New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

The following day at noon, a column of Jin cavalry came from the north, galloping swiftly and soon entering the Jin army camp.

Upon hearing that the deputy commander was summoning him from the central command tent, Tang Qian dared not delay in the slightest. He immediately tidied his clothes and followed the soldier who came to deliver the message out of the tent, secretly speculating about the intentions of these Jurchens.

After a night of turmoil, Wanyan Xieye's condition actually stabilized. The so-called medical master of the Jin Kingdom, after taking his pulse, first exclaimed in disbelief, then sighed in despair. He lamented that his skills were too shallow, utterly insignificant compared to those imperial physicians of the Song Kingdom.

Tang Qian was largely responsible for facilitating the brief truce between the Song and Jin armies. The Jin generals did not want to continue fighting, and Tang Qian's actions relieved their immediate crisis. Logically, he should be considered a meritorious person, but the Jin people are fickle, and it is really hard to predict whether they will discard him after using him.

After a moment of wild thoughts, Tang Qian, escorted by two soldiers, arrived at the central command tent. Tang Qian noticed that Wanyan Xun was among them and immediately cast a subtle pleading look at him.

Although this kid is insignificant and his words carry little weight, and these people in front of him really want to kill him to cover up their cowardice, Tang Qian doesn't expect him to be able to stop them. But it's still better than having no one to rely on at all.

When Tang Qian realized that Wanyan Xun had no reaction to his hints, his heart sank. A sense of foreboding washed over him, causing him to pause in his tracks.

He cursed God for being unfair, wondering why he had been brought to an era where human life was as worthless as grass. Tang Qian couldn't bear the sense of crisis of having his life controlled by others.

Just as he was racking his brains for a solution but felt helpless, a burly man in black suddenly stepped forward and waved the wooden token in his hand at Tang Qian: "We are ordered to escort Young Master Tang to Youzhou. Time is short, so please come with us now."

"Go back to Youzhou?" Tang Qian frowned slightly, but after seeing the token in the other party's hand, he immediately understood. It was the token of Princess Wanyan Xi of the Jin Kingdom.

Although he didn't know why the princess had suddenly sent someone to take him back, Tang Qian felt that his life had been saved once again. Staying in the Jin army camp, he had been on tenterhooks the whole time, and his nerves had been on edge for a moment.

Now that he was able to leave this place of trouble, Tang Qian finally felt a little relieved. Sensing that the guards in front of him meant no harm, he tentatively cupped his hands towards the leader and asked, "My horsemanship is not very good. Would you please prepare a carriage?"

When he came to Tokyo with Wanyan Xun's grain escort team, he rode a horse for several days in the cold wind. Even though the marching speed was not fast, it still chafed a large patch of skin and flesh on both sides of his thighs. He could still feel a slight pain at this moment. If he had to ride a horse again when he returned, Tang Qian felt that he might as well die.

"Our orders are to return to Youzhou as quickly as possible. There's no room for you to bargain."

Before the leader could answer, another man standing behind him directly rejected Tang Qian's request. Tang Qian gave a bitter smile and was about to apologize when the leader turned around and slapped his subordinate hard across the face. The subordinate's cheek bulged up rapidly, and a bright red handprint was clearly visible.

"Young Master Tang is a distinguished guest of Her Highness the Princess. How dare you shout and make a scene here?"

The moment he turned to Tang Qian, the hostility emanating from him vanished without a trace. "Since it is your request, young master, we will certainly comply."

The slap from the leading man not only deterred his subordinate's arrogance but also seemed to boost Tang Qian's confidence. He unconsciously straightened his back, though the smile on his face still appeared somewhat awkward.

Tang Qian's previously anxious heart finally settled down completely when he followed the group out of the tent and saw a carriage parked among a line of soldiers.

Regardless of the reason, being able to receive Wanyan Xi's protection means that even if he cannot leave Youzhou City, his life should be safe.

