Mountain and River Festival 239. Long-lasting happiness and carefreeness
The fight was still going on outside the palace, but inside the palace, the atmosphere was cold and silent. Ye Li looked at the Nanzhao King, who was a head taller than her, with a calm expression. Her beautiful face showed an apologetic look, as if she really felt guilty for holding the Nanzhao King. However, the dagger on the Nanzhao King's neck showed no sign of being removed.
The King of Nanzhao only felt the hair on his neck stand up from the cold dagger. "Princess Ding, what do you want to do?" Ye Li glanced at Princess Changle who was sitting on the ground, pursed her lips and smiled, "Why does the King of Nanzhao ask when he knows the answer? Isn't it obvious?"
"You are here for this little beauty?" The King of Nanzhao was a little unconvinced. The little girl in front of him was a princess of the Great Chu, and had nothing to do with the Northwest. The King of Nanzhao naturally didn't believe that Princess Ding would go to such great lengths to break in just for a princess who had nothing to do with him. "Although she is a princess of the Great Chu, she has no value to the King of Chu. The King of Chu has already given her to me."
After much thought, the King of Nanzhao could only think that Princess Ding wanted to capture Princess Changle to threaten the Emperor of Chu. Who let the whole world know that Prince Ding and the Emperor of Chu had a deep hatred?
"King Nanzhao does not need to worry about this. He only needs to tell me whether he can take Princess Changle away." Ye Li did not refute his words and said lightly.
The King of Nanzhao sneered and said, "It's okay for the princess to want a beauty given by someone else. But... the princess can come and go freely in the Nanzhao Palace. Do you think there is no one left in Nanzhao? I advise the princess to put down her weapons immediately. I will not embarrass her for the sake of the King Ding. Otherwise, it will not be so easy for the princess to escape when the guards come in."
The King of Nanzhao is not as useless as he looks, Ye Li thought in her heart. She smiled calmly, "I'm just afraid that the guards have no chance to get in." At some point, the sound of fighting outside the door had gradually subsided. The King of Nanzhao had a smug look on his face, but he soon realized something was wrong. If the Nanzhao guards won, they would report it outside the palace no matter what. But at this time, there was silence outside the palace, and not even a sound could be heard inside the palace. The King of Nanzhao's face changed, and he said, "I have a thousand guards in the Nanzhao Palace, and eight thousand elite guards in the Nanzhao Royal City. Do you think you can escape?"
"I'm afraid those eight thousand elite soldiers don't have time to enter the palace to guard the carriage." Ye Li looked at the King of Nanzhao with a smile and said, "Has the King of Nanzhao forgotten that there is any important event tonight?"
Hearing this, the King of Nanzhao's heart skipped a beat and his face became even uglier. How could he have forgotten that Shu Manlin was going to attack Anxi tonight, and he secretly gave Shu Manlin the token to mobilize the guards of the royal city. If it had already been...
Ye Li sighed softly, "There has been fighting in the palace for quite some time, but apart from the guards who were originally stationed in the bedroom of the King of Nanzhao, no one came in to protect the king. King of Nanzhao, why don't you guess where they went?" King of Nanzhao was speechless, "You can kill him or behead him as you wish." Ye Li smiled and said, "Why would I kill the King of Nanzhao? I just took away an unknown little girl from the palace of the King of Nanzhao. After tonight, Princess Anxi will not care about this matter with me. The friendship between Nanzhao and my northwest will continue to be long-lasting." She said that Princess Anxi would not care, not King of Nanzhao, and the King of Nanzhao naturally understood the meaning. After tonight, the King of Nanzhao would no longer have the final say in the Nanzhao Kingdom. The King of Nanzhao gritted his teeth and said, "The Ding Palace is the help invited by Anxi!"
"It wasn't originally, but it is now." Ye Li was not afraid of offending the King of Nanzhao. Offending the King of Nanzhao would not have any impact on the relationship between Nanzhao and the Northwest. Because after tonight, no matter who wins or loses, the real power of Nanzhao will have nothing to do with the King of Nanzhao. If Princess Anxi wins, having learned from the previous lesson, Princess Anxi will surely not tolerate Shu Manlin and the King of Nanzhao. If Shu Manlin wins, the King of Nanzhao will only become a puppet of Shu Manlin or Tan Jizhi. The King of Nanzhao made a mistake in choosing to cooperate with Mo Jingqi. Perhaps Mo Jingqi really wanted to cooperate with the King of Nanzhao, but the people he sent, whether it was Concubine Liu or Prime Minister Liu, did not seem to give the King of Nanzhao any help.
