"girl!"
A horse galloped over suddenly, and the people on the street were frightened and fled in panic. Ah Jing was covered in blood, and the true color of her clothes could no longer be seen. "The prince is retreating from the Purple Gold Gate and heading towards the West Gate. Come with me quickly."
Chu Qiao nodded silently, put aside the chaotic thoughts in her mind, and followed A Jing.
Heavy cries followed closely behind, extending all the way.
Turning around Ziwei Square, one could see Yanbei's Iron Eagle Battle Flag, ferociously fluttering in the red night. Countless black-armored soldiers stood on the long street in front of Ziwei Square, their swords sharp and murderous aura everywhere. A man in a black robe sat upright on the horse, standing proudly, looking straight ahead, his face as white as jade, his eyes as bright as stars, handsome and elegant, like a sword drawn from its sheath, emitting huge murderous aura and sharp edge!
Chu Qiao was suddenly stunned and didn't move forward for a long time, as if she didn't recognize him. Ah Jing was behind her and was slightly stunned, "Girl, why don't you leave?"
"Oh, nothing."
The sound was so small that even Ajing could hardly hear it in the chaotic night. But the man standing a hundred steps away suddenly frowned, turned his head quickly, and his eyes were like sharp swords, piercing the girl.
The grim expression disappeared immediately, Yan Xun smiled, spurred his horse to a gallop, and shouted loudly: "Ah Chu!"
In eight years, Chu Qiao had never seen him laugh so happily. The girl exhaled slowly and then threw all the chaotic thoughts out of her mind. Forget it. Even if there are millions of corpses, even if it is a sea of blood and a mountain of swords, I have been through it with him. How can I be obsessed with those things at this time? As long as he is still there, as long as he is okay, as long as they can still smile at each other, everything is enough.
The girl rode forward with a bright smile.
At this moment, the crisp sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the direction of the Purple Gold Gate. Chu Qiao and Yan Xun were both startled. Would anyone leave the palace at this time?
“Brother Xun!” A girl in a bright red wedding gown suddenly jumped off her horse and stood in front of Yan Xun. Her eyes were red and swollen, and she looked panicked. She spoke incoherently, “Don’t do this, don’t do this. Chun’er won’t marry anymore. Chun’er won’t force you anymore. Go away! Father will kill you! No, you can’t go. Go and admit your mistake to Father. Brother Xun, it’s Chun’er’s fault, it’s Chun’er’s fault!”
Yan Xun frowned and looked at Chu Qiao in confusion. Chu Qiao's heart sank as she looked at Zhao Chun'er's messy hair and pale face with reluctance. The disgust she once had for her disappeared in an instant. This silly princess, didn't she understand until now?
"Brother Xun, don't do anything stupid!" The girl burst into tears and suddenly sat on the ground weakly, covering her face with her hands. That night, she was so tired that big tears fell from between her fingers and landed on her bright red wedding dress.
"Yan Xun! You lunatic, how dare you rebel? I have considered you a friend for so many years, look at what you have done?"
Suddenly, another warhorse came running. Zhao Song, dressed in a pine green brocade robe, ran up to him quickly. Suddenly, he saw Zhao Chun'er and said angrily, "Chun'er! Why don't you come over here? This man is plotting treason, and you are still following him?"
Zhao Chun'er stood up in panic, turned around and looked at Zhao Song. Despite her fear, she did something that shocked everyone. She slowly opened her frail arms, protecting Yan Xun and the massive army behind her, and shook her head stubbornly, "Thirteenth Brother, it's not like that. He just doesn't want to marry me. He just wants to protest to our father..."
"Fool!" Zhao Song shouted angrily, "He wants the military power of Yanbei! You fool!"
Zhao Chun'er frowned, her face turned pale, and she whispered, "Military...military power?"
"If you don't believe me, go ask him!"
Zhao Chun'er was like a puppet, slowly lowering her arms. She turned around slowly, her eyes wide open, and asked in a low voice in disbelief: "Brother Xun, he is lying to me. You are not going to rebel, are you? You just want to seek justice from the emperor, right?"
The wind is cold and bleak, and smoke is everywhere. Zhao Chun'er was thin and had a pale face. She looked at Yan Xun eagerly, as if she was looking at the last hope in her life.
Yan Xun raised his eyebrows slightly, showing a bit of impatience, and finally said in a deep voice: "I have wanted to rebel for a long time, and it has nothing to do with you. I have never thought of marrying you."
"Ungrateful beast! Say it again!" Zhao Song drew the sword from his waist, and his pine green robe fluttered in the cold wind, like a ferocious eagle tearing its majestic feathers. The man who had always been free and kind stood in the cold wind, with sharp eyes and murderous look on his face. The aura of the Great Xia royal family instantly revived in him!
Yan Xun's usual calm and docile expression changed. His face became cold and he glanced at Zhao Song out of the corner of his eyes.
Behind the man was a night as dark as ink. Under his iron hoof, the entire imperial city was trembling. In his ears, he seemed to hear the sound of the decaying Shengjin Palace collapsing. He slowly raised the corners of his mouth, his voice as cold as a knife, "Ungrateful? What gratitude do you have for Yanbei and Daxia?"
Zhao Song snorted coldly and said sternly: "Father raised you for ten years and treated you as his own son. Not only did he enthrone you as the King of Yanbei, he also betrothed Chun'er to you. How great is this grace? But you are ungrateful, betrayed the country, and massacred the people of the imperial capital. Yan Xun, you have a blatantly wolfish ambition and you deserve to be killed!"
