ebookland Chapter 182 Far Away Yet Close at Hand
Chapter 182 Far Away Yet Close at Hand
That evening, the newly built Prince Xin's Mansion welcomed a guest.
Yelü Dan, dressed in a black cloak, stared coldly at the person in front of him.
"Your plan has clearly failed," Yelü Dan said in a deep voice. "Now, all the unmarried men of marriageable age in Dali are coming to the post station, dressed in their finest clothes, and parading around in front of me all day long, hoping to win my heart and obtain the title promised by the emperor."
"Prince Xin," Yelü Dan sneered, "you'd better think carefully about how to continue our cooperation!"
Yelü Dan was furious when she said this. The young men from noble families swarmed around the gate, and she didn't dare to walk through it for fear of being discovered.
Those scions of noble families all had a powdered, effeminate air about them; it was obvious at a glance that they had just come from a brothel.
How dare someone like that ask to marry her?
Even if she were to marry, she would marry the best man in Dali.
Prince Xin still wore that kind smile, and Yelü Dan's anger seemed to him like a junior throwing a tantrum.
Seeing this, Yelü Dan became even more furious.
"What? You're not planning to continue our cooperation?"
Yelü Dan narrowed his eyes, his gloomy gaze sweeping over Prince Xin a few times.
She always harbored a degree of wariness towards Prince Xin.
Upon hearing this, Prince Xin waved his hand: "Naturally, it's not that I'm not prepared to cooperate, but rather..."
Prince Xin smiled and said, "But I want to know what the princess really wants."
“Either it’s a border defense map, or…” Yelü Dan’s lips curled up as he said, word by word, “or two hundred thousand taels of silver.”
"Two hundred thousand taels of silver?" Prince Xin's eyes flickered. "Princess, you have quite the nerve. The Northern Barbarians probably don't even earn two hundred thousand taels of silver a year."
The Northern Barbarian lands are bitterly cold, and in recent years there have been numerous epidemics, resulting in the deaths and injuries of countless cattle and sheep. This sum of 200,000 taels of silver is almost the entire annual surplus of the Northern Barbarian treasury.
Yelü Dan listened to the Prince of Xin's words and smiled coldly: "You seem to know a lot about the situation in the Northern Di. It seems your reach is far-reaching, even having spies among the Northern Di."
“Your Highness is joking.” Prince Xin smiled and explained gently, “It’s just that the Northern Di have lost too many times over the years, and the court officials have discussed this matter many times. I have also overheard it a few times.”
"I've only heard about the Northern Barbarians from a few court assemblies," Prince Xin said, his gaze lingering on Yelü Dan. "It seems what everyone says is true."
Yelü Dan barely managed to maintain his composure and said, word by word, "You have at least half Northern Di blood in you. Are you just going to stand by and watch the Northern Di be swallowed up by the Great Li?"
Having said that, Yelü Dan no longer concealed his thoughts and directly made his request: "If you help me seize the throne of the Northern Barbarians, I can lend you a hand and help you contain Xie Jinghan's troops at the border."
“Once the border is thrown into turmoil, Xie Jinghan and the Chu family will surely rush to the border, and the capital will be yours.” As Yelü Dan spoke, his gaze was fixed on Prince Xin.
As soon as she spoke, Prince Xin's eyes widened.
Only now did Prince Xin seriously examine his adopted aunt: "You... want the throne of the Northern Di?"
"What?" Yelü Dan sneered, "My brothers are extremely stupid, only knowing how to seek pleasure all day long. Father still places high hopes on such trash, while I am better than them in every way, but just because I am a woman, all my credit is given to those good-for-nothings."
"If someone like this can be expected to achieve such high hopes, then why can't the throne be mine?" Yelü Dan coldly glanced at Prince Xin. "Didn't your Great Li also have a female emperor?"
Upon hearing this, Prince Xin paused for a moment.
After a moment, Prince Xin spoke up: "If the Northern Barbarians are in your hands, then it would be a good thing for me."
“I’m not afraid of bad people,” Prince Xin said quietly. “I’m only afraid of fools.”
Unfortunately, those Northern Di were all fools; otherwise, he wouldn't have cooperated with a woman.
Although the Prince of Xin spoke, the slight disdain in his eyes still caught Yelü Dan's attention.
Although Yelü Dan was favored by the Northern Di, whenever she tried to touch that power, she would see this kind of look in the eyes of those people.
Yelü Dan would not misunderstand such a look—it was clearly a sign of disrespect for her status as a woman.
A surge of anger rose within him, and Yelü Dan clenched his hands tightly before managing to avert his gaze.
"Further words are pointless," Yelü Dan said coldly. "Your Highness, please tell us how we can cooperate."
"Either you give me a map of the border defenses, or... you give me two hundred thousand taels of silver," she said, enunciating each word clearly. "I don't want anything else."
Only these two things can help her strengthen her faction.
Upon hearing Yelü Dan's resounding words, Prince Xin remained silent for a while.
These two things are quite difficult for the current Prince Xin's Mansion to obtain.
Aside from the imperial palace, only Xie Jinghan possesses the border defense map.
Obtaining the defense map from Xie Jinghan is no different from breaking into the palace and forcibly seizing it.
Two hundred thousand taels of silver...
Over the years, he has secretly cultivated a large number of elite troops and accumulated considerable power.
And all of this corresponds to a continuous stream of silver.
Over the years, he had lived frugally, investing all his money into it, and there wasn't a single valuable item left in the entire Prince Xin's mansion.
Where was he supposed to find 200,000 taels of silver to give to Yelü Dan?
Yelü Dan had already noticed something amiss from the Prince Xin's hesitant manner.
But that's it!
Yelü Dan sneered inwardly. She had thought that cooperating with Prince Xin would allow her to get what she wanted, but now it seemed that...
Yelü Dan thought with disappointment—it seemed she could only seek help from others.
After a conversation with Prince Xin, Yelü Dan lost confidence that they could continue to cooperate.
Just as she was about to leave, she heard Prince Xin say, "I will find a way to get what you want, whether it's the border map or two hundred thousand taels of silver."
Upon hearing this, Yelü Dan turned around in surprise: "Really?"
“Of course.” Prince Xin said calmly, “As a prince, I still have a lot of property, but it will take some time to raise 200,000 taels of silver.”
Yelü Dan did not know how much property the Prince of Xin owned, but she observed that he was calm and composed, so she believed him to be mostly right.
"Alright." Yelü Dan nodded. "In that case, I'll await your good news."
After saying this, Yelü Dan walked outside.
She resolved a major threat and walked with ease.
But she didn't notice that behind her, Prince Xin's expression was cold and his gaze towards her back was filled with murderous intent.
Actually, there is another way to use the border conflict to hold Xie Jinghan back.
And this solution is both far away and right at hand.