Chapter 109, Extra 11: Princess and the Savage Tyrant
When the envoys from the Northern Barbarian Kingdom arrived in Yuncang, it was March, the season of green grass and flying birds.
As the envoy traveled along the way, he saw that the Yuncang Kingdom was backed by the vast ocean, with fertile land and a prosperous life. Wherever he passed, there were flowers blooming and the country was peaceful and the people were safe. He thought to himself: No wonder the prince is obsessed with Yuncang and dreams of leading the wolf cavalry to swallow it up.
Think about my own country, with snow-capped mountains behind it and wasteland in front of it. It is cold all year round and it is difficult to see a flower. The contrast is really tragic.
However, it was precisely because of this that the soldiers of Yuncang State, who lived in a gentle water town, were completely defenseless when facing the Northern Barbarian Wolf Cavalry. They abandoned five cities within half a month. If the King of Yuncang had not asked for peace overnight, the 100,000 wolf cavalry of the Northern Barbarians would have been at the gates of Yuncang City by now.
The prince is an unpredictable person who does not play by the rules. When he sent out his troops, he was eyeing Yuncang as a sure thing, but he changed his mind halfway through the fight and no longer wanted to swallow it.
Yuncang and Beiman are too far apart, with the Kunlun Mountains between them. If they were to be annexed, it would be very inconvenient to manage them.
Moreover, this place is rich in water and fertile in soil, with high skies and long waters, so whoever comes here will be a local tyrant. The prince is also suspicious, and he is not at ease no matter who he sends to station troops.
So when the King of Yuncang hurriedly sent a letter asking for peace, the prince thought about it for a moment and agreed.
From then on, Yuncang became a vassal state of Beiman, paying tribute every year. The two countries signed a non-aggression treaty, and the Yuncang State would send a royal princess to Beiman as a marriage.
The envoy came to Yuncang with three hundred wolf cavalrymen just to pick up the princess for marriage.
The Yuncang Water Country nurtures people, and I heard that all the women there are as gentle as flowers and beautiful as the moon. I wonder how beautiful the princess who is going to marry your Majesty this time is.
The envoy was secretly looking forward to it.
The King of Yuncang has five princesses in total. The two oldest ones are already married, and the remaining three princesses are Princess Anping, born to the Queen, Princess Wenjun, born to the Imperial Concubine, and Princess Changle, born to a good man of very low status.
No one wanted to send their daughter to suffer in that barren land. And it was said that the Northern Barbarian King was as strong as a demon, ate human flesh and drank human blood, and was savage, violent and cruel.
In short, whoever goes will die!
In the end, the opportunity for marriage naturally fell to the weak and helpless Princess Changle.
When the imperial edict came down, Princess Changle's mother, Concubine Xuan Liangren, cried bitterly and almost wanted to jump into the lake with her daughter and die.
In the end, he was persuaded by Princess Changle.
Although the mother and daughter were not favored and their daily food and clothing expenses were far less than those of a princess, they depended on each other in the harem and had a deep mother-daughter relationship. Changle had been very sensible since she was a child and knew that the imperial edict could not be disobeyed. If she made too much trouble, she might even displease her father.
By then, my mother will be alone in the palace, and I don’t know how much suffering she will endure.
She quietly accepted the imperial edict, quietly received the reward, and then quietly prepared to get married.
On that auspicious day, Princess Changle dressed in her best and bowed three times to her parents in front of the palace. She could not bear to see her maid go to the Northern Barbarians with her to suffer, so she boarded the carriage to the Northern Barbarians alone.
Xuan Liangren cried and called out "Yingying", feeling that this separation was a matter of life and death. She didn't know how Yingying would be tortured after she married her, so she fainted in front of the palace.
The Northern Barbarian envoy looked back and sighed inwardly. Looking at the shaking carriage, he thought that the little princess must have cried her eyes out.
Oh, why bother? Actually, our own king is not that scary.
