He Lan Tianxia

Just as Murong Junlan was about to depart, a guard rushed in to report: "Reporting, Your Highness, the Wubei Kingdom outside the city is challenging us."

"What? A challenge?" Murong Junlan and Luo Xie exchanged a glance, both finding it strange. Murong Junlan said to the guards, "Investigate again. Who led the troops?"

“Prince Murong, although I, Luo Xie, am not a gentleman, I am certainly not a despicable person,” Luo Xie said first.

"Report. Your Highness, the enemy camp is displaying a banner with the character 'Luo' on it. The adjutant in front of the commander claims to be acting on the orders of Chanyu Luo Xie to attack our capital, Yan."

"Me?" Luo Xie was furious. He grabbed a spear and stormed out. "I want to see which fool dares to impersonate me and issue orders!"

Murong Junlan was too lazy to pay attention to Luo Xie. Since their commander was here, he, as an outsider, didn't want to get involved. Besides, his mind was entirely on Yan'er.

After a short while, Luo Xie stormed in again, spear in hand. He loudly pleaded with Murong Junlan for help: "Prince Murong, I would like to borrow five thousand elite soldiers from you to fight off the enemy. What do you say?"

"Luo Xie Chanyu, are you challenging my intelligence or my emotional intelligence? Using my elite troops to fight your own army?" Murong Junlan looked at Luo Xie with a half-smile.

At this moment, Luo Xie was truly suffering in silence, unable to express his bitterness. He knew that the one who had impersonated him to issue the order to attack the Du Yan Kingdom was Qin Nan, the former crown prince of the Wu Bei Kingdom. He wasn't unaware of Qin Nan's growing ambitions, but he had underestimated Qin Nan's abilities and speed. The fact that he and his sister had lingered too long in the snowy region had given Qin Nan an opportunity.

"This is a grudge between Qin Nan and me." Luo Xie looked at Murong Junlan expectantly, like a child waiting to receive a reward. Then, Luo Xie simply and clearly described the grudge between him and Qin Nan.

"So, they've come to collect a debt from you," Murong Junlan said bluntly.

Luo Xie smiled noncommittally, "But I didn't expect him to be such a despicable person."

"Likewise. You know better than anyone how you seized the Wubei Kingdom back then." After a pause, Murong Junlan continued, "Since you helped me a lot recently, I'll lend you this spear for now. As for the grudge between you two, five thousand elite soldiers, or even thirty thousand, would be useless. You'd better think of another plan." With that, Murong Junlan went into the house to take care of his Yan'er, leaving Luo Xie standing there dumbfounded, staring at the beam in front of the reception hall, terrified.

What if they don't help? After all, we're not that close, so it's only natural that they wouldn't help. Who would want to get involved in such a mess? Luo Xie had no choice but to take his spear and go out to fight alone.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Luo Xie returned carrying a long spear, shouting loudly, "Prince Murong, come out here."

"What is it?" Murong Junlan walked out slowly and deliberately, his eyes showing no emotion.

"Your Highness, that bastard Qin Nan also insulted you."

"Oh? What did he say?" Murong Junlan asked with interest.

"He said you colluded with foreign enemies and conspired with the Xiongnu chieftain; he's no good." Luo Xie repeated Qin Nan's words verbatim, expecting Murong Junlan to be angry, but Murong Junlan said calmly.

"It seems you've dragged me into this mess."

"how do I say this?"

"You ran to our capital, Yan, and your people misunderstood that I was colluding with you. Isn't it you who dragged me into this mess?"

Hmm, that seems to make some sense, yet it also seems a bit illogical. Luo Xie couldn't think of a suitable response for a moment. Why did he come to the capital, Yan Kingdom? Wasn't it for his queen? But his queen was the one Murong Junlan loved, and it seemed he wasn't very welcome here. Back in the Snow Region, he was only worried about his queen's situation; thinking about it now, he had indeed been a burden to Murong Junlan.

Seeing Luo Xie deep in thought, Murong Junlan knew he had confused him. In fact, during their time together in the snowy region, he found that Luo Xie and his sister were quite simple-minded, sometimes even a bit straightforward and clumsy. He had decided to treat them as friends.

"Then I'll go pick this guy." Luo Xie steeled himself and walked out.

"Wait. Since he's challenging us at the gates of our Yan Kingdom, I'll go and meet him." As he spoke, Murong Junlan had already stepped out to the door.

"Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness." Luo Xie followed closely behind. Actually, it wasn't that Luo Xie was cowardly; he truly had no soldiers at the moment. How could he fight?

