Selling wife for fame? Kick out the scumbag and marry the new emperor to enjoy the harem of favors

Chapter 203

“What can we do now? His Majesty of Dajing is adamant. Although we have already presented the letter of marriage, we have offended someone before, and they are holding a grudge. Now, we can only try to get through the Xie family to see if we can plead a little and reduce the tariffs.” Zhao Zaiyan was very troubled.

Because Xie Wei was Xie Mingshen's biological son, the people of Xichi naturally had no suspicion of fraud when his people did things.

Shangguan Yi was angry, but there was nothing he could do, so he could only sit down sullenly.

Then he asked, "Where is the Prince?"

"I went to the Marquis of Qing'an's residence to see Princess Heyi. The palace has issued an imperial decree that Princess Heyi should pack her things and enter the palace in three days to await her marriage and to receive instruction from the Empress Dowager," Zhao Zaiyan said.

Shangguan Yi narrowed his eyes. "If Princess Heyi were willing to put in a good word for us, then Da Jing should at least offer some decent dowry."

“Could the Prince not have thought of these things?” Zhao Zaiyan glanced at him. “Just wait and see, besides the Xie family, this is the only other way.”

After Princess Heyi got married, she became a member of the Xichi royal family, so it was reasonable to persuade her to seek some benefits for Xichi.

The Xichi people inside the Huitong Hall were focused solely on customs duties, but Xie Mingshen, inside the Xie residence, had many other thoughts on his mind.

All he could think of now was that Shangguan Yi's meeting with Wei Zhang was probably to plead for his life.

Xie Mingshen knew that he could speak to Zhao Xingjin because of Xie Jiu's influence, but Wei Zhang was different; he and Zhao Xingjin had a relationship of loyalty and kinship.

To be honest, Wei Zhang was actually more persuasive to Zhao Xingjin.

But Xie Mingshen felt that, given Wei Zhang's personality, he might not agree. However, if he didn't agree, why would he stay in the restaurant for so long?

Could it be that Shangguan Yi told Wei Zhang about Xi Chi's deal with him?
No, that shouldn't be the case either. It wouldn't do Xichi any good; it would only make Zhao Xingjin think that the people of Xichi were restless and trying to bribe the officials of the Dajing court.

After pondering for a moment, Xie Mingshen could only deduce that Zhao Zaiyan had been unable to get the desired result from him for a long time, and seeing that the matter could not be delayed any longer, he came up with another way, asking Shangguan Yi to try to get help from Wei Zhang.

Thinking of this, Xie Mingshen recalled that Xie Wei had said someone had sent a message saying that he seemed to be secretly in contact with the Xichi people. At the time, he deduced that the person who sent the message was Wei Zhang, and now it seems that it was most likely true.

If Wei Zhang had already discovered his secret dealings with Xi Chi, but did not report it to the Emperor, and instead tried to use Xie Wei to stop him from trading with Xi Chi, then he must have had ulterior motives.

"Well done, old scoundrel Wei. I thought you were so honest and upright, but it turns out you're nothing special." Xie Mingshen sneered, having already made up his mind.

What the Xichi people promised to give him was extremely important. If he missed this opportunity, it would be time-consuming, laborious, and risky for him to acquire it himself later, especially since the court was watching closely.

Having made up his mind, Xie Mingshen pondered for a moment and then ordered someone to summon Xie Wei and Madam Fan.

The implication is that the Emperor was somewhat resentful because the Westerners had been too arrogant and rude before, so he deliberately raised the tariffs too high. However, this was not conducive to the long-term friendly relations between the two countries, especially since Princess Heyi's marriage to Gao Sui was politically motivated.

To make things easier for the princess in Xichi, we should loosen our grip a bit. This would also show the people of Xichi that Dajing values ​​the princess. With her family backing her up, Princess Heyi can gain a foothold in Xichi and plan for the future.

Xie Mingshen felt it was inconvenient to say these things, so who was the right person to say them? Naturally, it was Xie Jiu.

Therefore, after the internal meeting of the Xie family, Xie Jiu in the palace also received the news.

Of course, this is different from what Xie Mingshen said. Xie Wei had already told him in the letter that Xie Mingshen was getting impatient and was afraid that the deal with Xi Chi would fall through, so he started to try to persuade Xie Mingshen to speed things up.

This does overlap with Xie Jiu's plan.

Perfect timing, I can do Princess Heyi another favor.

"Go to Chengming Hall and invite the Emperor to dinner. Tell him I have something else I'd like to discuss with him," Xie Jiu instructed. Chunrong responded.

In the evening, Zhao Xingjin still came over.

She hadn't come for several days in a row, and some people in the palace were wondering if Consort Jin was about to fall out of favor. But unexpectedly, they became friendly again.

Of course, Zhao Xingjin himself also felt inexplicably awkward.

He was only willing to protect Xie Jiu, but Xie Jiu stubbornly wanted to protect Xie Wei and the others as well, which made Zhao Xingjin feel that she was too disobedient and needed to be taught a lesson.

But he couldn't figure out how to discipline the person, so he just left the person aside.

To be honest, when Xie Jiu sent someone to invite him today, he thought Xie Jiu wanted to back down. He never expected that it was still about discussing matters. Zhao Xingjin was unhappy. He actually hoped that Xie Jiu could treat him as a concubine, but Xie Jiu's current behavior seemed more like that of a strategist.

But Zhao Xingjin really needed her around right now, so despite his reluctance, he still came.

"Speak, what is it?"

He had barely sat down when he deliberately put on a cold face.

Unexpectedly, Xie Jiu took out a belt from the box and held it up to him.

"Your Majesty, the belt I embroidered is finished. Please try it on and see if it fits."

The woman came closer, her arms already wrapped around his waist, then wrapped back around him, carefully tying it up for him and smoothing out the wrinkles.

"Does His Majesty like it?"

Xie Jiu looked up, her beautiful eyes filled with a smile, like a child waiting for praise.

Such a gentle demeanor left Zhao Xingjin somewhat at a loss.

It's like, "Damn it, you're so stingy and sulking, but someone is thinking of doing needlework for you."

He coughed lightly, turned his face away, and said, "It's alright, it'll do."

"Ah?" Xie Jiu frowned. "How can the Emperor's things be made to look good? It seems that I did not do a good job. Your Majesty, please take it down and I will revise it."

As she spoke, she reached out to untie it, but her hand was grabbed by a pair of large hands.

"Alright, alright, there's no need to fuss over such trivial matters. It's good that you've shown your kindness. Did you come here today just for this belt?"

"Not at all," Xie Jiu replied. "There is another matter I need to discuss with His Majesty."

Her expression was serious, which made Zhao Xingjin somewhat inexplicably disappointed, but he still solemnly gestured for her to speak and sat down beside her.

Xie Jiu pursed her lips and spoke softly, "Today, I overheard the palace servants talking about how our marriage alliance with Xi Chi will cause trouble for Princess He Yi. Right now, Da Jing is making things difficult for Xi Chi over the customs issue. I'm afraid the people of Xi Chi, and even Prince Yi, are harboring resentment. So, if there are already conflicts before the marriage is even finalized, how can we expect to have a good life together in the future?"

Zhao Xingjin's eyes flickered as he looked at her.

"So, what do you think I should do?"

"How could I possibly know?" Xie Jiu said helplessly. After a moment's thought, she added, "I was just wondering if we should add something to Princess Heyi's dowry so that they would be more willing to marry her. If a woman's family doesn't show her respect when she marries, she'll easily suffer mistreatment in her husband's family. Besides, Princess Heyi is marrying far away for the sake of the country. Your Majesty, shouldn't you give her more confidence?"