Chapter 652 Ashina Zhuxie
It was already a cloudy day, and as dusk approached, the sky had completely darkened.
Although nothing happened after a whole day of guarding, the guards stationed around the county government office still dared not slack off. They stood ramrod straight, their expressions solemn, their eyes fixed straight ahead.
It wasn't until the light was so dim that they could barely see each other that someone discussed getting a lamp.
Just then, a slender figure emerged from the quiet courtyard.
Although her head was lowered and her face was obscured, judging from her clothing and hairstyle, she was Wo Xue, the maid who had just carried the food box in to take care of Princess Qin. She was carrying an empty food box in one hand and wiping her eyes with a handkerchief in the other, as if she had just been crying.
The group exchanged glances but said nothing, automatically making way for her.
Nao Xue thanked them and left in a hurry.
They watched her slender figure disappear at the end of the long corridor before turning around. One of the younger guards said softly, "She was fine when she went in, so why did she come out crying?"
Another, slightly older guard glanced back at the quiet courtyard and the house with its doors and windows tightly shut. Under the gloomy sky, the atmosphere was oppressively suffocating. He sighed softly and said, "Our Princess Qin is no ordinary person."
The young guard's eyes widened: "What do you mean?"
The older guard said, "Ordinary imperial concubines and princesses are all delicate and only know how to enjoy life—even Empress Du back then, who sat in the court, only stayed in the court. But this Princess Qin is different; she can go to the battlefield."
"battlefield?"
"Yes, it's Fufeng from a few days ago—"
The older guard had personally experienced the Battle of Fufeng and witnessed how Shang Ruyi "arrowed the clouds and pierced the golden sky, setting off a prairie fire that sank the nine provinces." He then recounted the earth-shattering battle in detail, leaving the younger guard speechless for a long time.
"so,"
The older guard concluded, "This time, His Highness the Prince of Qin actually refused to allow the Princess Consort to accompany him, and even locked her up here, making us guard her. Can this Princess Consort tolerate this?"
"..."
"That girl who just went in probably got scolded too."
"..."
The young guard was speechless for a long time. He turned around and glanced again at the courtyard, which was no longer clearly visible in the dim light, and the dark house with its doors and windows tightly closed. After a while, he took a deep breath and whispered, "Then we must serve you carefully."
"That's natural."
As they were talking, the person who went to get the lantern returned.
Just as they walked up to them with lanterns, a sudden gust of wind blew, causing them to sway. Suddenly, they heard a loud crash coming from the courtyard not far behind them.
It was the wind that blew the door open.
The group paused for a moment, then exchanged glances, all looking somewhat bewildered.
Could it be that when Wo Xue left, she didn't lock the door?
Thinking this, the group panicked and hurriedly grabbed their lanterns and went over. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw that the gate was wide open, and the wind was blowing it against the wall, making a loud clanging sound. The room was pitch black, without a single ray of light.
There wasn't a sound from anyone.
The group grew increasingly uneasy and cautiously approached. The flickering light of their lanterns in the wind finally managed to illuminate the area inside the gate. There, they saw a slender figure lying on the ground, dressed in the casual clothes that the Princess Qin usually wore. The group was so frightened that their legs went weak, and they hurriedly went inside.
But as soon as they got closer, the candlelight shone on the face of the person on the ground.
It was none other than Wo Xue, who had just left!
At the same time, the soldiers guarding the city walls of Qixian raised their torches. As the appointed time approached, they walked to the city gate, preparing to close it, when a very soft voice suddenly sounded behind them—
"Wait a moment."
Everyone stopped immediately and turned around. In the dim light, they saw a slender woman walking out of the city. Her clothes were not thick, but she wore a veiled hat. The veil was blown by the wind and clung to her face, outlining her clear and beautiful features.
She walked over, gave a simple bow to the crowd, and said, "I want to leave the city."
After saying that, he turned and walked out.