In fact, Murong Junlan received intelligence when the Du Yan army was pressing in, knowing that Qin Nan was leading troops. He had only sent Luo Xie out to buy time, guessing that Qin Nan misunderstood that he was cooperating with Luo Xie against him. Therefore, he preemptively struck to provoke conflict between him and Luo Xie, and then drove Luo Xie out of Wu Bei. Qin Nan's resistance against Luo Xie's invasion of Wu Bei was correct, but Qin Nan's methods were too extreme. He had just risked his life to rescue Murong Junlan from Luo Xie, and now he was already suspecting that Murong Junlan was fighting against Luo Xie. Today, he was even openly challenging Du Yan. What was most infuriating was that he was using Luo Xie's token to issue his own orders. His experience was far too inexperienced. Qin Nan didn't know how many people in his army truly trusted him. Murong Junlan had sympathized with Qin Nan's plight, so he decided to go out and meet his former savior.

"Let's go together." Seeing that Luo Xie hadn't caught up yet, Murong Junlan paused and added.

"Your Highness, it seems you forgot to bring your weapons?" Luo Xie reminded him.

"Since it's a grudge, can weapons resolve it?" Murong Junlan didn't stop walking.

"If weapons can't solve this, can we really solve it with just words?" Luo Xie pondered as he walked, but dared not ask aloud. Anyway, I'll follow you. If anything happens, you take the lead; if things get too tough, we can just run away.

Murong Junlan saw through Luo Xie's little scheme, but he didn't bother to expose it. Upon exiting the mansion, Murong Junlan tossed Luo Xie a horse rein, and Luo Xie immediately mounted his horse. The two commanders, their two horses, rode out of the city in a majestic display. Looking around, they saw Qin Nan waiting on horseback for some time.

"Prince Murong, I respect your upright character and your renowned reputation. I never expected you to collude with the Xiongnu and join them in their evil deeds. Qin Nan has truly been blind to your abilities." After saying this, Qin Nan drew his sword and charged straight at them.

"Qin Nan, you bastard, you're trying to take advantage of the situation, aren't you? Take this!" Luo Xie shouted, brandishing his gun. He wasn't afraid at this moment, because he had Murong Junlan backing him up.

After hundreds of rounds of fighting, Qin Nan still seemed unsatisfied, growing even more courageous as he fought, as if he wanted to vent the humiliation of Luo Xie's invasion of the Wubei Kingdom. The Wubei soldiers were in high spirits, their shouts of encouragement rising and falling in waves. Luo Xie was furious, thinking, "You bunch of traitors! I've always treated you well. Don't you know who the commander is? What are you shouting for?" Only now did he realize how unpredictable people could be.

As the fight progressed, Luo Xie realized something was wrong. Why was it so quiet behind him? He glanced back and was immediately terrified. Where was Prince Murong? Where was he? Good heavens! Behind him, besides a high city wall, he was all alone, fighting on his own. Where had Murong Junlan gone? How could a prince do something so irresponsible? He had made a terrible mistake in choosing his friends.

"Hiss." Before he knew it, Qin Nan's broadsword swept across. Fortunately, he dodged quickly and was not hurt, but a large part of his robe was cut off at his feet. Luo Xie gasped. It must be that Qin Nan had been practicing his martial arts day and night and his skills had improved.

"Thud." Qin Nan slapped his broadsword hard against the horse's rump. The horse, startled, bolted. Where could it run? The city gates were closed. To its left was flat ground; if the soldiers all drew their bows, there would be nowhere to hide. To its right was a small pine forest—at least it could find some cover. So, he yanked the reins and galloped towards the pine forest. Qin Nan shouted and chased after him.

Luo Xie galloped forward like a headless fly. Strangely, this small pine forest was so close to the city gate, yet Murong Junlan hadn't even assigned a single soldier to guard it. It didn't seem like he was particularly meticulous. Just as Luo Xie was complaining about Murong Junlan, Qin Nan had already caught up. It had to be said that Prince Murong Junlan was incredibly stingy; he wouldn't even give him a good horse. After running for a short while, the horse's legs went weak, forcing him to stop and walk. Alas, he had met the wrong person. Murong Junlan probably still held a grudge against him for stealing his beloved. Thinking of the grandeur of their wedding day, Luo Xie shouted at the top of his lungs, "Prince Murong, I never thought that the wise and shrewd Luo Xie would be fooled by you! But, after all, I did become related to your princess, ha..."

With a "whoosh," two pine nuts struck Luo Xie's calf, forcing him to squat down in pain. Just then, Qin Nan's horse caught up, and Qin Nan raised his sword, bringing it down directly on Luo Xie.

Luo Xie rolled away, narrowly avoiding Qin Nan's falling blade. What a close call! Luo Xie tried to roll a few more times to get into the pine forest undergrowth, but after several attempts, he couldn't roll down. A pair of animal-hide boots blocked his way. It was over; he was doomed. Luo Xie didn't have time to lament his fate. His hands instinctively grabbed the pair of feet clad in the animal-hide boots, thinking, "If you want to kill me, I'll take you down with me." Luo Xie gloated, squeezing out a sentence, "Qin Nan, let's die together!"

