New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

On the tenth day after Wanyan Xun sent out the forged letter, news finally came back from the Eastern Route Army.

Her younger brother, Zhalu, had his arm severed and was now crippled, still severely injured. The letter's contents enraged the Eastern Route Commander, Andahe, who immediately summoned fifty guards, mounted their warhorses, and charged towards Youzhou City with murderous intent. Hearing that Andahe was the one coming, Wanyan Ling frowned slightly: "Why is this brute here too?"

As for Dahe, he is impulsive and easily angered, and acts irrationally. Yet he commands a large army and is a formidable figure. If he intends to come and get a share of the pie, Wanyan Ling feels quite wary.

Fortunately, the glassmaking process, which she had initially thought would be very complicated, turned out to be surprisingly simple. The craftsmen she brought were able to get started after just a couple of glances. The only troublesome part was the collection of raw materials, but the mine in Yanshan was in the hands of her younger sister, Wanyan Xi, so she probably wouldn't dare to mess around.

The news that relieved Wanyan Ling quickly spread: An Dahe did not enter the city, but led his fifty personal guards to the Youzhou garrison camp outside the city, which meant that he was not after the glass at all.

"Why are you so murderous? Are you looking for trouble with Wanyan Xun?"

Wanyan Ling guessed correctly. An Dahe had come to seek justice for his younger brother, Zha Lu. When he saw Zha Lu lying in the military tent, groaning with his arm severed, the veins on An Dahe's arm bulged out as if they were about to burst out of his body, making him look extremely ferocious and terrifying.

After a long silence, An Dahe laughed angrily, "Very well, you actually managed to injure my brother like this." He grabbed Zha Lu by the collar, his face full of rage, "Tell me, who is it?"

"It's Wanyan Xun, the commander of Youzhou! Brother, you must avenge me, or I will die with my eyes wide open in disbelief!"

"Wanyan Xun?" An Dahe's lips curled up into a contemptuous smile. "That bastard? Does he think that just because he escorted grain to Tokyo, he can swagger around in front of me, the Commander-in-Chief?"

He flicked his sleeves and left Zhalu's tent. An Dahe waved to his fifty subordinates and, surrounded by his personal guards, marched in a grand procession straight toward the military tent where Wanyan Xun was located.

He originally thought that Wanyan Xun would personally come out of his tent to greet him, but who would have thought that before he even got close to the central army tent, he was blocked by a group of men. However, An Dahe was not afraid at all and did not stop at all. He continued to walk forward despite the long swords drawn by the other party.

"Anyone with guts can chop off my head."

Seeing that this group of people had simply surrounded him and were retreating step by step under his coercion, An Dahe sneered: "A bunch of trash."

He continued charging forward recklessly, when suddenly he felt a figure flash by. The soldiers blocking his way dispersed to both sides, and a young man walked leisurely towards him. It was none other than Wanyan Xun, the commander of the Youzhou army.

"What? You led your troops into the important territory of my Youzhou military camp without prior notice. Do you have a death wish?"

Blood ties are truly a strange thing. The brother, Zaru, is a brainless lecher, and the elder brother is also a reckless idiot who does things without thinking.

"Wanyan Xun, did you cut off my brother's arm?"

“Zha Lu, as a deputy general, broke the law by breaking into the Song camp at night, which was even more disrespectful to me, the commander-in-chief of the Youzhou army. I have already shown him leniency by cutting off his arm.”

"Breaking into the Song camp at night? Insulting the commander-in-chief? These are truly heinous crimes." Upon hearing this, An Dahe was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter. "Don't even mention the Song camp, even if it were the Song imperial palace, what difference would it make? As for you, Wanyan Xun, you were born of the Liao people. Have I, your brother, ever been wrong?"

Wanyan Xun chuckled softly, "So Zha Lu has no respect for military discipline, so I cut off one of his arms."

"You really have some nerve. Do you believe I, the Commander-in-Chief, will annihilate your Youzhou army?"

Completely ignoring An Dahe's threat, he turned around and walked straight into the tent: "If you want to fight, then fight. My Youzhou army is ready at any time. However, I would like to ask the commander to think twice before acting. If you take the initiative to provoke internal strife, I don't need to tell you what will happen to the Eastern Route Army."

An Dahe clenched his fists, but dared not make any rash moves. Zha Lu had violated military regulations first, and Wanyan Xun had punished him afterward. Even if he caused a scene in Liaoyang City, he would still be in the wrong.

He recklessly resorted to violence to avenge his brother, only to be slaughtered by a coalition of tribes.

Wanyan Xun could not move, but he could not leave Zhalu's revenge unavenged. Moreover, most importantly, An Dahe had come in a fit of rage, and if he could not find an excuse to back down, he would lose all face.

“Zha Lu is by no means a reckless person. How could he have barged into the Song camp without a reason? I suspect that you deliberately lured Zha Lu there to eliminate your rivals.”

"Commander, there's no need to pin the blame on me. Your brother's trespassing into the Song camp was due to lust. He wanted to take liberties with the Song princess who was to be married off to the emperor. I was ordered by Bo Jilie to bring the Song princess back to Youzhou, so naturally I need to ensure her safety."

At this point, Wanyan Xun's voice abruptly stopped, and the calm expression on his face suddenly turned serious: "An Dahe, don't act recklessly. This is Youzhou City, not a place for you to run wild."

"A princess from the Song Dynasty who was sent for a peace treaty?" As if he hadn't heard Wanyan Xun's warning at all, a sinister look appeared on An Dahe's face. "No wonder my brothers were willing to break military discipline to break into the Song camp. So that's how it is."

Then, he rolled his eyes again: "What did you just say? That princess from the Song Dynasty is in Youzhou City right now?"

Having said that, An Dahe could no longer hide his burning desire: "Since my brother lost an arm for this princess, then I, the commander, will go and see her face on his behalf. This will fulfill my brother's wish. I'm sure Brother Wanyan won't object."

Wanyan Xun snorted coldly: "The Song princess has now safely arrived in Youzhou, and my mission has been completed. What the commander-in-chief wants to do is none of my business. However, I would like to advise the commander-in-chief that no matter how weak the Song Dynasty is, it is now a brother state of my Jin Dynasty. Commander-in-chief, are you not afraid of causing the war between the two countries to break out again by disrespecting the Song princess?"

"Heh." An Dahe's smile was full of disdain. "If the Great Song dares to fight, this commander will gladly oblige. Besides, this commander only intends to meet this princess, so that my brother's arm won't be lost in vain. If even such a small request cannot be fulfilled, what's the point of this commander's position?"