Chapter 844 The Truth - Twenty Years Ago 5
The beggar's voice rang out, startling everyone like a ghost.
Those who reacted quickly knew that this beggar was not someone to be trifled with, and they were about to run away, but before they could take two steps, they felt a spurt of blood gushing from their necks and they fell directly to the ground.
"Ah... murder!"
Someone screamed in fright, but as soon as he finished speaking, he felt a sharp pain in his neck and his neck was snapped instantly.
"You, you are not a beggar."
Finally, the old man endured the pain and spoke up. Upon hearing this, the beggar licked his lips and gave the group a wicked smile.
“That’s right, I’m not a beggar. You people are all perfectly capable, yet you’re unwilling to earn your own living, and you even bully others. It’s utterly despicable. Didn’t you just say this was a dead end? Now I’ll send you all on your way, to this dead end.”
As he spoke, the man moved swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, all of them died under his sword.
Looking at the dagger in his hand, the man took out a fine piece of silk and wiped it clean of the blood before throwing it away with a flick of his wrist.
"It's practically a dirty knife from Prince Ben."
As soon as the man finished speaking, a shadow descended from the sky and stood in front of him.
"Your Highness, a scout reports that the Crown Prince and Princess of Wei are heading towards the capital behind our ranks."
As soon as Shadow finished speaking, Xu Menglong's eyes narrowed instantly.
"The Great Zhou has only one princess, and the Wei Kingdom's trip must be aimed at the eldest princess. I have already inquired about the eldest princess's situation. Tomorrow, the eldest princess will leave the palace to visit the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and the Duchess. Make some preparations for that time, and I will make the eldest princess fall in love with me in advance."
This alliance was supposedly a diplomatic liaison among three states, but for the war-loving Jin state, joining forces with the Zhou state to resist Wei was the better option than allying with Wei.
After all, if war really breaks out, and one of the countries is defeated, then when the two countries are at odds, it will be more advantageous for them to have a weaker ally.
After listening to his lord's words, Shadow nodded, leaped onto the roof, and disappeared.
After Xu Menglong took off his beggar's clothes, he inexplicably took the oil paper package back with him.
After having someone prepare a bath and cleaning himself, Xu Menglong changed into clean and crisp clothes before returning to his room.
On the table was the oil paper package he had brought back. Xu Menglong was already a little hungry, and looking at the fragrant oil paper package, he couldn't help but swallow.
"No, I am the Crown Prince of a nation. How can I accept food from a little beggar?"
Xu Menglong had already reached for the oil paper package, but when he thought of this, he slowly withdrew his hand.
The image of the girl I saw today gradually emerged in my mind; her smile was so sweet, so very sweet.
Xu Menglong couldn't remember the last time he had seen such genuinely caring eyes. It seemed to be when he was a child, before his mother was killed by those people, and when he was still a carefree child.
Unfortunately, the emperor was blinded by lust, favoring his treacherous concubine and neglecting his mother. He even had his mother banished to the cold palace because of the concubine's scheme.
If it weren't for his maternal grandfather's influence and the emperor's wariness, his mother probably wouldn't have been able to leave the cold palace alive.
Even though the emperor was forced to release his mother and restore her to the position of empress, he still refused to even look at her.
In the long, lonely nights, the Empress Dowager's feelings for the Emperor gradually faded. She grew thinner and thinner, until she died, when she was nothing but skin and bones.
Everyone thought his mother had died from excessive worry and grief, but he knew it was all the work of the treacherous concubine. He even asked his mother to tell his father. But his mother said, "Your father doesn't trust me anyway, so why should I offend him?"
Yes, he never trusted his mother anyway, so what was the point of her telling him?
Later, when he grew older, the treacherous concubine gave birth to a child and wanted him to abdicate in favor of the child. But how could he possibly give up his position as crown prince? So he personally killed the child and framed someone else, watching the palace infighting, which gave him immense pleasure.
From then on, Xu Menglong rarely smiled. In his view, power was the most important thing in the world.
He wants to start a war, to dominate the entire continent, and he is even willing to sacrifice anyone, including himself, to achieve his goals.
But he never imagined that one day he would be so disturbed by someone's smile.
"Someone, bring me some food."
Xu Menglong put the oil paper package aside, deciding not to look at it again, but that smile, those eyes, that white figure seemed to have taken root in his mind, impossible to shake off.
In the end, Xu Menglong opened the oil paper package. Inside was more than half a roast goose. The roast goose tasted very similar. Xu Menglong swallowed and took a big bite.
The taste wasn't particularly outstanding, but because it was given to him by the girl in white, Xu Menglong ate it with great relish.
At that moment, Xu Menglong had no idea that that one glance would last for eternity.
Princess Baiyun returned to the inn and gave the large bag of things to the two guards who stayed behind to work. Mu Fan wanted to say something to Princess Baiyun, but she waved her hand.
"I'm tired. Any important matters can wait until tomorrow. Also, no one is allowed to disturb my sleep."
Princess Baiyun closed the door before Mu Fan could react.
Mu Fan had been by Princess Baiyun's side for many years and knew her personality quite well. Seeing that she had entered the room, and since his own affairs were not particularly important, he did not say anything.
Bai Xu was tired from traveling today, and seeing that there was nothing else to do, he went back to his room and fell into a deep sleep.
Zhong Yi and Mu Fan exchanged a glance, then silently took their things and left.
The next morning, the eldest princess was the first to go to the empress's palace to pay her respects.
Looking at the princess who had been raised by her for many years, the empress sighed softly.
"Showa, are you aware of the news that the states of Wei and Jin have come to propose marriage?"
Upon hearing this, the eldest princess nodded to the empress, "I have heard the palace servants mention it."
The marriage alliance was no small matter, and the previous dynasty had known about it long ago. As the eldest princess, how could she not know?
The Empress nodded upon hearing this. "It's good that you know, so I don't have to tell you again. However, both countries want to form a marriage alliance this time, and your father only has you as his daughter. So, your father and I are having a bit of a headache in choosing which country to marry into."
As she spoke, the Empress pressed her temples as if she were genuinely troubled by the matter.
Upon seeing this, the eldest princess hurriedly said, "Mother, please don't worry. Although the diplomatic correspondence between the two countries mentions the marriage alliance, it doesn't say that it must be Father's own princess."
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