Chapter 297 – Princess of the Prairie Rules the World – Divorce Is Not Allowed (22)
Although Qin Fu had no physical evidence to prove that it was the emperor who had ordered the massacre of the Nanyun King’s family, he was not valued by the emperor and thus often overlooked. Because of this, he happened to overhear a conversation between a certain minister and a general. They were carrying out the emperor’s orders in orchestrating the assassination of the Nanyun King. During the pursuit, the Nanyun crown prince had fled but unfortunately fell into a river, and his fate remained unknown.
The river was fast-flowing, and every year, countless children drowned while playing in it. The crown prince was frail and sickly—how could he possibly have survived? So the assassins confidently wrapped up their mission and returned to report to the emperor.
Qin Fu was filled with hatred. He wanted nothing more than to rush forward and kill the emperor’s two lackeys on the spot—but he couldn’t. He still needed to find the young crown prince. If he died, what would happen to the prince? No one would ever know who had truly orchestrated the Nanyun King’s murder.
He searched tirelessly. Qin Fu spent the entire winter looking without finding a single trace. When spring came, he kept searching—and just when he was on the brink of despair, Bai Tang appeared. Heaven rewards the persistent—he had finally found the crown prince.
Someone like Qin Fu, whom the emperor did not value, could leave the royal hunting ground without anyone noticing, except his own subordinates. Even if someone asked, his men would cover for him.
He followed Tuoba Jingyao back to the Xingluo tribe. After an entire night of discussion, Qin Fu’s deputy decided to join forces with Tuoba Jingyao to avenge the Nanyun King.
Tuoba Jingyao had married Bai Tang, and was thus considered the Nanyun King’s son-in-law. A son-in-law is like half a son—he had a duty to avenge his father-in-law.
Even if Qin Fu said nothing, once Tuoba Jingyao learned Bai Tang’s true identity, he had no intention of letting the emperor off the hook.
Just the fact that the emperor had sent people to hunt Bai Tang was enough for Tuoba Jingyao to justify tearing him to pieces.
To attempt to kill his precious beloved—he deserved to die.
The group finalized their plan. At daybreak, Qin Fu got up to take his leave. He had to return to the hunting ground—he’d been away too long and might arouse suspicion. When the time came, they would coordinate their efforts from within and without to overthrow the emperor.
Rong Ningjing spoke calmly, “Deputy General Qin, you’ve been discussing matters with our chief all night. You must be tired. Why not eat something before you go?”
She hadn’t finished speaking before Qin Fu’s stomach began to growl.
He chuckled. “Then I’ll trouble you, Miss Rong.”
Tuoba Jingyao glanced at the sky, then also headed outside.
Rong Ningjing was boiling milk. Qin Fu watched her for a moment, then asked softly, “Chief Tuoba is quite down-to-earth, isn’t he? Cooking with everyone like this.”
Rong Ningjing smiled. “He’s making that for Tang Tang.”
Qin Fu: “Huh?”
Rong Ningjing replied, “Hard to believe, right? As long as the chief has time, all of Tang Tang’s meals are prepared by him personally. Actually, not just meals—his clothes, daily needs, everything is taken care of by the chief.”
In an era of polygamy, it was extremely rare for a husband to personally cook for his wife. Doing it once or twice could be considered a romantic gesture, but to do it consistently over time—there was no doubt, this was true love. Having lived over twenty years in the modern world, Rong Ningjing couldn’t help but feel envious.
Though it was said that a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen, Tuoba Jingyao’s actions only added to his appeal. Qin Fu felt even more assured in entrusting the young prince to him.
Qin Fu looked up at the sky. My lord, my lady—can you see this? The young prince is doing well. You can rest in peace now.
Hearing from Rong Ningjing that Tuoba Jingyao doted on Bai Tang was one thing. But witnessing it firsthand was something else entirely.
If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he could never have imagined what the legendary kind of love—where someone would give the whole world to one person—would look like. Yet Tuoba Jingyao had done exactly that for Bai Tang.
As usual, Bai Tang was woken up by Tuoba Jingyao. His face was wiped with a warm towel, and he was dressed—though Qin Fu didn’t witness that part. What he did see was Bai Tang nestled in Tuoba Jingyao’s arms, the two of them feeding each other bites of breakfast, occasionally sharing sweet kisses in between.
