Quick Transmigration: Why did you provoke him? He's love-struck!

Chapter 503 Relying on Favor (48)

The maid wore a harmless velvet flower in her hair, but a jade bracelet of poor quality on her wrist.

Yan Zhen had his own agenda.

Two more hours passed, and they figured they were almost in Qingzhou territory. Yan Zhen, who had been peeking out from behind the curtain, suddenly exclaimed "Hey!" and asked his maid, "What's that?"

The maid was indeed drawn to the sight and looked out the car window in the direction she was pointing.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yan Zhen quietly shifted his body to the side and suddenly used a "naked choke" to strangle the maid's neck from behind.

Caught off guard, the maid immediately began to struggle.

Yan Zhen held his breath and used all his strength to press her down tightly.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

The maid's strength gave way, and she fainted.

Yan Zhen immediately breathed a sigh of relief, put her down, and casually took off the jade bracelet from her wrist and slammed it to the side.

With a crisp "clang," the bracelet shattered into several pieces.

Just as Yan Zhen picked up the relatively sharp broken piece, a huge, rumbling sound suddenly came from outside, as loud as the surging tide of the Qiantang River.

The carriage came to a stop, and outside came the chaotic sound of horses' hooves and the slightly panicked voices of soldiers: "Lord Xie, it's the Tingzhou army!"

Yan Zhen was taken aback. He quickly lifted the car curtain and leaned half of his body out of the window to look back.

A massive army, shrouded in billowing snow dust, rushed toward them from the direction of Yunzhou, creating a scene of earth-shattering chaos.

Zhao Yuan, the leader, was dressed in black armor with a cold and murderous expression. He approached the Liang army in no time.

Once the snow dust settled, tens of thousands of soldiers appeared before them.

Perhaps intimidated by the chilling aura of the Tingzhou army, the Liang army's horses paced restlessly in place, snorting incessantly.

In contrast, Xie Ying was much calmer. He ordered his soldiers to protect the carriage while pulling the reins to turn his horse around and return to the end of the column to face Zhao Yuan.

The two armies were less than 100 meters apart.

Zhao Yuan gripped his sword and said in a deep voice, "Xie Ying, return my queen, and I will spare your life!"

"Your princess?" Xie Ying sneered. "That's clearly my Great Liang's concubine! Zhao Yuan, you kidnapped my concubine, and I haven't even settled accounts with you yet, but you've delivered yourself right to my doorstep!"

"Then there's nothing more to say." Zhao Yuan waved his hand. "Kill! Whoever rescues the princess will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold, and whoever takes Xie Ying's head will be appointed a mighty general!"

"Wait!" Xie Ying shouted sharply. A soldier immediately handed Xie Ying his weapon, a long spear adorned with a red tassel.

He took it, holding the reins in one hand and the spear in the other, the spearhead pressed intentionally or unintentionally against the carriage wall, exuding a silent threat.

"Zhao Yuan, His Highness has already gone to such lengths for you, bringing Yunzhou and Jingzhou under your control. What more could you ask for? You two were never meant to be. Let her go back. From now on, you can be your King Zhao, and she can be her mistress. This will prevent her identity from being exposed and condemned by the world, leaving her with a lasting stain on her reputation. What do you say?"

Zhao Yuan narrowed his eyes: "Get lost!"

Xie Ying's eyes turned icy: "If you really care about her, why don't you think about her at all? She was forcibly abducted by you and endured hardship in Tingzhou for three years. If the people of the Great Liang Dynasty knew that the princess had surrendered to the rebels in order to save her life, how would the civil and military officials and the people view her? How would future generations of history judge her?"

If you truly love her, you shouldn't let her be condemned by everyone. Before things get too bad, you should let her come back to Daliang with me and return to her former life as a concubine. That's what you should do!

Zhao Yuan said coldly, "Is this your idea, or hers?"

"of course……"

"Thank you for your understanding." Yan Zhen's voice came from inside the carriage. The curtain moved, and she jumped down, holding onto the carriage shaft.

Before he could recover his strength, Yan Zhen staggered as he jumped down.

Xie Ying and Zhao Yuan, who were staring intently at her, couldn't help but lean forward.

Xie Ying immediately rode up to her and said, "Jun Zhuo, get back to the carriage!"

Yan Zhen ignored him and looked past Xie Ying at Zhao Yuan: "Zhao Yuan, save me!"

When Zhao Yuan saw that she had only been taken away for two days, she was already pale and had dark circles under her eyes. Her hairpins and ornaments were gone, and she looked as if she were in mourning, with her hands wrapped in gauze...

He was almost furious and spurred his horse to rush over and save the person.

But as soon as he made a move, Xie Ying immediately held the tip of his spear to Yan Zhen's neck and shouted sternly, "Stop!"

Zhao Yuan suddenly reined in his horse.

"If you take another step forward, I will kill her immediately!" Xie Ying was furious. "The women of my Great Liang Dynasty die here today, sacrificing themselves for their country. They must not fall into the hands of traitors!"

The gleaming spear blade was less than half an inch away from her. Yan Zhen looked up and met Xie Ying's gaze as he sat on his horse. She pursed her lips and gave a sarcastic smile.

Without hesitation, he took a step forward, as if the blade didn't exist.

Xie Ying was startled and immediately moved the spear blade away to avoid actually hurting her. He said angrily, "Tan Junzhuo!"

Yan Zhen ignored him and walked steadily towards Zhao Yuan's direction.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Yuan on the opposite side immediately drew his bow and aimed an arrow at Xie Ying.

Xie Ying: "...Stop!"

"Tan Junzhuo, stop right there!!!"

"If you take one more step, I really will kill you!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Yan Zhen stepped through the snow and walked towards Zhao Yuan without looking back.

Xie Ying: "..."

Watching her walk away step by step, Xie Ying felt as if his heart was on fire, his hand holding the red-tasseled spear trembled, but he couldn't bring himself to thrust the spear.

When Yan Zhen had gone halfway, Zhao Yuan tossed his bow and arrows to his personal guard, dismounted, and ran towards her.

The short distance of a few dozen meters, in the freezing cold, exhausted Yan Zhen's last remaining strength.

Before she fell, Zhao Yuan rushed over and caught her.

As Zhao Yuan embraced him and wrapped him in his warm cloak, Yan Zhen felt a sense of relaxation that enveloped his body and soul.

She is safe.

Zhao Yuan took off his cloak, wrapped it around her, picked her up, and quickly returned to the Tingzhou army camp.

He coldly surveyed the Liang army, which was extremely uneasy after losing its bargaining chip, and was about to order the killing of these thousands of people when Yan Zhen grabbed his armor.

"Don't kill him, he's still useful."

Zhao Yuan was slightly taken aback.

Yan Zhen leaned close to his ear and whispered a few words.

Zhao Yuan nodded, helped her onto the horse, then took the bow and arrow from the guard, drew the bowstring to its limit, and aimed it at Xie Ying.

The soldiers surrounding Xie Ying immediately shouted, "Protect Lord Xie!"

Xie Ying also gripped his spear tightly, his expression wary.

Amidst the chaos of war, arrows flew with unstoppable force, striking Xie Ying's mount at a tricky angle and piercing its head, piercing the white horse through.

The white horse crashed to the ground, and Xie Ying also fell off.

By the time he scrambled to his feet, Zhao Yuan had already turned and left with Yan Zhen and the Tingzhou army.

Amidst the sound of wind and snow, Zhao Yuan's voice rang out, conveying Yan Zhen's meaning.

"Xie Ying, don't forget what I said. Go back and investigate the origin of that token. See you another day, and give me an explanation."