◇ Chapter 59 (59) Reunion, the Princess Disappears
In the north, at the border of Rongcheng.
By the end of September, the northern part of the city was a bleak landscape, with a thin layer of ice forming on the moat. A chill wind swept across Bo Kang's handsome face, which had been roughened by the wind in recent days. A corner of his vermilion official uniform was lifted by the wind, and the token at his waist shone warmly in the dim sunlight.
He was tall and slender, with an imposing bearing, and looked out of place compared to the personal guards around him.
"They're so slow! Don't the Helan envoys know how to calculate the time in Daning? It's been an hour, and they still haven't arrived?" As soon as Bai Kang spoke, his handsome and unrestrained image disappeared without a trace. He leaned against his horse, standing there nonchalantly. "Don't you take us seriously?"
"Sir, please say less." The clerk behind him answered tremblingly.
Bai Kang snorted.
It's no wonder he couldn't help but snap. The Helan envoy was originally scheduled to arrive yesterday afternoon. Bo Kang had communicated with them through correspondence, and he had waited outside the city gates with his men until midnight, nearly turning them into rough stones by the river, with no sign of their arrival. He hurriedly sent a letter to inquire, but they said they had been delayed on the way and would arrive tomorrow.
It's already tomorrow, and not only are there no troops from the Helan tribe, but even their horses haven't been seen.
"Are you coming? If not, I'm leaving," Bai Kang continued, his feet not moving. The clerks in the Ministry of Rites all knew he was just talking nonsense and there was no way he was really going to leave everyone here.
After waiting for another half an hour, someone finally came over from a distance.
It was not the Helan tribe's troops, but the guards they sent out.
"Sir, there's some progress." The guard stepped forward quickly and reported in a low voice, "The people from the Helan tribe arrived outside the city yesterday."
Bai Kang nodded slightly, signaling him to continue. The guard reported, "They are not delaying intentionally, but..."
"The princess of the Helan tribe has gone missing. According to the Helan envoy, they didn't know where the princess disappeared. As soon as they opened the car door after entering the city, they found that the princess was gone..."
Bai Kang paused, his slender fingers gently stroking the token at his waist. He smiled and licked his cheek. "And then what? Wait until they finally find the princess, or if they can't find her, find a fake princess to fill the role? I've seen this happen a lot."
The guard's voice was low, but Bai Kang didn't control it. Everyone around him heard his words clearly and understood what was going on. Bai Kang's smile remained unchanged, but everyone around him was a little apprehensive, fearing that he would explode.
After a while, Bo Kang didn't roar and go looking for someone as they expected. Instead, he sighed and said, "Go and invite the envoys from the Helan tribe over. Tell them that our people will help find the person, so that they won't run around like headless flies."
Um?
Lord Bai didn’t get angry?
After Bai Kang finished his instructions and watched the guards leave, he turned around and saw the personal guard behind him staring at him curiously. His thoughts were written all over his face, and he couldn't help but knock the guard hard on the head. "Is getting angry any use? The princess got lost near Daning State, and we're all responsible! What are you still standing there for? Get ready and go find someone!"
A major event like the princess' disappearance must be covered up. After giving his instructions to his subordinates, Bai Kang hurried back to the city. The carriage was traveling along the official road. At this hour, the streets were sparsely populated, but the driver was still moving slowly. Bai Kang urged the driver twice, but when he heard no response, he opened the window.
Before he could even stick his head out, a huge horse galloped past their carriage at an astonishing speed. Dust flew everywhere, and before Bo Kang could get back into the carriage, he was forced to swallow a mouthful of sand.
There were exclamations from the crowd around. Apparently, some people were hit by the horse and it was unknown whether they were injured.
Unlike the capital, the people of Rongcheng were more unsophisticated and unpretentious, and the common people were not particular about trivial matters. However, it was still forbidden to ride a horse and run into pedestrians in a busy city. Bo Kang shouted angrily, "Stop! Riding a horse in a busy city is unbecoming!"
The other party didn't answer. The fiery red figure looked particularly small on the inky black horse. If Bo Kang hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that such a person could actually control such a horse.
The man was not tall, but the horse he rode looked taller and stronger than his horse.
Bai Kang called out twice, but the other party didn't respond. Furious, he leaned against the window, climbed out with one hand, and jumped out of the carriage, chasing the other party. He couldn't keep up with the horse's speed, and as he was about to pull away from the other party, he pulled off his token and shouted, "I am the Minister of Rites. Those in front, stop!"
