The little princess was torn, and the demon emperor patched her up

Chapter 126 Collecting the Corpse
The night rain shrouded the city of Yejing.

As the city gate opened, thousands of soldiers standing in the rain looked up.

The drawbridge was slowly lowered.

What appeared in the field of vision was not the Southern Tang army coming to meet the enemy, but the Southern Tang king standing on his horse with his sword drawn.

He was wearing fine armor and a scarlet cloak.

The rain soaked the arrows on his back and dripped slowly down the scabbard at his waist.

He was silent, like a stone standing in the chilly wind.

The generals of the Northern Zhou Dynasty were very interested: "I didn't expect that the fourth princess's brother is such a stubborn guy! With a million troops at the gates of the city, he refused to surrender and even wanted to stop us single-handedly! It's just a foolish dream! Come on, shoot him--"

Xiao Nanjia raised his hand to stop him.

The girl, who had been away from her homeland for several months, rode a tall horse covered with armor. The silver armor made her look heroic. The too narrow distance between her eyebrows and the sharp jawline gave her beauty a strong sense of aggressiveness.

Lu Yu'an rode on the horse behind her and looked at her worriedly.

Xiao Nanjia only had Xiao Qian in his eyes: "I want to fight him myself."

The girl held the reins with one hand and flipped the sharp and heavy halberd with the other.

The next moment, she rode her horse towards Xiao Qian like an arrow!

The long sword and the halberd broke through the raindrops!

The weapons clashed, and the bright sparks ignited the darkness!
"I just don't understand..." Xiao Nanjia rode the horse with ease, his voice carrying an overwhelming chill, "Why does the queen mother only have eyes for you? I am better than you in reading, riding and shooting, and the six arts, so why can't she see me?!"

Xiao Qian held his sword horizontally and blocked the heavy blow from the halberd that fell from the sky.

The base of my thumb was numbed by the shock.

That honest and gentle face looked stern yet tolerant tonight: "Nan Jia, you are too persistent."

She spent so much time obsessing over her mother's approval that she missed out on so many other fun things in her growing up years.

I have never participated in flower-viewing banquets like other girls, I have never gone to the Imperial Street with my good friends to buy rouge, powder, pearls, hairpins and jewelry, I have never invited three or five close friends to drink tea around the fire in winter...

Her world was monotonous and cold, and she spent her days with the Four Books and Five Classics and riding, archery and horseback riding.

In the end, I don’t even have a close friend.

"Brother, did you know my true nature only today? Since I swore to defeat you, I will defeat you no matter what! Even if I have to bear the crime of patricide and regicide, I will defeat you! Brother, drinking tea around the fire with rouge and powder is not fun at all. Ambition and power that risk life are the most interesting things in the world!"

In the heavy rain, Xiao Nanjia's voice was unrestrained and uninhibited.

The two men fought fiercely on horseback, and the fireworks from the collision of weapons seemed like lightning tearing through the darkness.

Lu Yu'an gripped the reins tightly, his eyes following the silver-white figure intently, his handsome and gentle face full of pity and worry.

The Northern Zhou general beside him patted his shoulder and consoled him, "Master Lu, don't worry. The Fourth Princess's halberd is invincible. Even our Emperor praises her highly. She will definitely not lose to Xiao Qian!"

Lu Yu'an's brow was still filled with worry.

That day they fled to Northern Zhou, but the emperor of Northern Zhou was originally unwilling to lend troops to Your Highness.

Her Highness immediately made a bet with the Emperor of Northern Zhou that she would challenge the five great generals of Northern Zhou alone. If she could win, Northern Zhou would have to lend her troops. Otherwise, she would rather let the other party deal with her at will.

His Highness's bravery aroused the interest of the Northern Zhou Emperor.

In that battle, His Highness was covered in blood and had wounds visible to the bones, but he fought with all his might and defeated five generals!
She didn't win respect by her beauty or background, she won respect with her fists!
The Northern Zhou emperor praised her for her bravery and courage, saying she was the best among human beings.

But how can Xiao Qian be compared with those unfamiliar generals of the Northern Zhou Dynasty?
Xiao Qian...

He is your highness’s dearest brother!
In the open space in front of the city gate, Xiao Qian gradually fell into a disadvantage.

The halberd pierced his chest and thigh, and the warm blood seeped down his cloak and robe that were soaked by the rain, gradually dyeing the soil under the horse's hooves red.

The streets of Yejing City were empty and every house was closed.

A red lantern came closer, accompanied by the sound of a clear ringing bell. The boy's Taoist robe was pure white, with a light pink lotus pinned next to his snow-white scarf. He held an umbrella in one hand and a lantern in the other.

He was carrying a basket woven from bamboo strips.

The girl kneeling in the basket was breathtakingly beautiful in the rainy night, her delicate and flawless face like a puppet.

Xiao Baojing leaned over the basket and said, "Peddler, where are we going in the middle of the night?"

"Collect the body."

The cold wind blew the rain under the paper umbrella, wetting the girl's eyelashes.

She looked at the tall and majestic city gate in the distance, feeling somewhat uneasy: "Who...who should I collect the body for?"

"The little princess will know soon enough."

As winter nights approached, the rain became heavier.

The palace lanterns on the city walls lit up one after another, dimly illuminating the scene outside the city.

The warhorse stood silently in the direction where the wind was blowing, trying to shield its master from the wind and rain for the last time.

Xiao Qian lay in the mud, like a fish that had been swept ashore, on the verge of his last moment of life, twitching slightly from time to time.

A fatal wound pierced his chest.

Blood gushed out, staining the soil beneath him red, and the crimson cloak was almost unrecognizable in its original color.

He opened one of his good eyes, staring at the girl standing on her horse with her sword in hand, and slowly curved his eyes into an arc of warmth and tolerance, like an elder brother lovingly gazing at a younger generation that was about to grow up.

"Nanjia..."

His voice was extremely hoarse.

Xiao Nanjia lowered his eyes and looked at him.

She was also covered in bruises, and the rain was slowly washing away the blood on her silver-white armor.

Xiao Nanjia's jawline was tense as he recalled some things from his childhood.

When she was a child, her mother did not allow her to study at the Imperial Academy.

She knelt at the gate of Kunning Palace and begged her mother to give her a chance to study. She vowed to surpass other students and never embarrass her mother.

But the queen mother refused to even see her.

She knelt from early morning to dusk, until the palace lanterns were lit and heavy rain fell in the dusk.

It is also the beginning of winter.

The rain soaked her clothes, shoes and socks. She knelt there, almost losing feeling in her limbs.

It's so cold.

Just as she was about to faint, a paper umbrella was held over her head.

She raised her pale little face.

The emperor held up an umbrella, knelt on one knee in front of her, and gently touched her head: "I just came back from outside the palace. I heard that you want to study in the Imperial College?"

She pursed her lips, unwilling to pay attention to him because she hated him.

The emperor's brother was not angry. Instead, he smiled gently and encouraged her earnestly: "My sister is really amazing. She knows how to study hard at such a young age. She will definitely have a great future."

She coldly spat out two words: "Hypocrisy."

The emperor still smiled, handed the umbrella to the follower, and knelt beside her: "I will accompany you."

(End of this chapter)