Since her pregnancy began, the Crown Prince had noticeably increased the frequency of summoning his concubines. He was respectful toward his wife but casual with his concubines, sometimes calling for two or three in a single night.

Due to her feminine nature, even knowing these things were unavoidable, Princess Hanyue still felt somewhat frustrated.

“This talk is getting out of hand,” Miao Fengxian, aware of her temperament, quickly changed the subject. “Didn’t you know before that Feng Miaojun was Princess Changle?”

“I didn’t know,” Princess Hanyue replied irritably. “She lived in Jin’s capital for three years without ever letting it slip. I always wondered why the stern and steady State Preceptor Mo would suddenly take in a female disciple. So she had this identity all along. Father must have known early on, which is why he was so furious after the Yaishan incident. Hmph, he kept it from me all these years too!”

Miao Fengxian comforted her with a smile: “In any case, it’s good that the Queen of New Xia is your old friend.” With that, he diverted the conversation. Princess Hanyue’s smile grew increasingly bright as she thought about her friend becoming the queen of a country and an adversary of the Wei Kingdom at that. What expression would Yun wear if he knew this?

Heh, it would certainly be quite a sight.

Time passed, with two months going by in the endless busyness of the New Xia people.

When spring flowers bloomed, the New Xia Queen’s birthday arrived. According to old An Xia records, Princess Changle’s birthday was on the fifteenth day of the third month. New Xia established it as the “Heavenly Acceptance Festival,” celebrating it since the first year of Changle’s reign. This year was the second.

According to Feng Miaojun’s wishes, since New Xia had only recently been established and funds were still tight, they should avoid extravagance. Therefore, she only planned to host a banquet for court officials, while common people would also benefit: during the month before and after her birthday, anyone who performed the three-kneel nine-kowtow grand ceremony at Queen Changle’s ancestral temple would be exempted from that month’s taxes.

Living shrines could only be established for the sovereign and the State Preceptor, with no third category of person allowed. Even if the government did not pursue the matter, almost no living person could bear such an honor—this was called “unable to bear such good fortune.”

Fu Lingchuan and the prominent clans all understood Feng Miaojun’s intention with this move: to establish her reputation among the common people. But she was the nominal supreme ruler of New Xia and a direct descendant of the An Xia royal family, so her actions were legitimate and proper, and no one could oppose them.

Legitimacy and righteousness were her best weapons.

However, what surprised Feng Miaojun was that before her birthday, distinguished guests from various kingdoms had successively arrived.

New Xia inherited An Xia’s foundation and developed well in its early stages. Small kingdoms and sects that established diplomatic relations with it mostly sent their leaders in person to show respect. Large kingdoms like Yan and Jin also sent important royal family members as envoys, bringing congratulatory gifts.

Unexpectedly, Wei Kingdom also came to offer congratulations, and Feng Miaojun recognized the envoy they sent.

In the reception hall, when she and Xu Guangxiang faced each other, both were shocked.

The Wei Kingdom had sent this female general as an envoy to New Xia. Did this mean they intended to establish friendly relations with New Xia and stop fighting? Xu Guangxiang was the adopted daughter of the old Wei King and had also been granted the title of princess. She was a figure with real power, even more formidable than ordinary princesses. The Wei Kingdom sending her as an envoy indirectly showed their respect for the Queen of New Xia.

Xu Guangxiang’s shock was many times more severe than Feng Miaojun’s.

Although this New Xia Queen was devastatingly beautiful, beyond what ordinary people would dare to gaze upon, Xu Guangxiang recognized that face in an instant:

An’an.

State Preceptor Yun’s maid!

At that moment, various thoughts flooded her mind, and Xu Guangxiang stood stunned, forgetting to bow.

Why had Yun’s maid become the Queen of New Xia? Was it just a striking resemblance, or were they the same person?

Did Yun know?

If he didn’t know, what would he do? If he knew beforehand and brought Princess Changle with him to participate in Wei’s long march, was he deliberately leaking Wei Kingdom’s secrets?

Her gaze was filled with surprise, and Feng Miaojun naturally understood her shock. She lightly coughed and said, “This is…”

The attending official quickly reminded her: “General Xu Guangxiang, also Princess Meiji of Wei Kingdom.”

“General Xu?” She smiled, her tone rising at the end with a questioning inflection.

Xu Guangxiang came to her senses, remembering she was facing a sovereign, and immediately performed a grand bow to show proper respect, then ordered her people to present the gifts.

She pretended not to see the hateful glances from the surrounding New Xia people: “My King hopes that the Wei Kingdom and New Xia will set aside past grievances, form an alliance, and henceforth watch over each other, helping one another and advancing or retreating together!”

The gifts were conventional.

Gifts from large kingdoms were less precious than those from small ones, but their significance differed. Even if the Wei Kingdom sent twice as many rare treasures, it would only represent King Xiao Yan’s intention to repair relations between the two countries.

Between Wei Kingdom and New Xia there was a deep blood feud. Would Queen Changle accept? Xu Linghai stood in a lower position, observing the quiet hall. Officials naturally wouldn’t whisper in the Queen’s presence, but their expressions could only be described as complicated.

New Xia’s predecessor, An Xia Kingdom, had been destroyed by Wei, but New Xia had been re-established, and the old Wei King who had led troops into the An Xia palace had already died.

So how should this account be settled? Should it be written off completely, or should they vow never to rest until revenge is achieved?

If it were written off, the most powerful reason for the New Xia Queen to unite the clans—namely, the two words “revenge”—would become useless. If you form friendly relations with someone, then regardless of how many past grievances there were, they all had to be set aside. What revenge would there be to seek?

If they vowed never to rest, it would mean ignoring the olive branch extended by the Wei King, and relations between the two countries would rapidly deteriorate. No one could be sure whether Xiao Yan would follow his father’s example and send troops to New Xia again. The latter had just been established—could it withstand such a storm?

This choice was difficult no matter how one looked at it.

Among those present with foresight, some secretly exclaimed how formidable this was. Xiao Yan had merely sent someone with a gift for the New Xia sovereign, yet had presented such a difficult problem for Queen Changle. This man, not yet thirty years old, already possessed cunning and skill no less than the old king.

Xu Linghai looked up and saw Feng Miaojun smiling, perfect and reserved.

“The Wei King is thoughtful. Please convey my gratitude,” the Queen lightly raised her jade-like wrist, and a court attendant came forward to respectfully receive the gifts. “As gifts should be reciprocated, I hear that in the sixth month is Dowager Empress Zheng’s birthday. New Xia will also prepare a modest gift. When the time comes, I hope the Wei King will accept it with pleasure.”

Xu Guangxiang’s expression changed slightly, then she said: “Guangxiang will relay these exact words to my King, without missing a single character!”

Dowager Empress Zheng was the birth mother of the former Wei Crown Prince Xiao Jing. When her son rebelled, she also sent people to assassinate Xiao Yan, directly tearing apart their relationship. After his coronation, Xiao Yan didn’t want to bear the crime of matricide, so he sent her to Jingxin Palace, nominally to be provided for, but in reality, imprisoned in the deep palace, forbidden from receiving visits from outside officials.

She also had a younger son, Xiao Wu, who served the country, and the Wei King didn’t want to force him into rebellion either.

Strife within the family was always disgraceful to speak of, especially since he had indeed confined the Dowager Empress. This was a scar on the King’s heart, a source of discomfort.