The princess was ordained by Heaven.

Chapter 138 Princess Crescent Moon

The emperor grew angrier the more he thought about it. He slammed his pen on the table and demanded, "I'm not old, and I'm well-preserved. How can I not be considered a beauty?"

The Crown Prince silently grumbled to himself: Beauty? Does that word have anything to do with you?

With a solemn face, he said in a serious tone, "Father is majestic and domineering. The word 'beauty' is not worthy of Father."

The emperor nodded in satisfaction.

Zheng Xun: ...

She remembered that the emperor wasn't like this before. He was a serious and dignified emperor, so where did things go wrong now?

Also, do they even remember what they're talking about right now?

The emperor also realized that he had just lost his composure. He paused for a moment, then stiffly brought the conversation back on track.

"What does Yuanjia want to do?"

Zheng Xun smiled slightly: "I'd like to try and see if we can turn them to our side."

Crescent lost both her parents at a young age, but she was extremely pampered in the Brown Kingdom—pampered, not loved.

Her parents were both good-looking; her mother was a renowned beauty, and her father was a virtuous gentleman. However, in the Brown Kingdom, beauty was a cardinal sin. The Brown Kingdom's royal family was licentious and immoral, and Crescent's parents suffered countless injustices because of their outstanding appearance.

[Having moved from one person's side to another, two people with similar circumstances meet as canaries in a gilded cage, and ultimately, a strong love blossoms between them.]

However, their positions dictated that this relationship was doomed to fail.

So, after giving birth to Xinyue, the lovers went to their deaths together, leaving Xinyue alone to face a den of wolves and tigers.

[From a young age, Crescent Moon was a beauty. Someone in the Brown Kingdom had a special fondness for her and raised her. At that time, many people competed to raise her, but everyone knew the sordid intentions behind it.]

Because of her difficult circumstances, Xinyue was intelligent and precocious from a young age. She knew that she was seen as a commodity by those in power, and to protect herself, she had to increase her value.

[Though tragic, her strategy was correct. She caught the eye of the royal family and was carefully raised as a precious gift. Now, it's time for her to make her mark.]

However, turning Crescent Moon to defect is not easy. She dreams of making great achievements and returning to the Brown Kingdom in glory and with honor.

But I want to try.

Zheng Xun did not intend to use the new moon for anything.

The Great Yong Dynasty has been purged. Now, there are almost no lecherous men in the court who would be blinded by beauty. Moreover, anyone with a brain can see through her intentions. It is almost impossible for her to use her beauty to do anything.

Zheng Xun was naturally more tolerant of women, and as long as it did not harm Dayong, he would lend a helping hand whenever possible.

Both the crown prince and the emperor remained silent.

After a moment, the emperor said with a troubled expression, "The honey trap is impossible. Letting her into the palace is also an option, but how can my safety be guaranteed?"

Zheng Xun said helplessly, "I will keep an eye on her. Besides, with so many people around Father Emperor, it's difficult for her to even get close to you, let alone scheme against you."

The emperor gave a soft snort and turned his head away haughtily.

Zheng Xun: ...

This is getting stranger and stranger.

She looked at the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites: "Right, let's think it over for a while before agreeing to their demands. Let Prince Chou smash whatever he wants, as long as no one is hurt. Even if he burns down the post station, it's fine. Remember to make a list, clearly noting what Prince Chou smashed and its value. Make two copies, one to post and one to give to the delegation from the Brown Kingdom. Our Great Yong is tolerant and won't charge them too much. Let them compensate us according to the price."

She chuckled softly, "Many people are illiterate, so let's be considerate and find someone to read to them."

She wanted the people of Dayong to remember the ugly face of the He Kingdom. Anyone who betrayed Dayong in the future would be despised by everyone. When war broke out, the hatred of today would ignite their will.

The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites was overjoyed and wished he could shout, "Princess, you are mighty!"

With Zheng Xun's "remedy" in hand, he returned to the post station in high spirits, though outwardly he still appeared troubled.

Meanwhile, Zheng Xun on the other side also turned on the light screen.

When Prince Chou saw him return, he said arrogantly, "What do you mean? Xinyue is precious and most valued by our Emperor. Normally, we would never let her suffer the slightest grievance."

The Right Vice Minister of Rites said aggrievedly, "The post station was also carefully decorated..."

"You call this putting in effort? Or are you saying that the Great Yong Dynasty has become so poor?"

He made a fuss for a long time before the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites finally admitted honestly, "Our Great Yong is indeed not very wealthy. The silver in the national treasury is all used for the benefit of the people. The things in the post station are the best collections of our emperor."

He pointed calmly to the shattered vase on the ground: "This is an antique from hundreds of years ago..."

Actually, it's a piece from the previous batch of official kiln products. It's considered a fine piece, but definitely not a top-quality one.

"This rug was handcrafted by five hundred artisans..."

Of course, he's exaggerating. The carpet is only so big. If there were really 500 people participating, they wouldn't be able to circle the carpet seven or eight times.

"This is a dressing box left behind by a concubine from the previous dynasty; every jewel on it is priceless..."

It's actually just some mother-of-pearl and jade. The price is expensive, but it's not as outrageous as some people think.

The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites introduced each item one by one, and the servants cleaned them up one by one to ensure that no evidence was left for Prince Chou to accuse him.

