They were in charge of being beautiful, and she was in charge of taking the hits.

Chapter 351 Chinese New Year

She thought she could finally have a proper Spring Festival, but Wu Chengye did something strange and told the Empress that he didn't want to spend the Spring Festival in the capital, as it was too agonizing, and that he wanted to leave for Beiyang immediately.

She's already causing trouble herself, but this has put Wu Chengji and Wu Ziyan in a difficult position. It seems she's deliberately trying to ruin their New Year.

Ultimately, the empress had no choice but to send men to escort him to Beiyang.

Beirong Royal Court

Yelü Hanyong sat on an extremely luxurious gold and jewel-encrusted couch, embracing a beautiful woman; he lived a life of extreme extravagance.

"The internal strife in Xiaorong Kingdom has been quelled so quickly? They are probably all bark and no bite now. With a little tampering with their borders, we can easily destroy them! Right, my brother?"

Yelü Hanxuan nodded, twirling a dagger in his hand, his eyes revealing a dangerous aura. He threw the dagger forcefully, and it stuck into the side of Yelü Hanyong's shoe.

"Sister, there seems to be some turmoil on the Wu Dynasty's side as well. This is a good opportunity for us."

"If you ask me, it would be easier to annex Xiao Rong."

"But don't you think the Wu Dynasty is more challenging?"

"Alright, my good brother, then I'll leave it to you. Remember to bring back a few handsome men from the Wu Dynasty for me."

“Of course. I heard that their Second Prince has been exiled to the border of Beiyang. I’ll go and meet him.”

The two siblings looked at each other and smiled, and the scene looked somewhat like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

When Wu Chengye arrived at the Beiyang border, it was during the New Year celebrations in the Wu Dynasty capital. With her, a ticking time bomb, outside, Wu Ziyan felt that she couldn't enjoy her meals in the capital and kept having nightmares.

As a result, when he attended the Spring Festival palace banquet, he always looked listless, with sunken eyes and even pale lips.

When the ministers at the dinner saw her in this state, they secretly spoke ill of her behind her back.

"Look at the Fourth Prince's appearance. He's obviously indulging in too much debauchery. With so many beauties at home, how can he possibly manage?"

"Ha, I heard that the Fourth Prince is living a life of revelry every night, with several handsome men dancing around her. How can she possibly resist that?"

"How could those men, with such stunning beauty, possibly be interested in the Fourth Prince?"

"Of course, it's because of her status. Look at how haggard she looks, I even doubt her ability."

Wu Ziyan treated it all as a passing cloud, letting them say whatever they wanted and pretending not to hear it. Meanwhile, Wu Chengji announced his pregnancy at the palace banquet.

This news is far more shocking than Wu Ziyan's gossip. It means that the royal family has an heir. If no crown princess is appointed, it also means that there will be a granddaughter and grandson of the emperor!

The ministers all knelt down and shouted in unison, followed by congratulations and flattery.

In contrast, in Beiyang, which is far to the north, only two braziers were burning at the city gate, and the city was quiet, with families living their simple lives.

Wu Chengye stood on the quiet street, with snow falling sparsely from the sky. Was this the place where she would spend the rest of her life?

The world was a gray and cold place. The soldiers' hands were chapped, their faces were cracked, and their lips looked like they hadn't drunk water for years, covered with layers of dead skin.

She wasn't exactly a criminal, but the people here didn't seem to respect her. They would just call her "Second Prince" when they saw her, and she couldn't order them around if she wanted to.

She gazed in the direction of the capital, thinking that the past glory was now just a fleeting memory. The meal she had before her, consisting of a bowl of white rice and a plate of vegetables, was already a luxury.

She walked alone outside the city. Gusts of cold wind seeped into her sleeves. She sighed. Actually, it was quite nice here. At least she couldn't see the hustle and bustle, and she wouldn't feel unbalanced.

She wanted to continue walking forward, but someone upstairs shouted, "Your Highness, the city gates are about to close; you cannot go any further."

The people on duty here are always very vigilant, regardless of who the other person is; they just have to do their job.

She simply looked up without replying, but instead of moving forward, she slowly walked back.

Before she could turn around, she saw a black dot in the distance, and then she saw that there seemed to be a group of people chasing him.

She wasn't exactly a chivalrous person who would step in to help those in need; she was simply curious and even took a few steps forward.

Those on the city wall also saw that this place bordered Beirong, and it was normal for refugees or fugitives from that side to come and go.

