In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

"Yes." Li Yuanchang replied calmly.

Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction, then shouted to the surroundings, "Send off the princess!"

"We respectfully bid farewell to Princess Wencheng. May Princess Wencheng have a safe journey and live a long and prosperous life!!"

The deafening sound lasted for a long time.

But all Li Yuanchang heard was sorrow. He turned, mounted his horse, and shouted, "Let's go!!"

"The King of Han has ordered us to depart!"

"Set off!"

Scouts rode one after another, shouting as they went, and the entire procession stretched for miles, a truly magnificent sight.

As the vanguard of the procession set off first, the massive rest of the marriage alliance gradually began to move, slowly departing Chang'an like a giant dragon.

The date was the fifteenth day of the third month of the fifteenth year of the Zhenguan era, which differs slightly from the actual historical time of the marriage alliance.

But in the end, this marriage procession, destined to go down in history, still set off.

Inside that golden chariot, Li Su wept uncontrollably, her pupils shimmering like clear waves, as she desperately glanced one last time at her homeland through the gaps!

She knew she would never be able to come back.

It took about 15 minutes for the massive procession to completely disappear from the outskirts of Chang'an and leave Li Shimin's sight.

Li Yuanchang acted swiftly, transferring all his left and right guards, including several eunuchs sent by the palace to accompany him, under the pretext of safety.

All of Princess Wencheng's attendants were replaced with guards from the Prince of Han's residence, who were Li Yuanchang's own men.

This also included the Tibetan envoys.

They requested to stay near the carriage, but Li Yuanchang refused.

Once he left Chang'an, he became the number one figure in the entire group, and even Li Shimin could not interfere with him. No one dared to disobey him, including the Tibetan envoys, who were unwilling to offend this popular prince of the Tang Dynasty.

After the personnel reshuffle was completed, Li Yuanchang had Chi Lian enter the carriage first to accompany him, and dismissed some of the palace maids who had accompanied him on his dowry.

Finally, he secretly entered Li Su's carriage.

This was the first time the two had met in a long time.

Their eyes met, and Li Yuanchang smiled slightly, while Li Su's tears fell instantly.

Chi Lian then withdrew.

"Why are you crying? Are you unhappy to see me?" Li Yuanchang said with a smile, and sat down next to her, who was covered in brocade.

Li Su lowered her head, her filigree hairpin dangling like dew.

"Seventh Uncle, aren't you angry with me?"

"Why should I blame you?"

"I broke my promise. I made Uncle Qi travel for so long, but I agreed to leave early to go to Liangzhou for a marriage alliance, which also violated my agreement to go to Liangzhou." Li Su raised her head, her eyes glistening with tears.

Li Yuanchang shook his head: "It's not my fault."

"I know you. You definitely don't want to go. As for why you changed your mind, I'm sure you have your own reasons."

"If you don't want to talk, I won't force you."

Upon hearing this, tears welled up in Li Su's eyes. All her pretense vanished the moment she was face to face and could feel the other person's breath.

boom!

She hugged Li Yuanchang tightly, sobbing softly, just like that insecure young girl she once was.

Li Yuanchang guessed correctly; she did indeed have her reasons and it was definitely not of her own free will.

That's enough!

Li Yuanchang said nothing, but gently patted her shoulder to comfort her.

Looking back on their chance encounter, it was all fate, but he could sense the other person's dependence on him.

a long time.

Li Su's emotions and sobs subsided slightly. Without looking up, she pressed her face against Li Yuanchang's chest and said, "Seventh Uncle, could you stay with me like this these past few months?"

"Even if it's just for a day or two, Su Su feels that her life has been worthwhile."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanchang couldn't help but look down at her. For some reason, he sensed a hint of affection that went "beyond the bounds".

"Okay, no problem."

"With me here, you have nothing to fear."

His gaze was meaningful and sharp.

He was told to send Li Su as a sacrifice, to a place like Tibet, to a completely backward plateau, to be left to fend for herself, to be sent to Songtsen Gampo's bed.

He couldn't accept it just by thinking about it.

"Thank you, Uncle Seven!"

"No, thank you, Your Highness!" Li Su choked up, her emotions clearly very bad, and hugged Li Yuanchang tightly with great force.

Frankly speaking, this physical contact would be considered ambiguous even in later generations, let alone in ancient times. Li Yuanchang could even feel her breasts.

But he didn't push her away; pushing her away at this point would be too heartless.

……

Time flies, and a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

However, the procession traveled very slowly, taking a whole month and covering less than 600 li (approximately 300 kilometers).

Six hundred li is equal to three hundred kilometers.

According to later standards, the straight-line distance between Chang'an and Baihai is as high as 1,600 to 1,700 kilometers.

This number does not fully reflect how far the journey was, because there were post roads and ample logistical support within the traditional territory of the Tang Dynasty.

The truly difficult part is the two thousand-mile journey from Shanzhou to Baihai, with treacherous terrain and rugged terrain, especially a section that lies in the heart of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

That kind of thing would be difficult to do even in later generations, let alone in ancient times when there were few people and no infrastructure.

At this pace, it might take a year to complete the journey.

This also led to the dissatisfaction of the Tibetan envoys.

"Your Highness, the King of Han." The chief envoy of Tibet, Lunqin Fucha, placed his hand on his chest and led his men to find Li Yuanchang, who was resting.

"Your Excellency, what brings you here?" Li Yuanchang washed his hands in a spring by the roadside.

Lun Qin Fucha glanced at the entire line of people who had stopped to rest, frowned, and said, "Your Highness, we have no other intentions."

"Why does the team keep stopping and starting? Today the weather is clear, and we could have easily continued our journey, but we've stopped twice already."

"Isn't it a waste of time to unload and load everything as soon as the carriage stops?"

He spoke in fluent Mandarin.

Li Yuanchang remained very calm: "Envoy, I am acting under orders; safety is my top priority."

A simple "safety first" sentence killed the conversation instantly.

The envoys from Lunqin and his entourage looked displeased, because it was that same phrase again—what danger could there be? But they couldn't afford to make a scene.

"Your Highness, how did our men discover that the Princess and some attendants went into the mountains to pick flowers?"

"Isn't this even more dangerous?"

"Besides, this is a marriage alliance, not a trip."

He had already subtly expressed his dissatisfaction. After all, this was something that Li Yuanchang must have ordered and permitted. If he didn't speak up, none of the thousands of people dared to move.

Li Yuanchang remained expressionless: "The princess has been traveling for a long time and her health is delicate. She has never ridden in a carriage for such a long time before, and she vomited the day before yesterday."

"I was worried about her health, so I had someone take her down for some fresh air. Otherwise, the princess would have fallen ill before we even reached Baihai. Whose responsibility would that be, yours or mine?"

Lun Qinfu's rough, dark face froze instantly; he was choked and could no longer speak.

"Oh well."

"Would the King of Han allow our people to accompany the princess? This would allow them to communicate in the Tibetan language and prepare for meeting the Zanpu (King of Tibet)."

"Secondly, it will put our minds at ease."