There was another sentence that Tuoba Gangyou only thought in his heart but did not say out loud: Why is Liu Fang not one of his barbarian tribe members!
He finally understood why the new emperor of Ling Kingdom was willing to offer the throne to win Liu Fang over. Such a peerless genius was worth any effort. If he could win her, the whole world could be his!
This time, they were truly defeated, completely, with no possibility of turning things around.
Tuoba Gangyou finally gave up. With a dejected expression on his face, he sighed and said, “Go ahead, arrange a time with the official from the Honglu Temple. We will officially negotiate with them. Tell them that we want to speak directly with the Grand Princess.”
“Yes.”
…………
Liu Fang had made an appointment with Murong Yue to meet at Huangguo Temple outside the city today. To be precise, the Empress had sent a message to Bi Yan, and after Bi Yan informed Liu Fang, Liu Fang instructed her to relay a message to the Empress: Today, she would bring people to Huangguo Temple for a visit.
In the middle of winter, when the capital was experiencing cold winds and snow, Liu Fang brought Chen Fang and others here to walk through the snow to enjoy the plum blossoms. It was quite a peculiar sight.
But this is also good. With no one around, it was quiet and convenient to talk.
Liu Fang was drinking tea in the pavilion while Bi Yan was kneeling beside her to serve her. There was only a small stove for making tea in the middle of the whole pavilion, and the wind blew through the open sides, making it incredibly cold.
Liu Fang looked at Bi Yan’s slightly pale face and said, “I remember there are a few good furs in my treasury. Go back and find them and make yourself some warm clothes to prevent you from suffering from the cold like this again. If you get sick from the cold, it will be very uncomfortable. You should know, Western Border is much colder than the capital.”
Bi Yan’s face immediately brightened with joy as she looked at Liu Fang and said, “Your Highness, are you planning to take me to Western Border?”
Liu Fang nodded slightly, put down the teacup, stretched out her right hand to hold her hand, and transferred some internal strength to her. Bi Yan immediately felt her body become much warmer.
“Life in Western Border will be much harder than in the capital. If you don’t want to…”
Bi Yan quickly interrupted Liu Fang, “Your Highness, I am willing. As long as Your Highness does not despise me, I am willing to serve you for the rest of my life.”
Liu Fang smiled, took her hand back, and said, “Alright.”
“Grand princess is truly good to her own people!”
Liu Fang turned around and saw Murong Yue standing outside the pavilion, wearing a green brocade robe. He was handsome, with a smile on his face. Behind him stood a number of attendants, eunuchs, and guards.
“What a coincidence, we actually met His Royal Highness the Second Prince.”
Liu Fang raised her hand in a salute but did not stand up. She watched the Second Prince walk into the pavilion with a smile.
Murong Yue raised his hand in salute to Liu Fang as well, then leisurely sat across from her. Smiling, he said “Didn’t the princess specially send word to the Empress, asking me to come?”
Liu Fang smiled and said, “Yes, it was indeed true that I specially sent word Her Majesty the Empress.”
Bi Yan cleverly served tea to Murong Yue, then knelt down and sat quietly to the side, as still as a chicken.
Murong Yue looked at her, then picked up the teacup and took a sip, and said to Liu Fang: “The princess really trusts this girl.”
Liu Fang said calmly: “As long as one’s own strength is sufficient, there’s no need to fear others’ schemes”
In the first mission world, her mother told her: “If you suspect someone, don’t use them; if you use someone, don’t suspect them. If one day, the person you trust betrays you, simply reflect on your own mistakes and do not dwell on the betrayal. Because this will only make you lose the ability to trust others. From then on, there would be no way back. You will never be able to gain the true support of others, nor will it allow you to turn the situation around. If you lose, you lose, and you must accept it. Only by admitting your failure can you truly learn from it and gain experience, so that you can defeat your opponents and overcome your enemies in the future. Dwelling on why someone betrayed you will only trap you in confusion, preventing you from seeing yourself clearly, and making it impossible to understand others. This is extremely foolish.”
Therefore, Liu Fang has always been willing to trust and use someone she has chosen.
If one day that person betrayed her, she would accept it calmly and admit that she was not good at judging people.
But she would not dwell on why that person betrayed her. Instead, she would only reflect on her mistakes in handling the situation, rather than placing all the blame on the other’s betrayal.
In this world, where there were those who were loyal and devoted, there were always those who forgot their morals for personal gain. This was perfectly normal, so why bother getting too entangled in it?
Liu Fang only trusted herself and her own judgment. If her judgment was wrong, it was her own fault and had nothing to do with others.
Victory or defeat was all on oneself, there was no need to involve others.
This was the mindset and sound judgment that a decision-maker should have had.
If not, one would only keep repeating the same failures, with no chance of winning or becoming strong, until completely defeated and abandoned by all.
Many emperors in history failed for this very reason.
Liu Fang has always been very vigilant and knew how to reflect on herself. She would never let herself fall into that kind of situation and become such a foolish person.
The Second Prince Murong Yue raised his eyebrows after hearing her words and said, “The princess’s mindset is truly exceptional, and I greatly admire it. However, I am curious as to why the Princess has invited me here today?”
However, Liu Fang turned her head to look at the attendants, eunuchs, and guards standing outside the pavilion and said, “Your Highness, are you planning to have them stand in the cold wind all this time? The weather is quite cold today, and if they stand out there for too long, they might catch a cold.”
Murong Yue smiled, raised his hand, signaling for his men to move to the nearby house to avoid the wind.
“Now, can the Princess rest assured?”
Liu Fang turned back and smiled, and said to him: “Actually, I was just worried that they might catch a cold.”
Murong Yue smiled without saying a word and picked up his cup to take a sip.
