Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 386 - 269 Discussing Merits and Rewards_2

Chapter 386: Chapter 269 Discussing Merits and Rewards_2

"This palace thanks the Third Young Master for the gift of ten thousand taels of silver."

There was a moment of silence, and then the surrounding soldiers, upon hearing these words, burst into cheerful shouts:

"Thank the Third Young Master for the gift of ten thousand taels of silver!!"

"Thank the Third Young Master for the gift of ten thousand taels of silver!!"

"Colonel Qin has won!!"

"Colonel Qin has won!!"

The unanimous cries of the Northern Border soldiers shook the heavens and the earth, and amidst these shouts, Xu Yuan left with a dark expression on his face. During his departure, he heard some of the colonels teasing:

"Young Master Xu, will you continue tomorrow?"

"Shut up, today was just your good luck, we’ll continue tomorrow."

"Young Master Xu, don’t be in such a rush, a bet is a bet, after all."

"......" Xu Yuan left without another word, his face dark.

Once out of the training field and back into his carriage, the sullen look on Xu Yuan’s face disappeared instantly. He threw himself onto the soft couch, a faint smile gracing his lips.

Suddenly, the carriage door was pulled open and a whiff of a woman’s fragrance entered his nostrils. Xu Yuan did not lift his head, casually asking:

"How is it?"

Li Qingyan walked briskly to the space beside Xu Yuan and sat down, saying:

"Thank you."

Xu Yuan glanced at the curves of the woman’s back outlined by her red tight-fitting dress and teased with a smile:

"’Thank you’ is the most useless phrase in this world. Body language is the most beautiful language on earth, don’t you think so, Qingyan?"

"......"

After a few moments of silence, Li Qingyan laughed softly, her voice rough:

"I thought you were just killing time."

Changing the subject...

Not being fooled at all is not cute.

Missing the Big Ice Lump for...for...the N-th day.

Muttering to himself, Xu Yuan then looked up at the ceiling and casually replied:

"The prolonged harassment by the Barbarian Army has already caused some unrest among our troops. As for my identity, acting as a target is most suitable—it’s good for venting and will help boost morale."

He paused,

took a long breath, and said with a slightly raised voice:

"Nevertheless, I’ve paid with genuine silver. I’ve heard those officers say that you’ve always been strict with rewards and punishments. Now that I, the Prince Consort, have paid such a price, could it be that the Princess is still so stingy?"

Li Qingyan’s voice was neither cold nor warm:

"That silver of yours is probably ill-gotten from extorting the Sects, right?"

"Not at all," Xu Yuan denied outright.

"Not at all?"

"The Sects didn’t give me silver in hand; this was extorted from your younger brother."

"....." Li Qingyan.

"Prince Consort, you really don’t conceal anything from me. So, it seems this silver..."

"Don’t change the subject, Prince Wu Yuan, known for being clear with rewards and punishments."

"....." Li Qingyan.

Li Qingyan took a deep breath and said:

"Alright, Prince Consort...how do you want me to reward you?""

"...."

Xu Yuan blinked, somewhat surprised.

He was all too familiar with the Princess’s tricky methods after these few months—he recognized her ways of keeping him at arm’s length, treating him differently from others, alluring but not satisfying, flirting without taking responsibility, writing checks that can’t be cashed, and so on...

His difficulty this time was just an excuse to simply tease her.

After pondering for a moment,

Xu Yuan looked over her slender figure, smirked, and tentatively asked:

"From now on, when we return to the carriage, you’ll take off your chest wrap, and you must not resist, nor use Origin Qi for protection?"

"......."

The carriage fell silent,

and after a long while, Li Qingyan replied in a business-like manner:

"The military situation is ever-changing; I cannot be separated from my armor."

"You have no sincerity at all," Xu Yuan rolled his eyes and said with irony, "And you talk about clear rewards and punishments?"

Li Qingyan snorted lightly, her eyes narrowing:

"Prince Consort, are you so eager for pleasure?"

Looking at her untouchable, noble, and cold elegance, Xu Yuan said earnestly:

"Any man would be unsettled facing a peerless beauty like you, Your Highness."

He paused, let out a sigh, and then smiled:

"But since the Princess can’t do without her armor, let it be this."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan raised a finger and tapped his own cheek, adding:

"If Your Highness isn’t willing, then forget it. After all, I never expected Your Highness to be clear with rewards and..."

Before he could finish,

"Buzz——"

The spacious interior of the carriage seemed to freeze.

The reddish pupils in Li Qingyan’s phoenix eyes appeared.

Xu Yuan only felt his whole body controlled by a tremendous force of Origin Qi, as the formidable woman in red armor slowly stood up beside him.