Their usual practice is to deport them, and if they really don't listen, they arrest them and put them in jail.

"Your Highness, don't worry about it, come back quickly!"

But Wu Chengye was such a proud man, why would he listen to them? She insisted on doing the opposite and getting closer and closer.

She saw a group of people on horseback chasing after a man in shackles. From a distance, Wu Chengye couldn't see him clearly, but as she got closer, her eyes widened in disbelief. Perhaps she had never seen such people before.

Even though they were covered in dust, she could still see their faces clearly—deep and three-dimensional. Especially the man in shackles, whose beauty was different from Qi Zexuan's; it was a novel kind of beauty.

His hair was surprisingly brownish-yellow, his eyes were deep-set with a grayish-blue hue, and his features were sculpted as if by a chisel.

The people chasing him also noticed that their eyes were of different colors and that they were saying things she couldn't understand.

But the man being chased shouted in the Wu Dynasty language, "Save me..."

Wu Chengye didn't know what had gotten into him, but he suddenly connected his situation to this person.

After all, she was still the Second Prince of the Wu Dynasty, and she still had some authority standing there. She spoke loudly: "Stop! This is already within the territory of my Wu Dynasty! If you don't leave, I will have the people on the city wall fire arrows."

They stopped their horses and then engaged in another round of babbling conversation on horseback, which was completely incomprehensible.

Finally, they turned the dock around, then used a rope to lasso the man who was shackled, preparing to drag him away.

"This person stays!"

Wu Chengye stepped forward. She had nothing now and was afraid of nothing. The men seemed to hesitate for a moment, but in the end they put down the rope and rode away.

Seeing that the gray-blue, icy eyes seemed even colder than the daytime, Wu Chengye reached out; his hands were already chapped, and his clothes were tattered.

"Thank you."

"No need, but seeing how pitiful you are, just like me, I saved you only so that I could have another dog by my side."

Yelü Hanxuan thought to himself that this Second Prince of the Wu Dynasty seemed to be out of his mind. It was a pity that he had prepared a series of plays, but none of them were used. Right at this first step, Wu Chengye saved him.

This actually made it a bit difficult for him to act. However, he had already investigated the woman in front of him and found her to be a foolish woman with some courage but not much. As long as she harbored hatred, he would find a way to deal with her.

She wouldn't even lift a finger to pull him up; she simply handed him her soiled skirt and said, "Get up!"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. What's your name?"

"Hanxuan".

Without saying much, he turned back, intending to bring them back to the city, but was stopped by the soldiers at the gate. They were clearly foreigners, how could they be allowed into the city!

"Get out of the way! I'll take responsibility if anything happens!"

The soldiers didn't want to give her face, but the corporal stopped them: "Never mind, it's the New Year."

However, they would not simply allow foreigners to enter the city. Instead, they quickly collected credit points and notified Qiyang. After all, their Beiyang garrison commander had now become Wu Chengye, and they would not accept that.

Wu Chengye took Hanxuan to her place, wondering why he was there. But at that moment, she just wanted to talk to someone who didn't know her past.

There was a bottle of wine and a plate of peanuts on the table. Initially, only one pair of chopsticks was prepared. The place seemed unusually deserted, with not even a servant in sight.

Indeed, what right does she have to be served by servants? Hanxuan had been observing along the way, and it seemed that Wu Chengye was not well-liked here.

Why are they chasing you?

“I am beautiful, I am a captive of nobles, what you five dynasties called an official prostitute.”

"You do look strange, and you're not exactly good-looking. I've seen people a thousand times better looking than you. Come on, have a drink."

The wine bowl, which even had a chipped rim, was handed to Hanxuan. He swallowed hard, his eyes filled with disdain. How could such crude wine be worthy of him?

"In this bitterly cold Beiyang, what are you pretending to be arrogant for? Who will pay attention to you? So what if you used to be someone important? Everyone is the same here."

It was unclear whether he was speaking to Hanxuan or to himself. He ordered a bowl of this crude wine, which was indeed bitter, spicy, and difficult to swallow. It was nothing like the mellow and sweet brews he used to enjoy.

"You are the garrison commander of this city, why did you let a foreigner like me in? No one objected?"

"I am the garrison commander of this city, so why can't I let a foreigner in?"

“I have heard that the people of Beiyang hate foreign enemies very much, and many people escape every year, but they keep the city gates tightly closed and never come to their aid.”

