Tigers Sniff the Rose - Chapter 164
Chapter 164
Mu Wanyao was escorted back into the city. Because the Princess had been assassinated earlier, the guards protecting her were incredibly vigilant, refusing to give the enemy any opportunity.
Mu Wanyao covered her bleeding palm with her other hand all the way back. Though the blood kept flowing, the sharp pain left her feeling numb, as if she could not feel it at all. The moment she stepped inside the city gates, she clearly felt Fang Tong heave a sigh of relief.
Yet, Mu Wanyao did not relax for a moment.
Refusing to retreat immediately, she noticed the soldiers calling for the civilians to hide as the planks creaked and the city gates began to shut tight. Amidst the orderly withdrawal, Mu Wanyao saw a commotion erupt before one of the gates, where the soldiers gathered there were clashing.
At such a critical juncture, they could not afford any obstruction. Mu Wanyao approached: "What is going on?"
The two soldiers who were arguing turned around and, seeing it was the Princess, bowed their heads instantly. One answered indignantly: "Your Highness, what did I do wrong? A spy appeared in the city, so I killed the spy, but he insists on saying that the person I killed was our colleague..."
The arm Fang Tong was supporting tensed violently. Fang Tong looked over and saw that Mu Wanyao’s already bloodless face had turned even paler.
Mu Wanyao lifted her chin slightly and said coldly: "The naval battle of Guangzhou has lasted for two months; every soldier in this city is one of our own. Where would a spy come from? What is your purpose in disrupting military morale like this? There are no spies in the city! Take him away and execute him!"
Fang Tong, who was supporting her, was stunned.
But the other soldiers surrounding the Princess only hesitated for a moment before, under the gaze of Mu Wanyao’s dark, hollow eyes, they took the soldier who was shouting about spies away to be executed.
From a distance, that soldier’s weeping plea still chased after Mu Wanyao: "There really is a spy! He is the spy! I am innocent! Why are you killing me? Your Highness, Your Highness... You are unjust! You must have a deal with the enemy to destroy Guangzhou..."
Mu Wanyao frowned and said coldly: "Shut his mouth!"
Afterward, she still did not leave. Instead, she had Fang Tong help her up to the ramparts; she wanted to observe the progress of the withdrawal at the city gate and the enemy’s offensive situation.
As they climbed, Fang Tong whispered in her ear: "That soldier might have truly been wrongly accused. Perhaps there really is a spy in the city..."
Mu Wanyao interrupted him indifferently: "Whether there is a spy or not is unimportant. Starting today, Guangzhou is under lockdown. Not even a fly will be able to fly in, and not a single message will get out.
"It is not important if there is a spy; what is important is that I cannot let his shouting panic the people and dissolve the morale of the army."
Fang Tong was enlightened, his heart filled with admiration for the Princess’s profound foresight. Under the black veil of night, the bleeding palm Mu Wanyao had rested on his arm was trembling slightly. She turned her head slightly and whispered to Fang Tong: "Besides, it is not certain that there is actually a spy.
"Usually in these situations, shouting about spies is actually because one is afraid themselves. They start to become suspicious of their colleagues, treating comrades-in-arms as enemies. This is a symptom of his fear. If I let it develop, this panic will infect the entire city.
"If everyone starts to suspect that there is a spy in the city, and everyone starts to guard against the teammates fighting alongside them for fear of being harmed... how can this siege be fought?
"If we cannot trust our own people, this defense is already more than half lost.
"Fang Tong, I anticipate... the Southern Barbarians are making a desperate gamble; they will not retreat easily. The defense of Guangzhou may last for a long time. We must relieve the pressure on Jiannan and buy time for the central government. We ourselves cannot lose our composure."
The strategic vision of Princess Danyang was something the guard Fang Tong felt inferior to. He said no more, focusing only on protecting Her Highness.
