Chapter 51 The princess who chooses the right person is actually the monk Wei Qiang.
The King of Jin tried to persuade Cong Ying not to take the risk by appealing to his emotions and reason, but Cong Ying's stubbornness could not be changed by words.
She said, "My power is indeed limited, but if I can help in any way, his life may be transformed in a moment. Even in times of danger, I never fear death, but I only fear the regrets of the rest of my life."
Upon hearing this, King Jin's expression changed slightly, and his eyes looking at her were suddenly filled with panic.
This sentence...is exactly the same as what she said in her previous life.
After she said this, she left behind fifteen letters and then went to her death calmly with her frail body. Although she won a glimmer of hope for him, she never came back.
Past sorrows surged up like sediment, and the King of Jin sternly declared, "You are not allowed to go! You must return to Yunjing with me immediately!"
He reached out to grab her, took two steps back from Ying, and shook his head slightly at him.
The Prince of Jin felt his blood boiling, yet a chill ran through his bones. He coughed up blood in panic, his face pale as a sheet, and he teetered on the brink of collapse. The guards tried to help him, but he pushed them away, forcing them to watch him fall in dismay.
The King of Jin's voice trembled as he questioned her, "What about me? If you go looking for him, what should I do?"
Cong Ying lowered her eyes, as if unable to bear meeting his gaze. "Your Highness, our friendship as gentlemen ends here. Once you exit the dense forest, you'll find the official road. May Your Highness return safely to the capital."
She left dozens of guards behind, and Yiyun was willing to go with her. Congying nodded in agreement, and the two turned around and walked up the mountain, completely ignoring the King of Jin's urgent calls behind him that were so urgent that he coughed up blood.
The guard assigned by Xie Xuanlan stepped forward to support Prince Jin, but was slapped in the face.
He looked like a ghost at that moment. His face was pale and bloodless, except for his dark pupils and blood-red lips. He said angrily, "Why didn't you stop her? Who is more important to Xie San? Don't you have any brains?"
The guards said innocently: "We don't know. We only follow the orders of the future young lady."
King Jin closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before he lowered the rapid blood pressure rising in his chest.
He had come here with Ah Ying in the first place, so it was impossible for him to return alone. Suddenly, he had a new plan and ordered the captain of the guards, "Escort these girls back to Yunjing and place them in the Fengchen Guard Station first. No rumors are allowed to leak out."
The guard glanced at his legs quietly: "Is His Royal Highness Prince Jin also going up the mountain?"
Prince Jin said coldly: "You can't even take care of your young lady, so don't ask me about my affairs."
He left only one guard to support him, and instead of ascending the mountain, he headed southward along the official road. After walking for about half an hour, the distant, crab-shell-blue sky gradually turned pale, and the cold red light of dawn illuminated the outlines of the garrison's tents below the mountain. Atop the high-flying banner, a black flag with gold thread embroidered with the words "Chun'an" was visible.
The Prince of Jin arrived, frosted with morning frost, and addressed the patrol who had intercepted him and questioned him, saying, "Hurry and inform the princess that my younger brother, Xiao Cheng, wishes to see you."
Princess Chun'an lay awake all night, listening to her staff debate whether to ally with the General of the Cavalry to fight the Prince of Huai, and perhaps kill Xie Xuanlan as a snack. The rhetoric was repetitive and meaningless, but Gan Jiu remained determined. "That Fourth Prince dared to disrespect the princess. Killing him wouldn't satisfy me, so how could we ally ourselves with him? The Prince of Huai, while appearing respectful, is secretly a hindrance. He deserves death. As for the Third Xie, hmph, none of the Xies are good people. They deserve death!"
Princess Chun'an put down her strong tea and yawned quietly.
At this moment, the guard came to quietly report, and Princess Chun'an immediately shook off her sleepiness and said with great interest, "Invite him to meet in another tent."
Princess Chun'an couldn't understand why this sickly, consumptive man had joined in the fun, so she braced herself and prepared to play along, trying to figure out his intentions. But before she could ask, the Prince of Jin confronted her and said, "Your Highness, please mobilize your troops immediately and capture this thief on the mountain!"
Princess Chun'an said calmly, "Catch the thief, who is the thief? You two all seem possessed by a demon. You start giving me orders as soon as you enter the room without asking clearly. I'm afraid I've stepped into a trap."
King Jin: "I am willing to swear on the lives of my entire clan—"
Princess Chun'an smiled and said, "You are not Xie San. I am your cousin within five degrees of mourning, and I don't want to be implicated by your oath."
Prince Jin: "Then what does the princess want?"
"I want to hear the truth," Princess Chun'an said, looking at him with a smile. "You asked me to raise an army because the Prince of Huai County is threatening your position as heir, and you want to take advantage of his misfortune to defeat him, or is it because of something else?"
