Masquerade in Bridal Attire and Marry the Prince

229. Would You Like to Join Me for a Drink?

Translator: Bryan

Outside the city gate some horses had been readied in the nearby tussocks beforehand. They swung up into their saddles, took a detour along the west side of the city and then galloped towards the Turkish encampment.

Yuxing Tianrui stood in the gate tower bolt upright like a spear. He stared intently in the direction that Du Chuxuan had gone. Ada next to him thoughtfully handed him a telescope. “Don’t worry, Your Highness. Luo Er has gone with them. Besides, His Highness has consummate kung fu. Seldom anybody can overpower him.”

Yuxing Tianrui, naturally, knew all that. However, he had deep feelings for Du Chuxuan, and he couldn’t stop worrying about Du Chuxuan, not even if the latter was in the safest place in the world. He just couldn’t help it. After taking a deep breath, he said blandly, “Everybody stay sharp. Keep your eyes peeled.”

Actually, the most difficult part was not the first half of the plan but the latter half of it. After they successfully transferred the supplies, Du Chuxuan would set a fire to the encampment, and then he and Luo Er would hold back the pursuers and then gallop back to the city, which meant that the two of them would have to fulfill the most dangerous task.

Minutes were ticking away. Yuxing Tianrui, for the first time ever, felt that he was so impatient. He found himself asking about the time every few moments. Every second felt like a year. The anxiety and worry was killing him. He had never had this kind of feeling before.

“Your Highness, firelight! There’s firelight!” A soldier suddenly shuddered. He was standing in a secluded spot. Though Yuxing Tianrui was in a position where he could have a wide field of vision, the tents of Turkish soldiers were not arrayed horizontally. Therefore, there were spots he could not see.

Yuxing Tianrui promptly ordered, “Everyone to the gate! Open the gate and help them get back! Send all other units! Make sure my counselor stay out of harm’s way!”

“Yes, Your Highness!” the soldiers chorused. They all hurriedly went to execute the orders. Naturally, they all had made preparations and been waiting for Yuxing Tianrui’s instructions.

“Your Highness, you go first! I’ll hold them back!” Luo Er said urgently. It surprised them that the Turkish soldiers reacted so quickly. Fortunately, they had transferred the winter clothes out of the encampment already, so they were not afraid of the soldiers. Now all Luo Er had to do was get Du Chuxuan back to the city safely.

“What nonsense is this? I brought you here, and I’ll get you back in one piece.” Du Chuxuan was not in the mood for arguing with him. Apart from everything else, they were in the rear of the Turkish encampment. It had taken those people a lot of time to transfer the winter clothes out of the encampment, and now the two of them were surrounded by Turkish soldiers.

“Your Highness, if you are captured by these Turks, they’ll use you to coerce the crown prince, and all he did would be for nothing. All your efforts would come to naught,” said Luo Er, following in Du Chuxuan’s wake. The two of them were hiding on top of a barn.

Du Chuxuan took a deep breath. Naturally, he knew that as well. However, he couldn’t bring himself to let Luo Er sacrifice his own life. Seeing that Luo Er was about to go out of hiding alone, Du Chuxuan frowned and hissed, “Who do you think is calling the shots here? You or I? Don’t forget that I’m the leader of Sect Luo!”

Luo Er stiffened. The rule seemed to have been engraved in his heart. He couldn’t defy the sect chief. He had to obey unconditionally. However, how could he let Du Chuxuan take such risks in these circumstances?

Du Chuxuan couldn’t be bothered to say another word to him. His eyes were darting around. The Turkish soldiers were running around like headless chickens, trying to put out the fire or get help, which was the very reason why Du Chuxuan and Luo Er couldn’t get out. Luckily for them, they were in a high position, and the fire wouldn’t spread to this barn anytime soon.

As long as the two of them were careful enough and bided their time patiently, they might get a chance to make their escape.

“You see that spot over there?” Du Chuxuan pointed in the direction of a place where the crowd had thinned out considerably.

Luo Er cocked an eye at it and promptly tensed. “That’s the Turkish prince’s tent. Ashina Yi could well be right in there.” If they could kill the prince, they would be able to subjugate Turk without a sweat.

Du Chuxuan was momentarily surprised. He wondered if his erstwhile fellow apprentice would go easy on him for the sake of their old friendship. However, it was not uncommon for soldiers to fight against their fathers or sons on the battlefield. Du Chuxuan felt that being a fellow apprentice with that man for a few years was not enough to appeal to his sympathies.

“Your Highness, the fire is spreading in our direction.” Luo Er frowned slightly. The place where they had started the fire just now was only a short way to his right. The two barns were fairly far away from each other, but a fool had poured some oil over the place, and the flames instantly raged.

“Someone report to His Highness! The fire is getting out of control!”

“Go get help! Get the first and the second battalions here! We need more men! Send more men to the river to get water!”

“The water in the encampment is not enough! Go to the river to get water, all of you! The others use your clothes to put out the fire! Do not let the flames spread to His Highness’s tent!”

The soldiers’ cries were heard one after another. Du Chuxuan, watching them bustling around, clenched his teeth, grabbed Luo Er and whooshed towards Ashina Yi’s tent when most of the soldiers left to get water.

“Chuxuan, I knew it. It’s you.”

The moment Du Chuxuan lifted the tent flap, a voice came from inside. He raised his head. The dark tent was instantly brightened. The man was not asleep or unaware of the situation. He clearly anticipated Du Chuxuan’s visit.

“You knew I would come here to rob you of your winter clothes on this day?” Du Chuxuan, however, was unsurprised. When they had been learning from Jiu Dengdan, their master had taught them everything he could teach them. However, Du Chuxuan had been rather slack at that time, and he had loathed spending time on subjects he found uninteresting. Therefore, there were things that Ashina Yi was better at than he was.

Ashina Yi narrowed his almond-shaped eyes which was tinged with amusement. “Sort of. I just felt that you’re probably the only one in the world who could come up with this kind of method.”

Du Chuxuan made no response. He turned to glance around the tent and was surprised to see that there was nobody else present. “What do you want? You might be able to overpower me in a one-on-one fight, but you’re alone.”

After staring at Du Chuxuan for a long moment, Ashina Yi said slowly, “That cuts really deep.” With that he lifted his hand and placed two wine cups on the table. “It’s been quite a while. Would you like to join me for a drink?”