Chapter 267: My Sword is Male, Your Sword is Female!
Next, the Empress bestowed a series of lavish rewards. Encouragingly, she said, “Sir Lin, now you’re the pillar of the nation, holding up a corner of Great Wu! I hope you’ll continue to work diligently, prioritizing the state and the people. You and I, as sovereign and subject, will work together to rebuild Great Wu!”
Lin Beifan loudly declared, “I will give my all, even to the point of death!”
The morning court assembly ended, and Lin Beifan returned with high spirits.
Li Shi Shi, the Little Princess, and others had been waiting for a long time. As soon as Lin Beifan returned, they rushed over to greet him.
Li Shi Shi couldn’t control her emotions and actually flung herself at him, embracing Lin Beifan and murmuring, “Husband, I’m relieved you’re back safely. Shi Shi missed you!”
While hugging her delicate waist, Lin Beifan chuckled, “Don’t worry, Shi Shi. You’re well aware of my capabilities!”
“Although I know, I still worry, especially since you went to war!” Li Shi Shi playfully scolded him.
Li Yuxin, who was watching on the side, envied the two, watching their sweet interaction.
She also wanted to rush over and embrace Lin Beifan.
However, she had no position and other party was a lady of the house, so it wasn’t appropriate to act so boldly.
On the other hand, the Little Princess was extremely excited. Standing beside Lin Beifan, she shouted with excitement, “Lin Beifan, I heard you’ve been promoted! You’ve become a second-grade official of the court and even a count!”
Lin Beifan reprimanded, “Don’t be disrespectful! In the future, you should address me as Lord Lin, the Loyal and Valor Count. Got it?”
The Little Princess was frustrated and pouted, “I won’t call you that! You’re a count, and I’m a princess, hmph!”
Lin Beifan calmly took out a bunch of food: “I bought this on my way back. It’s fresh and hot. Will you eat it or not? If you don’t want to, I won’t give you any!”
The Little Princess’s expression changed immediately. She slightly curtsied and softly said, “Greetings, Lord Count!”
Everyone burst into laughter.
In the following two days, Lin Beifan rested at home.
Though he was resting, he had no shortage of tasks.
Many influential figures came one after another to visit, bringing generous gifts. The doorstep almost wore out from all the visitors.
After all, Lin Beifan was no longer an ordinary person!
The Principal of the Imperial Academy!
Prefect of the Dedian Prefecture!
Second-grade official of the court!
Titled as the Loyal and Valor Count!
Each of these positions was illustrious, and Lin Beifan enjoyed a high level of trust from the Empress. He could be considered the most prominent figure in the imperial court!
If not now, when should they curry favor?
Regarding the visitors, Lin Beifan upheld a principle: accept all gifts, but dismiss all requests!
Want me to do something for you?
Think again, unless you bring at least a million taels of silver!
In this manner, Lin Beifan made some small profits, probably earning around a million taels of silver!
Lin Beifan couldn’t help but sigh, “No wonder people always say promotion leads to wealth… truly, promotion does lead to wealth! As long as your rank rises, wealth naturally flows in. If you don’t want it, others will willingly offer it!”
During these two days, Night Fragrance was also showing off.
Due to the tremendous contributions he made in this battle, he was hailed as a guardian hero of the nation, becoming the idol of the entire city. Wherever he went, people cheered for him.
He was feeling quite pleased with himself, his tail almost wagging in the air.
“Don’t get too cocky! You’re now a wanted criminal of the Great Xia Empire, with a reward of three million taels of silver. Many powerful individuals have been alerted, so don’t mess things up!” Lin Beifan advised.
“Let them come! Who can kill me?” Night Fragrance took out an ordinary-looking small knife and proudly proclaimed, “Even grandmasters can’t catch up to me, and anyone below that level isn’t my match. Under the heavens, who else can be my opponent? Haha…”
Seeing Lin Beifan’s silent expression, Night Fragrance thought he had conceded, becoming even more delighted.
Raising an eyebrow, he provocatively said, “My dear Prefect, you can’t order me around anymore! From now on, you should address me as Lord Cat, got it? Haha!”
Lin Beifan quietly took out a small knife, “What did you just say? I didn’t catch that. Say it again!”
Night Fragrance’s face turned green instantly, “Damn it! Why do you have another one?”
Lin Beifan smirked, “Why shouldn’t I? If I didn’t have a way to restrain you, how could I willingly hand over a good knife to you?”
“Not afraid! I have a knife too. I’m not afraid of you!” Night Fragrance encouraged himself.
Raising an eyebrow, Lin Beifan challenged, “Give it a try!”
Night Fragrance lifted the knife in his hand but found that its edge had dulled somewhat, becoming an ordinary blade.
In contrast, the knife in Lin Beifan’s hand radiated even more brilliance.
Night Fragrance was taken aback, “What’s going on?”
Lin Beifan sneered, “Although both of these knives are from the same predecessor, there’s still a difference in quality. Your knife is female, and mine is male. When a female encounters a male, naturally she surrenders!”
Night Fragrance was shocked, “What? This is possible?”
Lin Beifan grinned, “So, should I still call you Lord Cat in the future?”
Night Fragrance excitedly slammed the table, angrily stating, “Prefect, how can you say that? ‘Lord Cat’? Just call me Little Kitty!”
Lin Beifan furrowed his brows, “Won’t that sound a bit disrespectful?”
Night Fragrance continued angrily, “Disrespectful? It’s even more disrespectful for you to call me Lord Cat! If you don’t call me that way, I’ll break off our friendship!”
Lin Beifan silently put away the small knife, “Since you’re so sincere, I won’t make things difficult for you. Little Kitty!”
