Chapter 388 "Madam Xie, how could this be your fault?"
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Hei Zi and Li Shiyue both looked towards the southeast, the direction from which their horses were coming.
At the same time, Wang Datou, who was standing nearby, also heard the sound of galloping horses and turned to look in that direction.
As the galloping horse drew closer, the three of them could see clearly that the newcomer was Chen Yong!
The first person to recognize Chen Yong was naturally Li Shiyue, whose expression immediately became serious.
Chen Yong's arrival on horseback at this moment must mean something has happened!
In the few breaths before Chen Yong rode up to her, Li Shiyue's mind raced through thoughts of what might happen to the mission.
"Could it be that something's wrong with Sixth Sister?"
"Or maybe Zhou Yiran, that heartless man, broke off negotiations with Liang Yongkang?"
"...Could something have happened to my sister and Xie Mingyue?"
Chen Yong rode up to them, dismounted, and bowed to Li Shiyue, saying, "Captain! Lady Li and Lady Xie have been captured by the Turkic patrolmen!"
When Li Shiyue and her men hurriedly rode over, before she even dismounted, the first thing she saw was five corpses lying on the ground.
At a glance, one could tell from their clothing that two barbarian soldiers and three Han Chinese had died.
After dismounting, Li Shiyue rushed anxiously into the open felt gate.
"Sister!"
When Li Shiyue saw Li Qiutian's back at the door, she immediately called out anxiously!
Upon hearing the shout, Li Qiutian immediately turned around and looked towards the door.
Xie Mingyue, still with dried blood on her face, sat with Li Qiutian.
At this moment, Xie Mingyue also turned around and looked towards the door.
Beside the two women were a group of Xie family servants kneeling on the ground.
Among them were two outsiders who also knelt down at their spot.
These two outsiders were none other than the traitor Lu Guang and the Khitan merchant Yelü Jiujin.
The group of people opposite Xie Mingyue and her group were naturally the Sixth Prince Bu Zhen, the two Mohe barbarians, and the more than twenty barbarian soldiers following the Sixth Prince.
Li Shiyue walked over quickly, and when she got closer, she grabbed Li Qiutian's arm and looked her up and down. "Sister, are you injured?"
Li Qiutian was naturally unharmed. Only after receiving Li Qiutian's personal confirmation that she was alright did Li Shiyue feel at ease.
"How is Madam Xie?"
Li Shiyue finally spared some attention for Xie Mingyue, who was standing right next to Li Qiutian.
Xie Mingyue's heart, which had been pounding with anxiety, finally relaxed a little after seeing the look in Li Shiyue's eyes.
Xie Mingyue didn't know why, but after meeting Li Shiyue, she was no longer as afraid and worried as before.
While Li Shiyue was listening to Xie Mingyue and Li Qiutian tell her what had happened at the market, the Sixth Prince and the others opposite her looked at each other in surprise and started chattering away.
The Sixth Prince and the others naturally knew who Li Shiyue was.
After all, the banquet was just yesterday, and the memory of Li Shiyue kicking those two Mohe barbarians away was still fresh in everyone's mind.
Even the most forgetful person can't forget what happened yesterday all at once!
Your Highness!
They really were from the mission!
Sixth Prince Bu Zhen turned his head to look at his cousin who was speaking, and then glanced at his other cousin who had lost his right forearm. He then looked up at Li Shiyue standing opposite him.
Li Shiyue was still wearing her green official robe, but because she was going hunting today, this robe had narrow sleeves.
At this moment, she still had two knives, one long and one short, hanging at her waist, and a bow slung over her shoulder.
Not only were the Sixth Prince and his companions surprised, but Lu Guang and Yelü Jiujin, who were kneeling on the ground, were also quite astonished.
"This Han woman has quite a background!"
As Yelü Jiujin thought to himself, he now understood why Li Qiutian dared to kill people!
"They really do have something to rely on!"
As Yelü Jiujin thought this, he frowned again, "However, these Han people actually have female warriors?"
Lu Guang, who was Han Chinese himself, had already begun to make some guesses about Li Shiyue's identity.
After all, just as Yelü Jiujin thought, female warriors were truly rare.
Or it could be said that Li Shiyue is the only female general in Andong today!
"This must be the legendary Li Shiyue, right?"
Lu Guang recalled the news he had heard in a restaurant when he returned to Andong before the Lunar New Year.
Although the Sixth Prince was quite surprised by Xie Mingyue's identity, who was the Sixth Prince?
He is the old Khan's son and the new Khan's brother!
On Turkic territory, would the Khan allow his own brother to suffer a loss?
The Mohe barbarian, whose forearm had been cut off, endured the pain of his wound and glared fiercely at Li Qiutian, who was talking to Li Shiyue across from him.
Another Mohe barbarian saw this and said to the one-armed barbarian, "Wu Yi, don't worry!"
Your Highness, he will definitely avenge you!
That Han woman definitely won't live past today!
Meanwhile, Li Shiyue listened with a furrowed brow as Li Qiutian and Xie Mingyue recounted what had happened at the market, one after the other.
"...That's how it is. I was afraid that Madam Xie would be captured by them, so I had no choice but to draw my knife..."
"...Lieutenant Li, it's all my fault!"
If I had listened to you and taken your men to the market, perhaps things wouldn't be like this today…
Xie Mingyue's voice was already choked with sobs. If it weren't for the need to maintain the dignity of a noble lady from Guanzhong, Li Shiyue felt that Xie Mingyue would have burst into tears right now.
However, Xie Mingyue, as expected of someone from the Duke's mansion, even in the face of the current situation, only showed guilt towards Li Qiutian and her own family, as well as worry about the trouble she had caused Li Shiyue.
As for the instigator—the Sixth Prince—Xie Mingyue felt only resentment!
She regretted that she had brought too few servants with her this time.
Xie Mingyue originally planned to follow Liu Tan's route and go to the Turkic Khaganate with Li Shiyue, who was leading troops, to explore the route and gather information.
Then there's no need to bring all the retainers she brought with her when she married from Guanzhong.
After all, in Xie Mingyue's view, bringing too many servants would inevitably cause Li Shiyue some trouble.
Furthermore, the current relationship between Andong and the Turks is relatively friendly, so there shouldn't be any major incidents that threaten personal safety.
Therefore, Xie Mingyue only took Mr. Zhou, her personal maid, a nanny, and about twenty servants to Lijiatun.
Of those twenty or so servants, less than half were family retainers.
If she had brought the retainers she left in Sanshan Port, a force of about a hundred people, with her to the Turkic Khaganate, perhaps Xiao Liu wouldn't be dead today!
It's all my fault!
If I had brought a few more men, or listened to what you said, Lieutenant Li, then…
"Thank you, Madam!"
Li Shiyue suddenly interrupted Xie Mingyue. Seeing Xie Mingyue's stunned expression, Li Shiyue took out a handkerchief from her bosom and handed it to her.
Li Qiutian knew what Li Shiyue meant as soon as she saw her action.
So, Li Qiutian picked up the silver cup on the high table next to her, pulled Xie Mingyue's hand, and gestured for Xie Mingyue to put the handkerchief into the cup.
But Xie Mingyue was still in a daze.
Therefore, Li Shiyue, who was watching from the side, reached out and "snatched" the handkerchief from Xie Mingyue's hand.
Li Shiyue took a corner of her handkerchief and dipped it into the silver cup that Li Qiutian was holding.
"Madam Xie, how could this be your fault?"
Li Shiyue took a damp corner of a handkerchief and gently wiped Xie Mingyue's face, which was covered in dried blood.
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