Changing allegiance between morning and evening
"Stop talking!" Li Chongyu roared, his long sword already drawn, pointing directly at Su Rouhua. He said sternly, "Father has never wanted to hear anything from you, and neither have I!"
He paused for a moment, then said, "Didn't you ask me why I refused to see you before, but am willing to see you tonight?"
A strange light flashed in Su Rouhua's eyes as she said, "Isn't it because you've come to your senses and decided to cooperate with me?"
She said, word by word, "Rather than trusting those fickle Southern Dynasty people, you should trust me. Although the Hidden Moon Clan is small in number, each member is an elite warrior capable of taking on a hundred men. In terms of individual combat strength, I can boast that we surpass any other tribe in the Hu tribe. Moreover, my strength has already infiltrated the upper echelons of all the Hu tribes. If you are willing to cooperate with me, not only can you avenge your father's death, but even if you want to overthrow the Southern Dynasty and take its place, it will not be difficult."
A Qiu felt a slight chill in his heart upon hearing this, but immediately stopped breathing and entered a state of fetal breathing.
If what Su Rouhua said is true, the Hidden Moon Clan itself has limited strength, but it is an intermediary force in the intricate alliance of the northern nomadic tribes. If they fully support Li Chongyu, with the strength of the Shuofang Army, it would not be difficult for them to dominate the north, and it is not impossible for them to march south and take over Dayan.
Compared to other non-Han ethnic groups that adopted or claimed to rule under Han Chinese customs, Li Chongyu had at least one inherent political advantage: he was a Han Chinese, making him more easily accepted by the people of the Central Plains and the gentry of Jiangdong.
In politics, the most important thing is whether the people support you. Being able to conquer a territory does not mean you can win the hearts of the people or rule for a long time.
Li Chongyu slowly raised his sword, a bitter smile playing on his lips, and said without hesitation, "Any man who trusts the clan leader is probably a fool who thinks he has too long a life. Clan leader, you should draw your weapon!"
As the leader of the most mysterious Hidden Moon Clan in the desert, Su Rouhua had never suffered such an insult before. Her expression changed as she asked, "Did your father say these words?"
Li Chongyu's expression remained unchanged as he coldly said, "Father has never been interested in your affairs, let alone mentioned them. But as the new ruler of You and Yan, how could I not know the style and behavior of 'Great Desert Flower' Su Rouhua?"
He paused slightly, seemingly forcing himself to speak, but finally said, "You are called the Hidden Moon Saintess, but in reality, you move among the powerful and influential among the various tribes, and have unclear relationships with the Xiongnu Prince Yi, the Northern Khan, the Tu Bao father and son of the Western Qin, and the Murong brothers of the Xianbei. The grasslands are governed by each tribe, and I originally had no interest in interfering in the affairs of the Su tribe chief. However, since the Su tribe chief has repeatedly extended his reach into my home, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Su Rouhua, beautiful and charming, gazed at Li Chongyu and said with a bitter smile, "After experiencing being raised by others, losing my father on the battlefield, and relying on the Yao family, I thought you would understand me and be different from those children who were raised by their fathers in the palace tents from childhood and only knew how to be arrogant and decadent. But I didn't expect that this was just wishful thinking on my part."
She raised her voice, suddenly turning cold and ruthless: "Are you too naive, or am I too soft-hearted towards you and your son? Who isn't like that on the battlefield? Men can be fickle and change their allegiance for profit, so why should women be subject to your and your son's prejudice and criticism for doing the same?"
Facing Li Chongyu's blade, she turned without fear, stood with her hands behind her back, and continued, "You disregard your father's revenge, and you don't care about the Southern Dynasty's consistent contempt and insults towards your Shuofang army. You've traveled thousands of miles just for 'paying homage,' how laughable. You command an army of hundreds of thousands, built up over two generations, yet you willingly become slaves to the Southern Dynasty. How is a dignified eight-foot man any better than me, Su Rouhua, who uses my beauty to serve others?"
She turned around again, her deep green eyes filled with a mixture of deep hatred and regret, and said, "Do you think your father was a pure gentleman? Do you think he never had any thoughts about me? If that were the case, how could you exist!"
She said coldly, "It's just that when he found out I was Su Rouhua, he immediately made up his mind to abandon me. Of course, he abandoned not only me, but also you."
"Have you ever thought that if he had accepted us, mother and son, back then, everything would have been different?"
Li Chongyu was forced to take a step back by her imposing manner, but then she continued, "You only know your father now, but not your mother. You wholeheartedly recognize the man who abandoned us as your father, and even call his wife your mother, while ignoring and disregarding your birth mother. Isn't this because of the power and status of the Marquis of Guannei?"
Su Rouhua took another step forward, staring intently at him, and said, "You only resent that I didn't raise you back then, but if I had raised you, would you still have a place as the Marquis of Guannei today? You have obvious Han Chinese features and are a child abandoned by your father. What kind of discrimination would you face in my tribe? Do you really want to live among the Hu people as a Han Chinese illegitimate child?"
She said coldly, yet with a touch of sorrow, "If I hadn't abandoned you so completely, how could your father have accepted you!" She flicked her sleeve and said, "You are where you are today because of your own hard work, but have you ever thought about your mother's schemes behind the scenes?"
