The soldiers didn't know where her anger came from and looked at each other.
Xie Qing picked up the wooden sword used for martial arts practice. Flipping her wrist, she pointed the tip of the sword at the personal soldiers.
"Because you know that I am a woman, so when the princess is sad and moody, I must go and console her? Should I also change into women's clothing, embroider flowers with her, drink tea, sit opposite her and cry, to relieve her sorrow?"
The personal soldiers wailed in pain, holding their heads and dodging while begging for mercy.
"Great brother! Great sister! Great mother! We were wrong! We were wrong!"
Xie Qing continued to chase after the personal soldiers and sneered, "You don't even think you're wrong at all!
"Let me tell you. Although I'm a woman, I'm still the princess's escort! Your leader! I can beat you fools senseless!"
The guards were cornered and had no place to hide, so they simply fell to the ground, screaming and crying for mercy: "Yes! Yes! We are fools!"
Xie Qing swung down, the wooden sword swiped off the hair of the personal soldiers.
Xie Peng and Xie Chong hugged each other, shivering.
Xie Qing pulled the sword back, kicking away the personal soldiers who threw themselves at her feet, "Whether I am male or female, the princess regards me as her escort, and I treat the princess as my master. Remember this, all of you! I am your captain, not the princess's maid! It is not your turn to tell me how to serve the princess and how I show my devotion!"
All of them were bruised and battered, feeling wronged from the bottom of their hearts.
Xie Chong cried, "Great brother! Great uncle! Ancestor! We really didn't mean to belittle and ridicule you! The princess has always been close to you; we only thought of asking you to comfort the princess. The princess is honorable. We, these old, coarse people, once we see the princess, cannot even say a single word. We really don't know how to advise the princess..."
The others hurriedly agreed.
Xie Qing's complexion eased a bit, putting away the wooden sword, "Command me less in the future!"
The people lying on the ground nodded like pounding garlic.
When the voices outside shouting and begging for mercy quieted down, Yaoying peeked out half of her body to take a look at the promenade. Her face was full of smiles, the corners of her eyes were slightly raised, delicate and charming.
Xie Qing, tall, square-faced, and with a wooden face, was not like a woman in any way.
Yaoying called her softly, "Ah Qing, don't be angry."
Xie Qing did not say anything.
Yaoying leaned against the window and whispered, "Xie Peng and the others have been listless all day. It's good that you beat them up; I see that they are in better spirits."
Seeing that she had no intention of blaming her, Xie Qing's face still had little expression, but she silently pushed out her chest and straightened her back.
After being beaten up, the soldiers seemed to feel that they had lost face in front of Yaoying. Eager to show themselves off, they were all as excited as if they had taken an elixir, and woke up before the sun had risen to practice martial arts and hand-to-hand.
Yaoying who was woken up every morning: ...
She wanted to get a good night's sleep.
As the Xingxiang Festival approached, the celebratory atmosphere in the city was getting stronger and stronger. The personal soldiers, full of energy that had nowhere to dissipate, had their interest peaked and wanted to go out to see the grandness of the Buddhist puja.
Xie Chong begged Yaoying: "Princess, go and have a look with us."
The princess, a golden branch and jade leaves, was detained in Haidu Aling's camp for half a year, making them all feel pained thinking about it. Now, they were in the Royal Court, and the Northern Rong wouldn't dare to act recklessly. The princess could go out and get some fresh air.
Yaoying also disliked staying all day in a corner of the royal palace and felt suffocated. However, right now, she was nothing but a parasite. She didn't want to meet Xueyana outside the palace, so she said with a smile, "You guys go and play."
She had Xie Qing give each of them a few silver coins. Coins were the currency in the Western Regions and one could buy a lot of things.
Xie Qing instructed the personal soldiers, "Everyone be alert. Don't cause trouble for the princess."
The soldiers grinned as they accepted the silver coins, full of assurances, and went out of the palace together. They returned at night carrying a pile of novelties they had never seen before for Yaoying to relieve her boredom.
On this day, the personal soldiers still got up before dawn to practice boxing, ate a meal of naan bread, and then left the palace to watch the bustle.
Yaoying was preparing for her trip to Gaochang-packing her bag and taking inventory of the books-and keeping busy until the afternoon. Suddenly, Xie Chong rushed into the courtyard from outside: "Princess, Xie Peng and the others have been arrested!"
Xie Qing responded to him first: "What happened? Who arrested them? Did you stir up trouble?"
Xie Chong, with his clothes in disarray and covered in injuries, bowed to Yaoying who had come out of the house and said guiltily, "Princess, Xie Peng and the others were not careful. They broke the Royal Court's laws and were sent to the Regent."
Yaoying's face turned pale.
Buddha's son, Tumoroga, was revered by the people for his benevolence and virtue, while the Regent, Sultan Gu, relied on killing to intimidate the people. Ruthless and merciless, wielding the power of deciding life and death, he personally executed nobles and ministers one after the other. When the ministers heard his name, their stomachs dropped, terror-stricken at the mere mention. The common people also feared him like a beast.
Even those who were loyal to Tumoroga, such as Banruo and Yuanjue, were afraid of Sultan Gu. They felt that he was cold-blooded and murderous, his sins too heavy. Although they frequently used Sultan Gu to deter Xueyana, they ordinarily kept their mouths shut, unwilling to mention him.
No one in the Royal Court dared to get close to Sultan Gu.
Only when they needed to scare people would they mention Sultan Gu's name.
Now that Xie Peng and the others had fallen into Sultan Gu's hands, they were in great danger.
When Xueyana's uncle was plotting rebellion, forcing ministers to support him as emperor, the regent did not bring a single guard. A man and his blade entered the Royal Court's main court, and in front of the civil and military officials, he cut Xueyana's uncle. Carrying his head to the palace gate, he ordered the Left Army that the Xue family commanded to surrender. Fierce and vicious, awe-inspiring, he was just like an Asura.
Xueyana was scared to the point that his legs went soft. From then on, as long as he heard the name Sultan Gu, he would break out in cold sweat.
How could Xie Peng break the laws of the Royal Court and fall into Sulta Gu's hands?
Yaoying stabilized her mind and asked Xie Chong, "What crime did Xie Peng and the others commit?"