Luo Yao and Luo Jia were left alone in the side hall.

Luo Jian stood up, walked in front of his son, and saw that his eyes were always following Qing Ling, who had stepped out of the hall, he couldn't help but sigh softly, and said, "After all, you still fell in." ”

Luo Yao turned to face Luo Xuan, "Why did Mother treat Qing Ling like that?" Didn't I have someone send you a letter before I came, please don't embarrass her? ”

Luo Jia said: "I didn't embarrass her. Since she had come for the purpose of negotiating peace talks, I naturally needed to examine her attitude. Although I am your mother, I am also the monarch of Jiuqiu, and in the face of major events involving national politics and people's livelihood, I must not be affected by personal feelings. ”

She was born in a royal family, ascended to the throne of Jiuqiu in the storm, there are clan brothers and courtiers who need to be contained, and there are Chaoyan outside, and she has been in the whirlpool of power and conspiracy for hundreds of years, and she has survived with a heart that has been sharpened to the extreme strength and reason.

Luo Yao also understands this.

"But ......"

He looked at his mother, "You can at least be kind to her, just like you can talk to me, and you can discuss official business, right?" ”

Luo Ji was silent, uncommittal.

After a while, she slowly spoke: "Do you know Chaoyan's peace conditions?" ”

Luo Yao shook his head, "What Qing Ling is holding in his hand is a secret decree. I didn't bother to inquire either. ”

Luo Ji chuckled when he heard this, "This new emperor of Chaoyan is a scheming person. The will handed over to his sister was tightly covered, but he turned his head and handed over all the contents to me, obviously not trusting Qingling, and secretly afraid that he was also very jealous of your brother-in-law. ”

Luo Yao listened to his mother's analysis sharply, and couldn't help but feel something, "What does mother mean...... Mu Chen is not willing to reach a peace? ”

Luo Jia pulled his son to sit down on the soft couch, "It's hard to say, he maybe, he just doesn't want to borrow Qingling's hand to achieve it." ”

Noticing Luo Yao's expression, he asked again, "Why, you don't agree with my opinion?" ”

Luo Yao came back to his senses and smiled, "No." The mother is shrewd and good at manipulating people's hearts, and her son has always admired him. ”

Luo Jia couldn't help but chuckle when he heard this, "You kid, you know how to please people when you speak, but you really really gave birth to ...... from my belly" paused, "If you talk about shrewdness, your mother is actually not as good as you." At the beginning of Chaoyan's southern expedition, even I felt that the general trend was gone and irretrievable, and you could actually come up with a way to use Lieyang to contain Chaoyan. Over the years, you have been in such a difficult position, and it is not easy to protect the interests of your family and Jiuqiu. If you have the intention of competing for the world, with your mind and means, Donglu may not be able to change your surname to Baili. ”

Luo Yao said: "My wish, my mother has long known. Everything in the world is something that can be gained, and those who have reached the extreme position may not be able to live more comfortably and happily than ordinary people. I have not only seen but also experienced the fragmentation of families caused by the struggle for power in the DPRK, so I am absolutely unwilling to let more people experience the same experience for my own selfish interests. What's more," lowered his eyes slightly, and a shallow arc inadvertently drew out on his lips, "Now that Qingling and I are husband and wife, everything needs to be measured from her standpoint, and I look forward to Chaoyan and Jiuqiu living in peace more than before." ”

Luo Ji seemed to smile, "After talking for a long time, I still don't forget to help that girl be a lobbyist." It is said that I forgot my mother when I married my daughter-in-law, I didn't believe it before, but now I have to believe it. ”

When she first met Qing Ling, she saw that she was thinking about Mu Chen, and she also knew that she had no love for Luo Yao, so she persuaded her son to cut off her love.

Later, I heard that Qingling turned out to be the daughter of Emperor Hao and Zhang Xuannu, so I didn't think much about Qingling's love for Mu Chen, but said that it was close to blood from the beginning. However, this does not mean that Luo Jia is willing for his son to continue to fall into his feelings for Qingling.

