Quand l'amour approche, c'est comme la neige

Chapitre 123

"Your humble servant, Zhao Weikai, Minister of Rites of Qi, has been ordered to welcome the princess!"

"Lord Qian, my princess has had a long journey and is not feeling well. It's also hot outside, so she has instructed that these formalities be omitted," Minister Ma said, following Yongye's instructions.

"Then please, Your Highness, move over!" Zhao Weikai, a man in his forties with a square face and a shrewd expression, looked at the dragon boat, recalling the deeds of Princess Yong'an, his heart filled with curiosity.

The dragon boat's cabin door opened, and thirty-two maids led the way, while in the middle stood a young man dressed as a man. His wide purple silk robe was embroidered with peonies, dazzling and astonishing.

Lord Zhao's eyes widened, and his hands trembled as he asked Vice Minister Ma, "This...is the princess?"

When Minister Ma saw that Yongye still hadn't changed her clothes, he turned his face away in embarrassment: "My princess said that she was dressed like this when she first met the Crown Prince. I'm sure the Crown Prince would be pleased."

Yongye gracefully disembarked, her gaze falling on Zhao Weishan's back. Among the guards, Feng Yangxi stared intently at her. She smiled and asked Lord Zhao, "The renowned swordsman Feng is also serving as your crown prince's bodyguard?"

"Your Highness... Your Highness is afraid there might be an accident on the way!" Zhao Wei glanced behind him, then lowered his head again.

Yongye stared at Feng Yangxi for a long time, then smiled disdainfully. Did he think I couldn't escape because of you? She sighed softly again. Crown Prince Yan hadn't mentioned marriage at all; he was probably afraid she wouldn't agree. She had no intention of hurting him, and truly had no feelings for him. Yongye got into the sedan chair and instructed, "It's too hot. Let's set off now. I'm tired; don't bother me on the way."

“Princess Yong’an is no ordinary person; Lord Zhao need not treat her with ordinary courtesy.” Zhao Weikai, recalling the Crown Prince’s words before his departure, wiped his sweat and agreed.

Arriving in Qi was not as unrestrained as in An. The procession moved slowly under the blazing sun, and the long night left them dizzy and disoriented from the heat. He summoned Minister Ma to inquire whether they could travel at night. Zhao Weishan refused, citing impoliteness.

Yongye was not annoyed. When he stayed overnight at the post station, he lay on the bluestone slab in the courtyard to cool off.

The wind whistled by, and Feng Yangxi had already sat down beside her. Seeing Yongye lying there gazing at the starry sky, she couldn't help but laugh: "How could the princess agree to marry the crown prince?"

"I don't want to marry Li Tianyou. Nor do I want to implicate my father. However, Master Feng has a deep connection with the Qi Kingdom. Is it necessary to repay a life-saving grace for a lifetime? Don't you find it troublesome to be his bodyguard every day?"

Feng Yangxi lay down as well, and said with a faint smile, "My master was originally the number one swordsman in Qi. He owed the King of Qi a favor that he had to repay. I owed Crown Prince Yan a favor that I also had to repay. The reason I escorted you to the capital was because the Crown Prince was worried about you. He actually cares about you very much. I said before that His Highness the Crown Prince seems to like you very much. It's rare for him to get along so well with someone."

The night was silent, and he stared blankly at the starry sky.

"The princess seems to really enjoy looking at the stars and... the moon?" Feng Yangxi turned her head to look at Yongye.

What did he say? Yongye's heart tightened. She then thought that Li Tianyou's willingness to let go was partly due to her identity as Xinghun, which shouldn't be revealed to Feng Yangxi. And she herself hadn't shown any martial arts skills in front of Feng Yangxi; the kung fu she practiced wasn't ordinary internal energy. Master Qingyi's breathing techniques and the Heavenly Meridian Inner Scripture wouldn't be noticeable unless revealed. But why were his words veiled? She closed her eyes and murmured, "If Hero Feng could conjure a sun in the sky, Yongye would gladly watch over him. Also, it's late at night; Hero Feng, please leave my courtyard immediately. It's impolite!"

Feng Yangxi stood up with a smile, looked down at Yongye and said softly, "Princess, just wait to be married. With me here, no matter who tries to sabotage or the princess tries to escape, they will not succeed."

"If you're so capable, Master Feng, you'd better protect the Crown Prince properly! Be careful, or I might just kill him!"

"Isn't the princess always sickly and weak, unable to even kill a chicken? Although the crown prince is refined and delicate, a woman who doesn't know martial arts probably won't fare well!"

Yongye slowly opened her eyes, and their two dark eyes suddenly met in mid-air. Feng Yangxi's sharp gaze held a hint of mockery, while Yongye's eyes held a touch of sarcasm. She suddenly shouted, "Help! Someone is being disrespectful to me! Someone help me!"

