The moonlight was cold and the wind was biting. After traveling for half a month, the group arrived in Youzhou.
Youzhou is located in Dingyuan in the north, where the winds of the frontier are cold. Countless iron cavalry rode in and gathered around, their armor gleaming coldly in the night.
Chu Changning stood on the cliff on his horse, looking at the vast night view of the Northern Palace, and smiled slightly.
Helian Ye rode alongside her on horseback, his red robes fluttering in the wind, the moonlight illuminating his body, adding a touch of eeriness to his appearance.
"The princess of the Central Plains is truly cunning."
Tonight, the space is vast and quiet, with sand and mist drifting freely in the cold wind.
Chu Changning glanced at him lightly, "Young Master is mistaken. The young masters of the Central Plains are even more cunning. Therefore, please make thorough preparations."
Helian Ye gave her a meaningful look and curled his lips into a smile.
The people from the Western Regions set up camp on the road to Jiafeng in Youzhou, which was only a few hundred miles away from the official city.
Surrounded by dense forests, hundreds of tents are set up and remain quite secluded.
Inside the main tent.
Chu Changning sat on the animal rug, took the hot sheep's milk from the stove, and took a small sip.
Tsk.
It tastes awful.
We're no longer in the Western Regions, so why would we still be drinking goat's milk?
She mentally grumbled a bit, silently enduring the discomfort as she drank it down, her mind filled with thoughts of chicken soup, osmanthus soup, and lotus leaf soup.
However, Helian Ye was quite the connoisseur of luxury. His main tent was extremely extravagant, and even the gold bowl for drinking goat's milk was inlaid with sapphires.
She has been here for several days now, and judging by the days, Taozhi should have arrived in Qing County by now.
Thinking of this, Chu Changning put down the golden bowl, picked up the animal-patterned robe to cover his body, and leaned back.
The night was still young when a distant, melodious sound of golden bells drifted from outside the tent.
Her eyelids twitched slightly, and she pretended to sleep with her eyes closed.
The curtain was lifted, and Helian Ye walked in, accompanied by a chilly wind.
It was only early autumn, but the nights in the borderlands were already barren of all vegetation and filled with howling winds.
Chu Changning subconsciously pulled his beast robe up a little.
Inside the tent, a bright pearl served as a lamp, illuminating the entire room.
Helian Ye saw the girl's small movements nestled on the blanket, a smile curving his lips, and slowly walked over to lean against her side.
A crimson, shimmering robe was spread out on the ground, and the two suddenly drew closer.
Chu Changning was startled and opened her eyes.
"Young Master."
Helian Ye bent one leg, placed one hand on his knee, and tilted his head to look over.
"Wasn't he asleep?"
"---"
Chu Changning pulled his beast-patterned robe tighter and moved to the side.
"Young Master should have found out. What I said is true. You can rest assured."
Helian Ye looked at her carefully for a few moments, then chuckled as he thought about the plans he had uncovered.
Nothing is more poisonous than the person you share your bed with.
"If there are no objections, could you allow me to live alone---"
"You forced me to send your maid away—" He paused, leaned closer to her, and said in a low, husky voice, "Are you planning to run away while we're fighting amongst ourselves?"
"---"
"What a cunning little fox."
Chu Changning said, "Didn't the young master promise me that he would let me go if I killed Yan Beimo?"
"We'd have to see his body first. You Central Plains people are too cunning."
He chuckled wickedly, the golden tassels swaying by his ears, exuding a touch of arrogance.
Chu Changning scoffed inwardly. He had no intention of letting her go at all; who was he trying to fool?
"Young Master is afraid he won't be able to kill Yan Beimo, so he plans to keep me as a backup plan."
Helian Ye propped his forehead up as he looked at her, his azure eyes sparkling.
He curved his lips into a smile, moved closer to her, and deliberately lowered his voice.
"You're wrong. I want to lock you up with gold chains and enjoy myself with you every day."
That's insane.
Chu Changning couldn't help but curse inwardly.
He brushed a stray hair from her ear and continued.
"I will also have the shaman perform the Nirvana ritual for the princess and carve my own totem."
Chu Changning felt a cold sweat break out on his back as he listened.
Nirvana is a type of tattoo. In the Western Regions, women who were tattooed with this totem were considered to be the exclusive property of men, and were associated with barbarity and plunder.
In the Central Plains, people who specialized in this craft were called "Zha Gong." It was particularly popular among the upper-class families during the reign of Emperor Wei. However, due to frequent wars in recent centuries, it has gradually disappeared.
I've heard that the totem of the young master of the Western Regions is an eagle soaring in the sky. A blue eagle on his body is deadly.
"Does the princess like it?"
Chu Changning didn't want to listen to his rambling and looked away.
"It's getting late, young master, you should get some rest."
She had lived with him in the main tent ever since they were stationed here.
She got up and went behind the screen to wash up. After coming out wrapped up tightly, she curled up on the floor and went to sleep.
Seeing her adaptable demeanor, and her strangely red lips gleaming with a cold, eerie light beneath the pearl, Helian Ye stood up and went behind the screen.
The withered trees and bare branches of the northern frontier, with their overwhelming force, made the large tent crackle and pop.
Chu Changning's eyes, hidden under the covers, rolled around.
Actually, she hadn't been sleeping well these past few days, catching up on sleep during the day and keeping an eye on him at night, so she wasn't sleepy at all.
After washing up, Helian Ye casually draped a dark red, flowing robe over his shoulders and came out, revealing his collarbone, which gleamed with a cold light, exuding a bewitching and nonchalant air.
He glanced at the person curled up like a cat under the bed, and stepped over her.
Chu Changning naturally noticed that someone had walked over her, and she gritted her teeth inwardly.
asshole.
Well, if Han Xin endured the humiliation of crawling between someone's legs to achieve great things, she could tolerate it for a while.
The light from the luminous pearl was turned off, and moonlight refracted through the window.
Helian Ye sat on the couch with his legs bent, casually playing with the snake bracelet on his wrist.
Are all princesses from the Central Plains this stubborn?
They would rather sleep on the ground than serve him.
Chu Changning ignored him and pretended to be asleep.
The room was quiet, except for the occasional screeching of vultures circling high above the border.
Helian Ye kicked the girl on the ground in the waist and abdomen.
Chu Changning groaned in pain, her slender white fingers gripping the blanket tightly until it was wrinkled, but she didn't utter a sound.
Suddenly, fine golden threads emerged from the snake bracelet on Leng Bai's wrist, wrapping around the girl on the ground.
Chu Changning immediately poked his head out and looked over in surprise.
The lonely moon shone coldly, and the girl's delicate white face showed a hint of panic. Although she had a pair of willow-leaf eyes, the corners of her eyes had a seductive charm, just like the wild foxes of the Tianshan Mountains in the Western Regions, who were good at bewitching people and taking a bite when they were not paying attention.
"What does the young master want to do?"
Seeing her like this, Helian Ye feigned surprise and made a teasing remark.
"In our Western Regions, there is a kind of wild fox that loves to be teased like this. Doesn't the princess of the Central Plains like it?"
The slender, pale fingers tightened suddenly, and the golden threads wrapped around the body penetrated to the bone.
Chu Changning curled up in pain, "It hurts a lot."
Helian Ye smiled slightly and relaxed his grip.
"Delicate."
The feeling of suffocation dissipated.
Chu Changning breathed a sigh of relief, clutched her stomach, and lay down without saying a word.
Are you angry?
"I wouldn't dare." A soft voice came from under the covers. "It's getting late, young master, you should go to sleep."
Helian Ye raised an eyebrow, stopped teasing her, and lazily lay down.
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