Watching the group of people leave the camp, Wanyan Zonghan couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly: "Our Seventh Princess is really favored by the Emperor. Just to send a Song person back to Youzhou, she actually managed to bring back an imperial edict."

Wanyan Zongwang also showed a lot of helplessness. Tang Qian was indeed a clever fellow, but last night he had inquired about him through Wanyan Xun and found nothing special.

"He's neither good at literature nor martial arts, and he's not exactly a great talent or general. I don't know how he managed to impress Wanyan Xi during his few days in Youzhou."

However, how could these two rough men possibly see through the little girl's thoughts? As long as this kid behaved himself and wasn't a spy sent by the Song Kingdom to infiltrate the Jin Dynasty, they could let Wanyan Xi do whatever she wanted.

Tang Qian was not valued by either of them, but Wanyan Xun was happy to see it happen. Although the boy had escaped his control, he was not worried that the boy would actually get away.

Now that he's back in Youzhou, as the commander of Youzhou, why should he be afraid of not being able to control him after returning?

However, if I could bring one or two of his family members back with me this time, so that Tang Qian would have something to hold him back in the city, wouldn't I no longer have to go through so much trouble to keep an eye on him?

Wanyan Xun was thinking about how to further control Tang Qian and make him completely his own in the future. Tang Qian, sitting in the swaying carriage returning to Youzhou, was completely unaware of this. During this period, he had been traveling back and forth between Dongjing and Youzhou, and this was his third trip.

Tang Qian's first mission to Youzhou was in early winter, and the temperature was already unbearable. Now it was the dead of winter, and even though he wrapped his whole body in layers of fur coats, he still felt a chill penetrating his skin and reaching his bone marrow.

However, as he walked along, he no longer worried about freezing to death on the road. After walking back and forth several times, Tang Qian had gotten used to it.

After seven or eight days of turbulent travel, Tang Qian finally saw the slightly dilapidated city walls of Youzhou City once again. Returning to the city, he felt as if he had been through another world. Having been on the battlefield and witnessed the tragic scene of piled-up corpses and flowing rivers of blood, Tang Qian suddenly had an epiphany.

Life is indeed precious, Petőfi was right.

Tang Qian silently recited these words, selectively forgetting the last two lines of the poem.

This time, Tang Qian was not arranged to stay at the post station outside the city, but instead stayed in the city as a princess's VIP. The guards outside were not ostensibly there to monitor him, but were actually guards specially sent by the princess.

When Tang Qian saw Xiao Qi appear before him, lively and energetic, a smile finally appeared on his face. One of the main reasons he hadn't tried to escape from the Jin army camp was that he was worried that the boy would be implicated and lose his life for nothing.

Although Xiao Qi was just the son of a servant in the Tang family, he was a playmate who had grown up with him since childhood. Even after arriving in Youzhou City, Xiao Qi never abandoned him. By this time, Tang Qian had long regarded him as a brother and the only person he could unconditionally trust.

Tang Qian would never do something as treacherous as abandoning his brothers.

“During the few days that the young master set off with the Jin army, I was kept in prison. I had a chance to escape then, but I was worried that they would take their anger out on the young master, so I didn’t make any rash moves. After that, the girl named Xiao Li took the princess’s token and took me out, and I had no chance to escape again.”

Although she was under house arrest, Xiao Qi didn't seem to have suffered any physical pain. In addition, the guards had treated her with great courtesy along the way, and had almost always granted her requests. It seemed that Wanyan Xi really did need her help.

With this confidence, Tang Qian felt his back straighten up instantly. At least he wouldn't let the other party manipulate him anymore. As long as his requests weren't excessive, he figured he wouldn't be refused.

"I wonder if Wanyan Xi wanted the charcoal stove or that glass hairpin."

With his mind making plans, Tang Qian tidied his clothes and, accompanied by two guards, left the house where he was being held against his will, heading towards the Princess's Mansion in Youzhou City.