"This evil girl!" The King of Nanzhao cursed angrily with gritted teeth.
Ye Li frowned and looked at the King of Nanzhao, and said in confusion: "I have a question that has always puzzled me. Princess Anxi is now the only princess under the name of the King of Nanzhao. Moreover, Princess Anxi is good at governing the country and is not attached to power. The King of Nanzhao should be happy to have such a daughter. Why does the King of Nanzhao help Shu Manlin to target Princess Anxi everywhere?" Let a saint who should be worshipped and has no real power be in a position that can almost threaten the life and property of the Queen's daughter. This is absolutely inseparable from the support of the King of Nanzhao. Even if Shu Manlin is also the daughter of the King of Nanzhao, even if the King of Nanzhao loves Shu Manlin more, he will not hate Princess Anxi to such an extent.
A trace of bewilderment flashed across the face of the King of Nanzhao. It was obvious that he did not understand the question Ye Li asked. How did he and his eldest daughter become like this today?
I still remember that Anxi was different from Qixia, who loved dancing and singing since childhood and had a flamboyant personality. She was cheerful but very calm. She was able to help him deal with state affairs when she was only thirteen or fourteen years old. She accepted many things that he himself thought were too much trouble and she would handle them properly. At that time, he was only grateful to God for giving him such a smart daughter. Even if there was no prince, there would be no regrets. So he made Anxi the princess and watched Anxi govern the country step by step and win the support of the people.
But he didn't know when it started, but the joy and relief he felt at the beginning gradually changed. Whenever he saw the people showing respect and admiration to his daughter, he began to feel unhappy inexplicably. He had worked hard to govern the country for decades, but the people always said this was not good or that was not good. Even when they saw him, they were afraid and obeyed him, avoiding respect and admiration. Why could his daughter so easily get something that he had never gotten in his life?
Seeing the changing expressions of the King of Nanzhao, Ye Li felt that she had understood. It was because of jealousy, not because he was worried that Princess Anxi would usurp power, nor because he loved Shu Manlin more, but simply because of jealousy. A father is jealous of his daughter's ability to govern the country and the support of the people, so he tries every means to make things difficult for his daughter and even allows others to kill her and instigate them. Ye Li shook his head, looked at the King of Nanzhao and said, "If Princess Anxi really loses, how will Nanzhao succeed? King of Nanzhao, have you really thought it through?"
The King of Nanzhao had a fierce look on his face, and his breathing became increasingly rapid. However, Ye Li let go of the King of Nanzhao at this moment, walked towards Princess Changle who had already stood up by herself, and said with a soft smile: "Princess, let's go."
Princess Changle looked at the King of Nanzhao with some caution, but she didn't know what the King of Nanzhao was thinking. His face was twisted and he seemed not to see them. Ye Li smiled and said, "Don't worry, let's go." He took Princess Changle and walked out of the palace gate.
Outside the palace, the guards who were originally guarding the bedroom and the guards who rushed over after hearing the noise had all been dealt with, but another group of people had given birth to seven or eight babies. Qin Feng and Zhuo Jing stood at the door waiting for Ye Li to come out.
"Princess..." As the two of them came out, the leader of the survivors immediately rushed forward but was stopped by Zhuo Jing. The man hurriedly said, "Princess! Princess, are you okay? I am incompetent... I failed to rescue you earlier!" Princess Changle hesitated and looked at him for a long time before saying, "Are you... Guard Yang?"
The man pulled down the veil on his face, revealing a resolute and familiar face. Ye Li frowned and thought for a moment before she remembered that this was the commander of the guards in the harem palace. Ye Li said, "Let's leave the palace first." The guard Yang obviously knew Ye Li, and said respectfully, "Thank you, Princess, for your help."
The group left the palace and encountered almost no obstruction along the way. The square outside the palace was still bustling with people, but if you looked carefully, you would find that everyone who should be there was gone.
Ye Li and his group returned to the post station without delay. Before they could ask any questions, Guard Yang knelt down on the ground in front of Princess Changle and said, "I am incompetent and frightened the princess. This is the antidote. Please take it quickly." He took out a small green porcelain bottle from his sleeve and held it in front of Princess Changle. Ye Li frowned and said, "Princess, are you poisoned?"
Princess Changle looked normal and healthy, with no signs of poisoning. Princess Changle hesitated for a moment and nodded. Guard Yang said sadly, "If it weren't for the poisonous woman who poisoned the princess, how could we have saved the princess so late? This poison is only possessed by that poisonous woman. Once we rescued the princess, she would immediately destroy the antidote. So along the way, we could only try to get the antidote first to save the princess. That's why the princess was sent to the palace."