A sharp shout pierced the night sky, the courtyard gate was pushed open with a thud, and hurried, chaotic footsteps sounded.

Yongye smiled, his eyes narrowing: "Hurry up and get lost!"

Feng Yangxi's eyes darkened, and she turned and left.

Wang Da rushed into the courtyard with his guards and saw Yongye standing there as if nothing had happened. He asked hesitantly, "Princess..."

"I saw a dark figure flash past the courtyard wall and called out. From now on, no guards are allowed to leave my side. Summon Yin'er to come in and keep me company." Yongye sighed. She had originally planned to escape after reaching the capital, but she hadn't expected that the wedding procession would include the highly skilled Feng Yangxi. She needed to prepare in advance.

The team set off again under the scorching sun the next day.

Yongye was so uncomfortable in the sedan chair that he was sweating profusely. He really wanted to take off his clothes, go shirtless, and drink ice-cold beer and eat chilled watermelon. He sighed softly and decided to endure it.

In a daze, she thought of Yuepo again.

He said he would open a clinic called Ping An Medical Center, and if she wanted to live a peaceful life, he could take her in.

He said he would also open a restaurant called Ping An Restaurant to cook the dishes she likes.

However, no news came from him.

There were no roses either.

Yongye closed his eyes, seemingly a little tired.

"Princess, we'll reach the capital once we cross the mountain pass," Wang Da reported from outside the sedan chair.

Yongye opened her eyes and lifted the sedan curtain. As the carriage turned a corner on the mountain road, she could already see a vast city ahead. After several days of travel, they had finally arrived. Yongye sat up straight and craned her neck to peer through the gaps in the trees at Qi Capital, the Holy Capital.

Below the mountain lies a vast river valley, from which the outline of the capital city gradually emerges from the dark blue-green city walls. The Liang River flows eastward, meandering past the city. The capital city is surrounded by three mountains and bordered by water on one side, a truly magnificent sight. With the mountains and water serving as natural barriers, the capital city is no small matter.

The carriage descended the mountain at an unusually fast pace. Once outside the mountain pass, the official road widened and straightened, with only flat fields on both sides, not a single tree in sight. "Why is it so deserted outside the city?" Yongye beckoned to Lord Zhao and asked.

“There isn’t a single tree within a ten-mile radius of the capital; it’s all military farmland. This is to prevent the enemy from concealing their movements and launching an attack!” Zhao Weishan said naturally.

Yongye nodded. But she was struck by one word: military settlements! She looked around; the area outside the city was open, with houses and farmhouses scattered in small villages as far as the eye could see. "The army in wartime, the people in peacetime"—this military concept of the State of Qi was quite sound.

Anguo did not establish military settlements. The country was divided into six prefectures, each with its own specially trained troops. Each prefecture dispatched a contingent of troops to guard the capital region, which is the origin of the Six Guards of the capital. The imperial palace also had separate Imperial Guards, the Left and Right Feathered Forest Guards, as its imperial troops.

Yongye knew some of the advantages of military settlements. The state didn't need to directly support the army, saving a large amount of military expenditure. Soldiers farmed in peacetime and trained together periodically, so they could be called up in wartime. In this way, the soldiers' physical strength and combat effectiveness were not weakened; on the contrary, their sense of responsibility for their homeland was enhanced.

A look of worry returned to Yongye's eyes. The Three Kingdoms vied for supremacy, one rising and the other falling. But then she thought, in the age of cold weapons and centralized monarchies, the world was destined to be divided and then united, united and then divided again. She was merely a reincarnation into this chaotic world; she had no reason to worry about who would sit on the throne, and the unification of the world was none of her concern.

As I pondered, the towering, majestic walls of the capital city came into view. The city gates were wide open, the drawbridge lowered, and people strolled leisurely. The eternal night smiled, just like in Kyoto, a scene of peace and prosperity.

As the procession entered the city, cheers erupted outside the sedan chair. Yongye didn't lift the curtain; she didn't want to be treated like an animal on display. Upon entering the capital, she was settled in the post station. The spacious courtyard and tall, magnificent wooden and stone buildings were grand and opulent. Several large basins of ice had already been placed along the corner of the wall; stepping inside, a refreshing coolness washed over her, and Yongye finally felt comfortable.

According to the ceremony, he will enter the Qi imperial palace in the middle of the night to receive his title and become the crown prince.

The next day, Crown Prince Yan came to request an audience, but Yong Yong avoided him all night, claiming that according to the rules of Anguo, they could not see each other before the marriage. However, Crown Prince Yan barged in.

Yongye rested her chin on her hand and looked at him, thinking to herself, "You can't judge a book by its cover. Crown Prince Yan will eventually have his moment of power."

Prince Yan stopped very politely three zhang away and said gently, "Yongye has come to Qi, so she should abide by the rules of Qi."