Chapter 646: Not even this winter can be endured!

But after the anger passed, Li Qingluo quickly calmed down again.

Logically speaking, since Nanping decided to continue coming to Hala City for the marriage alliance, they must have already had a plan and calculations in mind.

It's impossible for them to truly let her come alone with just Cui Qilang.

I guess the Grand Empress Dowager of Eagle King City must have helped her retrieve some of her dowry.

They might even have sent people to escort her to Hala City.

With Eagle King City as witness, her princess identity cannot be fake.

But the Western Regions treat her this way… because all the officials, guards, and maidservants who came with Nanping's dowry are gone, so the Western Regions assume no one will leak news, and as for how the princess is actually treated in the Western Regions, that's entirely up to them to say.

Even if the truth is exposed one day and transmitted to the DaLiang imperial family, they don't fear whether DaLiang gets angry or not.

They simply don't want to give DaLiang face; they want to humiliate DaLiang, even waiting for DaLiang to provoke war themselves!

If DaLiang endures in silence, it will gradually lose the people's hearts...

The Western Regions' wolfish ambitions now don't even bother to pretend.

Unless we see it with our own eyes, we wouldn't easily believe what treatment Central Plains people receive in Hala City.

What's more, the DaLiang and Great Chu imperial families far away in the Central Plains?

The imperial court now humiliates this Nanping princess so severely—how is that not also humiliating all of DaLiang, all of the Central Plains?

Nanping is too foolish.

She thought her resolute insistence on coming for the marriage alliance was sincerity, paving the way for her mother, but in reality, whether she lives or dies now, DaLiang probably no one cares.

Those court power struggles have no time to spare—how could they care whether a pawn sent out is still alive or not?

Zheng Mama: "That young lady, should we… still care for her?"

Although this is the princess's choice, if she continues like this, this old servant sees…

She might not even make it through this winter!

Li Qingluo's chest heaved; saying she wasn't angry would be absolutely impossible.

The little girl she once saved at the Zhongyi Hou Fu has become like this—how could she not feel anguish?

In her previous life, Nanping fell into the water, ran a high fever, and ended up as a foolish girl.

She had thought that in this life Nanping could finally live well, but she never expected her to still head toward a dead end.

Save.

I will take her away!

This time, even if she still wants to stay, Li Qingluo must knock her out and take her away!

Go, I'll go myself.

After saying that, Li Qingluo stood up, put on her cloak, and then left the gate together with Zheng Mama.

Zheng Mama anxiously stepped forward to support her: "Young lady, please go slowly."

This time, Sha Yi and Zhui Yu followed along as well.

But they had just stepped out of the mansion when they encountered someone from the palace.

They were asking why the Wusun King hadn't gone to the palace to report today.

Li Qingluo rubbed her brow; because of Nanping, she almost forgot about that Kuerte.

Today she directly bound Kuerte, killed his people, tied them up, and not a single one escaped to spread the news.

Now the palace has come demanding people, so naturally she still has to deal with it.

Moreover, if she leaves now, when Ana'er returns and learns of this but finds her gone again, it's likely to cause another serious misunderstanding.

After repeated consideration, Li Qingluo had to whisper to Zheng Mama: "Granny, take ten people first to the pasture to keep watch."

"I will go at the latest tomorrow."

"Right now I cannot leave the mansion; I must personally hold the fort."

"If things go smoothly, we can leave Hala City at the latest within ten days."

Zheng Mama understood the gravity of the matter and immediately nodded in agreement.

Li Qingluo then gave Zhui Yu a glance, and Zhui Yu immediately turned and entered the mansion.

After the time it takes to burn an incense stick, a slave close to Kuerte hurried out to relay the palace people's words.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, sir."

"Our Great King was supposed to come out, but coincidentally he got drunk last night, and this morning he woke up with a nonstop headache; we called a shaman who has already seen him, and we only let him rest more today."

"Just now the slave went in to pass on the message again, and was even hit by the Great King—look."

"The Great King probably can't get up now; let's talk about everything tomorrow."

"Please apologize to the nobles in the palace."

After the palace folks were finally dealt with and sent away, that slave hurried back to the courtyard.

He lay on the ground, constantly pleading: "Please spare me, slave; I truly know I was wrong, please give me the antidote..."

"I really can't take it anymore."

Only then did Zhui Yu have Qin Ling feed the antidote to that slave.

Qin Ling reluctantly said: "It's just a waste, this isn't."

"Killing one from pain isn't that many."

Zhui Yu: "Take him away. How do you know we won't need him again tomorrow?"

"This one has been tortured enough by you, and is also the most greedy for life and fearful of death; at least today he's a familiar face."

"Take it easy on him; don't add any new injuries."

Qin Ling unwillingly dragged the person away.

Li Qingluo had already returned to the courtyard.

Hearing that the people in the palace had already sent them away, she began waiting for A Na Er at home.

