Translator: Exodus Tales
Editor: Exodus Tales
Translated by Mianbao
Edited by RED
The clansmen in the court were dismissed and left.
The arrangements the clan had decided on were indeed surprising. Some pitied Li Yunzi, but there were also those who gloated over the matter.
“I thought the Lady would let Li Yunzi find someone and marry her off casually, to stop that incident from fermenting further and losing face for our clan. Who would’ve thought she’d be married off as a concubine!? How pitiful,” Mu Qing sighed in mock pity.
However, her sigh was truly too hypocritical. Her white, caked up face nearly broke out in a bright smile. Li Yunzi’s beauty was so blinding that she had made too many of her fellow clanswomen lose their appeal, and now, she found herself in such dire straits!
“At the very least, if she serves her husband well as the city lord’s concubine, perhaps she’ll live a better life than us who know our place…”
“Surely she’s not bad in this aspect. After all, she can even move her waist for a lowly beggar…”
“Keep your voice low; she’s coming this way,” Li Kongxi said.
Currently, all of the clan’s young women were around Li Kongxi and Mu Qing.
Li Yunzi walked down the stairs in the court alone. The group of attractive clanswomen were also walking away elegantly. Naturally, Li Yunzi had heard all their unbearable comments.
Li Yunzi glanced at those women who stepped on her while she was down, but her feelings were indiscernible.
However, those women couldn’t help but hide behind Li Kongxi and Mu Qing. Who knew if Li Yunzi would lose her temper at them?
However, Li Yunzi didn’t make any aggressive moves. She walked out of another door in the court. The path she took didn’t lead to the Li Clan’s royal courtyard, but the military camps.
Watching her back, Li Kongxi let out a cold humph!
However, thinking of the difference in their positions, Li Kongxi immediately looked much more cheerful.
——
At a stone bridge, surrounded by a few withered willows, Li Yunzi stood on the bridge, looking at the silver and red carp below, as they stirred up the mud in the pond.
Soon, the Commander-in-Chief, dressed in silvery-black armor, came walking towards her.
Commander-in-Chief Cheng hastened his steps slightly when he saw Li Yunzi on the bridge.
“Yunzi, were you waiting for me?” Commander-in-Chief Cheng asked.
“Mhm, I hope Commander-in-Chief Cheng can help me with a matter,” Li Yunzi nodded, her eyes bright and clear, seemingly unaffected by the extremely humiliating matter back in the court.
“Ultimately, your father is easily influenced by the Lady, to actually not object to that matter. You’ve made great contributions to the city state, after all, and yet he intends on offering you to the enemies in exchange for a hypocritical truce. Ai, leave, Yunzi! I’ll help you escape. Go far away, look for a good man and live peacefully. Don’t ever come back. The Li Clan is not worth it,” Commander-in-Chief Cheng said, his eyes expressing pity and helplessness.
Even if she did not come to look for him, Commander-in-Chief Cheng had made preparations to help her escape.
After hearing his words, Li Yunzi felt hints of warmth inside. In the end, there were still people who cared for her.
“Uncle Cheng, Yunzi is not thinking of running away.”
“You’re not escaping? You want to suffer that kind of humiliation? You’re a woman, after all, and you’re still young. This Li Clan is not worth you exchanging the remainder of your life for a pitiful truce. You don’t have to worry about the war at the borders. Even if I have to sacrifice myself, I won’t allow those Lingxiao City bastards to take a step into our territory!” Commander-in-Chief Cheng said aggressively.
“Uncle Cheng, do you know why the rebellion in Wutu can never be pacified, no matter how many people we kill? Those unarmed rebels will still charge into the battlefield crazily, not caring about the consequences?” Li Yunzi asked.
Commander-in-Chief frowned.
He didn’t understand what Li Yunzi was thinking. She was already in trouble herself, and yet she was still thinking about peace and stability in the Ancestral Dragon City State?
