The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan-Chapter 547 - 546 Gentle Township, Heroes’ Tomb (Second Update)

The Khan of Yue Nation abruptly halted his words, looking toward the kneeling maid, and commanded in a quiet voice, "Leave!"

The maid acknowledged with a "yes" and hurriedly dismounted from the carriage.

Only then did the Khan of Yue Nation look at Princess Jinyu, speaking in a lowered voice, "The reason your father struck you just now was to show the others, with the aim of protecting you, to prevent you from becoming entangled in Ji Chuchu’s affairs."

Princess Jinyu continued to sob and wail, "But father, you struck your own child in front of so many people, how will I ever show my face again?"

The Khan of Yue Nation, with a stern face, said, "What’s more important, face or life?"

The Khan of Yue Nation was usually amiable and had always shown a pleased face to Princess Jinyu, rarely ever being this stern.

Princess Jinyu was caught off guard.

The Khan of Yue Nation had intended to explain the details to her after returning to the palace, but Princess Jinyu’s incessant commotion inside the carriage gave him a headache, so he decided to reveal everything.

"Although Yue Country appears independent from the outside, it has long since become a vassal state to the Khitan. Ever since the capital fell to the enemy, Yelu Yan, who had not yet ascended as Khan, used the pretext of protecting Yue to dispatch a large number of troops. Many important positions within the Imperial Court have been infiltrated by the Khitan. In public, your father may seem powerful, but in reality, he depends on others and doesn’t even hold the power to make major decisions."

Princess Jinyu was so shocked that she was speechless. She had seen many Khitan in Yue Country and thought it was just because the Khitan were on good terms with Yue, not realizing it was for this reason.

The Khan of Yue Nation continued, "Whether Yue Country can survive in this world depends entirely on Yelu Yan’s word. And here you are, heedlessly provoking Yelu Yan’s woman and even saving the daughter of a Khitan traitor. Each and every action of yours is inciting Yelu Yan’s anger. If Yue Country is destroyed and the land annexed by the Khitan, do you think you can maintain your noble status and life of luxury?"

For the first time, Princess Jinyu felt the harshness of reality.

What her father revealed next astonished her even more.

"Yelu Yan has always harbored ambitions of expanding Khitan territory and unifying the world. Over the years, he has been recruiting soldiers, boasting of military preparedness, and training his army, with all preparations set, lacking only a pretext to wage war."

"So, does Murong Ce’s continuous provocations play right into his hands?"

The Khan of Yue Nation nodded, "The war should’ve already started, but for some reason, Yelu Yan has slowed his pace."

Visions of that pampered woman appeared before Princess Jinyu, she couldn’t help but sneer, thinking how the land of tenderness is the tomb of heroes; Yelu Yan’s heroic spirit diminished for a woman, hardly making him a great hero.

"No matter how this war is waged, as long as our Yue Country remains obedient and keeps to ourselves, we can be secure in our existence, continuing to live in peace and stability."

The Khan of Yue Nation spoke as cold light glinted in his narrow eyes, and there were still some things he didn’t tell Princess Jinyu.

Watching the tigers fight from the mountain, waiting for both to be wounded, this would be the day for Yue to rise again.

The news of Ji Chuchu’s death quickly reached the ears of Murong Ce.

Inside the Jinluan Hall, Murong Ce sat in front of a desk and spoke in a calm voice, "Well done on this matter."

Seeing that the messenger had not left, Murong Ce leaned back in his chair, looking at the person with composed interest, and asked, "Is there anything else?"

The messenger spoke truthfully, "To report to Your Majesty, while Ji Chuchu was being killed, this servant observed from hiding for a long time and discovered a woman who looked exactly like Ji Chuchu, who had actually used Houliang’s disguise technique. This servant suspects that a spy has infiltrated Houliang."

Murong Ce looked at him, the man was incredibly foolish; it was sheer luck he had survived until now.

"Khitan spies have long infiltrated here. Just as we can place people inside Khitan and other countries, Yelu Yan can too. However, the secret book of disguise didn’t come from Houliang. Instead, someone just looked at it once and managed to learn the method."

The messenger was immensely shocked, "The secret art of disguise is intricate and complex, with ancestral secret formulas not to be disclosed to outsiders. To think that someone learned it just by glancing at it once; are there truly such extraordinary people in this world?"

Murong Ce murmured, "She truly deserves to be called an extraordinary person."

Li Xianyun was deeply enamored with the art of medicine and had a keen interest in puzzling diseases and the eccentric prescriptions of folk healers.

Such an extraordinary skill in disguise would certainly pique her interest.

What Murong Ce hadn’t expected was that she would penetrate the mysteries of the art of disguise in such a short time and even learn to apply it.

One cannot help but admire such a woman.

Thinking this, Murong Ce was driven mad with envy.

Why should Yelu Yan be the one to have her, and not him?!

He had been too kind to her, cared for her too much, always maintaining the courtesy of a gentleman, and as a result, he missed his chances with her twice.

If there were to be a next time, he would certainly take her by force, even if it meant she would hate him; he was willing to bear that.

At least that would mean she had him in her heart, for if she did not even hate him, then he would have no connection with her at all.

It was then that the Chief of the Palace Servants spoke from the doorway, "Your Majesty, Miss Bai says it has started snowing outside and is afraid that you will catch a chill, so she has brought you some clothes."

Murong Ce almost forgot about this woman called Bai Mengling.

After the defeat of the Khitan, Murong Ce thought that Bai Mengling would take the opportunity to escape from his clutches, but after several twists and turns, she ended up back by his side.

A woman keen on avenging her family always holds some interest, so he decided to play along with her, just to pass the time.

"Let her in," Murong Ce said indifferently.

The Chief of the Palace Servants obeyed and left, and Bai Mengling quickly appeared at the doorway.

She still wore a white veil, revealing only her eyes and eyebrows, which were very similar to Li Xianyun’s, holding a grey fur-lined garment in the crook of her arm.

Murong Ce set the memorial aside and leaned back in the Taishi Chair, watching her nonchalantly.

Watching her act, watching how she plots his demise, was somewhat entertaining.

He considered himself a madman, and he believed it to be true.

It was just too bad that the only one who could cure his heart’s illness was unwilling to return to his side at all.

Murong Ce slightly crooked his finger, "Come here."

Bai Mengling obediently walked over, stopping a little more than a meter away from Murong Ce, and curtsied, "Your Majesty, the weather has turned cold; I have brought you some warm clothing."

Murong Ce looked up at her, and faced with a pair of eyes so similar to Li Xianyun’s, his heart always softened.

Murong Ce pointed to the Taishi Chair beside him.

Bai Mengling did as instructed, placing the fur garment on it, curtsying and then attempting to leave.

Murong Ce watched her, "You could have run away, why did you come back?"

Bai Mengling lifted her head, hesitated, then knelt at Murong Ce’s feet, and knowing that he disliked being touched, restrained the urge to place her small hand on his knee.

"Your concubine thought Your Majesty seemed lonely and pitiable, so I came back," she said.

Murong Ce reacted as if he had heard a great joke, "Me, pitiable?"

He indeed used to be pitiable, but ever since he was taken into Houtang as a hostage, everything had been progressing in the direction he anticipated, except that he was always thwarted by Li Xianyun, where his longing remained unfulfilled.