Not until the hour of You did A Na Er finally return.

Upon learning what Li Qingluo had done today, A Na Er naturally raged thunderously.

"What are you going to do?"

"Tie him up. Are you afraid the matter hasn't gotten chaotic enough?"

"Remember, I summoned you to help me, not to add trouble, cause mischief, or create consequences I can't handle!"

"Acting on your own, do you know what crime that is!"

Facing A Na Er's fury, Li Qingluo was already mentally prepared.

However, she had no intention of bowing her head.

Just as Li Qingluo had not spoken, Nan Gongdi said first: "Li Qingluo, there must be her own reason for doing this."

"Li Qingluo would never act on her own without cause."

"And in doing anything, she always has her own calculation in mind."

Li Qingluo did not expect that, at a moment like this, her master would still protect her.

A warmth rose in her heart.

Indeed, making this trip for her master was worthwhile.

A Na Er stared wide-eyed, angered by Nan Gongdi.

She raised her hand and cracked a whip at Nan Gongdi: "Shut up! Since when do you have a say here!?"

Nan Gongdi could have dodged, but he still bore the whip, letting A Na Er vent.

Li Qingluo let out a low cry: "Master!"

She saw her master's hard-won healed body, a fresh bloodstain bursting on his leg, and his eyes instantly reddened with anger.

"Senior!"

Li Qingluo turned and shielded Nan Gongdi, her anger rising: "Can't you just speak properly?"

"Don't forget, I came to Hala City because I exchanged a condition with you."

"And that condition was that you released my master."

"My master can now obey your orders, which indeed is his debt to you."

"But I believe, if my master had known earlier that he had a child with you, and that you had suffered so much all these years, he would certainly not have been irresponsible."

"Now my master seeks to atone and truly strives to rectify everything, to restore the outcome, which is why he endures your scolding."

"Does he really have no shred of human dignity left?"

"And regarding today's matter, if Ku Er Te were not the body of my master's direct bloodline, I wouldn't have merely tied him up!"

At this point, a faint murderous intent toward Ku Er Te flickered in Li Qingluo's eyes.

Nan Gongdi: "Li Qingluo, what has he done to you?"

Li Qingluo: "Master, rest assured, he hasn't even had time to act, so I, your disciple, only tied him up."

Nan Gongdi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"It was your master who implicated you."

"Li Qingluo, no matter what, your master does not want you injured. Remember, the master can descend into hell, but you must first safeguard yourself!"

Li Qingluo: "My master would never go to hell!"

"My master still wishes to spend his twilight years with his grandmother and grandfather, and Li Qingluo, you will see them live to a hundred years, and I will personally provide for their old age and see them off!"

"Talk of going to hell or not is inauspicious; you may not say it again!"

Nan Gongdi, being kept in line by Li Qingluo, smiled and shook his head: "Fine."

Beside them, A Na Er sneered with a sour expression: "What a deep master‑disciple bond!"

"You are all good people; it's my fault, I'm the vicious woman, right?"

Li Qingluo quickly replied: "Senior, you are not vicious."

"All this is the master's fault; I, as a junior, was only anxious to protect the master, so I argued with you a few times."

"Moreover, if senior hadn't been so strong these years, you couldn't have protected yourselves, let alone the orphaned widows maintaining the throne of Wusun."

"But today's events happened suddenly, so I truly could only act first and report later."

"Ku Er Te's characteristic clouds my mind, making me the beauty you gave him; otherwise I wouldn't have easily fallen into my path."

"Now that this has happened, senior, won't you tell me the method to retrieve your son's soul?"

A Na Er's face flashed with disgust: "You bastard!"

"Ku Er Te would never act recklessly concerning women; he is loyal and devoted to his beloved."

"Now you call this creature that stole Ku Er Te's body a monster!"

Having flared up, A Na Er's emotions gradually returned to reason.

"To retrieve Ku Er Te's own soul, we must first find a soul‑swapping shaman‑doctor."

"I already have a candidate for that shaman‑doctor, but besides that, there are two extremely stringent conditions."

"The first is that we must locate the true blood relative of the soul inside Ku Er Te, and then perform a blood sacrifice."

Li Qingluo asked: "What about the second?"

The second…

A Na Er did not answer immediately, but said: "First, help me confirm who exactly Ku Er Te is."

After speaking, A Na Er walked to the desk and personally wrote several names on the paper.

"These six names are the other six people."

"Among them, two have inconsistent death times and can be crossed out."

The other four, two have always maintained relatively close contact with the current Ao clan.

The remaining two, one bears an old grudge against the Ao clan that began twenty years ago.

One, who has nothing to do with the Ao clan, I should call him "Six Grandfather," as if he had passed away peacefully.

Who do you think is the most likely body snatcher?

Li Qingluo raised her hand and asked Anar to also write down the name of her fourth Wang uncle's legitimate eldest son.

She then asked, "May I ask, among these people, whose body is the weakest?"