After Marrying the Disabled Crown Prince of the Enemy Country

Chapter 76          Have Her

“Chu Yan! Presumptuous!” Wu Zhiyuan shouted angrily.

Wu Zhiyuan’s words confirmed what Le Zhi had in mind. The person not far away was not someone else, but the former leader of the Shengnuo tribe, Huo Du’s uncle.

Chu Yan.

Seeing the situation around the carriage clearly, the group of people was just shouting arrogantly. Even if the two sides fought, it did not seem like they really wanted to fight to the death.

“Withdraw!” Chu Yan ordered in a deep voice, with a sneer on the corner of his mouth. He glanced at Huo Du with sarcastic eyes, then pulled up the reins, turned around, and left with his men.

“Someone, chase them!”

“No need to chase, Lord Wu.” An Xuan said lightly. Anyone could see that if they really fought, they would never be able to take advantage of Chu Yan.

The curtain was drawn down, and the carriage slowly drove towards the Governor Mansion.

There was silence all around, and the vast Shengyang City was like a lonely city. The incident just now seemed to have never happened. But Le Zhi felt that this was not just a brief interlude, but a beginning.

When they first arrived in Shengyang City, Chu Yan could not wait to declare war with them. This was a demonstration.

Le Zhi turned her head and looked at Huo Du cautiously. He remained silent all the time, but his eyes became darker and darker.

The shout just now still seemed to linger in his ears.

Evil Seed…

His own uncles hated him so much, even though they had similar blood on them.

His heart suddenly ached. Le Zhi leaned closer to him, put her arms around his waist, and snuggled in his arms. His body was icy cold. She pressed close to his chest and could barely hear his heartbeat.

“Forget all those words,” she rubbed her cheek against his heart and whispered.

Le Zhi’s words interrupted Huo Du’s wandering thoughts. He lowered his eyes, looking at the top of her hair.

After a while, he patted her head and smiled, “Actually, they are right.”

Hearing this, Le Zhi could not help frowning. She put her hands on Huo Du’s shoulders to distance herself from him. She set her eyes on his face, and the foxy eyes were full of displeasure.

“Wrong.” Her eyes were firm, and she said again, “You are not!”

“Really?” Huo Du always had a smile on his face and asked rhetorically, “What about you? What did you think when you saw me for the first time?”

“I…” Le Zhi was at a loss for words and a little stunned.

At the first meeting… She recalled for a moment. At that time, she was afraid and fearful, and more than that, the hated…

Hated Huo Changyun, hated Huo Xu, and hated Great Qi.

Hatred almost filled her heart. As for Huo Du, even if they had never met or even said a word, the overflowing hatred inevitably poured on him.

Just because he was Huo Changyun’s son.

Therefore, she subconsciously thought that he was a bad guy, subconsciously feared him, and subconsciously… hated him.

Thinking of him this way, what was the difference between her and those people just now?

“I don’t blame you.” Huo Du could not bear to see her struggling, so he interrupted her thoughts.

It was normal for the Li people and the people of the tribe to hate him. It was reasonable for the son to pay for the father’s debt.

Even if he hated being the Taizi of Great Qi, and even more hated being the status of Huo Changyun’s son, what could he do? Huo Changyun could slaughter the country for his own selfish desires, and his mother could weakly choose to use death to escape all this.

They all had a choice, only he did not. He could not choose his family background, he could not choose his parents, nor he could not even have the chance to choose.

Ridiculous.

Only he could not choose.

Le Zhi pursed her lips, and her head was chaotic. She had long been confused about her feelings for him. It was too complicated. She moved her hand down and held his hand softly. Then she hugged his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. She needed to think about it properly.

—

“Your Highness, Chu Yan is really deceiving people too much!”

When they arrived at the Governor Mansion, Wu Zhiyuan hurriedly knelt down and reported. His facial features were crumbled together, his chest was heaving, and there seemed to be a fierce flame burning inside.

The more he talked, the more angry he became as if he had accumulated a lot of grievances.

Although the Shengnuo tribe was captured by Huo Changyun, Huo Changyun did not kill all the remaining forces in the tribe or imprisoned them after being captured alive but left them free.

In this way, even if Chu Yan had no official position, the people of the tribe in the city still only obeyed his orders. Wu Zhiyuan’s position as the governor was nothing but an empty position.

The dignified governor of the city naturally felt oppressed. But the troops His Majesty gave him were only enough to protect himself but could not remove Chu Yan.

People’s heart was unpredictable, so how could he guess His Majesty’s mind?

But this time, when His Highness Taizi came in person to control the chaos, Wu Zhiyuan was wondering whether His Majesty finally going to deal with Chu Yan? Coupled with the incident just now, even if there was any kinship relationship, it would be wiped out by Chu Yan.

Thinking about this, the more he talked, the more excited he became. He wanted to join forces with Huo Du’s soldiers to capture Chu Yan.

“Although Chu Yan is Your Highness’s uncle, Your Highness is the heir to the throne. He is no more than just a commoner. He really doesn’t know how to respect his superior. It’s too presumptuous!”

“Lord Wu, are you finished?” Huo Du glanced at him and said lightly.

“Your Highness, I’m done.”

“All right.” Huo Du smiled, “Someone, take him out.”

The two guards on the side moved quickly and suddenly restrained Wu Zhiyuan.

