The carriage swayed as it traveled from the princely residence toward Minzhong Temple.
It was unknown which ancestor in the underworld had shown divine protection, but Prince Shao, who had been on his deathbed, had once again tenaciously pulled through.
Madam Li had visited Minzhong Temple many times to burn incense, praying for the Buddha to save his life. Therefore, after his cold illness recovered, she insisted that Li Yuanying personally go to Minzhong Temple to fulfill his vows. The military and civilians of Youzhou all believed in Buddhism, so as the local prefect, he had to follow local customs, respect the people’s faith, and occasionally visit the temple to burn incense.
Putting away the letter in his hand, Li Yuanying looked up to see Huo Qi Lang still lying on her side on the carpet, dozing.
Her injuries had originally healed to seventy or eighty percent, but recently she had shown signs of fatigue again, which was truly worrying. She kept complaining of “dizziness and leg pain,” listlessly sitting or lying wherever she pleased, begging the maidservants to bring her tea and water, wipe her face, and feed her. Though this was understandable, somehow every time he saw her chatting and laughing intimately with the maidservants, he felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
Huo Qi Lang kept her eyes closed while groping in the food box on the small table, found a candied apricot, casually popped it in her mouth, and quietly wiped her fingers on the hem of his robe.
Li Yuanying knew she wasn’t asleep and asked directly: “I’ve already sent two groups of people to meet Bao Zhu, but the return messages all say they found no trace of her on the road. Which route is this group actually taking?”
Huo Qi Lang, holding the candied apricot in her mouth with her eyes closed, said: “The Blue-Robed Guest is most skilled at concealment and stealth. If he encounters people of unknown background searching for a donkey-riding lady on the road, he would definitely hide the princess completely and prevent detection.”
Li Yuanying frowned: “This is troublesome. On their way to Youzhou, they must pass through Weibo and Chengde, and these two prefectures have long-standing grievances with Youzhou. I can’t openly send people to search.”
Huo Qi Lang said: “It’s best not to push him too hard. Wei Da’s temperament isn’t as easygoing as Old Seven’s. At best there would be casualties, at worst total annihilation.”
Li Yuanying was deeply worried, thinking that Bao Zhu traveling with this strange-tempered and mysteriously elusive wanderer would inevitably suffer many hardships.
Huo Qi Lang felt that recent days had been lazy and pleasant, and didn’t want to reunite with Wei Xun so early. She said: “Why must Your Highness be anxious? Hasty travel would only cause suffering.”
Li Yuanying replied: “The Emperor has been taking elixirs for years, and his physical condition is not much better than mine. Now it’s a matter of who can endure longer. Even if he makes no arrangements while alive, after a new ruler ascends the throne, they certainly won’t tolerate me maintaining armed forces on the frontier. Sooner or later they will act. I must join with Bao Zhu as soon as possible to plan the next strategy.”
Huo Qi Lang lifted one eyelid and asked: “What does Your Highness intend?”
Li Yuanying was silent for a long while, then said unhurriedly: “I want to become the Military Governor of Chang’an. Only this path can ensure lasting peace.”
Huo Qi Lang said “Oh” and closed her eyes again, completely unmoved by his declaration of rebellion.
“I know you made an agreement with Bao Zhu to only work for a period of time before leaving. I won’t fabricate lies about being able to recapture the twelve prefectures of Hexi through my own power alone. That might require accumulating strength for several generations and sacrificing many people to achieve. Before having certain victory, I won’t easily go to war with Tubo.”
Li Yuanying paused. He had long pondered what negotiating conditions he could offer. Power, prestige, merit… these were all things she disdained. Even the attraction of money didn’t seem that great. Even if he successfully returned to Chang’an, he lacked the ability to avenge her family. In her eyes, the so-called supreme ruler, the true dragon son of heaven, was merely a regional warlord, deserving no reverence.
If he used some political stratagems for recruiting subordinates, he could indeed keep someone with simple thoughts, but he was unwilling to deceive her that way…
Finally, he decided to speak frankly and clarify his needs: “Even the most perfect schemes will have flaws and unexpected developments. I need your insight. Before Bao Zhu arrives, please stay a while longer.”
“That’s a different price, you know.” Huo Qi Lang squinted and looked up at him sideways.
“Name your price, as long as I can afford it.” Li Yuanying said slowly.
Huo Qi Lang swallowed the apricot, rolled over and sat up, placed both hands against the carriage wall, brought her face close to his, and said with great interest in a low voice: “Recently we’ve only been sleeping together. It’s been a long time since we’ve done anything, hasn’t it?”
