Chapter 790: Wheel-cutter Experienced Hand (Part )

Everything happened so suddenly that Zhao Xin was caught off guard.

She didn't know where Hu Lie got the information about her and Liu Xunyi. She didn't know how much Hu Lie knew about their affairs. As for whether Hu Lie could tolerate this matter, and to what extent could he tolerate it? He even came overnight. Was he "getting information" or "calling troops to question"? Zhao Xin was completely unaware of everything and had no idea.

Therefore, faced with Hu Lie's three seemingly calm but actually dangerous questions, Zhao Xin didn't know how to answer, nor did she dare to answer rashly.

Looking at Zhao Xin, whose face was pale and eyes were trembling, Hu Lie's heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand, suppressing and pressing. At this moment, he was eager to get Zhao Xin's answer, but also afraid of Zhao Xin's answer. For a moment, he felt mixed emotions and was indescribably entangled.

"Why don't you say anything?" After a moment of silence, Hu Lie was the first to break the silence, "Don't you want to say it, or don't you dare to say it?"

"I..." Zhao Xin was worried that she might say something wrong, so she pondered over it again and again in her mind, and stammered, "I don't quite understand what the prince means..."

Hearing this, Hu Lie's face was filled with a trace of disappointment that he could not conceal. He said unwillingly, "This king already knows about your relationship with Liu Xunyi, but I am not furious, nor have I ordered anyone to be arrested. It's not that this king doesn't believe the news I heard, but I... want to hear your explanation more."

"I……"

"If you keep trying to put it off, you're forcing me to admit that you have a secret affair with him, or even forcing me to... kill you all to vent my anger." Hu Lie's tone was calm, without a trace of emotion. "You are a princess of the Song Dynasty, and you should know what the face of the royal family means to a country. Once this is confirmed, even if I don't kill you, the Khan and other people in the tribe will not let it go. By then, the people who will pay a heavy price for this... will be far more than just you two."

Perhaps it was Hu Lie's threat that made Zhao Xin angry, but she suddenly changed her expression. Her eyes, full of contempt, met Hu Lie's scrutiny head-on. She asked angrily, "If this hadn't happened, would the Song Dynasty have not had to pay a heavy price? You keep saying you're being honest with me, and you seem to be sincere, but in fact you're being hypocritical and harboring evil intentions."

"This..." Seeing Zhao Xin suddenly turn hostile, Hu Lie was stunned and asked in astonishment, "Where did you get this from? Are you trying to turn the tables?"

"Where should I start?" Zhao Xin said disdainfully, "Let me start from the time when you used the Yunya Town incident as an excuse to invade the three prefectures of the Great Song Dynasty."

"What did you say?"

"I originally thought that the marriage between Song and Mongolia meant the two countries would make peace, but now it seems... you were not sincere in negotiating peace at all. It was just a farce from beginning to end." Zhao Xin suppressed her fear of Hu Lie and argued, "Maybe it's not even a farce, but a conspiracy you carefully designed. The so-called 'marriage' is nothing more than taking the opportunity to extort money and food from the Song Dynasty to solve the dilemma of your army's lack of food and grass and military pay during the Western Expedition. You covet the three prefectures of the Song Dynasty, but you call it revenge for the soldiers who died in Yunya Town, but in fact you want to levy heavy taxes in the three prefectures of Xingyuan to increase your military preparations. In the final analysis, you have never given up the plan of raising troops to invade the south. It's just that the war situation is not favorable now, and it's difficult to turn around the troops and money for a while. Ha, we are really stupid, and it also fits the saying, 'We didn't even know we were sold, and we were even counting money for them.'"

"This..." Hu Lie was secretly surprised by Zhao Xin's revelation, but he did not show any abnormality on the surface. Instead, he pretended to be ignorant, "Who told you these words?"

As soon as he said this, a light bulb suddenly flashed in Hu Lie's mind, and he suddenly realized it. He said unhappily: "Did Pan Yuyin tell you? Or...did Liu Xunyi ask Pan Yuyin to tell you?"

