AUBTN -Chapter 134 The Affairs of Xifan Concluded

But he would never stand by and watch his own son die, or become someone else’s puppet.

“I have a solution.”

Lu Yan suddenly stood up. “Your Majesty, I’ll go find Lord Zhou and speak with the Second Prince again!”

With that, he turned and strode out.

Shen Jue raised an eyebrow as he watched Lu Yan’s departing figure. “Has that blockhead finally figured things out?”

Then he glanced meaningfully at Yu Qing, who was still lamenting over the oranges, a thoughtful smile curling at the corner of his lips.

At the courier station, Tuoba Feng heard that Lu Yan had come again.

He immediately waved to the guards and told them to refuse the visit.

But Lu Yan had already forced his way in with his men.

“Second Prince, why are you in such a hurry to drive people away?”

“Lord Lu, there’s no need to waste any more words. My decision has already been made.”

“This time, I’m not here to persuade you to become king.”

Standing outside the cell door, Lu Yan spoke calmly, yet every word struck straight at the heart.

“I’m here to inform you that since you refuse to ascend the throne, Great Wei, for the sake of border stability, will have to choose someone else.”

Tuoba Feng sneered. “Choose whoever you like.”

“I heard that the Eldest Prince and the Third Prince both died without sons. But you—when you left the capital, you left behind your five-year-old son, Tuoba Yuwen, in the royal court.”

Tuoba Feng’s body stiffened suddenly. In those ash-gray eyes, a flicker of emotion finally appeared.

“What are you trying to do?”

Lu Yan continued expressionlessly.

“Now that Xifan has no ruler, the tribal chiefs are all stirring with ambition. Tell me—if Great Wei doesn’t intervene, how many days do you think your five-year-old son could survive in that den of wolves?”

“Or…”

Lu Yan paused, his gaze turning sharp.

“Those ambitious tribal leaders might place your son on the throne and rule in his name—using the emperor to command the lords. He would become a puppet at their mercy, forced to watch his country slowly be devoured, living in constant fear of being poisoned or deposed.”

“Is that the ending you want? Is that the future you, as a father, are leaving for your son?”

Tuoba Feng froze.

Seeing that the timing was right, Lu Yan continued.

“If you don’t want to become king, fine.”

“Then let your son, Tuoba Yuwen, be crowned the new king.”

Tuoba Feng stared at him, his eyes filled with shock. “W-what?”

“You will serve as Regent.”

Lu Yan’s voice was steady and powerful, carrying a confidence that made it hard to doubt.

“You don’t need to live for power. Great Wei will support Tuoba Yuwen’s ascension. As for you, all you need to do is hold the sword—cut down the thorns and guard the throne for him.”

“When your son grows up and has the strength to protect himself, you can hand the royal power back to him and go live the life you want.”

“Watch your son die, or live for your son. Tuoba Feng, the choice is yours.”

Tuoba Feng suddenly staggered back a few steps.

After a long silence, he slowly lifted his head.

“Fine. I’ll sign.”

Tuoba Feng gritted his teeth, speaking each word deliberately.

“As long as Great Wei can guarantee my son’s safety.”

“But besides that, I have one more condition.”

Lu Yan looked at him. “Say it.”

Tuoba Feng said coldly, “Let me take Tuoba Yun with me.”

Three days later…

An alliance treaty bearing the Great Wei imperial jade seal and the blood seal of Xifan’s new regent was announced to the world.

Great Wei recognized Tuoba Yuwen as the new King of Xifan, with Tuoba Feng serving as Regent.

The two nations agreed to non-aggression and to maintain permanent open trade between them.

At the same time, elite agents from the Eastern Depot and the Jinyiwei were dispatched to escort Tuoba Feng—along with the imprisoned Tuoba Yun in a prison cart—back to Xifan, traveling day and night without rest.

This swift and decisive action caught the war faction in the imperial court completely off guard.

At the city gates.

The setting sun stretched everyone’s shadows long across the ground.

