Chapter 82
Yaoying was taken to the tent and guarded closely.
She wanted to see Xie Qing’s condition, but the Hu women did not allow her to go near and dragged the dying Xie Qing away.
Yaoying was anxious.
Pretending to know Tumoroga was a good method to get free.
Wakhan Khan was wary of Tumoroga, yet admired him for holding on to the Royal Court for more than a decade with his sickly body. This time, he not only made a covenant of non-aggression with him but also swore that no matter what happened in the future, the Northern Rong would never harm his family—Tumoroga had an older sister.
In the book, Haidu Aling, who killed his uncle and murdered his younger brothers without mercy, also kept this promise.
After the destruction of the Royal Court, Tumoroga’s older sister survived.
This method was very good, but Haidu Aling was too sharp. Yaoying’s lie told in a moment of desperation could not really bluff him.
Haidu Aling was now urgently going to Sha City to rendezvous with Wakhan Khan, so he did not have the time to deal with her. When he returned, how would she respond?
She didn’t even know Tumoroga.
No, there was no need to wait for Haidu Aling’s return. If he met Tumoroga in Sha City and asked him about her, her lie would immediately collapse.
Yaoying sat cross-legged on the felt carpet, calculating quickly in her mind.
She could not panic. Xie Qing and the others’ safety depended on her, so she had to calm down and think of a way to stall Haidu Aling before he came back.
Or find a way to escape from the camp.
This place was very close to the Royal Court. As long as she could escape to the Royal Court, the people of the Northern Rong would not dare to go to the Royal Court to catch her.
She could not stay here any longer.
Tali came into the tent to deliver Yaoying’s lunch: a few flatbreads and a bowl of broth.
Yaoying asked her to send some medicine for Xie Qing’s wounds.
Tali flinched and did not dare to agree. She had already returned to her homeland as she wished and did not dare to rashly take the risk.
Yaoying did not force her.
Tali was ashamed and hesitated when she went out, saying: “Princess, you have already arrived here. Where else can you escape to? There are 8,000 miles between here and the Central Plains. Even if you escape, you will not be able to return to the Central Plains. Why don’t you follow Prince Aling in the future? He is very good at fighting and the other princes are afraid of him. Although this place is not as prosperous as the Central Plains, you can still live an honorable life as before.”
She knew that the princess had been secretly making inquiries on the troop’s manpower arrangement all this way, trying to escape.
Yaoying didn’t say anything, bowing her head to eat the flatbread.
Haidu Aling was cold-blooded and gloomy in nature. She could not really give in. Once she did, he had even more means to torment her. She would be like the divine eagle he tamed; even with a solid pair of wings, she would never be able to escape from his palm.
Not only that, but he would not be lenient to Xie Qing and the others.
Yaoying was apprehensive and had no appetite, forcing herself to finish eating the broth and hubing.
If she wanted to escape, she must have enough strength.
For the past six months, she had been trying to escape: to escape from the Yelu tribe, to escape from the wasteland, to escape from Haidu Aling’s control. Half of her year being 15 was spent in fear. Every night before going to sleep, she would calculate how to escape. Every morning, the first thing she did after waking up was to give herself a pep talk, telling herself that she would certainly return to the Central Plains.
She missed Elder Brother.
Yaoying’s nose was tingling. She looked down and felt the night pearl from her sleeve.
The Wusun horse had died, and this was the sole gift Li Zhongqian had given her that she still carried with her at all times.
Whenever she was scared, she took out this pearl. Thinking of her Elder Brother, she was no longer afraid.
Yaoying’s fingers gently caressed the night pearl for a while, lost in thought. Then, she sighed and called for a Hu girl who was guarding her and handed over the night pearl.
When she and the Hu girl rode across the Quicksand River, she inadvertently saw the night pearl on her body and showed a salivating look at that time.
She had heard Tali say that such a night pearl could be exchanged for a small tribe from a city-state’s lord.
The Hu girl was stunned. Eyes showing surprise, she took the pearl, immediately tucking it into her chest, and said in a Hu dialect, “I will only help you to distract the others. It is up to you whether you can escape or not.”
Yaoying nodded and said back in Hu: “If you don’t keep your promise, I’ll tell Haidu Aling about this and pull you along to be buried.”
A sharp look flashed across the Hu woman’s face, and after weighing her options, she lifted her feet and went out.
Yaoying looked down at the empty palm of her hand. Her heart also felt the same emptiness.
Then she smiled bittersweetly.
It was worthy of being called the treasure of Fulin country as Elder Brother said. It could still come in handy in desperate situations.
Haidu Aling went to Sha City, taking part of his personal troops, but the camp was still heavily defended.
One night two days later, the Hu girl brought a set of Northern Rong attire for Yaoying to change into and took her to the place where the prisoners were being held.
The captives had no tents to live in. For the most part, they were surrounded by dozens of people covered randomly with a straw cage and left to spend the night in the cold wind.
Xie Qing stabbed Haidu Aling, suffered a whipping, and was carried back. The others, afraid of being dragged down, did not dare to approach her. The past few days, she was taken care of by the other personal soldiers.
Yaoying walked into the straw cage, knelt beside Xie Qing, and lowered her voice, “It’s me.”
The others immediately recognized her and did not call out, their eyes fixed on the ground, “Princess, we did not stop Xie Qing. She was afraid that Haidu Aling would bully you and wanted to take Haidu Aling down with her.”
Yaoying sighed.
Before, when the news of Wakhan Khan’s illness came, she felt it was a heavenly opportunity and was already secretly contacting people to prepare for her escape. However, Haidu Aling did not leave, and she did not dare to recklessly meet with Xie Qing and the others. Xie Qing did not know what she was planning and suddenly assassinated Haidu Aling, disrupting her plans.
Now, even if the plan was rushed, they had to run away.
Yaoying could not blame Xie Qing for being impulsive and ruining things. Xie Qing only wanted to save her from the tiger’s den as soon as possible, and for that, this loyal escort was prepared to die at any moment.
She helped Xie Qing up and fed her a few sips of clean water.
Xie Qing was physically strong and had a square face. Because of this, after wearing male clothes, no one ever suspected her identity. These days, the Northern Rong people had also not found out that she was a woman.
She was covered with wounds and lying in Yaoying’s arms without even a grunt.
Yaoying called her gently, “Ah Qing.”
Xie Qing’s eyelids fluttered a few times.
Yaoying was careful not to touch the bloody wounds on her body: “Haidu Aling has left, and there will definitely be a disturbance in the camp in the next two days. Be alert at night. When you hear the commotion, we will find an opportunity to escape. Can you hold out?”
Missing this opportunity, they could not find another opportunity to escape before being escorted to the encampment of the Northern Rong.
Xie Qing made a few muffled noises in her throat, and her palms clenched into fists.
She could hold out.
Yaoying dared not stay longer, leaving behind a jar of wound medicine and a dagger.
The Hu woman took her back to her tent. The next day, Tali brought her the same flatbread and broth.
Yaoying hid the flatbread and waited until sunset before changing into a small-sleeved robe. She packed everything she could bring, sat cross-legged in the tent, and waited quietly.