Huailiang Qin Wang’s appearance was somewhat unexpected for Princess Baorong.
She had long heard that his grandfather was a short, arrogant, and rude man—one who had once lured Great Zhou’s envoys into a trap and killed them, souring relations between their two nations. So before coming, she had already mentally prepared herself to meet a stumpy little man with a scraggly mustache.
But when she actually saw Huailiang Qin Wang, he didn’t look nearly as bad as she had imagined. In fact, he was much better-looking than she expected.
Sitting across from him, Princess Baorong raised an eyebrow and gave a faint smile: “I heard that you fought a bitter battle against the Yamana clan. Although the Yamana lost over a thousand samurai, you lost more than two thousand men, didn’t you? That’s why you submitted the petition, requesting to marry me?”
That was indeed the case.
Huailiang Qin Wang was slightly surprised at how well-informed Princess Baorong was.
She arched an eyebrow proudly.
What was so difficult about knowing this?
Back when that eunuch Pu Wuyong was still alive, if she wanted information like this, she could get it easily.
Now, she was just casually putting it to use.
Huailiang Qin Wang still remained polite toward her: “Since Your Highness knows all that, I trust you also understand just how sincere we are in this proposal.”
In this world, the most reliable bond was one built on mutual interests.
Love and marriage? In times of trouble, people would always abandon one another to save themselves.
Princess Baorong gave a nonchalant laugh: “Is that so? From your perspective, is giving up a silver mine merely the cost to obtain a document that gives you nominal recognition as a ‘king’?”
Now Huailiang Qin Wang was intrigued.
He leaned back leisurely in his chair: “Your Highness seems well-prepared today. People of Great Zhou have a habit of talking in circles—why don’t you get to the point? Otherwise, I may not understand.”
Princess Baorong, in fact, was quite straightforward.
She suddenly extended her wrist and revealed the hidden sleeve crossbow on her arm.
Huailiang Qin Wang noticed it immediately, his tone mixed with curiosity and caution: “What is that?”
Princess Baorong answered him quickly—by demonstrating.
She raised her arm, aimed beside Huailiang Qin Wang, and fired.
Snap!
The dart embedded itself cleanly in the body of a samurai standing nearby. The man didn’t even have time to draw his sword before collapsing to the ground with a loud thud.
Huailiang Qin Wang shot to his feet, his face darkening as he drew his blade and pointed it directly at her: “What are you doing?! Do you realize that if you kill me, our two countries will go to war immediately?!”
Seeing him so frightened, Princess Baorong actually let out a soft laugh.
She raised an eyebrow and clicked her tongue: “No need to be so nervous, Your Highness. If I had meant to kill you with that, wouldn’t you already be dead by now?”
So this is what it felt like to hold the power over life and death.
No wonder Qi Yuan always wanted to kill people whenever problems came up.
Yes—if the opponent was dead, then all their schemes and plots would vanish like smoke.
The suffocating pressure in her heart dissipated. She gave Huailiang Qin Wang a gentle smile: “Your Highness, what use is some royal edict? Even if Great Zhou acknowledges you, will the Yamana clan acknowledge you? Will the other daimyōs? In the end, what truly matters is strength. What you want from Great Zhou isn’t just a princess—you want weapons too, don’t you?”
Huailiang Qin Wang stared at Princess Baorong, his gaze heavy.
This woman was like a wolf.
The women of the Eastern Isles were all docile, like white rabbits. None of them were this wild.
He couldn’t help wondering—if he really married her, how much chaos would she bring?
But what she held in her hand struck directly at his heart.
Lethal weapons. Firearms!
If they could possess weapons like this, then the powerful northern clans—like the Yamana—would all have to bow down before them! And yet, they also knew: Great Zhou would never hand over such things.
Now that Princess Baorong had revealed them…
Huailiang Qin Wang finally asked, “Your Highness is a citizen of Great Zhou.”
“But once I marry you, I will be a citizen of the Eastern Isles,” Princess Baorong said with a mocking smile. “Surely the Prince knows—our women in Great Zhou obey their fathers at home, and their husbands after marriage. A married woman has little to do with her maiden family.”
Huailiang Qin Wang understood her meaning well enough.
Princess Baorong had thrown out the bait. Whether or not he bit—well, that was his choice.
Of course, Huailiang Qin Wang was going to bite.
After weighing the matter for a moment, he asked, “And what is it that Your Highness wants us to do?”
No pie ever falls from the sky for free.
Princess Baorong offering such a weapon in exchange—of course it had nothing to do with some nonsense about “following her husband.”
Seeing that he had taken the bait, Princess Baorong gave a faint laugh: “Oh, it’s nothing major. It’s just… there are a few enemies of mine back in Great Zhou. If I get married without settling the score, I simply won’t be able to accept it.”
As Huailiang Qin Wang contemplated this, Princess Baorong casually fired a few more bolts into the corpse of the dead samurai, then looked at him with a half-smile: “Your Highness, you’d best consider this carefully. Even if you marry ten princesses, you’ll never get firearms from Great Zhou. But this—this wrist crossbow, just as deadly—I have the blueprints in my possession.”
She was betting Huailiang Qin Wang would say yes.
To those islanders, nothing mattered but interest. And after that—killing.
In their eyes, killing was hardly anything shocking. As long as the profit was enough, they were capable of anything.
Sure enough, Huailiang Qin Wang didn’t hesitate for long. In a low voice, he asked: “Whom does the Princess wish to have killed?”
Though they had come with a diplomatic envoy of several hundred, killing someone on foreign soil was not a simple matter.
If Princess Baorong wanted them to kill a crown prince or royal duke—then the bait wasn’t worth taking.
Princess Baorong smiled, satisfied: “Don’t worry, Your Highness. It’s no one important. Just a noble’s daughter. I simply can’t stand her. If Your Highness brings me her head, then the crossbow and the blueprints are yours.”
Huailiang Qin Wang remained noncommittal. “Which noble’s daughter?”
“Eldest daughter of the Yongping Marquis household—Qi Yuan,” Princess Baorong replied, and at the mention of that name, a flicker of uncontrollable hatred twisted her face.
Huailiang Qin Wang understood immediately.
So that’s what this was about.
The list of attendants Princess Baorong had previously requested for her dowry escort had included this Qi Yuan. It turned out she didn’t want to bring friends for courage—she wanted to bring enemies to be slaughtered.
But now that Great Zhou had denied that request, she’d come to him instead.
A deal like this—with no risk and all reward—of course he would take it.
Just a woman. Killing her would be no more difficult than crushing an ant.