“Your Highness, what is this?” Wu Zhiyuan was stunned for a moment and asked with a trembling voice, “What crime has this lowly official committed?”

At this time, An Xuan stepped into the hall, and the attendants behind him moved several mahogany chests into the hall.

Seeing this, Wu Zhiyuan’s face changed greatly.

When the wooden chests were opened, the dazzling jewels glowed with piercing cold lights.

Le Zhi did not find it strange at all. When she entered the Governor Mansion, she had a vague premonition.

The drought in the past year had caused the people in the city to suffer from hunger and cold. Of course, among the causes were natural disasters, but they were definitely not just caused by natural disasters.

Because in this desolate and dilapidated Shengyang City, unexpectedly there was a Governor Mansion that was even more magnificent than the Taizi Mansion. Did not Wu Zhiyuan already engrave the four big characters of “filling one’s own pockets” on his face?

“Your Highness, you have to think clearly as this is not the capital. If there are no this lowly official’s mansion soldiers, the soldiers brought by Your Highness alone will definitely not be enough to resist Chu Yan’s forces.” Seeing that the embezzlement of disaster relief funds was exposed, Wu Zhiyuan simply did not cover it up, “After the incident just now, Your Highness should know how much Chu Yan hates you. This lowly official was only confused for a moment. I beg Your Highness to give me a chance to atone for my sins by making a contribution to help Your Highness to clean up the chaos in the city!”

He used both carrot and stick, with sincere words. Wu Zhiyuan deserved to have been immersed in the officialdom for many years. Since he could sit on the position of Governor, his glib talk should be exceptionally good.

But…

“Take him out and execute him on the spot.” Huo Du waved his hand and said in a deep voice, “The body will be hung on the city gate and displayed to the public for three days.”

“You… uh, uh.”

Wu Zhiyuan struggled while being dragged out with his mouth covered.

Suddenly, there was a burst of noise outside. After a while, a guard entered the hall in panic and said, “Your Highness! All of Wu Zhiyuan’s mansion soldiers… have committed suicide.”

“What!” Le Zhi stood up in shock, with an unbelievable look on her face.

But Huo Du responded faintly as if he had known it for a long time.

After the guards withdrew, Le Zhi could not help but ask, “How could this happen? Wu Zhiyuan is guilty and deserves to be punished, but why should those mansion soldiers…”

“After following Wu Zhiyuan for many years, they only recognize Wu Zhiyuan as the master, and they have long forgotten who they are anymore.”

Not only these mansion soldiers, but all Qi soldiers were like this. They have no ideology of their own. Since they entered the military camp when they were young, they have become the puppets of Emperor Qi, the imperial family, and courtiers. They were like cold weapons, but they were just tools for the superiors to realize their ambitions.

Le Zhi sat down on the chair dejectedly but could not calm down her mind.

What kind of world is this?

Emperor did not act like the emperor, the official did not act like the official, and the people did not act like the people.

“Your Highness, all the granaries in the mansion have been counted. Wu Zhiyuan took advantage of the drought to stockpile.” An Xuan frowned with a face full of anger.

“Open the granaries and release the grain.” Huo Du said concisely and comprehensively.

“Yes!” An Xuan bowed to the order.

The hall finally quieted down. However, small snowflakes gradually floated outside, and the cold wind blew in with the white snow and fell into the heater. The silver carbon melted the snow and made some crackling noises here and there.

Not long after, An Xuan returned from the outside with a grave expression and hurried into the hall.

“Your Highness, no one in the city went to receive the provisions for disaster relief. No one went to drink the hot porridge in the porridge shed.” He paused, as if awkward. “And… Chu Yan stood in front of the porridge shed with people and said he wanted to see you.”

Hearing this, Huo Du picked up the white jade cane beside him, stood up, and walked out.

“I’ll go with Your Highness.” Le Zhi hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed his sleeve.

“It’s cold outside, stay in the mansion.” Huo Du smiled and patted her head, then coaxed softly, “Be good.”

Le Zhi in a daze watched him turn around and walked into the snowflakes with An Xuan. She stared at his back, watching the snowflakes fall on his cotton cloak one by one, dyeing his dark green cotton cloak with a layer of white. Her heart moved slightly, and then she lifted the skirt and ran out.

The wind was surging, and before the person arrived, a soft white hand had already covered the back of Huo Du’s hand, making his heart move and stopping his footsteps.

Le Zhi took away his cane, handed it to An Xuan, and then supported him with both her hands. In fact, his injured leg was healing, and as long as she was holding him, he did not need the cane.

She knew he did not like the cane. She always knew about it.

Then, as long as she was there, she would not let him use the cane.

On the contrary, he did not refuse anymore. Huo Du let her support him and walked forward with her. He glanced sideways at her side face, and then lowered his eyes to look at her delicate hands, “Clingy spirit.”

Le Zhi was not annoyed, instead she “en” softly.

Huo Du chuckled, and his eyes were deep. It would be great if she could cling to him for the rest of his life.

The drifting snow that was falling from the sky was getting heavier.

An Xuan was about five or six steps behind them. He quietly watched the snow fall on their hair bit by bit, as if they had white hair.

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An Xuan: Damn, I’m full of dog food*!

(dog food* – internet slang for public display of affection)