High-class Spring Joy

The journey from Bianjing to Mohan City is extremely long. Even with carriages and horses traveling non-stop day and night, it would still take a full three days.

Princess Jing'an had already made plans when she invited Qinghe to travel with her. Considering Qinghe's health, Princess Jing'an also gave instructions that they would not travel overnight, but would rest after walking for a while. Although it would be a little tiring, it would be much better, and Qinghe would be able to recover after each rest.

And so, Princess Jing'an led Qinghe all the way from Bianjing City to the northeast. After passing through the south where it was spring all year round, the temperature gradually dropped.

Along the way, Princess Jing'an and Qinghe saw the misty rain of the south and the green grass after the rain. As they traveled north, Qinghe saw more and more scenery with Princess Jing'an.

For example, in the central part, the shifting sands of the Canghe River are so thick that even the river water has a hazy yellow tint. Every scoop you take up is mixed with sand, and there are all sorts of peculiar landforms. After passing through a small area of ​​shifting sands, it doesn't feel as despairing and dry as a desert.

Further north, the temperature drops even more noticeably. Qinghe has seen the long river and the setting sun described in poems, as well as the sunset as blood-red.

Qinghe had seen all sorts of scenery, so even though she was tired from the long journey, she was very excited and felt happy, relaxed, and free.

Wherever they went, Princess Jing'an noticed Qinghe's interest and would take her for a walk around the area to see scenery she had never seen before.

They only went to see the scenery during their rest time, and Qinghe didn't want to delay Princess Jing'an's itinerary because of herself, thus hindering the Emperor's peace talks. Although Princess Jing'an had previously said that whether the talks would succeed depended on the Emperor and the princes, such matters of national importance concerned countless people and the country's economy and people's livelihood. A single hair could affect the whole situation, and Qinghe was unwilling to take even the slightest risk because of herself.

Beyond the central region, beyond the Great Wall, lay endless grasslands, dotted with shifting sands, but mostly grasslands. The wild grasses on the grasslands grew wildly, crisp and refreshing. There were many cattle and sheep, and as soon as they saw the galloping carriages, they seemed startled, turning and running away, their hooves flailing as they ran across the grasslands without a care in the world. Their ease, their freedom, their untamed wildness astounded Qinghe, filling her with awe and deep emotion.

Further north, you'll enter a region with year-round heavy snow. This region isn't too bad, since the north, especially the northeast, is a land of ice and snow. It might snow for ten out of the twelve months of the year, and the people living here wear thick cotton-padded coats all year round, with their faces usually showing a rosy blush from the cold.

But here, Qinghe slept on a heated kang bed in a farmer's house with Princess Jing'an, ate food she had never eaten or even heard of in Bianjing City before, and experienced the heavy snowfall that Bianjing City rarely saw even once in ten years.

Further north lies Mohan City, the destination for Qinghe and Princess Jing'an.

Mohan City is located at the northeasternmost point of the country. This place not only experiences snow all year round, but is also covered with ice for thousands of miles. The river is only flowing for three months of the year, and even then, it is covered with a thick layer of ice.

For the remaining months, the river is completely frozen solid. However, there is one advantage: the area is covered in ice and snow year-round, so the ice and snow on the trees are extremely clean.

Many people would take the outer layer of snow directly from tree branches or rooftops, bring it into their homes, put it in iron pots and griddles, boil it, and that would be their daily drinking water. Once it cooled down, it could be used for washing clothes, cooking, and drinking.

When they arrived outside Mohan City, Princess Jing'an was already wearing three layers of cotton-padded coats, and Qinghe was not far behind. The two of them were not only wearing thick cotton-padded coats, but their snow boots were also decorated with wool, and they were wearing felt hats that were almost half-covered on their heads. They had bought these hats from farmers in the places they had passed through before, and they had heard that they were very good at keeping warm.

This whole process made even the originally slender and graceful Princess Jing'an and Qinghe look like extremely robust men.

Furthermore, since the two women were wearing felt hats, which essentially covered their heads and faces for an hour, no one could clearly see their appearances. Recognizing them solely by their eyes was extremely difficult.

