Chapter 25: Crossing the Same Boat

Qiandeng left the Anxi Protectorate and headed for Beiting’s base in Kucha.

While waiting for the announcement, the guards nearby took their turn. As the soldiers were being replaced, they walked towards the kitchen, chatting casually: "Did the court really send an edict to the nine frontier states, conferring the title of Shangshu Ling on our prince?"

"Is this really true? In fact, he mentioned it once last year after the rebellion was quelled, but he declined it according to custom. This time, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is on a border tour, and the prince declined it again. Everyone says that after he declines three times, the position of Shangshu Ling will definitely be accepted!"

"Isn't that even more powerful than the Fenyang King back then?"

After all, the Shangshu Ling was the highest official position, a position held by Emperor Taizong, but discontinued after his ascension. Even the Prince of Fenyang, who had made remarkable contributions to the revival of the Tang Dynasty, was only awarded the title posthumously.

Several people were excited, but someone poured cold water on them, saying, "Originally, this should have been a done deal, but now it's hard to say..."

Everyone hurriedly asked what the reason was, and Qiandeng couldn't help but pay attention when he heard the gossip about King Linhuai.

The man looked around and lowered his voice, "I heard that when the edict was issued, the prince was not at his base to cooperate, but instead led his troops to conduct an inspection elsewhere. Now, some people around His Royal Highness the Crown Prince are dissatisfied, saying that our prince is relying on his achievements to disregard the court. Therefore, some people seem to say that he is arrogant and domineering..."

"Tsk, no way. That's how they falsely accused the old prince back then, and now they're using this trick again?"

"But..." someone hesitated, "The northwest has been quite peaceful lately, so His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can go on tour with peace of mind. Why was the prince so busy with urgent military matters that he left without even having time to attend to such a major event?"

"Who knows? Beiting is so vast. Maybe it's Khitan, maybe it's Xifan, maybe it's Xi... In any case, it must be a major event concerning the world. Otherwise, why would the prince choose to leave in such a hurry?"

No, it's not a big deal...

Qiandeng leaned against the shade of the corner, looking at the high sky of Kucha in front of him, listening to the group of chatting soldiers walking away, his mood was full of mixed emotions.

He shouldn't have come, but knowing that she came here, knowing that she would face an unfavorable situation and be in crisis, he finally dropped everything, even the glory that all the officials of the Tang Dynasty and even his grandfather dreamed of, and came to help her.

Her eyes felt hot, and she took a long breath, then a long exhale, to block the burning heat back. Looking back, she saw Li Yingshang striding towards her.

Her throat was choked for a moment, and she didn't know what to say.

He walked up to her, examined her strange expression, lowered his head and asked softly, "What's the matter? Is the situation so urgent that it frightened the county lady, and even her eyes are red?"

Perhaps the tears in his eyes had not yet faded, Qiandeng saw the last rays of the setting sun enveloping him, coating his already tall figure with a layer of brilliant golden lines, making it impossible to look directly at him.

"Prince Ling..." She called him softly, her voice slightly hesitant. "Will you ever feel it's not worth it in the future?"

Li Yingshang raised his eyebrows slightly: "What?"

"In order to save me, it affected the prince's chance to become the Minister of Chancellery, and even caused suspicion from the villain..."

"Oh...that's none of your business. I just feel like it's a hot potato." He replied calmly, "This might not be a bad thing right now. I've been too popular in recent years, and with the Shangshu Ling, I'm afraid it will cause unrest in the government. Perhaps it's better to keep a low profile."

As he spoke, he studied her expression again, the corners of his lips raised slightly, and his tone became unusually cheerful: "But, it turns out that the county lady is also paying attention to my affairs?"

He was so close to her, whispering softly on her cheek, it seemed a little ambiguous.

Qian Deng subconsciously wanted to push him away, but for some reason, a moist and soft breath passed through her heart, and her cheeks unconsciously flushed slightly. She whispered, "Anyway, thank you... for everything you have done for me. I will... remember it in my heart."

"I've already said it has nothing to do with you. This is my own decision. Don't feel indebted." He said, then changed his mind and looked a little sad. "If we really have to remember, I hope we can forget the past grudges and only remember the time when I could call you Deng Deng."

Perhaps she would never know that no matter where his life reached its peak, the moment when his heart was filled with happiness and hope for the future was only in that dense forest overgrown with weeds.

He killed all the enemies who had been secretly pursuing him for eighteen years, and walked out of the wilderness slowly towards the sunset with her on his back.

He finally walked out of the bloody sunset when he was six years old, bid farewell to the fatal haze that shrouded him, and received the whispers in his ears from the only woman he loved in his life.

From then on, she was no longer the Princess of Lingling County, no longer Bai Qiandeng, but his Dengdeng.

At this moment, under the setting sun of Kucha, Qiandeng looked up at him and said softly, "The one standing in front of you is still Dengdeng."

The afterglow shone on her cheeks, and his figure was reflected in her eyes.

The scorching wind of Kucha swept through them, roaring and destroying the grudges between them. All the unbearable past rifts were washed away at this moment and turned into ashes.

She is still his light.

He raised his hands and held her tightly in his arms, just like in the past, just like what had happened over and over again in his dreams, he pressed her against his chest, refusing to let go.