Zheng Xun couldn't help but give him a thumbs up when he saw this.

I thought I was being ruthless enough, but I didn't expect the Vice Minister of Rites to be even more of a talent. Not only did he make exorbitant demands, but he also knew how to handle evidence.

The future of our subjects in the Great Yong Dynasty is truly promising...

The more King Chou listened, the uglier his expression became.

Finally, he interrupted impatiently, "What do you mean?"

The Right Vice Minister of Rites wiped his eyes dramatically: "Our Great Yong is so poor! Just thinking about how many people are still starving and cold makes me want to cry..."

He burst into tears, completely disregarding his image, leaving the envoys from the Brown Kingdom stunned.

Zheng Xun narrowed his eyes, adjusted the view on the screen, and sure enough, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites was secretly laughing to himself.

She smiled gently, her heart filled with doting affection:

This little one is so cute!

The Emperor and the Crown Prince: ...

You said the same thing last time, and you even called Lu Youzu disgusting when he did it.

Zheng Xun was so self-righteous in his favoritism that he praised the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites in his heart.

I thought Gao Dapeng was talented enough, but it seems he still has some shortcomings compared to the old foxes in the Ministry of Rites. I'll go get him in a bit and have him learn from the Right Vice Minister of Rites. If he performs well this time, he might get promoted.

The crown prince frowned.

Zheng Xun is blatantly stuffing people into the court...

One is Tao Heng, one is Xu Zhen, and one is Gao Dapeng...

At first, they were quite tactful, but now they're not even bothering to hide it anymore?

Of course, the Crown Prince was not dissatisfied with Zheng Xun's overreaching; he simply disapproved of such irregular behavior.

What will other officials think of her doing this?

Most of them had worked hard and climbed their way up step by step through years of study. How could they not be dissatisfied when they saw others rise to high positions in the imperial court without having to take the imperial examinations? Wasn't that unfair to others?

Leaving aside Tao Heng who is far away, Xu Zhen also faced a lot of difficulties in the Ministry of Revenue.

He stole a glance at the emperor.

The emperor remained calm, showing no sign of displeasure.

He sighed inwardly; it seemed he would have to be the one to persuade them.

Zheng Xun was unaware of the Crown Prince's worries. She was quite busy at the moment, having to review memorials while also watching the performance by the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

At this moment, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites in the light screen finally finished playing the victim and changed the subject, beginning to flatter the Brown Kingdom: "Everyone knows that the Brown Kingdom is powerful and wealthy, so they probably don't understand the difficulties of the Great Yong Kingdom."

He clutched his chest, looking at the empty post station, feeling quite heartbroken: "Alas, all these things are destroyed. I don't know how to entertain foreign envoys next time they visit."

King Chou had a bad feeling. Sure enough, the next moment the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites looked at him pitifully: "The Brown Kingdom is rich. It should be able to compensate for the damage to the post station of Dayong. After all, this little thing is nothing to the Brown Kingdom. The Brown Kingdom is a great country and will naturally not renege on its promise."

King Chou: ...

new moon:……

Master Mu:......

Their faces were all grim.

But now that things have come to this point, can they really pretend they don't know?

However, Prince Chou was unwilling to be taken advantage of: "Compensation is a minor matter, but..."

How could the Right Vice Minister of Rites let him say what came after the "but"? He rushed to the Prince of Chou with a speed that was beyond the reach of ordinary people: "Prince of Chou! I knew that the Kingdom of He was a land of etiquette and would never bully the people of Dayong like a rogue! Waaah, I'm so touched!"

King Chou: I dare not move, I dare not move.

Are all the court officials in the Dayong Dynasty like this?

He called them scoundrels and ruffians, but he thought this Vice Minister of Rites was the real ruffian! Did he even give him a chance to explain or interrupt?

What do you mean by bullying the people of Dayong? If he were to actually admit to that, he would probably be drowned in the spittle of the people of Dayong.

He wanted to cause trouble, but he didn't intend to ruin himself.

He wanted to say that the things he smashed weren't worth the price the Right Vice Minister of Rites had quoted, but at this point, anything he said would sound like sophistry. Don't think he didn't know that some people from the Great Yong were hiding in the crowd recording his words and actions, and that these things would definitely be spread. He couldn't give the Great Yong a reason to "keep" them here forever.

Fortunately, their Brown Country can afford this amount of compensation.

If the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites knew what he was thinking, he would surely burst into laughter.

Rest assured, he will make the bill perfect, ensuring that it will just empty the Brown Kingdom delegation's pockets.

Crescent Moon watched this scene thoughtfully, her brows furrowing unconsciously.

Are all the people of Dayong this difficult to deal with?

She sighed and stepped forward to disapprovingly rebuke Prince Chou: "Your Highness, please stop making trouble. It doesn't matter where Xinyue lives. We are guests from afar, so let's not cause any trouble for Dayong."

The implication of her words is: they are guests from afar, and the fact that the Brown Kingdom made them stay in such a dilapidated place is obviously the Brown Kingdom's fault for being inconsiderate first.

The king said reluctantly, "But when have you ever suffered such an injustice?"

“New Moon doesn’t feel wronged. The Brown Kingdom is wealthy, unlike the Great Yong Kingdom. Your Highness, please don’t make things difficult for this gentleman.”