Empress of Qingqiu: "..."
The Empress of Qingqiu turned around and walked back to her seat.
With a flick of her garment, the Empress of Qingqiu sat down.
The Empress of Qingqiu picked up her cup, "Come, let us discuss the next pair for the alliance marriage."
The Emperor smiled amiably, "This great war, the War God’s contributions were significant, I had intended to announce the alliance marriage as good news to him, but now it seems to him it’s anything but good news, shall we act as if this matter never happened?"
The Empress of Qingqiu met the Emperor’s meaningful gaze, then turned her head towards the Heavenly Emperor.
The Heavenly Emperor spoke lazily, "Don’t beat around the bush, just say it directly. We both fear the War God coming to trouble us. Now, we need to get our stories straight."
Empress of Qingqiu: "..." Her smile could not be maintained, and she wanted to slam down her cup and leave!
The Heavenly Emperor lifted his chin, "Give us a straight answer, will you cooperate or not?"
The Emperor, with a smile still in his eyes, said, "Why not do something that benefits everyone?"
Being stared at by both of them, the Empress of Qingqiu reluctantly nodded her head, "...Fine."
Seeing her nod, the Emperor secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The Heavenly Emperor was much more straightforward, openly breathing a sigh of relief, tipping back his cup to drink, and laughing loudly, "So, it’s entirely your daughter’s own misunderstanding. Heaven indeed plans to form an alliance through marriage with Qingqiu, but the intended match is neither her nor the War God!"
The Emperor nodded in agreement, "The War God is a meritorious subject. He should decide his own marital affairs. How could we possibly interfere?"
The Heavenly Emperor looked at the Empress of Qingqiu, who smiled thinly, "It’s all Bai Shuang’s fault for misunderstanding, she got it wrong from the beginning. This marriage has nothing to do with her, nor with the War God."
The Heavenly Emperor and the Emperor both gave the Empress of Qingqiu a look as if to say "You can learn."
Little Taotie, who saw all this from the Heavenly Emperor’s perspective: "..."
What followed was the conversation between the Heavenly Emperor, the Emperor, and the Empress of Qingqiu about another pair for the alliance marriage.
Little Taotie heard a bit of it; it was about a marriage between a woman named Feng Qi and the War God’s Deputy General, a mighty being born of the rocks.
This time, the Emperor, fearing another blunder, contacted the Deputy General first.
The Deputy General expressed a desire to see a portrait.
On the spot, the Empress of Qingqiu began to paint, depicting her seventh daughter along with the spouse from the Phoenix Clan.
She painted the beast form of Little Fox, a small creature with the body of a red fox and the tail of a phoenix.
After finishing the beast form, she painted the transformed appearance of the Little Beast.
It was a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl with long red hair, skin fair as jade, and a red iris-like mark between her brows. Her bright eyes were clear, with black pupils like obsidian.
She looked like a lively sort.
The Emperor praised, "She looks good."
The Heavenly Emperor glanced sideways at the Emperor, recalling that he once had a deep relationship with an Imperial Princess of Qingqiu, who, counting back, would be a distant ancestor, four generations before the current Empress of Qingqiu.
He wondered how the two of them ended up not together.
Nevermind, he had his own complicated mess to sort out and should not bother with others.
The Heavenly Emperor lifted his cup to take a drink, asking, "Do you have any other daughters? Paint a few more, let him choose for himself."
The Empress of Qingqiu, angrily: "What do you take my daughter for?"
"Hey, I’m thinking of your best interest. What if he doesn’t like her?"
"She’s my most beautiful daughter! If he doesn’t like her, he must be blind!"
"Don’t be angry, let’s drink," the Heavenly Emperor looked at the Emperor, "What does he say?"
He had already seen the portrait, and he was very satisfied.
The Emperor, still smiling amiably, said, "It’s settled!"