During the spring celebration of the Northern Kingdom this year, the Yufu Kingdom sent an envoy to give Great Empress Zhaoyang ten Night-Luminescent Pearls and a marriage contract.
The Emperor of the Yufu Kingdom was willing to betroth Great Empress Zhaoyang of the Northern Kingdom as his wife. The betrothal gifts were a hundred and eighty carriages of gifts and the betrothal gifts were delivered.
When Great Empress Zhaoyang received the marriage contract and betrothal gifts, her expression was very ugly.
Although the Emperor of the Yufu Kingdom, Li Zhengye, was also a first-stage Martial Saint, his strength was comparable to hers. He was an inner sect disciple of the Yufu Mountain and also the direct descendant of the Old Ancestor.
Although he was about fifty years old this year, he looked to be in his twenties or thirties due to his cultivation. He should have a lifespan of three to five hundred years old according to the lifespan of a Martial Saint.
Fifty years old was not considered old, but the Emperor of the Yufu Kingdom had a first wife. Moreover, his first wife was a junior sister of his from the Yufu Mountain. It was said that the two of them were childhood sweethearts. When the Emperor of the Yufu Kingdom, Li Zhengye, ascended the throne, his junior sister was conferred the title of Empress.
It had been twenty years. Moreover, it was said that the two of them had a very good relationship over the past twenty years. They had always been an immortal couple and were praised by others.
Great Empress Zhaoyang would never have dreamed that the Emperor of the Yufu Kingdom, Li Zhengye, would hand over a marriage contract to the Northern Kingdom without any warning.
Hahaha, what did he take her for? She was the Great Empress! She would not be a concubine, let alone a third party. He did not give her the marriage contract in advance according to the ancient ceremony. This was contempt for the Northern Kingdom!
Hence, Great Empress Zhaoyang, who had received the marriage contract, threw it to the ground with a dark expression.
“How impudent. The Emperor of the Yufu Kingdom is too rash. If he wasn’t married, I could still negotiate with him if their Old Ancestor had come to discuss the marriage. But they just send a marriage contract. What’s the meaning of this? Is he bullying our Northern Kingdom for having no one?”
Over the years, under the rule of Great Empress Zhaoyang, the Martial Arts Academy had become the pillar of the Northern Kingdom. There were many outstanding figures among the younger generation.
Moreover, the Northern Kingdom had not experienced any chaos caused by the catacombs in the past few years. Although there were not many Martial Saints, the mysterious guardian of the Northern Kingdom was not to be underestimated.
Originally, the Yufu Kingdom was indeed stronger than the Northern Kingdom with the Yufu Mountain behind it. However, the Yufu Mountain suffered heavy losses after the Yufu Kingdom encountered the catacombs. They did not block the exit of the catacombs, causing many demons to rush out.
As a result, the Yufu Kingdom was in turmoil. Over the years, many citizens of the Yufu Kingdom had fled and come to the Northern Kingdom. And now, there aren’t any differences in the strength of the two countries.
Under such circumstances, the Yufu Kingdom’s act of directly handing over the marriage contract and betrothal gift was a provocation to Great Empress Zhaoyang!
A serious provocation!
It was just like how Great Empress Zhaoyang would have sent Li Zhengye a marriage contract without discussing with him beforehand and let him marry into the Northern Kingdom as the ruler of a country.
This was contempt and humiliation. They dared to do this because they wanted the two countries to be in a war!
When the ministers in the Imperial Court saw the Yufu Kingdom’s envoy rashly deliver the marriage contract, their faces were filled with anger. The generals even pressed their hands on their swords!
This Yufu Kingdom was simply going too far! Zhaoyang was their Great Empress! How could he humiliate her like this? Did the Yufu Kingdom want to get married or start a war?
Fortunately, Great Empress Zhaoyang’s actions were satisfying. This made the ministers feel relieved! They gave the Great Empress a thumbs up in their hearts.
