As soon as he finished speaking, the sword sheath was drawn, and with a clang, the blades collided violently, creating a stream of sparks.
Xie Lanzhi cut the chains of the iron cage. The woman inside, with her black hair loose, lowered her head and showed no reaction. She was kneeling in the cage, her bare feet, which were like white jade, were still bound by two ugly chains. Xie Lanzhi felt a pang of pain in her heart and slashed at the two chains with her sword again.
With a clang.
The woman in the iron cage finally sensed someone outside. She was cutting the chains, and it was the first time she had seen sunlight after her long journey. However, when she looked up, her empty phoenix eyes were filled with sorrow and pity, but also with a hint of stubbornness and even a visible will to live or die.
The woman before me, her imposing figure backlit, allowed her to see the light of day, while also shielding her from the most glaring ray of light.
With a final clang, all the chains and restraints were severed. Xie Lanzhi crouched down, her chest pounding like a drum, the pounding making her ache, making her dizzy, making her see only this disheveled woman before her, her arms outstretched as she approached the woman...
“Si…Qitong”.
Chapter 4 She Wants to Tell Everyone [1]
Xie Lanzhi picked her up and found her to be very light. She had a strong sandalwood scent on her body, and her wrists were tied with two red ropes. She was also barefoot. She was wearing a phoenix palace robe, a symbol of her noble status, yet she was not even wearing shoes.
She didn't bother to look at the woman's face; she was only focused on moving the woman to her seat.
She carried her step by step toward the main seat. Huang Mang, who was behind them, was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a moment. When he came to his senses, he immediately followed behind Xie Lanzhi and asked in confusion, "Marshal Xie, what do you mean by this?"
"Since you like this caged pet, then my gift will not have been in vain."
As soon as he finished speaking, Huang Mang was still feeling smug about his gift, completely forgetting that he had just been startled.
He was fine when he didn't speak, but once he opened his mouth...
The woman in Xie Lanzhi's arms struggled slightly. She watched as the person in her arms stubbornly raised her head and looked towards Huang Mang, her gaze filled with boundless hatred.
Xie Lanzhi's heart sank almost simultaneously. She stopped in her tracks and stood there in silence.
She turned around again and led her toward Huang Mang. Huang Mang watched as Marshal Xie carried the slave over, her aura seemingly as fierce as before, but now there was no killing intent in her.
He frowned, wondering what Marshal Xie was doing here.
Huang Mang was about to bow with his hands clasped in greeting: "Thank you, Marshal... I am Huang."
With a loud thud, Huang Mang was kicked hard in the chest. The force was so great that he fell backward, his legs bent, and his entire back flew two meters away, landing on the ground.
After Xie Lanzhi lightly put her feet down, she turned around and returned to the main seat without hesitation, lovingly placing the woman in her arms in her place.
A royal pet in the eyes of the public now sits in a position that is out of their reach.
Yelü Wen's face immediately turned pale. He covered his nose and stepped back, not even wanting to sit down, feeling that this was a shameful thing.
Si Bogong was filled with anxiety, but his anger at being humiliated vanished, replaced by excitement.
Xie Guang was already astonished to see Xie Lanzhi return to the main seat. She had a maid bring a pair of embroidered shoes and personally put them on the princess of the fallen kingdom. She then pulled the princess to her side and sat with her.
But besides the mistress and the lord, who else is qualified to sit next to the marshal?
Could it be that the Grand Marshal is placing a fallen princess by his side so that she can announce to everyone that the daughter of the fallen emperor is her woman?
Thinking of this, Xie Guang's expression became uncertain. Their Xie family, no matter what, would marry someone of high status and position, but a daughter of a fallen kingdom... it wouldn't sound good if word got out.
Xie Lanzhi sat in the main seat, looking down at Si Xitong.
Si Xitong's lips were pale and dry, peeling slightly, as if she hadn't had water for several days. She was stubborn, thinking it better to die on the road than to be humiliated in the Southern Region, but she never expected to survive, and that things seemed to have taken a turn for the better?
She immediately ordered someone to bring warm water and carefully fed it to Si Xitong.
The water glass was just brought to Si Xitong's lips when she pursed her lips, turned her head away, and became stubborn.
