Еvеrу аccusing gаzе silеntlу сondemned hеr. Shе didn't carе! She wasn't wrоng! Тhоsе Liао Peоple naturally cоuldn't stаnd seеing a mеrе littlе fеmalе slаvе likе hеr willfully dеfy their leаdеr. In their minds, оnly he cоuld freelу humiliate hеr, аnd shе соuld nоt rеsist him. But truly, thе fаult was nоt hеrs! Еven if shе died, it wоuld bе self-harm, hаving nоthing to dо with him. The old nаnny said his angеr саme frоm that paсkеt оf lethаl mеdiсinе аnd hеr tramрling оn his goоdwill. So thаt paсket оf mеdiсine соuld hаvе killed her! Wasn't thаt good? A muddled deаth was better thаn clinging to lifе shamеlеssly.
Nоt long ago, Duoluo Qi and two subordinates had carried in a large tub filled with hot water for her to bathe. Then he saw the untouched meal, urged her to eat, but she completely ignored him, so he could only sigh and leave. Before going, he said meaningfully: "You are his woman, you should obey him. He treats you so well, yet you always provoke him, making life difficult for everyone."
When had he ever treated her well? Aside from continuously plundering her, ruthlessly destroying her body, spirit, self-respect, and pride without reservation, she didn't know what kindness he had shown her. Should she consider this so-called favor?
Even thank him for ruining her?
However, she began to doubt Yelü Lie's identity. Just moments ago, she had seen real bandits—ferocious, filthy, with brutish faces and lewd, murky gazes—clearly lowly scum. Unlike Yelü Lie, who possessed an innate nobility. In Great Liao today, the Yelü Tribe was in power, so the surname "Yelü" must be quite prestigious, right?
From her rough understanding, when Great Liao was still called "Khitan," there were over twenty tribes, large and small, each governing independently, with the eight tribes being the most powerful. To unite military strength, they elected a unified military Khan every three years, called the Chieftain of the Eight Tribes. Each tribe had its own period of glory; famous during the Northern Wei, flourishing in the Great Tang, and once severely defeated by An Lushan when the Yaonian clan was in power. The true rise to power began with Liao Taizu Yelü Abaoji, who took advantage of his position as Chieftain of the Eight Tribes to unify all tribes, establish the state of Great Liao, and centralize military and political power, ending the three-year elections. From then on, Great Liao became the domain of the Yelü Tribe.
And the golden age of Great Liao began in this generation. The ruler, Yelü Longxu, during the Tonghe era of Great Liao, benefited from the wise Empress Dowager Xiao's regency, who appointed the capable Han People Han Derang as prime minister to assist the state and serve as the emperor's royal tutor. This allowed Yelü Longxu, who ascended the throne at twelve, to grow up safely to this day and become a capable monarch, making Great Song deeply wary.
And Yelü Lie—what identity did this "Young Master" hold? Being a captive of a bandit leader was one thing, but being the woman of a Great Liao noble was entirely different. With the two nations viewing each other as mortal enemies, she would be a traitorous slave. If he was a noble, then he must father children of pure bloodline. If—if she bore him a child, what fate would that child have? Probably not only unwelcome among the Khitan, but also a target everyone in Great Song would want to eliminate.
Who was he? Could he possibly, just possibly, be a commoner?
The sound of hoofbeats in the night was especially clear—was he back?The sound of hooves stopped outside the tent, and soon after, he pushed the curtain aside and entered. She watched him, his clothes damp with sweat clinging to his muscles, the ferocity gone from his eyes, yet still cold and stern.
"Come here!" He sat in the chair beside the table.
Barefoot, she walked over to him and saw his palms embedded with fine wood splinters, tinged with blood; his clothes were also covered in dust.
Quite naturally, she knelt on the carpet, carefully picking the splinters from his palms, and fetched a basin of warm water to clean his hands.
When he wasn’t exuding an aura of threat or danger, she couldn’t help but understand his needs from his gaze, silently doing things she would later deeply despise herself for.
