temptation
To this day, the guards still haven't found Yuan Ming. Yuan Zi sat upright in her chair, her back as solid as a pine tree, motionless. She looked at the servants kneeling below with a cold gaze, and her right index finger tapped the armrest rhythmically. The crisp sound echoed in the tent, startling the entire tent into a state of total silence.
Song Lan, who was standing aside, swallowed her saliva unconsciously. Her eyes were only on the gold-embroidered shoes worn by Yuan Zi. She did not move at all, and looked as respectful as could be.
Compared to the princess' occasional outbursts of rage, this silent anger is even more terrifying.
After a long silence, Yuan Zi yawned and said lazily, "You said she was here, and you've been looking for her for several days. Where is she?"
Songlan lowered her head even more.
The guard kneeling closest to the front said, "Your Highness, the deposed princess has indeed not been found yet. However, based on my investigations in the military camp over the past few days, I believe she must have been in the Northern Frontier military camp. However, for some reason, she left the camp just as Your Highness arrived."
Yuan Zi raised her head slightly: "You mean, she got the news in advance and ran away?"
"Your Highness personally brought supplies and troops to the barracks. It's a good deed for the country and the people, so it's normal for some servants to be unable to resist praising you."
Yuan Zi chuckled. "Who doesn't like to hear nice words?" She gently raised her hand. Her fingers were as white as scallions, and her nails were carefully trimmed, with a translucent, warm sheen. Yuan Zi's tone was slightly more cheerful. "Back off and keep looking. I have a feeling I'll meet her."
Yuan Zi emphasized the word "meet". If you listen carefully, you will find that... she is very excited.
In the general's tent on the other side, Zhong Yingqi was in a state of panic.
As the weather grew colder, the barbarian soldiers began to "beg for food" at the border. After they were driven back, a small group of Liang soldiers would ambush them insidiously, making some noise from time to time to stir up the tense nerves of the Qi soldiers.
Zhong Yingqi felt a sense of unease after several circuitous attempts with the Liang army. Meanwhile, Yuan Zi, the giant Buddha, was still lingering in the camp, openly searching and investigating, her determination to persevere, making things difficult for him.
To find something to do, Zhong Yingqi flipped through a military map to clear his mind. Then, by chance, he spotted a box of peach cakes on the table. They were golden in color, sprinkled with fine sugar granules. He gazed at them, a gentle glint in his eyes. He remembered that these were the candies Yuan Ming had asked him for when she first woke up.
At that time, Zhong Yingqi thought that Yuan Ming, who looked like a sick beauty, needed careful rest for a few months. Unexpectedly, she was full of energy and vitality after three or four days. Her vitality was really strong.
He picked up a piece of peach cake with a helpless smile on his face. He didn't know how she was doing now, and there was no news at all.
When Yuan Ming first wanted to leave, Zhong Yingqi strongly opposed it. Yuan Ming was headed for a deep, ancient forest, where towering, ancient trees rose from the ground, their trunks so thick that some required several men to embrace them. Such a place lurked countless wild beasts. Furthermore, assassins were lurking outside the camp. In Jiang Kai's words, "You'd have to be crazy to think of going there to get yourself killed." But Yuan Ming went anyway, and her fearless little girl followed, even refusing Zhong Yingqi's request for soldiers to protect them.
Sometimes, he really didn't know what Yuan Ming was thinking. She was not afraid of death and did not value her life, but when looking at her, he felt that she was lively and bright, as if everything was under her control, including life and death. She was really a very contradictory person.
…
As the sky darkened, Zhong Yingqi looked up and saw a woman. His eyes narrowed slightly and he said, "I remember you were someone close to Her Royal Highness the Princess."
Song Lan slowly knelt, her eyes filled with humility as she respectfully bowed to Zhong Yingqi. "Her Royal Highness sent this servant to ask General Zhong if she could meet with her in the Princess's tent."
Zhong Yingqi didn't stop, but stood up and nodded slightly to Song Lan, "Since Her Royal Highness the Princess invites you, please take me there."
On the way, Song Lan asked in a low voice without warning: "Does General Zhong know His Highness Yuan Ming?"
Zhong Yingqi stopped and his voice turned colder: "Is this also what Her Royal Highness sent you to ask?"
Song Lan shrank back slightly, her voice weakening a bit: "I asked it myself."
"Why do you ask that?"
Song Lan immediately knelt on the ground and said respectfully, "I used to be a maidservant for His Highness Yuan Ming. His Highness Yuan Ming is a kind and righteous man, and I respect him very much. When I was young and weak, the ladies-in-waiting wanted to send me out of the palace. But I was just an orphan. If I didn't enter the palace, I wouldn't have survived long begging outside. Fortunately, His Highness Yuan Ming took pity on me and gave me a small place to live in the Eastern Palace. Otherwise, I wouldn't be alive today."
After hearing this, Zhong Yingqi's brows relaxed slightly, "Girl, what do you want to know?"
"Her Royal Highness has been searching for His Highness Yuan Ming, and this time she asked General Zhong to go in hopes of extracting some clues from you. Your Royal Highness has been searching for someone with no success these past few days, and she's feeling a bit uneasy. I'm afraid she'll give you a hard time, so I hope you'll be prepared."
Zhong Yingqi understood that this girl was here to repay Yuan Ming's kindness, so he said, "Thank you for the reminder, young lady."
