Chapter 221 The Runaway Princess
She can do whatever she wants on her own turf, and even if many people are unhappy with her arrogance and willfulness, her parents, brothers, and maternal grandparents can still protect her in the end.
But this time was different. She didn't know who had instigated or bewitched her, but she secretly took her personal maid and two guards, disguised herself, and mingled with a caravan of foreign merchants who were passing through the royal court and were planning to go to the Great Wei to sell exotic goods such as spices and gems.
The fact that the Hu merchant leader was able to lead his troops through Tatar territory unharmed meant that he had naturally secured the necessary connections.
Their clan had connections with many powerful nobles and officials in the Tatar royal court. They also remembered the appearances of those Tatar nobles who were not related to them but whom they could not afford to offend.
That's why, when the leader of the Hu merchants saw the face of the Tatar princess, he almost immediately recognized who this ancestor was.
It must be said that this Tatar princess was a woman of hard-to-change nature. Although she joined the caravan as a handyman, along with her personal maid and bodyguards, she did not become more low-key and reserved just because she needed to pretend to be a handyman.
Even though she was a temporary worker, the lowest-ranking member of the caravan, someone who could be bossed around and had to do all the dirty and hard work, she still flew into a rage because the caravan's manager disrespected her, kicking him so hard he flew backward.
The foreman never dreamed that he would be kicked away so hard by the skinny boy who was not doing any work. This was something a temporary worker could do.
The furious steward scrambled to his feet, intending to threaten the man who dared to lay a hand on him—or rather, kick him—with harsh words like, "I see you don't want your wages anymore" and "We can't afford someone like you, so get the hell out of here." But the caravan leader, who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion, recognized the Tatar princess with her chin held high and an arrogant air about her.
His eyes widened, and he almost immediately realized that he and the caravan were about to be embroiled in trouble.
He intended to send the Tatar princess back, but she gave up and, taking advantage of her exposed identity, started to boss him around.
No matter how tactfully he tried to persuade him, this man refused to return to the Tatar royal court and insisted on going with them to the Great Wei for fun.
The caravan leader was naturally unwilling to bring such a time bomb to the Great Wei. He was a businessman through and through, and he cultivated good relations with anyone from any faction only to facilitate his own business, not to help an important figure from one side infiltrate the territory of another.
Unable to persuade the Tatar princess, the caravan leader decided to secretly send a message to the Tatar royal court.
However, this Tatar princess was also quite clever. She knew that the caravan leader was actually unwilling to take her along. Since she couldn't persuade him, he would definitely find someone who could control her and forcibly take her back to the royal court.
Of course, she was unwilling to be taken back like this, so she sent two of her guards to take turns watching the caravan leader to prevent him from sending someone to inform the Tatar royal court.
If that were all, it would be fine, since she has limited manpower and simply cannot keep a thorough watch.
The caravan leader only needed to use a few tricks to successfully send the letter out.
The problem is that, in addition to sending people to monitor him, this person also bluntly threatened him, "If you dare to reveal my whereabouts, you and your family will never be able to do business in the Tatar territory again."
The caravan leader found this person utterly unreasonable. After all, he didn't want to take her along. Although he genuinely didn't want to cause trouble for himself and his companions, ultimately, he was doing this to ensure the princess's safety.
Unfortunately, the princess was completely ungrateful and insisted on going her own way.
The caravan leader was taken aback by the seriousness in her expression and tone, and for a moment he didn't dare to secretly go against her wishes.
Having traveled as a merchant for many years, he had dealt with all sorts of people, so he knew very well that the more unreasonable a Tatar princess was, the more outrageous things she was capable of doing that ordinary people would never do.
In other words, she might actually sever their family's important trade route in a fit of anger because the caravan leader was outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant towards her.
This was unacceptable to the caravan leader, because losing two important clients, the Tatars and the Great Wei, was enough to cripple his Hu merchant family.
As for bypassing the Tatars and opening up a new trade route to the Great Wei, if the trade route were really that easy to open, why would their family have to spend so much money every year to support those Tatar nobles whose appetites are getting bigger and bigger?
As the caravan leader hesitated, struggled, and weighed his options repeatedly, their caravan arrived outside Zijing Pass.
The caravan leader, who had been frowning all the way, felt an even stronger internal struggle after realizing that they were about to set foot on the territory of the Great Wei.
He wavered, hesitating whether or not to forcefully send away this capricious princess who had been causing him trouble all along and would obviously cause him even more trouble in the future.
What the caravan leader didn't know was that the princess was already more excited than ever before, because they were about to enter the territory of the Great Wei.
No longer worried about getting lost, the princess eagerly led her guards and maids, galloping towards Zijing Pass.
Since her identity was exposed, the princess has often ridden around with her guards and maids, so the caravan members have long been used to her occasional departures from the group.
At that time, the caravan of foreign merchants was on Tatar territory. Even if the Tatars did not know the princess's true identity, they could guess from her clothing, skin condition, demeanor and bearing that she must be of Tatar noble birth.
They dared not provoke the princess and her entourage, who were dressed in fine clothes and rode in high spirits, and whose status was clearly higher than theirs. Therefore, they would always respectfully retreat and try their best to avoid bringing trouble upon themselves and their people.
The princess had grown accustomed to this kind of life; from childhood to adulthood, she had always lived a life of looking down on everyone and being high above others.
The problem is that she has now arrived at the border between the Tatar and Wei territories.
During the ceasefire, there were virtually no ordinary Tatars who would treat her with special courtesy because of her status; instead, there were only groups of bandits and Wei soldiers on patrol.
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