The soldiers guarding the city were stunned for a moment, unable to react. Just as she was about to reach the gate, one of the soldiers suddenly said, "Wait!"
The woman paused for a moment, but did not stop. Instead, she quickened her pace and walked away.
Several soldiers immediately caught up and blocked her way, forcing the woman to stop. She took a deep breath, raised her head, and looked at the city guards through the semi-transparent veil. In a low but polite voice, she said, "Gentlemen, what are your orders?"
The soldier guarding the city looked down at her carefully again, feeling that she looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen her before. He frowned and said, "The higher-ups have given instructions that Qixian can only be entered, not left. To leave the city, we have to wait for Taiyuan—we have to wait two days for orders from above. Miss, please go back."
The woman paused for a moment, then said in a low voice, "But I have urgent business and must leave the city."
The soldiers looked at each other, finding the man increasingly suspicious.
The soldier looked at her carefully for a couple more times, then moved in front of her, completely blocking her way out of the city, and said, "What's the urgent matter? Tell us."
The woman looked at the mountain-like figures surrounding her, but she didn't seem as terrified as an ordinary person encountering soldiers. She just lowered her head and thought for a while before raising her head to look at the soldiers in front of her and saying calmly and clearly, "It's about the Prince of Qin's mansion."
"What!?"
Everyone was shocked and before they could react, they saw her take something out of her bosom.
Upon closer inspection, it was indeed the token from the Prince of Qin's residence!
This woman was actually—
Although these soldiers guarding the city were the lowest-ranking soldiers, due to the special nature of their positions, they knew very well which team they were on. Now that Qi County had been recovered by Prince Yuwen Ye of Qin, they were guarding the city gates strictly, allowing entry but not exit, because His Highness Prince Qin was going to attack Taiyuan, and they were doing this to prevent the news from leaking out.
The woman in front of them was holding a token from the Qin Prince's mansion, so she was naturally working for His Highness the Qin Prince.
With that, no one dared to stop her anymore. The city guards who were blocking her way immediately took two steps back. The woman silently put away the token, nodded to them, and then quickly walked out.
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the long street inside the city gate.
Several soldiers turned around and saw a tall guard rushing over from the other side of the street. As soon as he saw the woman's slender figure about to walk out of the city gate, he stamped his foot and shouted, "Stop her!"
The soldiers guarding the city were stunned and had no time to react when the man shouted again, "Stop her! She is the Princess Consort of Qin!"
"What!?"
Everyone was shocked and hurriedly turned their heads. The woman's slender figure also trembled and subconsciously looked back. Just then, a gust of wind blew by, and the sound of the wind seemed to be mixed with dust and a faint whistling sound. Suddenly, it lifted the veil on her head, revealing a beautiful face.
It was none other than Princess Shang Ruyi of Qin!
"It really is—!"
The city guard who had just recognized her gasped in shock. He then remembered that he had seen her before when he was on guard duty. He just hadn’t expected that she would leave again in the same outfit after only two days!
The soldier immediately shouted, "Halt!"
As soon as he spoke, Shang Ruyi turned around and ran quickly out of the city.
In an instant, everyone panicked and hurriedly chased after her, shouting as they ran, "Your Highness, please wait!"
"Don't run away!"
"Stop! Don't run!"
At that moment, amidst the howling wind, there was not only a faint whistling sound from an unknown source, but also the deafening pounding of a heart, like thunder—it was Shang Ruyi's own heartbeat. She gritted her teeth and ran forward desperately. The icy wind cut across her cheeks like knives, but at that moment, she felt no pain, not even the cold; she only wanted to leave this place.
She wants to go back.
She wanted to return to Shen Wuzheng's side, even if—
Even if—!
However, even though she was prepared and ran forward with all her might, she was still just a woman, and the soldiers behind her were chasing closely. Before long, they were about to catch up with her!
Just then, they suddenly sensed something was amiss.
The howling wind grew closer and louder, eventually becoming more and more deafening, even shaking the ground beneath their feet.
