Clouds Drunk, Moon Slightly Sleeping - Chapter 64
"Why are you running so fast?" Xi Lan quickly got up, patted my back gently with one hand, and handed me a cup of tea with the other.
I lowered my head and took a few deep breaths, then looked up and took a sip of tea from Xi Lan's hand. I patted my chest to calm myself down. "I heard there were assassins, and I was worried something might happen to Xi Lan."
After saying that, he chuckled awkwardly, "I forgot that Xi Lan is a martial arts master, hehe, that Wang Yue Zong Ning wasn't rescued, was he?"
He smiled and shook his head, then turned and placed the teacup on the table before pulling me to sit down in his command seat.
“Xi Lan, I want to go see Wang Yue Zong Ning. He used to have many experts around him, so we can’t let our guard down.”
"Qianqian, get some rest early tonight. We'll attack the city at dawn tomorrow." He pulled me along, leading me to the left side of the commander's camp, where my bed was.
Since that's the case, let's just forget about it. Anyway, if I go to see that bastard, he'll just say a few sarcastic remarks, nothing more. I'd better just listen to him. We're going to attack the city again tomorrow. Although Muzhou has soldiers guarding it, the reinforcements from Wangyue probably haven't arrived yet. This battle should be easier, right? I nodded to Xilan and smiled, "Then Xilan should get some rest too."
He glanced at me, then smiled and nodded, before turning to pull the curtain in the middle.
"Xi Lan, are you injured?" I suddenly stood up and rushed to Xi Lan in a few steps. There was a long bloodstain on Xi Lan's waist, which was particularly obvious against her white clothes. I hadn't even noticed it before.
“This blood isn’t mine.” He said with a smile in his eyes and a clear, gentle voice.
I touched his waist in disbelief and found that he didn't even flinch, which reassured me somewhat. Although the men in black in Youzhou that night seemed quite skilled, we have Xi Lan, the guards from Zhi Lan Palace, and Yun Hui and the others here, so nothing serious should happen.
"Xi Lan, quickly change your clothes." I couldn't stand seeing that bloodstain lying across Xi Lan's white clothes, so I tugged at her sleeve and said.
"Okay. Qianqian, go to sleep now. We need to send an extra team to protect you tomorrow." He then pulled me to the bedside.
I blinked until Xi Lan disappeared behind the curtain before crawling into bed to think about the rumors of the fox's marriage alliance. What if the fox really dared to marry some random princess—or any woman at all, even if it's just for show or to put on an act? What should I do then? Should I just try to persuade the other four countries to flatten the fox's little territory?
It was still dark, but the army was preparing to attack the city. I sat on my horse, in a safe area at the rear of the army. Besides a few familiar faces, there was now a squad of heavily armored soldiers around me. Wang Yue Zong Ning, whose hands and feet were bound to his horse, had been staring intently at me from the beginning, his gaze never leaving me. I couldn't be bothered to pay attention to him, but my face was slightly flushed. You might think I'm in heat. I only shared a bed with the fox for one night, and he left early yesterday morning. Last night, I felt like I was in heat in the middle of the night. In my hazy state, I kept feeling the fox's hand gently stroking my face. I leaned forward, feeling warm all over. It felt just like the fox holding me that night.
"What's wrong with Your Highness? Seeing that Muzhou is about to fall, are you trying to kill me with your eyes?" My face flushed slightly as I thought for a moment, but I couldn't stand Wangyue Zongning's intense stare. It was so dark, and I couldn't analyze the expression on his face, so I just glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and lazily spoke.
"I heard that the Prime Minister of Longyao Kingdom is actually a woman." He stared at me for a long time, his eyes filled with complex emotions, before saying this with some disbelief.
I tried my best to keep my face calm so that those probing eyes wouldn't notice anything amiss, and continued to mock, "So many people broke into the military camp last night, risking their lives, just to tell Your Highness this kind of gossip?"
"You traveled from Longyao Kingdom to Tianqing Imperial Palace, not only successfully persuading Tianqing to defect on the eve of battle, but you were also bestowed the title of princess, and now you are going to war with the army. Princess Xiyue is truly remarkable. Or should I call you Prime Minister Yun?"
How come Wangyue Zongning immediately decided that I was Yunfeng? Just two days ago, he didn't even associate me with Yunfeng.
I finally looked at Wangyue Zongning properly beside me, and forced a dry laugh, "Your Highness, you really think highly of Xiyue. I admit that crippling your martial arts was a bit of a blow, but you won't go insane because of it, will you?"
"Hahaha," he laughed loudly again, then suddenly his expression turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, "What you owe me, I will make you repay tenfold one day!"
I shrugged nonchalantly and said insincerely, "Your Highness still has this aura and confidence at this time. I really admire you."
I turned my head away, ignoring the people around me. Let them watch for as long as they want; I was only concerned with the war ahead. The gates of Muzhou were weaker than expected. Although Tianqing's reinforcements certainly hadn't arrived yet, the defending soldiers offered only a token resistance, which still surprised me. I felt the city had fallen too easily, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what was wrong.
That night, the army encamped north of Muzhou City.
"Xi Lan, did any of the assassins escape last night?" Wang Yue Zong Ning suddenly concluded that I was Yun Feng. Mu Zhou City was so easily breached, and I felt a little uneasy.
"Probably not." Xi Lan thought for a moment and then answered with a smile.
"Xi Lan, go and check the list and background of all the people who usually have contact with Wang Yue Zong Ning, and whether anyone took advantage of the chaos to approach Wang Yue Zong Ning last night. Be extra careful with these people in the future."
