Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it was time for Guli (also known as Qingyin) to return to Lukeqin.
The caravan was ready, and among the accompanying guards was Jori, who had been on guard duty earlier. Ever since he heard that Princess Guli had been taken back by the Khan, Jori had been concerned about the escort team. As soon as the imperial edict was issued, he volunteered to the leader, Aksang, ignoring the gossip of others. He just wanted to see Princess Guli off one last time, perhaps never to be seen again.
Early in the summer heat, Qingyin set off early but still couldn't withstand the power of the "summer tiger," and was drenched in sweat. Even with Alisa constantly fanning her, it was only a minor relief.
Halfway there, Qingyin could hear the soldiers' heavy breathing from inside the carriage. Qingyin planned to have Alisa summon Commander Akshang so they could rest halfway before continuing their march.
"Alissa, go ahead and ask General Akshang to come over."
"Yes, Princess."
Alisa alighted from the carriage and inquired about the general's whereabouts. She couldn't keep up with the mounted soldiers, so Aksang, who already knew of her arrival before she did, frowned deeply. He was a renowned general in his tribe, having achieved fame at a young age. This escort of the princess was originally intended to avoid his mother's arranged marriage, which was why he had volunteered to the Khan to escort the plain-looking Princess Guli. Listening to his subordinates' report, he felt inwardly annoyed. Indeed, he hated dealing with these women!
When Alisa arrived, she ran into General Akshang, who had a dark and gloomy face. The words she was about to say were cut off by his gloomy expression. Fortunately, Akshang had told her in advance that he knew, otherwise Alisa would have really intimidated this famous general.
The silence lasted until they reached Qingyin's carriage.
Alisa walked quickly and managed to catch up with Aksang.
"Princess, General Akshang has arrived."
"Okay, sure."
The moment Princess Guli opened her mouth to speak, Akshang was stunned. Her alluring voice, which seemed to be lingering in his ear, made his heartstrings tremble inexplicably.
He couldn't bring himself to utter those cold and indifferent words, and unconsciously softened his voice: "May I ask what business the princess has with me?"
Unfortunately, the general, who was used to being on the battlefield, would not know that even though he tried to soften his voice, it was still as loud as thunder. Qingyin, who was sitting in the carriage, was startled by his loud voice. This General Akshang's voice was really loud!
She calmed down and explained softly, "General, the journey back to the palace is long. Why don't we let the troops rest on the way before continuing our march?"
Hearing the princess's enchanting voice, Akshang was completely bewildered and didn't understand what she was saying at all.
It wasn't until Qingyin reminded her several times, "General Akshang? General Akshang?"
"Ah! Princess, I was just thinking about my father's illness at home and that's why I was lost in thought. Please punish me, Princess!" Akshang, now fully awake, knelt down. He blushed deeply, but luckily his dark complexion made it impossible to tell, so Alisa didn't find out the reason.
However, Kexin Ningde (Akeshang's father), who was far away in Lukeqin, had no idea that his unfilial son had arranged for him to be seriously ill again. Otherwise, he would have given this "filial" son a good beating.
"It's alright, General. He is a filial son and there's no need for you to apologize." Qingyin explained the reason to Akshang again, and this time Akshang understood clearly. He immediately agreed and ordered the entire team to stop and rest.
Having no further reason to stay by the princess's side, Aksang returned to his carriage. He suddenly felt envious of Alisa, who had always been by the princess's side. He also wanted to... stay by the princess's side forever. Thinking of this, a restlessness rose on his face again. Suddenly remembering the guard Jori who had volunteered, he instinctively felt a surge of hostility.
They secretly positioned Jori at the very front of the procession, keeping a considerable distance from the princess's carriage.
After a rest, the group set off again. Alisa noticed that Akshang was coming more and more often, and he would always ask the princess if she wanted any game or fruit he had hunted. Alisa watched Akshang's every move with suspicion, deeply doubting his intentions.
Aksang, who was being closely watched by Alisa, didn't even glance at one of the maids. He kept his eyes fixed on the window by the carriage, afraid of missing anything the princess said.
Qingyin wasn't unaware that the number of times this happened was relatively small. Even so, Akshang was as happy as a silly bear, enjoying himself immensely.
"Yinyin, your charm hasn't diminished at all! Another silly deer has fallen for your charms!"
The system's smug voice rang out, causing Qingyin's hand, which was cutting tea, to tremble slightly. She gave the system a threatening smile, "System, if you're just spouting nonsense, then don't say it to disgust people!"
"Hehe, host, Yinyin, Yinyin..."
The system's conjured halo occasionally pressed lightly on Qingyin's shoulder. Qingyin raised an eyebrow, ignoring the irrational system. (The system is invisible to ordinary people.)
"Yinyin, didn't I give you that lucky halo before? Ta-da! I'll put it on you right now."
Qingyin, feeling nothing amiss under the halo, decided to ask about the system's function, "System, system?"
"Damn it, the damn system ran away again?"
Qingyin, who was used to it, narrowed his eyes slightly. If the system, which was familiar with its host, saw this, it would know that the host was planning to "trick" or "trick" the system! Unfortunately, he was about to be caught slacking off at work. At Yao Yao's reminder, he quickly ran away and would never know that Qingyin was plotting against him again.
As dusk fell, Lukeqin arrived.
Seeing the city gate in the distance, Aksang inexplicably wished the road could be longer, but no matter how far he walked, it only seemed to get closer. Alisa, who had also discovered General Aksang's feelings for her along the way, was overjoyed. Finally, no one was going to compete with her for the princess! Hahahaha!
Upon reaching the city gate, Qingyin alighted from the carriage and saw a familiar figure standing on the city wall in the distance. Her eyes involuntarily reddened slightly. It was an unconscious physical reaction, a longing of the original owner for her parents and relatives.
It's no wonder that the original owner missed her family so much. In this era, people usually stayed in the place after marriage. Even though Gulihezhuo became a widow, her parents still forcibly took her back home. If it weren't for the disaster involving Hanxiang, she could have lived happily ever after.
Qingyin also noticed that someone was missing from the crowd—the legendary Princess Hanxiang, who was said to possess a unique fragrance and beauties that could topple kingdoms—the original owner's younger sister.
Upon entering the city, the original owner's mother, Kuriya, immediately took her in her arms, exclaiming, "My poor daughter!" as she examined Qingyin's body, "You've lost weight, you've lost weight!"
"Mother, Father, Brother! I haven't lost weight, I'm perfectly fine."
"Hmm," the usually taciturn Khan and the eldest prince stared silently at Qingyin, their eyes filled with concern and heartache. However, they also noticed the change in their eldest daughter/second sister; even though she was still wearing a veil, she gave off the air of an unparalleled beauty.
"Where's my sister?" Qingyin asked curiously. The others looked at each other and fell silent.
Kuliya looked troubled. "Well, let's go back to the palace first."
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