Chapter 33 Springtime Scenery Within the Palace Walls Leads to Deceit (Part Two) Schemes…
This was all to draw out the deeply hidden "deceased husband" behind her—the Right Tuqi King of the Northern Di!
A profound sense of loss overwhelmed her like a tidal wave, and a tearing pain shot through her heart. The tears that had been building up in her eyes could no longer be held back, and they slid silently down her pale, paper-like cheeks. Her gaze was ashen with despair, yet with a last, broken hope, she stared straight at the figure in dark blue robes behind the crowd.
Her Yan Qing, the boy who would gather herbs to heal her wounds and clumsily comfort her, had died five years ago...
The only one who survived was Chu Huaili, whose heart was as cold as iron.
In this complete manipulation and scheming, did he ever... have even the slightest bit of genuine affection for her?
"Geshu Lin!" Lu Qingyuan shouted sharply, his scimitar, gleaming with a cold, eerie light, suddenly drawn. His eyes blazed with fury. "You, the Left Wise King of my Northern Di, have so depraved yourself, colluding with the Southern Dynasty, plotting to harm your own brothers, bringing shame upon our ancestors and disgracing our royal court! Aren't you afraid of the gods' wrath, that you'll be devoured by wild beasts?!"
“Good brother,” Geshulin’s face still held that chillingly calm smile. He slowly raised his hand, his fingertips lightly tapping the soldiers around him whose bows were already fully drawn. “You all better aim and make sure you capture my disobedient brother. As for that delicate beauty behind him…”
He paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over Ye Yixiang with a hint of playful "pity," saying, "Your skin is as white as snow; I hope you don't get grazed by an arrow, or you'll leave a scar and won't look beautiful."
Lu Qingyuan ignored Ge Shulin's malicious provocation. His gaze passed over the heavy armor and flashing cold light, locking onto Chu Huaili, who remained silent in front of him. His voice suppressed surging rage and an indescribable complex emotion, with an almost frozen calm, as he said, "This is a power struggle between us men, a battlefield contest between the Northern Barbarians and the Southern Dynasty."
"She... should never have been involved in this in the first place."
In the tense, deathly silence, the air seemed to have frozen.
Chu Huaili's deep, icy gaze pierced through all obstacles, landing precisely on Ye Yixiang's small face, which was filled with despair and silent questioning.
Slowly but firmly, he extended his well-defined hand towards the woman who was surrounded by arrows and whose mind was broken.
His voice wasn't loud, even slightly hoarse, yet it contained a strange power, clearly echoing in everyone's ears, and striking heavily on Ye Yixiang's already shattered heart:
"Arao, come here."
Lu Qingyuan moved almost the instant he finished speaking.
Like a lone wolf driven to the brink of despair, he drew a sharp arc with his scimitar and resolutely slashed at the nearest archers! The wind howled, carrying the tragic intensity of mutual destruction, and he actually managed to cleave a gap in the air.
"Go—!" he roared at Ye Yixiang.
Ge Shulin's smile deepened.
More soldiers surged forward like a tide, their swords flashing in the firelight, forming an impenetrable net. Each swing of Lu Qingyuan's curved blade sent splattering droplets of blood flying, and his shoulders and arms were soon covered with several deep, bone-revealing wounds, his fur coat becoming dark and soggy.
"puff--"
A specially made, barbed black gold arrow pierced his right shoulder blade with perfect accuracy!
The force was so great that his entire arm went numb instantly, and the scimitar fell to the ground with a clang. Almost simultaneously, several spears slammed into the back of his knees from different angles!
The sound of bone cracking was muffled.
Lu Qingyuan groaned and fell heavily to one knee, but still used his uninjured left arm to support his body, trying to stand up. Blood gushed from his shoulder, quickly forming a dark red pool in front of him.
He raised his head, his blood-stained face contorted, but his gaze remained fixed on Ge Shulin and Chu Huaili like a hardened steel nail, a low growl escaping his throat as he suppressed the pain.
Geshu Lin clapped his hands and chuckled, "What a loyal and courageous man! It's truly moving." He waved his hand, "I'd appreciate it if you warriors from the Central Plains could tie him up tightly. My brother is quite wild and untamed."
The soldiers swarmed forward and used ropes soaked in cow sinew to bind Lu Qingyuan, who was unable to resist.
He was like a bound tiger, struggling violently in the ropes. His wounds burst open from the effort, and the blood flowed even faster. His gaze, filled with resentment and anger, finally passed over everyone and landed on Ye Yixiang, with an almost desperate anxiety.
