Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 306 - 223 Northern Border City_2

Chapter 306: Chapter 223 Northern Border City_2

While Li Zhaoyuan was still pondering, Li Yunqing had already brazenly begun to apologize:

"You are right in your reprimand, Sister. Yunqing has learned his lesson."

The titles of Prince and Princess are two different systems.

There could be a Third Prince and a Third Princess coexisting; Li Qingyan might be the Ninth Princess, but she was older than the Third Prince, Li Yunqing.

"......"

Silence.

Li Qingyan closed her eyes and had no intention of dealing with the Third Prince.

Since her return to the Imperial Capital, she had seen that elder brother of hers, whom she barely met a few times growing up, seven or eight times already.

Whether the concern in his words was real or not, she was unsure, but their relationship certainly was not close enough to warrant such frequent visits from him.

Li Yunqing didn’t feel awkward and turned to Xu Yuan instead:

"Prince Consort, you have to admit, it’s kind of funny how our father, the Emperor, has arranged your marriage with my sister and yet sent you both to the Northern Frontier."

Xu Yuan spread his hands helplessly and said:

"The Emperor and my father want to exchange hostages; we can’t possibly send the Crown Prince or my brother, can we?"

"...."

The moment those words were spoken, Li Yunqing was rendered silent again.

Brother, can you not be so blunt?

At this moment, Li Zhaoyuan gave a slight smile:

"Changtian has always been outspoken."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Xu Yuan smiled and clasped his fists, raising his hand to take Li Yunqing’s wine, ready for a small drink, but that young man snatched it away before he could.

Li Yunqing looked at Xu Yuan with a surprised expression:

"What are you doing?"

Xu Yuan glanced at the half-empty bottle of Celadon Brew:

"Just having a drink, why so stingy?"

"......"

Li Yunqing chuckled with an undertone of sarcasm:

"Doesn’t the Third Young Master know that one must pay for things they buy?"

"....."

Xu Yuan said nothing, instead, he casually slung an arm over Li Qingyan’s shoulder.

Li Qingyan gave him a cold glance, but didn’t resist.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan naturally said:

"I am your dear sister’s betrothed; we’re family. Do family members charge each other money?"

Li Yunqing watched Xu Yuan for a couple of seconds and then suddenly laughed:

"The Third Young Master has a point. Just yesterday, someone in my Cloud Palace left without paying. That person looked a bit like you, which made me a bit paranoid. Here you go."

With that, Li Yunqing handed over the bottle of Celadon Brew.

Xu Yuan felt somewhat amused internally.

If you run away on your own merit, why should you pay?

Just as he was about to take it, Li Qingyan reached out and took it first, suddenly asking:

"Yunqing, what exactly is this Cloud Palace you mentioned?"

Li Yunqing grinned sheepishly and said:

"My sister, it’s a brothel I recently opened. It’s filled with courtesans."

"......." Xu Yuan.

Damn, this kid was waiting for him to fall into the trap.

"Courtesans?"

Li Qingyan narrowed her phoenix eyes, her voice taking on a hint of danger, "So, the one who ran out on his bill... stayed the night?"

"Well..."

Li Yunqing sneakily glanced at Xu Yuan and cautiously said:

"I’m not too sure about that, but he seemed to have gone with a beautiful woman. They dismissed the servants and fought a round. After the fight, that woman was lying on the ground motionless."

"....." Xu Yuan.

Li Qingyan gave Xu Yuan a cold look.

Xu Yuan was quite experienced in handling such situations.

In instances like this, it’s best not to engage in explanations; the more you explain, the worse it gets.

Without so much as a blush or a skipped heartbeat, Xu Yuan calmly replied:

"The world is vast; there are bound to be some who resemble me. Last night, I was practicing swordplay at my maternal uncle’s place; he can vouch for me."

Aside from treating Xu Yuan and Xu Changge, his two nephews, Feng Jiuxuan wasn’t very patient with anyone else. Even Xu Yinhe had to be extremely polite around him, so nobody dared to verify the story.

Li Qingyan poured a cup of fine wine for Xu Yuan and said with a smile:

"Here, Changtian, let’s drink."

Xu Yuan cleared his throat:

"No need."

Li Qingyan looked surprised, "Not drinking? Once you’re in my army camp, you’ll have to abstain from alcohol."

With that,

Li Qingyan’s phoenix eyes curved into two slits:

"Of course, just as long as Changtian you are willing to endure this palace’s whip, you too may drink," she said.

Xu Yuan cleared his throat, pushed away the cup, and changed the subject by asking:

"By the way, does this journey really need to be shrouded in such secrecy? I’m not even talking about flying Demonic Beasts, but why does our carriage lack even a shock absorber?"