Xie Lanzhi felt extremely distressed; her hand holding the water glass trembled almost violently. The warm water inside nearly spilled, and to avoid spilling it on Si Xitong, she slowly moved it away. Before it even touched the table, a pair of fair and relatively clean hands gently grasped her wrist, and with the last bit of strength, pulled it to her lips, forcing her to drink it all in one gulp.
It seems the Empress has come to a realization?
Si Xitong drank the glass of warm water, which barely managed to bring her back to her senses.
When Xie Lanzhi saw that she had drunk the water, the anger in her eyes subsided a little. She continued to feed her water, and Si Xitong no longer refused and drank cup after cup.
Until a bowl of light porridge was served, Xie Lanzhi continued to feed her half a bowl of porridge.
They kept a close eye on Si Xitong's diet, checking if she was full and if she needed anything else.
After Si Xitong finished half a bowl of porridge, she couldn't swallow any more. When she looked up again, she finally saw the person who had carried her out. She was neither a man nor a delicate woman.
She was a tall woman.
Unfortunately, her bangs covered most of her face, obstructing her view. She could only see the woman's gilded light armor and those rough hands, which, while supporting her, were as delicate as willow branches. Yet, when kicking that damned beast, they were powerful and merciless.
Who is she, a person who is both gentle and strong?
Si Xitong finally spoke for the first time. Although her voice was still hoarse, she had the strength to say a few words: "Who are you?"
When Xie Lanzhi heard her voice, she was extremely excited, almost to the point of tears. This was the Empress. The Empress she had longed for.
Xie Lanzhi lowered her voice, extremely nervous, and replied in the gentlest voice, "My name is Xie... Xie Lanzhi."
She originally wanted to give Xie Ying's name, but selfishly she gave her own.
Out of courtesy, even though she already knew her name, she still asked, "Princess, may I ask your name?"
Si Xitong pursed her lips, her beautiful phoenix eyes dimmed, and her expression, weathered by hardship and vicissitudes, carried a faint sadness. But as she propped herself up from Xie Lanzhi's embrace, she still bowed formally to her with royal etiquette and said, "Si Xitong, daughter of the fallen emperor of Xicheng."
“Si Xitong, what a beautiful name,” Xie Lanzhi said.
She didn't speak her own name. But that's alright, they still have a long time to get to know each other.
The sudden heaviness in Xie Lanzhi's chest eased considerably, and the violent aura emanating from her body vanished instantly.
She looked at the disheveled woman whose face was covered, and she didn't dare to touch her, afraid that she would offend her by lifting her bangs.
The Empress showed no intention of fixing her hair or showing her face. Even though she had just performed the ceremony with great poise and politeness, she remained vigilant. Her caution pleased Xie Lanzhi.
Just as described in the book, the Empress was meticulous and extremely shrewd. How could one reveal one's appearance and invite disaster before knowing who she was?
For her, safety is only temporary.
Xie Lanzhi sat in the main seat. She took off her outer robe and draped it over Si Xitong, which meant that Si Xitong was now wearing a layer of protection—the protection of Xie Ying.
Seeing this, Xie Guang, though unwilling to accept the daughter of a fallen emperor serving the Grand Marshal, couldn't spoil the Grand Marshal's mood, as the Grand Marshal had just recovered from his illness and was finally showing interest in someone. He decided to bring a female concubine to the Grand Marshal's Chenxiang Mansion to alleviate his loneliness.
So he stepped forward and said, "Marshal, since this woman is a member of the royal family of Tianjing, her status is somewhat fitting for you."
He paused, then hesitated before adding, "However, this woman already belongs to a fallen kingdom."
Xie Guang almost expressed the sentiments of the princes and nobles present at the welcoming ceremony.
Xie Lanzhi finally managed to focus her attention a little, dealing with these nobles and royalty she had never seen before, and who were barely described in the original text.
She replied, "Oh."
Soon, she caught a glimpse of the woman beside her out of the corner of her eye. Her hands, hidden in her outer robe, tightened, and she swayed slightly. But Si Xitong endured the discomfort and sat down beside her. Surprisingly, the woman did not show any sign of feeling downcast because of her status. Instead, she focused on straightening the wrinkled corner of her palace robe, then adjusted her kneeling posture to match her own.
Xie Lanzhi looked at her elegant posture, which exuded even more royal aura than the palace robe that highlighted her status.
She was momentarily lost in thought. Although she hadn't seen her in full yet, Si Xitong's unique noble temperament was enough to reveal her innate charm.