Qiandeng lay in his arms, leaning quietly against this broad and stable support, allowing herself to draw some strength for support.

After a long while, she finally pushed him away, looked up at him from her embrace, and said in a low voice, "Originally... I actually wanted to come and borrow some soldiers from you. After all, you told me last time that you could lend me an elite force, but now..."

But now that she knew it might affect him, she hesitated and didn't know whether she should continue with her plan.

"If I asked you to lend it to me, I will lend it to you. I also said that I don't want the position of Shangshu Ling. What's the point of an empty title, no matter how prestigious it is?"

He was well-informed and naturally knew the situation very well. He knew at a glance what Qian Deng was going to do by borrowing troops this time.

"If you're going to leave, you'd better do it as soon as possible. After all, in my estimation, Yuchi Yiyao will soon be defeated by the Western Fan army. Now that Kucha is leaderless and can only rely on the Tang Dynasty for assistance, it is in a very passive position."

Although Qiandeng was intelligent, her life experience was limited to the Chang'an Mansion. How could she understand these things? "Aren't the elite troops of Kucha brought by General Yuchi?"

"The Western Fan army has been lurking for a long time. Since they were able to set up such an elaborate scheme, they must have had a backup plan in place. Now, because of the conspiracy against you, everyone in Kucha is suspicious of you, the county lord representing the Tang Dynasty. Yuchi Yiyao refused to seek aid from the Tang Dynasty or the Anxi Army, and marched alone, walking into a trap. Defeat is inevitable."

"So, the other party's intentions are more sinister than I thought." Qian Deng suddenly realized that Xifan's trick of killing with a borrowed knife not only dealt a heavy blow to Kucha, but also used her identity to shake the control of the Tang Dynasty's Anxi in the northwest.

"When I find out the real culprit behind this, I will make him regret it!"

Seeing her angry look, like a young beast that had just entered the jungle, Li Yingshang raised the corner of his lips slightly, raised his hand to stroke her head, and said, "Okay, I'll wait and see."

Li Yingshang selected an army and ordered the soldiers to assemble and set off as soon as possible.

Qiandeng took his advice and removed her disguise. After all, she wanted to rescue the Kucha army in her dignified identity as the Princess of Lingling County.

After finishing the arrangements with him, she looked at him, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

"What's wrong?"

"Because I grew up in the Chang'an Palace. I've never seen the vastness of the northwest, much less led so many people on important missions. Although you say the soldiers you lend me will be reliable, I'm still a little nervous. After all... I've never been on a battlefield and witnessed fighting."

As she spoke, she took a deep breath, suppressed the tension in her heart, raised her hand in front of him, and let him see her empty wrist.

"Originally, someone gave me a pair of armlets for self-defense. When they were in my hands, I felt safe, as if they were right beside me. But because of a momentary slip of the tongue, I threw them away. Now... I regret it. I want them to protect me one more time."

Li Yingshang's gaze slowly moved from her wrists as white as snow to her embarrassed and shy face, and finally she happily revealed a pair of deep dimples that she never showed in front of outsiders.

"Now you feel reluctant to part with it? What a pity! When you mercilessly threw it back to me, I also destroyed it in anger. So if you want to take it back now, I'm afraid it will be difficult."

Qian Deng was stunned for a moment, a little sad: "No more? Well then..."

She lowered her wrists and was about to turn around in frustration, but her wrists were grabbed tightly.

She turned around and saw Li Yingshang's lowered face, with a pair of deep eyes staring at her.

"Do you really want to go back?"

Before Qiandeng could answer, he pulled her into the inner room, opened the drawer of the bedside table, and took out a pair of ivory armlets.

The vines are naturally coiled into a size suitable for wearing on the wrist, polished to a smooth jade finish, and carved with lotus patterns at the head and tail.

Under Qiandeng's astonished gaze, he took her hand and personally placed the armlet on her wrist.

Qiandeng hesitated, grabbed the lotus pattern at the front, and slowly pulled it out.

The two beams of cold light hidden in the vines suddenly shot out and were held in her palms, flowing like water waves.

She looked up at him and said, "Didn't you say it was destroyed?"

Seeing that she was asking knowingly, he turned his face away depressedly: "I did think so, but unfortunately this hundred-refined steel is too tough and can't be destroyed for the time being, so I can only bring it back."

"Then why don't you throw it away? Why do you have to carry it with you?" She deliberately leaned in front of him, her eyes reflecting the sharp blade, shimmering like water, yet appearing cunning and cute. "Even... when you hurried over here, you still have to carry it with you?"

He was furious. He grabbed her wrist and leaned down to whisper in her ear: "Just tolerate it this time. If you lose it again next time, you will never find it back."

"Don't worry." Qiandeng inserted the Hundred Refining Blade back into Tengxin's heart, raised his head and said to him solemnly, "From now on, it will always be by my side. Whenever I encounter danger, I will take it with me."

As if bewitched by her solemn expression, he could no longer control his mind. His hand slowly moved from her wrist to her palm, interlocking their fingers.

"Okay, as long as you don't throw it away, I will never abandon you. From now on, we will be in this world together, no matter how many storms and waves there are, we will never let each other go."