Chapter 91: Fuma

The three of them looked at each other in an awkward silence. 

Liu Luoyi was the first to react in the end. She helped Yuchi Li up, then lowered her head, not daring to lift it again out of nerves. 

Yuchi Li straightened her disorderly clothing. She covered her mouth and coughed lightly, then took a few steps forward. Because of her painful fall, her movements were a bit odd. 

“G-greetings, Royal Father.” Yuchi Li spoke, no more at ease than Liu Luoyi. Before her eyes was the Northern King in all of his stately glory and presence, his hands clasped behind his back. He was most surely more difficult to fool than Yuchi Die and the others. 

And so, after offering her courtesies, she likewise did not dare speak. 

The Northern King withdrew his gaze, gestured wordlessly, then turned around and strode away, his tall figure quickly disappearing into the corridor. Yuchi Li tensed. She sent a stricken look at Liu Luoyi, then slowly followed him. 

Oh well. What should come will always arrive. She gritted her teeth. 

The Northern King led the way, Yuchi Li following behind him, her gaze lowered. As the two of them traversed the halls of the palace together, the servants they passed by whispered to each other in quick succession, conjecturing that the Second Princess had gotten into trouble due to her wayward behavior and was entering the palace now to receive her punishment. 

As he walked, the Northern King turned his head, and those people scattered, leaving only the father-daughter pair in the expansive garden. Yuchi Li looked around nervously and abruptly felt her mouth go dry. 

“Do you have anything you’d like to say?” The Northern King suddenly spoke. He inspected Yuchi Li’s appearance, his gaze holding weight. 

Yuchi Li wanted to speak, but she hesitated. The Northern King saw this and snorted coldly: “Forget it. You’ve been like this ever since you were little. You’d rather break than bend. This king[1] has heard many things of your time in the Yan Kingdom. That one surnamed Lu bullied you. If you could not manage it on your own, you should have sent a letter to the Northern Kingdom, right. My formidable Princess of the Northern Kingdom, bullied by such a base person. With word getting out, are you not afraid of losing face for my Northern Kingdom?”

What could she say? She could only nod emphatically, indicating that her Royal Father was correct and what he said sensible. 

The Northern King grew more and more agitated as he spoke. He strode forward and pointed a finger at Yuchi Li’s nose, his expression full of frustration: “Yuchi Li, when this king let you go, I figured that with your personality, you could never suffer too big of a loss. Who could know that…”

Speaking up to this point, he held back the rest of his words. He let out a long sigh, lowering his hand. 

If nothing else, he was afraid that, if he said any more, Yuchi Li would fight with him again. 

Who could have expected that, after quite a while, Yuchi Li had not said anything, and she stood there with an obedient expression, her hands clasped in front of her meekly. 

For a moment, the Northern King did not know what to say. He looked at Yuchi Li skeptically, then averted his gaze. He changed the topic, availing himself of the chance to give Yuchi Li a way out: “But, for your part in saving this king’s life, this king won’t keep lecturing you. What’s happened has happened. You even said you’d break our father-daughter relationship for a man. Don’t do it again!”

Hearing this, Yuchi Li could not help but feel a bit guilty. The reason she had gone in to save him was because of Liu Luoyi, and in the fear and panic of that moment, she seemed to have almost forgotten he was even there. 

With her guilt, Yuchi Li looked even more meek and humble, making the Northern King feel ill at ease. 

“Fortunately you haven’t forgotten your martial arts skills despite being in the Yan Kingdom for so long. Beginning tomorrow, you will practice each morning, you hear me?” The Northern King fumed. 

“Yes, Royal Father.” Yuchi Li nodded. 

The Northern King pointed at Yuchi Li before putting it down again, listlessly sitting on a bench beside the path. He felt distressed. Yuchi Li was much thinner and paler than before; she must have suffered in the Yan Kingdom, that place where women cannot even leave their homes. She had gotten over her infatuation and galloped back to the grasslands. Who knows how she endured it. 

And seeing how cautious she was now, she must have lived under someone’s thumb for so long that even her personality had changed. 

The more he thought, the more saddened he became. Eventually, the Northern King’s eyes could not help but redden, and he turned away. He started to reflect on himself, whether or not he should have tried to teach her a lesson regarding her wayward behavior. 

“Fortunately Die’er is here. Die’er is thoughtful and handles things with maturity. She must have been much help to you. Treat her a little better when you go back, don’t be childish. This vast Northern Kingdom will one day be passed on to you sisters. The two countries have been at war recently, so take the time to learn how to manage it. Once your Royal Father is gone, you will have to face it alone.” The Northern King persuaded steadily. 

“This king read the letter you sent and immediately dispatched people to go to the Yan Kingdom. But at that time, the war had already broken out, and this king was at the border, pressed for time. You know what followed. This king underestimated Zhou Qing’s ruthlessness.” The Northern King sighed, a trace of ferocity layered in his eyes. 

“Mn…” Yuchi Li finally spoke. She hesitated, then asked, “So that Zhou Qing was actually a spy?”

The Northern King lightly tapped on the table, then spoke: “Zhou Qing and Yang Zheng were studymates of this king growing up. They were brought up in good families that had served the Northern Kingdom for generations. When the previous king was alive, he placed the utmost value on both families. After this king succeeded the throne, the relationship between Yan and the Northern Kingdom deteriorated. The Yan Kingdom was peaceable on the surface but had aspirations to expand; the Northern Kingdom was pressured both above and below board, with commercial trade cut off from other countries and multiple provocations. Then, this king decided to send some trusted individuals to infiltrate the Yan Kingdom, to gain an inside understanding and learn of the enemy’s movements preemptively. The two of them happened to take the initiative to submit a request to go, and this king agreed.”