The other horse paused, then quickly charged forward again. The black horse lurched backward, sending a mouthful of dirt into Bo Kang's mouth, causing him to cough twice.
When I looked up again, the other person had disappeared without a trace.
What bad luck!
"Why did you follow?"
King Mu ordered the palace physician to come and clean the wound on Bo Kang's hand. He had jumped out of the car too hastily and scraped off a piece of skin from his hand, but apart from a little bleeding, there was nothing serious.
"I've been in Rongcheng for over twenty years, and this is the first time I've seen someone so arrogant as to hit someone in the middle of a busy street." Bo Kang snorted coldly, "Wait until I catch that brat..."
He stopped talking halfway through.
Or maybe... not the kid?
The figure looked very slender, so it could be a girl. Bo Kang pondered for a moment before sneering again. So what if she's a girl? If she doesn't obey the law, she'll be arrested anyway.
His palms felt cold, and Bo Kang casually shook them off and asked, "Have you arranged for the envoys from the Helan tribe?"
"We've already checked into the inn," said Yuan You, a doctor from the Ministry of Rites. "Our people are having some difficulty communicating with the envoys from the Helan tribe. Minister Du asked me to ask you if it's possible to have Lord Chunyu of the Yilu tribe translate for us..."
Translate for me? Bo Kang frowned, and immediately ignored the man on horseback: "You are so bold! Who knows what he said in the middle? Wait until I get there, I will go to see them."
Rongcheng's architecture wasn't as impressive as Beijing's, and the posthouse where the North Sea envoys stayed was a mixed bag, sharing the same accommodations with caravans and other travelers. When Bo Kang ran into the merchants from Yanmen and the attendants of the Helan tribe downstairs, his brow furrowed once again.
In such an environment, even if the princess is found, she might be lost again.
Chunyu Ying and the Helan envoy had been waiting for a long time. Surprisingly, the Helan envoy was a woman in her thirties. Bo Kang initially thought she was the princess's nanny, until Chunyu Ying introduced her to him: "This is Da Xi Mi, the Helan envoy."
Bo Kang raised an eyebrow.
Could it be that the Helan tribe's envoy was someone close to the princess? Then she should know the princess's whereabouts before she disappeared.
The Daxi envoy was not surprised by his gaze. He took Bo Kang's hand and shook it vigorously: "This is the etiquette of our Helan tribe. Put away your gaze, Ningguo envoy."
Bai Kang didn't understand what was going on, and only heard the other party say, "I'm a woman, are you surprised?"
Bai Kang couldn't understand the rest of the conversation. While the languages of the three tribes in the Northern Sea Territory were similar, the details differed greatly. Bai Kang could only understand part of it, so Chunyu Ying translated for him: "The king of the Helan tribe and their officials are all women."
Is the Helan tribe ruled by women? This would explain why the Helan tribe is so mysterious and why it is difficult for the Daning Kingdom to obtain relevant information.
Bo Kang was only momentarily surprised, then he immediately bowed. "I had no intention of offending the envoy. I simply thought... you were close to the princess and likely knew what she had been up to before her disappearance. I wanted to ask you about this, and so I looked at you a few more times."
After he finished speaking, Da Xi Mi's face turned even colder: "I don't know. It's because your king wants to marry a princess that our princess came to Daning Kingdom."
He couldn't make the decision on this matter! Bo Kang smiled awkwardly, not knowing how to answer. He was annoyed that his first meeting with the Helan envoy had been so unpleasant, and it would be difficult to discuss matters later.
Rongcheng was cold, and it got dark earlier than in Beijing. Although it was afternoon, it was already getting dark. Not to mention the recent gloomy weather, when Bo Kang went downstairs, he saw only a gray haze before his eyes.
The stairs were narrow, and Bai Kang stooped as he went down, accidentally bumping into someone going up. The person seemed to be a girl, wearing a white veil on her head and a light dress. She looked a bit like Da Xi Mi, and must be from the Helan tribe.
Before he could react, Bai Kang had already subconsciously saluted: "I didn't mean to disturb the young lady, I'm sorry." He didn't know whether the other party was a maid or an official of the Helan tribe, but it was definitely right to say this.
After he said that, he felt something was not right.
