New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

A crescent moon hung in the night sky, its cold light illuminating the Yanshan mine, whose ground was already stained red with blood. As the screams gradually subsided, a brutal massacre was coming to an end.

Zhuo Luwang and Wanyan Aru's personal guards numbered nearly eight hundred, all of whom were warriors handpicked from among the tribe's elite. However, they were all trapped at the mountain pass and killed by a hail of arrows from the mountaintop.

Arrows came from all directions and seemed inexhaustible. Even though Ulinda and Aliban tried their best to shout loudly to preserve their strength, most of their guards still died under the enemy's volley of arrows.

The remaining hundred or so men were helpless against the terrain of the mountain pass, which was like a bag with its opening tied shut. The enemy only needed to hold the entrance to the pass, and they couldn't break through at all.

In the dead of night, the Fourth Prince Wanyan Aru was startled awake by a nightmare, breaking out in a cold sweat. He suddenly opened his eyes, the terrifying scene from his dream still vivid in his mind. He hurriedly called over a guard to bring him tea to calm his nerves, and only then did he regain some composure.

Has any news come back from Ali?

The guard hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: "It seems the commander must have entered Yanshan with the Zhuolu clan..."

“Even so, he couldn’t possibly not send someone back to report.” Without concrete news from the mine, Wanyan Aru seemed somewhat agitated. “What about Zhuo Luwang? Has he made any moves?”

"Prince Zhuo Lu broke camp and left Youzhou last night, presumably heading to Yunzhou to meet the cavalry transporting ore."

Wanyan Aru snorted coldly: "He does run pretty fast."

The two were having a private conversation in the tent when the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from outside, which made Wanyan Aru immediately beam with joy. "There must be news coming back."

Completely disregarding the chilly spring air outside the tent, Wanyan Aru rushed outside wearing only a coat. There was indeed a troop of cavalry riding towards the camp, but the night was too dark to see clearly whose men they were.

As the other party approached the camp, Wanyan Aru's pupils suddenly contracted, and his face turned ashen. He recognized the newcomer as Balha, the commander of the Seventh Princess's personal guards, who had sold him the glass tea set for 20,000 taels of silver back in Liaoyang.

In an instant, Wanyan Aru concealed the disappointment on his face, replacing it with an inviolable royal majesty: "You have quite the nerve to trespass into my camp in the dead of night."

The Fourth Prince's rebuke did not make Balha dismount. Instead, he smiled and waved his whip, cupping his hands in greeting: "This humble general dares not. I have come here today on the orders of the princess to ask the Fourth Prince why your five hundred personal guards have been reduced to such a small number?"

"Where my personal guards have gone, do I need to report to Youzhou City?"

"No need for that." Hearing the anger in Wanyan Aru's words, Balha remained unmoved. "The Princess's mansion is naturally not so lenient. Tonight at midnight in Yanshan, south of the city, a group of about eight hundred people trespassed into the forbidden area of ​​Youzhou. They have all been killed. Although they were dressed in Song Dynasty clothing, they had Jin Dynasty hairstyles. Your Highness is ordered to come and see which group of people caused trouble in Youzhou."

As Balha finished speaking, his gaze swept around with amusement. "The Fourth Prince's personal guards are so few. If I don't explain, it will be difficult for me to go back and give an account."

A night breeze blew by, causing Wanyan Aru to sway slightly. Whether it was because he was dressed too lightly or because the wind was too biting, the Fourth Prince felt surrounded by coldness, and the chill that emanated from the soles of his feet instantly spread throughout his body.

"What a joke! The entire Great Jin Kingdom belongs to my Wanyan family. I and your Seventh Princess are siblings born of the same father. How dare you suspect that I would kill my own siblings?"

"Hey, that's not what Her Highness the Princess said, so why should the Fourth Prince take it personally?"

Just a day ago, Wanyan Aru might have been able to deny it, but with more than a dozen tribes having already returned to escort the grain needed by Youzhou, he was now the only one left waiting for news. Someone had launched a night raid on the mine, and most of the people around him had mysteriously disappeared. Anyone could guess what the truth was.

However, Wanyan Aru refused to admit it, so what could Wanyan Xi do to him? He was absolutely certain that with Aliban's loyalty to him, it was impossible for the other side to capture a single person alive to confront him.

"I have important business to attend to and must depart now. Please convey a message to my seventh sister: leave room for maneuver in all things, so that we may meet again in the future. Do not go too far, or she will suffer the consequences later."

"Your Highness, rest assured, this humble general will certainly deliver the message." He then raised his whip to his subordinates behind him, and they pulled on the reins, parting the road as the horses neighed. "The Youzhou Princess's Residence respectfully escorts Your Highness back to the capital."

Wanyan Aru's face had long since turned ashen, but because the light was too dim, no one could see it. Balha led a group of his men and watched as his hundred personal guards packed up the camp. Then they set off overnight and hurried towards the direction beyond the pass. Finally, he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of saliva.

"They run pretty fast, though."

Once the area outside Youzhou City was completely quiet, the first light of dawn slowly appeared in the east, and a new day arrived as scheduled.

In the Tang residence in Youzhou City, Tang Qian sat up from the bed, yawning.

Upon hearing the commotion, the maid Rong'er immediately brought in water, startling Tang Qian so much that his drowsiness vanished instantly. He suddenly remembered that in order to get the spies Wanyan Xun had planted in the house to send messages back, he and Zhao Yingluo had started sharing a bed. However, he was really not used to Rong'er suddenly serving him, the son-in-law, as he washed and dressed.

"Someone from the princess's residence has come to urge him several times. If the young master doesn't wake up soon, I'm really going to have to pull off the covers."

Tang Qian listened to Rong'er's nagging while washing his face. This little girl really didn't treat herself like an outsider.

Seeing the helpless look on her son-in-law's face as she scolded him, Rong'er stuck out her tongue at Tang Qian: "I only dared to be bold because I know that my son-in-law is a good person. As Miss said, we are still alive thanks to our son-in-law."

Tang Qian smiled wryly: "So you've been bullying me all this time?"

Rong'er pouted and said, "It's because you don't understand my young lady's thoughts, young master."

Tang Qian stretched out his hands, letting Rong'er help him adjust his clothes, and suddenly smiled at her: "Wasn't your young lady betrothed to the Xiang family in the Song Dynasty? Why does the Emperor want her to come here for a political marriage?"

"It's not..." Rong'er was so indignant that her eyes were almost spitting fire, but after a moment, she still kept her mouth shut. "This servant dares not criticize the head of the family. The young master should ask the young lady about this matter."