This man’s eyebrows were slightly raised, with a trace of feminine temptation and charm. His appearance was womanly beautiful, but he was a man, a slutty man.
“Presumptuous!” In his illusion, Prince Ning was only in his mid-twenties, daring and high-spirited. This unknown general’s teasing and flirting with the princess irritated him. He even shook the long sword in his hand, saying to the person in the silver armor, “You have to pay for your own words.”
After a fight, in the moving shadows of the sword, it was obvious that the man in silver armor showed mercy to Prince Ning and his men. However, Prince Ning became more aggressive. Then the silver armor flashed, and Prince Ning lay on the ground after an unguarded moment.
The man in silver armor gave a faint, evil smile with a kind of elegant grace. His eyes were similar to those peerless beauties. They seemed to be able to knock people down.
Normal people would avoid this man. But Elder Princess seemed cheerfully curious. She tilted her head and asked like a hard-working student asking her teacher in the private school, “You look really good, what’s your name?”
“Good-looking?” The man raised the corner of his mouth, “At this time, you’d better care about your own safety than to care about how I look.” There was a contemptuous expression in his eyes when he said this. He hated women who paid too much attention to appearance. There were too many women like this around him.
“No, I just know that you won’t kill me.”
“I think you are too pampered in the palace of Qi that you have no scruples.” The man picked up the silver moon scimitar in his hand. It was the same texture and color as the armor on his body.
The scimitar had touched the tip of Elder Princess’s hair, but her eyes were still as clear as a lake, “If you are going to kill me, why would you bother saving me?” The princess’s sensitive eyes rolled as if they could speak.
“Interesting.” The man in silver armor turned around, ridden onto his horse, and was about to leave.
“You haven’t told me your name.” Elder Princess followed him and shouted.
“My family name is Jing, Jing Donghua.”
“Jing Donghua?” Elder Princess muttered in her mouth. When others heard these three words, their complexion changed color out of fear. Only an ill-informed nanny stuck to Prince Ning’s side and asked, “Who is this Jing Donghua?”
The corner of Prince Ning’s mouth suddenly twitched, and he seemed to be choked, “Prince of West Xia.”
Jing Donghua had already left with his horse. He left only one sentence, “The princess of Qi, remember, you are mine tonight.” This sentence pierced the hearts of all the family members. This was the supreme, the most distinguished princess of Qi. How could she be molested by her future husband’s son in such a way? If the rumors ran out, her reputation would be destroyed.
“All of you must keep the matter just strictly confidential, and you can’t disclose half a word. Otherwise, you will end up the same as your companions who died in the fight with thieves, and that would be your only ending.” Prince Ning threatened the present servants and the marching band for marriage. He glanced at the dead palace people on the ground and wiped his finger on the throat, gesturing to the survivors.
Elder Princess was the apple of Prince Ning’s eyes. She was the one Prince Ning would like to protect. This time is no exception.
Then the night fell. Elder Princess was resting with the servants in the post house. Her team had lost about one-third of the people because of the attack by the bandits. Although there were few guards at night, each of them was carefully instructed by Prince Ning. Nobody should enter the room of the princess. He still remembered the words of the West Xia Prince before he left.
However, a thief in the family was the most difficult to detect. Elder Princess deliberately opened the window facing the bedside as she fell asleep. The moonlight spilled in quietly. Along with the wonderful moonlight, a man came in as fascinating as the moon. That night, the two were alone, but what worried Prince Ning did not happen. Jing Donghua just took the princess and rode around Yueya Mountain. They came back in the time of sunrise.
“Are you coming tomorrow?”
Jing Donghua smiled, “Tomorrow would be my father’s birthday. I couldn’t get away.”
“Then what about tomorrow?” Elder Princess sounded childish but loveable.
Jing Donghua tilted and grinned, “You have clung to me. What I hate most is the woman who actively clings to me, but you are one exception.”
The sentence made Elder Princess lowered her head shyly. The warm wind blew across her cheeks, leaving behind patches of crimson like those burning clouds.
Jing Donghua leaned forward and grinned evilly, “But if I come again next time, it will not only be as simple as taking you on a ride. I will do bad things, very bad things.”
In the days that followed, the two of them were like gods and goddesses deeply in love. But Jing Donghua never did the bad things. They were really just chatting on horseback.
Until that day, the wedding was in front of them.