Although the prince has a bad temper, mood swings, is very suspicious, and kills people when he is unhappy, his reputation as a tyrant is well-known...
Never mind, it's pretty scary.
When the carriage drove out of the city gate, a soft voice suddenly came from the quiet carriage: "Sir."
This voice is like the sound of forest and spring water, wrapped in the color of pearls and jade. It is many times more beautiful than those girls in the north who are born with rough voices.
The envoy waved his hand and the queue stopped. He rode on his horse, bent down slightly, and said respectfully: "Princess, what do you want?"
The voice came out softly: "Excuse me, sir, can you pick a trumpet creeper for me?"
The envoy was stunned and subconsciously looked to the side.
Large clusters of purple flowers bloomed under the city walls, and the roads were lined with mist and filled with fragrance.
The climate and land of the northern barbarians are not suitable for the survival of flowers and plants. The little princess may never see such a beautiful scenery again. The envoy sighed inwardly, said "Princess, wait a moment", dismounted, picked a few purple trumpet creepers, lifted a corner of the curtain and handed them in.
Only half of the white feather-like gauze skirt was visible.
It took more than two months to travel from Yuncang to Beiman.
The northern barbarians were naturally strong, so this short journey was nothing to them, but the little princess suffered a lot and lost a lot of weight.
It was snowing the day we arrived at the Northern Barbarian capital.
The little princess lifted the curtain and looked out secretly.
The thick city walls tower into the sky, cold, heavy and solemn.
There are no colors and no flowers.
She lost interest after just a few glances, sat back in the car, and stared blankly at the dried trumpet creeper in her hand.
The carriage took her into the palace and to the Changle Palace, which was named after her title.
After two months of getting along, the envoy felt very sorry for the little princess. Before leaving, he secretly sent her two words: "The prince is murderous and not interested in women. The beauties in the palace should all take self-protection as their principle. I hope the princess can adapt quickly."
Qi Ying bowed and thanked him.
She was the only one left in Changle Palace, along with the maids who lowered their heads and kept silent.
The palace looked large, but it was lifeless, just like the entire Northern Barbarians, exuding an inhuman coldness and murderousness. She had just arrived and had not yet been given a title, so she did not dare to walk around. She held the withered trumpet creeper in her hand and sat there until late at night.
Luo Xiao, the maid assigned to serve the princess, felt sorry for her frail appearance and walked over to her and said, "Princess, it's so late, the prince won't be here. Princess, you've been tired from the journey, I'll help you to bed."
Qi Ying was indeed very tired. She glanced at the moonlight outside the window and nodded in agreement.
I didn't expect that after sleeping for a while, I heard Luo Xiao's panicked voice in the outer hall: "Greetings, my Lord."
Qi Ying used both hands and feet to climb out of the bed.
Before I could jump out of bed and put on my clothes, a tall figure walked in.
Rumor has it that the Northern Barbarian King looks like a bear, an ox, a tiger, and a wolf. He is nine feet tall, with a green face, fangs, and eyes wide open...
There was no light in the hall, it was pitch black, Qi Ying couldn't see anything, she was almost scared to tears. She only felt that the figure was moving faster and faster, bringing with it a sharp chill and a pressing sense of oppression, and soon came to the bedside.
She lowered her head, trying not to make her voice tremble too obviously: "Your humble concubine... pays homage to His Majesty."
The person standing in front of the bed seemed to be looking at her and didn't speak for a long time.
Qi Ying's heart was beating wildly, and the sound was especially clear in this silent hall.
After a while, a low laugh was heard from the person who came.
The laughter was a little hoarse, but not as rough as imagined. Luo Xiao followed in trembling, knelt down and said, "My Lord, do you want to light a lamp?"
Qi Ying heard the voice more clearly: "Click."
The hall soon lit up.
The light and shadows spread to her eyes inch by inch, and she saw a pair of black boots. The slightly swaying black clothes were embroidered with golden edges, like dragon patterns coiling up.