When she learned the news of Luo Yao's engagement with Qingling, she said when she secretly met her son in Wutong Town: "Mother would rather die than lose your life of happiness and become a pawn of Emperor Hao!" …… That child, can only make you miserable. ”

Because of her personal experience and pain, she understands better than anyone that a woman like Qingling, who is at the center of the royal family's power, is difficult to bring her son down-to-earth happiness.

Luo Yao heard the hesitation in his mother's tone, "Qingling is actually for me to implement a new policy in Chaoyan and advocate peace with Jiuqiu. Isn't it true that the two countries will eliminate the contradictions between the two countries and gradually realize the equality and equal rights of the gods and demons in the Eastern Continent? ”

Luo Jian said in a deep voice: "There are more than 20 articles in the peace charter, and the opening of national borders and the relocation of the people of the Sixteen Towns to the Central Plains alone are enough to shake the foundation of Jiuqiu. ”

Luo Yao took over and said, "If the conditions are unfair, you can put them forward and discuss them again." Doing business may not be able to finalize the transaction at one time, let alone such a big event? ”

Luo Jian studied his son's expression, laughed, and said, "Look at you, I'm in a hurry." Leaning over and patting the back of his hand as if reassuringly, "Okay, I have read the letter you sent carefully, and now that I see you like this, I also understand that there is no room for return." But as your mother, I also have the right to test, understand and judge Qingling from my point of view, to see what kind of feelings and attitudes she has towards you, after all, she and I are almost strangers, and we only know each other by hearsay and your story. I dare say that all parents in the world, like me, want to know as thoroughly as possible about the person who will be with their children for the rest of their lives. What's more, your mother and I are still the kings of a country. ”

After a pause, he said: "I warned you before, it is normal for men and women to meet and attract each other, but this attraction is fleeting, and only by having a deeper emotional integration, mutual understanding, appreciation, accommodation, and tolerance can this relationship continue." When we met just now, I looked at her coldly, you are indeed very understanding and accommodating her, but her attitude, I can't see it for the time being. ”

Luo Yao lowered his eyes, played with the copper wolf beast paperweight on the case, and smiled indifferently: "I can understand my mother's thoughts." But my mother herself said that there was no room for me to go back now, and no matter what her attitude was, I couldn't let go. To tell you the truth, Qingling has never admired me very much, and I don't expect her to accommodate me. But in this life, it can only be her. ”

Luo Jian looked at his son, pity and entanglement, for a while, his eyes swept over the paperweight in his hand, and he let out a long sigh, "It's really our Jiuqiu Luo's child......"

Standing up slowly, "I'll call her in now." She has suffered some grievances just now, and she has been waiting outside alone for so long, she must be in a bad mood, and I will see what her attitude towards you is when I see how she treats me. ”

After that, he walked to the door of the temple and instructed the maid to invite Qing Ling into again.

Luo Yao reacted to his mother's intentions at this time, and understood that she had used the set of ruling courtiers and probing people's hearts to Qingling, and she felt a little uncomfortable in her heart.

Turning to think of Qing Ling's temperament in the day, it is expected that she is probably holding back the fire in her stomach at this time, although she is not going to speak ill of her, but her face and tone must not be any better......

He stood up worriedly, and saw the maid leading the green spirit, and stepped into the side hall again.

Qing Ling stood outside for a long time, just as Luo Yao thought, full of grievances and resentment.

She thought that in order to prepare for this meeting with Luo Ji, she gave up the honor guard of the emperor and came alone, and rehearsed her demeanor and tone repeatedly in her heart in advance, and her clothes and accessories were specially adjusted according to the customs of Jiuqiu, ensuring that she appeared in front of Luo Jian with the most respectful, gentle, beautiful and generous image.

I didn't expect it......

People's attitude will be so cold.

It stands to reason that she is no stranger to the difficulties from her father's generation, and she is not without the slightest endurance. In the past, when Emperor Hao was alive, he would often reprimand her harshly. And those heart-wrenching manipulations are commonplace.

