Chapter 240 A Well-Planned Temptation
Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan remained still. The Prince Regent opened the curtain for a slip, as if he was making a gesture, or that he was testing them.
Leng Changxi slightly bowed, sort of saluting to the Prince Regent.
“Mister Tuoba is such a busy man.” Prince Regent said as he dismounted the carriage along the wooden stairs. Looking closer, he seemed decent and well-educated, unlike the naturally aggressive North Di people. The Prince Regent approached with a kind smile on his face, “However, I have come to invite you in person. I’m just planning to have a short gathering with you at the restaurant, please don’t reject me.” After saying that, the Prince Regent politely turned to Qin Yunuan and said, “It would be best if Mrs. Tuoba could join us as well.”
The Prince Regent had come in person. Leng Changxi was afraid that he would get into trouble if he rejected this. While he remained silent, the Prince Regent had ordered his men to bring another carriage. The Prince Regent gestured towards the carriage and invited them to mount it. Even though the sun was set, there were many pedestrians on the streets, so it was unlikely for the Prince Regent to do anything bad to them right here.
Leng Changxi held Qin Yunuan’s hands and boarded the carriage. Comparing to Wanyan Ba, the Prince Regent’s carriage was low-key but delicate. The seemingly normal black handle was actually carved and polished with dozens of different skills. It was well polished and had an extremely comfortable touch.
It was apparent that the Prince Regent was a person with nice taste. The location he chose was a classic and delicate restaurant. It was not easy to find such a restaurant in North Di. Sure enough, the owner of the restaurant was a lady from Qi. She looked familiar with the Prince Regent, as she greeted him warmly as soon as she saw him. However, when Leng Changxi saw the lady, his expressions froze.
The lady whom the Prince Regent referred to as the “Lady Thirteen” looked exactly the same as Ren Sanniang in the Ghost City. Even though Leng Changxi was utterly shocked, he appeared to be calm on the surface. After all, he didn’t know the real identity of “Lady Thirteen”. Besides, he was wearing a human skin mask now. Even if his alleged surname was still Tuoba, he was no longer the handsome Mister Tuoba in the Ghost City.
“Your Highness, I’ve saved your favorite seat for you. This way, please.” Lady Thirteen treated them naturally, and her look at Leng Changxi was no different from other guests.
Prince Regent tilted his head and stopped her, “It’s unnecessary. I’m treating my guests today, so my usual position is too small. Please lead me to one of the rooms. As for the dishes,” Prince Regent took a meaningful guess towards Leng Changxi and said, “Serve us with some of the Central Plains dishes that you’re good at. The Glutinous Rice Balls last time was quite nice.”
After saying that, Prince Regent looked at Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan and asked, “What do you want to eat?”
Qin Yunuan quietly said, “It seems that Prince likes the dishes of Qi too.”
Prince Regent held the teacup on the desk and took a sip, “I’m just trying to please my guests.”
There was a moment of silence. Qin Yunuan didn’t believe that the Prince Regent knew about their identity already, that they were from Qi. Otherwise, he wouldn’t tempt them with such an untruthful treat. Her tone remained calm, “I do miss the naan from West Xia though.”
Prince Regent smiled and ordered some naan for Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan.
The dishes were all served, but the Prince Regent wasn’t in a rush to eat them. He merely smiled towards Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan, “No worries, I’m still waiting for someone.”
Qin Yunuan stunned. It seemed that this someone was the most important factor of today.
Steady footsteps came from the stairs. Apparently, it was a military man judging from the sound of the footsteps. The curtains in front of the door were lifted, and the Prince Regent stood up as soon as he saw the person by the door.
“General Shang, thank you for coming.”
Leng Changxi turned his head and looked toward the man. It was Shang Xianhua’s son, Shang Lindong.
Shang Lindong was wearing military clothing at the moment, with a silver armor on the outside. The red decoration on his helmet was very eye-catching, and he looked just like Shang Xianhua back in the years. However, everyone knew that Shang Xianhua was dead. What was more terrible was the fact that Qin Yunuan had attended the wedding of Shang Chunman and Leng Wu, so Shang Lindong recognized her.
Even though she covered her eyes with veil, Qin Yunuan had no other cover-ups other than putting up a West Xia accent and the West Xia clothing she wore. Seeing Shang Lindong getting closer, Qin Yunuan felt like the air around her exhausting. The suffocating anxiety made her face pale. She didn’t know the stance of Shang Lindong yet, but he was not affected at all after Shang Xianhua died, and was promoted as the general of the borders instead. It proved his loyalty towards Sima Ray.
Leng Changxi had already put his hand next to the blade hidden by his waist. He was waiting for Shang Lindong to expose them before he fought for his life.
Shang Lindong walked towards them. Looking at Qin Yunuan, who was pretending to be calm, he suddenly said, “This madam here is looking nervous.”
