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
Yan Feng seethed with fury. He pointed at Chiyun Nan, who he’d summoned to the Imperial Study, with a trembling hand. “Commandery Prince Yan truly knows how to raise your child! Do you know where your son has gone to and what he has done?!”Chiyun Yan was frightened. He urgently said, “I haven’t seen him for over a month. Several months ago, he drowned himself unconscious every day in wine in depression. After I locked him up in the underground prison for five days, he finally expressed his willingness to repent. After observing him for a period of time, I saw that he had returned to normal and stopped keeping watch over him.”Yan Feng angrily flung a tea cup, which shattered on the ground. “Your good soon went to Shangxia without permission, did you not know about it?”Chiyun Nan’s brows tightly knitted. “What did he run to Shangxia for? Has that rebellious son of mine provoked some serious trouble again?”Yan Feng punched the table. “I only want to ask you,
Chiyun Yuexuan once again took Murong Zhining and return to the main road after easily luring Gao Chenghao and his troops down the small path. While Gao Chenghao was wasting time studying the traps, he and Murong Zhining had been hiding in the trees nearby. And as Gao Chenghao followed further down the small path, he brought Murong Zhining out the opposite direction.Flash galloped like the wind as it carried the two along the main road, the horse carrying their belongings followed closely behind. Chiyun Yuexuan was well aware of how vicious and cunning of a character Gao Chenghao was. He felt an urgent need to take Murong Zhining to a safe place.On the road, Chiyun Yuexuan recalled the look of delight in Murong Zhining’s eyes when he had returned to her. He quietly tightened his embrace. He knew the delight came from her heart. It was always the most honest reaction that came out when a person was in a panic.The thought of Murong Zhining worrying about him was l
The horse trotted at a relaxed pace as Chiyun Yuexuan brought Murong Zhining down the road. Seeing the scenery around getting more and more familiar, Murong Zhining revealed a look of joy. “Xingzhou County is right upfront, isn’t it? Mister Tuoba once brought us to stay here for a day. Mister Lian’s family also owns a secluded estate in Xingzhou’s capital.”Chiyun Yuexuan pinched Murong Zhining’s waist unhappily. “You seem happy when you mention Mister Tuoba, huh? Don’t you know that I dislike him? However, I can see that you’re tired. How about we stay at Xingzhou for tonight?”Murong Zhining nodded in high spirits.Arriving at the entrance, Chiyun Yuexuan and Murong Zhining each led a horse into the city and found a quiet vacant inn. Sitting inside the room in embarrassment, the two waited for the server to bring food. Since last time when Murong Zhining lashed out at Chiyun Yuexuan by the river, she had been ignoring him as much as possible. Meanwhile, Ch
Quick witted in an emergency, Chiyun Yuexuan pulled Murong Zhining into the Gorgeous Scent House.He whispered into her ear, “Someone’s tailing us. Act normal and follow me.”He led her to the second floor and hid behind a pillar. As expected, the three suspicious men also entered the Gorgeous Scent House.The trackers blended into the crowd while sticking their heads to look around for Chiyun Yuexuan and Murong Zhining. Murong Zhining recognized one of them to be Gao Chenghao’s bodyguard.Chiyun Yuexuan took Murong Zhining into a room with the door left slightly open. “Princess wait for me here. I’ll lead them away and return to pick you up. Don’t run about, just stay in here. I’ll be back very soon.”Leaving the room, Chiyun Yuexuan closed the door shut. Then, he casually scooped a yellow-clad young lady into his chest.When the lady saw the tall and handsome Chiyun Yuexuan, she pressed herself against him and said in a sweet voice, “What are yo