Heaven is the shore of mortal dust

Chapter 69

"Let's go to sleep!" Ashina Yugu shook off the heat and took Wei Zijun's hand.

"Do I really have to sleep with you? Khan, we should be careful about what we say and do. There are already a lot of rumors circulating outside," Wei Zijun reminded him tactfully.

Wei Zijun received no answer, but she saw his lips purse and his eyes redden.

Good heavens, this person is not someone to be trifled with! His pitiful appearance is like a tiny needle, pricking Wei Zijun's weak spot and making her feel extremely sorry for him. "Alright, go to sleep! Go to sleep! Let's sleep together!"

She recalled the days before her mother's death, when she too was like a child, prone to grievances and tears. But how could she have known then that her days were numbered, for everything happened without warning? Perhaps this was a premonition. Thinking of this, her heart ached even more, and she gently patted his back to comfort him.

"Can you stay and sleep here this time? You always leave after I fall asleep." Ashina Yugu looked at her with some resentment.

"Ah! So that's how it is. Well, I knew it..." Wei Zijun felt relieved.

She said it herself, sleeping with a grown man for two years, that's just too outrageous.

Seeing her relieved expression, Ashina Yugu was clearly displeased. "It's not like you always leave. Sometimes you fall asleep before me and sleep here."

Wei Zijun touched her nose, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Lying on the heated kang bed in the bedroom, facing a grown man who was still a stranger, she felt awkward, so she turned around and faced away from him.

"Why are you turning your back to me! Turn around!" Ashina Yugu said unreasonably.

Wei Zijun sighed, turned around, and was met with his rough face.

Ashina Yugu stared intently at her face, gently stroking it with his hand, and murmured, "So alike, so like her."

Who does she resemble? It must be referring to her mother again. It seems that the Turkic Khan and her mother had some past relationship.

"Does the Khan know my mother?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, your mother was a brave and beautiful woman. Back then, she disguised herself as a man and joined your father's army. I captured her in the battle of Liangzhou, and only then did I learn her true identity as a woman. I was in love with her, but she loved your father. I only regret that I, Ashina Yugu, did not meet her sooner." Ashina Yugu was lost in memories, his face shining with recollection. "Women from Dayu are exceptionally talented and gentle. Dressed as men, they exude a heroic and valiant air, unlike our Turkic women, who are rough and uncouth, lacking any spirit." Speaking of Turkic women, Ashina Yugu frowned in frustration, his face falling.

So that's how it is. He really is in love with her mother, and her mother is actually a woman disguised as a man. I wonder if she inherited her mother's style. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but smile slightly.

Ashina Yugu stroked that face, staring blankly at that smile, lost in thought.

He really looks like his mother. Two years ago, he was bright-eyed and had white teeth, but he was still young, and his father didn't dare to have any romantic thoughts about him, for fear of betraying his mother. Now, he has shed his childishness and grown into a beautiful and charming young man, which has caused his father's mind to become confused and his feelings to become uncontrollable.

I always thought it was unbelievable for a man to have such a fetish. But now…

He doesn't like men; he just likes him.

He told himself that when he looked at him, he was only thinking about his mother. But when did it start that when he looked at him, he was only thinking about him?

This young man, this clear-headed young man, this ghostly demon on the battlefield, this gentle and beautiful young man off the battlefield, yet possessing a tender heart like water.

That day, when he heard that he had passed away, he was as if he had died. The days without him were really hard to bear. It was after that he realized that he no longer missed his mother, but him.

Now that he's back, sharing a bed has become somewhat awkward, novel, and exciting.

She used to fall asleep quickly just from smelling his scent, but now she was wide awake. She longed for him so much, yet she couldn't hold him. She could only stare at him with longing eyes.

Looking into the man's dazed gaze, Wei Zijun felt a pang of sadness and thought of someone.

That was the look in Li Tianqi's eyes when he looked at her.

That person also forced his way into her bed, sleeping and eating with her, as if they were one.

Is he alright now? Although he left so heartlessly, she still worries about his injuries. He ran out in the freezing cold; she wonders if he found a warm place. He should be able to take care of himself, right? Perhaps if he weren't sick, she would stop worrying about him.

Meanwhile, inside the Prince Jin's residence in Dayu.

Li Tianqi was yelling at a maid.

"You audacious lackey! Who told you to wash it? How dare you act on your own! Drag him out and beat him to death!" Li Tianqi held a robe in his hand. It was a lotus-colored long robe, that person's robe. That day, that person had taken it off in a hurry, and the jade pendant hanging on the hem button had not yet been removed.

The maid was already so frightened that she collapsed to the ground and cried, "Your Highness, please spare me!" She didn't know why. The usually gentle prince had changed his temperament drastically since returning from Yuhang, becoming unusually irritable. She never expected that such a small matter would anger him. Thinking that she might lose her life, she began to kowtow repeatedly until blood seeped from her forehead.

"Your Highness, please don't blame him. I asked her to take it to wash," Lianwu said as she walked over.

Ever since he returned to the capital, he had covered himself with that robe every night and could only sleep while clutching the jade pendant. She vaguely knew that the robe belonged to her fourth brother; she had seen him wear it once. But she couldn't tolerate his behavior—never sharing a bed with her, yet sleeping with a man's robe every night. The unease she had always felt seemed to have become a reality; a woman's intuition is sharp. So, she had the robe washed, so that there wouldn't be a trace of that man's scent on it.

"You? Why are you touching my things without permission? Did I give any orders?" Li Tianqi's eyes were cold, even distant.

Looking into those unfamiliar eyes, Lianwu was stunned.

"Bring that jade pendant back to me." Li Tianqi flicked his sleeves and left coldly.

His scent lingered on the robe, and his scent also lingered on the jade pendant.

But now, it's gone. The lingering warmth he left on his robe is gone...

[Volume 2, Turkic Chapter: Chapter 62, Martial Arts Competition]

A few days later, Ashina Yugu held a grand welcoming banquet for Wei Zijun in the yazhang (a type of tent).

Almost all the ministers and Merlebüchs attended the feast.

Wei Zijun glanced coldly at everyone at the banquet, memorizing each and every one of them.

Throughout the entire meal, Wei Zijun felt as if a gaze had never left her for a moment. That gaze made her uneasy; it was so blatant, so indescribable—whether it was hatred, inner turmoil, or resentment—that it stirred a sense of unease within her. That person was Ashina Buzhen.

This man is not famous in history, but in his struggle for the Khan's throne, he murdered more than twenty of his cousin Ashina Misha's brothers and nephews, revealing his treacherous and ruthless nature. She hadn't offended him, had she?