CH 78

Villainous Prince (20)

Song Xu Yi did not know everything that happened afterwards.

After she escaped from the palace she didn’t dare to escape immediately from the Wu Empire. She predicted Nie Qian Yu’s reaction and was afraid that Nie Qian Yu would set up obstacles at the border to block her path, so she deliberately changed her appearance and stayed in the territory of the Wu Empire for a few days.

As Song Xu Yi had predicted, Nie Qian Yu caused a lot of trouble in the beginning and soldiers were everywhere looking for Song Xu Yi, but Song Xu Yi used some modern disguises to disguise herself as a peasant woman with no resemblance to the young princess and while the soldiers were searching for her, she was drying rice in the fields like a peasant.

After that, Song Xu Yi did not let down her guard for fear of being discovered by Nie Qian Yu’s informants, but she kept her disguise and cut off contact with Wang Mian all the way, and only went with a few spies to meet her.

However, the following days seemed to be too calm, causing a sense of foreboding to grow in Song Xu Yi’s heart.

Sure enough, this ominous feeling came to fruition when news arrived not long afterwards that the Crown Prince’s army was pressing in and seemed to be planning a decisive battle with the Lishui Empire.

Only then did Song Xu Yi realise that Nie Qian Yu had hidden her strength.

At this time, Song Xu Yi did not care that she would be discovered and rushed back to the Wang family’s tent.

The atmosphere in the tent of the Wang family was almost melancholic, unlike the aura of the Wu Empire, and Wang Mian, who had always taken good care of his health, wore bloodshot eyes, seemingly having aged ten years overnight.

There are always things in this world that one knows are impossible to do, but yet does them anyway.

Song Xu Yi has been working day and night to develop the most suitable weapons for this era, and the soldiers of Lishui have been waiting for an attack from Wu…

However, to everyone’s surprise, the Kingdom of Wu remained at the border and did not move for a long time.

It’s like the calm before the storm.

Song Xu Yi’s heart grew more and more uneasy, speculating what the Emperor was doing behind the scenes again.

However, since the last time the Wang family launched a raid against the emperor’s wishes, resulting in the capture of the envoys, the Emperor had been extremely scrupulous of the Wang family and had not only sent a number of military commanders into the barracks to oversee the family’s every move, but had also concealed all imperial developments from the Wang family.

The war was so tight that Wang Mian had no energy to take care of the Emperor’s end of things.

Song Xu Yi overheard a conversation between Wang Mian and his clan members: the young and strong of the Wang family had gone to war with the determination to die, while the young children of the clan had been sent to various places.

The clouds of war were hanging over everyone’s heads, and it was only a matter of time before the country of Lishui fell.

And soon Song Xu Yi knew what the Emperor had promised.

That day, the wind blew furiously, and Wang Mian barged into Song Xu Yi’s tent with his eyes red with rage, so furious that two small birds outside Song Xu Yi’s tent suddenly flew up and hovered outside the window, chirping, but Wang Mian paid no attention to these details and took his fox fur and threw it over Song Xu Yi: “Run away, Xu Yi! It’s all well and good that your father has agreed to surrender and become a part of the Wu Empire, at least the war has been stopped, but he’s gone mad and wanted to send you off to be a bride…”

“Did my father want me to go or did the Wu Empire demand that I go?”

Song Xu Yi’s expression was unexpectedly calm.

Looking at Wang Mian’s steeply silent countenance, Song Xu Yi sighed slightly and understood what Wang Mian meant: it was probably both.

“Grandfather, I am willing to go and make peace——”

Song Xu Yi’s heart was inexplicably relieved, however, and her heart, which had been dangling in the air all this time, suddenly returned to the ground in that instant.

She followed Wang Mian out of the tent, looking at the dense cloud of smoke in the sky and the weary, haggard-looking warriors, and spoke softly, “This is the best option right now, the people and the generals can’t take the war anymore!”

