Chapter 363 Who are you doing this for?

Liu Yan was slightly stunned when he suddenly heard Prince Chang'an ask this.

The wedding procession from Daxing just entered Beili territory today. The appearance of Prince Chang'an and his wife at this time is definitely not a coincidence.

Moreover, Prince Chang'an brought so many secret guards with him, which showed that he came prepared to rescue the princess.

Liu Yan knew their intentions without much thought. He had even prepared to pretend that he knew nothing and let them take the princess away. He never expected that King Chang'an would actually ask him directly if he was willing to go to Xizhou with him.

Prince Chang'an and the princess are truly brother and sister, acting in exactly the same frank and direct manner.

Liu Yan was stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered. "We haven't figured out who sent the people who ambushed the princess in the valley today. It's very likely that the Xiling people didn't want to see the marriage between Daxing and Beili, so they sent people to sabotage it."

Liu Tanhua said, "Since the prince and princess have thought of rescuing the princess in Beili, they must have anticipated that the Xiling people would come to assassinate the princess. Now is indeed an excellent time for the prince and princess to take the princess to Xizhou. However, as an envoy to the bride, I cannot disappear without reason. I must stay and expose the Xiling people's evil plan to prevent Beili and Daxing from becoming enemies and causing another war."

Liu Yan had never approved of using the princess' marriage to promote the so-called good relations between the two countries. If the princess had not volunteered to marry Beili in order to save him, and this was already a foregone conclusion, he would rather die than serve as the envoy to the wedding.

Now that the Prince and Princess Chang'an have come to pick up the princess, she no longer has to go to the Beili Royal Court for marriage. She can go to Xizhou with her brother and sister-in-law to live a free and carefree life. This is what Liu Yan is happy to see.

Even if the princess of marriage disappeared on the way to Beili, he, as the bride escort, could not escape blame, and Liu Yan was willing to bear the consequences.

As long as the princess can have a better life.

He didn't care about life or death.

"Actually..." Chunzhi said with a subtle expression, "We came to rescue Yanran because we wanted the Xiling people to take the blame."

She and Huo Zheng thought that Xiling might send people to destroy the marriage between the two countries, but they never thought that it was such a coincidence that the two groups would take action at the same time, and both wanted to make the other side take the blame.

Someone rushed onto the princess's float and tried to trick her away in the name of Prince Chang'an. After being discovered by Huo Yanran, they hijacked the float and tried to create the illusion that the princess was missing.

Fortunately, Liu Tanhua risked his life to save them, preventing the Xiling people from succeeding.

Now Huo Zheng saw that Liu Yan asked them to take Yanran away, while he stayed behind to clean up the mess, and he felt that this man was indeed talented and responsible.

Such a person is barely worthy of being his brother-in-law.

Huo Zheng then said, "The princess has disappeared along the way. As the envoy escorting the bride, if you can't pin this on the Xiling people, your life will be in danger. Are you really not going to go to Xizhou with us?"

Without waiting for Liu Yan to speak, he continued, "This prince knows that you are talented and ambitious, but if a person dies, everything is gone. Besides, if you go to Xizhou with this prince, you can show your talents in Xizhou. It may not be worse than if you stay in the capital."

Even though Huo Zheng was the emperor's biological son, he could not avoid the fate of being more successful than his father, so he could only retreat to Xizhou.

As the envoy to the wedding, even if Liu Yan was able to find something against the Xiling people and prove to Beili that it was the Xiling people who deliberately destroyed the marriage instead of the princess escaping, Lord Liu would eventually be disliked by the emperor because the marriage between the two countries failed and this matter was not resolved.

Even if Liu Yan could return to the capital safely, he would not be valued by the emperor in the future and could only sit on the bench in some inconspicuous government office.

Before Huo Zheng set out for Xizhou, he heard Chunzhi mention that Yanran admired Liu Tanhua. If he could snatch Liu Tanhua away with him this time and fulfill Yanran's love, that would be perfect.

But Huo Zheng felt at that time that Liu Yan was not an ordinary man. He had studied hard for ten years and finally passed the imperial examination. He was neither like Lu Jingyun who tried to curry favor with the powerful, nor like others who tried to beg for promotion.

Liu Tanhua is a man who is dedicated to doing practical things. He became famous at a young age and has great ambitions.

It is impossible to ask such a man to give up his bright future, retire to a distant place, and even live in hiding under a different name for a woman at such a young age.

When Huo Zheng rushed to the edge of the cliff, the scene he saw was still deeply imprinted in his mind.

Two people were hanging on the edge of the cliff, their lives hanging by a thread. At such a critical moment, Liu Yan still chose to hold up Huo Yanran.

It was equivalent to exchanging his own life for Huo Yanran's.

If Huo Zheng had not arrived in time, Liu Yan would have fallen off the cliff and been smashed to pieces.

It is not uncommon for ministers to devote themselves to the country and risk their lives to save the emperor, but being willing to sacrifice one's own life to save others at the critical moment of life and death is by no means as simple as a duty.

Liu Yan must have special feelings for Yanran.

Because of this, Huo Zheng directly asked him if he was willing to go to Xizhou together.

He could promise Liu Yan that hiding his identity was only temporary. When he went to Xizhou, Liu Tanhua could be given a much better position than in the capital. One day, when Huo Zheng returned to the capital, Liu Yan would surely be able to enter the cabinet and become a close minister.

The unwritten rule that the imperial concubine cannot hold power in this dynasty will end with Liu Yan.

But Liu Yan didn't give Huo Zheng the chance to say these words.

Liu Tanhua said, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness, but I cannot abandon my parents at home, nor can I allow the entire wedding procession to be caught up in this turmoil and lose their lives."

The princess who was to be married disappeared before she arrived at the Beili Royal Court. Not only he, the envoy who escorted the princess, but also the general who escorted the princess, as well as the palace maids, eunuchs and soldiers who accompanied her, all could not escape blame.

Liu Yan was already prepared to go back and face the difficulties, his expression was very determined.

Huo Zheng had to put aside the words he hadn't said yet.

Chunzhi said, "Master Liu, have you ever considered that if you go back now, you will only lose your life in vain? You may not be able to save those people, and you may even lose yourself."

Liu Yan's eyes were as dark as ink as he looked at the morning star rising slowly outside the car window. "Some things have to be tried before you know if they can be done."

It's almost dawn.

Those who sneaked into Beili secretly must withdraw from Beili territory as soon as possible. If they are discovered by the border defense army, they will not be able to leave even if they want to.

Chunzhi gave Huo Zheng a look and told him to knock Liu Yan out and take him away if he refused to leave.

Huo Zheng had the same idea.

The current situation is urgent, and it is not a good time to speak or persuade others.

It’s better to bring the person back to Xizhou first and then make a long-term plan.

The couple exchanged glances. Huo Zheng was about to take action when Huo Yanran, who had been silent and listening to their conversation, suddenly spoke up, "I can't go to Xizhou."

Chunzhi's brows twitched when she heard this. "Yanran, you can't be stupid at this juncture. What kind of place is Beili? Do you really think you can change a local custom that has been passed down for hundreds or even thousands of years? The people of Beili practice remarriage after the husband dies. You..."

"Then I can't implicate so many people." Huo Yanran didn't wait for Chunzhi to finish. "I know that my seventh brother and sister-in-law love me. They traveled thousands of miles across mountains and rivers to come to Beili to pick me up for me. But I can't let thousands of people be dragged into the flames of war and let innocent people die for their own sake..."

Chunzhi asked her directly, "Are you doing this for the millions of ordinary people, the innocent people, or for Liu Tanhua?"