Locked eyes for a breath,

Li Qingyan lifted a slender index finger, gently lifting Xu Yuan’s chin:

"Prince Consort, do you... want me to kiss you?"

"......"

A cold gaze from between reddish pupils looked down from on high.

Body controlled, Xu Yuan licked the corner of his lips, coughed lightly, and with a serious expression, said,

"Your Highness, I just...."

"Shut up."

"...." Xu Yuan.

With a faint smile that was cold, Li Qingyan’s phoenix eyes gleamed with mirth as she slowly leaned down, her breath as fragrant as orchids by his ear:

"Prince Consort, you’ve helped this palace organize the army’s morale, which is a great accomplishment, so... "

At the end of her words,

the beastly carriage fell silent.

Gazing at those extremely beautiful phoenix eyes close at hand, misty with water vapor, and the soft touch on his lips was intoxicating. Just as he was amply preparing for the next move, he suddenly found that his entire body couldn’t move, pinned firmly to the soft couch by an invisible force.

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

Motherfucker, how many times has it been now?

Again and again, forcibly made into an eunuch by a woman.

Power...

When he cultivated to Second Grade Primordial, he’d make these women see what the husband’s mandate entailed.

After a few breaths, lips parted.

Li Qingyan extended her small, soft tongue, lightly licking her plump red lips for a moment. Those slender jade fingers were still gripping his chin, her gaze from on high carried a light smile:

"Prince Consort, you must have kissed quite a few women before, haven’t you?"

At her words, Xu Yuan was startled, his expression serious, his voice solemn:

"Your Highness, do not besmirch my purity, I, Xu Changtian, have always been profoundly earnest."

Li Qingyan released Xu Yuan’s chin, suppressed the slight acceleration of her heartbeat, and her phoenix eyes flickered with uncertainty:

"Profoundly earnest? To every woman?"

Xu Yuan kept a straight face, casually fabricating:

"Your Highness, kissing someone a hundred times and kissing a hundred people once each yield the same result."

"Heh."

Li Qingyan chuckled, not probing further, her jade hand lightly raised, freeing Xu Yuan from his restraints, then sat back down beside him:

"Are you now satisfied with your reward, Prince Consort?"

"If not satisfied... can we continue?"

"What do you think?"

"......"

Her calm gaze made Xu Yuan feel somewhat prickly. He averted his gaze, changing the topic:

"Your Highness, have we not been traveling south from the Northern Border for almost two months now?"

Indeed, he had been with the army for two months now.

Considering the time, that woman Tianyan had probably already entered the capital.

Li Qingyan glanced at him, following the topic:

"Prince Consort, in the life of a soldier, there are no years or months. Chasing these barbarian tribes across the snow plains sometimes lasts half a year. Mu’s uncle and others who quelled the rebellion within the territory had it even rougher, sometimes taking nearly a year to capture a city from the rebel forces."

Xu Yuan stared at the wooden ceiling, speaking idly:

"That Barbarian Strange King really knows how to endure loneliness, with his own lair almost being toppled, yet still holding his ground."

"This is indeed beyond this palace’s expectation. The Barbarian Strange King should be well aware of Mu’s uncle’s style of leading troops."

"Style?"

"With Mu’s uncle’s temperament, he would mostly likely not return until he has completely annihilated those barbarians."

"......"

After pondering for a few breaths, Xu Yuan slowly sat up from the soft couch:

"Speaking of this now is of no use. These past few days, you’ve been summoning commanders to discuss military affairs daily. Have you discovered something?"

Li Qingyan turned with a smile:

"Oh? What makes you say so?"

Xu Yuan spread his hands, stating what was obvious:

"Qingyan, you are not like those formalistic commanders; without important military information, you would not summon commanders. Plus, we’ve already stopped here at the foothills of Northern Court Peak for five days now, haven’t we?"

Li Qingyan exhaled, nodding slightly:

"Prince Consort, although the blizzards cover our tracks, we are ultimately within Great Yan’s territory. After two months, we should have some discoveries."

....

....

....

"Creak——"

"Creak——"

The red dress fluttered amidst the swirling snowflakes, as two sets of footprints pressing upon the snow marched up the mountain slope, swiftly concealed by the falling snow.

Standing atop Northern Court’s summit, he looked upon the woman beside him, her majestic and martial beauty undeclared, listening to the howling wind; it seemed as though the whole world had only them.

She didn’t look at him, gazing distantly at the vast land blanketed by white snow, pointing northwest, she said softly:

"Prince Consort, past that area three hundred li away lies the forbidden zone. Our scouts and powerful warriors who went there never came back."

As she spoke,

excitement shone in Li Qingyan’s eyes as she continued in a low voice:

"I arranged for Luo Qingfeng and his twenty thousand Border Army to go there yesterday. If everything goes well, we should have an answer today."