“Ugh!” Night Fragrance sighed, his eyes tearing up, then he left with a heavy heart.
Passing by, the Little Princess noticed and exclaimed, “Night Fragrance, why are you crying?”
Night Fragrance held his chest, “Because I just ate a bowl of noodles, and it hurt my heart so much that I couldn’t breathe!”
The Little Princess was even more surprised, “What noodles? Could they make you cry?”
“Because I ate… a bowl of tears! Wah~~”
Little Princess: “…”
Two more days passed, and the negotiation team from Great Xia arrived.
They wanted to negotiate with the imperial court, redeeming 600,000 soldiers and horses and also the Great Xia Crown Prince, Xia Tianqiong.
The Empress handed this matter to Lin Beifan to handle fully.
Lin Beifan was very pleased. The Empress truly understood his intentions, and another opportunity for greed had arrived.
The Little Princess and Night Fragrance, these two troublemakers who wanted chaos everywhere, came to join the commotion, curious to see how Lin Beifan would negotiate.
They each sat on either side of Lin Beifan. The Little Princess was more studious, pulling at Lin Beifan’s sleeve and humbly asking, “Lin Beifan, how do negotiations work? Can you teach me?”
Night Fragrance fanned himself while listening intently.
Lin Beifan smiled faintly, “Little Princess, international negotiations have many principles. You should pay attention to your words, maintain a refined manner, be courteous, and exercise restraint. Only then can you demonstrate the magnanimity of our great nation!”
“Oh~~ That’s how it is!” Both of them suddenly realized.
Lin Beifan waved his hand, “Anyway, you don’t need to worry about anything later. Just watch me in action!”
“Sure, sure!”
They both nodded, sitting upright.
The negotiation team from Great Xia arrived, and to Lin Beifan’s surprise, he recognized a few of them, especially the ministers who had accompanied the Great Xia Crown Prince on his previous visit here.
Lin Beifan clasped his hands and greeted with a smile, “Distinguished gentlemen, long time no see!”
“Lord Lin, it’s been a while!”
The representatives from Great Xia wore very unpleasant expressions.
They, the Great Xia Empire, were defeated by the person in front of them.
Their soldiers and horses, as well as their Crown Prince, were captured by this person.
How could they possibly have a good expression?
Lin Beifan continued to smile, “I believe none of you are in the mood for tea. Let’s start our discussion!”
“Lord Lin’s words are reasonable. Let’s start now!”
The leader of the Great Xia delegation, surnamed Wang, sat up straight in front of Lin Beifan and handed over a document, saying, “Lord Lin, we’ve come this time to redeem the 600,000 soldiers trapped in Hulao Pass, as well as our Crown Prince, Xia Tianqiong! These are the conditions offered by Great Xia. Please have a look.”
With just a glance, Lin Beifan slammed the table in anger, exclaiming, “You want to redeem 600,000 soldiers and our Crown Prince with this paltry offer? It seems you lack sincerity. There’s no need to discuss further. I won’t negotiate with you anymore!”
The Little Princess and Night Fragrance, who were sitting beside him, jumped in shock!
Wasn’t it about maintaining refinement, understanding politeness, and exercising restraint? Why did he suddenly explode like this? It scared me!
The Great Xia delegation was also taken aback. Why did he suddenly slam the table?
The tea on the table was sent flying, splashing all over their faces!
“Lord Lin, we are very sincere!” Mr. Wang said, suppressing his anger.
“Sincerity?” Lin Beifan chuckled coldly, “With this meager offering, even beggars wouldn’t accept it. You dare talk about sincerity with me? Go back to Great Xia and send someone capable of negotiation to talk to me!”
Mr. Wang stood up, pointing at Lin Beifan with anger, “Lord Lin, are you deliberately trying to provoke a conflict?”
“So what if I am? If you have the guts, come and fight me. Send another 800,000 troops to fight against me! Otherwise, let me announce it: negotiations suspended, let’s have another battle, and then continue negotiating afterward!” Lin Beifan slammed the table again, very arrogant.
The Little Princess and Night Fragrance were startled again.
Why did he slam the table again?
Could they stop being so jumpy all the time?
I’m really going to die of fright!
Mr. Wang was so scared his heart nearly leapt out of his chest.
Pointing at Lin Beifan, his face turned crimson with fury, “You, you, you… crude!”
Lin Beifan scoffed and sneered, “I’ve long seen through your hypocritical faces! Who started the war first? Now that you’ve lost, you want to buy back your people with just a small price…”
“Bang.”
Lin Beifan slammed the table again, raging, “Where in the world does such a good deal exist?”
“You, you, you…” The representatives from Great Xia were infuriated and flushed.
“Just looking at you infuriates me! I’m in a bad mood. We’ll talk tomorrow! If you can’t show real sincerity tomorrow, there’s no need to continue talking. I don’t want to entertain you anymore!” Lin Beifan finished his words, flicked his sleeve, and left.
The Little Princess and Night Fragrance followed closely.
Only the delegation from Great Xia remained, feeling embarrassed, angry, and frustrated.
Walking back, the Little Princess tilted her head and asked in puzzlement, “Lin Beifan, weren’t you a bit too arrogant during the negotiations just now?”
Lin Beifan smiled faintly, “One could say it was assertiveness.”
Night Fragrance was also puzzled, “But weren’t we supposed to exhibit the magnanimity of a great nation?”
Lin Beifan smiled again, “Indeed, we need to. However, our soldiers have risked their lives and emerged victorious. If we aren’t assertive, we’d be doing a disservice to those soldiers! So we must be assertive, resolutely so!”
The Little Princess and Night Fragrance nodded in deep agreement.
