Chapter 134 Pearl of the Grasslands
The moment Wen Lei met her gaze, it was as if countless memories surged through her mind.
Even though we've never met, a name is on the tip of my tongue.
My throat was burning and sore, but I couldn't bring myself to call out that name.
...
"Luyao!"
Xiao Yuanxiu's furious roar caused ripples to spread across the nectar in the glass cup.
The guests were all silent, and in the center of the banquet stood a woman in green holding a sword, the cold light gleaming on the peach wood blade.
Just before the blue-robed celestial master trampled the spring colors of the garden, the flower-viewing banquet at the Seventh Prince's Mansion was indeed a grand and prosperous affair.
Exquisite flowers adorn the artificial hills and flowing water, and the guests chatted and laughed, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
However, this tranquility was completely shattered.
After the marriage alliance was abandoned, the old emperor adopted Lu Yao's suggestion and decisively defeated the Turkic army.
In order to save his life, the defeated Turkic Khan had no choice but to offer up his beloved daughter.
Gulina Ze'er, the most dazzling pearl on the grassland.
The name means "budding flower" in Turkic.
This Turkic princess was indeed breathtakingly beautiful.
Her amber eyes seemed to hold the stars, her honey-colored skin shone with a luster, and every smile and frown exuded the unique heroic spirit of the grassland people.
The old emperor was too old to be interested in this exotic beauty, so he bestowed her upon the seventh prince, Xiao Yuanxiu.
Of course, she was neither a concubine nor the principal wife; she was merely a plaything, a dancer.
At first, Xiao Yuanxiu was indeed captivated by this exotic scenery.
However, when he took Gulinazel to the forest for a hunt, the princess's dashing figure on horseback left the group of noblemen far behind.
Xiao Yuanxiu chased after her in a disheveled manner, but he couldn't even catch up with her back view.
"You ungrateful shrew!"
After returning home, Xiao Yuanxiu threw the wine cup to the ground.
A woman who lacks understanding and tact is utterly uninteresting, no matter how beautiful she may be.
Gulinazel thus fell out of favor.
At today's flower-viewing banquet, several spoiled young men, emboldened by alcohol, jeered, "Your Highness, why not have that Turkic beauty perform a dance to entertain us? It would be a good opportunity for us to broaden our horizons."
Xiao Yuanxiu squinted his drunken eyes and ordered someone to bring Gulina Ze'er here.
When the princess stood proudly in front of the courtyard, all the spring scenery paled in comparison.
She glanced at everyone at the table, raised her chin, and curled her lips into a mocking smile.
"A scholar can be killed, but not humiliated."
Xiao Yuanxiu's face instantly turned ashen, and the jade cup in his hand cracked with a snap.
He clearly saw the mocking glances exchanged between those scions of noble families.
The dignified seventh prince couldn't even subdue a woman from a foreign tribe.
"Guards!" Xiao Yuanxiu slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly. "Break her legs for me!"
The guards approached with their canes, but Gulinazel remained upright.
A spring breeze swept by, lifting a wisp of hair from her temple, like a wildflower on the grassland that never bows its head.
Gulnazel was roughly pressed onto the torture bench, and the heavy wooden stick fell heavily with a whooshing sound.
Each muffled thud made the women present flinch, but the Turkic princess bit her lip tightly, refusing to utter even a cry of pain.
Xiao Yuanxiu bent down and pinched her chin, trying to find a pleading look, but he only saw a raging fire in her amber eyes.
“That’s more like it,” a young man in fine clothes said with a folding fan. “Think about how the Turks burned, killed, and looted on the border back then. This is how we should teach them a lesson.”
“Indeed, a defeated dog like us dares to put on airs like a princess in front of us?” Another scion of a noble family chimed in, sipping his wine.
As Xiao Yuanxiu listened to these flattering remarks, his expression gradually softened.
Just as he was about to signal the guards to continue the execution, a sharp sword aura suddenly pierced through the air and snapped the execution staff in two with a crack.
The broken piece of wood grazed Xiao Yuanxiu's cheek, tearing a gash in his luxurious brocade robe.
"who?!"
Xiao Yuanxiu flew into a rage and slammed his fist on the table.
"It's me."
Lu Yao, dressed in a green robe, walked through the fallen flowers.
Xiao Yuanxiu's face instantly darkened: "Grand Preceptor, it seems I haven't sent you an invitation."
