Yaoying and her party galloped on horseback through the night.
Behind them stretched only the boundless snowy plains—The First Prince's pursuers had not caught up.
By the next morning, they stopped to rest beside a concealed mountain path.
Xie Qing took a headcount and reported to Yaoying, "No one was left behind."
Yaoying nodded, retrieving several pre-written letters and distributing them among a few trusted soldiers. "I had already sent letters to Liangzhou earlier, but there's no guarantee they arrived safely, and even if they did, they might not be taken seriously. Take these letters and split up—ride swiftly to Xiao Pass, Hangu Pass, Tong Pass, and Liangzhou. Find the garrison commanders and tell them they must heighten their vigilance and prepare for battle."
She then handed two more letters to other soldiers. "You two head directly to Jincheng—ride day and night without rest. Go to the Jincheng Military Governor's office and find a scholar named Du Sinan. Tell him the opportunity for glory and advancement he desires has arrived. If Southern Chu can be repelled, his name will be known throughout the land!"
The soldiers exchanged uncertain glances. "What if they don't believe us?"
The princess was merely a woman—and a political bride sent far away for marriage alliance. Who among the garrison commanders would take her sudden letters seriously?
Yaoying urged them to depart immediately. "Whether they believe it or not, once your letters are delivered, they will at least become more alert. Do not delay—go now!"
The soldiers still hesitated, reluctant to leave. "Princess, our duty is to protect your safety. Other matters are not our concern. You are still in danger—we cannot abandon you!"
They were guards meticulously chosen by Li Zhongqian for Li Yaoying, loyal only to him and the Seventh Princess. Even if the sky were falling, they would remain by her side.
Yaoying raised a hand to smooth the disheveled hair at her temples. After a night of hard riding, she was disheveled and worn, yet her eyes remained clear and resolute. "With a great enemy at our gates and the nation on the brink of collapse, can you truly not distinguish what matters most? There is no time to waste! Go!"
The soldiers exchanged glances, bowing their heads but refusing to move.
Yaoying felt dizzy, stumbling briefly before steadying herself. "The situation is critical. Your missions may not be safe, but I am entrusting the future of Great Wei and the lives of millions to you."
She bowed deeply to the soldiers.
"Regardless of life or death, you are Great Wei's most loyal warriors! If you return alive to Chang'an, I will toast your valor!"
In the wind and snow, her delicate frame trembled slightly, appearing pitifully vulnerable.
Yet also unyielding.
Gritting their teeth, tears welling in their eyes, the soldiers clasped their fists toward her, took the letters, mounted their horses, and vanished in a cloud of dust.
Watching their retreating figures, Yaoying felt the exhaustion of the night wash over her. Her limbs trembled slightly, and suddenly, she coughed, blood trickling from her lips.
"Princess!"
Xie Qing immediately scooped her into his arms.
Cradled against him, Yaoying trembled uncontrollably, vomiting several mouthfuls of bloody foam.
A soldier handed over a waterskin. Xie Qing fed her a few sips, frantically using his sleeve to wipe the blood from her lips, then fearing he might hurt her, tore off his inner sleeve to gently dab her chin.
After a moment, Yaoying struggled to her feet, leaning against her horse as she caught her breath. "We cannot delay... not even for a moment..."
Bie Mutie had set out a day ahead of her. She feared she might be too late.
Her gaze shifted to the remaining soldiers."They... follow up... someone must go to deliver messages in every direction... whoever arrives safely first, immediately report to all passes!"
The guards tearfully acknowledged her orders, helped her onto a horse, then turned their steeds and galloped off in different directions.
The clatter of hooves echoed as snow mixed with mud flew everywhere.
Soon only about a dozen guards remained around Yaoying. Xie Qing drew his long blade, his face stern: "We can't send anyone else out! Princess, only we remain with you now! The Yelu Tribe's pursuers could catch up at any moment!"
Yaoying leaned over her horse's back, smiling bitterly: "Aqing... no matter how many guards remain with me... it makes no difference..."
The Yelu Tribe couldn't catch up. When Bie Mutie incited The First Prince to kill Yelu Khan, along with the warriors loyal to the old khan and his brothers, the Yelu Tribe had already fallen.
