Amor bajo las estrellas lejanas

Capítulo 96

Long Ming replied, "This morning."

Suoge glanced at Xiri but didn't ask any more questions.

Soge remained calm when facing Xiri dressed as a man, as did Xiri; the two acted as if it were their first meeting.

Two more people emerged from the private room behind Suoge. They were Suoge's subordinates: Zhao Zhengqi, the military commander, and Xu Fanda, the left-wing commander of the vanguard battalion.

After exchanging pleasantries, they became acquainted.

Zhao Zhengqi, a man of good character and skill in both literature and martial arts, was full of praise upon hearing that the Prince of Xi had such an extraordinary-looking cousin. Xu Fanda, however, was a rough man who practiced martial arts, and patted Long Ming on the shoulder, addressing him as a brother. Seeing Xi Ri getting close to Long Ming, he assumed that Xi Ri was Long Ming's brother and was about to pat Xi Ri on the shoulder as a sign of friendship, but was reprimanded by Suo Ge and awkwardly withdrew his hand.

She smiled apologetically, knowing that ignorance was no excuse. Besides, Xu Fanda seemed like a straightforward man and didn't seem to care about the slap that had almost knocked her to the ground.

But then, when Long Ming met the Suo brothers, she felt like an outsider. Judging from Suo Ge's expression, he clearly disliked her cousin Long Ming being so close to her, likely because of her engagement to Prince Minglu; she was ultimately not free. Feeling slightly annoyed, she wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Fang Qiao and Suo Ge had finished eating, so they left together. Strangely, Suo Ge seemed unaware of the relationship between Long Ming and Xue Zhu Ge.

What Xi Ri couldn't understand was that Suo Ge didn't know this restaurant belonged to Long Ming's family? Their relationship was strange. Putting aside the fact that Suo Ge and Long Ming were cousins but had different surnames, Suo Ge held a hereditary title while Long Ming was just a merchant, at most a wealthy merchant. Their statuses were worlds apart, yet the two addressed each other as cousins. Xi Ri couldn't figure out what Long Ming's true identity was.

The group went out onto the street. Xu Fanda, Zhao Zhengqi, and Xiri walked side by side, while Long Ming and Suo Ge walked behind at a distance. Xiri was unaware of what Long Ming and Suo Ge were talking about. Only wanting to find an excuse to leave first, he turned around, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Prince Xi, Lord Zhao, Lord Xu, Young Master Long, I have some matters at home that I need to attend to immediately. I will take my leave now."

Upon hearing this, Long Ming was about to speak when Suo Ge said, "Young Master Li, since there are matters at home, it is inconvenient for me to stay any longer. Please make yourself at home!"

Since Suoge said so, Zhao and Xu could not say anything more. They simply bid farewell to Xiri and said goodbye to each other, promising to meet again.

Long Ming, however, said to Xi Ri in front of the others, "You go back first. It's not far from where you live. I'll come find you later."

Upon hearing this, Suoge frowned noticeably. Xiri noticed it but replied, "Okay."

Soge's brow furrowed even deeper.

Not long after they left, everyone noticed that the crowd on the street was rushing in one direction. They asked someone and learned that Zhang Guiyi, the bandit of Da Luo Mountain, was to be executed today, and many people were going to watch the spectacle.

At this moment, Long Ming asked, "Why has the execution of prisoners been delayed until now?"

Zhao Zhengqi replied, "They said someone tried to storm the execution ground, so the execution was postponed to dusk."

Long Ming asked, "What about those who stormed the execution ground?"

"I heard all the thieves were executed on the spot. Humph, Xi En and his gang are going to do a great job again this time." This time it was Xu Fanda who answered.

Suoge glanced at Xu Fanda, who knew he had said something wrong in front of outsiders, so he said nothing more.

Zhao Zhengqi asked, "Does Your Highness wish to go to the execution ground?"

Suoge nodded, then said to Long Ming, "Long Ming, I have some questions for you. Let's talk as we walk."

Long Ming nodded and followed Suo Ge's footsteps.

In the opposite direction from Long Ming and his group, Xi Ri walked home alone. It was almost dusk, the sun was setting, and there were few pedestrians in the alley. Seeing that her home was not far away, she did not rush.

Should she really go with Long Ming? She was still hesitant. Was she really just going to leave like this? She asked her heart, and her heart honestly told her that she wanted to, she really wanted to. Yes, who cares about being abandoned by everyone, who cares about this arranged marriage, who cares about worldly customs and etiquette, who cares, who cares…

She walked along, head bowed in thought... Suddenly, a person rushed past her. She hadn't paid much attention at the time, only vaguely smelling a bloody odor. But unexpectedly, the person stopped abruptly and exclaimed in surprise, "It's you!"