Li Qingyan gave Xu Yuan a deep look and explained:

"Because it has to be kept secret. The Cloud Qi Bomb cannot be put into the Sumeru Ring, and the Communication Bureau in the offices of the Northern Frontier is riddled with Sect spies. River and air transport are their key points of inspection, while land travel with the multitude of carriages is the most secure."

Understanding dawned on Xu Yuan in an instant, but he still had to play his part, so he said:

"But what of the inspections? Surely they wouldn’t dare to rob us?"

Li Zhaoyuan, who had been reading, put his ancient book aside and chuckled:

"Rob, they certainly wouldn’t dare, but they could notify the Barbarian Tribes in advance."

Xu Yuan frowned:

"I see, if it were exposed, those Barbarian brats wouldn’t take the bait, would they?"

Li Zhaoyuan smiled without a word and continued reading and scheming.

Meanwhile, Li Junqing’s gaze towards Xu Yuan was somewhat strange.

It was as if he was saying,

Act,

keep on acting.

No one responded, and silence momentarily prevailed.

As the carriage continued on for a while,

Li Junqing appeared to grow restless with the silence and began to speak:

"By the way, Third Young Master, do you know about something?"

Xu Yuan was all out of niceness when dealing with this grandson, replying sharply:

"How would I know if you don’t tell me?"

Li Junqing gave a slight smile and mysteriously said:

"That female constable, with whom you seem to have quite the predestined relationship, was exiled to Northern Border City recently."

Xu Mengxi was exiled?

Last time they arrested him, it was just routine. His father wouldn’t give someone the short end of the stick over something like that.

There were many at The Imperial Court who complained about his father, but very few handled it.

Xu Yuan pondered for a moment, chose not to feign ignorance, and laughed:

"They just wanted to throw me in jail, there’s no predestined relationship involved."

Surprisingly, Li Qingyan did not express any displeasure but instead asked indifferently:

"The Secret Investigation Department going to Northern Border City?"

Li Junqing nodded:

"Yes, she was exiled there two decades ago. It’s said it was because she was intransigent, though it was probably because her mentor wanted her to gain experience. Although the Northern Frontier is dangerous, it is a good place to accumulate military exploits."

Li Qingyan shook her head:

"The merits in Northern Border City are not easy to come by."

Xu Yuan, who had only visited Northern Border City as a child, was unfamiliar with the area’s situation:

"No matter how complex Northern Border City’s situation might be, surely it cannot compare to the complexity of the Imperial Capital?"

Li Qingyan gave him a sidelong glance and said:

"While Northern Border City is filled with parasites, in years of constant warfare, these people could be anything but soft. If you dare to investigate their web of interests, they’d make you vanish from this world. Previously, the imperial envoy the Imperial Court had sent to inspect the local taxes barely entered the city before the inn where they were staying caught fire."

Xu Yuan crossed his legs and knitted his brows:

"The Northern Frontier’s borders are in such chaos?"

Li Qingyan lowered her eyes and fingered the silk of her dress, nodding:

"Unlike other border regions, aside from Uncle Mu’s Northern Border Army, the Border Army in these parts have been completely infiltrated by the Sects."

At that,

Li Qingyan lifted her gaze, her eyes brimming with a thick murderous intent:

"Because of these parasites, countless of the common people in the Northern Frontier, and even many of my own soldiers have died absolutely meaningless deaths."

Li Zhaoyuan looked up at Li Qingyan, his gaze contemplative.

He seemed to finally understand what this princess desired.

Her hatred for the Sects seemed to surpass even that for the Barbarian Tribes.

Mulling over this, Li Zhaoyuan inwardly sighed.

Perhaps he would not garner her support after all...

Seeing the situation, Xu Yuan gently patted her back and said softly:

"Parasites deserve to be dragged to the dung pit and drowned. Princess, isn’t this trip exactly for dealing with this issue?"

Over these days, Li Qingyan had nearly adjusted to being touched by him and nodded:

"As long as we resolve the Barbarian Tribes’ trouble in the Northern Frontier, Uncle Mu has promised me a chance to personally purge these parasites."

Conversation ceased, silence followed.

The Demonic Beast-pulled carriage traveled unreservedly along the wide imperial road towards the Northern Frontier...

A month later,

A thousand miles encased in ice, ten thousand miles of drifting snow, despite it being summer, the dense snow clouds in the sky are too heavy to dissipate, and the blizzard falling from the heavens reduces visibility on the imperial road to less than thirty feet.

After about fifteen minutes of travel, a majestic city that had blocked the Barbarian Tribes for a thousand years came abruptly into view.