My stepsister tried to steal the prince's hand in marriage, but little did she know I had been

Chapter 184 Autumn Gathering

Yelü Dan's face was grim; once the thought crossed his mind, those fears materialized as if they were real.

Despite having experienced many trials in the Northern Di, she still felt uncertain about cooperating with someone as treacherous and cunning as Prince Xin.

"What did the letter say?"

Yelü Dan's heart skipped a beat when he saw Huyan Tu's gaze fixed on the letter.

Huyan Tu frowned, hesitating to speak: "The letter says that he will give you the border defense map at the annual gathering tomorrow."

Hearing this, Yelü Dan felt something was strange.

A thought struck her, and she quickly walked to Huyantu's side, carefully reading the contents of the letter.

"Why choose the Thousand Autumns Gathering?" Yelü Dan suddenly wondered, but when she looked at Huyan Tu, she found that Huyan Tu was also completely confused.

After a moment, Yelü Dan sighed inwardly.

When you need to use your brain, you almost never need to use Huyan Tu.

“Since it’s the Millennium Gathering… let’s go and take a look.” Yelü Dan said in a low voice, “We’re going to attend this Millennium Gathering anyway.”

Huyantu nodded repeatedly: "I will accompany you to the Thousand Autumns Gathering."

Although Huyan Tu was careless and easygoing, he possessed an extraordinary sensitivity to the impending dangers.

"If it's a border defense map, why not just give it to us directly? Why go through all this trouble and give it to us at the Thousand Autumns Conference?"

As Huyantu spoke, he glanced at Yelü Dan's expression.

Seeing Yelü Dan's solemn expression, clearly having taken these words to heart, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "This subordinate believes that Prince Xin may... harbor treacherous intentions."

Yelü Dan was able to gain the support of many families in the Northern Di tribes despite being a woman, thanks to her intelligence.

After calming down, the doubts in her heart gradually dissipated, and her eyes became clear: "Actually... if he wanted to cause turmoil on the border, there was another way that was easier and less troublesome."

Huyan Tu opened his eyes wide and looked at Yelü Dan: "What method?"

At this moment, Huyan Tu already had some doubts in his heart.

Yelü Dan spoke calmly, enunciating each word clearly: "That means killing me."

"No matter who makes the move, as long as I die within the territory of Dali, my father will definitely mobilize his troops—whether it is to avenge me or to uphold the dignity of the Northern Di, he will never sit idly by."

"Once I die, the conflict between Dali and Beidi will truly never be resolved."

Yelü Dan spoke these words calmly, which greatly shocked Huyan Tu, whose face turned pale: "He wants to kill you!"

"This post station is no longer safe." Huyan Tu thought of the letter that had been delivered without anyone noticing, and his expression gradually became uneasy.

“No need to worry.” Yelü Dan raised his hand and pressed down on the anxious Huyan Tu. “Since he wants to make his move at the Thousand Autumns Gathering, it proves that he has set a trap at the Thousand Autumns Gathering.”

Yelü Dan narrowed her eyes, a cold smile appearing on her delicate face: "In any case, I'm going to die in his scheme anyway, so how can he make the most of my death?"

"Naturally, they framed Xie Jinghan for my death," Yelü Dan said through gritted teeth. "He's truly a master strategist!"

Yelü Dan's eyes flashed, and in a short while, she had a plan.

"He schemes against us, and we can certainly scheme against him," Yelü Dan said coldly. "He can't afford two hundred thousand taels of silver, but there are plenty of people in the capital who can!"

Huyan Tu was stunned for a moment, and before he could come to his senses, he saw Yelü Dan tear the letter in his hand to shreds.

……

The Thousand Autumns Gathering is a grand event for the world.

Dali and its vassal states, as well as neighboring countries, almost all sent envoys to the area.

Yelü Dan and Huyan Tu sat not far from the emperor, a very good position, which shows how much the Dali people valued the Northern Di.

It was precisely because of this location, near the emperor and on relatively high ground, that Yelü Dan could clearly see the tributes sent by the vassal states of Dali.

When will the Northern Barbarians be able to achieve such a grand occasion?

Yelü Dan slowly clenched his hands, his ambition burning fiercely in his chest.

Dali is a vast region with abundant resources, including countless products.

Salt, which is quite valuable to the Northern Di, is readily available in Dali and is an ordinary item for the common people.

Cotton, which was only affordable to nobles in the Northern Di, was available to every household in the Dali.

How could a place like this not inspire envy? How could it not be coveted?

Yelü Dan suppressed his desires and focused his gaze on the person opposite him.

The first person to the emperor's right is Xie Jinghan.

Xie Jinghan still had that cold and aloof look. Sitting next to him was his most beloved princess, Wen Shuyao.

She had just met these two people a few days ago.

The two were a perfect match, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, like a divine couple.

Yelü Dan lowered his head, all those thoughts vanishing from his mind.

At that moment, she had only one thought in her mind—to cooperate with Xie Jinghan.

Yelü Dan's gaze was almost tangible, and Wen Shuyao sensed it.

She carefully nudged Xie Jinghan: "Your Highness, what are we going to do?"

"Wait," Xie Jinghan said succinctly.

But when he met Wen Shuyao's beautiful eyes, he paused, then patiently explained, "Once she leaves, Prince Xin will likely make his move today."

Xie Jinghan pondered for a moment, then said, "Perhaps... he will also plot against us."

If Prince Xin wanted to amplify the impact of this matter, pinning Yelü Dan's death on himself would be the most effective course of action.

Wen Shuyao also sensed something upon hearing this.

She lowered her voice: "But Yelü Dan... what if she really died in Dali..."

"No, it won't happen." Xie Jinghan reached out and gently patted Wen Shuyao's hand. "I have already had Si Qing send people to protect her in secret, and the Shadow Guards have also been dispatched."

Wen Shuyao nodded slightly upon hearing this.

When the couple whispered to each other, it looked like they were deeply in love to onlookers.

The emperor was very pleased and said to the empress, "If the Prince Jing's mansion can have another son or daughter, then half of my wish will be fulfilled."

Consort Zhang, who should have been under house arrest, was sitting next to the Empress and overheard the Emperor's words.

Her gaze swept quickly over the two people below, who looked like a perfect couple, and she secretly clenched her hands, filled with hatred.

If the Thousand Autumns Gathering hadn't been arranged long ago, she probably wouldn't have been able to attend. Fortunately, she pleaded with the emperor, which temporarily lifted her confinement.

But news of her confinement had already spread, and everyone could laugh at her.

The two people below were the ones who started all of this.

Her eyes turned slightly cold as many thoughts raced through her mind, ultimately settling on the Second Prince.

More than a month has passed since I last met the Second Prince.

Now, it's time to continue their plans.