“Wutu is wild and uncivilized, and its people uncultured. Our Ancestral Dragon City State’s lands are fertile; they have desired it since long ago. With some people fanning their flames of desire, they became fierce, like wolves and tigers!” Commander-in-Chief Cheng answered.
Li Yunzi shook her head, saying, “We can never finish killing the Wutu rebels…”
“You should worry about yourself, Yunzi.”
“Lingxiao City State has coveted our Ancestral Dragon City State for a long time. Now that we’re restrained by the eastern Wutu rebel army, how could they possibly be negotiating for peace? The talk about marrying me as a concubine for a ceasefire is nothing but a sham. They’re only aiming for us to let our guard down on our western borders, then they’ll send their troops to ambush us, catching us unprepared,” Li Yunzi said calmly.
Stuck in a quagmire, the fiercer you struggle, the deeper you sink!
Not long ago, Li Yunzi was still confused, not knowing who her true enemy was.
Now, she was gradually seeing things clearly.
They were surfacing one by one, laughing at her, unable to suppress their joy and coming up to her to step on her ruthlessly, sending her deeper into the mud.
However, would things really go their way?
“Are you serious?” Commander-in-Chief Cheng asked, flabbergasted.
“Uncle Cheng can transfer my old troops out and go along with their plan,” Li Yunzi said.
—–
Winter was imminent. It had been a month since rain fell in the Ancestral Dragon City State. Even the fertile Lichuan plains were showing signs of dryness. If the lands weren’t nourished by the three rivers, they would have dried out long ago.
Zhu Minglang remembered the skies were blue and the lands were fertile when he first arrived at the Ancestral Dragon City State. After staying over a month at the Dragon Tamers Academy, it looked like the lands outside the city had changed their clothing.
The grass had turned yellow, while dry and withered leaves covered the ground in the woods. The contours of the mountains furthest away from the plains had turned silvery white before anyone realized it, showing hints of desolation and chill in the majestic view…
“Ah-choo!”
Li Shaoying covered himself tight with a woolen coat, but it wasn’t enough to withstand the chilling wind. His nose had turned red from the cold, his snot threatening to flow out.
Zhu Minglang shot him a glance, not understanding how this guy had found his way into the excursion class. After seeing him sharing a ride with Nan Ye on a Pseudodragon Bird, Zhu Minglang roughly understood the situation.
Currently, they were all high up in the sky, riding on the backs of several Pseudodragon Birds, holding onto the reins.
The bleak yellow plains were below them. The winds were like icy knives, cutting on their ears and faces as they blew. Li Shaoying was obviously not experienced in aerial travel and didn’t know what protective measures he needed to take.
There were a total of thirteen Pseudodragon Birds, ferrying thirteen students.
Among the students were real Dragon Tamers who already had their own dragons, and there were also those like Li Shaoying and Nan Ye, who were still hovering below their Dragon Gates.
In addition, two teachers led the group. One of them was Teacher Ke Bei, who was responsible for the safety of the students, who was also the man Zhu Minglang saw the other day. The other teacher was their lecturer, Teacher Duan Lan. She was responsible for casting the Rain Summoning Art.
In addition to the thirteen students and two teachers, there was also a teaching assistant: that person was Zhu Minglang.
Duan Lan, Ke Bei, and Zhu Minglang rode on a single Eagle Dragon.
Eagle Dragons were over five meters long, with wide backs like male lions, and the chest and head of eagles. Riding on the back of an Eagle Dragon was like sitting on a couch covered in beast fur at home. It was first-class pleasure!
In fact, Zhu Minglang didn’t expect he would be set up as the teaching assistant when he was only supposed to help with trivial tasks.
“Azure Dragons can control even the weather? It feels like Azure Dragons are the best!” Li Shaoying gasped.
He was dressed in a simple robe, with no patterns or accessories on. Compared to the other luxuriously clad Dragon Tamer students, he indeed seemed shabby.
It couldn’t be helped. This was already one of Li Shaoying’s nicest sets of clothing. If it wasn’t for his bull spirit suddenly having manifested the features of a dragon, he would still be herding back at home!