"So what?"

"This king has said that military and national affairs are men's business, and women don't need to interfere..."

"Don't need to ask? Or are you afraid to let me ask?"

Hu Lie was inevitably embarrassed by Zhao Xin's retort, and said angrily: "I am not afraid of thousands of troops, not to mention that you are just a weak woman who can't even tie a chicken, why should I be afraid?"

"Although I am powerless, I am the person closest to you." Zhao Xin said angrily, "If I want to kill you, you will never sleep peacefully in your life."

"You dare to threaten me?" Hu Lie's eyes flashed with cold light, and his tone became increasingly cold.

"Hasn't the Song Dynasty been threatened enough by you?" Zhao Xin said righteously, refusing to give in. "I know the Mongols are strong, but the Song Dynasty is weak but still proud. It is impossible for us to surrender without a fight. Since you have made up your mind, there is no need to pretend to be merciful. You can kill or plunder me as you please!"

After saying this, Zhao Xin closed her eyes, looking determined to face death.

Looking at Zhao Xin, who was stubborn and resistant to surrender, Hu Lie's clenched fists slowly loosened, and the expression on his gloomy face changed. The anger and murderous intent disappeared in an instant, and were replaced by a meaningful admiration and relief.

"Good! Good!" Hu Lie laughed loudly, full of pride. "You are worthy of being the woman that I have chosen. You are loyal and proud, and you are indeed different from others. I like you more and more now. I not only like your beauty and wisdom, but also your straightforward nature. I think that only a woman like you who dares to speak out and is not afraid of life and death is worthy of being my woman. In the future, the person who can travel the world with me, Hu Lie, must be you, Zhao Xin!"

"You..." Zhao Xin, who was ready to die, was surprised by the sudden praise. She was shocked, suspicious, angry and annoyed. "What do you mean by this? You want to save my life... Aren't you afraid that I will kill you in the future?"

"If you believe that I am the only man in your life, how could you bear to kill me?" Hu Lie waved his hand nonchalantly, and then changed the subject, saying, "Although you are smart, you can't help but act on impulse. This aspect... you still need to slowly hone your skills in the future."

"What do you mean?" Zhao Xin was stunned, as if she didn't understand Hu Lie's hidden meaning. "You and Liu Xunyi's speculation about me is just a villain's judgment of a gentleman's heart." Hu Lie said seriously, "As the saying goes, 'Hearing is false, seeing is true'. You have never seen the Mongolian army marching west, so how can you assert that the war is not going well and the food and grass are insufficient? You have never seen me leading the army south, so how can you assert that I have the intention of attacking the Song Dynasty from the south? Is it just because I asked Liu Xunyi for the three prefectures? Isn't it too arbitrary to jump to such a conclusion?"

"This……"

"If I were as arbitrary as you, I would have ordered you to be cut into pieces after learning about your past with Liu Xunyi. Why should I stand here and listen to your ridicule?" Hu Lie said calmly, "Since Liu Xunyi told you about the cession of the three prefectures, I should also tell you why the Khan avoided you. The Yunya Town incident is a great humiliation that Mongolia has not seen in a hundred years. The Khan is very upset about it. If it cannot be properly resolved, the consequences will be disastrous. I proposed to take over the three prefectures of Xingyuan. It seems to be taking advantage of the situation, but in fact it is to continue the peace between the two countries. Little do you know that once the Khan can no longer tolerate it and orders his troops to invade the south, even I will not be able to stop him. Even if there is no war, the Khan will slaughter all the people within a radius of 200 miles of Yunya Town to avenge his humiliation and commemorate the heroic spirits of the 800 soldiers. Is this... the ending you want to see?"

"This..." Hu Lie's words made Zhao Xin hesitate. She knew very little about military affairs, and was completely confused at this moment. She couldn't tell who was right and who was wrong. "What you said... is all true?"

"If you misunderstand me as a cunning villain because of the matter of the three prefectures, that would be the biggest injustice in the world." Hu Lie did not answer directly, but used an ambiguous joke to dispel Zhao Xin's suspicion of him.