Ye Yixiang, from beginning to end, simply stared blankly at everything with her eyes that had lost all warmth.
In the end, it was Pei Hong who signaled two guards to come forward and "invite" her out of the center of this hellish scene and take her away from the villa.
She did not struggle, like a jade sculpture that had lost its soul, letting them take her out of the hot spring villa and back to the Nie residence.
Back in the courtyard where she was temporarily staying, Ye Yixiang stood in front of the mirror, looking at her pale, bloodless face. She gently tugged at the corners of her mouth, and the person in the mirror returned an empty and mocking laugh.
How ridiculous that she had once regarded this place as a temporary haven in the storm. Her fingertips traced the cold mirror surface, as if she could touch the desolate chill in her heart.
She quickly suppressed all outward emotions and began packing her things efficiently.
A few plain clothes, a few pieces of jewelry, and the Urozhu siblings she rescued—that was all she had.
The entire Nie family was busy preparing for Princess Chonghua's banquet, and no one noticed the undercurrents in the side courtyard.
She has decided to leave Liangzhou overnight.
The Southern Dynasty could not tolerate her, a remnant of the previous dynasty, and the Northern Barbarians had her mysterious "deceased husband." In all the world, it seemed there was no place for her to stand. Only in the distant Western Xia might there still be a glimmer of hope.
However, the plan was interrupted by a light knock on the door.
"Sister Yixiang! Open the door!" Nie Zhaoxue's clear voice carried an undeniable warmth. "I know you're inside! There's a banquet at the manor tonight, and there are dancers from the Western Regions too. Will you come with me to see them?"
Looking into Nie Zhaoxue's pure and passionate eyes, a ripple of helplessness stirred in Ye Yixiang's frozen heart. Perhaps, showing up at the banquet and then finding an opportunity to slip away would be a better way to avoid suspicion.
"Okay." She finally nodded, which earned her a cheer from Nie Zhaoxue.
As night fell, the banquet hall of the Nie family mansion was brightly lit, filled with the clinking of glasses. Ye Yixiang, dressed in a moon-white ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), without any makeup, her black hair held up only by a simple silver hairpin, deliberately concealing all her brilliance, sat quietly in the most secluded corner.
Almost the instant she took her seat, a burning gaze locked onto her.
Chu Huaili sat to the side of the main seat, his gaze piercing through the noisy crowd and landing precisely on her. A trace of unconcealed sorrow welled up in his deep eyes. He instinctively reached out to get up and walk towards her.
"Shuqing".
A gentle yet authoritative voice rang out. Princess Chonghua gracefully raised her hand, her fingertips lightly touching Chu Huaili's arm, a polite smile playing on her lips. "The Zhenqiang King of Xixia is discussing important matters with you; you must not be impolite."
Chu Huaili raised his wine cup, exchanging polite pleasantries with the burly Yuan Wuzu beside him. A formulaic smile played on his lips, but his eyes held a bottomless, icy depth. The banquet hall, filled with singing and dancing, was, to him, merely another battlefield requiring strategic planning.
However, in a fleeting moment when he glanced up, his gaze swept across the bustling crowd, as if drawn by an invisible thread, and suddenly fixed on that most inconspicuous corner.
All the sounds seemed to vanish in an instant.
Ye Yixiang sat there alone, like a handful of snow that had accidentally fallen into the heart of prosperity.
She simply sat there quietly, her eyelashes slightly lowered, as if an invisible ice wall had been erected around her, shutting out all the noise and warmth.
Like frost flowers condensing on a windowpane on a snowy night, clean and translucent, yet carrying a chill that keeps people at a distance.
Chu Huaili unconsciously tightened his grip on the wine glass, almost cracking the white jade cup.
"...Therefore, we hope General Chu will put in a good word for these warhorses before His Majesty. As for the price, it's negotiable..." Yuan Wuzu's deep voice rang out from the side, carrying the straightforwardness unique to the Western Xia people, as he discussed an important transaction concerning border military equipment.
However, Chu Huaili's attention had already been diverted.
He could only see Yuan Wuzu's lips moving, but the sound was indistinct, as if through a thick curtain of water.
"Hmm." He instinctively nodded slightly, uttering a muffled single sound as a response, but his gaze was fixed on the pale figure in the corner, as if nailed to the spot.
Like a joyful butterfly, Nie Zhaoxue gracefully approached Ye Yixiang, sat down intimately next to her, handed her a plate of delicate pastries, and whispered something in her ear with a smile.
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