"What do you intend to do to me, princess?"
Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze suddenly licked his lips slightly, his eyes narrowing as he stared at her with ill intent, scrutinizing her from head to toe.
A moment later, he flicked his sleeves, turned around, and let out a wildly unrestrained laugh, as if the entire world belonged to him. He turned slightly to face Xuan Yuan Yue and said:
"Don't you Western Qin people always think that my Northern Lie is a barbarian land, that we are all rude and barbaric people? Well, tonight I, the prince, will show you what true rudeness and barbarity are."
Hearing Tuoba Ze's words, Jinlan, seemingly emboldened by some unknown source, suddenly grabbed Xuanyuan Yue's shoulder, who was sitting at the table in a daze, and angrily said to Tuoba Ze in one breath:
"You barbarian, don't even think about harming our princess! Jinlan would rather die than let you succeed. How dare you be so arrogant on the land of Western Qin! Aren't you afraid of being devoured by the people of our great nation, leaving not even bones behind? Besides, we have the War God King Qin, whose name strikes fear into the hearts of all the people of the Lingkong Continent. How can we allow a mad dog like you from the North to bark so recklessly? I advise you to obediently release our princess immediately. Perhaps the Emperor will forgive your past transgressions and give you a few taels of silver as travel expenses to send you back home."
Little did anyone know that when Jinlan said these words, she appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was about to jump out of her mouth. It was as if she would collapse to the ground if she said just one more word.
Before he could finish speaking, Tuoba Ze turned around and swiftly pulled Jinlan away from Xuanyuan Yue's side, gripping her neck tightly and gritting his teeth in hatred, saying, "What did you say? Say it again and see what happens?"
Jinlan's face flushed crimson instantly, as if she couldn't breathe. She struggled, wildly pounding his shoulders, and cried out in a desperate voice, "Let go! Let go! You demon, you Northern Fierce Dog, you're worse than a pig or a dog! Let me go..."
Seeing this intense scene, Xuan Yuan Yue suddenly stood up and shouted at the two of them simultaneously:
"Jinlan!"
"Tuoba Ze, what are you doing? Let go!"
Upon hearing Xuan Yuan Yue's voice, Tuoba Ze slightly relaxed his grip, leaned close to Jin Lan's face, and said contemptuously:
"How dare you provoke me, the prince? Are you tired of living? Do you believe that I can crush your bones without lifting a finger? What do you think I am, that I would be interested in trash like you two? Hmph... you underestimate me far too much."
After saying that, he suddenly let go of her hand completely, and Jinlan seemed to have no strength left and slumped to the ground. Xuanyuan Yue rushed over to support her and asked with concern, "Jinlan, how are you? Are you alright?"
Jinlan stared at her in horror and shook her head blankly, as if she had not yet reacted to what had just happened. After a moment, she pursed her lips, trying to suppress her emotions, but in the end, she could not hold back.
In an instant, all the grievances and immense fear in her heart rushed into Xuan Yuan Yue's arms, and tears instantly streamed down her cheeks: "Princess, waaaah..."
Seeing Jinlan so frightened, Xuanyuan Yue turned around and said angrily, "Tuoba Ze, if you have anything to say, come at me. What kind of skill is it to bully a weak little girl? Now that I have fallen into your hands, you may kill me or torture me as you please, but Jinlan is innocent. Release her."
"Release her? On what grounds? Now, what right do you have to negotiate with this prince?" Tuoba Ze raised an eyebrow and said coldly.
"You...you're going too far!" Seeing Tuoba Ze's firm and arrogant attitude, Xuan Yuan Yue was both furious and helpless.
However, Tuoba Ze suddenly raised a strange smile and said, "In my eyes, you are utterly useless. Although I look down on you, I believe my men, who haven't had their fill of meat in a long time, will be eager to devour you. Now, the entire Lingkong knows the joyous news that the Western Qin princess will marry the Eastern Ning prince and that the wedding is imminent. So, I'll use you two, master and servant, to appease my men first, and then use you to do a big deal with that tyrannical emperor in the Western Qin palace and the wealthy Eastern Ning Kingdom. That's more worthwhile, isn't it?"
"Hahahaha, hahahahaha..." Tuoba Ze suddenly realized that he had bumped into Xuan Yuan Yue today and gotten such a great advantage for free. How could he not be happy?
“Despicable, shameless, and vile! Truly a barbarian land, how can it have upright people?” No wonder the Northern Lie Kingdom is infamous throughout the entire Lingkong Continent. Even the words and actions of a prince of a dignified country are so despicable. How can others expect to respect them?” Xuan Yuan Yue coldly retorted in anger at Tuoba Ze’s filthy thoughts and methods.
Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze's laughter abruptly ceased. He then raised his head high, adopting a cold and indifferent demeanor, and said, "Hmph, 'Those who aspire to great things do not concern themselves with trifles.' What others think or how they perceive me, I have never cared. Because I firmly believe that 'the victor is king and the loser is a bandit.' Only the one who truly unifies the four kingdoms of the Lingkong Continent in the future will be the ultimate hegemon of this world. Everything else in the past is but fleeting clouds."
"Heh... You think you can become the overlord of this world? That's laughable. You don't even look like an overlord. Your wishful thinking is doomed to fail in the end." Xuan Yuan Yue smiled and said contemptuously.
"Is that so? Then let's wait and see. Alright, it's getting late, so I'll give you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to prepare. Be sure to serve me well later!"
Tuoba Ze smiled, and after finishing speaking, he threw the Fenghua Palace token he was holding onto the table inside the room, then turned and walked away.
She had only taken a couple of steps when Xuan Yuan Yue seemed to suddenly remember something and said to his back, "Wait, there's something I want to ask you. Was the woman I saw on the rooftop just now Yi Shang Yun?"
Hearing this, Tuoba Ze stopped but didn't turn around. He simply turned his head slightly, still with his hands behind his back, and said with a smug look, "So what if it is? So what if it isn't? What can you do? I didn't expect that girl to be so lucky. She didn't die after falling from such a high cliff. It seems she has a deep connection with me. I'm much more interested in her than in you..."
Before she could finish speaking, Xuan Yuan Yue blurted out excitedly, "You are not allowed to touch her! If you dare to lay a finger on her, Uncle Qin will absolutely not forgive you."
"King Xuanyuan Han of Qin? He probably will never have the chance to see her again in this lifetime."
Xuanyuan Yue immediately sensed a hidden meaning in Tuoba Ze's words, and asked, "What do you mean by that? What are you going to do to Yun'er?"
"If you take someone's money, you have to solve their problems. Helping others is also helping yourself," Tuoba Ze said quietly.
"Whose money did you take, and whose troubles did you solve? Who exactly made you do that? Was it... was it Princess Qin?" Xuan Yuan Yue seemed to suddenly realize something.
Tuoba Ze suddenly turned to him and shushed him, "Shh... Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, and don't seek out what you shouldn't know. In any case, what this prince desires, I will eventually obtain, and no one can stop me. Instead of worrying about others, you should think about yourself! This prince is already eager to know, if Mei Zhixuan knew about your experience tonight on your wedding night, would he still want you? What if he doesn't want you anymore?"
"Get out! Get out of here, get as far away as possible!" Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuan Yue excitedly stepped forward, grabbed a teacup from the table beside her, and smashed it hard at him.
The porcelain piece fell to the ground with a crisp sound. Seeing Tuoba Ze slowly leave, Jinlan helped Xuanyuan Yue sit down, gently patting her agitated back while her eyes welled with tears, saying, "Princess, what are we going to do? Waaaaah..."
However, Xuan Yuan Yue picked up the Feng Hua Palace token from the table, clutched it tightly in her hand, held it to her chest, and put her other arm around Jin Lan's shoulder, murmuring softly, "Yun'er, this princess has finally found you! Yun'er..."
After an unknown amount of time, Xuan Yuan Yue suddenly came to her senses and walked to an unattended window, looking around for a while before asking her maid, "Jin Lan, I was unconscious when I was locked in here, and I'm completely disoriented now. Do you remember where that outhouse was?"
"Princess, do you need to relieve yourself? This servant will call someone to open the door for you immediately."
As Jinlan spoke, she got up and headed towards the door, but Xuanyuan Yue quickly put two fingers to her lips: "Shh."
He then beckoned to Jinlan and lowered his voice to say, "That outhouse looks like it's specially prepared for visiting guests. I'm going to carve a distress signal on this palace plaque and throw it out to attract help."
Jinlan's heart tightened upon hearing this, but she was immediately filled with mixed joy and worry: "But what if that Northern Fierce Dog finds out?"
Xuan Yuan Yue thought for a moment, then steeled her heart and said, "Either way, we're going to die. Rather than sitting here and waiting to die, suffering all kinds of humiliation, we might as well take a gamble. Maybe we can still succeed. It's just nightfall now, and there must be a lot of people coming and going from the tea shop. We'll definitely succeed."
Jinlan looked out the window, then pointed in a direction to Xuanyuan Yue with a mixture of disbelief and hesitation. Xuanyuan Yue quickly rummaged through the cabinet and found a pair of scissors used to trim candle wicks, then carved a distress message on the palace plaque.
After thinking about it, and fearing that the noise of throwing it out would be too loud and someone would notice, she took out her favorite exquisite sachet that she always carried with her and carefully stuffed it inside.
Then, with a powerful "whoosh," he threw it over the wall in the direction Jinlan pointed.
"Don't worry, Jinlan, we'll be fine!" Xuanyuan Yue reassured her maid after sending out a distress signal.
Jinlan nodded vigorously at him.
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