Pei Qianhao gave a cursory glance at the guard before opening the letter that contained only a few sentences.
This Emperor must handle numerous issues in Dongling, and is currently unable to leave. Prince Hao, please capture Tan Ge as soon as possible, and send her to Dongling alive. This Emperor shall personally punish her.
Since Tan Ge is related to Chao Mu’s death, Chu Xian will definitely not let her off. But the question is, what is his plan after I hand her over to him?
Pei Qianhao instructed the Dongling guard to leave before passing the letter to Du Ling.
After skimming through the contents, Du Ling remarked in a deep voice. “This Emperor also wants to mete out a harsh punishment, but there’s only one Tan Ge.”
According to the laws of the royal court, impersonating an imperial princess, disrupting the order of the royal court, and deceiving members of the Imperial Family would result in a tragic execution.
Noticing that their gazes dimmed after reading the letter, Su Xi-er snatched it from Du Ling’s hands to read for herself before looking at the two men. “If she realises the errors of her ways, we’ll let her go. After all, she’s just a woman who has been forced to this state.”
Du Ling stared at her, only replying after a long while. “There are some things you don’t have a say in. Laws of the royal court can’t be violated, and she must pay the price for doing so.” He then got onto the boat, not continuing the discussion.
Su Xi-er’s impression of Tan Ge was still frozen in time when she witnessed the latter’s faint smile in front of the Imperial Household Department.
Now that she has become like this, she should indeed pay the price.
“Xi-er, Tan Ge’s fate will depend on her behaviour in the Western Region.” Pei Qianhao grabbed her hand and brought her onto the boat.
The boat slowly left the pier and headed into the unknowns of the ocean, riding on waves and sailing through the wind. With the sea being calmer than when they had entered Dongling, the voyage only took three days.
In consideration of Su Xi-er’s body, they chose to walk instead of hurrying along with horses. After 13 days, they finally reached the borders of the Western Region.
At the border, yellow sand filled their vision while precipitous cliffs surrounded them, leaving them to travel on camels. Half a day later, they arrived at a market where they changed into clothes from the Western Region before continuing their journey.
A multitude of items that couldn’t be found in the Central Plains were displayed at the market. The women’s clothes were more colourful while the men’s were darker. In comparison to the price of vegetables and fruits, meat was much cheaper. Traversing the streets and wading through the crowd of people, they could sense the lively atmosphere as the hawkers peddled their wares.
Inside the restaurant, every table was filled with people drinking wine as they gossiped. It was thanks to this that the trio could hear what people were saying before they even sat down.
“I don’t know whether I should say that the Western Region Imperial Princess is boorish or powerful. Meanwhile, the Western Region King is staying in; is he actually in the royal court?”
“I think he isn’t, otherwise, how could he have let the Imperial Princess get together with the left faction? Moreover, the Grand Empress Dowager isn’t stopping them either. It’s so strange!”
“The Imperial Princess already holds half of the military power in the Western Region, yet she’s made a move on the right faction. The leader of the right faction is held captive in the royal court. I heard that…”
This piqued the curiosity of the others as they eagerly pressed for answers. “What did you hear?”
“The Imperial Princess took a fancy to the leader of the right faction because of his looks. His mother is from the Western Region, while his father is from the Central Plains, resulting in his handsome face. Now that he’s being held captive in the court, what else could be the motivation?”
“Aiyo, that’s some spicy news, but I heard that the right faction’s leader had been bestowed a marriage by the late Emperor many years ago. If the Queen Consort gives birth to a princess, the two of them will be engaged. It’s nothing much even if they’re together now!”
The three overheard what they said, and Su Xi-er immediately looked towards Du Ling whose face was stormy and brimming with murderous intent.
He soon turned towards Su Xi-er. “Do you still hope for her to repent even after she’s fallen to this extent? She will only dig herself deeper.”
Pei Qianhao furrowed his eyebrows slightly as he repeated the words he heard in his mind. The right faction’s leader and the Western Region Imperial Princess were bestowed a marriage by the late Emperor.
“A-Jing, let’s go in and have our meal.” Su Xi-er tugged at his sleeve.
With the sudden arrival of three people who bore extraordinary appearances, everyone stopped talking and stared at them with widened eyes.
Du Ling’s body was wrapped with a harsh aura, and he kept quiet after ordering a few dishes.
