Spring arrives and the land smiles

After a night's rest, getting back into the carriage the next day wasn't as painful as before. Lan Zhen wasn't so tactless as to knock on the door early in the morning, allowing Qing Yan to get a good night's sleep until the sun was high in the sky before lazily opening her eyes.

Recalling how he had refused the maid Lan Zhen had sent to serve him last night, he stared at himself in astonishment, as if it were an unbelievable thing for a princess not to be served. Of course, he couldn't explain his experiences from his previous 26 years of life to him, so he could only laugh it off, saying his personal maid wasn't there, using his unfamiliarity with the situation as an excuse. Sigh, he never thought that being waited on hand and foot would feel so awkward. People just can't be spoiled.

Today is a rare warm winter day. Compared to the gloomy weather of the past few days, this kind of weather is perfect for traveling. Qingyan sat in the carriage, wishing she could lift the roof off so she could directly receive the caress of the warm winter sun and bask in the sun to dry her soon-to-be-moldy body.

"Hey, I want to go out and get some sun." The carriage was swaying back and forth, but the transvestite was still able to concentrate on his book. Qingyan really admired him.

"I don't want to be in the sun," Lan Zhen replied casually, without even lifting her eyelids.

"I mean I want to sunbathe, what does that have to do with whether you sunbathe or not?" Qingyan rolled her eyes at him, whether he saw it or not, this glance was mainly to give herself a self-deceptive laugh.

“I don’t want to be in the sun,” Lan Zhen turned a page of her book and repeated, her gaze still fixed on the book. “You’ve left enough marks already; even an idiot could find them, let alone your unparalleled consort!”

Ah!

Qingyan was taken aback, then quickly composed herself. "So you knew all along." She only said it now? She really knows how to hold back. If she's that patient, she should become a Ninja Turtle. Imagining the transvestite carrying a turtle shell, Qingyan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"What else do you know?" Qingyan drew back the curtains. The sun shone brightly outside the car, but the air was a bit chilly. Now that things had come to this, there was no need for formalities. Qingyan spoke lazily, seemingly without any emotion: "Or, if there's anything else you want to know, just say it all!"

"Who is your consort, Ning Yuan or Fu Yunxuan?" Lan Zhen turned another page of the book, but this time she slightly raised her eyelids.

What's the question? Qingyan paused for a moment, rolled her eyes, and answered him, "Both."

“You know what I mean,” the transgender man finally raised his head and spoke, “or do I need to ask you another way?” His dissatisfaction was clearly written on his face.

"Are you so eager to prove your wisdom and accurate judgment?" Qingyan straightened up. "We'll be in Suizhou soon. Once I see Ningyuan, you can judge for yourself with your own eyes. Why ask such a question?"

"Just answer me." Lan Zhen turned her gaze back to the book.

"Give me back the Cheng Ying sword, and I'll tell you." Qing Yan raised her eyebrows and glanced at him furtively.

Knock, knock, knock. Lan Zhen knocked on the carriage window. Cao Yu poked his head in, and Lan Zhen gave him a wink. Cao Yu immediately presented the Cheng Ying sword. However, the expression on his face was one of reluctance.

"Hmph, you know your stuff." Qingyan raised an eyebrow inwardly.

“You can speak now.” Lan Zhen handed over the sword.

"You've already made up your mind, why do I need to say it myself?" Taking the sword, Qingyan examined it carefully; there was no damage.

"As expected, it's Ning Yuan," Lan Zhen smiled faintly. "However, your acting was quite good. Prince Jin believed you without a doubt. I really don't know how that kid Hai Tu saw through it." Her indifferent tone carried a hint of disdain.

Haitu? I think I've seen him three times in total. Does he have superhuman eyes? Qingyan wondered to herself, her mind automatically recalling the three times she had seen Haitu.

