ring
The man in black had no idea what this pampered little princess was up to, so he could only stop what he was doing and look at her.
Princess Fu'an hesitated for a moment and said, "I can't leave. I have a reason to stay. Go back and tell the Empress Dowager that she doesn't need to worry about me. I will take good care of myself."
Looking into Princess Fu'an's innocent eyes, the man in black hardened his heart and said, "Princess, you probably don't know yet that the Empress Dowager has passed away."
"What?" Princess Fu'an stared wide-eyed in disbelief, tears welling up in her eyes.
The man in black quickly untied the cloth strips from her clothes and tried to pull her away.
"Stop." Liu Zhiming lifted the curtain, the sword in his hand gleaming.
"If you want to take someone away from Zhao's army, you'll have to ask my sword for permission first." Liu Zhiming didn't say another word and drew his sword to meet the attack.
At that moment, Princess Fu'an suddenly stepped in front of the man in black, calling out, "Sister!"
Liu Zhiming had no choice but to stop and look coldly at Princess Fu'an: "Your Highness, this man's origins are unknown, yet he wanted to take you away. For your safety, I had no choice but to kill him."
"No! He...he was my mother's man!" Princess Fu'an said, her eyes red as she looked at Liu Zhiming. "Sister, my mother is dead, isn't she?"
Liu Zhiming looked at her silently, and his lack of response was the best answer he could give.
Princess Fu'an hung her head, looking utterly dejected. "Sister, I want to leave. Please let me go."
Liu Zhiming did not sheath his sword, his gaze still fixed on Princess Fu'an. "You and my brother are not yet divorced, so you are still a member of the Liu family. I cannot let you go."
Princess Fu'an gave a few bitter laughs, looking at her in disbelief, "Am I just your brother's wife to you? Nothing more?"
Liu Zhiming lowered his eyes, avoiding looking into hers.
“I am a princess, and I have the right to divorce my husband,” Princess Fu’an said with a bitter smile. She tore off a piece of her dress, bit her finger hard, and wrote down the letter of divorce word by word.
A moment later, Princess Fu'an threw the blood-written divorce letter into Liu Zhiming's arms, saying, "Give it to your brother. From now on, we will be separate, and I will no longer be a member of your Liu family."
"Liu Zhiming, can you let me go now?" Princess Fu'an asked with a wry smile, tilting her head and looking at her with feigned innocence.
The scene was utterly comical. Liu Zhiming's heart skipped a beat when he saw it, but he still didn't sheathe his sword: "No! My lord, you still have a use for me."
"Military Advisor Liu, let her go," Zhou Huaiyuan said, lifting the curtain as he walked in. "This is also the lord's will."
Liu Zhimo looked up at him in disbelief, while Princess Fu'an simply smiled upon hearing this.
The two men made way for her, and Liu Zhiming watched helplessly as the man in black led Princess Fu'an away.
Only after the two figures gradually disappeared did Zhou Huaiyuan say earnestly, "If you clearly couldn't bear to part with them, why didn't you say you wanted to stay?"
With a clang, Liu Zhiming's sword fell to the ground. Her fingers trembled almost as she held the blood-written letter, her eyes reddening: "When did you find out?"
“Military Advisor Liu, although I am a rough man, I have eyes that can see things clearly, and I believe our lord can see it too. That’s why we’ve kept you here. A soft heart will never lead to great things.” Zhou Huaiyuan left these words and turned to leave.
"Wait a minute," Liu Zhiming quickly said, "General Zhou, will you send someone to kill Princess Fu'an?"
Zhou Huaiyuan burst into laughter upon hearing this: "Military Advisor Liu, Military Advisor Liu, I, Zhou Huaiyuan, have lived an upright life and never committed murder in secret. You can rest assured. However, your little princess only left with one person, and that person is of unknown origin. What will happen to her in the future... is hard to say."
"If...if my lord needs..." Liu Zhiming was interrupted before he could finish speaking.
“Military Advisor Liu, you need to see your own heart clearly,” Zhou Huaiyuan said, his back to her, his shadow elongated by the moonlight. “Don’t wait until everything is gone before you regret it.”
After saying that, he left without looking back, leaving Liu Zhiming alone looking at the blood-written letter.
"My lord, Princess Fu'an has departed," Zhou Yaqing reported upon receiving Zhou Huaiyuan's message via carrier pigeon.
Zhao Youyi nodded without surprise upon hearing this: "Since the Empress Dowager dared to immolate herself, she must have made arrangements for Princess Fu'an's future."
"But didn't Military Advisor Liu say before that keeping her would be beneficial to the lord's future reputation?" Zhou Yaqing asked.
Zhao Youyi reached out and patted her shoulder. "She wasn't involved in the Empress Dowager's affairs with the Song family or the Emperor's actions. She's just a young girl who has just come of age. Sigh, why make things difficult for her?"
"Of course, it's also to do Zhi Mo a favor." Zhao Youyi smiled at her.
Zhou Yaqing was puzzled by what she heard, but was shocked when she realized what she meant: "I was wondering why Military Advisor Liu was so caring towards her. It turns out that this is what she was thinking."
Zhao Youyi looked up at the cloudless sky and smiled, "Zhimo herself can't see clearly, so let's not make a fuss in front of her. In the end, we still have to walk our own path."
Zhou Yaqing nodded silently.
Inside the Southern Barbarian royal palace, Princess Yulang was covered in blood, her sharp sword pointed directly at the Southern Barbarian King.