At this moment, a petite figure timidly peeked out from behind Lu Yao: "Your Highness, it was I who invited my sister here..."
It's Lu Shu.
She twisted the handkerchief in her hands, her voice barely audible.
Six months ago, through Lu Xuan's efforts, this youngest daughter of the Lu family became a concubine of the Seventh Prince's mansion.
Unlike the other members of the Lu family who were shrewd and calculating, Lu Shu was pure and kind-hearted, like a naive fawn.
Although Lu Yao and the Lu family were sworn enemies, she always felt a bit of affection for her innocent and carefree younger sister and took good care of her.
When Xiao Yuanxiu took Lu Shu as his concubine, his intention was precisely to win over Lu Yao.
As the Imperial Preceptor, Lu Yao was highly regarded by the old emperor, and her words carried great weight.
Xiao Yuanxiu received the most confidential information: even the matter of who would succeed him had been secretly inquired about by the Imperial Advisor.
Therefore, he repeatedly tried to curry favor, hoping that Lu Yao could say a few good words for him to the old emperor.
Unfortunately, Lu Yao's discerning eyes had already seen through this scheme.
Every time she came to the Prince's Mansion, her steps never strayed from the bluestone path leading to Lushu Pavilion.
He ignored all other attempts to curry favor.
She thought to herself that despite her best efforts to please the prince, she couldn't even get close to him.
Not only did Lu Yao show no respect, but she also directly disrupted the event, making Xiao Yuanxiu so angry that the veins on his forehead bulged.
"What a majestic and imposing Grand Preceptor!" His voice was sinister as his gaze swept over the assembled guests. "My punishment of a lowly dancer is to seek justice for the innocent people who died unjustly on the border—"
"Fairness? If Your Highness truly possessed such courage, you should have volunteered to lead the expedition when the Turks invaded the border." Lu Yao chuckled. "Back then, when the Turkic cavalry pressed in, who was it that advocated for a marriage alliance in the court? When His Majesty asked who was willing to lead the troops, who used the excuse of three bowls of calming soup to feign illness and refuse to go?"
Xiao Yuanxiu's face turned from green to white.
"Hiding in the mansion, showing off your power by torturing defenseless and weak women." Lu Yao chuckled, her eyes full of sarcasm. "Seventh Prince's 'heroic spirit' has truly opened my eyes."
You could hear a pin drop in the courtyard.
The young men who were just talking loudly were now shrinking their necks and hiding behind the desk, like a flock of quails with their throats being choked.
Gulnazel, supporting her battered body, shakily stood up.
Sun Fuxi, the eunuch beside Lu Yao, ran over and helped her up.
She looked directly at Lu Yao, a stubborn smile curving her lips: "I won't thank you."
Every word carries the toughness honed by the winds and sands of the grasslands: "Your divination has cost the lives of 30,000 of my Turkic men."
"Take her to get the medicine applied," Lu Yao gestured to Sun Fuxi.
As she turned away, she said calmly, "What I want has never been a thank you."
Lu Shu lifted her skirt and ran to Xiao Yuanxiu's side. Just as her slender fingers were about to touch her husband's sleeve, he suddenly flung them away.
"Your Highness..." she said, tears welling up in her eyes, "My sister has always been kind-hearted and likes to protect the weak. Please don't be angry."
Xiao Yuanxiu's forehead throbbed.
Does that mean he likes to bully the weak?
Just as he was about to lash out, he heard Lu Yao say lightly, "Although the Turks have been defeated, their royal court still stands. What the Seventh Prince has done today will be a test when the flames of war rise again on the border... Leave a way out for others, so that you can meet again in the future. Surely the Seventh Prince understands this principle?"
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Yuanxiu suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
That night at the Star Gazing Platform, Lu Yao asked the old emperor for a favor under the pretext of "dispelling the blood evil," and thus obtained Gulinazer.
Releasing her back to the Turks was, of course, impossible.
Lu Yao then asked her if there was anything she wanted to do.
Gulinazer gazed at the starry sky and said, "I can tame horses."
Her broken leg bone was still bleeding, but her voice was as steady as a rock: "You noble ladies of the Central Plains need someone to help you even when riding sideways."
A month later, a dashing figure appeared on the grassland.
The delicate young ladies from noble families were initially terrified, but later blushed and eagerly asked for advice.
The exhilaration of riding the wind was far more captivating than they had imagined.
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