The first instance was two years ago. A massive snowstorm blanketed the northern deserts, trapping the nomadic herders in a small area south of the Xiguan Mountains. To save their people, Tat Khan, leading the then-uncrowned heir Lomur Haitu, came to borrow land. He intended to resettle the affected herders on the grasslands between the Xiguan Mountains and the Changbai Mountains until the snowstorm subsided, at which point the grasslands would be returned. At that time, Qingyan was already the designated crown prince, and thus was naturally allowed to participate in such a crucial military and national affair. Qingyan clearly remembers disdainfully remarking, "Liu Bei borrowed Jingzhou, never to return it." Somehow, the long-eared Haitu overheard this and immediately used an extremely ruthless method to demonstrate his resolve. To this day, Qingyan still remembers Haitu's bloodied left arm, on which a pattern resembling a feathered arrow was carved with a dagger, deep enough to expose the bone, leaving Qingyan utterly shocked and devastated. It is said that this is the totem of the Qiu Rong ancestors. If used to make an oath, the vow is for the lives of the entire tribe, and if the vow is broken, the consequence is—extermination of the tribe. Such a devout act even shocked the emperor, who was accustomed to bloody politics, and he immediately agreed to the request of Tat Khan and his son. Qingyan herself was also dazzled by this pool of blood.

The second time they saw the map was ten months later, when they came to return the grasslands and brought snow wolves, unique to the desert, as a gift. Snow wolves are different from other desert wolves; they always live in pairs and never in packs. Therefore, the female and male wolves always appear together, hunting and attacking simultaneously. If one is killed, the other will fight to the death. Snow wolves are extremely beautiful, lacking any of the coarseness of wild beasts. Their fur is as white as snow, their faces delicate and their features handsome; it's hard to associate them with bloodthirsty madmen. Snow wolves are difficult to tame; once they choose a master, they will protect him for life. Qingyan was given a pair, but she never dared to keep them, so this task naturally fell to Ning Yuan. However, everyone was careless this time. Such loyal guardians were left leisurely in the palace. Knowing the dangers of the journey, they should have tricked and persuaded Ning Yuan to bring the snow wolves along, instead of leaving them in the heavily guarded palace to protect her. As a result, on this southward journey, fearing the snow wolves would attract attention, they were left in the palace, their heroic abilities rendered useless.

The third time I saw Haitu was a few months ago at her wedding. Well, that was basically her personal show, nothing special.

Qingyan shook her head, going over the movie in her mind, but still came up empty-handed.

"What are you thinking about?" Seeing that she remained silent for a long time and then suddenly shook her head in distress, Lan Zhen was a little puzzled.

Qingyan snapped out of her daze, turning to stare at Lan Zhen. Suddenly, the weight of the Cheng Ying sword in her hand reminded her. Her eyes darted around strangely as she silently considered her surroundings. With a light laugh, Qingyan spoke, word by word, "I'm thinking about what method I can use to subdue you immediately." With that, she swiftly thrust her sword at Lan Zhen.

The carriage was cramped, and Lan Zhen could only dodge slightly after regaining her senses. Qing Yan knew she was no match for him. Prince Zhao was a military general who had served alongside General Li Muqing of Southern Xia in defending the border for many years. His skills were far beyond what she, with her fancy but ineffective martial arts, could match. Therefore, there was only one way to win: to catch him off guard and finish the battle quickly.

She quickly twirled her sword, forcing him into a narrower corner. Taking advantage of his distraction when Lan Zhen knocked the sword from his hand, Qingyan pulled out a hairpin from her hair and pressed it against his throat.

"I didn't expect the princess to be so agile. I underestimated you." After being restrained, Lan Zhen laughed instead: "Speak, what do you want?"

“I don’t want to do anything, I’m just afraid that Your Highness’s journey will be too tiring and your health will suffer, which will delay taking me to see Ningyuan. So,” Qingyan took out a pill from her waist pouch and shoved it into Lan Zhen’s mouth, forcing him to swallow it, “Your Highness must take care of your health.”

"What did you give me to eat?" The action came so suddenly that Lan Zhen couldn't help but get angry. Such a blatant threat was a complete challenge to his dignity as a prince, as a king, and even as a man. Qingyan could almost feel that thing called her inner universe burning rapidly, so hot that her heart trembled involuntarily. The hand holding the jade hairpin slid down a bit, unknowingly moving away from her vital area. This man's aura was indeed very powerful.

Taking advantage of her momentary lapse in concentration, Lan Zhen swiftly grabbed her hand and pulled her back, causing the hairpin to slip straight from her grasp and fall slackly into the carriage.

