novelraw Chapter 1976 Barrier
Chapter 1976 Barrier
Chapter 1976 Barrier
Thinking this, Fang Zilan pushed open the door and walked out of the guest room. In the distance, she saw Li Shengxuan and Xiahou Zhang looking for something. Awan said impatiently, "Isn't it just a purse? Your master is rich enough to own the whole world, why would he care about a mere purse?"
“Miss Awan, you are mistaken.” Li Shengxuan stepped in front of Xiahou Zhang, who was about to lash out. “Even if one possesses mountains of gold and silver, one should be frugal and diligent, otherwise one day it will all be used up. Besides, I am not the richest man in the world.”
Awan frowned slightly and muttered softly, "If you are not even the richest man in the world, who else would dare to claim that title..."
"What did you say?" Xiahou Zhang seemed to have reached his limit and said angrily, "My master did not ask you for help, yet you came over on your own initiative and said all this nonsense. What exactly do you mean by this?"
“I…” Awan was speechless for a moment, but then Fang Zilan walked over unhurriedly. Before she could ask for help, she said, “Are you looking for this?” As she spoke, she took out the purse left on the bed and waved it in front of them.
Upon seeing this, Xiahou Zhang blurted out, "How could it be with you..." He suddenly realized something was wrong halfway through his sentence and quickly fell silent.
Li Shengxuan paused for a moment, then realized that he must have been careless last night and it had fallen onto the bed. He pursed his lips, stepped forward, and said, "Thank you, this is indeed mine..."
"Wait a minute." Fang Zilan feinted, dodging Li Shengxuan's hand that reached for the purse. "Words are no proof. How do I know this purse is definitely yours?"
Li Shengxuan was silent for a moment, then said, "There is a plum blossom embroidered inside the purse."
"Plum blossom?" Fang Zilan opened her purse and sure enough, there was a crooked little flower embroidered inside. If the number of petals didn't match up, she would hardly believe that it was a plum blossom.
Seeing the disgust on Fang Zilan's face, Li Shengxuan couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips. "Well, do you believe me now?"
"I believe you now." Fang Zilan curled her lip and said in a drawn-out tone, "Your taste is truly—unique."
Upon hearing this, Li Shengxuan's smile widened even more. "I never expected that the person who gave me the purse back then would be so—unusual."
Fang Zilan raised an eyebrow. "Is the person who gave you the purse very important to you?"
"You don't know?" Li Shengxuan asked instead of answering. Fang Zilan asked curiously, "What do I know?"
"It's a custom in the capital that lovers exchange sachets to pledge their affection," Li Shengxuan explained. Fang Zilan replied naturally, "Oh, so it was given to me by my elder sister. No wonder you treasure it so much."
Before she could finish speaking, Li Shengxuan suddenly coughed, making her ask in confusion, "Did I say something wrong? But my elder sister's embroidery skills shouldn't be this bad..."
She paused, then suddenly realized, "Oh right, my eldest sister and you were engaged when you were young, which made sense back then..."
"That's enough." Li Shengxuan steadied his breathing and said helplessly in a soft voice, "It wasn't a gift from your elder sister."
"What?" Fang Zilan seemed not to have heard clearly, but before she could ask again, Li Shengxuan had already taken back the purse. "Anyway, thank you."
Fang Zilan was completely confused, not understanding why Li Shengxuan thanked her. If it was because the item had been returned to its rightful owner, he had already said so when he saw the purse, so there was no need to repeat it.
Early the next morning, Fang Zilan selected several deputy generals to lead troops to guard the city, while she herself led troops out of the city to meet the Miluo people.
The two sides stood still, and her gaze settled on the commander of Miluo. It wasn't Jiang Hanze, but a very handsome young man, about seventeen or eighteen years old. The young man sent someone to challenge her, saying he wanted to fight her one-on-one. She wasn't surprised at all. She rode her horse to the Miluo people and said to the young man, "Who goes there? State your name."
"A woman?" The young man scrutinized her from head to toe, seemingly ignoring her words, and casually asked, "Who are you?"
Fang Zilan called out loudly, "Dajing, Fang Zilan."
"The Duke of Yue, the Great Capital?" The young man looked at her with great interest. "So it was you who destroyed Liujin City?"
Fang Zilan did not answer, but instead raised her plum blossom sword and pointed it directly at the young man, saying, "I never fight with nobodys."
The young man smiled slightly, “Miluo, Mu Chuji.” As soon as he finished speaking, he was already close by.
Fang Zilan casually blocked his attack, but was startled. The Mu family was the royal family of Miluo. Mu Chuji? If she remembered correctly, he should be the younger brother of the new emperor of Miluo, Prince Qi, Mu Chuji.
"No wonder Jiang Hanze couldn't get along well under you." Mu Chuji raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Just for you, I'm glad I came here."
Fang Zilan gave a cold laugh, suddenly switching from defense to offense. Her plum blossom sword struck fiercely, aiming straight for Mu Chuji's face. He, however, calmly braced himself against the saddle with one hand and dodged the attack. "Sister, your martial arts are quite impressive. May I ask where you learned them?"
"Such a young age, yet so glib." Fang Zilan swung her sword backhand, stabbing his forearm as he was unsteady on his horse. "I bet your hand skills are nothing compared to your verbal skills."
Mu Chuji didn't care about the injury on her arm at all, and said with a leisurely smile, "Sister, would you like to come back to Miluo with me?"
"The mourning period at Miluo is not yet over, so I suppose adding another chapter wouldn't hurt." Fang Zilan's every move was swift and ruthless, her entire being exuding a deep-seated murderous aura. "Don't you agree, Your Highness Prince Qi?"
"You..." Mu Chuji was overwhelmed by her overwhelming killing intent. In the blink of an eye, his chest armor was slashed open, and he immediately spurred his horse back a few steps.
Fang Zilan caught up quickly, giving him no chance to catch his breath, and blood splattered everywhere amidst the flashing cold light.
To avoid a fatal blow, Mu Chuji fell off his horse. His deputy rushed up anxiously, but Fang Zilan knocked him off his horse with a single sword strike.
She shook the blood from her sword and spoke with unparalleled arrogance, "Those who offend my Great Capital will be killed without mercy." With that, she waved her hand, and Vice General Cao led his soldiers in a swarm of charges.
The Miluo people charged into battle, frantically rescuing Mu Chuji, and retreated in defeat back to their camp.
Seeing the cheers and jubilation behind Fang Zilan, she felt no joy whatsoever. Now that Mu Chuji was seriously injured, and Jiang Hanze was also badly wounded, Murong Xun would surely rush to Qiluo City at top speed…
In this way, the army at Miluo River became a single, formidable force. Could they hold out for a month?
She cursed inwardly, forbidding herself to dwell on such disheartening thoughts, and turned back to Qiluo City.
Upon returning to the city, Fang Zilan had no time to rest. She first instructed Deputy General Cao to take stock of the casualties, and then went to General Shen's mourning hall to offer incense. "General Shen, rest assured, I will do my utmost to defend Qiluo City. One day, we will drive the Miluo people out of Dajing and recover our lost territory."