“But you…” even though he knew that this was the best option, as Song Xu Yi had said, Wang Mian’s gaze was still bitter and his brow furrowed, “There are so many men in Lishui Empire, how can I let you, a girl, carry all this?”

Song Xu Yi knew Wang Mian’s worry, Wang Mian knew that Song Xu Yi had escaped from the Crown Prince’s chambers and probably believed the rumours that Song Xu Yi had lost her body to the Crown Prince of Wu and had become the Crown Prince’s favourite girl, as the person who betrayed the Crown Prince, if Song Xu Yi went back, she would definitely be tortured and retaliated by the Crown Prince.

“The Crown Prince treated me well earlier and is a dragon among men, I actually have a heart for the Crown Prince.”

To appease the worried old man, Song Xu Yi spoke softly once again, trying to make the smile on her face look as sincere and shy as any woman about to marry her beloved: “Grandfather, I am very happy to marry him.”

Wang Mian did not speak again, he gave Song Xu Yi a deep look and sighed long and hard, feeling that he had aged many years in an instant.

No one noticed that, after hearing this, a brightly coloured bird flew up from the window and took flight in the direction of the country of Wu.

The system’s reaction to the fact that Song Xu Yi was about to marry Nie Qian Yu was incomparably fierce: “I said you can’t fall in love! You listen to your grandfather and run away secretly, it’s not too late…”

“I’m not falling in love,” Song Xu Yi corrected it patiently, “I’m just going to be married.”

“That’s what you said at first in the last world!” The system was so angry that it accidentally let slip its words. After reacting and looking into Song Xu Yi’s thoughtful eyes, the system inwardly ‘thudded’ and no longer dared to answer, sinking into silence and starting to play dead.

The system was trembling, fearing that Song Xu Yi would ask questions, yet until the bridal party departed, Song Xu Yi did not ask what its words actually meant.

On the day of Song Xu Yi’s wedding, countless people and soldiers followed behind Song Xu Yi in a long stream of people, eventually merging into the border, and it was only when they entered the border of Wu that the wedding party gradually dissipated.

There are scales in people’s hearts, and they all know who is working for the people and who is not.

Song Xu Yi’s dowry was unprecedentedly large. To show his determination to surrender, the Emperor almost emptied the treasury to give Song Xu Yi a dowry, while Wang Mian, who was very fond of Song Xu Yi, also gave her a large dowry.

Unlike the complicated emotions of the bride’s senders, who were either sad, envious, regretful or remorseful, Song Xu Yi’s mood was extremely calm.

Nie Qian Yu probably hates her.

Song Xu Yi did not know how Nie Qian Yu would treat her, but no matter what, she would not have a good life ahead of her.

It would take about three more days to reach the palace after entering the Wu Empire. The wedding party passed by a post, and Song Xu Yi was just about to go to bed after washing up when she heard a noise coming from outside.

A noblewoman with a high and mighty appearance barged in with a group of servants, pointing angrily at Song Xu Yi: “Don’t think that just because you’re the Princess of Lishui Empire that you can take over the Crown Prince, how dare you, a Princess of a defeated country, threaten the Crown Prince?”

Song Xu Yi’s eyes widened as she stared at her, not understanding what she was talking about, and when the noblewoman saw her expression, she became even more furious: “You are pretending! Who doesn’t know that you sent a letter to the Crown Prince asking him to promise that you would be the only one to marry him for the rest of his life? It was also because the Crown Prince was benevolent and didn’t want to continue the war and let the people suffer, that he actually agreed to your unreasonable request!”

“Me?” Song Xu Yi was now really puzzled, at this time the system seemed to say something, but because the woman’s voice was too loud, Song Xu Yi did not hear it, she did not care to participate in the jealousy fight between women, and this noblewoman also looked like a brainless one, and actually said that Nie Qian Yu was benevolent, so she turned around and asked the servants to send the guests away, but unexpectedly the noblewoman saw this and became even angrier!