"It's just a slow-acting poison, Your Highness, no need to be nervous. You won't die anytime soon. The antidote will be given to you when the time comes. So we're in this together now, Your Highness, don't even think about selling me out." Having said all this in one breath, seeing Lan Zhen's unusual expression, almost to the point of panic, Qing Yan felt incredibly pleased. She completely forgot her previous tension, laughing so hard her heart was about to stop, almost forgetting that her life was in someone else's hands. It turns out even this seemingly composed transvestite has her moments of losing control.

"Give me the antidote." Lan Zhen pinched Qing Yan's hand hard, causing her to cry out in pain. Qing Yan immediately regretted laughing too soon, fearing she would cry later. Looking at the transvestite's face, the ferocity had only increased; he seemed extremely angry. Qing Yan's heart returned to the state of cold sweat she had been in earlier. Thinking about it carefully, she realized she knew very little about Lan Zhen. If he was someone who acted recklessly and self-destructively, wouldn't she end up not only failing to save the person but also dying without a burial place?

Upon closer inspection, Qingyan's face gradually paled, which Lan Zhen perceived as a growing sense of fear. "You're scared!" If she got any closer, would she be able to see her trembling? A mischievous thought suddenly popped into Lan Zhen's mind, and her expression shifted from stormy to somber, making her even more unpredictable.

Before her eyes, Lan Zhen's handsome face gradually magnified, so alluring it was almost terrifying. Qing Yan felt as if a knife was rolling back and forth on the tip of her heart, ready to fall at any moment. The situation was so out of control that Qing Yan almost lost her composure.

"Enough!" she shouted, shoving him away. Qingyan's heart pounded for a moment. "I'm scared, but," Qingyan forced herself to calm down, staring sharply at Lan Zhen with wide eyes, "if you're there to take the fall, I'll only gain, not lose!"

"Since that's the case, let's go to the Yellow Springs and Hell together, shall we?" Lan Zhen's handsome face continued to magnify, but his smile was ghostly, and one could even smell the aura of death, which inch by inch eroded the human body until it was completely ravaged.

Not wanting to look too awful, Qingyan forced a smile, picked up the jade hairpin, inserted it into her hair, and said softly, "With beauty by my side, even the Yellow Springs and Hell would be as blissful as the Western Paradise. Why wouldn't I want that!"

While uttering flippant words, Qingyan's heart trembled, fearing the atmosphere would become tense. She tried to sound like Lan Zhen, portraying him as a complete lecher, hoping to ease the tension.

“Well said.” Lan Zhen smiled in agreement. “To die under the peony is to be romantic even as a ghost.” His exquisite face was filled with madness. Lan Zhen had returned to being the fifth prince of Nanxia who treated romance as a meal, as if he had mistaken the slow poison that had just been stuffed into his mouth for candy.

"It's said that His Highness Prince Zhao is unparalleled in his romantic affairs, and I've certainly witnessed it firsthand." Qingyan covered her face and chuckled, though she was still nervous inside. Her composure was truly unfathomable.

“Likewise,” Lan Zhen picked up the sword from the ground, her gaze lingering on its blade. “The Princess married two husbands in one grand ceremony, and both were exceptionally beautiful. The reputation for her charm should probably be shared equally between us.” She lightly touched the blade with her finger, paused for a moment, then flicked the tip of the sword with her middle finger, channeling her inner energy. The Cheng Ying sword immediately emitted a ringing sound like the cry of a crane.

"Indeed, a fine sword." Lan Zhen gripped the hilt, casually twirled the sword, and held Qing Yan's chin, the tip pointing directly at her throat. "A fine sword for a hero, a hero for a beauty, a perfect match." With that, he sheathed the sword and pinned it to the carriage with a whoosh.

Qingyan's expression changed drastically. She stared at the sword, bewildered, and reached out to pull it out, but Lanzhen beat her to it and threw it out the window.

"You!" Qingyan glared at him, parted the curtains to look for the sword, when suddenly a long object whistled past her ear and almost hit her head. Upon closer inspection, she realized that the sword sheath had also been thrown away by Lan Zhen, that transvestite.