Surviving in the General's Mansion - Chapter 117

Hunger woke Xiao Yaqing. The discomfort in her stomach forced her eyes open.

She blinked repeatedly until some of the dizziness and blurred vision from the drug finally eased. Only then did she realize she was inside a tent.

A candleholder stood on the low table nearby. Its wavering flame made the face of the man beside it look sinister and terrifying.

“Huyan Lie?”

Huyan Lie was sharpening a wooden stick with a small knife. Seeing her awake, he said calmly, “Miss Xiao is awake? Come and eat something.”

Xiao Yaqing tried to sit up, only to discover that her hands were bound behind her back and her feet tied together. She could only prop herself up with her shoulders and elbows.

“Didn’t you leave for Tujue yesterday?”

Huyan Lie smiled wickedly.

“I did. But now it is *we* who are going.”

“What did you do to Zhuzi?”

He looked baffled, so Xiao Yaqing hurriedly clarified, “My carriage driver!”

Only then did Huyan Lie understand.

“We knocked him unconscious and threw him beside the road. If someone rescues him in time, he probably won’t freeze to death.”

“You!” Xiao Yaqing exclaimed in fury.

“Miss Xiao should not anger herself over someone else. If you wait much longer, the meat will grow cold.”

Huyan Lie tapped the bowl on the low table with his knife. Steam rose from the hot mutton soup inside.

Xiao Yaqing did not dare approach. Who knew what had been added to it?

“So there are things even Miss Xiao does not dare do? Lie thought Miss Xiao was very bold.”

Xiao Yaqing forced herself to calm down and tried to reason with him.

“Didn’t the First Prince come to negotiate peace? Aren’t you afraid that abducting the family member of a high court official will affect relations between our nations?”

Huyan Lie looked at her and laughed.

“Negotiate peace?

“Miss Xiao does not appear to understand the situation. But then, all of you in Huaxia probably think the same way.

“Cang Chuli may have defeated my second brother, but Huyan Dan was always a fool. Besides, there is nothing Tujue fears less than war.

“No matter. Once Miss Xiao returns with me, you will naturally learn the truth.”

“What exactly does the First Prince want from this young woman? I do not believe I possess any ability worth such a desperate gamble.”

“Hahaha. Miss Xiao, there is no need to belittle yourself.

“All Huaxia knows the Xiao Family created alcohol. Dongfang Wei restored your father to office and even promoted him one rank.

“But probably no one knows that it was actually you, a young woman, who developed alcohol, do they?”

Huyan Lie toyed with the sharpened stick in his hand.

“They concealed your contribution and took your method besides. Huaxia’s conduct is truly contemptible.”

Xiao Yaqing felt nothing as she listened to him sow discord. She almost wanted to laugh.

She could more or less guess Dongfang Wei’s intentions.

Besides, she had chosen not to seek fame because she disliked the trouble, and she had offered up the method voluntarily.

“I told you at the hunting grounds that some people are born eagles, not sparrows.

“Miss Xiao, why not join hands with me and carve out a grand future in Tujue?

“Lie cannot promise everything, but in Tujue, whatever is yours will be credited to you in your own name.”

Huyan Lie’s voice carried a subtle temptation.

Xiao Yaqing was not an ordinary woman. If romantic affection could not persuade her, he would lure her with fame and profit. One path or another was certain to hook her.

“Thank you for the First Prince’s kind intentions. In truth, however, Yaqing asked her family not to spread the matter because Yaqing dislikes being disturbed.”

Xiao Yaqing’s smile was not quite a smile.

Did he understand? He was disturbing her, the bastard!

Huyan Lie sighed. Seemingly angered, his tone became dangerous.

“Lie has long been curious. You people of Huaxia all possess a kind of… How should I put it?

“Confidence. Yes.

“Whether it is you, Cang Chuli, or even the two maids and servants by Cang Chuli’s side, all of you have an inexplicable confidence.

“Where exactly does it come from?”

Huyan Lie advanced several steps, seized Xiao Yaqing by the throat, and dragged her close.

“Take you, for example. What makes you so confident that you dare speak to me this way even in my territory?”

Huyan Lie’s hand closed around her neck. With both hands and feet bound, Xiao Yaqing could not fight back.

Her lungs strained for air as suffocation closed in. She thrashed helplessly, her face flushing crimson.

Huyan Lie watched with interest for a while. Only when she could endure no more did he fling her to the ground.

“Miss Xiao still does not understand her present position. But that is no concern. Everyone recognizes reality eventually.

“I advise you to behave and come with us obediently. Do you know why you are inside a tent?”

Huyan Lie crouched in front of her, enjoying the sight of Xiao Yaqing gasping for breath.

“Because we are not traveling on the official road. In the minds of everyone in Huaxia, I departed yesterday. They could never dream that I was the one who took you.

“So give up. The people of Huaxia will never find you.”

Xiao Yaqing glared hatefully at him. He had put his signature false smile back on.

“If I were you, I would think carefully about what concessions you might bargain for while I still have some interest in you. Perhaps, on a whim, I might agree.

“As for now…”

Huyan Lie picked up the bowl of mutton soup from the low table.

“Since Miss Xiao has no appetite, Lie will take this away for now. Once you have thought matters through, you may ask the guards outside to summon me.

“I hope Miss Xiao will not keep Lie waiting.”

With that, he carried the bowl out through the tent flap.

“Watch her closely,” Huyan Lie instructed the two guards outside.

“Yes!”

Xiao Yaqing spat toward his retreating back, then began inspecting her surroundings carefully.

The tent was not small. It had enough room for her to lie flat and roll over several times. A carpet covered the floor, and the sides had been tied down securely. A sheepskin blanket and quilt lay nearby, presumably so she would not freeze to death during the night.

There was nothing else.

With considerable effort, she passed her bound hands beneath her legs and brought them around to the front. At last, her arms were no longer twisted behind her.

She wriggled to the entrance, pinched one corner of the flap, and peered outside.

It appeared to be the middle of the night. Stars like scattered pearls covered the entire sky.

The view was beautiful, but Xiao Yaqing had no desire to admire it.

She had no idea where they were. Somewhere in the mountains, perhaps? Trees filled every visible direction.

The night was bitterly cold. A bonfire burned not far away, and guards on night watch warmed themselves beside it.

The men guarding her tent saw that her hands and feet remained bound and did not react when she merely lifted the flap to look.

Let her look. As long as she did not try to run, there was no problem. The First Prince had not forbidden her from taking some air.

Besides, she did not know where she was. Even if she did, what could she possibly do?

After peering around, Xiao Yaqing withdrew into the tent.

She laboriously spread out the bedding and crawled beneath it. There was no helping it. The air outside was too cold, probably because they were in the mountains.

When Xiao Yaqing remained quiet for a long while, one of the guards lifted the flap and looked inside.

Only after confirming that she had made the bed and gone to sleep did he leave with relief, lowering the flap behind him.

Sleeping was good. As long as she did not make trouble!

Still, this young lady from a Huaxia official’s family was remarkably carefree. She could sleep anywhere?