allonlinenovel Chapter 298 The Mistakenly Married Tuyuhun Robber
Chapter 298 The Mistakenly Married Tuyuhun Robber
Cold air seeped from the mold-covered cracks in the walls. Wen Cheng Si Zi huddled in a damp pile of straw, the chill biting. In the corner of the dungeon, a parchment scroll gleamed eerily yellow in the flickering firelight. She trembled as she unfurled it, the dense, ancient characters stinging her eyes.
"Murong Tuyuhun, a branch of the Xianbei..." A metallic taste rose in her throat, and she finally saw how those cold records had woven themselves into a cage that imprisoned her. The wind and snow on the west bank of the Liao River, the grasslands north of Jicheng, and the migration routes that leaped in those words, all transformed into the fangs of the bronze wolf head at Qiu Rongmu's waist.
In the first year of the Yixi era, when Shulugan proclaimed himself Great Chanyu, and during the Liang Dynasty's Datong era, when Kualühan established his capital in Fusi City, a series of long-buried events, like venomous snakes, hissed and coiled around her neck. The words "intermarriage with the Eastern Wei and Sui dynasties" reminded her of the words Qiu Rongmu tremblingly uttered when she was thrown into the deep pit: "The Rouran king wants your head."
It turns out that the so-called marriage alliance was nothing more than an old tactic used by these nomadic tribes to maintain their survival for thousands of years. The map of the two powers that split in the early Tang Dynasty was stained with blood before my eyes. Dayan Mangjiebo, who submitted to Tibet in the west, and Murong Shun, who relied on the Tang Dynasty in the east, had a fate trajectory that was so similar to my current situation.
Behind the political upheaval in the ninth year of Zhenguan and the escape in the third year of Longshuo, how many women like her were sacrificed, hidden behind the lightly written years in history books?
As her heart brushed against the words "the destruction of the Tuyuhun Kingdom" that traversed her memories, Wen Cheng Si Zi laughed out loud, the sound echoing in the cold dungeon. The bats perched on the beams heard it. Were those "Tuyuhun" tribes scattered in Shuofang and Hedong also wandering in foreign lands with broken souls, just like her?
The torrential rain of late spring pounded against the glazed tiles. Murong Yun knelt in the bedchamber of the Lamb Princess. The mud and blood that had congealed on her armor stained the blue bricks with hideous patterns.
The sound of palace maids hurrying to avoid the rain came from outside the palace, but it couldn't mask the suppressed sobs in his throat.
"I've heard that the Prince Consort will be from the Wen family..." Princess Lamb held a gilded fan and slowly fiddled with the incense burner on the table. "Such treatment of my wife breaks my heart." A hint of smugness flashed in her lowered eyes, and the jade bracelet on her wrist clinked gently, making a crisp sound.
Murong Yun suddenly looked up, raindrops dripping from her hair onto the ground. The elegant and noble princess before her was the very executioner who had pushed Wen Cheng Si Zi into the abyss. "Why must you put on an act, Princess?" His voice seemed to be squeezed from the depths of his chest. "If you hadn't instructed my mother to frame me, if you hadn't threatened my mother with her life..."
"Insolence!" Princess Lamb slammed her hand on the table, her fragrant perfume carrying an oppressive aura. "Murong Yun, don't forget that the survival of your Murong clan rests on my every whim! She was just a princess sent for a political marriage; if she dies, she dies. Do you really want to avenge her?" Murong Hou recalled the desperate and venomous look in Wen Cheng Si Zi's eyes as she was buried in the pit. He needed to brainwash himself: it wasn't that he couldn't protect the one he loved; he didn't love her at all! Yes! He didn't love her!
But Murong Hou couldn't help but stagger forward, his iron-like hands gripping the Lamb Princess's neck tightly: "She shouldn't have been involved in this conspiracy! You people, who use your power to manipulate human lives, deserve to go to hell!"
Princess Lamb's face turned purple and ugly from being choked, but she still managed a cold smile: "Kill me? Do you think the Murong family still has anyone capable... All your efforts... Your face..." Before she could finish speaking, Murong Yun's hand suddenly tightened, and she regained her refined demeanor.
A thunderclap boomed outside the hall, illuminating his contorted face and the fear that flashed in the eyes of the Lamb Princess. During the tense standoff, Murong Yun's hands trembled involuntarily. He released his grip and slumped to the ground, all strength drained from his body.
Princess Lamb coughed violently, straightened her disheveled hair, and smiled triumphantly: "Remember, you are nothing but a pawn in my hands. Be sensible, and you'll be well taken care of in the future."
Murong Yun gazed at the torrential rain outside the palace, and in a daze, he saw Wen Chengsizi in her red dress laughing among the azaleas. Now, everything had turned into wronged souls beneath the yellow earth; perhaps it was just her bad luck! He gripped the blood-stained sword at his waist, his heart hardening: But this lamb will have to kneel and beg me sooner or later.