She went a step further and said, "And the real culprit behind all your misfortunes, shouldn't it be your heartless and ungrateful father?"
Li Chongyu turned pale from the barrage of questions, but he remained steadfast. Although this was the first time in many years that he had learned the truth about his origins, he still insisted, "My birth was unwelcome to anyone, and there's no need for the clan leader to repeatedly remind me of that. But don't forget, it was you, the clan leader, who caused this unwelcome child to be born, not someone else. Even if my father had some immoral thoughts, that's not a reason for you to deliberately test someone's character and morality."
Su Rouhua finally flew into a rage, her voice trembling as she said, "Are you saying I shouldn't have let you be born? Should I have strangled you the moment you were born? How do you know that I deliberately seduced you to test your father's loyalty and character? How do you know that I wasn't genuinely looking for a man who could protect me and even the entire Hidden Moon Clan? I just didn't expect him to reject me so resolutely and thoroughly!"
Li Chongyu remained unmoved, raising his knife and saying slowly, "Then please stop targeting his child. Let the child fend for itself. That way, I will believe you are innocent and that you once had genuine feelings." As he spoke the last sentence, a hint of sarcasm mixed with a self-deprecating bitter smile escaped his lips.
Ultimately, Li Chongyu was the one who suffered the most in this incident.
A bitter smile, cryptic in her expression, appeared on Su Rouhua's lips as she softly said, "Child, you should understand that for people like us, who are born to deal with power and manipulation, sincerity and exploitation are always intertwined, and interests and feelings cannot be clearly separated."
Li Chongyu roared, "But that's no reason for you to hurt Aunt Miao!"
At the same time, a murderous aura surged from within the divine aura, and strangely shaped blades, gleaming with cold light, finally cleaved down.
Su Rouhua dodged the attack with a swift movement, feigning surprise as she asked, "Is that lowly servant girl surnamed Hu dead?"
Li Chongyu held his long sword horizontally and said in a deep voice, "Chu Mao and his son have already told me the whole story. You visited the Beining Pavilion before she died. If it wasn't you, who else could it be?"
Su Rouhua said softly, "Didn't you ever consider that Chu Mao and his son might have been bought off and won over by the Southern Dynasty after being in the Southern Dynasty for so long?"
A Qiu immediately thought to herself, "Wow, that's impressive!" Su Rouhua's art of winning hearts and minds was indeed unparalleled.
Li Chongyu's expression changed immediately, because he had never considered this possibility.
Su Rouhua observed this calmly and said, "Didn't anyone tell you that Hu Miaorong died from the 'Qianji San' of the Southern Dynasty? I guess they probably didn't tell you either that before Hu Miaorong died, I wasn't the only one who visited her; there was also a female official from the Southern Dynasty and her attendants."
At this moment, A Qiu was also shocked by her sophistry. She never expected that when they passed each other briefly in the corridor of Beining Pavilion, she would be accused of the crime of Hu Miaorong's death.
How could it be so seamless, so perfectly accomplished?
Every word Su Rouhua said was true, and when put together, they vividly formed the complete impression that someone in the Southern Dynasty wanted to harm Hu Miaorong.
A Qiu was also relieved at this moment. Fortunately, Gu Yi had disguised himself as her attendant and had not revealed his identity. Otherwise, if he had been implicated, things would have been even more complicated.
Li Chongyu said in a deep voice, "Why would people from the Southern Dynasty want to harm Aunt Miao?"
Knowing that she had finally persuaded Li Chongyu, Su Rouhua said softly, "How would I know? They probably have something they need to get from her, but they're afraid you'll find out, so they have no choice but to take the initiative and get rid of her!"
Her lie was flawless and airtight. She neither connected the matter to herself nor misled Li Chongyu into thinking about it.
Hu Miaorong was a woman; she would never possess important secrets such as military intelligence maps. The only secret she was responsible for keeping was this one.
That is Li Chongyu's background.
Su Rouhua seized the opportunity, quickly approached Li Chongyu, looked at him intently, and said, "The reason why I immediately asked you to come here as soon as you arrived in the capital is because I was worried that you would fall into a trap without realizing it, so I came here to warn you."
She frowned slightly and said, "The rumors circulating in the capital these days are very unfavorable to you. The people of the Southern Dynasty have always looked down on your father, yet they covet the Shuofang Army under his control. Now I fear they will use the same old trick to undermine you."
Li Chongyu sheathed his longsword and withdrew it behind him, saying calmly, "Thank you for your concern, Clan Chief. I will find out exactly how Aunt Miao died. Anyone who tries to deceive me, Li Chongyu, will have to think carefully about the consequences!"
After saying that, he strode away, lost in thought, without looking back.
He originally came to seek justice for Hu Miaorong's death, but now that the matter is shrouded in mystery, he decisively gave up his entanglement with Su Rouhua, demonstrating his clear-cut decision-making and the demeanor of a great general.
Su Rouhua watched him stride away with his heroic bearing and let out a soft sigh.
A figure flashed out from behind her; it was Princess Wansui, who was veiled. However, her deep green eyes were almost identical to Su Rouhua's, so A Qiu recognized her at a glance.
At that moment, she suddenly realized something.
That's why her heart raced several times that night when she overheard Princess Wansui and Su Rouhua's conversation.
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