Chapter 36 Cunning as a Fox

Standing at the window of the command room, Liu Shizhi stared intently at the backs of the two figures and exclaimed, "Young Master Gu and Fifth Miss look like a perfect couple standing together."

Yu Qing glared at him and joked, "Be careful, or I'll tell the Prince." After saying that, he also glanced outside and had to admit that the two of them standing there were quite a sight to behold.

“Your Highness is magnanimous, how could you dismiss me because of a single word?” Liu Shizhi said dismissively. “Besides, I have accompanied the Fifth Miss all over the country, and have been in danger many times. Even if I have not made any great contributions, I have certainly worked hard.”

"Alright, next time I see the prince, I'll ask for a reward for you."

"Then thank you very much, Brother Yu. I don't care about fame and fortune. Just let the Prince choose a wife for me too. It's really unfair, really. We've both followed him for so many years, and he's chosen such a beautiful sister-in-law for you, and he's also betrothed Yunying to Youde, but he's left out Nanfeng." After a pause, Liu Shizhi asked with a grin, "By the way, Brother Yu, everyone's talking about newlyweds. Sister-in-law... is she good?"

Mentioning Dongxue, Yu Qing blushed slightly and glared at him. "Whether it's good or bad, what does it have to do with you?"

"It was just a casual question, Brother Yu, why are you so embarrassed?"

Just then, a guard came in with a letter and said, "Reporting to the Grand Steward, the Northern Rong have replied."

Yu Qing quickly took it, opened it, read it, and handed it to Liu Shizhi.

After reading it, his playful expression changed, and he frowned, saying, "As expected, Miss Chen is not here."

Yu Qing said, "This was to be expected." With Shen Hua's appearance, how could the generals of the Northern Rong not be drooling over her, and how could they possibly let her come back?

“Brother Yu, actually, it’s not a bad thing that Miss Shen isn’t on the list,” Liu Shizhi said hesitantly. “It could actually... allow the Prince and the Fifth Miss to be together…”

Yu Qing gave him a stern look and said seriously, "Shizhi, you underestimate the Prince and the Fifth Miss." He paused and then added, "No matter what, Miss Shen is a daughter of our Great Zhou. How can we allow her to be defiled by barbarians?"

Liu Shizhi blushed and said, "I am ashamed."

Yu Qing patted him on the shoulder. Without saying anything more, he wrote a letter and ordered his guards to shoot it into the Northern Rong camp with arrows.

Ji Nuli received the letter and, after reading it, sneered and said, "Bring Princess Rouzhen here."

Princess Rouzhen was quickly brought over. Having spent the entire night in fear and anxiety, her face was ashen, all traces of the previous night's arrogance gone. Ji Nuli silently tossed the letter onto the ground in front of her. She bent down to pick it up, and after reading it, she felt both joy and worry. She was happy that the garrison commander of Haozhou wasn't foolish, stipulating that not a single member of the Prime Minister's family should be spared. She was worried about this condition; Ji Nuli would certainly not agree.

Sure enough, he said, "Princess, you've seen the letter. Let's drop this matter. You can stay here and serve our General Lu Wang."

Princess Rouzhen quickly said, "I have a way to help you capture Ruan Wu."

"Oh, what method?" Ji Nuli asked with great interest.

“You can write to Yu Qing and tell him that if you want to release all of Shen Xiang’s family members, you need to discuss the terms in detail. Then you can designate Miss Ruan Wu to negotiate. She is just a weak woman, and you can capture her during the negotiations.”

"Do you think Miss Ruan is a fool?"

“She’s not stupid…” Princess Rouzhen shook her head and said, “So she has to agree, otherwise she will be accused of failing to save someone in distress.”

Ji Nuli suddenly realized. Given the relationship between Fifth Miss Ruan and Chai Xi, if she didn't come forward to negotiate, she would definitely be seen as intentionally trying to kill Shen Hua, and the news would spread. Her reputation would be ruined, and naturally, she would no longer be able to marry Chai Xi. Looking at Princess Rouzhen with a hint of admiration, she said mockingly, "You Han people often say that the most poisonous heart is a woman's, and you are absolutely right."

Princess Rouzhen flew into a rage, her eyes widening as she said, "I only wanted to save my daughter, what's wrong with that? If she hadn't stolen my daughter's love, she would have married Prince Jin long ago. She's the one who made my daughter a laughingstock, she's the one who caused my daughter to fall to this state, she was the one who was unrighteous first, how can you blame me?"

Ji Nuli smiled without saying a word, and wrote a letter as she had instructed, ordering the guards to shoot it into the city tower of Haozhou.

A short while later, Haozhou replied, saying that it agreed to the negotiations. The location would be between Haozhou City and the Northern Rong camp, at 9:00 AM. Each side would send four people, who were not allowed to carry weapons.

Ji Nuli found this very strange; he didn't believe that the people in Haozhou City were fools.

Princess Rouzhen breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Your Majesty need not be surprised. Ruan Wu has always been audacious and acts differently from ordinary people." She had already noticed that Ji Nuli was very curious about Ruan Bi, so she took the opportunity to praise him lavishly, making him focus all his attention on Ruan Bi.

She hadn't misjudged the situation; Ji Nuli truly did yearn for Ruan Bixin. Therefore, she appointed Mei Da to negotiate with Dunlu Chengxiong, while she herself disguised herself as a guard and followed. As they rode out of the camp, the gates of Haozhou city opened, and four riders emerged on the wind. The woman at the head was graceful and elegant; the wind blew her veil and clothes, as if she were about to ride the wind away at any moment.