However, since Mu Chen ascended the throne, because the emperor himself has been arrogant to her, the courtiers and concubines around her have all tried their best to curry favor with her. Even officials who have argued with her because of the implementation of the new policy will never dare to blatantly throw their faces and embarrass her.

So to be honest, being treated like that by Luo Ji in the hall just now, Qing Ling was really difficult to accept in his heart.

At this moment, she stepped into the room again, looked up and looked at Luo Yao for a moment, and there was both apprehension and a hint of determination in her clear eyes.

Luo Yao's heart touched, and he stepped forward to speak, but saw Qing Ling go straight past him and slowly walked towards Luo Jia, who was sitting on the main seat again.

Qing Ling stood still in front of Luo Jia, and without waiting for the other party to speak, he raised his head and said, "I thought about it carefully outside just now, Your Majesty specially asked me about the two things of opening the borders and the people moving to the Central Plains, because I was worried that such a change would put Jiuqiu in a disadvantageous situation, right?" ”

She waved her hand to gather water vapor and condense it with divine power, roughly outlining the boundary of Jiuqiu, and continued: "Most of Chaoyan's garrisons are now distributed in the southern border and Daze. Once we have reached a peace agreement," pointing to a few positions in the map, "the garrisons of Liangxia and Weizhou will retreat north." And the forces on Daze's side," subconsciously looked back at Luo Yao, "and now it is in the hands of the Baili clan." Neither poses any threat to Jiuqiu. ”

She dissipated the water vapor and continued: "As for the relocation of residents to the Central Plains, I understand that this will weaken the national strength of Jiuqiu to a certain extent. Several of the sixteen border towns are the most prosperous towns in Jiuqiu, and once the residents move north, the taxes will be paid to Chaoyan, which is a great loss for Jiuqiu. However, racial integration and completely breaking the barriers and boundaries between the people of the Protoss and Demon Race required such sacrifices. In this regard, I also carefully referred to the reform measures of Lieyang back then, and came to a conclusion. As compensation, the Chaoyan Society lifted the ban on trade in Jiuqiu, so that the people of Jiuqiu could freely trade in the Eastern Continent and even go to sea to communicate with the people of the Western Continent. In the long run, the benefits that Jiuqiu gained in the peace negotiations should far outweigh the short-term losses. ”

After Qing Ling's words were finished, the mother and son in the hall were silent with different thoughts.

After a while, Luo Jian spoke: "Chao Yan wants to implement a new policy and implement reforms, which is Chao Yan's business. There was no need for Jiuqiu to get involved. In the past, because of the disparity in military strength, Jiuqiu was at a disadvantage and had to be subject to Chaoyan. And now with the threat of invasion from the Western Sea by the Hokuriku Lieyang, we no longer have to fear Chaoyan, nor do we have to negotiate peace with you. ”

Qing Ling bit her lip and lowered her eyes and groaned.

After a moment, she raised her head and said slowly, word by word: "Jiuqiu really has no need to criticize and make peace. If His Majesty wishes, he can choose to remain in a corner forever and not allow his people to have any contact with the outside world. And Chaoyan is indeed not capable of dealing with Lieyang and the southern invasion of Jiuqiu at the same time. ”

She took a slight breath, as if she was suppressing her emotions, but when she spoke again, her tone suddenly had an undeniable determination, "But if Your Majesty really rejects me, then I will swear as Emperor Chaoyan that for the rest of my life, no matter what means I use, I will also merge Jiuqiu into Chaoyan's territory!" The Eastern Continent was united little by little in the hands of my father and brother. However, these ambitions to dominate the world and put the imperial power on the throne do not actually mean much to me. All I have to worry about is seeing my beloved who is not free because of the endless confrontation between the two countries, and longs for a free and free life, but he has to worry about the safety of his parents and relatives all the time, and he is trapped in the whirlpool of contradictions and strife all his life, unable to get out. ”

Qing Ling turned his head sideways, looked at Luo Yao softly, and his voice was low but firm, "One day, I will give away the freedom he wants, even if it is thousands of miles away, even if it is ...... Overturn the world! ”