But suddenly, just as the two were about to enter the city, they sensed that something was wrong.

"Princess, something seems to have happened ahead. Would you like to get out of the carriage and take a look?"

The voices of guards could be heard from outside.

This time, Princess Jing'an set off from Bianjing City. In order to avoid attracting attention, it was already somewhat inconvenient to bring Qinghe with her. Therefore, Princess Jing'an did not bring any extra servants or maids, but only four highly skilled guards.

The four highly skilled guards were palace assassins, reportedly trained by the Empress Dowager for many years, and would never disobey the princess's orders.

What happened to the four imperial guards who were originally protecting the Empress Dowager that they all said something bad had happened?

Princess Jing'an was somewhat shocked, and a few doubts arose in her heart as well. After exchanging a glance with Qinghe, she patted Qinghe's hand: "You stay in the carriage. Don't get out unless absolutely necessary. I'll go down and check. If it's nothing important, we'll go around it. We absolutely cannot let it affect our plan to enter the city at this time. We must enter the city before this evening; we only have half a day left. If we are stopped by anything else, we may not make it in time. Mohan City is not like other places. Mohan City is too cold; the temperature in this icy and snowy place is much lower than in the previous places." The area is sparsely populated; the existence of even a few inhabitants and the city of Mohan is a testament to its inhabitants. Aside from Mohan City, there are virtually no other people or farmers to be found. Therefore, if we don't enter the city before evening, we likely won't find anywhere to stay overnight. If we can't find lodging, we'll have to spend the night in this carriage. Perhaps the charcoal we brought can last for most of the night, but even if we manage to build a large fire, it will only be effective against mild cold. In the frigid conditions of Mohan City, even with burning charcoal, we'll likely freeze to death. So I'm going down to check; don't panic.”

Princess Jing'an explained the whole story and comforted Qinghe before lifting the carriage curtain and getting off.

Qinghe had no idea what was happening outside, so she could only tentatively open the carriage window a little to look at what was happening outside.

All that could be seen was Princess Jing'an and several guards standing not far away, seemingly discussing something or watching something. It was quite a distance from Mohan City, so it was impossible to see the city gates directly from here.

For some reason, Qinghe always felt uneasy, as if something was about to happen. Qinghe had never thought that her intuition was particularly accurate before, but ever since she decided to leave the Fifth Young Master, almost all her bad intuitions had come true.

For example, the last time at Xiangguo Temple, that night, she heard the princess scream, and she felt that something had happened. Sure enough, she rushed over. She managed to save the princess, but the two of them were surrounded by wolves. If the Third Young Master hadn't arrived in time with his men, she and the princess would probably have died there, leaving no trace of their bodies.

The last time Qinghe's intuition came true was when they encountered bandits outside Xiangguo Temple, which was indeed an extremely dangerous encounter.

Could something really terrible be about to happen?

Qinghe was truly worried, but since Princess Jing'an had given the instructions, she dared not venture out on her own, fearing she might become a burden and cause the princess and her companions to worry anxiously in the carriage. But what kind of dangers might occur in such a remote place? Qinghe had no idea. Along the way, she had already gained a great deal of experience—scenery she had never seen before, customs and traditions she had never witnessed. These were experiences she could never have imagined in her entire life within the Marquis's mansion.

At this moment, Princess Jing'an was analyzing the matter with four guards not far from the carriage.

The head guard was named Tianyi, and the other three guards were named Tianer, Tiansan, and Tiansi. These names were rather hasty, but the Empress Dowager always gave her bodyguards such casual names.

Besides, they don't usually see the light of day. They are kept in the imperial palace. As for their names, they are just titles and don't really matter to them.

Tianyi held some snow in his hand, twirling it between his fingers until it melted. "Princess," he said, "in my opinion, we probably can't enter Mohan City today. This snow-covered land should be a pristine white expanse, and as far as I know, even if we sent everyone to search for the people here, we probably couldn't find more than a hundred households. So how come there are such strange marks left in the snow? They don't look like footprints, but they seem to be the tracks of some kind of animal?"