Most of the daughters of the Northern Rong were passionate and unrestrained, acting as freely as men. Rarely did they possess such refined elegance, and Ji Nuli was immediately captivated. Ruan Bi, noticing his unwavering gaze, was surprised and scrutinized him closely. He appeared to be in his mid-twenties, with a robust build, slightly dark skin, a prominent forehead and straight nose, and slightly sunken eyes beneath thick eyebrows. His eyes were a cool, light brown, and his demeanor carried a certain air of authority.

As they sized each other up, the two lines moved to the middle and stood a distance of about ten feet apart.

The sun had already risen, shining obliquely on the frost-covered plain, making it glitter.

Mei Da placed her hand on her chest and bowed to Ruan Bixing, saying, "Fifth Miss, how have you been?"

Ruan Bi nodded slightly and said, "Vice Envoy Mei is still as charming as ever."

Meda said insincerely, "I never expected to see Fifth Sister again in this kind of occasion and at this time of year. It's truly lamentable."

Ruan Bi, impatient with his pretense, said bluntly, "Vice Envoy Mei, we've only met once before, and it was a very unpleasant encounter. Now that we're on opposing sides, why not abandon the formalities and get straight to the point?"

Meda was quite embarrassed, but Ji Nuli was secretly delighted.

"Fifth Miss, the Khan sent me to tell you that, apart from Miss Shen, he is willing to return the entire Shen family of your country. As for Miss Shen, he wants to take her as a concubine..."

"So, you're determined to detain Miss Chen?"

“The word ‘detain’ is too strong. Our Khan had originally proposed a marriage alliance to your country, but now the marriage partner has changed from Miss Shen.” After a pause, Meda said with ill intent, “Actually, it’s a good thing for Miss Shen. In the future, when you and your Prince Jin are together, do not forget our Khan’s kindness in helping you achieve your goal.”

Ruan Bi said unhappily, "Vice Envoy Mei, do you think everyone in the world is as scheming and despicable as you? Let me tell you the truth, not a single member of Prime Minister Shen's family can be missing."

“I’m afraid this matter is not up to you, young lady,” Meda said sinisterly. “Our Khan said that if you do not agree, we will strip Princess Rouzhen naked, tie her up in front of the battle lines, and serve her to our soldiers.”

Ruan Bi laughed heartily, her laughter like silver bells, which was scattered on the ground by the wind.

Meda was puzzled by her laughter, but patiently asked with a smile, "Why are you laughing, young lady?"

Ruan Bi's smile vanished, and she said coldly, "Since Vice Envoy Mei is being so direct, then I will also tell you clearly that you will have to replace Shen Xiang's family members, whether you like it or not. Otherwise, we will kill one prisoner every hour, so that the Northern Rong soldiers can see that in the eyes of their Khan, their own people are not as good as a woman from a foreign tribe."

Ji Nuli was shocked and stared at her in disbelief. Unfortunately, her veil was quite thick, obscuring her features, but her eyes, which were visible, were truly beautiful. Just moments before, they had been as bright as spring water, but now they were filled with coldness, turning into a sheet of frost.

Meda Xieji Nuli glanced at him and said with a forced smile, "Our Northern Rong soldiers have long since pledged their hearts and souls to the Khan."

"What else is there to say? I can bear the guilt of standing by and watching someone die. Let's see if your Khan can bear the fate of being abandoned by everyone." After saying this, Ruan Bi turned his horse around and rode away.

"Wait!" Ji Nuli couldn't help but shout, swinging the lasso in his hand straight at Ruan Bi's horse's head.

Liu Shizhi quickly stepped in front of Ruan Bi, using his whip to break the lasso. At the same time, an arrow flew from the Haozhou city wall, heading straight for Ji Nuli's face. He quickly stepped back, the arrow falling to the ground, its fletching still trembling. Ji Nuli couldn't help but exclaim, "Excellent archery!" The Haozhou city wall was nearly two hundred meters away; this man not only possessed extraordinary strength but also remarkable eyesight.

Ruan Bi glanced at Gu Xiaobai, who stood atop the city wall with a bow in hand, and nodded slightly, indicating that he should not worry. Then she turned to look at Ji Nuli and asked with a half-smile, "Wasn't this supposed to be negotiation? Why have we started fighting? Khan Ji Nuli."

Ji Nuli was not surprised that she recognized him; on the contrary, she felt a little pleased and said bluntly, "Young lady, you are exceptionally intelligent. Do you not know what I am plotting? I have admired your name for a long time."

Ruan Bi turned her horse around, tilted her head, and looked at him, saying, "I've heard that the Khan of Ji Nuli is a hero..."

Ji Nuli was secretly delighted, but then she heard Ji Nuli's tone change abruptly: "I didn't expect him to be such a coward. He has no real skills and can't break through the city, so he resorts to some underhanded tricks..."

“Who says I can’t break through the city?” Ji Nuli interrupted her impatiently. “I will definitely break through Haozhou City within seven days.”

"Okay, I'll be waiting for you in the city."

First came the provocation, then the verbal trap. Meda knew something was wrong and quickly called out, "Khan..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ji Nuli said readily, "Okay, you wait."

Ruan Bi glanced at him with a hint of a smile, then turned and rode away.

Watching her figure disappear into the distance like lightning, Ji Nuli stood there, stunned, savoring the hint of a smile in her eyes. He suddenly remembered when he was fifteen, venturing alone into the snow-capped mountains, intending to capture a white fox to give to the woman he loved. He had followed the fox's tracks for six days and seven nights, running out of rations and utterly exhausted, forced to return to camp. But then, the elusive white fox suddenly appeared, standing atop a snow-capped peak, looking at him with that same faint smile in its eyes.