Seeing him pondering in silence, Princess Chun'an said sternly, "Think carefully before answering. You must swear an oath. If you say even a single word falsely, it will be the opposite of what you wish."
The four words "things went against one's wishes" were like a heavy hammer hitting the heart of King Jin.
He was now a man who revered God and believed in religion. He would never dare to use Ah Ying's safety as a factor in his operations. Just imagining her in danger made him tremble with fear and could not bear it.
After a moment of silence, King Jin said, "No."
The sky was already bright. Outside the tent, the sound of horses neighing and weapons clanging could be heard. Faintly, a messenger could be heard running and shouting, "The mountain is on fire! The mountain is on fire! Report it to the princess immediately!"
He was stopped by Prince Consort Xuan in front of the tent: "I understand, go ahead."
Princess Chun'an was not in a hurry. She slowly took a sip of tea and still waited for Prince Jin's answer.
When a wildfire breaks out, it becomes even more dangerous. He sighs silently and says frankly, "Because I covet Xie San's fiancée."
Princess Chun'an spat out a mouthful of tea.
"You...what do you covet?"
The King of Jin said, "Xie San and the Prince of Huai were both trapped on Ghost Crying Peak. His fiancée heard about this and climbed the mountain alone to meet him early in the morning. I miss her so much and don't want to see her killed."
Seeing Princess Chun'an lost in thought, he added another weight: "Also, I know the whereabouts of the One-Eyed Dragon. He is in Wang Zhaoshen's military tent. I believe he has already set out to the mountains to meet with the Prince of Huai."
Princess Chun'an sneered. No wonder she searched the mountain for a whole day yesterday but failed to catch the one-eyed dragon.
After receiving this extremely valuable information, she immediately stood up and issued an order: "Quickly organize the three armies, follow Wang Zhaoshen's trail, and capture the thief in the mountains!"
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Cong Ying saw the wildfire from afar and became more and more anxious. This meant that Prince Huai had decided to cooperate with Wang Zhaoshen and had a falling out with Xie Xuanlan. She was probably too late.
She was worried and hungry for many days, so she accidentally stepped on empty air and fell into an abandoned animal trap.
The trap had a small entrance but a large body, shaped like a jar. The entrance was obscured by weeds, making it difficult to spot unless one lowered their head and treaded cautiously. Yiyun jumped down following the sound and was about to bring Congying up, but Congying motioned for her to be silent and lay down on the pit wall to listen.
Boom, boom, boom, it sounds like the sound of chaotic horse hooves, an army is coming, but I don't know who they are.
The two held their breath and hid in a dark corner of the animal trap. They heard the army gradually approaching. Instead of leaving immediately, they stopped to reorganize, as if waiting for someone.
Yiyun tentatively poked her head out to take a look, then turned and gestured to Congying with the number four, meaning Wang Si's army. She continued to peer out for a while, and Congying, worried about her, suddenly saw her suddenly retract her head.
Yiyun whispered to her, "The Prince of Huai is here, and he's tied up the Third Young Master."
Cong Ying's heart sank and his expression changed.
The Huaijun prince's men were moving in a scattered pattern, stopping not far away, separated from Wang Zhaoshen by a trap. The two sides were locked in a tense standoff, neither of them noticing the two men hiding in the pit.
First, Wang Zhaoshen burst into laughter. "Your Highness the Prince of Huai has really kept me waiting. After all these twists and turns, we still have to cooperate. Isn't my Wang Family Army more useful than Xie Sande's?"
The Prince of Huai said fiercely, "Stop talking nonsense! You said you wanted to exchange the letter of alliance for Xie San's head. I've tied up Xie San for you, but where's the letter of alliance?"
Wang Zhaoshen's personal attendant pulled out a paper envelope from his pocket: "Here it is."
Hearing this voice, Zong Ying frowned, and found it somewhat familiar.
"Come closer, it's hard to see clearly." Prince Huai personally led Xie Xuanlan forward, intending to exchange it with Wang Zhaoshen once the alliance letter was confirmed to be authentic.
Xie Xuanlan had been following the Prince of Huai County obediently when he suddenly stepped on something. Looking down, he discovered a hairpin. This hairpin was no ordinary one, but one he had seen on a firefly last night. It had a certain resemblance to it, as the hairpin itself resembled a firefly flapping its wings.
He didn't let Jiang Congying take this road last night, so why is the hairpin here?
Xie Xuanlan caught a glimpse of a corner of the animal trap covered by weeds, estimated its size, and had a bad feeling in his heart. He pretended to be tripped, staggered, bent his legs and fell to his knees. The moment he lowered his eyes, his gaze met with Cong Ying's, who was looking up anxiously.