A cold finger reached out and lifted her chin.
Qi Ying was forced to look up.
I saw an unexpectedly good-looking face.
How should I describe this face? The most talented and elegant young men in Yuncang are not even half as suave as this face, and the most famous and victorious general under my father's command is not even half as imposing as this face.
He was like a fine black iron spear that had been polished in the wind and snow, becoming hard and sharp, and the coldness had penetrated into the bones. He looked good but was even more dangerous.
The Northern Barbarian Lord looked her up and down, his tone without any emotion: "So young."
Qi Ying felt that this prince was nothing like the rumors said, and he even felt pity for his young age.
Then the Maharajah continued to say expressionlessly: "I strangled him to death with just one hand."
Qi Ying: “…………”
But fortunately, he didn't really intend to strangle her, so he let go of her hand and left without saying a word.
They say that this great prince is moody, and it is indeed true.
Qi Ying was frightened like this, and she couldn't sleep well in the second half of the night. She kept having nightmares, dreaming that the prince was pinching her neck and pressing her against the wall...
Ji Rang walked out of Changle Hall, and the eunuch with lamps was waiting outside.
Seeing him coming out, she greeted him with a smile and asked in a gentle voice, "Have you seen the princess who was married?"
He couldn't sleep in the middle of the night so he went out for a walk to get some fresh air. He heard the eunuch mention that the princess sent by Yun Cang had entered the palace today, so he came to take a look on a whim.
He recalled the little girl who was half-kneeling on the bed in a white dress and with black hair like a waterfall. She stretched out her two hands and showed them to the eunuch: "It's only this big."
Eunuch: “???”
How could the Lord of Yuncang be so cruel??? He sent a baby princess in swaddling clothes???
As a result, the next day, when the eunuchs delivered a lot of brocade and satin to Changle Palace as instructed by Ji Rang, they saw the well-behaved and delicate little princess and realized that they had been fooled by the prince again.
Although compared with the tall and strong northern barbarians, the little princess did look very small, as if she could be blown away by a gust of wind.
The northern barbarians are backed by snow-capped mountains, with severe cold in winter and cool in summer. Even in this spring when flowers are blooming, the weather is still cold. Ji Rang asked the eunuchs to send a lot of skirts and jackets to keep warm. She looked better in them than other beauties in the palace.
When Ji Rang came over, the little princess was sitting on the steps in front of the palace, holding a withered branch in her arms, with her head down, wondering what she was thinking about.
He saw last night that she also put the branch of flowers next to her pillow when she slept.
He stretched out his hand to stop the maid from bowing, and when he walked over, the little princess was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice him coming.
Until he said, "What is this?"
Qi Ying was frightened by him again.
She was about to salute in a panic, but Ji Rang held her arm, sat down next to her, and asked again, "What is this?"
Qi Ying whispered, "Trumpet creeper."
The flower cup had long since fallen off, leaving only a bare branch. Ji Rang couldn't imagine what the flower looked like, so he asked, "Do you like this?"
She hesitated for a moment and nodded slightly.
Ji Rang took the flower branch and called to the eunuch waiting outside: "Go and plant it outside the palace. I want to see it bloom next year."
The eunuch looked at the obviously dead branch and said, "...Yes."
Qi Ying felt that this prince had no common sense and could not help but say, "Prince, that is just a dead branch. It cannot be planted alive."
Ji Rang turned his head and glanced at her: "Really?" He smiled coldly, "If I want it to live, it must live."
Qi Ying didn't dare to speak for a moment and lowered his eyes.
Ji Rang was stunned. He stood up and took the girl's slender wrist, "Let's have dinner."
The wrist was so thin, soft and tender that he couldn't help rubbing it with his fingertips, which gave the little princess goose bumps all over her body.
He left after dinner.
The news that the prince was having a meal in Changle Palace quickly spread throughout the harem.