When she turned around and saw the man, she was immediately horrified!

At the execution ground, Minglu was about to throw down the execution order in his hand when he suddenly heard someone shout: "Release the second-in-command! Otherwise, I'll kill her."

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a burly man covered in blood and wounds leaping onto the execution platform, holding a handsome young man hostage. A bloodstained dagger was pressed against the young man's neck, leaving a bloody mark; a single stroke would kill him instantly! Opposite them, the death row inmate Zhang Guiyi's neck had just been pressed under the guillotine; only the executioner, Prince Minglu, had to drop the execution order before he would die.

At that moment, upon seeing the two men, the execution warrant that Prince Minglu was about to throw abruptly stopped in mid-air. He raised his hand to stop the soldiers who were about to rush forward, his gaze icy cold, almost frozen.

In the crowd, Long Ming's arm was tightly grabbed by Suo Ge beside him, forcibly pressing down his body that was about to rush out.

Xi En suddenly stood up and glanced around. Nalan, who was hiding in the crowd, immediately understood. A moment later, three archers appeared on the high wall in the distance behind them.

The crowd panicked at the sudden turn of events; the timid fled in fear, while the bolder ones retreated to watch the spectacle from a distance.

Just then, one of the men in the crowd could no longer contain himself. He suddenly leaped forward, gritting his teeth and pointing at the stage, shouting, "You treacherous Indian bastard, release my fifth sister! I'll spare your life, but if you dare touch a single hair on her head, I'll dig up three generations of your family's graves! I'll drag them all out and whip their corpses!"

Fu Jin's shout startled everyone present, and they realized that the thief had kidnapped the fifth sister of the four young masters of the capital. Could she be the legendary Tian Xiri, the fiancée of Prince Minglu?

Fu Jin's panicked, incoherent words shocked Ah San. Covered in blood, Ah San's gaze towards Xi Ri grew even more frenzied; he seemed to have already disregarded life and death. He turned sharply to Ming Lu, who still held the execution warrant, and roared furiously, "Release our second-in-command, and I'll release her! And you! It's you! You killed so many of our brothers! I want you to kneel and kowtow to me! Now! Kneel down!" Ah San roared madly at Ming Lu, his dagger unconsciously slicing through Xi Ri's neck, a trickle of blood flowing down the blade, a piercing sight.

Minglu gripped the execution order tightly, and with a slight exertion, the order shattered in his hand. He stared coldly at the Indian man on the platform, his gaze sinister, and remained motionless.

Everyone present gasped at the same time.

"You audacious scoundrel! What did you say! You dare make Minglu kneel before you! I curse your ancestors to the eighteenth level! That bastard Zhang Guiyi is long dead, what use is it for you to save him!" Fu Jin was already going crazy below the stage and was about to rush up without regard for anything, but Nalan grabbed him hard, ordered his hands and feet to be tied, and his mouth to be gagged. No matter how hard he struggled and waved his arms below the stage, he could not break free.

Although Nalan remained calm, he began to worry as he looked at the somewhat crazed Ah San. He glanced at Ming Lu, thinking that if Ah San moved his dagger away even slightly, it would be the perfect opportunity for the archers to deal with him. He thought Ming Lu should understand this.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Ah San looked at Zhang Guiyi, who was motionless and lying under the guillotine like a dead man, his eyes ashen, as if he had lost his last shred of will. Turning back to Ming Lu, his eyes were almost completely crazed, and he repeatedly muttered to himself, "The second-in-command is indeed dead, indeed dead..."

Suddenly, Ah San roared hysterically at Ming Lu, "Kneel down! Kneel down! You kneel down! I want you all to die! Die!" The dagger suddenly pressed against Xi Ri's neck, deepening the bloodstain...

The Indian man continued to shout frantically, "Kneel down! Kneel down! Otherwise I'll kill her right now, kill her!"

Xi Ri looked at her third brother and saw a resolute glint in his cold, sinister eyes. Her heart trembled, and she closed her eyes. Kill her, she would rather the third brother kill her with one blow.

At this moment, among the hundreds of people present, some were watching the spectacle, some gasped in shock at the dagger at Xi Ri's neck, some were numb, and some whispered among themselves. But no one believed that, in front of so many eyes, a prince would kneel down in public for a woman. Even fewer believed that a prince would kneel before a bandit; that would be the greatest humiliation of his life.

No one would believe it... not even Nalan and Xi'en, who were present.

They waited anxiously for their chance, but it was too late. The dagger sank deeper and deeper, and the blood flowed more and more... No one dared to move.

Suddenly, Xi'en exclaimed in shock, "Minglu, are you crazy! Who are you? How could you! You can't go..."