This is the true immortal of the Taoist sect.

As he left the palace, Wang Yangming touched his forehead, which was already covered in cold sweat.

Looking up at the sky, I found it to be dim and lifeless.

Prince of Jin, Crown Prince...

Caught between the two, he felt like he was stuck in a quagmire, unable to extricate himself.

A strong sense of powerlessness swept over him, once again causing Wang Yangming's resolve to waver.

"I just want to do something practical and down-to-earth...why is that so difficult?"

Wang Yangming was exhausted and had no idea how to deal with these two formidable figures.

Because that was an absolute crushing defeat.

This left him with absolutely no possibility of making his own choices.

He now only wants to return to his hometown, to Anyi County, as soon as possible, to tell the master everything, and to ask the master to show him the way.

However, Wang Yangming underestimated the Crown Prince's methods.

Or perhaps they overestimated the Crown Prince's conscience.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Wang Yangming achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations, becoming the top scholar in all three levels of the imperial examinations. Furthermore, the emperor exceptionally granted him the official position of Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. The officials in the capital naturally understood that his future prospects were limitless.

Therefore, since high school, he has received invitations from powerful and influential people in Beijing every day, or they have made special visits to him.

Among them were many princes and nobles, whom Wang Yangming simply could not refuse.

Therefore, his return was delayed again and again, and it wasn't until half a month later that he was finally able to leave.

However, just days before Wang Yangming was about to set off to return home, bad news came from the border: the Da Zhao border army had been defeated, and three hundred miles of northern territory had fallen into the hands of Da Li.

More than half of the 200,000 border troops were killed or wounded.

The remaining garrison could only hold out in the border town, struggling to survive.

The imperial court was shaken, and the whole country was shocked.

Wang Yangming also heard the news and felt extremely heavy-hearted.

It wasn't just for the soldiers who died in battle, but also for Chen Jing, whom he regarded as a close friend and confidant.

Despite making numerous inquiries, Wang Yangming was unable to obtain any news of Chen Jing.

The specific battle reports on the losses at the front have not yet been compiled, and the imperial court has not been able to find out who is left.

The border army suffered a major defeat, which caused shockwaves in the imperial court.

In the court and among the people, the civil and military factions were arguing fiercely over their differences in advocating war versus negotiating peace.

The peace faction even advocated sending a princess to Dali for a marriage alliance.

Upon hearing this proposal, the Prince of Jin, a staunch advocate of war, flew into a rage and beat the third-rank official who had proposed the marriage alliance so badly that he vomited blood.

The reason for the Prince of Jin's outburst was simple: the current emperor had five sons, but only one daughter.

That was Princess Wenrui.

She was also the younger sister of the Prince of Jin, born of the same mother.

He naturally couldn't agree to that.

However, three days later, the situation took a turn for the better.

After three days of arguing, the emperor grew impatient and angrily declared at the court assembly:

"Don't mention sending Wenrui to marry a foreign ruler again..."

Everyone thought the matter was settled, but then Grand Secretary Zhao Hongxin stepped forward and said:

"Your Majesty, there may be other ways to resolve this marriage alliance."

The emperor looked displeased and frowned, saying:

"I have said, this matter should not be mentioned again."

Zhao Hongxin stepped forward, holding his court tablet, and bowed deeply, saying:

"Princess Wenrui is of noble birth, and it is certainly not a good idea for her to go to Dali. However, there are other options besides Princess Wenrui."

The emperor paused, seemingly lost in thought.

The Prince of Jin immediately realized what was happening, and his eyes suddenly turned icy cold.

"Lord Zhao, what do you mean by this? My father only has one daughter, Wenrui. Besides Wenrui, where else in our Great Zhao is there an unmarried princess?"

Zhao Hongxin turned and bowed slightly to the Prince of Jin, smiling as he said:

"His Majesty does indeed only have one biological daughter, but has Prince Jin forgotten that there are quite a few suitable candidates within the royal family?"