The prince had never been interested in women, and the position of queen was vacant. At first, some beauties wanted to compete for his favor and caused all kinds of trouble in the harem.
They all died later.
The prince killed them all. He chopped off their hands and feet and threw them out of the palace just because they had sneaked into his bed at night.
Then the beauties had an epiphany.
Don’t show up in front of the prince unless necessary. If he ever gets upset and thinks of you, that’ll be your death.
Self-preservation is the only rule of survival for the Northern Barbarians’ harem.
Now this little princess from Yuncang doesn't understand the truth and actually starts to follow in the footsteps of her predecessors. It seems that her death is near.
Everyone observed a moment of silence for the little princess.
As a result, she didn't die in the first and second waits. Instead, the prince went to Changle Palace for three meals a day.
The beauties in the harem could no longer sit still, so they found a day and went to visit the little princess together.
The little princess is delicate and soft, speaks softly, and has the gentleness of Yuncang Water Village. She looks particularly easy to push over and bully. So the prince likes this style???
The beauties looked at their long legs and big breasts and sighed silently that they were born at the wrong time.
The beauties in the harem have lived cautiously under the tyranny of the great monarch over the years, and have long lost the desire to compete for favor. Staying alive is the only goal!
But Ji Rang didn't know.
When he heard that all the beauties had gone to Changle Palace and stopped attending court, he rushed over with murderous intent.
On the way here, I imagined a hundred scenes of the little princess being tortured.
The prince was so angry that the eunuchs felt that he was going to kill people again today.
As soon as I entered, I saw a little girl wearing a red cloak, chatting with the beauties with a smile.
When Ji Rang arrived, the atmosphere in the hall changed instantly. Everyone trembled and knelt down.
His cold eyes first swept over the trembling little princess, and then he looked at the kneeling beauties without any emotion: "Get lost! From now on, if anyone dares to step into Changle Palace again, I will chop off her legs!"
The beauties left Changle Palace trembling with fear.
The little princess was almost scared to tears.
Does the Maharaja want to put her under house arrest? What did she do wrong? She has been very careful with her words and actions these days. It was clear that the Maharaja had a meal here yesterday and everything was peaceful!
She knelt on the ground, not daring to look up. Ji Rang walked over, lifted her chin with his fingers, and forced her to look up.
Seeing the little princess’ red eyes and her trying hard to hold back tears was so pitiful.
Ji Rang's fingers froze. He pulled the little princess up from the ground, wrapped his palm around hers, and asked, "Why are you crying? I didn't yell at you."
Qi Ying said: "I didn't cry."
Ji Rang reached out and touched the corner of her eye, spread the water stains on his fingertips and asked: "What is this? Is it your saliva?"
Qi Ying: “…………”
What the hell is wrong with this person!!!
Her face turned red with anger. She was already delicate, and now she was even more attractive.
Ji, who has never been interested in women, was upset.
He led the little princess into the inner hall, walked to the soft couch next to the heater and sat down. Then he pinched the little girl's waist with both hands, lifted her up, and let her sit on his lap.
The little princess blushed even more.
He was contented, pondered for a while, and decided to explain his behavior: "The harem is dangerous, you are new here, they have bad intentions, don't associate with them in the future."
Qi Ying looked at him blankly.
I didn't expect that his behavior just now was to protect her.
Of course, she also knew that the harem was dangerous, and she had seen her father's harem before. Today, she was also prepared to deal with it. Unexpectedly, those beauties seemed to have no ill will towards her, and their words even reminded her.
Qi Ying couldn't help but say, "They have no ill intentions."
Ji Rang's face darkened: "If I say they have it, then they have it."
All right.
Qi Ying lowered her eyes again and stopped talking.
Ji Rang: “…………”
Headache.
He put his arms around her waist. Her waist was thin and soft, as if it would break if pinched, but it felt especially good to touch.
He felt around for a long time and asked, "How old are you?"