He actually didn’t expose Qin Yunuan immediately. Qin Yunuan was assured. Since he didn’t expose them immediately, he wouldn’t say anything else to the Prince Regent then.
Prince Regent closely observed the interaction between the three, and suddenly started introducing, “This is General Shang of Qi. Now he is guarding the Yumen Fort between Qi and North Di. He is from a military family. His father Shang Xianhua sacrificed his life for his country. He was a hero.”
“Is he?” Leng Changxi asked plainly, “A hero?”
Shang Lindong had no expression, as if he just heard a story that was completely unrelated to him.
The Prince Regent smiled and introduced for Shang Lindong, “These two are Mister and Missus Tuoba from West Xia. Do they look familiar to you, General Shang?”
Shang Lindong took a quick glance at Qin Yunuan and said, “No.” Then he added, “I haven’t even heard of them.”
“Oh, in this case,” Prince Regent stretched his neck and asked, “What about the plan I’ve told you last time, General Shang?”
Shang Lindong’s tone was still cold, “I haven’t considered that yet.”
Prince Regent’s expression froze, “What do you mean, General Shang?”
“I won’t consider any plan that’s harmful to Qi.” Shang Lindong was determined.
“Why would General Shang…”
“The Qi food in North Di is not as good as that in Qi after all.” Shang Lindong got up from the table, leaving the Prince Regent embarrassed. “If there’s nothing else Prince wants to tell me, I’m leaving.”
He was just a general at the borders, yet he dared offending the Prince of North Di. Looking at Shang Lindong leaving, the guard of the Prince Regent couldn’t help but made his comment, “Your Highness, should I teach that general a lesson? You were so kind to offer him money and power, yet he pretended to be noble in front of you and rejected your kindness. How could you bear him like that, Your Highness?”
“Why can’t I bear him?” The Prince Regent said as he looked at Leng Changxi with the corner of his eyes. “Some people could bear pretending to be ugly and unpleasant people in order to hide themselves for later success. General Shang was just an ungrateful animal, why should I be angry? Am I right, Mister Tuoba?”
Leng Changxi raised his glance. There was a piece of delicious beef on his fork. He quietly put the beef into his mouth and chewed it slowly, “This General Shang was special. However, special people usually die early.”
After the banquet, Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan left early. Prince Regent was still sipping the pear flavored horse milk wine in the room. Looking at the shadows of Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan leaving, he ordered his men, “Keep watch on that General Shang closely. If Mister Tuoba is really the one Qi’s looking for, they’ll definitely meet in private.”
As they returned to the Fourth Prince Mansion, Concubine Yasu was waiting by the door. Seeing Qin Yunuan coming back, she immediately went forward to her.
Avoiding Leng Changxi with a cold glance, Yasu pulled Qin Yunuan aside and said, “Something was wrong. After the Fourth Prince knew that I helped you to contact the warrior of Bochaerji to frame Maomu with a silver needle, he was mad to me as soon as he came back. He said that I was unsound and that I made Grand Khan’s illness worse.”
“How did he find out?”
Yasu shrunk her neck and avoided Qin Yunuan’s glance, “He saw my letters to my father. It was an accident, really. I was too tired, so I fell asleep on the desk when he came into my room. I didn’t put my letters away.”
“Grand Khan Bochaerji knows too?” Qin Yunuan was speechless of Yasu’s behavior.
“Of course,” Yasu felt innocent. “The warrior was my father’s man. Women have no power in the North Di families. If I didn’t beg my father, the warrior wouldn’t even listen to me.”
“Don’t worry.” Qin Yunuan tried to calm Yasu down, as well as herself. “Grand Khan’s illness wasn’t because of anger, but…” After saying this, Qin Yunuan paused abruptly. For a simple woman like Yasu, it was bad for her to know that the Grand Khan of North Di was poisoned.
Yasu was still talking to Qin Yunuan, while Fourth Prince had sent someone to invite Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan over.
“Yasu, I had to tell you that there’s something that you can’t let others know too much about. I know that you trust your father a lot, but for my husband and me, we only trust ourselves.” Qin Yunuan’s words made Yasu afraid. But then, Qin Yunuan added, “Don’t think that I’m trying to scare you. Princess Saichun ended up like that all because she trusted people too easily.”
Fourth Prince had his own martial arts training field in his mansion so that the Fourth Prince and his warriors could train themselves. The servant girl who came to invite them said that the Fourth Prince was waiting for them at the training field. Qin Yunuan was walking with Leng Changxi, and they heard the sound of spears waving steps away from the training field.
Fourth Prince wasn’t wearing a shirt, exposing his fine muscles and figure, with drops of sweat adding to his manly charisma. He seemed to notice Leng Changxi’s arrival, but his first reaction was to throw his spear towards Leng Changxi’s direction. It seemed that he wanted to take Leng Changxi’s life.