Tianyi was right. On that seemingly snow-white ground, the snow was already up to their calves when they stepped on it.

It was snow like this, yet there was a long trail of footprints stretching into the distance. The footprints didn't look like human marks. But they were definitely recessed, suggesting that someone or some wild animal had walked through the snow, leaving footprints. Then, more snow fell and buried them. Although they couldn't make out the exact shape, they could still see the recessed areas.

Tian Er added from the side, "Not only that, our subordinates also discovered different marks nearby."

As he spoke, Tian Er handed over a few leaves from his hand: "Princess, although the scratches on these leaves are not particularly obvious, based on our experience, they should have been made by some sharp weapon. They don't look like ordinary people."

At this moment, Tian San also took out what he had found: "This was found in the snowdrift. It should be something left behind by that group of people or wild animals."

When Tian San handed it over, Princess Jing'an took a look and realized it was a tuft of brownish-yellow down, a bit long but very fine.

Tian San added from the side, "Judging from the color, it looks like horsehair, but I used to study the habits of wild beasts and animals in the palace. Although this hair looks like horsehair, I touched it carefully and felt the texture. It doesn't feel like horsehair at all. Instead, it feels like the tail of a lion..."

Lion's Blaze?

The moment those two words were uttered, it was as if a heavy hammer had struck Princess Jing'an's heart.

"How could a lion-like creature appear in such a place? I've never seen such a colossal beast before, even in Bianjing City!"

Princess Jing'an was genuinely flustered, not because Shi Liao's actions had any impact on their affairs, but because, based on the various accounts of Shi Liao's actions, it was highly likely that Shi Liao had entered the city, and her father and brothers were currently conducting their discussions within the city. If Shi Liao had indeed entered the city, then the lives of her father and brothers would naturally be the first to be threatened.

Even though there aren't many civilians in the city, there are still people living there. You can't just take people's lives randomly!

If a behemoth like the Lion's Roar were to actually enter the city, wouldn't it run rampant and become uncontrollable?

At this moment, Tian Si said from the side, "What's most terrifying now isn't that the fur might be from Lion's Fury. If someone appears in this place who can control Lion's Fury, or train Lion's Fury, that would be extremely dangerous."

Jing'an naturally understood his point. Anyone capable of training such large wild beasts would not be an ordinary person.

Although Jing'an was a princess, the largest wild animal she had ever seen since childhood was an elephant, which was an entertainment performance brought by the Tubo Kingdom during a pilgrimage a few years ago.

At that time, the envoy from Tibet said that they could only find one extraordinary person in the entire Tibetan kingdom who could train, command, and direct elephants.

After all, large wild animals are too intimidating and harmful to normal people. Even without the slightest carelessness, a wild animal can easily kill several adults when it goes berserk.

Therefore, although animal trainers exist in the folk, they are extremely niche and unpopular. On ordinary days, they mostly train monkeys, dogs, and cats in various opera troupes. It is already difficult to find such large wild beasts as lions and elephants, let alone tame them.

Mohan City is not a good place. It doesn't have four seasons at all. It's freezing cold, and if you don't have charcoal or firewood, you'll really freeze to death.

The original inhabitants have all moved away or moved to other places. There are less than a hundred households left in the entire city. Even if a variety show troupe came, no one would watch, and even if they did, they wouldn't be able to afford to give any money as a reward.

It was such a coincidence that a strange person who could train lions appeared at such a critical moment. Princess Jing'an would have to be a fool to think it was a coincidence.

If someone truly harbors ill intentions and suddenly arrives with such an obvious purpose... it would be either the Emperor or an envoy from the Northern Frontier Kingdom, in any case, something related to the peace talks between the Northern Frontier and her Song Kingdom.

In this situation, Princess Jing'an looked at a hazy city deep in the snow in the distance and suddenly felt a chill down her spine.

The hazy city looked particularly gloomy amidst the snow, exuding a deathly blackness, without a trace of smoke rising from chimneys or any warmth.

If that's really the case, they spent five days on the road; by then, the city would probably be in a completely different state!