The little princess raised her eyes and whispered, "I am sixteen years old."
Then the little princess was eaten by the prince that night.
He had never touched the beauties in the harem, and he only felt annoyed when he saw those pretty girls. However, for the first time, he tasted desire on the delicate body of the little princess.
He pulled the exhausted little princess into his arms and forced her to answer: "Are you afraid of being alone?"
Qi Ying wanted to say she was not afraid.
He pinched her waist and said coldly: "Tell the truth."
The little princess couldn't help but be frightened and said aggrievedly, "I'm afraid."
Ji Rang was unhappy again after hearing the truth: "Why are you afraid of me? I treat you so well."
Qi Ying: “…”
He put his arms around her, making it hard for her to breathe, and threatened her fiercely: "Don't be afraid of being alone!"
Qi Ying: “…”
What a moody tyrant.
No beauty dared to visit Changle Palace anymore. Everyone walked around it, fearing that if they got too close they would run into the prince and lose their lives.
Apart from Luo Xiao, Qi Ying had no one to talk to.
The palace was filled with solemnity again. It was made of black stones, cold and heavy. Not even a flower could be seen, and it was so oppressive that it made people feel breathless.
Ji Rang soon discovered that something was wrong with her little princess.
I asked the imperial physician to see me, and he said it was due to stagnation of heart qi.
Ji Rang looked at the trumpet creeper outside the palace that had bloomed for only two days before withering and dying.
The guards rushed to Yuncang overnight, uprooted the purple trumpet creeper outside the city wall, brought it back and planted it in Changle Palace. But the climate and soil of the Northern Barbarians were really not suitable for growing flowers, and they died in two days.
Ji Rang thought about it and issued an edict: recruit flower growers from all over the world. If they can grow flowers and plants in the palace, they will be rewarded with 100 acres of fertile land and countless gold and silver.
The unpopular harem just became lively.
Every day, a steady stream of flower farmers came to the capital to plant flowers in the palace.
Planting flowers naturally requires fertilizer, so a very unpleasant smell began to permeate the palace.
Ji Rang had not expected this either. Changle Palace was the key palace for trial planting, and the smell was even stronger. He was given a headache by the fumes, so he waved his hand and took Qi Ying to the palace for a vacation.
The palace is on top of the snow mountain.
Although it is cold, the scenery is beautiful and there are hot springs.
Qi Ying had never seen snow before, so she was very happy. Ji Rang was relieved to see that his little princess had regained her spirit. So he would take the little princess out on vacation every year.
Sometimes when it was snowy mountains, he would soak in hot springs and enjoy the snow. Sometimes when it was grassland, he would take her to ride horses and hunt. He also took Qi Ying back to Yuncang to meet her mother, and when he came down from the imperial carriage holding her little princess, everyone around him gasped in disbelief.
Later, many flowers grew in the palace. The solemn and murderous atmosphere was dispelled, and the cold harem became full of vitality. Qi Ying was particularly happy. Seeing that she liked flowers so much, Ji Rang ordered every household in the Northern Barbarians to plant flowers and grass. Whoever planted the largest and most colorful flowers would be rewarded.
Then the heavy capital began to have color.
Ji Rang also planted a tree of Albizia Julibrissin in Changle Palace with his own hands.
Flower farmers say that this tree is very cold-resistant and will produce beautiful white flowers when it grows up.
Ji Rang held his little princess in his arms and asked her, "Do you like the tree I planted for you?"
Qi Ying said: "I like it."
Ji Rang asked, "What else do you like? I will find it for you."
Qi Ying: "...some people have already said that I am a disaster to the country."
Ji Rang brushed his fingertips across her lips and said, "I have killed them all. There is no need to be afraid."
Qi Ying: “…”
If you do this, others will talk about it even more!
But does a tyrant care what others say?
He just wants his little princess to be happy.
The first time he saw his little princess, he wanted to give her the greatest love in the world.
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