Tuoba Zhi’s character was very calm and rational. Afraid that starting a fight would hurt Murong Zhining and the pedestrians, he stepped forth and said to the noble young man, “I am Tuoba Zhi, only bringing my family out to see the lights. I don’t want to cause any trouble, so please make way, mister.”
The man refused to let it go. “What the heck is that? Never heard of that name before. And by the way, I am Wan Yuan. My father is a high-ranking official in the court, not someone you puny ants can provoke. If you’re smart enough, leave this little lady here and I’ll spare your life.”
A guard suddenly leapt forth. In a blink, a gleaming blade was pressed against Wan Yuan’s neck. “Who the hell is this dog? You actually dare to be so outrageous in front of our young miss? You’re in big trouble. Tell your underlings to step down, or I’ll take your damn head!”
Wan Yuan frantically waved his hands at his manservants. “Step back, step back, don’t let him hurt me.”
T
Yan Feng grew visibly extremely angry. “You two father and son are simply too much! One said ‘whatever’, while the other uses such excuses like ‘not worthy’ to refuse me. You two are slapping my face!”Chiyun Nan instantly stood up from his seat, then knelt down and banged his head on the ground. “My bastard son is truly unworthy of Princess. I have neglected his discipline over the years and let him develop a wanton and reckless character. I don’t want him to tarnish the reputation of Princess Jingrong.”Yan Feng spoke, his voice frosty, “Are you rejecting me? If this gets out, how will my little sister face other people? At that time, will anyone ever listen to my words anymore?”Chiyun Nan quickly said, “Please calm your anger, Your Majesty. I will go consult with His Majesty the Retired Emperor.”Yan Feng’s tone mellowed down, “Now that sounds better. Hurry and go, we must make it grand.”Retired Emperor Yan Han and Yan Feng’s mother, Empress Dowage
Yan Feng sat alone in the Imperial Study, staring at Sonorous in front of him. His eyes when looking at the qin wasn’t sad as they used to be, but instead laced with a faint smile. He recalled Murong Zhining’s graceful posture when she played the qin, and her sulky pout when she was unwilling to abide by his requests. Yan Feng thought the time was ripe. He couldn’t wait to go to Shangxia and ask for her hand in marriage.“His Majesty the Retired Emperor has arrived!”Yan Feng was jolted awake from his sweet thoughts.“Your imperial son greets you, father. What makes you personally come here to Wan’an Palace?”Yan Han looked at him with kind eyes. “I know you’re busy with national matters, so I couldn’t bear to send people and disturb you. I’ve come to discuss Jingrong’s marriage with you. I want to recruit Wu Siyuan, nephew of Commandery Prince Yan, to be Jingrong’s husband.”Yan Feng suspiciously turned his eyes in a brief ponder. “General Wu’s accompl
A man in Huayan’s official uniform entered the grand yard, behind him were a neat line of people carrying trunks of gifts. The line was long and one couldn’t see the end. Murong Zhining glanced over in surprise, much curious how Yan Feng knew today was her father's birthday, and how his envoy came in such a timely manner.After the envoy read aloud the present list, he added a congratulatory message, “Hearing that today is Your Majesty’s birthday, my emperor has especially sent me to deliver the gifts. On behalf of my emperor, I wish Your Majesty the rising sun and the full moon . May your life be endless as the South Mountain, your country to never wane and never fail. May you be luxuriant like cypress, to be passed down for posterity.”Han Yao was delighted. “When my Fengyi was in Huayan, your emperor was kind enough to take care of her. I was already more than grateful when your emperor returned her to her home. Yet, he even graciously gives me his blessing today. Ple
After Tuoba Lan retreated, Tuoba Zhi creased his brows as he said to Murong Zhining. “When you said secret, you meant the treasure that the Murong clan hid away after Beiyan’s destruction?”Murong Zhining was startled. “How did you know of this matter?”Tuoba Zhi seemed heavy. “My father once told me that the Murongs’ treasure was real. In the past, the Tuoba clan bought a member of the Murong clan to be their spy. From this spy, the Tuoba clan learned that, in order to ensure the security of the treasure, the Murong clan hid its clues in three parts, respectively to be kept by the three most prestigious members of the clan. Each clue was indispensable to know the secret. The Tuoba clan went through a lot of trouble and found one of them, but my father never told me what it was.”The next day, Murong Zhining summoned Huyan Qi to Sangrou Palace. “I need your help to investigate something. Please keep watch on the fourth prince of Wuli, Gao Chenghao, while he’s in Sh
