She ran away from her wedding again.
*
Before dawn, the Gaochang Royal Palace was still shrouded in a hazy gray-blue hue.
The morning breeze swept across the towering rammed earth walls of Jiaohe City, stirring up fine dust that swirled under the palace eaves.
Colorful silks hanging inside the palace fluttered gently in the wind, and the embers of the Flaming Mountain that burned out last night still emitted a faint fragrance of sandalwood.
A maid carrying a golden basin filled with fresh rose petals gently knocked on the bride's door.
"Young lady, it's time to get ready."
No one answered.
The maid called twice more, then a sudden unease gripped her, and she pushed open the door to enter—
"Your Highness, Miss Xu has disappeared!"
Hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor. Yuwen Heng was still dressed in his wedding attire, the wolf-head gold seal at his waist gleaming coldly in the morning light.
He stepped into the room and saw the fire rat fur wedding dress embroidered with gold thread neatly folded on the bed, and the pearl tassels on the phoenix crown were in perfect condition, as if it had never been worn by anyone.
On the wedding dress lay a letter.
Yuwen Heng picked up the letter, his knuckles slightly clenched. The paper bore Xu Qingyao's usual free and easy handwriting, yet contained only two short sentences:
"Your Highness, the matter you are concerned about will be handled by someone. Please allow the caravan from a few days ago to pass."
He chuckled softly, his fingertips tracing the paper, as if he could still feel the warmth of her pen as she wrote.
Outside the window, the morning breeze swirled sand against the windowpane, and the distant sound of camel bells drifted through the air, far away and in the vast emptiness.
***
Xu Qingyao, wrapped in a coarse cloth cloak, mingled with a caravan heading west.
The camel's hooves pounded the yellow sand with a dull rustling sound. The caravan had just left the border of Gaochang and was heading westward along the ancient Silk Road.
She looked up into the distance, where the sky was tinged with a faint gold, and the rising sun had just climbed over the horizon, turning the boundless desert a crimson red.
The wind brushed past her ears, carrying the scent of dry, sandy soil.
[Congratulations, host! You have completed "Runaway Bride 2". Please claim your reward promptly!]
The system's voice echoed in her mind.
"System, do you think Xiao Zhouyan will help that sixth prince?" Xu Qingyao's lips curled slightly as she took out a small gold seal with a wolf's head from her bosom—it was the one she had taken from under Yuwen Heng's pillow.
From an emotional perspective, Xiao Zhouyan and Yuwen Heng are "love rivals," but from a broader perspective, cooperation between them is not impossible.
"A love rival?"
When did they become rivals in love?
Although according to your local laws, it's not illegal to marry eight men simultaneously without obtaining legal certificates.
[But host, you have indeed been married once, and you're about to get married again. So, by any measure, they are rivals in love.]
"Oh." He's already behaving himself.
“Well… who told you to be the runaway marriage system?” Xu Qingyao found an excuse to justify herself. “I’m just giving you some performance points.”
"Just tell me, did you post this task? If so, I'll definitely prioritize the task..."
【Host! Be kind!】The system indignantly protested in its mind, 【Although this task is within my management permissions, you're the one who asked me to issue it!】
"I don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear it," Xu Qingyao muted the system directly, "Just tell me whether you posted this task or not."
【*%##*】
"You're a system. If you don't issue tasks, what kind of system are you? Besides, a runaway marriage system should act like a runaway marriage system. This is such a great opportunity... What's wrong with issuing a task to let me earn some pocket money!"
【#%&%#】
"System? Why aren't you saying anything?" Xu Qingyao realized after a while, "I forgot to turn on your mic..."
[Host! You actually muted my mic!]
"Calm down... calm down..."
Suddenly, the system reminded me in my mind.
[Beep—A character from the story has appeared ahead.]
Characters in the story?
Xu Qingyao recalled the plot and realized that the Tibetan prince who appeared at this time should be the one rescued by the female lead.
"Young lady, Tibet is just ahead," the caravan leader said with a smile, turning around. "Tibetan snow silk and tea bricks are the most popular..."
A commotion arose ahead, and the caravan leader's words came to an abrupt halt.
Thirty paces away on a sand dune, lay a man covered in blood, his indigo brocade robe stained black with blood, his fingers hanging limply at his sides.