"Is it Concubine Liu?" Ye Li asked, "How did you get the antidote?"
Guard Yang said, "That vicious woman had the princess sent to the palace and thought the antidote was unnecessary. But even so, seven or eight of us still died before we got the antidote. Fortunately, we got it in time... otherwise... we would have no face to face the Empress and the old Duke even if we died a thousand times."
Ye Li raised her eyebrows and asked, "Did the Queen send you to rescue the princess?" Guard Yang said seriously, "Of course, each of us is a confidant of the Queen and is deeply favored by her. There are also several brothers who have received favors from the Duke of Hua in the past. We originally wanted to take action on the road, but we were unable to obtain the antidote, and we did not dare to act rashly and harm the princess's life. Thank you, Princess, for your help."
Princess Changle was already in tears when she heard the news about her mother. Holding the medicine bottle, she hurriedly asked, "How is my mother?" Guard Yang hesitated for a moment and said, "The Queen... When I left the capital, the Queen was still under house arrest in the palace. But don't worry, Princess. The old Duke has already made arrangements. The Queen also said that even if she is not free, the Emperor will protect her life for the sake of face. Just don't come back to Chujing in the future. This is what the Queen asked me to pass on to the princess."
Guard Yang brought another exquisite and ordinary wooden box. Princess Changle was stunned for a moment and took a look. The box was only about an inch wide and four or five inches long. When she opened it, she found a few banknotes folded inside. On top of the banknotes was only an exquisite and gorgeous hairpin and seven or eight night-shining pearls. Although she didn't see the face value of the banknotes, she knew from the few night-shining pearls that any one of them would be enough for Princess Changle to live a life of ease and comfort. "Princess Ding... Mother, Mother doesn't want me anymore?" Princess Changle asked in a low voice while holding the box.
Ye Li sighed softly, "Your mother is doing this for your own good." Princess Changle was not sent to marry, but was sent to the King of Nanzhao by Mo Jingqi. This meant that Princess Changle would never be able to appear in front of Chujing and the world as a princess. Otherwise, when the time comes... Since Mo Jingqi could be so cruel as to send his daughter to the King of Nanzhao, he would naturally be so cruel as to take her life.
"I know..." Princess Changle said while holding the wooden box, but she couldn't help sobbing and crying. From now on, she was no longer the Princess Changle of the Great Chu. Her father would probably let people spread the news that Princess Changle had passed away. From now on, she might never see her mother and grandfather again. She could only wander around alone without a name or surname.
Seeing Princess Changle's sorrowful expression, Ye Li reached out and rubbed her hair and said, "Good child, don't be sad. When the matter in Southern Xinjiang is settled, will you come with us to the Northwest?"
Princess Changle hesitated for a moment, but still rejected Ye Li's proposal, "Thank you, Princess Ding, but I am afraid that my status will cause trouble to you and Uncle Ding." Ye Li smiled and said, "The Nanzhao Palace has been broken into, what kind of trouble is this? I will ask someone to take a look at the antidote later. Princess, take a good rest first. We can talk about other things after your Uncle Ding comes back. No one dares to break in here at will."
Guard Yang was also delighted after hearing Ye Li's words. The Empress and the old Duke were most worried about Princess Changle living alone outside. Although they had made arrangements to secretly protect the princess, the world is in chaos now. Who can say with absolute certainty that anywhere is safe except the northwest? Originally, they also planned to secretly send the princess to the northwest to live incognito. With the invitation of Princess Ding, it would be better for the princess. "On behalf of the Empress and the old Duke, I thank the princess."
Ye Li waved her hand and said, "Our prince respects the queen as his sister, and Duke Hua watched him grow up. The eldest daughter of the Hua family is a good friend of mine, so Princess Changle is naturally not an outsider."
Guard Yang thanked her again. Princess Changle looked at Ye Li and said, "I am no longer a princess. My mother gave me the nickname Wuyou. Princess, just call me Wuyou." Wuyou Changle shows the Queen's love for her daughter.
Ye Li nodded with a smile and said, "Okay, Wuyou must be tired, let's go back to the room and rest first."
Princess Changle nodded without worry and followed the guards to the vacant room. As soon as she closed the door, she fell on the bed and cried while biting the quilt. She cried in the room while biting the quilt, but she didn't know that the people outside the room were all people with superb internal strength, so they could hear it clearly. Ye Li turned around and looked at Feng Zhiyuan standing in the shadow of the eaves not far away and sighed silently.