“Even if the court ministers cannot distinguish whether the Seventh Prince is real or fake, could it be that this Palace, his birth mother, also cannot distinguish whether her son is real or fake?” The Empress lifted the teacup beside her hand, smiling lightly. “Rather, it’s the Regent… who has long hidden beneath a mask, never showing his true face to others. Today, even if it’s to display sincerity by meeting face to face, whether you are truly Yan’s Regent or not, this Palace truly cannot distinguish!”

“It doesn’t matter if you cannot distinguish whether this King is Yan’s Regent or not. As long as Yan’s court recognizes this Regent’s seal at this King’s waist, that’s enough!” Xiao Rongyan also lifted his teacup. “Just as it doesn’t matter if court ministers cannot distinguish the Seventh Prince. If Your Majesty says the one currently in Dongyi’s palace is the Seventh Prince, then he is. If you say he isn’t, then naturally he isn’t!”

The Empress pretended to lower her head to drink tea, carefully pondering Xiao Rongyan’s words, speculating… whether Xiao Rongyan’s meaning was for her to imitate Great Zhou’s methods, and after Great Zhou left, also stage a substitution scheme. The Empress’s thoughts immediately became active.

Yes… If she said the current one was the Seventh Prince, then he was the Seventh Prince. If she said he wasn’t, then naturally he wasn’t!

After the Great Zhou’s Emperor left, she could have that child bound… carefully watched and prevented from harming himself. Replacing him with someone else as emperor would be the same.

However, the Great Zhou’s Emperor would arrange people beside that child. Dealing with this would likely be a very troublesome matter.

The Empress looked up at Xiao Rongyan, feeling she could indeed make use of Yan. After putting down her teacup, she asked again: “So today the Regent comes to sign an alliance treaty with our Dongyi?”

“Naturally!” Xiao Rongyan used the teacup lid to press down the floating leaves in the tea, no longer being mysterious. “Yan has already sent people to the Great Zhou to rescue the Seventh Prince. If we can rescue the Seventh Prince, presumably Your Majesty will no longer need to be constrained by Great Zhou. At that time… if Your Majesty has need, the troops Yan stationed in Dongyi can also be at Your Majesty’s disposal, assisting Your Majesty!”

This meaning was for Dongyi was to cause trouble for the Great Zhou. The Empress laughed inwardly. Great Zhou wanted Dongyi to cause trouble for Yan, while Yan wanted Dongyi to cause trouble for Great Zhou. In the end, it was all for the national gamble. And this… was indeed Dongyi’s only current value, and Dongyi’s only reliance.

“Then, how many troops will Yan station?” the Empress asked.

“Openly, naturally, the three thousand soldiers this King brought. There are also five thousand soldiers that can serve as Your Majesty’s backup.”

“Also, Yan’s backup, right? If Dongyi doesn’t behave and follows Great Zhou in provoking Yan, these five thousand soldiers… can directly approach Dongyi’s capital, destroy Dongyi, and at worst Yan and Great Zhou can just split the benefits!” The Empress of Dongyi laughed once. “Whether with Yan or Great Zhou, Dongyi is conspiring with tigers!”

“Dongyi has no choice but to submit!” Xiao Rongyan turned to look at the Empress of Dongyi, his features showing calm and indifferent light laughter. Though it appeared peaceful, it was chilling. “Even if Yan sent troops to destroy Dongyi today, the Great Zhou wouldn’t truly fight Yan over Dongyi. At worst, Yan would simply give this Dongyi territory to Great Zhou, but could avoid the future trouble of Dongyi harassing Yan during the national gamble!”

The Empress of Dongyi clenched her fists. Yes… Whether Yan or Great Zhou, Dongyi could afford to offend neither.

“The Empress of Dongyi is an ambitious person. This King can see that you’re probably unwilling to be controlled by the Great Zhou, but are helpless because your son is grasped in the Great Zhou’s palm. Like this…” Xiao Rongyan put down his teacup, his fingers rubbing against it. “This King won’t make things difficult for Your Majesty. The Seventh Prince… our Yan will help Your Majesty rescue him! Three years from now, regardless of whether Yan wins or loses the national gamble, we will safely return Dongyi’s Seventh Prince. Yan also doesn’t demand that Dongyi cause trouble for the Great Zhou. As long as Your Majesty is willing to mediate for Yan in court, and doesn’t let Dongyi cause trouble for Yan during these three years, how about it?”

“Acceptable, but if Yan hasn’t yet rescued my son while Great Zhou wants to make things difficult for Yan, we Dongyi can only comply. At that time, please be understanding, Yan.” The Empress’s eyes were heavy. “The Regent must understand, for this Palace… my son’s safety is more important than this Dongyi nation!”

“Naturally. However, when Dongyi complies with the Great Zhou’s arrangements to cause trouble for Yan, please have Your Majesty send advance notice. This would mean our Yan hasn’t worked in vain to rescue the Seventh Prince for Your Majesty.” Xiao Rongyan picked up the mask beside his teacup, playing with it in his hands as he stood up. “Does Your Majesty have any other requirements? If not, this King will leave first.”

The Empress steadied her mind and looked up at Xiao Rongyan, saying: “There is indeed one matter that truly requires the Regent’s help. I hear… The Great Zhou’s Sihai Pavilion at Luopan Mountain once produced mother-child poison. The Great Zhou’s Emperor had the child poison given to that fake Seventh Prince to consume, and gave the Palace the mother poison to take. If that counterfeit suffers the slightest injury, that injury… will transfer to this Palace with double the severity. If that counterfeit dies, this Palace will die in his place, keeping that counterfeit alive! If the Regent can find the mother-child poison and can find a method to resolve this mother-child poison, our Dongyi will submit to Yan’s command!”

The Empress first wanted to obtain mother-child poison to use on someone close to her, then resolve this mother-child poison. Only if the method truly worked would she dare use it on her son.

The Empress’s mind was very clear. In the future, regardless of whether the Great Zhou or Yan won the national gamble, the mother-child poison on her son was a disaster that must be removed. Otherwise, when Yan and Great Zhou became one nation, to control Dongyi, even if her son was exchanged back, as long as they held that counterfeit bearing the child poison in their hands, it would still be equivalent to holding her son’s life in their hands.

In this world, nothing was more important than her son’s safety, not even Dongyi.

Upon hearing these words, Xiao Rongyan first froze, then said: “Mother-child poison? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Your Majesty… have you tested it?”

The Empress raised her bandaged hands: “Otherwise, what does the Regent think caused the injuries on this Palace’s hands? How else would the Great Zhou feel at ease placing a small child in Dongyi as Dongyi’s king? So… Regent, without resolving this mother-child poison, this Palace is often helpless! Before resolving this mother-child poison… please understand, Regent, that this Palace is not unwilling to cooperate with Yan, but is constrained by Great Zhou in all matters. I fear that even whether to allow Yan to station troops in Dongyi requires asking Great Zhou’s opinion first. However, this Palace will do everything possible to fight for Yan! But where my power falls short, I hope the Regent can understand this Palace’s difficulties.”