[Ding! Congratulations, host, on successfully unlocking the key figure: Tibetan Prince Songtsen Yunlie!] The system suddenly became excited. [In the original story, he fell in love with the female lead at first sight. Host, hurry up and do it!]
The system is in complete disarray...
"Shut up." Xu Qingyao rolled her eyes, but had already nimbly jumped off the camel and strode forward.
In his hazy state of consciousness, Songtsen Gampo felt someone moving his body. He suddenly opened his eyes, his gray-blue pupils like those of a wolf on a snowy plain, wary and cold.
"Don't move." Xu Qingyao pressed down on his blood-stained shoulder, a flash of silver light from her fingertips, and three thin needles were already pierced into the acupoints on the side of his neck. "The arrows are poisoned. If you move again, you'll be waiting to meet the King of Hell."
The prince groaned, but surprisingly did not resist. He stared at the dark osmanthus pattern revealed on Xu Qingyao's wrist and said hoarsely, "...Han Chinese?"
"The person who saved you." She deftly tore open his shirt, revealing a strange bluish-purple wound—aconite poison, a common assassination method on the border of Gaochang.
Three days later, Songtsen Gampo's high fever finally subsided.
He leaned against the Tibetan delegation's tent, his fingertips tracing a silver bell—one that Xu Qingyao had "accidentally" left behind, the bell engraved with the wolf head emblem of Jiaohe City.
“Miss Xu.” He looked up, his voice still hoarse from illness, “You saved my life, but the Tibetans never owe favors.”
Xu Qingyao raised an eyebrow: "So?"
"Come back to Lhasa with me." The prince smiled slightly. "Let me do my duty as a host."
Xu Qingyao was about to refuse, but the system suddenly popped up a notification:
[Host, Xiao Zhouyan has received the message and is sending people to Gaochang Kingdom.]
Her eyes flashed, then she chuckled, "Great! It'll be a good opportunity to see the scenery of Tibet."
Songtsen Gampo nodded in satisfaction and waved to his attendants: "Prepare the horses and return to the capital."
***
The Tibetan capital, Lhasa, stands atop the snow-covered plateau, where sunlight pours down, making the golden roof of the Red Mountain Palace shine brilliantly.
Xu Qingyao rode on the back of a snow-white yak, wearing a snow silk cloak presented by a Tibetan maid, the fine gold threads flowing like a galaxy in the sunlight.
Songtsen Gampo personally led the way, with the royal guards lined up on both sides, holding yak-tail banners and blowing eagle-bone horns. The deep sound echoed through the valley, startling a flock of snow sparrows.
“Miss Xu,” the prince turned his head, his gray-blue eyes holding a faint smile, “Tibet welcomes distinguished guests with ‘white wool carpets paving the road,’ you are the first person in ten years to do so.”
Wow—what a big fuss! Host, be careful, it might be a trap!
Xu Qingyao lowered her eyes. Sure enough, a long, snow-white wool carpet stretched out before her, leading all the way to the main gate of the palace. She lightly stroked the silver bells around the yak's neck, thinking to herself—
This pomp and circumstance is probably not as simple as it seems.
Inside the main hall of Hongshan Palace, gilded butter lamps illuminate the images of deities on the murals.
Xu Qingyao was led to a sandalwood table inlaid with coral, which was already filled with Tibetan delicacies.
Butter tea is served in a jewel-encrusted wooden bowl, with thinly sliced dried yak meat served alongside spicy barley wine.
The king sat high in the main seat, wearing a golden-winged crown, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's. Beside him, the chief minister held a nine-eyed dzi bead, scrutinizing Xu Qingyao with a half-smile.
“It is truly remarkable that the Han girl was able to save my son.” The Zanpu’s voice was deep and resonant. “According to Tibetan custom, a life-saving favor should be repaid with generous gifts.”
With a wave of his hand, a servant presented a gilded wooden box, inside which was a snow-silk inner armor, as thin as a cicada's wing, yet impenetrable by swords and blades.
Before Xu Qingyao could speak, Songzan Yunlie stood up and said, "Father, Miss Xu's medical skills are superb. I would like to ask her to stay temporarily in the Medicine Master Hall to treat the wounded soldiers of our Tubo."
The king pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded.