On Gao Chenghao’s handsome face hung a ferocious smirk. Step by step, he forced Murong Zhining backward. “Do you feel particularly scared right now, Princess? Please rest assured, I will be very gentle.”Murong Zhining retreated to a corner, hearing her own heartbeats jump quickly in her fear. “Fourth Prince… What are you trying to do?”Gao Chenghao coldly sneered. He propped his hands against the wall behind and leaned close to her. “Since Princess is so smart, you must have guessed it already. When a terribly lovesick man sees his beloved woman, what do you say he’ll do? Why do you even need to ask? In our country, a man, for his own dignity, will forcibly make a woman who doesn’t keep her promise into his own.”Murong Zhining turned her face away. “You dare? This is in my country, so Fourth Prince needs to think of the consequences before you act. Release Lan’er, and I’ll pretend like this never happened.”Gao Chenghao’s entire body emanated a dangerous au
The person who had kidnapped Murong Zhining obviously came prepared; behind him were several men riding horses, who stalled Chiyun Yuexuan and Tuoba Zhi to prevent them giving chase.Chiyun Yuexuan’s halberd was repeatedly dodged several times, with the opponent sliding down underneath the horse’s stomach. They seemed to have no intention of fighting him and only engaged him to slow down his pace.Still, Chiyun Yuexuan was getting closer and closer to the captor. Suddenly, Flash knelt down on its front legs, flinging him off. Chiyun Yuexuan rolled as he landed and immediately was back on his feet, wanting to continue his pursuit.Tuoba Lan, whose horse also got tripped by a rope trap and threw him off, reached out his hand to Chiyun Yuexuan. “Don’t chase, General Chiyun. Princess’ life isn’t in danger. The other man… just wants to force Princess to marry him…”Chiyun Yuexuan pulled Tuoba Zhi up from the ground. “Who? Who took Princess?!” His hands balled into
Chiyun Yuexuan took out a letter from his chest and handed it to Tuoba Zhi.“Please give this letter to Princess’ imperial father in my stead. Since Mister Tuoba has been kind to us, I absolutely won’t bring any trouble to you. Thank you for your righteous help many times, but I have to take Princess with me, no one can stop what I have decided.”He then resolutely pulled out the reins from Tuoba Zhi’s grip. Like a gale, Flash disappeared into the night.Tuoba Zhi remained rooted to the spot for a long time as a mix of complex feelings pervaded him. The courage that he had just mustered to pursue Murong Zhining collapsed at the first blow from Chiyun Yuexan.The horse carriage that Chiyun Yuexuan prepared in advance stood by on the side of the main road. He gently laid Murong Zhining on the soft mattress inside.He then rode the carriage towards the direction of Huayan. Flash was especially excited as it neighed in a low voice and followed the carriage
Inside the inn room, Murong Zhining sat at the wooden table with her hands propping up her cheeks in resignation. Using the reason that he must be close to her to protect her, Chiyun Yuexuan had insisted on them staying in the same room. During this time, although he had been treating her with proper courtesy and even changed from his usual ice-cold temper to cater to her pleasure whenever he could, Murong Zhining was unable to overcome the shadow of fear in her heart.She had experienced for herself his cold-blooded ruthlessness, his cruel measures which instilled fear that had lasted up until this very day. Murong Zhining’s eyes grew red rimmed. Even now, as the precious and noble princess of Shangxia, she still couldn’t escape his evil clutches. She dared not even run for fear that he would hurt her closest people. In her view, there was nothing that Chiyun Yuexuan didn’t dare to do. She was plagued with immense hatred for him, yet she had no choice but to comply under dure