"Maybe it's because they're not good-looking."

He took another sip of wine, frowning, as if he would get used to it after a few more sips. The shackles on Hanxuan's hands and feet were still hanging there.

But the key was actually on him, but Wu Chengye was just thinking about his own things and didn't pay attention to him.

“You have an extraordinary air about you, unlike someone born in Beiyang.”

"Me? I am indeed not from Beiyang, but I'm afraid I'll only be able to eke out a living in Beiyang for the rest of my life, drinking bitter wine and watching a gray and bleak world."

"But at least you still have Beiyang, while I have nothing left."

Hanxuan then played out the melodramatic story he had prepared one by one, telling the tale that he was originally the son of the Northern Rong General, but was envied by the current empress, who had his entire family executed. He and his brothers were forced into prostitution and made to walk barefoot in the snow every day, while they rode horses to chase after them for hunting pleasure.

This experience resonated with Wu Chengye to some extent. Although his status was not as noble as hers, they had both lost everything.

"I hate it so much! I hate that I'm not a woman! If I were a woman, I would definitely overthrow the Northern Rong Royal Court and take back everything I've lost!"

While saying this, she also paid attention to Wu Chengye's expression, and sure enough, she saw that he was also slightly moved, his jaw clenched.

"If I were you, I could run, jump, eat, and drink right now, and I'd be out of their sight. I'd conserve my energy and then go back to fight!"

How do you know who I am?!

Wu Chengye wasn't stupid. Hearing him say that, he must know her identity, which made her more vigilant and also made her feel that he had ulterior motives.

"The pendant on your table has the character '武' (wu, meaning martial arts) engraved on it. Who would dare to wear a pendant with the character '武' on their person? You must be a member of the royal family, or perhaps you were framed and demoted here."

It wouldn't be accurate to call it framing; it's more accurate to say that she brought it upon herself. She's also pondering whether what she did was right or wrong, but what's done is done, and there's no going back.

"No chance."

"Then you're wrong. Life is all about opportunities. Just like when I met you, I also felt it was an opportunity. I hope you become strong and help me overthrow the rule of that tyrannical empress!"

Why should I help you? What can you give me in return?

"Just because I was once the son of a general of Beirong, who could understand Beirong's military strategy better than me? Think about it, if you make military achievements on the border, your return will be just around the corner!"

At this point, she was genuinely tempted to stay in this barren and desolate place.

Hanxuan knew she had taken the bait. According to the intelligence he had, their Wu Dynasty's dismissed prime minister seemed to be heading in the same direction. He would bring the two of them together, use their ambitions, and then destroy their own city!

His eyes were downcast, and no one could see what he was thinking. Wu Chengye simply grabbed a handful of peanuts from the plate, put them in his mouth, and wondered if the first step back really would be to start with military merit.

She gazed in the direction of Sky City, silently vowing, "You'll all just wait!"

Sima Zongcheng led his remaining confidants all the way to Beiyang. After all, they traveled at a leisurely pace and only arrived at the outer border of Beiyang on New Year's Eve.

Because she was still unwilling to give up, the anger in her heart was like a fire, burning fiercely and supporting her as she walked through this bitterly cold land.

“Lord Sima, if we go any further, we will reach Beiyang Pass, where Situ Hongyu’s cronies are located. I’m afraid we won’t be able to get through.”

"We're staying in Beiyang from now on, who said we wanted to go? I heard Wu Chengye is here too. That good-for-nothing can still be reused!"

At that moment, fireworks suddenly lit up the sky from somewhere, making several loud bangs. It was unclear whether they were sending a message or trying to deceive others.

of course!

That was a message from Bei Rong. Han Xuan looked outside and knew that Sima Zongcheng and his party had also arrived. He had originally thought that this year's New Year would be dull and quiet, but he did not expect it to be so lively.

Wu Chengye was staring at the fireworks in a daze, and then he saw the one that Sima Zongcheng had set off in the fireworks!

She thought it was to cover up her actions, and her expression immediately turned serious. He couldn't find a way to reply for the time being.

She wanted to leave the city now, but the soldiers at the city gate would absolutely not allow it. However, she thought to herself, she is now the garrison commander of this city, why should she have to put up with the attitudes of those soldiers?

He picked up his sword, put on his cloak, left Hanxuan alone in the house, went out, took a fast horse, and was about to leave the city!