The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan
Chapter 454 - 453 Late Night Heart-to-Heart (Part 2)

Chapter 454: 453 Late Night Heart-to-Heart (Part 2)

Upon seeing the summons, he immediately presented the precious sword to Murong Ce with all due respect.

Zhang San involuntarily took a step back upon seeing this, his back turning cold, his heart pounding with fear, "Your Majesty, you, what are you..."

Murong Ce thrust the sword through Zhang San’s chest.

Zhang San coughed up fresh blood, kneeling on the ground, looking at Murong Ce with anger, "You really are despicable..."

Murong Ce’s face lost its mocking nonchalance, "Who gave you the audacity to call my woman a deceitful wretch?"

After he spoke, he fiercely pulled out the sword, blood gushing out, dying the cold blade red, and drops of blood fell from the sharp edge onto the ground.

Advisor Zheng immediately stepped forward to take the sword.

Zhang San curled up on the ground, convulsed a few times, and died with his eyes wide open.

Murong Ce spoke to Yu, "Write a letter to the Empress."

If Li Xianyun wanted to save the people of Ji Shi Tang, she should obediently return to his side.

He didn’t care that she had been married, didn’t care that she had shared a bed with another man.

It was as if she had simply gone out to clear her mind.

As long as she was willing to return to his side, he could tolerate everything.

Murong Ce hated everything, even himself, yet he loved only Li Xianyun.

Yu respectfully bowed with a fist in palm and said, "Yes!"

Having given his orders, Murong Ce turned and left.

A grand procession followed him.

Yuchi Si’s frightening eyes were dark and inscrutable.

Although Li Xianyun verbally agreed to marry Murong Ce, the two had not undergone the wedding ceremony, nor had they consummated the marriage, yet Murong Ce had declared Li Xianyun his Empress.

On the day of his ascension, Murong Ce even had Li Xianyun’s name written next to his in the secret imperial records for the position of Empress.

Being the mother of the nation, Murong Ce’s frivolous behavior went unchallenged by the court officials, none daring to say a word.

Now, he had even spared the lives of all in Ji Shi Tang, for whom, it goes without saying.

Murong Ce’s obsession with Li Xianyun would one day lead to his death at that woman’s hands.

As a confidant of Murong Ce, Yuchi Si should have advised him, yet with Murong Ce’s unpredictable temper and his focus on self-interest, seeing only profit and not affection, Yuchi Si also feared being torn asunder after speaking out.

After this incident, Yuchi Si realized one thing: he must never let Li Xianyun come to Houliang.

The first thing Li Xianyun would likely do upon arriving in Houliang was to have Murong Ce kill him.

Murong Ce was so infatuated with Li Xianyun that to please her, he would do anything.

The day Li Xianyun arrived in Houliang would be his death anniversary.

But this was not something that concerned Yuchi Si.

Li Xianyun was now the favored concubine of Yelu Yan, so how easy would it be to bring her to Houliang?

Murong Ce was truly delusional.

Yuchi Si could not understand, being the sovereign of a nation, what woman could he not have, yet why was Murong Ce so fixated on Li Xianyun?

Having heard of Li Xianyun’s superb medical skills, could it be she had cast a spell over Murong Ce?

-

That night, Li Xianyun suffered from insomnia, troubled by what had happened to Qu Ting.

She lay in Yelu Yan’s embrace, unable to turn over and over, maintaining one position until her body nearly stiffened.

Li Xianyun wanted to move out of Yelu Yan’s embrace to lie down.

She looked up at him.

Yelu Yan had his eyes closed, his breathing was even, and he hadn’t moved for a while, as if he had fallen asleep.

Li Xianyun lifted up her slender hand gently and grasped Yelu Yan’s arm that was lying across her, then slowly started to lift it.

No sooner had she moved it a little, than Yelu Yan opened his eyes, and his deep gaze fell on her.

"Husband, did I wake you?"

Yelu Yan looked down at her intently, "Xianxian, what exactly has happened? Can’t you share it with your husband?"

She was bearing everything on her own; did she not consider him her man?