Suddenly, the milk in Qin Fu’s bowl didn’t taste sweet anymore.
He looked up at Rong Ningjing and the chief’s personal guards, only to find them calmly eating their own breakfast, completely unfazed by the intimate display between their chief and his beloved.
Rong Ningjing refilled Qin Fu’s bowl with more milk. “You’ll get used to it.”
Qin Fu: “……”
After breakfast, Rong Ningjing brought over a horse for Qin Fu, so he could ride back.
Just as Qin Fu had guessed, he was an insignificant enough figure that his disappearance for a night didn’t arouse any suspicion.
He beamed with joy as he said to the former subordinates of the Nanyun King, “I’ve found the young prince!”
“Really? Where is the prince now?” They hadn’t attended last night’s banquet and didn’t know that the chief’s consort of the Xingluo tribe was actually their young prince.
When Qin Fu told them about Bai Tang, their faces lit up with delight. As long as the prince was safe and sound, that was all that mattered.
Since Qin Fu hadn’t been at the royal hunting grounds the previous night, he had no idea what had happened. When they informed him that the emperor had detained the tribal chiefs, he broke out in a cold sweat.
He remembered clearly the way the emperor had looked at the prince—eyes full of covetous intent. If Tuoba Jingyao hadn’t taken the prince away in advance last night, the emperor would have gotten his hands on him by now. The hatred of losing one’s parents to murder, the humiliation that might have followed—if that had happened, the young prince might have lost the will to live.
Qin Fu walked into the woods, summoned a mountain goat, and tied a message written on paper to its tail.
Aside from Qin Fu, no one in the hunting grounds knew that someone was using a goat to deliver messages. Everyone was focused on the homing pigeons in the sky, not the animals roaming the woods. After all, this was a hunting ground—what was so unusual about seeing a goat?
The emperor’s tactic was clear: he intended to provoke the other tribes into collectively turning against the Xingluo tribe. Why should the chief and consort of the Xingluo tribe be allowed to return safely to their people, while the other chiefs and their wives were detained? Could it be that the Xingluo tribe had reached some secret agreement with the Aixi Kingdom, sacrificing all the other steppe tribes?
The emperor hadn’t sent anyone to notify the other tribes yet. Instead, he quietly detained their leaders and left the tribes to discover it on their own and draw their own conclusions. This approach was even more effective than any official announcement.
When Qin Fu returned to the temporary imperial palace, a young maid suddenly called out to him at the gate.
“Deputy General Qin, please wait.”
Judging by her attire, she was clearly a palace maid serving someone of high rank—not one of the common maids sweeping the palace grounds.
“What is it, miss?” Qin Fu, being a military man, spoke in a loud, rough voice. His booming tone drew the attention of nearby maids and eunuchs.
The young maid made a hushing gesture and lowered her voice. “Deputy General Qin, keep your voice down.” She pulled him aside and looked around—none of the other palace staff were watching anymore. They all kept their heads down, minding their own business.
“Deputy General Qin, Her Majesty the Empress requests your presence,” the maid said.
Qin Fu was full of suspicion. He had never had any interaction with the Empress—why would she suddenly summon him? Could someone be trying to frame him?
With that thought, his gaze toward the young maid grew colder. He followed her for a while, and once they were out of sight of the other palace staff, he suddenly struck. He grabbed her by the neck and growled, “Who sent you? What is your purpose?”
The maid struggled to breathe as Qin Fu choked her. She clawed desperately at his hands, but it was no use.
Just as she was about to pass out, a woman’s voice called from behind him, “Deputy General Qin.”
Qin Fu immediately let go and turned around—standing behind him was the Empress herself.
“Your humble servant greets Your Majesty,” Qin Fu said. Despite his hatred for the emperor, he knew better than to leave any room for suspicion. If word got back to the emperor, everything he and Tuoba Jingyao had planned would be ruined.
The maid, finally able to breathe again, rushed to hide behind the Empress. The Empress gently patted her hand and said, “I was the one who sent for you. What, does this palace not have the authority to summon Deputy General Qin?”
