Chapter 585

People around secretly broke out in a cold sweat for Hu Xiaotian; everyone could see that Li Jiangjun was behaving oddly at the moment, and if Hu Xiaotian provoked him, he might very well take Hu Xiaotian's life.

Zhou Mo and Zhan Peng secretly stayed on guard, ready to strike first if Li Jiangjun made any move.

Li Jiangjun coldly stared at Hu Xiaotian, slowly nodded, and said, "Not bad! You are subjects of Dakang; if you commit a crime, Dakang's emperor will hold you accountable. Just don't forget where you are now."

Hu Xiaotian calmly said, "When two countries go to war, envoys are not harmed. Dakang and Da Yong are not enemies; there is a marriage alliance. We came not to deliver a declaration of war to Da Yong, but to escort Princess Anping to Yongdu for her wedding. We come with sincerity and friendship, yet you act unreasonably, killing our soldiers and blaming us without cause. I cannot believe the Da Yong emperor would let you do as you please."

Li Jiangjun looked at Hu Xiaotian and suddenly burst into loud laughter. Hu Xiaotian found himself somewhat baffled by the laugh, secretly thinking, This person's mood shifts unpredictably—could he be a madman?

Li Jiangjun pointed at the warrior he had just cut down with a single blade and said, "This man is a traitor! He deserved death."

Hu Xiaotian silently cursed, This is your turf, so of course you say whatever you want.

Li Jiangjun wished he could kill every member of the Dakang envoy, but after slaying one, his anger gradually subsided. At least for now he cannot prove his brother died at these people's hands, and he must not let grief disturb his mind; revenge is important, but perhaps after long consideration, he must find the true culprit before his brother's spirit can rest in the underworld.

Li Jiangjun pointed at Hu Xiaotian's nose and said, "If you cannot find Princess Anping's whereabouts, you will all die!" He didn't actually care about the Dakang princess's fate; he was merely using this as an excuse to mask his inner grief and fury.

At that moment a sound of horses neighing came from behind; it was the Yongdu troops bringing several horses they had just rescued from the river, which made Hu Xiaotian overjoyed—his mount Xiao Hui was among them. Hu Xiaotian was about to go claim it when he saw a soldier supporting a drenched girl. Her hair was disheveled, her face pale; though her clothes were soaked, her ornate adornments were still visible—who else could it be but Ziyan?

Hu Xiaotian silently cursed his bad luck; he never expected Ziyan to be so fortunate as to escape alive.

Li Jiangjun and Tang Bohsi, etc., also noticed the girl's splendid attire, indicating an extraordinary status. Li Jiangjun approached and, standing before Ziyan, whispered, "Are you the Princess?"

Ziyan lifted her head to look at Li Jiangjun, then her gaze swept over the distant group of survivors as she searched for something. She tried to find Princess Anping's figure among them, but ultimately came up empty. When her eyes fell on Hu Xiaotian, hatred instantly filled her heart. She has always blamed Hu Xiaotian for making her impersonate the princess; when the ship sank, no one cared for her life, leaving her to fend for herself.

Ziyan gritted her teeth, as if wanting to say something, but at that moment Hu Xiaotian rose and ran wildly toward her. When he was still more than two zhang away, he fell to his knees with a thud, weeping with joy, "Princess… Princess, heaven blesses you; you are indeed fortunate to have returned safely. If anything were to happen to you, we would bear ten thousand deaths and still not be able to atone."

Ziyan was clearly stunned by Hu Xiaotian's kneeling; her brows furrowed, her eyes fixed on him, wondering what scheme he was hatching.

Hu Xiaotian wailed, "Princess, it's pitiful that over eight hundred of us crossed the river, only to meet this disaster; now only thirty-odd of us survive, and even General Wen…… was killed by the bandits." His acting was consummate, his words sincere, his sobs earth-shaking; the surviving soldiers behind him were all moved to join in, each wailing loudly—not because they felt deep affection for General Wen Bo yuan, but because their situation was dire, and among them some knew Ziyan, yet none dared speak up, for if they failed to find Princess Anping they would surely die, and even if the Da Yong troops didn't kill them, they would still be held accountable upon returning home; in truth they were weeping over their own miserable fate.

When Wu Jianshan first started, Hu Xiaotian's actions left him bewildered; he thought, This is clearly not the Princess—has Hu Xiaotian gone addle-brained? But he soon realized, Hu Xiaotian wasn't the fool; it was himself who was confused. For now the only plan is to fish in troubled waters, since the Da Yong side doesn't know the Princess's true appearance, and seeing Li Jiangjun's murderous aura, it looks like they'll slaughter us all if they can't find the Princess; Hu Xiaotian is trying to bluff his way through.

Wu Jianshan secretly praised Hu Xiaotian's alertness, then shakily walked over and knelt beside him, tears streaming as he said, "Heaven has eyes; may it protect my Princess's safe return. Even if I die, I can smile in the underworld." Bang, bang, bang—Old Wu knocked his head three times on the ground, blasting a pit into the earth, his forehead smeared with yellow mud, showing his sincere devotion and fierce force; Hu Xiaotian couldn't help worrying that this old man might knock himself unconscious. As the saying goes, ginger is spicy with age; when this old fellow acts, he's utterly convincing.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Now that the Princess has returned safely, we have no regrets." He then cupped his fists toward Li Jiangjun and said, "General Li, whether you kill or cut us, do as you wish. After we die, just see that our Princess is delivered safely to Yongdu; fulfill this wish and we will die without resentment."