Liu Fang took a sip of tea before saying, “Actually, Your Highness, you don’t need to truly be enemies with the Crown Prince to save your life. I believe the Crown Prince doesn’t see you as a life-and-death enemy.”
Murong Yue sneered, “It seems that the princess has been moved by the Crown Prince?”
Liu Fang shook her head and said, “Actually, you don’t want to be the emperor, do you?”
Murong Yue put away his smile and looked at her with cold, sharp eyes, “The princess truly has impressive methods!”
Liu Fang smiled, unconcerned by his words or the murderous look in his eyes, and said leisurely: “Your Highness and the Crown Prince were both raised under the late Empress’s care during your childhood. Your relationship remained very good until the Empress passed away. Am I right??”
Murong Yue sneered, “So what?”
Liu Fang continued, “But then, after the late Empress passed away, the Imperial Consort became the Empress, and you, too, rose to become the legitimate son, on equal footing with the Crown Prince in terms of status.”
This time Murong Yue just listened with a cold expression and said nothing.
Liu Fang didn’t care. She smiled and continued, “Actually, at that time, you still hoped to live in harmony with the Crown Prince. But the emperor would not allow it. So, he deliberately broke up your engagement with the young lady from the Han family and gave her to the Crown Prince as his wife, making her the Crown Princess. You couldn’t accept this outcome. But you also knew that it wasn’t the Crown Prince’s fault. So even though you were sad and in pain, you quietly endured it and never truly felt anger towards the Crown Prince. However, when you have accepted this fact, the young and impulsive Crown Prince cannot accept that he had taken your wife. So he fought back desperately, but in the end, it led to the young lady from the Han family being personally executed by the Emperor, and her entire family being implicated and punished. Am I right?”
Murong Yue said coldly, “Yes, you are right. Then what? What do you want to say? Do you want to say he didn’t know? That he wasn’t aware? Ha!”
Liu Fang shook her head and said, “No. I don’t think that way. In my opinion, the young lady from the Han family, and the demise of the entire Han family, are both the Crown Prince’s fault, as well as the Emperor’s. ”
Murong Yue slammed the tea cup down on the table and said coldly: “So, I want to fight them. Is this wrong?”
Liu Fang shook her head, “No. You are wrong.”
Murong Yue looked at her coldly, “Oh? Is that so? Where did I go wrong?”
Liu Fang stared at him and said, “You are wrong in treating the world as a bargaining chip. You are wrong for seeing the throne as a prize of victory. Do you know the responsibility that comes with that position? Do you know that as an emperor, what you must bear is the lives of countless girls from the Han family, the entire Han clan! That is the true meaning of that position! It is not a tool for your so-called revenge! It represents the lives of the people of the world! Do you understand? Do you even comprehend?”
After hearing her words, Murong Yue was stunned and was at a loss for words.
Liu Fang continued calmly: “The Crown Prince once went to Western Border, and he asked me, why did the Western Border fall? I told him that because the soldiers and civilians in Western Border have long been unable to get enough to eat. So, when facing the brutal barbarians, they can only fight with their flesh and blood. But even with their desperate efforts, they cannot win and are often defeated. This is the harsh reality of Western Border. Second Prince, may I ask, if one day you become the emperor and the ruler of the Dayan Kingdom, will you be able to ensure that the soldiers and civilians of the Western Border have enough to eat? Will you be able to help our Western Frontier soldiers defeat the brutal barbarians and restore peace and safety to the people of the Western Border?”
Murong Yue listened in a daze, unable to speak or make any promise.
Liu Fang’s eyes slightly reddened as she said, “Your Highness, you can take revenge. You can do whatever you wish, but you can’t gamble with the lives of the common people. They are the most innocent.”
Murong Yue clenched the teacup and his left hand was also tightening. After a while, he spoke heavily, “So, you’re here to force me to bow to him?”
Liu Fang smiled, “No. Your Highness, you don’t need to bow to anyone. Believe me, one day, you will get your revenge. The Han family and the Han family young lady will get the justice they deserve!”
Murong Yue looked at her for a long time before he sighed and said, “Princess, you really live up to your reputation! You’re indeed impressive!”
Every word struck deep into his heart. He truly could no longer continue to fight or struggle with ease.
Liu Fang smiled and said, “Your Highness. No matter how you fight with the Crown Prince, as long as you always keep the lives of the common people in your heart, it won’t matter.”
As long as the goal was the same, the methods could be varied and it didn’t matter who wins or loses.
Murong Yue laughed, “Oh, the princess’s plans are really meticulous!”
“You flatter me.”Liu Fang smiled and gracefully accepted his compliment.
Murong Yue’s smile grew wider. “What exactly does that guy have that makes the princess willing to bow down to him?”
Liu Fang put away her smile and said seriously: “He has a heart that loves the people.”
Murong Yue was stunned, vaguely remembering the time when they were still young, and that figure who always stood in front of him.
Indeed, he was someone it was hard to hate.
How could there be such a person in this world?
Murong Yue turned his head and gazed at the snowflakes falling outside, his thoughts drifting further and further away.
Seeing this, Liu Fang stood up silently and left with Bi Yan.
In this world, everyone was forced to hate, because some pains could only be forgotten through hatred.
And only hatred could prove how much you truly love this person.
Liu Fang sat in the carriage, watching the snowflakes falling outside. That’s why she said that Emperor Yanqing was crazy!
Forcing his own son to turn against him was simply a psychopath!
Her eyes turned cold. No need to rush, he would soon find out that this emperor of his was nothing more than that.
As long as someone was holding him up, he could naturally stand high above. But without anyone to support him, he was nothing more than an ordinary mortal, a flesh-and-blood being, unable to become an immortal, let alone a Buddha!