Mu Wanyao was escorted by him and the guards to the ramparts, eager to go up and see the state of the battle. Because they were walking in a rush, and because she had been attacked upon returning to the city, the jade pins and hair ornaments in her long hair were swaying wildly. When Fang Tong shielded her on the battlements to dodge arrows shot from below, one of Mu Wanyao’s ornaments went clink and broke.
Pearls and jade scattered; her magnificent robes were fresh and bright.
In the dark night, amidst the chaotic movements of the soldiers, Mu Wanyao turned back abruptly. Her raven hair cascaded down, flying like a thick, black waterfall.
With skin like snow and hair like ink, the light in her clear, dark eyes was captivating and soul-snatching.
As the golden hairpins fell, everyone saw the Princess with her hair undone. While the soldiers who saw her were stunned and entranced, Fang Tong hurriedly urged the guards to lower their heads and help find the pins to help Mu Wanyao tie her hair back up.
But Mu Wanyao was looking down at them. Suddenly, she drew Fang Tong’s sword. Before Fang Tong could stop her, Mu Wanyao gathered her loose black hair and slashed it off decisively from the middle.
The green silk strands scattered, flying out from her bleeding palm.
That beautiful hair, which reached to her ankles—hair her maids had painstakingly groomed and Yan Shang had praised—was cut by her to her waist.
The symbols of her noble birth and pampered life were severed without mercy. That hair could no longer sweep the floor, nor would it be a burden when she needed to run in haste.
The past was severed; a new life began here.
Mu Wanyao held the sword, letting the hair that now only reached her waist fall over her shoulders.
Facing the astonished gazes of the soldiers around her, Mu Wanyao shouted: "Listen well, everyone. In my capacity as Princess Danyang of Great Wei, I make this vow here today. From this day forward, I will move in and out with you, eat the same food, and wear the same clothes.
"I will defend this city with you!
"There will be no betrayal, no spies, and no discord. We will defend Guangzhou together, living and dying as one. If I dare to abandon you and flee... let me fall into the yellow springs, may all I love perish, may all I hate prosper, and may I never escape a lifetime of suffering!"
The slaughter below the walls continued, and the city was filled with unease. But at this moment, everyone stopped and looked at Mu Wanyao. They watched as she repeated what she had said once more. In the silence, her clear and firm voice spread across the ramparts again.
She stood just like that on the ramparts, under the gaze of everyone. Her robes fluttered, her hair disheveled. She was unkempt and dusty, yet she was noble and majestic, like a female warrior. People looked up at her as if looking at a brilliant pearl, as if looking at a towering, lush mountain.
In the silence, the soldiers were suddenly galvanized. Their eye sockets grew hot, and tears welled in their eyes. They crowded around this beautiful Princess, and under the lead of their generals, they shouted:
"Heaven bless Great Wei, glory to Great Wei! Protect Her Highness, we vow never to abandon the city!"
"Protect Her Highness, we vow never to abandon the city!"
The soldiers hoisted their banners and climbed the corner towers. Messengers spread Mu Wanyao’s words throughout the city, and mounted soldiers traveled the streets chanting her oath.
The roaring cheers sounded like thunder, scaring away the enemies attacking the city below. The cheers accompanied the raising of the Great Wei banners. The anxious people in the city opened their windows, gazing into the cold night and listening to the rhythmic beating of the drums.
The war drums beat and the horns of the siege sounded, but the soldiers and civilians of the city slowly calmed down. The test of fate and the hardship of survival arrived together. Not everyone was unafraid of death, but almost everyone no longer feared it.
Having encouraged the soldiers and seeing that the people’s morale was settled and the defense no longer chaotic, Mu Wanyao finally breathed a sigh of relief. She was escorted down from the ramparts by Fang Tong and the other guards.
Qiuxi was waiting for her at the foot of the ramparts. Seeing the Princess with her hair undone, her eyes filled with tears, muttering about wanting to trim the Princess’s now messy hair properly.
