The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan-Chapter 676 - 674 My wife and I live here (before dawn)

After Murong Ce and his entourage left, the people on the oasis rushed into the dwelling of the three individuals.

They found many corpses of men, alongside a plethora of gold and silver jewelry.

In the fierce blaze, the men’s eyes gleamed with burning desire.

Being desperados themselves, they fought fiercely over the spoils.

Just when the fight became inextricable, someone shouted, "Stop fighting, someone is coming!"

The men, already battered with bruised noses and swollen faces, finally ceased their brawl.

They discovered, to their horror, that the perimeter of the oasis blazed with torches, creating an atmosphere of imminent doom.

They picked up their weapons, ready to fight desperately for a way out.

But as soon as they clearly saw who was coming, they dropped their arms.

The towering Khitan cavalrymen were before them, and they were no match at all.

Someone quickly discerned the situation and reported it to Yelu Yan.

Yelu Yan rode swiftly to the courtyard where Li Xianyun had previously stayed, dismounted, and walked into the inner room where she had lived.

He immediately spotted the hairpin Li Xianyun had left on the desk.

He walked over quickly, picked up the hairpin, and gazed at it idiotically, softly calling out, "Xianxian."

Although only two short words, they contained an infinity of deep affection.

Jinwu walked in from outside, bowed with his arm bent, and said, "Khan, we have finished interrogating them and showed them the Queen’s portrait; they have confirmed that the Queen indeed stayed here and was likely accompanied by Murong Ce and one of his Palace Servants, but unfortunately, they left an hour ago."

"Why did they leave?"

Jinwu hesitated a moment before saying, "They were enticed by the Queen’s beauty and Murong Ce’s wealth, and a conflict arose, prompting them to leave."

Yelu Yan gripped the hairpin tightly and ordered in a deep voice, "Leave two guides, the rest need not remain alive in this world."

Saying so, he strode out of the inner room, mounted his horse, and quickly marshaled his troops, following the two guides straight in the direction that Li Xianyun had left.

Everyone involved in the day’s events on the oasis was slain, their blood soaking into the sand and stones.

The survivors didn’t dare to stay on the oasis and left under the cover of night.

That night, the oasis reached its peak of tumult before plunging into silence with the departure of its inhabitants.

It wasn’t until several years later that a group of merchants lost their way and arrived at this oasis.

In the courtyard where Li Xianyun had once lived, they found heaps of skeletons and two chests filled with gold and silver jewelry.

This turned out to be quite a fortune for them.

They settled down inside the house, and on the armrest of the bed in the outer room, there was an inscription.

The Khitan who couldn’t read Han script called out a Han man from the inner room.

The Han man leaned in to decipher it closely.

Although the words were somewhat worn due to the passage of time, they were still legible: "Here dwelt I and my wife, Murong Ce."

The man read it aloud as he examined it, his pupils dilating in shock, "These are actually written by Murong Ce."

The Khitan asked, "Are you talking about that foolish ruler of Houliang?"

As a man from Houliang himself, he replied, "When His Majesty conquered the Imperial City back then, Murong Ce disappeared without a trace, who would have thought he was actually hiding here."

"Who is ’my wife’?"

"It is said that when that foolish ruler disappeared, a guard Eunuch by his side and a woman surnamed Bai also went missing."

The Khitan nodded, understanding, "It seems ’my wife’ must refer to that Miss Bai."

Another Khitan added, "I thought Murong Ce had given his heart to..."

Immediately, a Khitan interrupted, "Stop your wild speculations, you know how much the Khan cherishes the Queen. Beware your idle chatter, or you might lose your head."

The Khitan instantly felt a chill at the back of his neck and instinctively reached for it, "The Queen is kind and approachable; she wouldn’t have my head over a single sentence, would she?"

He paused then asked, "By the way, have you seen the Little Prince?"

"How could we not? When the Little Prince was born, magpies circled above the Khan Palace all day long. It was a sign of heavenly auspiciousness. When the Little Prince left the palace, the streets were utterly deserted to see him."

His companion nodded, "The Little Prince is truly handsome, resembling the Khan quite a lot, but those charming eyes are the very image of the Queen."

The Khitan saw their Han counterpart pick up a sharp cleaver and, stopping him with confusion, asked, "What are you doing?"

The Han replied, "What else could I be doing? Of course, I’m removing Murong Ce’s very own handwriting from this and taking it to His Majesty to claim credit."

As he spoke, a gleam sparkled in his eyes, "We’re about to make another fortune."

"We’ll help you."

Just as the cleaver gashed the armrest of the bed, the group felt dizzy and collapsed to the ground.

It only then dawned on them that there must have been something wrong with the water they drank.

A terrifying realization gradually became clear.

No wonder they had felt someone watching them ever since they’d entered the Oasis.

On this seemingly dead and silent Oasis, others were actually living.

And they had failed to notice.

It was simply too horrifying.

Before losing consciousness, the Han caught sight of a woman walking in from outside.

She was dressed in coarse hemp clothing, her face half-covered, revealing only her eyes.

He stared in shock; the Khitan Queen in a place like this?

The next moment, he fell into darkness, never to awaken again.

Bai Mengling picked up the cleaver from the ground and cut the men’s throats, "If you came, you should have stayed; there was no need to uncover his secret."

After dealing with the last person, Bai Mengling read the line on the armrest, "Your Majesty, your love for him is so profound, yet she has been as close as glue with another man, even bearing that man’s child."

This she had learned from the lips of those merchants.

Had she not overheard these words, she would have intended to live out her days in the Oasis, dying there alongside the faint traces left by Murong Ce.

But she had heard them.

Looking at the line, Bai Mengling murmured to herself, "Your Majesty, after all these years, you must miss her terribly. If she were to accompany you, you would be pleased, wouldn’t you?"

With that, she let out a mournful, desolate laugh, tossed aside the cleaver, and walked out of the room.

In the courtyard, there were camels, dry food, water, and goods left by the merchant convoy.

After dealing with the last person, Bai Mengling read the line on the armrest, "Your Majesty, your love for him is so profound, yet she has been as close as glue with another man, even bearing that man’s child."

This she had learned from the lips of those merchants.

Had she not overheard these words, she would have intended to live out her days in the Oasis, dying there alongside the faint traces left by Murong Ce.

But she had heard them.

Looking at the line, Bai Mengling murmured to herself, "Your Majesty, after all these years, you must miss her terribly. If she were to accompany you, you would be pleased, wouldn’t you?"

With that, she let out a mournful, desolate laugh, tossed aside the cleaver, and walked out of the room.

In the courtyard, there were camels, dry food, water, and goods left by the merchant convoy.