With a slash of her sword, the Southern Barbarian King dodged, but instead of striking her body, he severed a strand of her hair.
The Southern Barbarian King caught the strand of hair she had cut off, looked up and asked with a smile, "Why must the Princess get so angry and harm herself? Is there something I did wrong?"
Her gaze was cold. "Why does Your Majesty ask? Between us lies national and familial hatred; how can we be bound by romantic feelings?"
The Southern Barbarian King was an extremely young and handsome man, looking no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. However, having seized the throne by killing his father and brother, he was no innocent and naive boy. His sword was stained with blood, and his eyes were devoid of any innocence.
"Your Highness, the Jin Kingdom is in chaos right now. Aren't you afraid I'll send troops to attack Jin if you make a move against me at this time?" The Southern Barbarian King smiled and ran his finger along her sword blade.
Princess Yulang's sword was knocked away by his skillful movement, and she stared intently at him: "You can command the army now? I'm afraid not. Most of the military power in the Southern Barbarians is in the hands of your brothers. You are just an emperor in name only."
Princess Yulang had also had to feign affection for him for a period of time, so she naturally knew where to strike him where it hurt the most.
"Your Highness's words remind me of the sweet words you said to me when you comforted me at night," the Southern Barbarian King said with a smile, moving closer to her and taking her hand to his heart. "Sister, don't you have even a shred of sincerity towards me?"
Princess Yulang shook off his hand and said with utter disgust, "We have a blood feud between us. Every time I had contact with you in the past, it made me feel nauseous."
"Since that's the case, then I'll have no choice but to do something to the Jin Kingdom." The Southern Barbarian King smiled innocently, his eyebrows curving upwards.
Princess Yulang sneered: "With the Zhao family army here, do you think you can make a move? Your influence can't reach the State of Jin. I advise you to behave yourself, or I'll kill you with one sword."
If things hadn't been unstable in the Jin Kingdom and if chaos hadn't been prevented in the Southern Barbarian lands, she would have killed the Southern Barbarian king with a single sword stroke long ago.
A pretentious, naive man deliberately impersonating her late husband to disgust her—he's shameless!
Princess Yulang bent down, picked up her sword, and turned to leave.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she returned to her palace. This scene had played out many times since they broke off relations. Each time, the Southern Barbarian King would deliberately let her stab him, then pretend to be pitiful and come to her, begging her to apply medicine for him.
She knew that the Southern Barbarian King was imitating Xie Lang. She had naturally inquired about how Xie Lang had been wounded on the battlefield and how she had been the one to apply medicine to him. She was just trying to imitate him poorly and was only bringing shame upon herself.
"Your Highness, this is a letter from General Zhao." The maid took the note off the carrier pigeon and handed it to her.
Princess Yulang couldn't wait to open the note. She was overjoyed to see the news that the Zhao family army and the Chu army had captured two cities in succession. She knew that Xiaoyi and Xiaocong would be invincible if they joined forces.
Princess Yulang gazed at the square sky outside the window, wondering when she would be able to return to her homeland.
She burned the note over the candle flame until it turned to ashes before she shed a single tear.
Over the past six months, Zhao Youyi and Chu Chanyin's army have made unstoppable progress, effortlessly capturing several cities in succession. Yunzhou, the closest city to Yujing Prefecture, is now within reach.
"A-Wan, we're attacking Yunzhou tomorrow, why aren't you asleep yet?" Chu Chanyin saw her standing alone in the open space. Autumn had arrived again, so he thoughtfully draped a cloak over her shoulders.
Zhao Youyi turned around, took his hand, and smiled slightly, saying, "Did you read the letter from your teacher's wife the other day?"
Chu Chanyin nodded and reached out to smooth her furrowed brows: "Young lady, don't always frown."
“I know you’re worried about your master’s wife, but her martial arts were taught to her by the late emperor. She won’t suffer any losses in the Southern Barbarians. It’s just that she only reports good news and not bad news, which is indeed worrying,” Chu Chanyin sighed.
“We need to hurry up and go to the Southern Barbarians to bring back our teacher’s wife once things have settled down,” Zhao Youyi said.
Chu Chanyin naturally knew why Princess Yulang insisted on going to the Southern Barbarians. Judging from her words, she probably wanted to destroy the Southern Barbarians: "Then the Chu army will be at your command."
Zhao Youyi snuggled closer to him, listening to his heartbeat: "Brother Huai Cong, it's so good to have you by my side. Please don't leave my side in the future, okay?"
Chu Chanyin reached out and touched her soft, flowing hair. Instead of answering her, he offered her a ring, the gemstone shimmering blue in the moonlight.
"Happy birthday, my Awan." Chu Chanyin's eyebrows curved into a smile, his eyes seeing only her.
On the second day of the eighth lunar month, her birthday, Zhao Youyi never expected that he would remember her birthday while she was on the march. She immediately kissed his cheek with tears in her eyes.
Zhao Youyi held out her hand. "Put it on me."
"Seeing the ring is like seeing you. I, Chu Huai Cong, will never leave Zhao Nianwan in this life. I will love you and protect you for the rest of my life, until death do us part." Chu Chanyin's peach blossom eyes were filled with tender affection, and the deep love in his eyes made people fall in love with him.
The sapphire sparkled in the moonlight, shining as brightly as the tear that had slipped into Chu Chanyin's heart.
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