Looking at Zhao Xin who was doubtful and hesitant, Hu Lie's smile gradually faded, and he asked solemnly: "My beloved, I will answer all your questions without hiding anything. Now... can you answer my three questions?"

Hu Lie's words made Zhao Xin's already confused thoughts even more chaotic. She stared blankly at Hu Lie, who had a serious expression on his face, and said intermittently: "If I answer truthfully, will you... embarrass Liu Xunyi?"

"If you answer truthfully, I won't necessarily embarrass him. But if you refuse to tell me, Liu Xunyi will surely die."

Zhao Xin showed a sad look on her face and nodded slowly: "Liu Xunyi and I are childhood sweethearts, and we also... have a good impression of each other. Letting him serve as the 'marriage envoy' was the result of my and Su He's strong recommendation. The purpose is to keep Liu Xunyi away from the troubled Lin'an and temporarily avoid being hunted down by the Central Plains martial arts world."

Hu Lie had a blank expression on his face as he stared at Zhao Xin quietly, as if waiting for her to continue speaking.

"As for the 'shameless' thing you mentioned... it's completely false and a bunch of nonsense." Zhao Xin endured the humiliation with shame and spoke solemnly, "Liu Xunyi and I are not destined to be together. We have already made everything clear and cut off all ties. Although I have feelings for him, I also understand what a woman's innocence means to the marriage between the two countries, so how could I... make a mistake. There is a saying that 'the clear will be clear, and the turbid will be turbid.' Your Majesty, don't be suspicious. When we wait for you and me... all the rumors will be broken by themselves."

When Zhao Xin said the last sentence, her heart was filled with sorrow and her eyes were dim.

In fact, Hu Lie was most concerned about the third question. After all, this matter concerned his own honor and the face of the Mongolian royal family, and there was no room for error.

At this moment, hearing Zhao Xin's clear answer, Hu Lie's gloomy mood suddenly became clear, and his eyes became much softer.

Hu Lie was not an unreasonable person, and he knew clearly what was right and wrong in this matter.

Zhao Xin and Liu Xunyi were childhood sweethearts, so it was inevitable that they had feelings for each other. Moreover, Zhao Xin didn't even know Hu Lie at that time, so how could it be considered a betrayal?

As for Zhao Xin joining forces with Su He to save Liu Xunyi, although Hu Lie was dissatisfied, he was more impressed by Zhao Xin's kindness and righteousness.

Seemingly quite satisfied with Zhao Xin's answer, Hu Lie gradually regained his elegant demeanor and said meaningfully: "Although this king has no time to clarify the relationship between men and women, he also understands that emotional matters cannot be controlled by human will. Although you and Liu Xunyi have broken up, deep in your heart... he still occupies a very important position, right?"

Zhao Xin was horrified and asked in panic, "Is the prince going to kill him?"

Seeing Zhao Xin's reaction, Hu Lie understood what she meant. He couldn't help but sigh and said teasingly, "To be honest, I really want to kill Liu Xunyi right away. But once I kill him, it will be his success. Liu Xunyi died in my hands. His position in your heart will always be higher than mine. The memory of you and him will become a barrier between us that can never be broken. I don't think I have the foresight to let my woman be obsessed with another man for the rest of her life."

"Are you serious, my lord?"

"Really! Not only will I not kill him, but I will prove to you that I am far better than him." Hu Lie slowly stood up and smiled confidently, "I am not Liu Xunyi, I will never make my woman sad and embarrassed. He is incompetent for not being able to keep you, and I will never repeat his mistakes. My beloved, remember, sooner or later you will forget Liu Xunyi completely and be my, Hu Lie's, woman willingly."

"you……"

"Just pretend that what happened tonight never happened. I will handle all the troubles myself. You must be exhausted after running around for several days. Go to bed early! I still have military affairs to attend to, so I'll leave first."

After he finished speaking, before Zhao Xin could stop talking, Hu Lie turned around and strode out of the tent.

……

(End of this chapter)