This person's figure seemed familiar. Bo Kang thought for a long time and felt that her figure was somewhat similar to the one who had just ridden a horse and injured someone. But the envoy of the Helan tribe rode a horse and injured someone on the first day in Rongcheng?
We still have to be cautious and not damage the harmony between the two countries.
In the darkness, the gold ornaments on the girl's head gleamed. She seemed a little surprised, staring at Bo Kang for a while, then suddenly smiled.
She remained silent, and Bo Kang wasn't sure if she didn't understand him. He had already apologized, and he couldn't wait any longer, so he bowed again and prepared to leave. But the young man beside her stopped Bo Kang, preventing him from leaving.
"You bumped into our...lord!" the young man insisted, "You are not allowed to leave!"
This young man from the Helan tribe actually spoke fluent Daning official language? Bo Kang was a little surprised and asked patiently, "You are..."
"Our master is a maidservant to the princess," the young man replied.
Bo Kang looked at the boy: "And you?"
The young man replied calmly, "I am the princess's attendant."
All right. Bai Kang's mouth twitched, knowing he couldn't offend them. If they were truly the princess's attendants, this would be a major breakthrough in finding her whereabouts. Thinking of this, Bai Kang asked, "How do you two want me to apologize?"
The boy remained silent. From the darkness, the rustling of clothing could be heard. After a moment, the boy said, "We adults will remember you! We'll ask you to apologize next time!"
After saying this, the young man made way for Bo Kang to leave. After leaving the inn, it was still dark outside.
Next time, apologize?
Did the other party really know who he was and remember his face?
Bai Kang was confused and turned around to look at the gate of the inn again.
The Helan tribe entered the city for two days but still couldn't find the princess. It's possible that the Helan tribe did this intentionally, unwilling to hand over the princess, but it's more likely that the princess escaped on her own.
If the princess was unwilling to marry and had escaped during the chaos, then her attendants would definitely know where she disappeared to. Whether they were deliberately concealing the truth or were truly unaware, he would find out.
Thinking of this, Bai Kang returned to the inn.
The first floor of the inn was filled with travelers having meals. Among the dusty and travel-weary men, the pure white figure stood out, yet was dazzling enough.
Bo Kang looked at the figure and was almost stunned.
For a moment, he actually felt that... the maid looked very much like Lianzhi.
Crazy, really crazy. How could Lianzhi possibly be dressed as a woman? Even though he loved to dress up, he'd never worn a skirt. Bo Kang approached and sat down in front of him.
The other person's face was covered with a white veil and then a veil, so even his eyes couldn't be clearly seen, and only the shape of the eyes could be roughly discerned. As if to avoid his suspicion, the other person gestured twice, but in any case, Bo Kang couldn't understand.
The other party seemed to be trying to communicate with him, trying to sign something. Bo Kang tried several times to understand, but failed. He remembered the young man who knew the official language of Daning State and planned to communicate with him. Later, when the three of them met, he could have the young man pass on the message.
Bo Kang stood up, ready to leave. As he turned, he caught a glimpse of the girl's face. Beneath her veil, her eyes, though clearly invisible, held a hint of a smile. That smile was clever and cunning, and utterly familiar.
It was truly familiar. So familiar that Bo Kang instantly became alert. But in the blink of an eye, the girl's expression returned to her bewildered state, as if what he had just seen was just an illusion hidden by a veil.
No, that's not right.
There's something wrong with this woman.
Bai Kang was no longer in a hurry to leave. He smiled and sat down again. He picked up the handwritten menu on the table and gestured as he spoke: "Young lady, you haven't asked the waiter to order the dishes yet. Are you not familiar with the cuisine of Daning Kingdom? How about I treat you to a meal?"
He waited quietly, hoping the other party would reveal a flaw, or perhaps the other party was truly innocent and would only wait for the young man to come and communicate. Bai Kang's smile did not fade. The two of them were in a stalemate for a moment, and suddenly, the other girl's expression changed.
The innocent eyes on that beautiful face, which was hard to see clearly, turned cunning. The other party spoke, the voice clear and cold, it was a girl's voice. Bo Kang was instantly disappointed. It turned out to be a girl, not Lianzhi.
If he can’t find the lotus branch anymore, I’m afraid that any foreigner he sees will look like a lotus branch.
"The envoy is really insistent." The girl smiled with her eyes curved. "If you want to apologize, you must listen to me. You can't follow your Ning Kingdom's rules. How about we follow the rules of our Helan tribe?"
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