Cong Ying waved the dagger in his hand, signaling him to jump down and help him cut the rope.
Xie Xuanlan's eyes were filled with shock and mixed emotions. Rather than admiration, he was more annoyed by her recklessness and lack of self-respect. If she really jumped, it would attract attention. He had martial arts skills to rely on and could have a chance of survival, but what about her?
He was afraid that Cong Ying would cause some trouble, so without waiting for anyone to remind him, he quickly stood up and walked towards Wang Zhaoshen's camp, shouting as he walked, "It's just an exchange, I'm not afraid, Wang Laosi. Anyway, you don't dare to kill me. I can't die. I know you want to use me to trade for a bigger fish! You don't dare to kill me!"
The shout was loud enough to ensure that Ying could hear it.
Wang Zhaoshen sneered and drew his knife: "This kid is quite good at comforting himself."
Xie Xuanlan walked too fast. By the time Prince Huai discovered that the alliance letter given by Wang Zhaoshen was a copy, Xie Xuanlan had already been captured by Wang Zhaoshen's personal army.
The Prince of Huai County angrily shouted, "Wang Si, how dare you lie to me! It wasn't even in your hands in the first place!"
Wang Zhaoshen laughed heartily: "All is fair in war. Although the covenant is fake, one thing is true."
Prince Huai was puzzled: "What?"
Before he could finish his words, Wang Zhaoshen's personal soldier who had delivered the letter of alliance to him suddenly jumped up and knocked the Prince of Huai to the ground with one punch. Immediately afterwards, a dagger with a cold glow was placed across the Prince of Huai's neck.
The man holding him said in a sinister voice, "Your Highness, Prince Huai, we've been friends for a long time, but I'm afraid you don't recognize me yet?"
The Huai Commandery Prince's pupils suddenly shrank: "One-Eyed Dragon... You actually hid beside Wang Zhaoshen. No wonder we couldn't find you on the mountain..."
All his contacts with the One-Eyed Dragon were through the ghost-faced man sent by Wang, so he had never seen the One-Eyed Dragon's true face. Unexpectedly, he was not one-eyed and had both eyes intact.
Wang Zhaoshen said, "His Royal Highness the Prince of Huai and Mr. Xie San were murdered by the bandit leader. By the time we arrived, it was too late. Only two heads were left. What a pity."
The Prince of Huai County was convinced that, just as Xie Xuanlan had said, Wang Zhaoshen was not really willing to join forces with him. He wanted to kill someone with a borrowed knife and then put all the charges of colluding with bandits and harboring private soldiers on himself.
Prince Huai quickly said, "One-eyed Dragon, if you kill me, Wang Zhaoshen will not let you live!"
The one-eyed dragon said, "You have deceived me so badly. If I cannot survive, I will not regret killing a prince with my own hands."
Xie Xuanlan suddenly shouted, "Who said you can't survive? Stand up high and take a look. Is your savior here?"
He was quite sharp-eyed and could tell that this was no lie. Listening carefully from Ying's perch on the pit wall, he could hear that another group of people were coming up the mountain. The only people who could join in the fun at this moment were...
"Princess Chun'an."
Looking at the man who slowly rode in, Wang Zhaoshen's expression turned grim, almost gritting his teeth. "Last night, I sent someone to discuss this with Her Royal Highness the Princess. Her Royal Highness clearly promised to return to the capital early in the morning and await good news from me on the defeat of the bandits. Why did you change your mind and come up the mountain?"
Princess Chun'an looked haughty, as if she found his words rather amusing. "Do I need to report to you what I'm going to do? Besides, you also said that all is fair in war."
Then he looked at the Prince of Huai and said, "It seems that my cousin has had bad luck and has fallen into the hands of the bandit leader. Don't be afraid, I am here to rescue you."
The one-eyed man was a shrewd man. He sensed an opportunity and took the Prince of Huai hostage as he walked towards Princess Chun'an, shouting, "Get out of the way! Don't come over here, or I'll cut his neck with one blow!"
Princess Chun'an smiled and waved her hand, happily letting the one-eyed dragon take Prince Huai away.
Prince Consort Xuan whispered to her, "Do you want to send someone to follow?"
Princess Chun'an said, "No need. A desperado like One-Eyed Dragon will certainly use the Prince of Huai to exchange for favors with the imperial court."
Wang Zhaoshen was obviously unhappy about letting the scapegoat, Prince Huai, go. He put his hand on the hilt of the knife and glared at Princess Chun'an with a fierce look, but then he thought of something, narrowed his eyes, and put on a gentle smile on his face.