The noblewoman was furious when she approached Song Xu Yi, and after looking her up and down, she sneered: “You were notorious before you married, and you were involved in an affair with the missing old Prince, and you are not very beautiful yourself, I do not know who gave you the face to make such an unreasonable request…”

“From me!”

A voice came from behind the noblewoman: “It is because I have loved the Princess for a long time that I am willing to promise to marry only the Princess for the rest of my life.”

Song Xu Yi froze in place.

The Nie Qian Yu standing in the entrance seemed to have lost some weight, which made her features look even more clear and stunning, and her eyes were shining brightly in black and white, flashing with emotions that Song Xu Yi could not understand.

When she met Nie Qian Yu’s gaze, Song Xu Yi suddenly felt some nervousness arise.

The noblewoman, who could no longer hold her tongue after being hit in the face by her beloved, covered her face and ran out crying…

The attendant thoughtfully retreated and closed the door for the two.

For a moment, the whole room was incomparably silent.

Song Xu Yi sat rigidly in her chair, her heart beating a little faster, like a prisoner awaiting trial. On the other hand, Nie Qian Yu looked very relaxed as she methodically removed her disguise, slowly revealing her womanly form, and after washing up, she suddenly hugged Song Xu Yi from behind——

“Sister Xu Yi, how can you be so cruel?” Nie Qian Yu’s voice was tinged with a distinct choke, “I’ve remembered everything.”

Song Xu Yi had thought of many different reactions from Nie Qian Yu, she had thought that Nie Qian Yu would scold her and punish her or even humiliate her, but she had never thought that Nie Qian Yu would pout to her and tell her grievances…

However, Nie Qian Yu’s behaviour hit Song Xu Yi’s heart. Song Xu Yi had already felt guilty towards Nie Qian Yu because of the more than half a month of “work”, and seeing Nie Qian Yu like this, Song Xu Yi’s conscience trembled hard, and suddenly she didn’t know how to face Nie Qian Yu again.

“Sister Xu Yi, I know that your heart is for the world, and that marrying me is a great disservice to you,” Nie Qian Yu’s voice seemed calm, but there was a distinct tremor in it: “But why didn’t you say anything to me! I can do anything for you if you tell me, I just want to occupy a small place in your heart…”

She’s not crying, is she?

Song Xu Yi was shocked by Nie Qian Yu’s humble words, she couldn’t help but think of the cool, lonely, above-all-people young Crown Prince she had been when she saw Nie Qian Yu again, how could she have made her look like this?

The guilt in her heart reached its peak and Song Xu Yi could not help but look up and quietly glance at Nie Qian Yu: there was a clear watery look in her eyes and the red mole at the end of her eyes made her look even more miserable.

Her heart instantly went limp, her mind was in turmoil, and certain thoughts could not help but turn towards Nie Qian Yu and cut her open: “I don’t like to fight with the rest of the women.”

“There will be no other women.” Nie Qian Yu replied in a determined manner, and lowered her head as if she was shy: “I was the one who let out that rumour just now, I only like you, Xu Yi…”

Looking at Nie Qian Yu’s appearance, Song Xu Yi’s face inexplicably heated up a little as well, adding with pursed lips, “I don’t want to be stuck in the palace, living only with you around me every day.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Song Xu Yi clearly felt Nie Qian Yu’s silence for a moment.

Nie Qian Yu’s eyes also changed significantly in this moment, if the previous Nie Qian Yu had disguised herself as a harmless lamb, then the Nie Qian Yu of this moment revealed her jackal nature, her eyes darkened as she looked at Song Xu Yi and moved closer to Song Xu Yi’s cheek, her voice low and muffled——

“This is a little too hard for me, this is the best life I ever envisioned.” Nie Qian Yu sighed softly, accompanied by the cold laughter of the system in Song Xu Yi’s head, dropping her head to kiss Song Xu Yi’s lips, her tone seemingly petulant, but appearing extremely righteous: “You have to coax me first, Xu Yi.”

