The seductive princess is no longer being pursued; the aloof prime minister is facing a crematorium.

Chapter 148 The Princess is Afraid of the Dark~
It's scheming.

Moreover, it was a rather clumsy scheme.

Even before Jiang Jinshuang returned to the capital, she knew that Jiang Huayan was already planning this matter.

Without Prince Ruiyang, even with 300,000 black-armored cavalry, the imperial family would not be able to sit still.

In recent years, after the death of Prince Ruiyang, Beihuai has grown stronger day by day thanks to Wen Fengcang's command and governance.

The imperial family was afraid.

Therefore, marriage alliance is the best solution.

Without firing a single shot, we were able to thwart Bei Huai's ambitions.

Even if the two countries signed some ridiculous century-old alliance, history is written by the victors.

As long as Beihuai wins this war, minor matters such as violating the alliance can be completely erased from history books.

The basis for signing an alliance is that the national strength of the two countries is equal. Only in this way will the monarchs of the two countries be wary and not easily take action, and the alliance will play a restraining role.

However, now that King Ruiyang has passed away, the national strength of the two countries is severely imbalanced, and the alliance has little binding power.

As a monarch, Jiang Huayan clearly understood this principle.

But he was gambling, gambling that Bei Huai wouldn't dare to invade, gambling that he could obtain the tiger tally of the 300,000 black-armored cavalry.

If he wins neither of the above two bets.

—A marriage alliance was his last resort.

Therefore, Jiang Huayan must have started planning the marriage alliance with Beihuai very early on.

That's why he used his serious illness as an excuse to have the Imperial Observatory "observe the celestial phenomena at night" and allow her to return to the capital to attend to him.

Jiang Huayan summoned her back to the capital, clearly with this purpose in mind, yet he still insisted on being "lenient" towards her.

Thinking of this, Jiang Jinshuang scoffed coldly and looked at Jiang Huayan in front of her with a half-smile.

Jiang Huayan narrowed his eyes, his gaze towards Jiang Jinshuang filled with complexity.

Jiang Jinshuang had no idea what Jiang Huayan was thinking.

She didn't really care what he was thinking.

“Father, if you have ulterior motives, there’s no need to pretend to be lenient with your son,” Jiang Jinshuang chuckled, “You’re just asking for trouble.”

Jiang Biechen stood quietly to the side.

Upon hearing the conversation between Jiang Jinshuang and Jiang Huayan, Jiang Biechen was slightly stunned and remained in a daze for a long time.

It was at this moment that Jiang Biechen finally understood the words his father had once said to him.

Once, his father looked at him with a complicated expression and said meaningfully, "Biechen, you are not even half as good as Zhaoming."

Jiang Biechen always felt that it was his father who had deified Jiang Jinshuang.

Like her, he received early education, learned a thousand characters by the age of three, and could recite three hundred poems by the age of six.

Moreover, Zhaoming was hardly a diligent student.

She would skip school countless times for the newly made blue swallow kite in the palace, for novel exotic toys outside the palace, or even just to spite the old-fashioned and conservative tutor.

He remembered one day when Jiang Jinshuang skipped school and didn't sneak back until two hours after class had ended.

The Grand Tutor was furious. Holding a ruler, he ordered her to recite from memory a ten-thousand-word treatise she had just learned.

She only flipped through two or three pages.

He casually walked forward and, in front of the Grand Tutor, recited the text fluently.

The Grand Tutor gripped the ruler so tightly that it left finger marks, but in the end, he could only say hesitantly, "Your Highness, you should behave more properly."

Everyone says she's smart.

Jiang Biechen admitted that Jiang Jinshuang was indeed very smart.

But he never felt that he was inferior to her in any way.

Even though his father had once used Jiang Jinshuang as a role model, urging him to be more upright, more intelligent, to study military strategy more thoroughly, and to memorize more historical records...

