"It's just a speculation."
"If so, we can tell Tule Haojia about this." Let him investigate on his own. He will surely find out something. Moreover, information he discovers himself is much more reliable than what others tell him.
"Okay. I'll follow Qier's advice." Whether this battle can be fought in the end depends on Tule Haojia.
The next day, the two of them met with Tule Haojia. Tule Haojia sat across from Mu Fengqie and the other man with a complex look in his eyes.
"What do you want from me?" He had already made things clear to Mu Fengqie yesterday. He was determined to attack the Qin Dynasty. Why did they come again today?
"Tule Haojia, let's be straightforward. Is your mother in the hands of the Grassland King?" Mu Fengqie cut straight to the chase without any hesitation.
Hearing Mu Fengqie's words, Tule Haojia's eyes twitched. "What do you want to say?"
"We know that you haven't seen your mother since she was detained by the Grassland King," Jing Xunche looked at Tule Haojia and said, "I suspect that your mother may have been killed by the Grassland King."
"Absolutely not!" Tule Haojia stood up excitedly. Due to his anger, the veins on his neck bulged, looking extremely frightening.
"Don't be so excited. This is just our speculation. We have no other intentions. You can investigate this matter on your own. If things are really as we said, I hope that our two countries won't go to war." Mu Fengqie was about 80% certain when she said this.
Tule Haojia swayed and slumped onto the stool in a daze. His eyes stared blankly ahead. He had suspected this before, but he didn't dare to think about it. He was afraid...
"I've heard what you said. You can leave now." After being lost in his own world for a while, Tule Haojia gradually came to his senses and began to see them off.
"Okay. If you need any help, you can come to us. This is also a way to repay you for once helping me." Mu Fengqie looked at Tule Haojia, knowing that he might not be able to accept this for a while, but she believed that Tule Haojia would definitely investigate.
Hearing Mu Fengqie's words, Tule Haojia forced a weak smile. "I'd rather you repay me in another way," he said, while glancing at Jing Xunche as if deliberately provoking him. "If you really want to repay me, marry me."
"Don't even think about it. The debt has been repaid. From now on, don't ever have any thoughts about Qier, or I won't let you off." Jing Xunche's temper flared up immediately upon hearing Tule Haojia's words. He stared at Tule Haojia menacingly.
If it weren't for Qier's sake, he would have liked to beat Tule Haojia to death right now and throw his body back to the Tule troops.
After saying that, Jing Xunche pulled Mu Fengqie away. His steps were so big that Mu Fengqie had to trot to keep up.
"Hey! Jing Xunche, what are you doing? Tule Haojia was just joking. You don't have to take it so seriously, do you?" Mu Fengqie looked at Jing Xunche speechlessly.
It was obvious that Tule Haojia was deliberately trying to anger Jing Xunche, but unexpectedly, Jing Xunche really took the bait.
Hearing Mu Fengqie's words, Jing Xunche stopped, turned around, and hugged Mu Fengqie tightly, as if only in this way could he be sure that Mu Fengqie was in his arms.
Mu Fengqie was only focused on the road under her feet and didn't notice that Jing Xunche had stopped. So she bumped right into Jing Xunche's arms.
"Qier, I won't allow such things to happen, not even as a joke." Mu Fengqie felt Jing Xunche's arms shaking as he held her.
"Don't worry. I'll always be by your side. No one can separate us." Mu Fengqie hugged him back and rested her head on Jing Xunche's chest.
After they had hugged for a long time, Jing Xunche suddenly felt Mu Fengqie push him. Although the force wasn't strong, it was hard to ignore.
"Hmm? What's wrong, Qier?" Jing Xunche looked at Mu Fengqie in his arms in confusion.
"Cough... Let's go back first." Mu Fengqie then looked around. They were on the street, with people coming and going. It wasn't appropriate with so many people watching.
Jing Xunche also noticed the looks from the people around. But due to their status, no one stopped to watch, but the rate of people turning their heads was still quite high.
"Okay, let's go back." They could hug at home, and maybe even kiss. Just thinking about this, Jing Xunche, who had been feeling uncomfortable just now, was now as happy as if the dawn had broken in the sky.
People around could clearly feel the happy aura around him.
After Jing Xunche and Mu Fengqie left, Tule Haojia wiped the smile off his face. He slowly returned to his room, slumped onto the bed in a daze, and thought about what Mu Fengqie and the other man had said today.
He felt that the truth was now just one step away from him. Whether he wanted to know the truth or not depended on how he took this step, whether to move forward or... step back.
Over the years, he had been living like a puppet, without his own thoughts or freedom.
After all these years, he knew very well that he had made an agreement with the Grassland King that he could leave with his mother and live in seclusion when he turned twenty-five. Although the Grassland King had agreed, it was still uncertain whether he could really leave when the time came.
If he could exchange his life for his mother's, it would be okay. But today, someone suddenly shattered his fantasy and told him that his mother might already be... dead.
Tule Haojia didn't want to believe it, but there was always a voice in his heart telling him to believe.
Tule Haojia touched his heart and slowly exhaled a puff of turbid air.
"Jian Yi."
A masked man appeared in Tule Haojia's room, looking at Tule Haojia respectfully.
"Jian Yi, how many years have you been with me?" Tule Haojia sat up and looked at the scenery outside the window, enviously watching the little birds flying freely in the sky.
"Returning to my lord, it's been five or six years." Jian Yi was a man Tule Haojia had accidentally saved. Since then, Jian Yi had stayed, and he was the only person Tule Haojia could trust.
It was really laughable. He was the Grassland Prince that everyone envied in public, envying his status and power. But how many people knew that there was no one he could trust around this enviable person?
It was really extremely laughable...
"Jian Yi, I'd like to ask you to help me investigate something." Tule Haojia looked at him with pleading eyes.
After seeing Tule Haojia's look, Jian Yi was...