Li Yuanying took a deep breath and said as calmly as possible: “Treasure this negotiation opportunity. Don’t put private matters on the table.”
“But I especially love these ‘private matters.'” Huo Qi moved closer, gently rubbing his nose tip with hers, taking his hand and placing it over the healed scar at the root of her thigh.
Li Yuanying remained expressionless and unmoved: “What I mean is, there’s no need to be verbose about things already obtained. Seize the opportunity to fight for something else.”
“I understand, I understand. I have other ideas. Old Seven has an unfulfilled wish she’s been dreaming of…”
Since he had clearly proposed negotiation, Huo Qi Lang couldn’t suppress her inner excitement and eagerly prepared to make her offer.
Seeing her eyes suddenly light up, Li Yuanying suddenly felt an inexplicable chill, instinctively sensing impending disaster, but it was too late to stop her from speaking. He pulled his hand back and slowly leaned backward, his back pressed tightly against the carriage wall, having nowhere left to retreat.
He heard Huo Qi Lang bluntly reveal that thing she had been fascinated by and longing for:
“Your Highness, put on Madam Jing’s outfit, and let’s… enjoy ourselves that way, all right?”
“……………………”
Li Yuanying’s face instantly turned deathly pale. He felt somewhat dizzy, unable to accept this, hoping it was his illness causing such terrible auditory hallucinations.
Thinking he didn’t understand, Huo Qi Lang repeated it again: “I’ve pursued supreme beauties my whole life. Originally, having embraced Your Highness left me without regrets. But that day at Youzhou Tower, I witnessed the most beautiful woman in the world, and since then I’ve been smitten and can never forget. If Your Highness puts on a silk dress and lets me enjoy myself once, forget blocking swords and spears—Old Seven would have no complaints even if she died in bed.”
Li Yuanying’s vision darkened. He felt dizzy and disoriented, blood flowing backward, and suddenly recalled her many absurd words from the past. Now they echoed clearly in his ears one after another, making him deeply hate his own memory and comprehension, wishing he had been born a fool.
“Your wife has quite beautiful eyes.”
“If I wore fine clothes, perhaps I could imitate her, though I fear I couldn’t fool someone who shares her bed.”
He had already resolved not to investigate her absurd past, but that past insisted on attacking him head-on.
“I thought… I thought…” His voice was hoarse, his lips trembling as he spoke, “I thought that as a knight-errant, you would at least have some principles. That day… you… never even asked for my consent, and today you shamelessly ask what?!”
Huo Qi Lang earnestly explained: “We children of the martial world follow our hearts and don’t have much patience with men. My principle is not to force women. So after Your Highness puts on the silk dress, I’ll have to respect your opinion. Otherwise there’d be no need for bargaining.”
Li Yuanying watched her lips move, unable to hear clearly what came after. He thought of King Wen of Zhou, King Goujian of Yue, Liu Bei—those sages who endured humiliation and persevered through countless setbacks to achieve great undertakings. He too had endured countless frustrations and persisted until today…
But at this moment, he no longer wanted to continue enduring. Li Yuanying instinctively reached for his waist, only remembering that the Jade Dragon sword had been destroyed. He turned and grabbed an ivory tea knife from the table.
“You don’t need to die in bed—die in this carriage right now!”
The enraged Prince Shao no longer cared about any great undertaking and only wanted mutual destruction. He raised the knife and stabbed wildly again. Huo Qi Lang frantically defended herself, shouting: “Your Highness, don’t be angry! When business fails, friendship remains! I was just mentioning it casually…”
The carriage interior was cramped with no room to maneuver around pillars. The two chased and fled, crashing about, making the carriage shake constantly and drawing sidelong glances.
Huo Qi Lang hadn’t yet had time to restore her depleted internal energy. Not daring to delay, she had no choice but to seize the knife and subdue him, twisting his arm and pressing him down on the carpet, thinking that if he was unwilling, that was fine—occasionally playing a game of forceful taking would be excitement enough.
Just as she was racking her brains to think of some gentle words to appease him, Li Yuanying, in his extreme anger, suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and fainted directly.
Huo Qi Lang was so frightened she repeatedly begged for mercy, blurting out: “I’ll wear it! I’ll wear the dress, all right? Don’t have another episode—my cultivation level is about to fall through the earth’s core!”
End of “Chronicles of Youyan” Volume