Chapter 200: Chapter 200

"In front of such a refined candle flame, the room full of cotton looks exceedingly coarse."

"Isn’t that so? Just one candle can fill the entire room, why would anyone go through the trouble of moving so much cotton? Isn’t that just foolish?"

"If I had thought of filling the room with the candlelight, I’d also just eat, drink, and lay back to watch the fun."

"What watching fun? Clearly, it’s about enjoying the embarrassment of that person who spends money and effort."

"Hahaha... Hahaha..."

At this point, the ministers couldn’t help but laugh at the little princess’s sly remarks.

Just earlier, Bei Xia had been openly mocking and subtly criticizing Dong Chu, and now the ministers of Dong Chu were enthusiastically returning the favor.

Ha, are they the only ones who can mock others?

The situation now truly echoed that saying, "What goes around, comes around."

Therefore, at any time, it’s wise to leave room for reconciliation in the future.

The ministers of Bei Xia were said to have red faces, especially the leading Prince Bei Xia and the Ninth Prince, who had been smug just moments ago, now felt as pained as the slap on their faces.

The Eldest Prince couldn’t help but think, why hadn’t they thought of such a simple, cost-effective way to fill the room with candlelight?

It was all because those competing didn’t use their brains!

The Eldest Prince looked displeased at the Ninth Prince, seemingly questioning him why he hadn’t thought of such a method, while that little girl did.

The Ninth Prince couldn’t respond to the Eldest Prince because it finally dawned on him that the gaze Jun Ning had given him during the day was one of appreciating his embarrassment, pitying that his hard work would ultimately be in vain.

"You cheeky girl," the Ninth Prince, childish at heart, couldn’t hide his emotions. He was so angry that he rushed at Jun Ning, who was in Emperor Yongning’s arms.

He wished he could strangle this cheeky girl.

He couldn’t understand, since she knew he would eventually lose, why hadn’t she said anything earlier? Why did she stand by and watch him struggle?

Was she treating him as a clown performing tricks?

Cheeky girl, too mean, it’s driving him mad.

The Ninth Prince rushed forward too suddenly, and being small, he wasn’t easily noticed, so no one stopped him. By the time he was noticed, he had already reached Emperor Yongning, grabbing Jun Ning’s leg, trying to pull her forcefully from the Emperor’s embrace.

He pulled so hard that Jun Ning almost fell from the Emperor’s arms. Fortunately, the Emperor reacted quickly and held her tighter.

However, as Jun Ning was pulled, her dress was torn, and her leg was painfully tugged.

Jun Ning couldn’t worry about the pain; she was thinking, was she... not exposed?

The little girl pouted, covering her backside, extremely aggrieved.

"Someone, stop the Ninth Prince immediately and take him away," Emperor Yongning commanded while patting Jun Ning’s back to comfort her, insisting she shouldn’t cry.

The Crown Prince, who was the closest to Emperor Yongning, acted quickly, stopping the Ninth Prince, and after glancing at the little girl in the Emperor’s arms and confirming she was fine, he let out a sigh of relief.

Then he turned to Prince Bei Xia, "Eldest Prince, is this how you act after losing?"

If so, then Bei Xia has really lost face.

If word got out, not only would it be laughable, but it would also raise suspicions about their intentions in this diplomatic mission.

They claimed to engage in cultural exchange and competition between the two countries but intended to harm a member of the Imperial Family, perhaps even the Emperor himself.

After all, if the Ninth Prince could attack Jun Ning, he could also target Emperor Yongning.

This posed a significant threat.

Prince Bei Xia, already fuming over the loss of three cities, was further angered by his brother disregarding their reputation and trying to harm the princess.

Unable to contain his anger, he rushed over and slapped the Ninth Prince.

"You fool," he scolded in rage.

Had they admitted defeat gracefully, perhaps there might have been room for negotiation regarding the three cities. Maybe they wouldn’t really have to give them up.

They could have compensated with open border trade and reduced taxes on trade caravans to make up for the loss.

But with the Ninth Prince’s aggressive behavior, Emperor Yongning, already inclined to protect his own, wouldn’t let this go.

The matter of the three cities had now reached a point of no return.

They would have to give them up, whether they wanted to or not.

How could Prince Bei Xia not be angry?

In his anger, he vented his frustration on the Ninth Prince, slapping him repeatedly until his face was swollen and bruised.

Emperor Yongning, fearing Jun Ning might be frightened, covered the little girl’s eyes with his hand and said to Prince Bei Xia, "I will prepare a banquet tomorrow, and we can discuss the transfer of the cities then. For today, as my beloved daughter has been startled, I won’t be joining you."

With that, Emperor Yongning flicked his sleeves and left.

The officials from Bei Xia didn’t linger either, those who had to leave the palace did so, and those who had duties attended to them.

Everyone performed their roles in an orderly manner.

Emperor Yongning carried Jun Ning back to their inner palace, Weiyang Hall.

After such an ordeal, they hadn’t even had dinner.

After having dinner, Emperor Yongning rested in Weiyang Hall.

The two children slept in the middle, with Qiong Hua and Emperor Yongning sleeping on either side, like an ordinary family, resting together and enjoying the happiness of having their children nearby.

Sleeping together was unconventional, but Qiong Hua dared not break the rules, yet with Emperor Yongning’s insistence, she couldn’t argue and quietly went to sleep.

Jun Ning had slept with Emperor Yongning a few times before, so she wasn’t afraid of him. But Jun Yu was different; it was his first time sleeping with the Emperor, lying right beside him, which terrified him.

He hardly dared to breathe, or move, lying there frozen.

When Emperor Yongning noticed his unease, he put an arm around his small body and whispered in his ear, "Don’t be afraid," which finally calmed him a little.

However, by the time dawn broke and Emperor Yongning went to court, Jun Yu still hadn’t fully come to his senses.

He grabbed Jun Ning and said, "Sister, quickly, slap me to see if I’m dreaming."

It was his first time sleeping with Father Emperor.

Something he had never dared to imagine before.

Now that it had become true, he found it hard to believe. Chapters fırst released on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✦𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✦𝕟𝕖𝕥

Jun Ning didn’t slap Jun Yu but smiled wryly and said, "Brother, you’re not dreaming, it’s real."

"I won’t believe it unless you slap me," Jun Yu insisted on bringing trouble upon himself.

"I won’t hit you," Jun Ning still refused to strike her brother.

At this moment, a voice suddenly came from outside, "Yi Yi, you feel sorry for him, so you’re unwilling to hit him. But I don’t feel pity, let me do it, I’ll help you hit him."

Who was it that came?