Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 330: Angry and vomiting blood
"..."

Seeing Ying Jiuque nod in agreement, Namtso felt as if a thousand cattle and sheep were trampling through his heart. What kind of person was this, to treat him so cruelly just because of a mere title? Well, it couldn't necessarily be because of that reason; weren't they mortal enemies now? Even if Jiuque let go, Namtso wouldn't believe it, would he?

Besides, what kind of reason is that? A young lady from the capital is just spoiled!

Seeing his expression, Jiu Que knew that the other party was not the kind of person who would reflect on his own actions. He temporarily stopped his pursuit, smiled, and found it truly boring.

"I am Princess Ruian, personally bestowed by His Majesty, and Duke Zhen'an, a first-rank official appointed by imperial decree! I am a first-rank regional official, in charge of the three prefectures of Beihua, Bei'an, and Beiyuan. This time, I am going to the northern frontier to assist General Yuchi in commanding the northern frontier army! You are facing me, but you do not address me by my official title or my rank, but instead keep calling me 'Miss'? I think you are not ignorant of the etiquette of the Great Jing Dynasty, you are too knowledgeable about it."

"Is this...is this important?"

Namtso thought this, and asked this question, only realizing the gravity of the situation as soon as the words left his mouth, but it was too late. Jiuque had already charged straight over, still smiling as he began to fight.

With a swift horizontal slash, as Namtso withdrew her defenses, Jiuque leaped from her horse and lunged forward, her other hand protecting her chest as she slammed her elbow into Namtso's neck. The agile movements nearly made the guards' eyes pop out of their sockets. No, wait, is their Lord Ying really that powerful?

Namtso wasn't one to be trifled with either. He reacted quickly, even showing a look of surprise on his face, willing to risk breaking his long sword to free one hand to grab Ying Jiuque. "You walked right into this!"
However, at this crucial moment, Jiu Que abruptly withdrew his sword, instead striking Namtso in the eye with the hilt! Namtso needed to turn around to protect his face to avoid blindness, but he couldn't dodge Jiu Que's elbow attack. However, because of his dodge movement, his body shifted slightly, and the elbow struck Namtso squarely on his left collarbone!
With a cracking sound, Namtso's collarbone shattered!
"Well!"

Namtso groaned, but he was a man of principle. Even with his collarbone shattered, he still forced himself to grab Jiuque, because he knew that in this certain death battle, only by capturing the enemy could he, Murdon, and the remaining grassland army find a way to survive.

At this point, he also realized that Ying Jiuque was not easy to deal with, so he continued his verbal attacks, trying to destroy Jiuque's fighting spirit.

"Lord Ying, alright. Lord Ying, do you know how your mother died? I'm afraid even your Northern Frontier Army doesn't know as clearly as we do. It was truly a dark and tumultuous day. Your General Ying, the protector of the people at the end of the previous dynasty, the so-called Twin Star War God, probably didn't know that she had blocked the path of so many people. She didn't want the court to surrender, didn't want to be our defeated opponent, but she didn't know that many people were waiting for this day."

"Your Left Chancellor, that old codger Mu Yanchun, he's long wanted to control the whole situation and become an uncrowned king. But with you standing there, a considerable number of people in the court still feel there's hope and refuse to surrender. What do you think that kind of person will do? He's wanted to kill General Ying for a long time! But he also knows he can't do it alone, so he sought our cooperation. Isn't that ridiculous? A general is fighting bloody battles on the front lines, while the country and the court are plotting to kill her for their own gain. If Mu Yanchun hadn't interfered in the war, we would never have won! But he did, or rather, most of the court used underhanded tactics. How could General Ying not die? If she didn't die, how could the previous dynasty collapse? How could the new dynasty be established? How could Mu Yanchun become an uncrowned king? In the end, guess how many of the arrows that pierced her heart came from our side, and how many came from behind?"

"I'm afraid even the Northern Frontier army isn't clean!" "Lord Ying, don't listen to his nonsense! That herbalist barbarian is spreading heresy! He's deliberately trying to disturb your peace of mind!"

"Then why don't you refute me? Am I wrong?"

The surrounding guards were speechless. At this moment, the two had been fighting in close combat for a while, and unexpectedly, Jiu Que's close combat skills were quite good. Namtso was also puzzled.

Could this be a case of "like mother, like daughter"? Could there truly be such a formidable person in the world? No! Something's not right! Namtso suddenly realized something was amiss! Such skill—how could she possess it without years of training? This doesn't make sense! Wasn't Ying Jiuque raised in the luxurious life of the capital? Even if she wasn't favored by her father, she was still a young lady from a prominent family. Who would teach her martial arts? Even if she received martial arts instruction from the Northern Frontier Army after arriving at the border, could she have developed such skill in such a short time?
"you……"

Before she could finish speaking, Jiu Que slammed his knee into her stomach, making her wince in pain and unable to speak.

"Alright, little prince, have you been wasting time with all this talk? Look at your older brother, do you think he can break through? Or do you think he can capture me and force the Northern Frontier Army to withdraw?"

Namtso was stunned by the series of attacks, his face extremely pale, and he heard Murdon's urging voice from behind him.

"You go first! Don't worry about me, I'll hold them off!"

Namtso's face instantly darkened. That voice... Murdon is injured again!
At this moment, Ying Jiuque's voice, like a persistent ghost, echoed in his ears.

"What a touching display of brotherly love! I wonder if your father, the Khan, will be deeply moved when he finds out… Oh, right, I almost forgot to tell you, if we delay any longer, you might not see Sachi Khan again. After all, he lost an arm and was shot in the stomach—oh, the kind of fire-breathing musket we just saw. Poor thing, at his age, with such severe injuries, who knows if he'll survive? Especially since he was also sick, with such a serious illness, yet he still went to the battlefield even after the high shaman prescribed him some medicine to stimulate his body's potential. He probably thought he'd die on the battlefield, right? Alas, what a pity. He was a great hero. If he had died from the bumpy journey during the retreat, who knows what kind of reputation he would have left in history? By the way, you two seem to be quite favored. I wonder if your brother is envious of this favor. But who knows? After all, Sachi Khan has so many sons; not every one of them can want to be the next Khan, can they?"

"puff--"

Even the provocative words Namtso had just uttered to Jiu Que hadn't caused as much damage as these few words from Jiu Que! Father Khan, Father Khan was actually injured? His arm, his arm was gone? Impossible, he must be lying! However, after witnessing today's battlefield, Namtso dared not draw such a conclusion!
(End of this chapter)