Her words struck deep. For a subject to show disloyalty toward the royal household—it could be punishable by death.
Deputy General Qin, worried the Empress might use this against him, immediately knelt and said, “This humble servant wouldn’t dare. It’s just that I could not be certain whether the young lady was truly one of Your Majesty’s attendants. If Your Majesty had summoned me by formal decree, I wouldn’t have doubted it. But being led down a secluded path…”
Although Qin Fu was a rough man, his years of service under the Nanyun King had taught him to speak and act with caution. His explanation served two purposes: first, to make it clear that he had no private dealings with the women of the palace and didn’t recognize the Empress’s attendants; second, to subtly shift the blame—you didn’t follow protocol, so don’t accuse me of impropriety.
The Empress narrowed her eyes. “Enough. I didn’t come here to make an enemy of Deputy General Qin—I came to cooperate with you.”
…
When Tuoba Jingyao received Qin Fu’s message, he thought to himself: The emperor of Aixi isn’t entirely a fool after all.
He instructed his personal guards to deliver messages to all the tribes, telling them to prepare themselves. If the emperor didn’t make a move, then all would be well—but now that he had arrested the tribal chiefs, launching an attack would be fully justified.
He wasn’t worried about the other tribes suspecting him of holding a personal grudge against the emperor. In fact, when he sent the letters, he also spread the truth about Bai Tang’s identity. Everyone on the grasslands knew how deeply Tuoba Jingyao loved his wife. His father-in-law had been murdered, and his wife had nearly died at the emperor’s hands—how could anyone believe he would collaborate with the man responsible?
After Bai Tang and Aqi finished feeding the cattle and sheep, they returned to find Tuoba Jingyao deep in thought at the table.
He crept up behind him, planning to startle him—but instead of scaring Tuoba Jingyao, he ended up being the one who got scared.
Boom!
Bai Tang was caught completely off guard when Tuoba Jingyao suddenly turned around, startling him.
“Ah Yao, you scared me!” the boy cried out, clutching his chest as his heart pounded wildly.
“Wasn’t Tang Tang the one trying to scare me first?” Tuoba Jingyao said, scooping him up and settling him on his lap.
“What are you looking at?” Bai Tang asked, unable to make sense of the squiggly lines on the maps spread across the table.
“We’re going to war,” Tuoba Jingyao replied. “To avenge your father and mother.”
Bai Tang had no memories of the Nanyun King or Queen. Though there was no emotional connection, he still felt it was a real tragedy that such good rulers had been betrayed and murdered by the emperor.
“Mhm, the emperor of Aixi is cruel. He’s not a good ruler,” the boy said earnestly, nodding in agreement.
“Then who does Tang Tang think would make a good emperor?” Tuoba Jingyao asked, tightening his embrace and resting his chin on the boy’s shoulder.
“You, Ah Yao. I think you would be a good emperor,” Bai Tang replied.
Tuoba Jingyao was deeply moved by Bai Tang’s trust, though he couldn’t resist teasing him. “But, being emperor means having a harem of three thousand beauties…”
Bai Tang’s body froze, and his soft voice turned sharp and fierce. “If you take a concubine, I’ll divorce you!”
Tuoba Jingyao didn’t quite understand what “divorce” meant, but he definitely understood the word leave. Alarmed, he hugged Bai Tang tighter and hurriedly expressed his loyalty, “No divorce. You’re not allowed to leave me.”
The domineering nature of a steppe man came out—no man could stand the idea of his wife turning to someone else, especially not Tuoba Jingyao, who had loved Bai Tang through more than ten lifetimes.
“No concubines. I only want Tang Tang. Having Tang Tang is more than enough,” Tuoba Jingyao said. “I’ll cook for Tang Tang every day, take Tang Tang horseback riding, and warm the bed for Tang Tang…”
The beginning was sweet, but by the end, things were getting a little out of hand—warming the bed?
The boy’s face flushed red. “You said it yourself! If you let me down, I won’t let you sleep with me anymore~”
Author’s Note:
Tuoba Jingyao (swearing to the heavens): I live for Tang Tang and I’ll die for Tang Tang. No matter what, I’m sticking with him.
Bai Tang (pouting proudly): Hmph~