"No, we cannot enter this city today!!"

Princess Jing'an made her decision in an instant. No matter how serious the matter was, it was highly likely that it had already happened.

Princess Jing'an only brought four guards with her this time, and it was absolutely impossible for four guards to completely change the situation in the city.

Moreover, if they rashly rush into the city without understanding its layout, they could very well become prisoners themselves, and then there would be no way to turn things around in the short term.

Qinghe waited in the carriage, and as she waited, she saw Princess Jing'an stride up and rush in. Immediately afterward, the carriage changed direction.

Qinghe immediately sensed that this matter was not so simple. She gripped the cushion beside her tightly and looked at Princess Jing'an with great seriousness and worry, asking, "Princess, has something happened in the city?"

"I can't explain this to you in a short time, but at least we can't go directly to Mohan City right now. We can only find a place to set up camp, but we need to look carefully at this place. After all, if it's not a good place, let alone what will happen when we enter the city, we're afraid we'll freeze to death outside before we even get into the city."

Just then, the sound of Tianyi riding a horse could be heard outside, and the carriage turned around.

Princess Jing'an still held that tuft of brownish-yellow fur in her hand. Her gaze fell on Qinghe, and she fell silent, a rare occurrence for her.

Upon seeing Princess Jing'an's expression, Qinghe felt even more uneasy. He already had a bad feeling, intuitively sensing that something was going to happen, and now he was even more anxious.

"Princess, please speak frankly. Since I have decided to come with you, I have already prepared for the worst. Please do not hide anything from me. Whether it is good news or bad news, you should at least let me know so that we can think of a solution together. It is better than you bearing the burden alone. Who knows, three heads are better than one."

"It's not that I'm afraid to tell you this, it's just that I regret it now, I really regret dragging you into this."

Princess Jing'an spoke, her brows furrowed, her expression one of genuine regret: "I originally thought it was a conflict between the Northern Frontier Kingdom and our country, but who knew? Now I realize the situation is far more complex and dangerous than we imagined. I wanted to bring you with me for two reasons. First, I wanted to show you the sights outside. You once told me you'd never been anywhere in the Marquis's mansion and wanted to see the sunset in the Northwest and the snow-covered landscape of the Northeast. Second, I felt uneasy coming alone, and I always felt better with someone by my side. Of all the people I know well, you're probably the only one I can think of. But if I had known it would turn out like this, I would never have let you come. Even if you had knelt and begged me to let you come, I still wouldn't have agreed."

"Princess, this is not your fault. In fact, you have already explained the pros and cons to me. Even if I am stupid, I know that this journey is definitely dangerous and fraught with danger. I agreed to come myself."

Qinghe paused for a moment, then decided to share her true feelings with the princess: "To be honest, Your Highness, my trip here isn't just about accompanying you. I have my own plans, someone I want to see, and partly because Your Highness said the Buddha statue I embroidered might help with the peace talks. If the talks fail, war is likely to break out, and the people will suffer. Regardless of my status or position, hearing such words, I should naturally contribute my share. But to be honest, Your Highness, I also want to come with you to see someone—someone I fear I may never see again. So Your Highness shouldn't blame yourself too much. I also bear some responsibility. You don't need to take all the blame upon yourself. I made this choice, and whatever the responsibility or the outcome, I should bear it myself. So whatever happens, Your Highness can tell me. Even if you don't tell me, I'll find out eventually. It's better for you to tell me now so I can prepare myself."

After hearing what Qinghe said, Princess Jing'an did not stare at Qinghe and ask him who he wanted to see, because such a question seemed particularly pale and useless at this time.

Princess Jing'an thought for a moment, then pursed her lips and said, "Just now, several guards and I checked outside. Although the snow is very deep, we could still detect traces of people or wild animals. Judging from the fur they found, the wild animal is very likely the legendary ferocious beast, Lionfire. In my judgment, if it really is such a ferocious beast, it would probably have already entered the city by now, and almost everyone in the city would be in imminent danger. It is more likely that one or a group of people with malicious intentions have appeared and are capable of taming Lionfire."