Feeling the concern in Xie Lanzhi's eyes, Si Xitong's originally cautious and restrained mind wavered slightly.
What exactly is her purpose?
Xie Lanzhi came to her senses and realized that she still had to deal with everyone in front of her.
She simply sat cross-legged, but her eyes glanced at Huang Mang and the soldiers he brought, who had surrounded him so tightly that he seemed to be trapped in enemy territory.
After Huang Mang was helped up, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
The blood, mixed with yellow sand, quickly turned dark brown when it hit the ground.
Huang Mang seemed to be dissatisfied. He struggled to push away the soldiers around him and walked step by step toward the main seat. He was stopped halfway by Yelü Wen's men.
"General Huang, watch your words! This is not Tianjing, but the Southern Region!"
After being kicked away by Xie Lanzhi in public, Huang Mang felt utterly humiliated and embarrassed. He, a general with 150,000 troops, had been reduced to being trampled underfoot by Xie Lanzhi like a common soldier. Proud as he was, he naturally pointed at her resentfully and demanded, "Marshal, what does the Marshal mean?!"
"Marshal, you must give me an explanation!"
"I am Tianjing, the Grand General of Tianjing, and also the lord of a territory. No matter how powerful the marshal is, he should not treat me like a lowly soldier!"
Xie Guang immediately gave a signal, and more Xie family soldiers completely surrounded Huang Mang's soldiers. Moreover, it was one against three. As soon as they entered, the entire spacious area felt a bit cramped. Their numbers were truly frightening.
Seeing this, Yelü Wen had no choice but to take a step back and distance himself from Huang Mang. This man was courting death; he couldn't afford to take him along, and he didn't have many soldiers to risk their lives to escort him back to the Northern Regions.
Today's events happened so suddenly that none of the nobles and princes present dared to get involved. They were not afraid of Huang Mang, but they were afraid of Marshal Xie.
Marshal Xie always liked to launch surprise attacks, but that was on the battlefield. No one expected that the welcoming parties would turn into a battle.
Huang Mang was unlucky; he actually kicked a steel plate.
Huang Mang was giving a gift out of good intentions, but the gift he gave was indeed highly controversial. As for the royal pet?
It was a name that Huang Mang came up with to show off in front of the Grand Marshal of the Southern Region and to disgust the nobles and princes of the Eight Jin who were attending the banquet.
Therefore, none of the princes and nobles associated with the Eight Jin states spoke up for Huang Mang. Only Yelü Wen was intimidated by his bad temper, and the others, with less powerful families, dared not utter a single word of so-called fairness. It's fair to say that Huang Mang had extremely poor interpersonal relationships. His luck was also terrible; even Heaven wasn't on his side.
Seeing that she remained silent, and with blood in her mouth, Huang Mang, his face contorted with rage and his eyes bloodshot, shouted defiantly, "Speak! Why are you treating this general like this?!"
"Xie Ying!!"
Chapter 5 She Wants to Tell Everyone [2]
He dared to call the Grand Marshal by his given name, and Xie Guang secretly began to hone his skills.
Facing this madwoman who had lost her mind, Xie Lanzhi didn't even blink. Instead, she said to Xie Guang, "You just said that Princess Sitong, as a member of the Tianjing royal family, is a perfect match for me. Is that true?"
Xie Guang glared at Huang Mang fiercely, then nodded and said, "Grand Marshal, that is of course the truth. However, Tianjing has fallen and the Emperor of Xicheng is dead, so his daughter... 'A son's status depends on his father's, so her position is also...'"
"Then I will grant her a territory, restore her title, and reclaim her status as a princess!" Xie Lanzhi said, gesturing to him.
As soon as she finished speaking, Si Xitong, who was beside her, trembled slightly in her phoenix eyes, and a few tears welled up in her eyes, which were covered by her bangs. This emotion quickly disappeared from her eyes, so quickly that no one noticed.
Xie Lanzhi's words shocked everyone present, because any decision she made could affect their interests.
However, at this time there were many princes and nobles in the Eight Jin, so the people led by Si Bo Gong immediately stepped forward and said: "The Seven Jin are willing to provide a county for the princess to live in peace."
Xie Lanzhi thought that if it was from the Seven Jin, then that county was probably the territory of Si Bogong. However, she did not intend to send the Empress to a place that rejected her identity.
She directly refused, saying, "The Seven Jin is too far from my reach."