Chapter 5: A Good Scene

He laughed cruelly and forcefully pried open her tightly clenched hand. With a "clang," a hairpin fell to the ground, stripping away her last layer of disguise.

"The kite has landed, not as good as a chicken!" He smiled faintly.

Qingyuan couldn't help but tremble all over. The man in front of her was not only terrifying but also too clever. From beginning to end, she was acting, and he was just bored and playing along with her.

From the very beginning, she had no chance of winning.

Suyu Tian's lips curled up, and he restrained her chin, leaning in close. His eyes were like colored glaze, with surging waves, almost sucking her in deeply.

He smiled faintly, "Princess Qingyuan, have nothing to say? Since you have nothing to say, that means you've agreed."

After speaking, he callously threw her onto the bed, looked at her resentful eyes, and casually ordered, "Someone, dress and groom Princess Qingyuan, and set off early tomorrow morning."

After he finished speaking, he turned and left the tent.

Qingyuan stared at his disappearing figure, feeling dizzy, and fell heavily onto the bed, fainting.

In the third year of Shunsheng in the Tang Dynasty, Liang invaded the capital, and the Tang Dynasty was destroyed. - "Seven Kingdoms History. History of the Tang Dynasty"

...

The scorching sun hung high in the sky, mercilessly roasting the earth. The traces of war were everywhere on the vast wilderness, and ravens circled and called in the sky. Unburied bones emitted a strong stench of decay along the roadside.

Suddenly, iron hooves trampled past, and a stubborn weed growing among the rocks was ruthlessly trampled into the mud. Nearby, black and yellowish dirty water converged. Soon, the original color of the grass was no longer visible.

Qingyuan stared blankly at everything in front of her until her gaze fell on the tattered flag in the mud pit.

The Tang Dynasty was destroyed.

A vast dynasty quietly disappeared into the dust of history without a ripple.

"Hurry up!"

The reprimanding voice rang in her ears, followed by the crack of a whip. A bloodstain appeared on her back in an instant. She numbly turned around, and the fierce soldier on horseback looked like a demon.

"Why aren't you moving faster? If you don't, I'll let you taste the flesh of a kite!" the soldier cursed.

"Haha! This is a great idea! This princess, who once captivated the nation, has now become a kite in the sky, what a magnificent sight!" Another soldier laughed rudely.

Qingyuan numbly shuffled her feet, and the iron shackles on her body scraped her hands and feet, leaving them bloody. Before long, the path was stained with drops of red blood.

The soldiers laughed and the whip fell on her body, reminding her of her status. She was no longer the proud princess, no longer the Princess Qingyuan.

She was nothing more than a fallen princess of a defeated nation, a criminal who defied the imperial decree. The scorching sun hung high in the sky, and smoke rose from the ground. Qingyuan's vision blurred.

"Get up!" The soldiers' rough reprimands came with the crack of the whip.

She blacked out and almost simultaneously fell to the ground with a loud thud.

The soldier became even angrier, and the whip in his hand rained down on her. Before long, her delicate white back was torn, and blood streaked across it.

"If you don't get up, I'll beat you to death!"

"What Princess Qingyuan? She's just a slave!"

"Get up! If you don't, I'll..."

The excruciating pain in her back made her feel as if her body was being torn apart, and the soldiers around her were increasingly delighted. The downfall of a proud princess was a joy to behold, especially since she was a princess of the enemy nation.

As the soldiers whipped her, the crowd gradually quieted down, and a path opened up as someone approached.

"Who ordered you to do this?" someone angrily shouted.

The voice was too familiar, so familiar that she couldn't forget it even if she turned to ashes.

As the words were spoken, a figure hurriedly pushed through the crowd of soldiers and rushed in. Qingyuan used her last bit of strength to lift her head. Sure enough, the man who came was handsome and had an air of nobility.

Xie Yuming!

It was him! Qingyuan slowly dug her fingers into the muddy ground, blood seeping into her palms.

Xie Yuming angrily burst out, "Who ordered you to do this? Do you know who she is?"

"We know, isn't she the princess of the Tang Dynasty?" someone sneered disdainfully.

"Yes, General Xie, aren't you just concerned about your fiancée?" someone laughed loudly.

"He really 'cares,' to the extent that he killed the entire family of his betrothed and even attacked a child under seven years old. Haha..."

"Yes, now he comes to cry over the dead, really..."

The cold words filled with malice flew towards Xie Yuming. Qingyuan silently smiled. It turned out that he was only in such a situation for his own gain.

Xie Yuming's gaze froze, and his anger suddenly erupted, "You are asking for death!"

He drew his sword and rushed towards the soldiers who had spoken the most. His sword energy was chilling, leaving a trail of coldness wherever it passed.

But a faint voice came, "Why are you angry, General Xie?"

The voice of the newcomer was cold and indifferent, sounding particularly unreal in Qingyuan's ears. Xie Yuming's sword stopped at the soldier's throat, unable to move forward.

The surrounding soldiers suddenly fell silent, kneeling down like grass in the wind. The atmosphere became solemn and heavy in an instant. Xie Yuming's expression changed a few times before slowly kneeling down as well.

Qingyuan struggled to lift her head, only to see a shimmering golden light in front of her. In the golden light, a familiar tall figure walked slowly and deliberately towards her. She tried to see clearly, but her gaze could only fall on a pair of dark boots in front of her.

The boots were exquisitely crafted, with delicate flame patterns embroidered on the uppers. The flames seemed lifelike, as if they were about to ignite.

Her heart turned cold. It was him.

The King of Fire, Su Yutian!

He was the one who had caused her such humiliation, so what was he doing here now?

Pardoning her? Offering a whip in one hand and sweet dates in the other? Playing his cunning tricks so well.

She laughed bitterly, the sound pulling at her wounds and making them throb even more painfully. Only this kind of pain could remind her of the humiliation she had suffered.

Her chin was gently lifted by a hand as smooth as jade. She met a pair of eyes that seemed to be smiling and yet not.

His handsome face still bore the half-mask, but the pair of dark eyes within the mask exuded a terrifying smile.

Today, Su Yutian was wearing a suit of pure gold armor, draped in a black and gold-trimmed sable cloak. The dazzling armor adorned his majestic figure as if he were a god descended to earth.

His thin lips curved slightly as he said, "They say that a beautiful woman is a disaster, and it seems that it's true. The so-called Xie Langjun, known as the top talent in the Tang Dynasty, is still devoted to the princess even after surrendering to this king."