He said to Princess Chun'an, "Your Highness mobilized troops without an imperial decree, and captured the heavy armor I had stationed in the dense forests to the south to encircle and suppress the bandits, disrupting my plans to suppress them. Now you've let the One-Eyed Dragon escape. I wonder if Your Highness is here to suppress the bandits, or to aid them?"
Princess Chun'an did not argue with him: "You are not qualified to question me."
Wang Zhaoshen: "But even if you go to court, Prime Minister Xie may not let you go. Most of the twenty-four guards under your command are Xie San's men. They can only confuse right and wrong and will not speak for you."
He jumped off his horse, pushed the bound Xie Xuanlan forward two steps, and proposed another deal to Princess Chun'an: "I am willing to trade Xie San's head and the command of the 24 Yunjing Guards in exchange for the original alliance letter in Your Highness's hand. The alliance letter is the accusation that the Prince of Huai and the bandits have made against me. I do not want to get involved in the disputes in the court, I just want to defend the border and clear my name. Once Xie San is dead, the Xie family will be severely weakened, and the command of the 24 Guards will also belong to Princess Chun'an. No one in the court or outside the court will dare to challenge you. What do you think of this deal, Princess?"
Prince Consort Xuan whispered, "Wang Zhaoshen may not necessarily yield to the Twenty-Four Guards by then. This was one of his original purposes for coming to the capital."
Gan Jiu was very tempted: "Even if we can't get the twenty-four guards, if we can seriously injure Xie, it will still be a good deal. What do you think, Your Highness?"
Princess Chun'an stared at Wang Zhaoshen without saying a word, as if she was considering his conditions.
Cong Ying was lying in the animal trap, feeling extremely anxious for a moment, fearing that if the princess said "yes", Xie Xuanlan would be killed in the next moment.
Besides, she didn't think it was a good deal.
Wang Zhaoshen is a cruel, cunning man with no regard for his superiors. If he is allowed to escape punishment today, the Wang family will act even more arrogantly and unjustly than the Xie family in the future. The Xie family may not be Zhang Rang, but Wang Zhaoshen is determined to be Dong Zhuo. This is a strategy of driving a tiger to devour a wolf. The tiger is clearly more dangerous than the wolf. We must think twice.
Cong Ying clenched her dagger, thinking, if Princess Chun'an really agreed, she'd have to crawl out to dissuade her. However, as the granddaughter of Old Censor Jiang, and already engaged to Xie Xuanlan, the princess might not listen. What if it backfired?
Yiyun suddenly held her hand and whispered, "Princess, you recognize me. If you have anything to say, I will go and tell you. You must not show up."
This is a good idea. Cong Ying nodded gratefully: "Thank you, Senior Sister!"
So he whispered something in her ear, and Yiyun nodded repeatedly.
Overtly and covertly, the three parties were in a silent stalemate. Yiyun climbed the pit wall, waiting only for the princess to say "OK" before jumping out to make her remonstrance. Cong Ying clenched her palms. She was worried about so many people: Xie Xuanlan, Yiyun, and the distant Prince of Jin and Ah He. She had never felt so powerless and weak before.
Finally, Princess Chun'an spoke up and responded: "This is indeed a good deal, but I will not exchange it."
"Princess, think again!" "Your Highness, think again!"
The princess's staff repeatedly advised against it, and Wang Zhaoshen snorted in displeasure, thinking that Princess Chun'an was a little ungrateful. Cong Ying felt a little relieved, but she was puzzled by the princess's choice.
Then the princess said, "A friend of mine once advised me that tigers are naturally predatory, not just to A. If you lead A to drive B away, you will be attacked. And a gentleman's revenge should prioritize eliminating evil over venting anger. You must not betray your original intention and bring further suffering to the world."
While everyone was still pondering, Cong Ying was suddenly stunned.
These words were clearly her answer to the wooden plaque at Xuandu Temple, almost word for word. So she was…she was actually…
It turns out that Princess Chun'an is Mr. Weiqiang, and Mr. Weiqiang is actually Princess Chun'an.
A surge of hot blood rushed from her chest to her limbs. Her heart was warm, but her body felt like it was falling into an ice cellar. The interweaving of joy and pain made her lose her mind for a moment. She dug her hands deep into the soil on the wall of the pit, forcing herself to calm down.
Yiyun asked her quietly, "The princess actually refused. What should we do? Should we continue to wait?"
At this moment, Wang Zhaoshen's horse neighed loudly, and the situation outside suddenly changed.
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The author has something to say: I have plans to go out during the May Day holiday, and I also need to sort out the outline of the content afterwards, so updates will be relatively rare. I wish everyone a happy May Day in advance, and enjoy the good time between spring and summer~ [scatter flowers][scatter flowers]
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