"What's wrong, Qianqian?" he asked, slightly surprised.
"Wangyue Zongning suddenly decided that I am Yunfeng." I'm still a little confused about this. How could it be said so suddenly?
Xi Lan's eyes flashed with a sharp light for a moment, as if a glint of light had passed through them, but it was so fast that it seemed like an illusion. Then she said gently as usual, "Qianqian, don't think too much. Leave this to me."
He glanced at Xi Lan suspiciously, then leaned back on the table to write a note to Fox. Now that two cities have been captured, and they intend to destroy the Wangyue Kingdom, they must not only storm the palace but also avoid provoking public resentment and a nationwide uprising. Therefore, he suggested that Fox use his informants to gather information on all the crimes and misdeeds of the royal family and spread it through various channels. This includes not only the royal family but also the crimes and misdeeds of all officials in office. They need the people of Wangyue Kingdom to lose faith in the Wangyue royal family and the entire court.
In conjunction with this, it is also necessary to vigorously publicize the wisdom and benevolent policies of the three kings, Longyao, Tianqing, and Hanxing. To be honest, the people of this era are not very enlightened, and they lack patriotic education. Therefore, for them, as long as they lose faith in the court, the change of dynasty will be much smoother. Although Wangyue started the uprising first, the fact is that we are now invading Wangyue's territory.
"What is Qianqian writing?" Xilan leaned closer to me and asked with a hint of curiosity.
I showed the letter to Xi Lan, then stared intently at his expression. Seeing the appreciative glint in his eyes, I took the letter back and eagerly handed it to Ye Feng to carry out his task.
Nothing happened that night, but I seemed to dream that the fox was holding me while I slept again. I shuddered. I think I might really have been cursed by that fox demon. Otherwise, why would someone as pure as me keep having such strange dreams?
At dawn, the army resumed its advance. The next cities were also captured with remarkable ease. The troops did not loot, and the city's inhabitants neither supported nor resisted, displaying rather detached indifference. In just over twenty days, they reached the outskirts of Wangzhou City.
The tasks I had previously instructed the fox to undertake were gradually yielding results. However, at the same time, rumors were also spreading that Yun Xiang of Longyao Kingdom was actually Princess Xiyue of Tianqing Kingdom. As I ran back and forth in the Longyao army camp, I clearly sensed that the way the crowd looked at me was somewhat strange. Therefore, I was puzzled for a long time. Who could have spread this news? If it was Wangyue Zongning's scheme, it didn't seem logical. What benefit would he gain from doing so? Even if he intended to frame me, whether the frame-up was good or bad was still unknown. But who else could it be besides Wangyue Zongning?
"Night Wind, go and find out how far the rumors about me have gone. How many versions are there?" I instructed Night Wind with a bitter face.
"Version?" That kid actually asked me that question.
"There are many versions of the story. Go quickly and come back quickly. If it doesn't work, send your secret envoy to handle it. If you can find out about the situation in Wangzhou City, especially the situation in Wangyue Palace and the Wangyue army, that would be even better." I waved my hand at Ye Feng and then leaned on the table to think. Although Xi Lan and Qing Lin must have also inquired about similar information, the fox's secret envoy is also free, so it's always good to inquire more. Maybe we'll get some unexpected results.
The night breeze vanished instantly in the command camp. I continued to lie on the table, deep in thought, until Xi Lan came in and handed me a cup of hot milk, which brought me back from my reverie.
“Xi Lan,” I took a sip of hot milk. The night was getting colder and colder. “Don’t you think we’ve had it a little too easy on our way here? Wangyue is recognized as the second strongest nation among the six kingdoms, after Ye Cang and Xiu Ruo. Our army is powerful, but it shouldn’t be able to sweep through the enemy like this, with them having no ability to put up any resistance.”
This problem has been bothering me for ages, and the closer I get to Wangzhou, the more unsettled I become. But I can't figure out what the problem is right now.
"General Mu and General Qi will be here soon. Qianqian, why don't you stay here too? Let's discuss the next battle plan together." He seemed completely unhurried and answered with a smile.
Although smiles are free, and there's a saying that "you can't hit a smiling face," we're on the battlefield now. Tian Xilan, do you really need to be so cheerful all the time? Aren't you worried at all that we might be surrounded by a huge conspiracy? I glanced at the person in front of me again, couldn't help but shake my head, and then drank the hot milk in my hand in one gulp.
Accompanying General Qi of Hanxing Kingdom to the commander's camp was the fake man. Both sides seemed slightly surprised by my presence and the fake man's appearance. I quickly rose from Xi Lan's commander's seat and ran straight to Qing Lin. I greeted Er Linzi first, and then gave General Qi a slight bow. I had intended to greet the fake man as well, since he was a guest, but unfortunately, he didn't give me a warm welcome, and I had no reason to try to curry favor with him.
"A meeting of the three marshals, are you going to stay here too?" I ignored him, but this fake man took the initiative to talk to me, although this was worse than ignoring me.
I glanced at the fake man's expression, which seemed to be a mix of sarcasm and anger, and replied before Xi Lan could, "I was just about to leave, why don't we go together?"
She remained silent, but led the way out of the command camp. I bowed slightly to the other three and had no choice but to follow her out. The fake man walked ahead on his own, without looking back at me, as if it was my duty to follow behind her. But I wasn't her follower. After walking a short distance, I stopped paying attention to her, waiting for the right moment to turn a corner and leave her far behind.