Huh? Why is there no movement? Did Qin Nan have a change of heart and not kill him? Luo Xie slowly raised his head and saw Murong Junlan looking at him with a pair of disappointed eyes. What's going on? Where did Murong Junlan come from? When did he appear? This posture is quite embarrassing, hehehe. Luo Xie rolled over and stood up, only to see Qin Nan trapped inside a large net.

"Someone, invite Crown Prince Qin into the reception hall." Murong Junlan leaped onto his fiery red hare and led a troop of men straight into the city. Only then did Luo Xie belatedly pull his soft-hoofed horse and trot after them.

In the reception room, Murong Junlan personally loosened the net for Qin Nan, but Qin Nan ignored him and said angrily, "Prince Murong, do as you please, whether you want to skin me alive or kill me."

Murong Junlan smiled slightly and said, "If I told you that I didn't collude with the Xiongnu, but that the Xiongnu wanted to collude with me, would you believe me?"

"What?" Qin Nan looked at Murong Junlan with a skeptical expression, then glanced at Luo Xie.

"I'm colluding with you?" Luo Xie finally understood. "Me, the dignified Chanyu of the Wubei Kingdom, colluding with you?"

“At least you came here on your own initiative, right?” Murong Junlan took a sip of the Biluochun tea on the table.

"Me?" Luo Xie was speechless for a moment. "That's because she was worried about me, my queen consort."

"Did you hear me clearly? Crown Prince Qin Nan, do you really think I would collude with a Xiongnu Chanyu who is infatuated with my beloved concubine? My heart is not as broad as you think. Although leading you to the small pine forest this time was disrespectful, I did not want to harm innocent people because of unnecessary misunderstandings. As for the feud between the two of you, it is not appropriate for me, an outsider, to interfere."

After speaking, Murong Junlan took another sip of the Biluochun tea on the table and slowly said, "I owe you a debt of gratitude, which I will repay double in the future. Guards, see him out." Just as Murong Junlan was about to turn and go inside, Qin Nan's voice came from behind him.

"Prince Murong, I apologize for offending you today. Farewell." With that, Qin Nan glanced at Luo Xie, turned and left the reception hall, striding towards the city gate. Afterward, Qin Nan also withdrew the troops outside the city.

"Prince Murong, should I hold a grudge against you this time, or thank you?" Luo Xie felt a little wronged no matter how she thought about it.

"What do you think?" Murong Junlan flicked his robes and turned to go inside, then left with another sentence: "You'd better keep the Black Overlord Flower thing a secret for me."

"Understood, Your Highness." Hmm, Luo Xie always felt that he liked to obey Murong Junlan. Why was that?

"Someone, prepare the carriage." Luo Xie knew better than anyone how anxious Murong Junlan was.

"Report! Guard Jiang and Princess Rina have returned!" the guard rushed in to report.

"Hurry, tell them to go directly to Yan Garden." Now that the spiritual spring water has been retrieved, what are we waiting for? Murong Junlan didn't want to linger for even a moment longer. Just as he stepped into the gate of Yan Garden, Jiang He came in, and he and Luo Rina each handed a large jar of spiritual spring water to Murong Junlan.

"Your Highness, this is spiritual spring water from the desert." Jiang He and Luo Rina were exhausted from their days of travel, but they were still excited because they had completed the task assigned by the prince.

"You've worked hard, go and rest." After instructing the guards to prepare a sumptuous dinner for the two of them, Murong Junlan took the spiritual spring water and went directly to Yan'er's bedside. Although his Yan'er was unconscious, her beautiful face, delicate skin, and gentle sleeping posture made her look like a sleeping child. Murong Junlan gently helped Yan'er up, then reached out to brush the hair from her forehead, tenderly touching her exquisitely beautiful face. Just as he was about to put the spiritual spring water in the bowl to Yan'er's lips, he heard a hawk cry out and rushed into the room. It dropped two pills into the bowl with two clatters, then perched on the bedtop, waiting for Murong Junlan to feed the woman the medicine.

Murong Junlan glanced at the eagle, thinking, "Where have you been having fun all this time?" The eagle seemed to understand his meaning, glaring back at him a few times, as if scolding him for not taking good care of its master. So, the man and the eagle bickered for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, until the eagle angrily flew over and grabbed the bowl before finally stopping. After feeding Yan'er the medicine, Murong Junlan put her back on the bed. He took out his purple bamboo flute and gently played the tune of "Remembering the Flute on the Phoenix Terrace." Instantly, the moonlit Yan Garden was filled with a warm and cozy atmosphere.