Chapter 597 (1/2)
My Man and My Woman
Amidst the wind and snow, a bright-red dress was very eye-catching. Feng Yu Heng immediately recognized Prince Lian. Unfortunately, now was not the time to reminisce about the past. Although the formation had been broken, the enemy army was numbering in the thousands. Even if they did not fight back, cutting them down one at a time would still exhaust them.
Prince Lian leaned against the railing of the tower with both hands and had two guards protecting her on each side. The red dress was blown very beautifully by the wind. While watching, she praised: “Ya Ya, your talent is amazing, and this prince feels utterly inadequate.”
“Hmph!” Following this, Duan Mu An Guo let out a cold snort, “You only feel inadequate? Based on what this commander sees, your Highness Prince Lian doesn’t know any martial arts at all.”
Prince Lian did not get angry and nodded very seriously. She then pointed to the guards at her side: “If the masters all know martial arts, what’s the point of keeping these guys around? Duan Mu An Guo, this prince has taken a great interest in physiognomy today from having seen quite a few ancient texts and examples. Right now, seeing how your glabella is dark while your eyes are dim, I fear that a calamity of death will befall you!”
“Nonsense!” Duan Mu An Guo angrily raised his hand and subconsciously wanted to slap her.
But the four guards at Prince Lian’s side were not so easy to handle. One of them reached out and grabbed Duan Mu An Guo’s wrist. “Commander, pay attention to your status.”
Duan Mu An Guo had a martial background, but he was indeed getting old. In addition to not regulating his private affairs, his body had long since been drained dry. If it was not for the assistance of some supplements to keep him hanging on, how could he still have his current vitality.
His hatred for Prince Lian was extreme, but now that the generals of the North had all been taken away by Prince Lian, he was the only one left standing at the top of the tower. Even if he wanted to throw a tantrum, he did not have the right to do it. Duan Mu An Guo felt annoyed in his heart; however, he was still wondering about what Prince Lian had said earlier. He could not help but ask: “What exactly happened to Qian Zhou’s ruler?”
Prince Lian rolled her eyes beautifully, saying with a smile: “That’s not something you can worry about.”
Duan Mu An Guo knew that his wordplay was not enough to take on Prince Lian, who had always had a twisted personality. With a belly full of anger and no place to vent, he simply stood to the side and fell silent. At least now that there were thousands of soldiers as enemies, even if the ninth prince and imperial daughter Ji An had extremely great abilities, they would have trouble overcoming the numbers. A hero could not take on many enemies. With 5000 people, even exhaustion would be enough to kill them.
But at this time, Prince Lian, who had already turned around and moved to observe the fight, suddenly spoke up, saying something that nearly caused Duan Mu An Guo to suffer internal injuries out of anger. She said: “Ah! How could this prince have forgotten. My troops are from Qian Zhou, yet why must they sacrifice their lives for some lowly northern provinces? No good, no good.” She grabbed a guard at her side, “Quickly tell them to stop! Have them all stop! Stop fighting!”
Duan Mu An Guo became covered in a cold sweat, quickly saying: “That must not be done! What are you doing? Qian Zhou dispatched soldiers to protect these provinces. This was part of the alliance treaties that this commander swore to Qian Zhou’s ruler. You were given an imperial order. Do you know that retreating your soldiers now would be defying imperial orders?”
“Imperial orders?” Prince Lian helplessly shook her head, “Duan Mu An Guo, oh Duan Mu An Guo, what was it that this prince said again? The ruler is having trouble protecting himself. How could he have any time to worry about any alliance treaties.”
Duan Mu An Guo’s heart was filled with urgency! This Prince Lian repeatedly said that Qian Zhou’s ruler was having a hard time protecting himself, but what exactly did this mean? In what way was he having a hard time? Could it be that there was some internal strife in Qian Zhou?
A drop of cold sweat dripped down from his forehead, as he suddenly recalled that Prince Lian had said earlier that the troops excavating the dragon vein in Jiang Zhou had already been pulled back to their territory. Now, all that remained in the three provinces were Prince Lian’s forces. Those troops had been recalled in a hurry. At that time, he felt that it was odd, but it happened to coincide with word of Duan Mu Cong’s death. That caused this matter to be left until a later time. Now that it had been brought up once more, Duan Mu An Guo had to think about it carefully. The more he thought, the more he felt that this hasty retreat made it seem as though there was some sort of large problem in Qian Zhou. Could it be… that there was another struggle for the throne?
But normally speaking, this was not possible. This ruler’s brutal methods were not something a normal person could compare to. Back when he had seized the position, he did not hold back in the slightest. None of his brothers met with a good ending, including Prince Lian, who had been ruined from a young age. The current Qian Zhou, everyone that could potentially threaten the throne had been killed. All of his children were still young. Where could there be anyone to fight with him!
Duan Mu An Guo thought about this endlessly in his mind. At this time, he just saw Prince Lian spread her arms and hook them around the necks of the guards at her side, calling out: “Let’s go. Bring this prince to meet with an old friend. While we’re at it, let’s help out commander Duan Mu by taking care of the people that need to be taken care of.”
Once this was said, Duan Mu An Guo finally regained some composure. He thought to himself, so what if you are arrogant, you still need to obey your ruler’s orders.
But at this time, two of Prince Lian’s guards leaped up and acted as though they were carrying some sort of treasure and brought her to the middle of the army. At the same time, the other two guards stabbed their swords forward, the tips of their swords waving wildly, as they flew straight toward Xuan Tian Ming and Feng Yu Heng.
Duan Mu An Guo’s heart began to feel moved; however, he did not dare to lean too far forward. In fact, he did not even dare to expose himself on the outside. He was still able to remember how those people earlier had died. He also recalled that hole in the middle of Duan Mu Cong’s forehead. Da Shun’s imperial daughter Ji An had a unique weapon, and he had to defend against it.
Hiding in the tower, Duan Mu An Guo watched the two guards from Qian Zhou stab their swords forward, and he had already begun to imagine Xuan Tian Ming and Feng Yu Heng immediately dying under their blades. But he never thought that the dignified Prince Lian of Qian Zhou would secretly be helping them… The two swords actually stabbed through two assassins from the North that had mixed in with the army.
The heart of the battle was already very close to the tower. After Duan Mu An Guo watched the two assassins that he had secretly dispatched get stabbed through the chest, his head immediately exploded, but he quickly made a reasonable decision. He did not continue to linger, as he turned and immediately ran away.
Prince Lian’s appearance caused the people of the army that had been doing their best to chase after Xuan Tian Ming and Feng Yu Heng to suddenly stop. Everyone put down their swords where they stood. Only when Prince Lian was put down by her guards did a few people come forward at the same time to kneel and shout in unison: “Long live your Highness Prince Lian!”
Feng Yu Heng frowned upon hearing this. Was it not enough for there to be a problem with the woman? There were even problems with all of her subordinates? What sort of time was this. In front of the enemy, they actually had the mind to salute?
Xuan Tian Ming had heard about Prince Lian before, thus he was not too surprised. He just retracted his whip and flicked it a few times to remove the blood. He then helped Feng Yu Heng tidy her hair, which had become messy over the course of the battle. He then tied her cloak on a little tighter, asking in a quiet voice: “Were you injured?”