“They said I would be your father’s woman, what should I do? Can I still see you?” Although the eldest princess was already seventeen when she got married, she was incomparably pure, from the body to the soul. It was possibly because of the intensive care that the Queen Mother and emperor gave her. Her heart was as clear and bright as a crystal that had been polished countless times.
“You can.” Jing Donghua frowned, but his tone was still sweet as sugar, “If you want to, you can see me every day.”
On the second day, another robbery occurred on the marching team.
Jing Donghua planned it this time. He took Elder Princess to the Yueya Mountain. She lived under the blue sky and white clouds. The green mountain was like an emerald embedded in this landscape picture, which made people fall in love with it.
For some reason, Leng Changxi looked at this mountain and felt it very familiar, as if he had seen it not long ago.
Jing Donghua hid the princess in a small hut. No one could come in. One reason was that it was a remote spot on the mountain. Jing Donghua used to learn martial arts with a master. He knew the path. With the death of this master, the hut became Jing Donghua’s secret paradise. Of course, it was now the secret paradise of Elder Princess of Qi and Jing Donghua.
Perhaps to Elder Princess, it was not a secret to keep. She never walked out of the mountains after she entered.
Right here, the two were congenial and got married in private. Three months later, Elder Princess’s underbelly had begun to bulge slightly. It was brewing a new life, and also brewing a storm.
To take care of both ends, Jing Donghua always left early and returned late. Every few days, he rode a horse from the back door to Yueya Mountain for the princess after everyone watched him enter the Prince’s Palace. In the princess’s heart, Jing Donghua was already her husband, and the princess was the favorite woman of Jing Donghua.
Until one day, the sky was a little gloomy, and the dark clouds made the mountains covered with branches and leaves even more terrifying. There was an ominous omen everywhere.
“Now Royal City was in chaos. The four legitimate princes were fighting for the crown. Qinghe, I couldn’t stay with you any longer. Three days later, I will send a credible person and a midwife to take care of you. They are carefully selected, and they will definitely take good care of you. Just wait for me to come back. I want to watch our child born and give him a name. If it is a girl, she will learn poetry and etiquette with you. If it is a man, I will teach him martial arts and driving. If I succeed, you will be my righteous wife, and our child will also be West Xia’s first prince or princess.”
The words were always beautiful. Jing Donghua left for three months and didn’t come back. What’s terrifying was that the nanny Jing Donghua sent looked honest but secretly took the princess’s child away after birth.
“Madam, you are an idiot. How could a man like our eldest prince accept a wilted flower like you?”
“I’m not a wilted flower.”
“But you have been betrothed to the former emperor, which meant you are his wife. You are so shameless. Do you want the prince to suffer with you? For the sake of fame, the prince could only do this, and you must not blame him.”
“Are you talking about the deceased emperor? Did you just use the word ‘the former emperor’? Tell me, was the emperor of West Xia dead?” Elder Princess had always been innocent, and she had lived in the most stable era. She could not have imagined the cruelty and bloodiness between the change of dynasty and the monarchs.
“Yeah, madam, don’t you know?” The nanny laughed wantonly. “Our prince, no, he was our prince but should now be called our emperor. The enthronement was held as early as seven days ago, and the ceremony conferring the title of Queen was finished four days ago. Madam, I’m afraid that you will miss the position of Queen of West Xia.”
“It’s impossible.” The nanny’s words pierced into her heart, but Elder Princess was still holding the last thought.
“Madam, the impossible turned out to be quite possible. Just let me take you on the road to heaven.” The nanny lifted her hand, exposing the short dagger that had been hidden in her sleeve. The light of the dagger was cold enough to kill the desperate princess three hundred times.
“Qinghe.” A familiar shout suddenly came from outside. It was Prince Ning, rushing in with a dozen of his soldiers. Since the disappearance of the princess, West Xia and Qi have sent countless men to find her, but nothing was found. Among the folks, it was only said that Elder Princess was killed by robbers on the way to the imperial matrimony for peace. At least the honor of the princess was preserved.
Only the young Prince Ning didn’t give up. He kept searching for Elder Princess, and finally, he found her.
Prince Ning killed the unkind nanny with a clean cut. He held the weak princess in his arms. When he saw Elder Princess desperately holding back the child in the hands of the nanny, he was slightly startled and looked straight into the eyes of the princess.
Elder Princess said nothing. She was too bitter to say another word. She nested in Prince Ning’s arms and murmured, “Zhongyi, take me home.”
