Chapter 431

Chapter 431: Sending You a Few Heads as Gifts

“Xu Ming, do you have any ideas?”

When the Wu Emperor asked this question, Xu Ming’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. He looked at the Wu Emperor.

Seeing the earnest look in the Wu Emperor’s eyes, Xu Ming finally relaxed, confirming that the emperor only meant what he said on the surface and wasn’t planning to sell him off to the North Sea. Xu Ming organized his thoughts and said, “Your Majesty, I must respectfully disagree. During my time in the North Sea, though I may not fully understand the Dragon Empress, I’ve managed to gauge her personality. In my opinion, the Dragon Empress isn’t someone who would rely on arranged marriages for deep alliances.”

“What she values more is the mutual support between the two nations. As long as the Wu Kingdom stands by the North Sea when it’s in trouble, the North Sea will surely repay us manifold.”

“In fact, the Dragon Empress despises the concept of marriage alliances, seeing them as nothing more than crude political tools.”

Xu Ming’s underlying message was—”Please don’t think about arranging marriages. And definitely don’t sell me off just because the Dragon Empress says so.”

If that ever happened, Xu Ming felt he’d have to run away from the wedding.

Anyway, his mother had already gone to the Northern Wilderness, and he had no compromising leverage.

Of course, if he were to run away, the first condition would be that he actually manages to escape.

Listening to Xu Ming’s words, the Wu Emperor nodded seriously, “Xu Ming, what you say makes sense. You’ve interacted with the Dragon Empress the most, so your judgment is deeper. Especially since you’ve helped the North Sea so much, the relationship between the North Sea and our Wu Kingdom will depend on you as the bridge moving forward. It’ll require a lot of effort from you.”

The Wu Emperor patted Xu Ming’s hand affectionately and said,

The Wu Emperor was very clear that all the progress made between the North Sea and the five kingdoms was entirely due to this young man standing before him. Without him, there was no way he could have connected with the North Sea.

“Your subject will spare no effort.” Xu Ming responded as usual.

Agreement is one thing; how things play out later can be dealt with then.

But speaking of which, with the connection to the North Sea, Xu Ming felt he could truly walk sideways in the Imperial Capital now. Unless he does something that angers the Wu Emperor beyond forgiveness, like molesting his harem or something, basically no one would dare to do anything to him, nor would they dare to harm him.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t just anger the Wu Emperor but also the Eternal Dragon Empress.

After entering the palace, the Wu Emperor pulled Xu Ming out of the carriage together, even wanting him to bathe together.

Xu Ming really wanted to decline!

And indeed, Xu Ming politely and tactfully declined, “Your Majesty, how could a person of your stature bathe with someone like me? That’s simply inappropriate.”

However, the more the Wu Emperor saw Xu Ming’s polite refusal, the more excited he became, insisting even more on bathing with him.

Xu Ming really wanted to say, “I’m not being polite, I just don’t feel comfortable bathing with another dude!”

But obviously, Xu Ming couldn’t say that and ended up being dragged by the Wu Emperor to the bathhouse.

Honestly, Xu Ming was a little nervous. He worried whether during these months he was absent from the palace, the Wu Emperor had undergone some changes, like becoming less interested in women.

Fortunately, the Wu Emperor merely wanted to bathe and discuss serious matters. In the bathtub, which was as large as a swimming pool, under the service of maidservants, the two soaked and continued discussing matters concerning the North Sea. The Wu Emperor inquired about Xu Ming’s views on the current state of the Four Seas.

“Is Your Majesty thinking of…” As they talked, Xu Ming guessed the Wu Emperor’s intentions but only spoke half the sentence.

The Wu Emperor waved his hand, and the maidservants understood. They bowed and withdrew, leaving only Xu Ming and the Wu Emperor.

“Does Your Majesty intend to send troops to assist the North Sea?” After the maidservants left, Xu Ming directly asked.

The Wu Emperor nodded, “Indeed, these past few days, I’ve gained a rough understanding of the situation in the Four Seas. After our conversation, I have an even clearer guess. Unsurprisingly, the North Sea and the East Sea will surely fight the Zhongyan Mountain to the death.”

“The South Sea and the West Sea are likely also repulsed by the Zhongyan Mountain, after all, even Dragon King Teng is gone. But the problem lies in the fact that the conditions of the South Sea and the West Sea are still manageable. These two seas haven’t reached the point of hatred toward the Zhongyan Mountain. Moreover, the Zhongyan Mountain is extraordinarily powerful, representing half of the Southern Demon Realm.”

“So, if the North Sea and the East Sea want to confront the Zhongyan Mountain, they would need to deal with the West Sea and the South Sea first, otherwise, a fire in their backyard is certainly something the Dragon Empress wouldn’t want to see.”

“Even if the Dragon Empress recovers completely from her injuries, she might still face a shortage of manpower when dealing with two seas. At this moment, if we directly send troops to help, it won’t just be a favor in dire need, but our Wudu could also gain quite a number of treasures. I’ve heard that treasures in the Dragon Palace are piled up like mountains.”

“The issue is that sending troops to another country is a grave matter. We fear the Dragon Empress might not trust us enough, leading to resentment.”

“So, in your view, Xu Ming, how feasible is My idea?”

Xu Ming thought carefully, “What Your Majesty said is reasonable. Actually, regarding this matter, I don’t have complete confidence either. However, perhaps Your Majesty could write a letter expressing your intentions tactfully. If the North Sea agrees, we could dispatch part of our soldiers. Once the Dragon Empress trusts us, we can send more troops, which is not a bad plan.”

“Alright, let’s proceed as you suggest.”

The Wu Emperor nodded.

In fact, the Wu Emperor had thought the same.

He just needed someone to affirm his thoughts.

After all, such matters are uncertain and can easily damage relations between the two countries.

But the treasures obtained from cleaning up the West Sea and the South Sea are truly too tempting!

“Are you done washing, Xu Ming?” After sorting out his thoughts, the Wu Emperor stood up and smiled.

“Almost, Your Majesty, what’s this about?” Xu Ming looked at the Wu Emperor’s eight-pack abs.

“Let’s go,” the Wu Emperor smiled, “I’ll send you a few heads as gifts.”