No, it should be said that from the moment Bie Mutie became Yelu Khan's adopted son, the Yelu Tribe had become his prey.
Previously, she thought the Yelu Tribe's overnight destruction was due to The First Prince's greed.
Now she understood that not just the Yelu Tribe, but all tribes in Helong would perish overnight.
No one could escape.
"I cannot escape." Yaoying closed her eyes. "He already sees me as his prey. I cannot escape."
The son of eagles, descendant of wolves - the Golden Tent Northern Rong who had swept across the grasslands like a storm in just a few years, dominating the northwest for over a century, successively destroying the Royal Court and the Central Plains, extending their influence from the east to Fu Lin in the west, reaching as far as the Black Sea, the man who made countless eastern and western kingdoms tremble - possessed light golden pupils.
Bie Mutie was Haidu Aling.
The Northern Rong leader who finally had no rivals left after the deaths of Tanmoroqie in the Western Regions and Li Xuanzhen in the Central Plains, a tyrant who took pleasure in killing, who dragged the Central Plains - barely peaceful for three generations - back into war with his iron cavalry, mercilessly crushing the common people.
Yaoying could not escape his grasp.
Yet she still had to risk everything to flee.
Not only that, she was overestimating her abilities, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, attempting to use her weak and insignificant strength to thwart Haidu Aling's plans.
She couldn't lead troops or understand military strategy. She was just a weak woman with only a few dozen guards. She couldn't stop Haidu Aling.
Then let those who could stop him do so!
The Central Plains was her homeland, her native place. There was her mother, her elder brother, countless ordinary people like her who yearned for peace, strangers who had once reached out to help her when she was in danger.
May the seasons be harmonious and harvests abundant, may rivers run clear and seas be calm.
May the land be picturesque, peaceful and prosperous.
The peace in the Central Plains was bought with the lives of tens of thousands of heroes, exchanged by righteous men like Xie Wuliang who cared for the world. It shouldn't be trampled and destroyed so quickly.
She still had to return, to reunite with her elder brother.
Yaoying caught her breath and continued directing her guards: "You go to Jincheng too... Haidu Aling must have blocked the main east-west routes... be careful to conceal your tracks along the way... ride fast without delay..."
The guards exchanged glances, but before they could say anything, Yaoying's eyelids grew heavy. Her body swayed, about to fall from the horse.
Xie Qing rushed forward, mounted the saddle, and caught Yaoying.
Dazed and confused, Yaoying tugged at his sleeve: "Go to Liangzhou... tell... tell Li Xuanzhen... Haidu Aling is coming..."Xie Qing responded with a low hum, "Princess, you have already dispatched many people. Someone will surely find the Crown Prince."
From the moment that man using the alias Bie Mutie left the tribe, the princess had begun devising ways to send out messages, exhausting every method she could conceive.
Now, it was time for her to consider her own predicament.
Yaoying’s breath grew faint, and she fainted.
For the past half-month, she had barely slept, and after galloping through the night, she could no longer endure such hardship.
Xie Qing bent down, unfurled his cloak, and gently wrapped it around Yaoying.
He glanced at the remaining guards and said, "Aside from the Yelu Tribe, we don’t know how many Northern Rong soldiers are behind us, and the east may already be blocked off... There is no retreat, and the road ahead is treacherous. What we face is not just one tribe or a group of warriors, but an army of tens of thousands, cavalry that sweeps across the grasslands. You are free to seek your own paths."
The guards clenched their fists, angrily retorting, "Do you think you’re the only one with loyalty and courage, Xie Qing? We will not abandon the princess! At worst, we’ll die for her!"
"Exactly! We all swore an oath to protect the princess, even if it costs us our lives. If you want to leave, go ahead!"
"Very well," Xie Qing nodded, tucking the unconscious Yaoying deeper into his robes to shield her from the biting wind. "We will escort the princess back to the Central Plains."
No matter how many enemies they faced or how many hardships lay ahead.
He would bring the princess home.
The long wind howled as the guards silently mounted their horses and fell in behind Xie Qing.
The snowfield stretched endlessly under the roar of the gale.
They guarded the slumbering Seventh Princess as they embarked on the journey eastward, toward home.
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