Although Ziyan was merely a palace maid, she had grown up in the imperial palace, constantly attending Long Xi Yue, so she was well versed in court etiquette and exceptionally sharp. Hearing Hu Xiaotian and Wu Jianshan's recent words, she immediately understood that General Wen Bo yuan was dead—these Da Yong troops must have killed him because they couldn't find Princess Anping, which is why Hu Xiaotian insisted he was the Princess. Hu Xiaotian's purpose in doing this was to remind Ziyan: no matter how much you hate me, if you let hatred blind you and expose my lie on the spot, you'll doom all these people.

Ziyan scanned the surroundings; the Princess was nowhere to be found, suggesting she most likely met with misfortune. If the Princess is dead, then we all will probably die.

Ziyan bit her lip, shook off the soldier supporting her arm, and stepped step by step toward Hu Xiaotian. Seeing her hostile gaze, Hu Xiaotian guessed she wanted revenge on him and silently cursed his misfortune.

Ziyan stopped before him, glared ferociously, and said, "Beast, at this life-or-death juncture, you actually disregard the Princess's safety—do you have any conscience, any humanity?" She raised her hand to give Hu Xiaotian a hard slap, but seeing his grim gaze, her heart trembled; in fact she had misread him, for Hu Xiaotian had already prepared himself to meet her palm, letting her vent her resentment.

Although Ziyan still feared Hu Xiaotian, she hesitated a moment, and her slap changed direction, landing with a smack on Wu Jianshan's old face.

The slap left Wu Jianshan's face green; the old man couldn't fathom it, thinking, I haven't provoked or offended you—why hit me? Nor can we blame Wu Jianshan for complaining, for Ziyan's slap was truly unexpected, striking east when aiming west, leaving everyone unprepared.

Even after being slapped, Wu Jianshan kept kowtowing, pleading, "Please, Princess, punish me!"

Ziyan sighed and said, "This time I'll let you off, but if you ever again do the slightest thing to disappoint the Princess, I will have you sliced to pieces to quell my hatred."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Princess, may you live ten thousand years, ten thousand times over; from now on we will devote our loyal hearts with true courage, sacrificing our lives to protect the Princess—even if we must lay bare our livers and brains, shatter our bodies, climb blades and plunge into fire, we will die ten thousand times without hesitation."

Ziyan coldly replied, "Little bearded one, besides your mouth, what else do you have? Loyalty isn't just talk; it must be put into action."

Hu Xiaotian kowtowed repeatedly like pounding garlic.

Ziyan waved her hand and said, "Get up, you lot—you're all selfish, cowardly good-for-nothings who have disgraced Dakang's reputation." In her every gesture there bore a noble royal air; indeed, letting Ziyan impersonate Long Xi Yue was the perfect choice, for she had grown up alongside Long Xi Yue, and no one knows her better than she does.

Even someone as perceptive as Li Jiangjun failed to see through the fact that this Princess Anping was a palace maid in disguise.

Now that Princess Anping has been found, the fate of the others is no longer that important.

That night the survivors all stayed at Nan Yang Water Fortress; the envoy Da Yong had sent to Qinglong Bay to contact Dakang returned with bad news: Qinglong Bay had been occupied by rebels in the afternoon, and not only that, but Cangmu City had also been stormed by starving rebels.

Hu Xiaotian and the others heard the news, each lamenting their misfortune; none had imagined that so much could change in a single day.

Hu Xiaotian worried that Ziyan might recognize Long Xi Yue, so he had Zhan Peng guard Long Xi Yue and keep her as far from Ziyan as possible.

After nightfall, the Da Yong side provided them with some dinner; they had been hungry all day and could finally eat their fill, but Hu Xiaotian hadn't even started when Ziyan summoned him to the tent. Although she had just acknowledged her princess identity before Li Jiangjun and the others, Hu Xiaotian still couldn't fathom her true thoughts; upon entering the tent he bowed respectfully and said, "Little bearded one pays his respects to the Princess, may you live ten thousand years, ten thousand times over." While speaking he kept an ear out for any movement outside; in fact Zhou Mo had come along as well, standing watch outside the tent. Hu Xiaotian needn't have worried, but since this was a Da Yong military camp, prudence dictated a little extra caution.

Ziyan stared coldly at Hu Xiaotian, gritted her teeth, and said, "Seeing me alive and before you, are you especially disappointed?"

Hu Xiaotian respectfully replied, "Seeing the Princess return safe and sound fills my heart with joy beyond expectation, bringing tears to my eyes."

Zhangyu merely said he wasn't currently competing for the Monthly Ticket Ranking, but he didn't say he didn't want recommendation tickets either; on Monday his recommendation votes didn't even make the top five in the category, so folks, could you give Zhangyu a bit of encouragement? Although updates are few, he's been racking his brains these two days to plot the story—this concerns later developments, and Zhangyu doesn't dare be careless, so he's being cautious; please understand and keep recommending as always! (To be continued~^~)