That night, Xu Qingyao was settled in a secluded courtyard of the Medicine Master's Hall. The courtyard was quiet and secluded, with the windows facing the snow-capped mountains, where moonlight shone like silver ribbons.
[Host, the surrounding environment has been detected and is currently safe.]
***
As dusk settled, the ancient post station outside Liangzhou City rustled in the autumn wind.
Xiao Zhouyan stood in the pavilion, dressed in a dark brocade robe. His black cloak was billowed by the north wind, revealing the gilded token hanging at his waist—the envoy's seal personally bestowed by the emperor before his departure.
The sound of galloping hooves echoed in the distance. Wei Yi dismounted and knelt on one knee.
"Master, a report has come from the Jiang residence—Madam only stayed at the residence for one night, and left Liangzhou through the west gate the next morning."
Xiao Zhouyan ran his fingertips along the crack on the jade pendant—it was from when Xu Qingyao broke it on the day she ran away from her arranged marriage. He suddenly chuckled: "Ximen? She certainly knows how to choose her path."
Wei Yi lowered his head: "The city guards said that the lady followed a group of foreign merchants, heading... towards Tibet."
"What a coincidence."
Looking at the vast desert with its endless yellow sand, Xiao Zhouyan murmured, "Are they really avoiding me like the plague?"
"General..." Wei Yi presented it with both hands: "After leaving the Jiang residence, the lady traveled westward. News just came from Gaochang yesterday."
Xiao Zhouyan unfolded the letter, and familiar handwriting came into view—
"To the General:"
Qingyao was rescued by Yuwen Heng, the sixth prince of Gaochang, and was able to escape his predicament. However, the second prince, Mukun, harbored treacherous intentions and imprisoned the sixth prince in a private dungeon, intending to do evil.
We are husband and wife, and I hope that when the general is on his mission to Tibet, he can resolve this matter as a way of repaying his life-saving grace.
—Xu Qingyao
On the back of the letter, there was a crookedly drawn rabbit.
Xiao Zhouyan's eyes flickered slightly, and his fingertips gently traced the lines of writing, as if he could feel the warmth of her pen as she wrote them.
“General,” Wei Yi said in a low voice, “I have investigated and found that a few months ago, the Second Prince of Gaochang, Mu Kun, did indeed secretly mobilize troops to severely injure the Sixth Prince, Yuwen Heng. Although the Sixth Prince has been rescued, Mu Kun has not given up, and I am afraid…”
"Afraid of what?"
"I'm afraid the lady has also been drawn into the internal strife in Gaochang."
Xiao Zhouyan sneered and put the letter into his pocket: "She certainly knows how to cause me trouble."
Wei Yi hesitated for a moment, then said, "There is one more thing... It seems that the lady has been in contact with the Tibetan prince."
“Songtsen Yunlie?” Xiao Zhouyan raised an eyebrow. “She certainly knows how to pick people.”
As the night wind swept across the wilderness, Xiao Zhouyan looked up towards the west—there lay Gaochang, and further away, Tubo.
"Issue the order," he suddenly said. "The mission will proceed as planned to Tibet. You will lead a team of elite troops to sneak into Gaochang ahead of me."
Wei Yi was taken aback: "General, you want to..."
“Since she has spoken up,” Xiao Zhouyan mounted his horse, a faint smile playing on his lips, “I will repay this life-saving debt on her behalf.”
*
Xiao Zhouyan changed into the attire of a Sogdian merchant—an ochre-colored narrow-sleeved Sogdian robe, sheepskin boots, a string of copper coins and a jewel-encrusted dagger hanging from his waist, a thick beard on his face, and even his sharp eyes were slightly yellowed from herbal styling, making him look exactly like a caravan leader traveling in the Western Regions.
On the trade route from Liangzhou to Gaochang, he mingled with a group of foreign merchants selling silk, and no one suspected him.
Upon entering the city, the guards lazily questioned, "Where did you come from? Where are your goods?"
Xiao Zhouyan grinned, revealing a set of yellowed teeth: "From Shule, a fine Persian carpet, it won't arrive until tomorrow." As he spoke, he stuffed a small bag of loose silver into his hand.
The guard weighed it in his hand and waved for them to pass.
The Gaochang Royal Palace was built against the mountain, and the residence of the sixth prince, Yuwen Heng, was located in the western side hall. The walls were covered with poplar trees, making it a good place to hide.
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