When she returned, she would surely make the entire Zhao Kingdom and its royal family pay with their lives.
At this moment, the Wei envoys also heard the sounds. Their hearts were filled with an almost unbearable curiosity about what had happened in the capital of Zhao.
They were so curious that they wished they could immediately turn back to see.
Unfortunately, they could not turn back.
For they now represented not themselves, but their nation. Upholding their word was paramount. If they were to turn back immediately, people might think they had gone back on their word, inadvertently causing conflict and misunderstanding.
Therefore, in the end, they dispatched only one person to gather information before continuing their journey at a slow pace.
The rituals between nations must be observed.
Knowing oneself and knowing the enemy, however, was even more essential.
...
In the carriage at the forefront of the Wei envoy's convoy.
The Fourth Prince, Wei Xiangxun, disguised as an ordinary envoy, and the chief envoy, Du Kui, were seated and conversing.
"Master Du, previously in the capital of Zhao, I was concerned about eavesdropping and did not ask some questions. May I trouble you to enlighten me now?"
After briefly speculating about what had happened in the capital of Zhao, Wei Xiangxun cupped his hands and asked.
"Your Highness may ask. This minister knows all and will answer everything."
Du Kui returned the bow with respect.
"Ceding cities was something agreed upon when we came. There is no issue with mutual negotiation. But why did you suddenly propose a marriage alliance? I recall that when we first came, the officials discussed hoping that Zhao would send a prince to our Wei as a hostage. Why did you change your mind after arriving? And judging by the Zhao Emperor's demeanor and attitude, this princess is not favored; he seems eager to give her to us. What use is such a princess? It can't possibly be, as the Zhao people claim, simply because she has the bloodline of the Duke of Qi and they want to take her back for their citizens to vent their anger over the loss of their sons and grandsons due to the Duke of Qi, right? Moreover, she is ultimately just a woman. I heard her mother was deposed; it is already difficult enough. Why involve a weak woman in national grievances!"
This question had puzzled Wei Xiangxun for a long time, but as they were on Zhao territory, it was inconvenient to ask, so he had held it until now.
As Wei Xiangxun posed his question, a hint of disappointment inevitably appeared on Du Kui's face, and he sighed.
"Alas, Your Highness, you are a bit too naive... If I truly wished to find people with the bloodline of the Duke of Qi to take back for the citizens to vent their anger, why would I seek out such a distant princess? Those members of the Qi family who were exiled could be abducted back to Wei by anyone without the need for diplomatic relations between countries. Is their bloodline not closer than this princess?"
"My actions were merely to test whether the Zhao Emperor was intelligent, whether the Zhao officials were united, and incidentally to sow discord between the border generals and the Zhao Emperor!"
Hearing Du Kui's explanation, Wei Xiangxun was a little bewildered. Could a marriage alliance hide so many intentions?
Seeing Wei Xiangxun's expression, Du Kui could easily guess that he had not understood at all. This time, his sigh was silent, but he sighed inwardly, truly believing that this prince was probably no more intelligent than the Zhao Emperor.
However, he was young and could still be taught.
So he quickly regained his composure and continued to explain.
"When I proposed the marriage alliance, wasn't I intentionally mentioning that Princess Anping could only enter the palace as a concubine? This is unprecedented for a marriage alliance between nations. Generally, a princess in a marriage alliance would at least be a consort, or a prince's wife, and it was not uncommon for her to even be an empress. I thought that Zhao would at least have some backbone and argue with me, or even curse and beat me. But they didn't. After some debate, they agreed. Many of the princes, even knowing that I had originally intended to take a prince as a hostage, did not even bother with superficial pleasantries and readily agreed to the marriage alliance. A nation where everyone, from top to bottom, lacks backbone, how can it endure? Furthermore, for a princess of a nation to enter another country as a concubine, this treatment has only occurred in history when some countries were conquered and their royal families were all captured. This would be a severe blow to the morale of the Zhao people. Even the Golden Tent Court would probably mock them and consider Zhao weak and easily bullied. If Zhao can defeat the Golden Tent Court later, that's one thing. But if they cannot even defeat the Golden Tent Court, and are even forced to seek peace, then just you wait. The demands made by the Golden Tent Court will only be more excessive and humiliating than ours. At that time, everyone will likely want to bully Zhao. Taking a hostage would have far less impact, as hostage exchanges are common practice among nations, and the Zhao Emperor is likely not short of one or two princes. This is what I meant by... testing the Zhao Emperor's intelligence."