Since Li Xianyun had become preoccupied, Yelu Yan had been upset, but he also dared not show it, fearing he would anger her further.

When Li Xianyun was suffering from insomnia in his arms, Yelu Yan was also awake.

Grief like fine silk threads tightly entangled his heart.

Li Xianyun bit her lower lip as if she had made up her mind, and frowned, "I just received news today that someone from Ji Shi Tang plans to assassinate Yuchi Si tonight. I suspect this is a trap set by Murong Ce; he must have laid out the Heavenly Net, waiting for the people of Ji Shi Tang, to catch them all at once. I have already sent a message by carrier pigeon to stop them, but I don’t know what the situation is now."

The people of Ji Shi Tang were life-and-death friends with her, and with Murong Ce being cruel and ruthless, how could she not worry?

Yelu Yan slowly withdrew his arm from underneath Li Xianyun’s neck.

"Xianxian, I have placed some people in Houliang to gather information, let’s make further arrangements after we get the details," he said.

Li Xianyun uttered a sound of acknowledgment and sat up as well, watching Yelu Yan as he put on his outer garment and left.

When Yelu Yan returned, he found Li Xianyun leaning against the headboard, daydreaming.

Yelu Yan approached, took off his shoes, climbed onto the bed, sat beside Li Xianyun, stretched out his long arm, pulled her into his embrace, and pressed her small head gently against his firm chest. He stroked her hair and whispered, "Don’t worry anymore; thinking about it now is futile."

"I know, but I still can’t help but think about it."

Yelu Yan kissed the top of her head and said, "Then, since you’re troubled, why not keep your husband company and talk?"

Li Xianyun placed a small hand on Yelu Yan’s firm chest, "Talk about what?"

"How about your Ji Shi Tang?"

Li Xianyun fell silent.

Yelu Yan suddenly remembered her words, that she did not want someone investigating her behind her back, nor did she want anyone to pry into her privacy.

Feeling he had spoken out of turn, Yelu Yan quickly said, "It’s alright if we don’t talk about Ji Shi Tang. Let’s talk about the Prince’s Mansion instead; discuss your parents and your siblings."

Yelu Yan was already certain that the Prince and his wife would bring their children to Khitan for the celebration, and he wanted to learn more about Li Xianyun’s family to avoid any disrespect in front of them, which might upset Li Xianyun.

It was rare for him to be nervous, but the prospect of meeting Li Xianyun’s family made him jittery to an extraordinary degree.

What kind of storms had a man of his age not seen?

Yet now, the thought of meeting his mother-in-law and father-in-law made him so nervous it was somewhat embarrassing to speak of it.

Li Xianyun’s soft voice began to resonate in the dark night.

"Ji Shi Tang was something I established in secret not long after I arrived in Chang’an. At first, it was for earning money to help with family expenses, and secondly, to fulfill my longstanding wish of healing the sick and saving lives..."

"However, that group of people became insufferable, and so I used Ji Shi Tang to exact revenge on them. As a result, Ji Shi Tang was divided into two factions: one consisted of physicians with excellent medical skills, focusing on treating diseases and saving lives, earning some money to sustain the operation of Ji Shi Tang."

"The other faction comprised people I had taken in or saved who were burdened with great injustices. We banded together to exact vengeance while combating evil, aiding the weak, and upholding justice."

The Houtang was rife with corrupt officials who only recognized money and not justice, making it extremely difficult to seek redress through the Official Government.

"Those who went to assassinate Murong Ce today belong to the second faction; I taught them how to use poison and sought out experts in martial arts to train them. They are all suffering individuals determined to avenge themselves, and through diligent practice, they have achieved much in just a year’s time and have done many good deeds."

"Later on, after Huanhuan met with her trouble, I became entirely focused on killing Murong Ce to avenge Huanhuan. Many people loathed Murong Ce to the bone. I gathered those who were capable and resilient to Ji Shi Tang to plot our major strategy. As Murong Ce is a ruler of a state, killing him is not an easy task, so we thought to eradicate his close supporters first."