"I have a candidate in mind."

The Prince of Jin naturally knew who he was referring to and immediately objected:

"Lord Zhao, stop talking nonsense. Ping'an has already been betrothed by the Emperor to the newly appointed top scholar, Wang Yangming. How could she possibly marry twice?"

At this point, the Prince of Jin suddenly realized that Zhao Hongxin was digging a hole for himself.

He then immediately bowed to the Emperor and said:

"Father, your two ministers disagree with the marriage alliance. My Great Zhao has more than a million men. If we lose, we can fight back. But if we are defeated in the Northern Frontier, and you want the women of my Great Zhao to be sent for marriage alliances, then what face will the men of my Great Zhao have to live in this world?"

The emperor remained silent, but the crown prince, who stood at the head of the table, stepped forward and smiled:

"Second brother, don't boast. You have never overseen the affairs of state, so there are many things you are not clear about."

Upon hearing this, the Prince of Jin's expression visibly changed.

The Crown Prince's meaning was crystal clear: he was telling him that the only reason he was able to stand in the court and not be sent to his fiefdom was because of his father's favor. As for legitimacy, the Crown Prince was the one to consider.

"There has been constant conflict between the Da Zhao and Da Li, and the border has been shrouded in flames almost every day for the past five years."

"Have you ever done the math? How much resources and money has our Great Zhao Dynasty consumed over the years? How much tax burden have our people borne?"

"How many loyal souls and bones of my Great Zhao men lie along the border?"

"Fight back? You make it sound so easy. How many righteous men of our Great Zhao would be sacrificed with just one word like 'fight back'?"

"If we can exchange a marriage alliance for ten years of peace, it will be enough for our Great Zhao to recuperate and build up its national strength."

"We'll settle scores then."

"This is the best course of action..."

As soon as the Crown Prince finished speaking, a group of officials who advocated peace immediately stood up and seconded his opinion.

The Prince of Jin was so enraged that he lost control of his emotions and shouted on the spot:

"Nonsense and reckless talk will mislead the country."

He realized something was wrong as soon as he finished speaking; it was practically a public reprimand of the Crown Prince.

If those civil officials were to seize upon this as a pretext, they would surely accuse him of disrespecting the crown prince and his elder brother, and take the opportunity to attack him.

As soon as the Prince of Jin finished speaking, he immediately said:

"The Crown Prince's words make sense, but they are not comprehensive."

"The Dali are wolves in sheep's clothing, fearing power but not virtue. To deal with them, we must completely subdue and frighten them. Only then will they be afraid and give our Dazhao a chance to recuperate."

"If we make peace through marriage today, they'll dare demand compensation tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, our Great Zhao will probably have to submit to them and pay tribute..."

"presumptuous..."

The emperor coldly rebuked.

The Prince of Jin immediately bowed.

"Father, please forgive us. Your Majesty, we have been to the northern border, and what we said is by no means an exaggeration."

The emperor waved his hand, signaling him to stop talking.

Just as the crown prince was about to stand up and refute, the emperor stopped him.

A long silence then fell over the court.

Until Zhao Hongxin broke the deadlock and said:

"The daughter of the Prince of Xianping was orphaned at a young age. His Majesty, mindful of blood ties, adopted her in the palace, bestowed upon her the title of Princess, and treated her with the same privileges as a princess."

"In essence, she is His Majesty's daughter. She has been blessed with imperial favor for many years, and now it is time for her to repay it."

"The only thing missing is the title of princess; Your Majesty only needs to issue an imperial decree to confer the title."

"If Princess Ping'an knew that she alone could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of border soldiers and bring ten years of peace to our Great Zhao, she would surely not refuse, given her virtue."

"Your Majesty, we urge you to make a decision as soon as possible to prevent further casualties..."

After Zhao Hongxin finished speaking, the other ministers also stood up, bowed, and said:

"We second that suggestion; we urge Your Majesty to make a decision as soon as possible..."