Although Great Empress Zhaoyang was a woman, she was much stronger than the late emperor, Li Huanjun!
Since the Great Empress had expressed her stance, the remaining ministers were not to be outdone.
“That’s right. The Yufu Kingdom has gone too far. Do they want to get married or start a war?”
“How can anyone covet the Great Empress of our Northern Kingdom?”
“Don’t you know the three rituals? And he’s the ruler of a country. Do you think there’s no one in our Northern Kingdom?”
—-
This was the first time that the Great Empress and ministers of the Northern Kingdom were of the same mind. They actually let the envoy of the Yufu Kingdom leave the Imperial City with the marriage contract and the betrothal gifts.
The Northern Kingdom directly sent General Qin Feng to bring a group of people to escort the envoy of the Yufu Kingdom. Although they said that they were escorting him, they were actually chasing him out of the border of the Northern Kingdom.
This matter quickly spread throughout the Northern Kingdom. When the commoners heard it, they clapped and cheered! They only felt happy and proud. Who said that women were inferior to men?
The Great Empress of their Northern Kingdom was even more heroic than a man!
However, the Emperor of the Yufu Kingdom was stunned when he received this news. He did not expect the Northern Kingdom to be so bold. This was different from what he had originally thought.
He remembered that Li Huanjun had been very respectful to the Yufu Kingdom back then. Many years ago, he had even tactfully expressed that as long as he was willing, he could choose any woman from the Northern Kingdom.
That included the princess of the Northern Kingdom.
He felt that he had done enough when he had taken out one hundred and eighty carriages of betrothal gifts and even sent the marriage contract. This was because Zhaoyang was the Great Empress and her cultivation was not bad. That was why he thought highly of her and even specially sent an envoy over!
Unexpectedly, he was humiliated by the Northern Kingdom. When Li Zhengye saw the envoy, he was so angry that he tore the marriage contract and said something on the spot. “I gave you face by giving you the marriage contract today, but you don’t want it. In the future, don’t send yourself to me as a concubine…”
Such words were also deliberately promoted by the Yufu Kingdom and quickly spread to the Northern Kingdom. For a moment, the atmosphere at the border between the Yufu Kingdom and the Northern Kingdom became tense.
As a result, in the past, the citizens of the two countries had close ties and there were no restrictions at all. However, after this incident, the borders were immediately heavily guarded. From the looks of it, a war could break out at any moment. Furthermore, the Yufu Kingdom had begun to mobilize their troops, looking like they were preparing for war.
After the news of the Yufu Kingdom’s actions reached the Northern Kingdom, many generals began to request to fight at the border with the Yufu Kingdom.
Of course, there were also experienced civil ministers who began to tactfully remind the Great Empress that everything could be discussed. If the Yufu Kingdom really wanted to marry the daughter of the royal family of the Northern Kingdom, they could choose a daughter of the royal family to be conferred the title of Princess.
This is to prevent war and the commoners from suffering.
There were many people who said such words, but Zhaoyang had her own thoughts. “If I’m incompetent, I’ll bear the consequences alone. The Northern Kingdom will battle to death and not make peace with other countries through marriage. We won’t cause trouble and we won’t be afraid of trouble. How can I bear it if we sacrifice women to make peace?”
Great Empress Zhaoyang was not only the Great Empress, she was also a Martial Saint. Her cultivation was much higher than the previous Emperor. Moreover, although she had been very busy all these years, she had never forgotten to cultivate and had never relaxed.
Zhaoyang would not be willing if she had to sacrifice herself in the end to become a concubine!
Li Yuanqing was drinking tea when he heard the news of the Yufu Kingdom’s Emperor’s marriage proposal. When he heard this news, the cup of tea in his cup almost spilled!
How dare the Emperor of the Yufu Kingdom! He actually dared to dream about making Zhaoyang his concubine? Haha, was he really bullying the Northern Kingdom?