The princess's tent was right in front of her. Song Lan stood beside it with her head lowered and said loudly, "General Zhong, please come in."
Zhong Yingqi approached the tent. Yuan Zi seemed to have been waiting for a long time. Her voice was a little higher than when they first met. "General Zhong, you are here very quickly. Please take a seat."
Zhong Yingqi sat down straight and spoke first, "Your Highness, is there anything you want to ask me?"
Yuan Zi smiled and said, "There's no need to give any orders. I've never been to a military camp before. General Zhong is good at leading troops in battle, but I'm not. How can I give orders? I asked General Zhong to come here because I want to ask him a question."
Yuan Zi paused, then spoke gently, "Yuan Ming, my sister, is also a household name. General Zhong must have heard of her name. Not long ago, she did something big—rebellion."
Although he had been prepared, Zhong Yingqi still didn't expect Yuan Zi to ask so directly. However, he thought about it again. She had been openly sending people to investigate the military camp these past few days. She hadn't been shy from the beginning, so she could be considered frank. However, this frankness was based on her complete disregard for Zhong Yingqi. It really lived up to Zhong Yingqi's description: aloof and friendly.
Yuan Zi smiled brightly, revealing an innocent and puzzled expression, and asked, "General Zhong? General Zhong! Why aren't you talking?"
Zhong Yingqi smiled lightly and said, "I've heard of it, but I don't know it."
Yuan Zi's smile disappeared instantly. Her smile originally did not reach her eyes, and now it was filled with coldness. She looked straight at Zhong Yingqi, biting her lips lightly, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
"Is General Zhong pretending to be stupid?"
"What are you saying, Your Highness? I am only speaking the truth. How can I pretend to be stupid?"
On the surface, she appears quiet, confident, and beautiful, but on the inside, she is domineering, arrogant, and unruly. This is how Yuan Ming evaluates Yuan Zi. When Yuan Ming said this, he gritted his teeth and did not hide his hatred in front of Zhong Yingqi at all.
Yuan Ming had said, "If Yuan Zi ever comes to embarrass General Zhong, please just say you don't know me. Don't worry about Yuan Zi. As I said before, she won't dare to turn against you. Just deny it and she'll get herself pissed off."
Yuan Ming then and Yuan Zi now share similar expressions. For example, Yuan Ming's comments on Yuan Zi are filled with hatred, while his advice to Zhong Yingqi on how to handle the situation is filled with disdain and confidence, as evidenced by the line: "She'll piss herself off to death." Almost every word is laced with a smile, a hint of mockery etched in his lips.
These two people are indeed sisters. Although they are completely different inside and out, they always have similarities on the outside.
Yuan Zi took a sip of tea resentfully, as if she had just suppressed her anger, and then looked at Zhong Yingqi.
The two of them sat quite far apart. Zhong Yingqi suddenly had an idea. He smiled, opened his arms, and said frankly, "Princess, please feel free to look around. I don't really have any information on my body that I know the deposed princess."
"presumptuous!"
Song Lan, outside the tent, heard the noise and turned her head toward the princess' tent in confusion. Not far from Song Lan, Yuan Ming poked his head out from the hillside, his face covered in dust, as if he had just rolled in the dirt. Who knew she and Ru Lan would have such a deep connection with that white-browed tiger, encountering it again on their return journey? Fortunately, Yuan Ming had prepared a dead rabbit and tossed it to the tiger.
The white-browed tiger, having tasted the sweetness of its own good, followed them all the way, reaping a good share of the "mosquito leg meat" thrown by Yuan Ming. The tiger didn't quite get enough, and Yuan Ming and Ru Lan were starving, so they hurried on, finally reaching the barracks before running out of ammunition and food.
Yuan Ming lowered her voice, slapped her hand on Rulan's mouth, and placed her index finger in front of her mouth, making a gesture to silence her, because she seemed to hear Yuan Zi's voice in a trance.
Yuan Zi inside the tent knew she had overreacted, so she put on a fake smile and said nonchalantly, "I've been quite busy with Yuan Ming's affairs lately. I'm sure the General will understand."
Zhong Yingqi remained silent for a long time. Just before Yuan Zi was about to explode, he said respectfully, "I am deeply grateful to Your Highness for personally delivering the supplies to the Northern Frontier military camp. However, I do not know the person Your Highness mentioned. Moreover, as a subject, it is not convenient for me to interfere in the affairs of the royal family. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
There was another long silence. Yuan Zi held her forehead with her hand and said without emotion, "It's late. General Zhong, go back and rest. We can discuss this matter tomorrow."
Zhong Yingqi responded and left the princess' tent. After nodding slightly to Song Lan, he strode away. As soon as Song Lan entered the tent, she was met with Yuan Zi's roar: "Get out!"
The teacup, thrown suddenly, shattered at Song Lan's feet. One of the flying fragments hit Song Lan's forehead. The sharp edge split her skin, leaving a bloody wound and a streak of bright red blood along her brow and cheek.
Song Lan touched the bloodstain absentmindedly, her voice unchanged from usual, and she said to Yuan Zi respectfully, "I'll take my leave."
After leaving the tent, the grievance and pain of suffering such an unexpected disaster slowly began to well up in Songlan's heart. She wiped away the tears that were about to flow, and pursed her lips tightly, as if she wanted to bite them to bleed.
Suddenly an unknown voice sounded, pulling Songlan out of her complicated thoughts.
"Who's there?"
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