Song Xu Yi originally thought that the ‘coaxing’ in Nie Qian Yu’s words meant giving clothes and food like before, but it wasn’t until she was kissed by Nie Qian Yu in the carriage all the way until her mouth was swollen and she had to get off with a veil that Song Xu Yi understood the meaning of this ‘coaxing’.

Sometimes panic would rise in her heart, she felt that things were moving too fast between them, she didn’t understand how they had reached this point all of a sudden, but deep down there was a subconscious sense of rightness, as if everything was as it should be. Moreover, Nie Qian Yu’s face really hits her aesthetic point too hard, and once Nie Qian Yu frowns and pouts, Song Xu Yi simply cannot refuse Nie Qian Yu’s advances.

Soon, the day of the wedding arrived.

It was the largest and most lively wedding ever, signifying the union of the two countries into one, and the beginning of a hundred years of prosperity for the Wu Empire to follow.

Song Xu Yi did not feel much emotion for the wedding at first, but when she held Nie Qian Yu’s hand and entered the ceremony hall, she could feel Nie Qian Yu’s hand trembling slightly.

Suddenly, Song Xu Yi also felt some tension, which reached its peak after entering the bridal chamber: tonight, will those things happen?

As Song Xu Yi sat on the edge of the bed, she couldn’t help but wonder: would Nie Qian Yu be able to do that? After all, this era is rather subtle, and Nie Qian Yu was educated as a man…

But if Song Xu Yi were to take the initiative the first time, Song Xu Yi felt sure she wouldn’t be able to——

With this in mind, Song Xu Yi felt relieved that the expected things would not happen tonight.

However, it wasn’t long before Nie Qian Yu came in.

Song Xu Yi looked at Nie Qian Yu, who was smiling at her from above her head, and couldn’t help but blush.

After a series of procedures, including uncovering the veil, tying the hair and eating the dumplings, the two of them drank a glass of wine.

Nie Qian Yu originally wanted to replace the wine with water, but Song Xu Yi looked at Nie Qian Yu’s incomparably happy face all day and could not bear to bring flaws to the wedding, so she drank a small sip of wine…

Afterwards, the two of them removed their makeup and closed the tent, and Nie Qian Yu returned to her womanly appearance.

As far as Song Xu Yi could remember, both of them were extremely disciplined at the beginning, and Nie Qianyu was even a little angry, tearing up next to her: “Did you deliberately not want to consummate the marriage, that’s why you drank?”

Yet with angry words on her lips, Nie Qian Yu still cared for Song Xu Yi, seemingly worried that Song Xu Yi was drunk and thirsty, Nie Qian Yu intended to get up and pour water for Song Xu Yi, yet according to the rules of the palace, after the wedding the concubine had to be sleeping, and Nie Qian Yu had to pass over Song Xu Yi when she got up…

The red candles were burning, and the fragrance of Nie Qianyue’s body made people more and more intoxicated, and the more you looked at the beauty in the haze, the more beautiful it was, especially the beauty with tears. He couldn’t help but wrap his arms around Nie Qianyu’s slender and soft waist and pressed down, then kissed her…

What happened after that was out of Song Xu Yi’s control.

All Song Xu Yi could remember was Nie Qian Yu’s increasingly dark eyes, the wavering red candles, and her own repeated cries and pleas…

Song Xu Yi woke up the next day with her sore waist and an arm wrapped around her, unable to look at Nie Qian Yu’s charming face: Nie Qian Yu was not only skilled, she was simply too good at it! In the end, Song Xu Yi even fainted out of breath.