Jiang Biechen thought that the difference between him and Jiang Jinshuang was perhaps just a matter of stretching his hand.

Until now.

until now.

She said, "Didn't you send me back to the capital just for this day?" She said, "Didn't Father summon me back to the capital so that I could go to Beihuai for a marriage alliance?"

She said, "Father, if you have ulterior motives, you don't need to pretend to be lenient with your son."

She always seems to have a commanding presence.

She seems to know everything.

She knew that her return to the capital meant she was entering a trap, and she knew her father's three-step plan.

—She had calculated far more than three steps.

Jiang Biechen looked at the arrogant girl in front of him and felt a little dazed for a moment.

Suddenly, for some reason, he remembered that a long time ago, she had skipped school and dumped all the novelties she had found at the market in Chang'an outside the palace in front of him.

"Brother, look, take whatever you like!"

At that time, they had a good relationship. Jiang Biechen liked this younger sister who was a little younger than him but very close to him.

"Silly Shuang'er, you've given me all the fun things, so you don't have any left for yourself?"

Jiang Jinshuang looked at him, her eyes crinkling: "But brother, Shuang'er wants to see you happy."

She said she wanted to see him happy.

Thinking of this, Jiang Biechen frowned slightly and lowered his head, no longer looking at her.

On the other side, Jiang Jinshuang and Jiang Huayan remained locked in a silent standoff.

Jiang Huayan's gaze was intense, and his eyes turned fierce as he looked at Jiang Jinshuang: "Zhaoming, it is Prince Ruiyang who has spoiled you."

Disrespectful to elders, unable to learn respect.

Jiang Jinshuang smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Father."

Even if this thin veil were torn off, Jiang Jinshuang wasn't too worried that Jiang Huayan would send her away for a political marriage.

He was also worried about the tiger tally she possessed.

Jiang Huayan was wary of the "tiger tally" she possessed, so he dared not force her.

Originally, he wanted to use a conciliatory approach and proceed gradually.

Now that Jiang Jinshuang has directly seen through his intentions, it's practically impossible for him to get her to willingly marry Bei Huai.

In other words, Jiang Huayan dared not actually send her to marry a foreign ruler until he was certain she did not possess the Tiger Tally.

This is also the source of Jiang Jinshuang's confidence to overturn the table.

As expected, Jiang Huayan took a deep breath, and his tone finally softened a bit: "Zhaoming, you are the only princess by my side. How can I bear to send you to Beihuai, thousands of miles away, for a political marriage?"

It can be considered a gesture of goodwill.

Jiang Jinshuang chuckled lightly, but did not refute.

Her current trump card is that the imperial family is unsure whether she possesses the Tiger Tally.

If it were ever confirmed that the Tiger Tally was not on her, Jiang Huayan would no longer treat her with such kindness.

The fact that he's now willing to lower his stance a little shows that things are far from reaching the point where a fight to the death is necessary.

Jiang Jinshuang also didn't really want to go that far.

"I did have such thoughts about the marriage alliance, but the current situation is far from the point where you need to go through with it. You don't need to think of your father in such a bad light."

Jiang Jinshuang smiled but remained silent, simply listening to Jiang Huayan's "consolation."

"You are also a piece of my father's flesh and blood, how could I be so cruel to my own daughter?"

His tone softened further: "I will not delve into what happened tonight, but you will still have to be punished, as a warning to Prince Beihuai."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jinshuang chuckled softly. She opened her mouth, as if to say something.

The next second, Eunuch Kang pushed open the door and respectfully reported.

"Your Majesty, the Grand Secretary is waiting outside."

Jiang Huayan frowned and said coldly, "What is he doing here? I didn't summon him."

"Your Majesty, the Grand Secretary said..." Eunuch Kang glanced at Jiang Jinshuang, looking troubled.

"What are you saying? Stop stammering!"

"They said...the roads are difficult to travel at night, and Her Highness is afraid of the dark, so they wanted to escort her back."