A year ago, his attitude was not . What changed today to make Yuwen Luan Fei completely alter his stance?
Could it be that he realized he wasn’t cut out to vie for the throne?
As Yuwen Song’s mind whirled with thoughts, Yuwen Luan Fei had already taken his place at the head seat.
The three of them formed a ’品’ shape, with Yuwen Luan Fei in the superior position, and Yuwen Song and Yuwen Jun seated on the left and right.
Meanwhile, Wenren Pingting and Bai Junjun took their places behind Yuwen Luan Fei, in accordance with their status as women.
While everyone else was sizing up their rivals, Yuwen Jun alone
continued to gaze at Bai Junjun from the moment they entered until they took their seats.
Since the night on the pleasure boat, the two hadn’t seen each other again, and yesterday, when the ceremonial procession entered the city, he was so busy switching back with his body double that he had no spare time.
As they say, a single day apart feels as long as three autumns. Now, seeing the girl dressed in splendid attire, he found her more stunningly beautiful than ever.
Yuwen Jun’s infatuation did not escape Yuwen Song’s notice, and he couldn’t help but chuckle.
"Speaking of which, since arriving in the Imperial Capital these two days, I’ve been hearing about ninth brother and Junjun Girl’s affairs. What’s the story with you two? Why don’t you just go ahead and tie the knot?"
Bai Junjun did not expect the prince to start off by teasing her about this. With so much else to discuss, why bring her into it?
Bai Junjun couldn’t help but purse her lips, just as she was about to speak, Wenren Pingting stopped her.
The implication was that Yuwen Luan Fei would handle it.
Sure enough, Yuwen Luan Fei spoke calmly.
"The talk of the marketplace should not be taken seriously, and besides, now is not the time for affairs of the heart."
Yuwen Luan Fei’s words made Yuwen Song furrow his brow, "What does second brother mean by this? If we siblings gather and can’t talk about love, are we supposed to talk about... national and family enmities?"
His words were a clear probe, no doubt. After all, being incessantly summoned back to the Imperial Capital several times within a year would frustrate anyone.
He wasn’t a vassal of Yuwen Luan, to come whenever called upon. It was a matter of dignity.
Previously, Yuwen Luan had begged them relentlessly to sign a peace treaty. Now that Lao San had been replaced by Lao Jiu, that treaty was naturally out of the question, leading Lao Er to once again propose a casual gathering.
In truth, Yuwen Song had already guessed Lao Er’s intentions, which were nothing more than to resign the peace treaty. But honestly, he no longer wanted to play house with Lao Er. How many sets of three years does one have in life? After three years, another three years... Was he truly expected to wait for his son to take the seat?
Therefore, this time Yuwen Song was determined, even if Lao Er proposed a negotiation, he wouldn’t agree. And even if he did agree, he wouldn’t truly follow through.
"I was planning to wait for everyone to have something to eat before discussing this, but since our eldest brother has raised the issue of national and family enmities, there’s no need to delay any further. It’s better to reach a consensus sooner rather than later."
Yuwen Song’s eyebrows lifted.
See, this coward Lao Er, he’s so eager to negotiate, hoping to drag it out year after year, wishing to stretch them into three different countries.
Such a beautiful fantasy he has. He resides in the Imperial Capital, with the largest and most prosperous city at his disposal. Even Lao Jiu’s Eastern Land is exceedingly wealthy.
And what about him? Aside from being barren, what else does his Western Region have?
At this thought, Yuwen Song felt a sense of injustice from their father.
To Lao Er was given the wealthiest Ying County, to Lao San was given Biluo, yet to him was given the most barren Western Region on the fringes. Back then, the Western Region was rife with bandits, and he had to embark on a prolonged campaign to eradicate them. Before he could enjoy any prosperity, the nation became embroiled in chaos.
Yuwen Song felt as if he were about to cough up blood.
If Yuwen Luan Fei was planning to employ a stalling tactic, he would never agree to it, not in a million years.