“Now, decades have passed. The tension between the Yan and Northern Kingdom has heightened. The Yan Emperor, while bearing wild ambition, is also overcautious and hence only an instigator. He had never truly taken military action, and this king did not overworry. Who could have known that Zhou Qing had secretly used the people this king had planted in the Yan Kingdom to stir up conflict between the two countries, taking this king utterly by surprise.” As he spoke, the Northern King’s tapping grew stronger and stronger, like he wanted to smash the table into two. 

Just as well. Being betrayed by trusted confidants for no apparent reason was a truly infuriating matter. 

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“I saw Yang Zheng while I was in the Yan Kingdom. He seemed to be extremely loyal, even slitting his own throat in the dungeon to help me.” Yuchi Li said. Internally, she had a conjecture that Yang Zheng had been taken out by Zhou Qing to prevent his own actions from being discovered.  

“He’s dead?” The Northern King’s voice carried a sliver of surprise. Then he went silent. After a while, he wiped the corner of his eye with his thumb. 

As Yuchi Li gazed at his stooped figure, she felt a little depressed. 

“But why would Zhou Qing do that? What benefit does it bring him to stir up conflict?” Yuchi Li could not help but ask. 

All Zhou Qing had to do was perform his task as a spy well and he would have a high position, with no worry about his material condition; if it was not for money, then it was for power. But, with his position, there was no way for him to reap the benefit of the conflict as an outside party. And there was no need to take the risk just to gain Shen Hao’s trust. 

“This king believes that the one he seeks to serve is not Shen Hao.” The Northern King said slowly, enunciating each word. 

“Not Shen Hao? Could it be…” Yuchi Li’s eyes widened. She suddenly put together everything she had seen and heard in the Yan Kingdom and came up with a faint guess. 

If this was the case, then everything fell into place. 

“Alright, this king will not delay you further. You must be exhausted after bustling about all day. Go back and get some rest. The situation now is fine. The border was strengthened, and your Royal Father is still here. You don’t need to think too much on these matters.” The Northern King stood up. Lifted his rough, wide hand, making to pat Yuchi Li on the shoulder but hesitated halfway. 

In the end, he awkwardly lowered his hand. 

When Yuchi Li saw this, she suddenly wanted to laugh and felt inexplicably moved. When she was in the Yan Kingdom, she was used to carrying everything on her own shoulders. Now, a father had appeared before her, and she had become a daughter who had not yet grown up. 

It was like she suddenly had a safe harbor. 

Yuchi Li felt retrospectively fearful. If she had not saved the Northern King today, would he have died just as the original did? At this point, the original owner of her body would have been taking care of her own affairs in the Yan Kingdom, with no time to concern herself with her father, who had already severed their relationship. 

For a good father to die just like that, it would be such a waste. 

The Northern King turned around to leave, but Yuchi Li abruptly said: “Royal Father. I’m sorry.”

As the Princess Yuchi of today, she apologized in place of the original Princess Yuchi. In the great scheme of things, a moment’s confusion or mistake was not important; above all, one should distinguish those who truly loved them. 

The Northern King stopped mid stride, suspecting his own ears had heard incorrectly. He wiped his hands on his waist, like he was wiping away sweat. Then, he slowly turned around, his lips moving but nothing coming out. 

He had waited so long to hear those words. 

“Good. Good.” The Northern King forced a smile. He at last placed his hand on Yuchi Li’s shoulder, patting her heartily, his eyes slightly sheened. 

“The young woman you brought. Is pretty good. This king will arrange a banquet another day. Invite her. This king will have a good chat with you both.” The Northern King seemed to have reached the limits of his endurance. Once he finished speaking, he strode away. After rounding a corner, he sucked in a breath through his nose. His lips curled upward of their own accord, and he slammed a fist into the wall beside him. 

The wall hanging on the wall fluttered to the ground. 

His precious daughter was finally all grown up. She knew how to compromise; truly rare to see. The haze of these past days suddenly cleared. He seemed to have recalled something again and rushed back, calling Yuchi Li, who was just about to leave, to a halt. 

“Li’er, since you’re back, perhaps we should arrange the matter of your Fuma. Many young talents reside in E’gu now. Whichever one you want, you can choose them at the banquet. Pick a few if you want!” The Northern King’s beard shook with excitement as he spoke. 

Hearing this, Yuchi Li’s knees went weak. She managed to stay standing and waved her hands rapidly, too scared to speak. 

“This king has wanted grandchildren for a while now. You and Die’er are grown. This king is certain that you two daughters will give my Northern Kingdom a little crown prince soon who can inherit the kingdom!”

Looking at the mighty, serious Northern King smile so happily as he spoke, Yuchi Li did not know how to refute. He had already left, and the blood drained out of Yuchi Li’s face.

Why could she not escape the pressure to get married wherever she went? Grandchildren. For both her and Yuchi Die, she was afraid…

They really couldn’t get it done. 

Note about the chapter title: 驸马, Fuma, meaning the emperor’s son-in-law. May recognize it if you’ve read JWQS

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