The Glory After Rebirth [重生之尊荣]

Chapter 478- 480

Chapter 478: Negotiations and Threats

Ever since he'd received that secret letter from Yuwen Tong, Mu Hengtian had all along been waiting to see who would come to negotiate with him about the terms of an alliance on Yuwen Tong's behalf, but whatever he'd expected, it wasn't that the negotiator would be Ling Zhang.

Xue Yi was still in the capital city, and all the other forces that knew some inside information about it were secretly keeping a close watch on how the situation developed. Mu Hengtian, who had some misgivings, was aware that he couldn't afford to let anybody find out about his meeting with a negotiator from the Great Wen, so he arranged for the negotiation to be conducted in a secret location. However, he had originally thought that the negotiator would be one of the two prime ministers of the Great Wen. When he saw the negotiator, he found that the person was neither of them, because neither that wily old fox surnamed Ji nor Chu Liangyan could be so young, dashing, imposing and dignified.

"It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty. I'm Ling Zhang." Ling Zhang greeted him first.

Mu Hengtian's countenance changed several times. Ling Zhang's name had spread throughout all the three countries. He was Yuwen Tong's male empress. For his sake, Yuwen Tong had adopted a couple of children instead of taking concubines. Rumor had it that Ling Zhang tended to keep a low profile, but as the monarch of the Luohai Kingdom, Mu Hengtian knew that Yuwen Tong and his consort had been working in coordination, the former ruling the country overtly, the latter supporting the former behind the scenes, that Ling Zhang was in charge of more than half of the intelligence sources of the Great Wen, but how Ling Zhang had been collecting intelligence was a mystery to everybody. This young man appeared to have no particular talent, but he was by no means what he seemed.

"It turns out the negotiator is none other than the empress of the Great Wen. Yuwen Tong should've told me in his letter. I'm sorry not to have given you a proper welcome," smiled Mu Hengtian after coming to himself.

"You don't have to apologize for that. This is supposed to be a secret talk, so the fewer who know about it, the better. It was a relief to see that you didn't go to the trouble of going outside to welcome me." Ling Zhang also gave a smile, a glitter in his eyes, the sight of which filled Mu Hengtian with deep veneration, making him feel that there was something sacrosanct and inviolable about Ling Zhang, that Ling Zhang was not to be trifled with. When he pulled himself back to his senses, he found those thoughts of his somewhat horrifying, and with that his smile faded noticeably from his face, and he appeared much more serious.

Ling Zhang had specially performed a two-day closed-door cultivation to improve his control over his internal energy so that Mu Hengtian wouldn't be deterred from looking at him or become vigilant and refuse to accept the terms. Now Ling Zhang was capable of mobilizing his internal energy in an accurate manner and adjusting at will the intensity of the sense of power he radiated. Noticing that Mu Hengtian had become serious, that the searching and condescending look in his eyes had disappeared, Ling Zhang was very pleased. Having Mu Hengtian see him as his equal was a precondition for fruitful negotiations.

...

"The hatred between the Wan Kingdom and the Great Wen has been there for generations. There's no way the two countries could coexist peacefully with each other. If the Wan Kingdom wages another war, we wouldn't shrink from fighting back. We've already got used to fighting wars against the Wan Kingdom. This is between the Great Wen and the Wan Kingdom, and there's no necessity for the Luohai Kingdom to get involved in this troublesome situation, is there? If truth be told, the Luohai Kingdom could totally just stand by and sit this war out and reap the benefits when it's over. No matter whether the winner is the Great Wen or the Wan Kingdom, the outcome would always be beneficial to the Luohai Kingdom, which is a fact I believe you are fully aware of," said Ling Zhang in an unhurried tone of voice.