“Ah, finally we’ve sent that great Buddha away.”

Yu Qing stretched lazily, leaning against the city wall without a shred of elegance.

“If he didn’t leave soon, all my brain cells would’ve died.”

Su Hewan looked at her helplessly. “What brain cells do you even have? This time we really have to thank Lord Lu for his wisdom. Coming up with the brilliant idea of establishing the prince as king solved everything. Otherwise, who knows how long the stalemate would’ve dragged on.”

Standing not far away, Lu Yan subconsciously glanced at Yu Qing when he heard that.

Yu Qing was happily gnawing on a candied hawthorn stick, looking as carefree as a fool.

The corners of Lu Yan’s lips lifted slightly, beyond his control.

“So? What is Lord Lu reminiscing about?”

Shen Jue appeared behind him at some unknown moment, speaking in a teasing, sarcastic tone.

His narrow phoenix eyes moved back and forth between Lu Yan and Yu Qing, as if seeing through everything.

“That girl may be a bit noisy, but sometimes her brain works better than certain blocks of wood.”

The implication in Shen Jue’s words was obvious.

Lu Yan suppressed his smile and returned to his usual cold expression.

“Supervisor Shen is overthinking things.”

Yueyue Tower, the largest pleasure house in the capital.

To celebrate the bloodless resolution of the Xifan matter, Shen Jue had reserved the Heaven No.1 private room on the top floor today.

The carved windows stood wide open. The early summer evening breeze carried a hint of heat, mixing with the fresh aroma of the Longjing shrimp on the table and drifting straight into people’s noses.

Yu Qing picked up a piece of abalone—said to have been shipped from the South Sea—and took a bite.

The texture was pleasantly chewy and undeniably delicious.

But when she saw the shocking price printed on the menu, her entire expression collapsed.

“Eighty-eight taels?!”

Yu Qing widened her eyes and pointed at the plate of abalone that wasn’t even the size of her palm.

“One bite of this and I’m basically swallowing gold! The owner of Yueyue Tower is way too black-hearted. This is outright robbery!”

While complaining aloud, her mind was spamming comments nonstop.

【My heavens! Eighty-eight taels of silver—wouldn’t that feed an ordinary family for three years? This is exactly what they mean by “the rich smell of wine and meat while the poor starve”! And honestly, this abalone isn’t even that great. It’s not nearly as good as the old man’s spicy wontons from the street stall at the corner!】

Lu Yan was holding a wine cup when he heard this, and his hand paused slightly.

He cast Yu Qing a subtle glance, the corner of his mouth twitching faintly.

This girl…

Eating the most expensive banquet in the entire capital, yet thinking about street stalls?

“Too expensive?” Shen Jue leaned lazily against the chair back, his long fingers playing with a white jade wine cup. His gaze rested indulgently on Su Hewan beside him.

“As long as Wanwan likes it, what would it matter if I bought the entire Yueyue Tower?”

Su Hewan was elegantly wiping her mouth with a handkerchief. Hearing this, she calmly shook her head.

“Supervisor, that counts as impulsive spending. We don’t encourage that.”

Lu Yan added coolly from the side, “Buying Yueyue Tower? It seems Supervisor Shen has been embezzling quite a bit normally. Such confidence in your spending.”

Shen Jue looked at him with a half-smile and shot back,

“Why does that sound a little sour?”

“Hmph!”

Seeing the two about to start arguing again, Su Hewan quickly cut off their childish quarrel.

“In my opinion, Yueyue Tower’s business model is far too outdated. Although it occupies a prime location, the dishes lack innovation and the service awareness is weak. It relies entirely on high prices to filter customers, without any brand premium. If this were in the modern world, it wouldn’t survive three months before going bankrupt.”

【This kind of extensive management style is just a waste of resources. If they implemented scarcity marketing and combined it with a membership points redemption system, the profits could easily triple. Sigh… money was way too easy to earn in ancient times. Gold is everywhere, but nobody bothers to pick it up.】