That is—
Everyone instinctively looked in the direction of the wind. Shang Ruyi also turned around amidst the deafening roar. Her disheveled hair tangled in front of her eyes, creating a scene that astonished her!
Suddenly, a group of people rushed out from the other side of the road!
These men were all as strong as mountains, but they were not wearing the thick coats and jackets that people usually wore. Instead, they wore rough but rugged clothes made of animal fur. Their shouts were sharp and piercing, and they seemed to reach straight into the sky!
They are Turks!
Shang Ruyi's eyes widened as she saw a rider charging towards her. The rider was tall and imposing, but he wore a wolf-head mask that covered the upper half of his face, revealing only his resolute chin and tightly closed lips. Just as his horse was about to collide with her, the man suddenly leaned down and reached out his hand to her!
"ah!"
Shang Ruyi let out a short, urgent cry, but before she could react, she felt herself being lifted into the air.
The next moment, she was scooped up by the waist and pulled into his arms.
Even though she was already heartbroken, Shang Ruyi was terrified at this moment. She immediately struggled and shouted, "Let me go! Who are you?!"
Just as she was about to break free and jump off the horse, the man said nothing, grabbed her two slender wrists with one hand and pulled them together, while his other hand held the reins and wrapped them around her wrists a few times, tightly binding Shang Ruyi's hands in one go!
"you--!"
Shang Ruyi was shocked and was about to say something when her voice was interrupted by the increasingly heavy hoofbeats behind her. She hurriedly looked over the man's shoulder and saw that the group of city guards who had just been chasing Shang Ruyi were being knocked off their feet by the sudden appearance of the Turkic soldiers. Some of them were trampled to death by the horses' hooves, while the few who were lucky enough to survive fled into the city in a panic.
Immediately, the sound of gongs and drums rang out from inside the city, and then soldiers rode out in pursuit.
But it was all too late.
The group moved swiftly. After capturing Shang Ruyi, they only glanced at the city before galloping westward without lingering. In no time, they had left their pursuers far behind.
Shang Ruyi felt cold all over.
She could tell that this man was very skilled at chasing prey and even more skilled at handling prey on horseback. Now that she was in his hands, running away was simply impossible.
She bit her lower lip, forcing herself to calm down. Although the horse beneath her was galloping wildly, constantly jolting the rider, especially her, her thoughts had long been shattered.
Just then, a deep voice sounded overhead—
"Princess Consort of Qin?"
Shang Ruyi's heart skipped a beat. She looked up and met the wolf head mask. She couldn't see the eyes behind the mask, but she could clearly feel the cold and sharp look in the other person's eyes.
"You are Yuwen Ye's woman?"
"...!"
Shang Ruyi's heart was pounding wildly.
But at this point, denial was useless. After all, the people who had been chasing her had been shouting "Princess Qin" all along. They had obviously understood what she meant when they suddenly rushed out and grabbed her. Denial was not only useless, but it also made them look worse.
Thinking of this, she took a deep breath and faced the cold, wolf-head mask with composure: "And who are you?"
The Turk paused for a moment.
Although the wolf head mask completely covered the upper half of his face and concealed all his emotions, Shang Ruyi could still sense that he seemed somewhat surprised for a moment just now.
I was surprised that this woman was so composed.
To be so frank.
After a brief silence, he suddenly raised a hand and lifted the mask off his face.
Suddenly, a handsome yet rugged face came into Shang Ruyi's view.
This man was probably in his early twenties. Although young, his skin was rough, his face was covered in stubble, and the corners of his eyes and brows showed the marks of time. But even these marks could not erase his handsome features, nor could they smooth out his sharp eyebrows and high nose. Only his thin lips, pressed into a line and slightly upturned at one corner, added a touch of softness to his rugged face.
Shang Ruyi held her breath: "You are—"
The man didn't look down at her; his wolfish eyes remained fixed ahead.
"Ashina Zhuxie".
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