Seeing how serious Yelu Qianqian’s expression had become, Ziqing finally furrowed her brow, as if only now realizing the gravity of the matter.
She was someone who loved fiercely and hated fiercely, with very clear lines between the two.
If someone treated her well, she’d treat them well in return, for a lifetime—whether stranger or family.
If someone treated her badly, she’d give it right back, even to her closest kin.
Family—the family she had always longed for—was, in truth, something quite foreign to her. She had no real concept of it.
She supposed family should be something like your very best friend.
But seeing how earnest Yelu Qianqian’s expression had become now, Ziqing hesitated. She understood that killing Situ Haonan’s family member was, in some sense, an injury to him, an insult to him!
But she had good enough reason!
If the lord of Nangong Castle hadn’t died, she would have!
The lord of Nangong Castle had been utterly determined not to let Xijing win the war.
She felt helpless about it, yet her reasoning was sound—given a second chance to choose, she would do exactly the same thing again.
Unless the lord of Nangong Castle had stood on Situ Haonan’s side, or at least remained neutral and not attacked the northern desert—unless he hadn’t pushed her so hard, and had let her be.
But the lord of Nangong Castle had been a master in his own right, his martial skill several levels above hers, and yet he’d still brought a whole group of masked, skilled fighters to assassinate her in the night. What exactly had he meant by that?
“Really.” Ziqing nodded, hesitated a moment, then still asked, “I had my reasons for killing the lord of Nangong Castle. Haonan, he…”
But before she could finish, Yelu Qianqian suddenly leapt up, giving her a thumbs up. “Han Ziqing, you! You! You’re… ruthless enough, this princess likes it!”
Ziqing blinked in surprise, but Yelu Qianqian continued furiously, “And here I thought the lord of Nangong Castle doted on Situ Haonan so much! I really thought he’d stand on Situ Haonan’s side! I gave that old man far too much credit! I never imagined he could be so vicious! Did he even understand what would happen to me if I were sent to Xiliang! What right did he have! How could he be so selfish! Who did he think he was anyway—this princess doesn’t even know him! What right did he have to harm me! I’m so furious!”
Yelu Qianqian was thoroughly worked up now, gasping for breath as she jabbed her finger through the air, pointing this way and that. “If he really cared about Situ Haonan, he should have understood Situ Haonan’s difficult position! If Master and Madam Situ truly loved their son, they should have supported his choice! Fine, maybe in their eyes Haonan eloping with me was wrong! But didn’t Haonan come back? Didn’t he come back to take responsibility? He personally went to the battlefield—he didn’t have a single soldier of his own, and yet he still went to war!”
“A son like that—shouldn’t they be proud of him? So what if he has great martial skill, so what if he’s a figure in the martial world—fighting and killing all day, what good is that? If he’s got the guts, go fight the enemy on the battlefield!”
“That old fool! That old fool! If he didn’t want Situ Haonan going to war, didn’t want Situ Haonan marrying this princess, he should have gone to talk to Situ Haonan himself! He should have gone and tried to convince Situ Haonan directly! What right did he have to come after this princess instead—a mighty castle lord, the supreme master of the martial world, kidnapping a weak woman like me, and not even ashamed of himself!”
Yelu Qianqian couldn’t stop cursing, growing more worked up the longer she went on. Ziqing listened, thinking that though this girl was usually carefree and careless, once she got worked up, every word she said actually made sense.
“Ziqing, don’t you think so? If he objected, he should have had the guts to go find Situ Haonan directly—what was the point of coming after me instead! If he didn’t have the ability to convince Situ Haonan, he should have stayed out of it entirely, shouldn’t he! A person like that doesn’t deserve Situ Haonan’s respect—killing him was no great loss!”
Faced with Yelu Qianqian’s impassioned, furious tirade, Ziqing couldn’t help nodding along again and again.
Only then did Yelu Qianqian stop, catching her breath, patting her chest. After a pause, she asked suspiciously, “Wait, why exactly did you kill him…”
Ziqing couldn’t help rolling her eyes—this girl had gotten this worked up without even knowing the full story?
“Hm?” Yelu Qianqian asked earnestly.
Ziqing sighed helplessly. “Didn’t you hear anything about what happened at the northern desert while you were in the palace?”
“Hehe, I’ve barely had time to keep up with news from the western front every day!”
So Ziqing told her the whole story of what had happened at the northern desert. The more Yelu Qianqian listened, the angrier she became, until finally she slammed her hand on the table. “That damned old fool! Good thing you had gunpowder—if you hadn’t, wouldn’t you have…”
Yelu Qianqian didn’t even dare finish the thought. Even someone as simple-minded as her understood that when a castle lord, a true master of the Longyuan martial world, brought such a large group of skilled fighters to ambush Ziqing at night, it could only mean he intended to kill her outright.
It was either her life or his—what else could it have been?
“That’s too much! Ziqing, don’t worry—even if Situ Haonan comes to settle scores with you, I’ll definitely stand on your side!” Yelu Qianqian immediately promised.
Before Ziqing could even respond, she added hurriedly, “Don’t worry, whatever else is wrong with that guy Situ Haonan, he’s fair-minded and upright—he’ll definitely understand! He’ll thank you for saving me from those villains!”
These words did put to rest the uneasy thoughts that had just been stirring in Ziqing’s mind.
She’d prepared herself to explain everything to Situ Haonan and apologize, but she had never really given the matter serious, careful thought before now.
Because no one had ever warned her how serious the situation was, and in Situ Haonan’s letters afterward, he’d never once brought up the matter—he’d only told her that the battle at the northern desert must have been exhausting for her.
Ziqing smiled faintly and said nothing more.
Soon, the Xijing emperor arrived. The moment he entered and saw Ziqing, a flicker of mockery crossed his eyes. General Dugu had already informed him of Situ Haonan’s grievance, and looking at the utterly unsuspecting Han Ziqing before him, he found the whole situation almost darkly amusing.
There was no finer spectacle than brothers turning on each other, infighting from within!
With the peace conference approaching, this time he was eager to see how Jun Beiyue would manage to clean up this mess!
“Ha, Princess Consort of Yao, it’s been a while—hope you’ve been well!” the Xijing emperor said warmly. After all, Han Ziqing was the great hero of the western campaign.
“And to you as well, Your Majesty. I’m here to take Princess Qianqian to the western front—for the princess to personally visit the front lines and comfort the soldiers would be a great honor for all of them!” Ziqing spoke her words beautifully.
“Ha, that’s thanks to the Princess Consort of Yao as well!” The Xijing emperor’s flattering words carried a hidden edge. He too had only just learned of Han Ziqing’s arrival, and before coming to meet her, he had already sent word to General Dugu!
“I couldn’t possibly take credit. Time is short—Wanyan Lie is still waiting to surrender. I’ll take my leave, Your Majesty.”
Ziqing had no wish to waste words. Her only goal was to take Yelu Qianqian with her, and she truly had no time to spare.
“Very well, very well! Qianqian is in your hands then—do bring her back safely when the time comes!” the Xijing emperor said with a smile.
With the Xijing emperor’s approval secured, Ziqing led Yelu Qianqian by the hand through the palace’s many gates, and the two boarded a camel-drawn carriage already prepared for them, setting off west!
What awaited her, no one could predict!
Meanwhile, behind Akbachu, at the foot of Mingsha Mountain, someone lay in deep slumber, murmuring her name even in his sleep—this man was Baili Weisheng…
…