In the condition that both hands are tied back and wearing only pants at the bottom of his body, Ashina Helu herded in by Lou Sheng.
He was pushed until he fell to his knees in front of the four Kings, Duan Qin Wang, Chen Qin Wang, The Great General Kong, and Strategist Commander Bai. The four Kings of the Northwest looked very much surprised to see his presence and condition.
It was not so bad actually. At least for him, who has been in many wars and leading the three largest tribes, he had been in a condition more severe than this. He purposely spat and hissed at all of them. But it was blood that came from his mouth and dropped onto the ground. He grinned at the four Kings that swore their loyalty to Xi Empire. He swore inside his heart that someday their clans would be on his side.
"Ashina Helu?!" King Kan Bo Zhou exclaimed in shock.
Stepping down from his seat and trying to get close to where Ashina Helu was, King Kan Bo Zhou was making sure his eyes did not recognize wrongly.
"We captured Ashina Helu?!" He shouted in full shock.
"We kidnaped Ashina Helu." Duan Qin Wang rectified him.
"What an amazing plan from The Great General Kong?!" King of Qu interjected.
King of Qu was the leader of one of the oldest clans that ever governed Qixi. He usually kept his mouth shut everytime they were having an assembly. But this time he showed so much reaction. The King of Qu looked very much mad. He came forward and stood next to King Kan Bo Zhou.
"We just kidnapped The Great General of Western Turkic Khaganate! What is your next amazing plan that you have not discussed with us yet? Should we now proudly announce to the whole world that we kidnapped Ashina Helu or are we going to kill him and cause a much bigger war?!" The King of Qu shouted in anger. Everyone inside the main hall was just watching him go lunatic.
"Ashina Helu is a son of Bori Shad, The Prince and The Great General of Western Turkic Khaganate. If we kidnap and kill him to send a message to the Western Turkic Khaganate, imagine the impact on us. We would ignite anger not only Western Turkic Khaganate but also their allies." The King of Qu continued with his lecture.
Of the four clan leaders, he was the one who was burning with anger the most. General Kong, General Jiang, and Commander Bai kept their silence while Han Hong Yuan and Chen Qin Wang blankly waited for Duan Qin Wang's response.
"King of Qu has a long imagination ahead. Eastern Turkic Khaganate had pleaded loyalty to the Xi Dynasty. Imperial troops are supporting this campaign, therefore ben wang is confused why the King of Qu suddenly turned furious?!" Duan Qin Wang replied to him calmly.
He continued, "If the King of Qu could see the bigger picture of this, by holding Ashina Helu as our hostage, we would actually postpone the clash between the two camps. We buy some time for longer negotiations and weaken their power in the meantime."
Ashina Helu chuckled at Duan Qin Wang's nonsense. "Keeping me as a hostage would not weaken us. As you see, my people are strong and brave. No matter who leads the troops now, I know for sure that our side will never retreat back."
Li Fei Long turned around and gave a devilish smile to Ashina Helu. "We will see about that. Since you are here, how about you enjoy the convenience here?!"
Ashina Helu slightly looked up to stare at the cold smile of Duan Qin Wang. This was the first time he saw the eldest surviving son of The Emperor of Xia Dynasty. By the look on his face and by his stance, Ashina Helu got the expression that he should not underestimate Duan Qin Wang's intelligence.
Duan Qin Wang gave a signal to Lou Sheng to drag him out from the hall. His anger wriggled out. Ashina Helu locked his stares on Duan Qing Wang. Even though he was not scared to be dead, his anger was because he felt Duan Qing Wang cheated in this power game. He swore once he can run away from this captivity, he will make his reckon with Duan Qin Wang.
***
Located in the transition zone from warm temperate zone to cold temperate zone, the Imperial Summer Palace was more accurately described as a mountain resort. This large complex of imperial palaces and gardens were built from the era of the previous dynasty and was often used as The Imperial Summer Palace for the royal family to spend several months a year there to escape the summer heat in the capital city. Apparently, Xi Dynasty's Emperors did the same habit.
The palace zone in the southern part of the resort was designed to resemble the Yong'an Palace. It consisted of two parts. A court in front, where the emperor received high officials, nobles of various minority nationalities, and foreign envoys. Bed chambers in the rear, which were the imperial family's living quarters.
The Imperial Summer Palace has a total seventy two scenic spots. Many of the scenic spots around the resort's lake area were copied from famous landscaped gardens in southern China.
The resort's plain area also possessed characteristics of the scenery of the Mongolian grasslands. Forested mountains and valleys were dotted with various buildings. This included a stone pagoda, which was shaped with an octagonal base, and was decorated with colorful glazed tiles and the steeple was crowned with a gilded round spire.
Jiang Xi Yu really enjoyed her days staying there. Her friendship with Li Xi Shi Gulun gongzhu grew much closer as they kept spending time together almost everyday. With Li Xi Shi currently interested in self care, it was very easy for them to bond. They were almost inseparable.
That morning, Jiang Xi Yu and Li Xi Shi were playing around the plain area. The palace maids unrolled carpet while Jiang Xi Yu and Li Xi Shi were spreading out their hands to enjoy the fresh air there. Both teased each other and giggled around until they ended up playing chase just like two teenagers.
The two stopped their play when they heard the sound of galloping horses approaching. Both turned their heads and watched as Li Qing Feng, Li Jin Sheng, and Lou Che were racing towards their direction.
The yahuan and taijian shouted at them to quickly move away. Some of them are already running and waving at them. Jiang Xi Yu and Li Xi Shi were too scared and petrified in place. It seemed like these three men could not possibly reduce their speed.