Fang Tong reminded them from the side: "Your Highness’s palm is injured; you have not yet managed to get it bandaged."
Mu Wanyao suddenly looked down at her waist and frowned deeply.
Fang Tong was perceptive: "What is it? Is Your Highness feeling unwell?"
Mu Wanyao did not know what to say for a moment. She was no longer the determined Princess on the ramparts; she revealed a confused, girl-like expression.
Mu Wanyao said uneasily: "My token of love... I lost it."
Fang Tong did not react for a moment: "What?"
Mu Wanyao was very annoyed: "It was the jade pendant Yan Second Brother gave me. He said it was their family’s heirloom, given only to a husband and wife. I cherished it greatly after he gave it to me and often wore it out. I shouldn't have worn it today... It must have been when I went out of the city and came back earlier, when I encountered the attack, and then was tripped and pushed around—I lost the heirloom pendant from Yan Second Brother’s family."
She felt so bad she wanted to cry: "What do I do? How could I be like this? Yan Second Brother gives me a token of love, and I either break it or lose it. What will happen if this continues?"
The war situation was critical, yet the Princess was worried about losing her love token.
Fang Tong did not know what to say, and only after a long time did he say: "Should this subject go and look for it?"
Mu Wanyao struggled for a long while before saying sadly: "...Forget it, I probably lost it outside the city. I just ordered everyone not to leave the city, so naturally, I cannot break my own order. It’s just a pity about my love token..."
The water lily she gave to Yan Shang had been ignored and died, and the jade pendant Yan Shang gave her had been lost by her again.
That was an heirloom of the Yan family.
If Yan Shang found out...
Mu Wanyao lowered her head and muttered: "When the city battle is over, I must find someone to polish an identical jade pendant before I see Yan Second Brother, so I can coax him."
Fang Tong: "..."
Qiuxi helped the Princess go down to bandage her wounds and, upon hearing this, whispered: "The young master is so meticulous, and that was his family’s heirloom. If the Princess tries to deceive him like this, wouldn't he be angry if he finds out? Wouldn't that lead to a quarrel with the Princess?"
Mu Wanyao huffed.
She scolded Qiuxi for being insensible, her voice quite loud: "Nonsense! Yan Second Brother would never quarrel with me over such a small thing! Can a piece of jade compare to the bond between Yan Second Brother and me?
"Even if Yan Second Brother sees it, he will pretend he didn't. He wouldn't ask me about this at all... He would even help me coax his family so his father wouldn't find out."
Thinking of Yan’s father, Mu Wanyao felt a bit guilty and ordered: "Keep Yan’s family well-protected; do not let his father come to see me. Just say I am very busy... I must protect Yan Shang’s family. Only if they are safe can I answer to Yan Shang. Keep them from running around everywhere."
After giving her orders, Mu Wanyao looked up at the black firmament again.
She furrowed her brows.
At this moment, she was no longer the Princess others relied upon; she was just an innocent girl thinking of her lover—
She sighed: "It is a pity that it will likely be a long time before I can wait for Yan Second Brother to return... Now that Guangzhou is under lockdown, I cannot even exchange letters with Yan Second Brother every day. I miss him so much."——
On the Southern Barbarian side, after trading life for life and launching an attack, King Ale finally obtained a token belonging to Princess Danyang—a jade pendant.
He laughed loudly.
He felt that having this jade pendant, having an object that belonged to Mu Wanyao... it was all worth it! All those depleted forces could now be recouped!
He ordered in a sinister voice: "Send someone to take this jade pendant and negotiate with Yan Shang! Send him a finger from a Great Wei person as well, and tell him it is the Princess’s!
"Tell him his wife is in our hands, and we have already cut off one of her fingers. If he refuses to retreat and refuses to negotiate... we will kill his wife!
"Let’s see if he wants the territorial integrity of Great Wei or his wife’s life!"