Ning Chen picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and said coolly, "Back then, the King of Xiliang handed up a letter of surrender with his own hands and bowed his head as a vassal.

And barely a year later, he went and tore up his pact of submission on his own. Just how generous would this prince have to be to let a two-faced little rat like that off?

And that's not all. You brutalized the people of our Great Xuan's Xiguan City and secretly backed Leng Wenyan in trying to carve up our Great Xuan's territory... How do you plan to make up for every one of those blood debts?"

Cen Guyi and the others went pale. From the way Ning Chen was talking, he had no intention of making peace at all.

Cen Guyi looked at Tantai Qingyue. As things stood, she might be the only one who could change Ning Chen's mind.

But Tantai Qingyue didn't say a word.

She'd told them before they came: Ning Chen would never change his mind on account of one woman.

She'd come only because she had no choice.

These days, the rumor all over the Xiliang capital was that she had the power to save Xiliang but wouldn't go beg Ning Chen, and didn't care whether the people of Xiliang lived or died.

She knew the royal house had spread the rumor. They were forcing her hand.

Without her, Cen Guyi and the rest probably couldn't even have gotten into Xiguan City, let alone in to see Ning Chen.

She had no way out. So she came.

Of course, she very much wanted the talks to succeed and the people of Xiliang to be saved... The sins were the royal house's. The people were innocent.

Cen Guyi's face darkened as Tantai Qingyue kept silent... But he didn't dare speak rashly himself either. This was the last chance, and one wrong word would end the talks.

If the talks failed because of something he said, he'd be a traitor to Xiliang, and its people would curse him so hard…