It was like a kind of bewitchment! She didn’t know what was happening; at times, he could be considered gentle—when he quietly gazed at her, when he combed her long hair in moments of leisure, when he bent over a book to read… She would keenly sense an indescribable intimacy between them, something she couldn’t resist, leading her to indulge and let her emotions sink.
He pulled her into his lap, and she wanted to struggle—"Don’t move!" He wrapped his arms around her, whispering softly in her ear, "Just stay still like this. Don’t move."
She stopped moving, her cheek pressed against his chest, letting him hold her. She asked, "Who are you?"
He didn’t answer. Instead, he asked, "Who do you want me to be?"
"You’re not a bandit, yet you act like one. How many women have you abducted? What became of them?"
He lifted her chin and said firmly, "I’ve abducted women, but I’ve never taken them for myself! Some became camp prostitutes, others were arranged to marry, depending on whether they were guilty."
"Then why treat me like this? What crime have I committed? Why must I endure all this? If you judge a woman’s fate based on her guilt, shouldn’t you arrange for me to marry?"
Here it was again! Every time he saw her for less than a quarter of an hour, he wanted to strangle her!
"You have no right to demand anything from me!" he said through gritted teeth.
"If you’re not a bandit, then I do! I wouldn’t ask for fairness from a bandit, because bandits kill and burn without humanity, without reason! But you—you’re probably a powerful Khitan, aren’t you? Two nations may be at odds, but civilians shouldn’t suffer. You can’t treat me as a prisoner of war!"
"Civilians? A civilian carrying confidential documents should have been killed long ago."
She replied coldly, "Oh! So I’m considered guilty! Then I should become a camp prostitute, right? When will you kick me into the Red Tent, 'Young Master'?"
"When you learn how to serve a man! When you master all the seductive arts! When you understand how to please a man with your body! Right now, you’re as stiff as wood, as cold as a corpse. Are you so eager to offer yourself to every man under heaven?"
"Shut up!" She raised her hand to strike, but he caught it.
"You won’t get a second chance to hit me! You brought this humiliation upon yourself!"
"What exactly do you want, Yelü Lie?"
"I want you!" he growled, immediately capturing her lips to silence the words that would only provoke his fury further.What exactly did she want him to do? What he least wanted was to hurt her, yet after every argument, he found her hating him even more. If he could have steeled his heart to kill her, it would have been one thing, but after each burst of anger, he was always immensely relieved that he hadn’t laid a hand on her—she remained unharmed!
Only when he stirred the desires of her physical senses, when they were bared before each other, would she show a hint of shyness, become fiery for him, and after an inner struggle, yield to him time and again. In those moments, she was as beautiful as autumn waters, nearly drowning him, yet only then could he feel that she was warm, that she was alive!
Her loneliness, despair, and homesickness—he saw them all. But he would not let her go, nor would he allow her to leave him.
In this lifetime, she could only remain by his side!
"You are mine! I want you to bear my children, do you hear me? You must have my children!" he whispered incessantly in her ear. "Qiluo..." His sighs lingered, unceasing.
Chapter Four
The further north they traveled, the more desolate the late autumn became.
Unlike the landscapes of the northwest, here stretched a vast grassland, especially as they reached the Yin Mountains, where the nomadic characteristics became even more pronounced. And the weather grew colder the farther north they went.
Half a month later, the group had returned to the Yelü Tribe, and Jun Qiluo finally learned who he was—the Yilijin of the Yelü Tribe, a cousin of the current emperor of Great Liao.
As for his two deputies, Duoluo Qi was the Xiangwen Official, in charge of the Imperial Guard, while Dalou Jiyao was the Shilie Official, commanding the Tribal Army.
The Twelve Riders were the Yilijin’s personal death guards.
She shouldn’t have been surprised; his aura had always suggested someone of this kind—a nobleman of royal blood, wielding significant military power.
All Liao people lived in tents, but the Tribal Chief had an additional official residence—a Royal Palace bestowed by the emperor. The status of the Tribal Chief was equivalent to that of a prince in the Central Plains; so—did he also have a crowd of beautiful wives and concubines? Did he have a princess consort?
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