……

But Song Xu Yi did not know that after she fainted, Nie Qian Yu looked at her sleeping face for a long time and finally wrapped her arms around Song Xu Yi, the dark, possessive look in her eyes gradually faded and she suddenly burst out laughing——

“You’ve coaxed me!” She spoke softly, throwing a set of keys from the hidden compartment at the head of the bed into the fire pit.

There was a secret passage under the bed, and the keys in the firepit were the only way to open it.

Song Xu Yi would never know that underneath the room she lived in, Nie Qian Yu had personally designed a secret chamber, the most gorgeous cage Nie Qian Yu had originally intended to create for her wife who loved to escape.

However, the bird told Nie Qian Yu: Xu Yi told her grandfather that she liked her and was willing to marry her.

As long as Xu Yi no longer thought of leaving her, Nie Qian Yu would do everything she could to make her happy——after all, what she liked was the Xu Yi who had light in her eyes and was warm and kind.

So, Nie Qian Yu tried one last time.

She succeeded, even though she still used some despicable methods, but Xu Yi finally married her willingly.

Why did she desperately want to become the ruler of two countries?

In this moment, Nie Qian Yu found her answer.

It was a dream that had been born a long time ago: only by becoming the ruler of the two countries could she have enough power and leverage to take the bright moon in the sky into her arms!

It was not long before the old Emperor of Wu died and Nie Qian Yu succeeded to the throne.

As the two countries have just been unified, Nie Qian Yu is still dressed as a man in order to prevent chaos, and she allows Song Xu Yi to enter and leave the imperial court, reforming the rule of officials, allowing commoners to take the imperial examinations, and setting up private schools in every town…

At the beginning, the ministers had a lot to say about this, saying that it was a ‘female chicken’, and some officials even cursed Nie Qian Yu for being a ‘faint-hearted ruler’ and hitting the palace pillar… But Nie Qian Yu took all the pressure and supported all Song Xu Yi’s initiatives.

In the end, time proved everything, and as life got better, everyone began to rejoice: fortunately, His Majesty had married the Empress, a saintly Emperor and a virtuous Empress, a match rarely found in millions of years, born to be together.

Five years later, Nie Qian Yu announced her identity as a woman and the world was in an uproar. However, at this time, the Wu Empire was at peace, the sea was calm and the rivers were clear, the elderly were nurtured, the young were taught, there was no more famine or war, and although this event was shocking, it did not cause much chaos.

Nie Qian Yu found a child in the side branch as the Crown Prince to raise carefully, and the two of them stayed together for fifteen years, but because Nie Qian Yu took medicine for many years to disguise as a man, her body suffered from an illness, and finally Nie Qian Yu was not able to survive.

Song Xu Yi didn’t know why, but at the last moment she had been saddened by Nie Qian Yu’s last words, “We will meet again in another life”. The sadness in Song Xu Yi’s heart suddenly disappeared, and subconsciously she really believed that the two of them would meet again, and that this was only a brief parting.

“Why does it take so long for the mission to show completion?” Song Xu Yi also did not expect this mission to last so long.

“I’m not really sure, in any case, the Lord God has his own guidelines for judging.” The system knew exactly what was going on: Nie Qian Yu was worried about this relationship, afraid that she hadn’t done enough, and had subconsciously been using the male and female protagonists of the former Lishui Empire, who had now become an idle royal family, as a card, so that she could use them to threaten Song Xu Yi to come back in case she ran away, which was why Song Xu Yi hadn’t completed the quest yet——

But naturally, the system would not tell Song Xu Yi about these things.

Song Xu Yi didn’t ask any more questions either.

“Let’s leave.” Song Xu Yi closed her eyes and slowly slept beside Nie Qian Yu, and there was another familiar spinning of the sky——

The Author has something to say:

You guys don’t know how many precious hairs I’ve pulled today looking at the comments asking me “is it BE or HE”. T_T

I do think this little world is HE.

But I’m afraid you’ll tell me to read “The Return of the Sadistic Author”, so I’m cowering in the corner, afraid to say anything at all~~~