In her head, Jiang Xi Yu positively believed that she would die any minute soon. Without realizing it, Jiang Xi Yu was already holding her breath and waiting for the second that a fateful incident could happen to her and Li Xi Shi.
Li Qing Feng was in the leading position. Apparently he finally could spot that Jiang Xi Yu and Li Xi Shi were in the middle of their way. Jiang Xi Yu heard Li Qing Feng's loud shout, followed by a horse whinny, then a gust of wind on her face.
Li Qing Feng controlled his horse very skillfully. Jiang Xi Yu witnessed how he pulled the girth full of force until the horse raised his two front legs fully terrifyingly. When the horse was already in stable condition, Li Qing Feng jumped off his horse and immediately grabbed Jiang Xi Yu's arms.
"Do you want to die?! Why didn't you quickly run and stay away?! You saw us coming at you, do you intend to be crushed to death?!!" Li Qing Feng shook her and yelled right on her face.
"Erge, sao sao and da jie are traumatized." Li Jin Sheng warned Li Qing Feng as he walked closer to them after jumping down from his horse. The taijian who ran after them, took over the horses.
Apparently, Li Jin Sheng's words made Li Qing Feng realize Jiang Xi Yu's state. He looked at her up and down with a furious face. His gripped on her arms got loosened up a little bit.
Jiang Xi Yu looked down to her arm to see Li Qing Feng's hand on her but the edge of her sight caught Li Xi Shi who was beside her. Lou Che fuma was already beside Li Xi Shi and held her back securely.
"Jie jie, are you alright?" Reflexively she asked Li Xi Shi.
Immediately, Li Xi Shi nodded and squeezed her hands to make her sure that everything was safe and sound. Both of them did not notice how Li Qing Feng observed their closeness. Both acted like they were blood sisters to each other.
"I thought we were going to get stomped by them. But, thankfully we are safe." Li Xi Shi turned to her husband and held her tears back. She leaned in a spoiled way. Jiang Xi Yu frowned in skepticism when she saw Lou Che fuma holding Li Xi Shi in an awkward way.
"Fuma, please bring da jie to your quarter to rest. I will escort sao sao back to Jing Gui Fei's quarter." Li Qing Feng suggested.
"I will order the servants to clean up and return then." Li Jin Sheng added. Without waiting for them to reply, Li Jin Sheng already turned his back on them and walked towards the group of yahuan and taijian.
Jiang Xi Yu watched Lou Che fuma carry Li Xi Shi up and put her to sit on his horse. When Lou Che was still arranging how Li Xi Shi rode on the horse, Li Qing Feng lifted up her body up easily.
The taijian who held Li Qing Feng's horse approached them. Before Jiang Xi Yu could raise her objection, Li Qing Feng put her on his horse. Like what Lou Che did to Li Xi Shi, Li Qing Feng arranged her sit before he jumped on the same horse.
Lou Che rode his horse with Li Xi Shi, leaving them behind. Li Qing Feng held the girth and locked Jiang Xi Yu's body between the girth and his broad chest. Instead of riding the same direction to where Lou Che and Li Xi Shi went, Li Qing Feng rode his horse to the opposite direction.
The way he controlled the horse made the horse gallop faster and faster towards the woods. Jiang Xi Yu afraid of herself falling from the horse. Her butt felt so painful from stumbling on the saddle every time it spikes. But Li Qing Feng did not reduce the speed at all.
Both her hands gripped firmly onto Li Qing Feng's clothing. She closed her eyes tightly while her mind cursed Li Qing Feng. She was completely sure that Li Qing Feng hated her to his bone for doing this to her.
It did not take long after she felt that the horse had slowed down. She squinted her eyes and met Li Qing Feng's chin.
"Open your eyes." Li Qing Feng gave the order arrogantly.
The horse had stopped galloping and they were stopping somewhere. Jiang Xi Yu turned her body when she felt sure she would not fall.
They were in the middle of the woods, over the valley. In front of them was a huge lake with a beautiful mountain view behind it. Behind them was the beautiful view of the open grassland where they came from before.
Jiang Xi Yu was mesmerized by the beautiful scenic view in front of her. Being a noble woman in the ancient era has its own perks. Jiang Xi Yu fell silent and enjoyed the amazing sight in front of her.
Li Qing Feng turned her face to face him. Jiang Xi Yu was about to scold him and leaned her back far from him but his hand gripped her face forcefully. In a second his lips were against hers.
Jiang Xi Yu's eyes popeyed in disbelief. Her tears dropped as she felt insulted by Li Qing Feng's sudden action. With full anger, she hitted his chest with both her hands. Li Qing Feng had time to let it go but maybe because he saw her tears fall down or because her hit was so hurtful, Li Qing Feng lunged back down with anger.
This time he used both his hands to hold down her head. Once again he ravished her lips forcefully. Jiang Xi Yu could even taste the hint of blood mixed with the salty taste of her tears. But no matter how hard she resisted, Li Qing Feng's lips were still there against her lips. His tongue forced her lips to be open.
As her last defense, Jiang Xi Yu gave a slap on his cheek. But that one slap did not budge him. With a heart full with anger Jiang XiYu gave him a few more slaps with both her hands on both sides of his cheeks until Li Qing Feng stopped and let his hands off her.
With tears, Jiang Xi Yu wept. "I hate you…."
Her eyes were blurred due to her tears. She could not see Li Qing Feng's face clearly. She assumed he was mad since he did not say anything nor intended to do something.
Her hands stayed on his chest in fear if he came closer and forced himself on her. But this time Li Qing Feng did not do what she thought he would do. Gently, Li Qing Feng rubbed her face from tears.
"The last thing I want to hear is that you hate me." He whispered to Jiang Xi Yu.