A cold wind blew, and a man in a black robe suddenly sneered, "You raised me for ten years and treated me like your own child? The bones of Shang Shen are still there on the plateau, and the blood on the Jiuyou Terrace has not yet coagulated. Zhao Song, is this the great grace of your Zhao royal family?"
Zhao Song was stunned for a moment, then raised his eyebrows and said sternly: "The King of Yanbei rebelled and the imperial army sent troops to suppress him. It is a righteous army..."
"Enough!" Yan Xun suddenly shouted, his face showing impatience, and said coldly, "You don't need to say more. History books are always the words of the victors. The merits and demerits of thousands of years are free for future generations to judge. You and I don't need to argue here. Zhao Song, for the sake of our friendship for many years, I will let you go today. Go back and tell your father that I, Yan Xun, have rebelled."
At this moment, a firecracker shop in the south of the city was set on fire. With a loud bang, fireworks exploded high into the sky. The sky, which was illuminated red by the fire, suddenly became colorful. Yan Xun's eyes looked like the morning stars in the sky in the darkness, bright and firm as iron.
Eight years of planning, only one day of action. Can the mighty Great Xia afford such tremendous wrath?
"you!"
“Zhao Song!” A clear female voice suddenly came. Chu Qiao rode forward and said in a deep voice, “Go back.”
"Ah Chu?" Zhao Song frowned in pain, "Are you going to be my enemy too?"
Chu Qiao looked at Zhao Song's face. Beside her were iron-blooded soldiers, and behind her was the capital of Zhenhuang engulfed in flames. Everything seemed like a dream, and time passed by quickly. She recalled that many years ago, in the Meilin Snow Garden, the young man in an emerald green brocade robe arrogantly shouted at her: "It's you! I'm calling you!"
In a blink of an eye, so many bloody years have passed. She raised her head, looked firmly at the young man on horseback, and said in a deep voice, "I have never thought of becoming your enemy. I will never forget the eight years of protection you have given me."
Zhao Song heaved a long sigh, his expression slightly relieved, and he hurriedly said: "That's good, Ah Chu, come back with me, don't follow him, I will ask my father for you..."
"But I want to be the enemy of the entire Great Xia Empire." These decisive words suddenly came out of the girl's mouth, and Zhao Song was stunned on the spot. Chu Qiao rode forward and stood beside Yan Xun. "You should understand my position. I have never changed."
"Okay," Zhao Song smiled sadly, his eyes bloodshot and his voice hoarse, "even if I was blind before."
With a sharp swish, Zhao Song swung his sword, leaving a white mark on the blue brick and stone slabs of the long street. The man's face was fierce, and he said in a stern voice: "From now on, I, Zhao Song, will cut ties with the two of you. If we meet on the battlefield in the future, we will not be friends, but enemies! Chun'er, follow me!"
Zhao Chun'er's eyes were wide open, and she had been unresponsive like a doll. When she heard Zhao Song's voice, she suddenly raised her head, her eyes were watery, and she stretched out her white little hand, trying to pull Yan Xun's boots. The man on horseback frowned slightly, reined in his horse and backed away. Zhao Chun'er grabbed nothing and saw a small white hand stretched in the air, with even a dark red bloodstain on it.
That streak of blood was from the messenger she had killed. It was the first time she had ever killed someone in her life.
With a burp, Zhao Chun'er suddenly knelt on the ground, opened her mouth and began to vomit frantically. The acid in her stomach was vomited out and stuck to the gorgeous wedding gown, staining the pair of mandarin ducks that symbolized a happy marriage and a long-lasting love.
"Why is this happening?" The girl raised her pale face, like a hairless puppy in winter, tears falling down her face. Her voice was not trembling, but it was filled with a chilling sadness, as if the people around her no longer existed, and she was the only one saying, "It's all my fault. Brother Xun, why wasn't Chun'er by your side when father killed the entire Yan family?
"Over the years, I have always regretted that if Chun'er was here, even if she couldn't save Prince Yan, she could still protect Brother Xun and protect you from being bullied by others. But Chun'er was too young at the time, and my mother locked me up in the main hall. No matter how much I cried, she refused to let me out. Xiaotao built a cabinet for me, and the two of us climbed up from it, lifted the tiles, and tried to escape from the roof, but we accidentally fell down, alarming my mother."
Zhao Chun'er suddenly began to sob, her voice trembling, tears falling more and more violently, "And then... then Xiao Tao was beaten to death by the people in my mother's palace. I... I saw it with my own eyes, her waist was broken, blood kept flowing out of her mouth... flowing out... flowing for a long way, soaking my boots, so hot, like burning fire.
"Brother Xun, I am so useless. I dare not run away anymore. Even in the first two years, I did not dare to visit you in your yard. I was scared and timid. I always had nightmares. Xiao Tao's blood kept flowing and was about to drown me. It went over my neck, and my mouth and eyes were all red."
Zhao Chun'er hugged her shoulders with both hands and shrank her head back in fear, as if the blood was really about to drown her. She bit her lower lip, raised her head, and tears fell. "But brother Xun, please don't rebel, okay? Father will kill you. Chun'er doesn't want anything anymore. I won't force you, I won't force you to marry me. I just want you to live well, even if you can't see me. As long as you live well, that's enough."