358: On the achievements of the King of Qin

"You want to use what little Luck remains in Jiang Ni, this Princess of Western Chu, to help that waste Xu Fengnian? This Prince simply won't let you have your way."

"Liyang Imperial Clan, do not let this Prince down."

"Prince, a guest has arrived."

"Have them wait in the front hall, this Prince will be there shortly." Duan Zhengchun thought to himself, already understanding who had come.

"Yes..."

After Duan Zhengchun finished grooming himself, he finally went to the front hall.

After Duan Zhengchun left, Red Musk and Qingniao opened their eyes at the same time.

The two looked at each other, both seeing the shyness in the other's eyes.

Red Musk struggled to get up but felt a wave of soreness throughout her body, shocked by Duan Zhengchun's strength in her heart.

Neither she nor Qingniao were his match; they had been disciplined all night and were still sore all over.

"Red Musk, are you alright?" Qingniao got up and looked at Red Musk with concern.

However, her brow also furrowed slightly; her body was similarly sore.

Still, she was at the Grandmaster Realm, after all, a Realm higher than Red Musk.

"I'm fine, we should get up quickly. The Prince cannot be without someone to attend to him." Red Musk took a deep breath, enduring her physical discomfort to get out of bed.

Qingniao said nothing and got up as well.

In the front hall of the King Kaoshan's manor, Duan Zhengchun looked at the two people before him. Although he already knew their identities, he was still somewhat surprised to see them in person.

Great Qin's Sword Saint Gai Nie, at the Grandmaster Peak. Indeed, that elegant aura about him was truly comfortable to be around.

However, seeing the graceful figure sitting there, Duan Zhengchun's eyes lit up.

Is this the King's precious daughter, Ying Man? She truly is a peerless beauty.

"So it is the Princess of Great Qin and Sword Saint Gai Nie. Your coming from so far away truly graces my humble abode with light."

"This Prince had some matters to handle just now; please forgive any lack of hospitality." Duan Zhengchun looked at Ying Man and Gai Nie with a smile.

Upon seeing Duan Zhengchun, Ying Man was also stunned by his handsome appearance; she had never seen such a dashing man.

Before, she thought Gai Nie was already an outstanding man, but seeing Duan Zhengchun now, she felt she had been wrong.

There was actually such a handsome and dashing man in this world; that ethereal and transcendent aura about him made her unable to resist wanting to be close to him.

"The Prince is too kind. We have visited abruptly; please do not take offense, Prince." Ying Man tried her best to appear calm, her eyes fixed on Duan Zhengchun.

Her gaze unconsciously softened significantly.

"It's no matter. May I ask what business the Princess and the Sword Saint have here?" Duan Zhengchun waved his hand and looked at Ying Man.

"The Prince is too modest. In front of the Prince, Gai Nie does not dare call himself a Sword Saint." Gai Nie bowed to Duan Zhengchun.

"As for the specifics, the Prince should take a look at this."

"The purpose of this visit is all within this letter." Ying Man took a letter from her sleeve and handed it to Duan Zhengchun.

When Duan Zhengchun took the letter, his hands inadvertently touched Ying Man's small hand. Ying Man felt as if she had been struck by lightning and quickly pulled back, her pretty face turning red as she lowered her head, too nervous to look at him.

Ying Man's reaction caused Duan Zhengchun's eyes to light up immediately.

He had more or less guessed Ying Man's purpose for being here, but he still pretended not to know, taking the letter and opening it to read.

Upon opening it, it was indeed not much different from what he had conjectured.

However, what Duan Zhengchun hadn't expected was that the King of Qin would be so willing to pay such a price, actually betrothing his most beloved daughter to him.

The key point was that it wasn't recruiting a son-in-law, but marrying her off to Duan Zhengchun.

As for how Duan Zhengchun would handle Ying Man's status and position, that would be his own business.

"Tsk tsk... I must say, Brother Zheng is truly magnanimous. Look, this is the bearing and style of an emperor of the ages."

"Such a precious daughter, actually betrothed to this Prince."

"This truly leaves this Prince somewhat overwhelmed by the favor." Duan Zhengchun looked at the letter with a face full of emotion.

Ying Man's face flushed red. Although she hadn't read the letter, the King of Qin had spoken to her before they came. She was naturally clever and could guess the key points within.

However, what surprised her was that Duan Zhengchun would say such words.

"The Prince is joking. Ying Man has but a meager appearance; to be able to catch the Prince's eye is Ying Man's good fortune." Ying Man's face was slightly red as she looked at Duan Zhengchun with a smile.

"Haha... The King of Qin has raised a fine daughter." Duan Zhengchun nodded with a satisfied smile.

"Does that mean the Prince agrees?" Ying Man looked at Duan Zhengchun with a smile.

However, at this moment, her face was burning. From her initial slight displeasure, upon meeting Duan Zhengchun, Ying Man found that the trace of unhappiness she felt before coming had vanished.

On the contrary, after seeing Duan Zhengchun, her mood had inexplicably improved a lot.

"I agree, why wouldn't I? Actually, I still admire the King of Qin quite a bit."

"It was his appearance that unified the Six Kingdoms, sparing the surrounding commoners from the devastation of war. He unified weights and measures, standardized the gauge of tracks, and standardized the written language."

"These are unprecedented achievements, worthy of being called an emperor of the ages. For such a person to be willing to send his precious daughter to this Prince's side, this Prince has no reason to refuse."

"Although you've come with an objective, this Prince doesn't mind that at all." Duan Zhengchun looked at Ying Man with a smile.

Hearing Duan Zhengchun's words, both Ying Man and Gai Nie showed looks of shock on their faces.

Neither Ying Man nor Gai Nie expected that Duan Zhengchun would have such a high evaluation of the King of Qin.

This also caused Gai Nie to doubt his own view of the King of Qin. It was said the King of Qin was tyrannical, burned books and buried scholars, and created boundless slaughter during the unification of the Six Kingdoms.

Who in the world didn't know of such things?

How was it that when it came to Duan Zhengchun, he actually gave the King of Qin such a high evaluation?

"Prince Duan, forgive my rudeness, but many in the Nine Provinces say the King of Qin is tyrannical and not a wise ruler. Why do you have such a high evaluation of him?" Gai Nie looked at Duan Zhengchun with a face full of confusion.

He did not show excessive respect because of the King of Qin's status; he was an existence the King of Qin called 'Teacher,' yet he also did not quite understand some of the King of Qin's actions.

"Gai Nie, you are called the Sword Saint of Great Qin, and you have even been the King of Qin's teacher."

"Then this Prince wants to ask you, as an Emperor, what is the meaning of his existence? What is the fundamental basis for an Imperial Dynasty to remain stable and endure?" Duan Zhengchun looked at Gai Nie with a faint smile.

"Naturally, it is powerful military strength and wealth that can rival a nation." Gai Nie spoke without hesitation.

"Hmm, that makes some sense. But then this Prince asks you again, where does powerful military strength come from? And where does wealth that rivals a nation come from?" Duan Zhengchun asked again.

"Of course, it comes from the citizens of Great Qin, the merchants of Great Qin, taxes, and the efforts of people from all walks of life."

"As long as a country's population is large enough, there will be enough troops. For a country to be wealthy enough, that is the core that supports the operation of a nation." Gai Nie thought for a moment and frowned as he stated his view.

However, as he said these things, he always felt something wasn't right, as if he had grasped something yet didn't quite understand it.