Gu Ningqing nodded. "Why have you suddenly come to the Mongolian camp and become a member of the Shuiyue Sect?"
"It's a long story. I'll explain it to you in the future," Song Qingshu replied. "But please keep my identity a secret, or my life will be in danger."
"What are you talking about, Master?" Gu Ningqing hurriedly said. "You are our savior and Xian 'er's … why would we put you in danger?"
When she said this, she also felt very awkward. After all, her daughter's relationship with him had not been officially confirmed, but what was done was done. Logically speaking, as a mother, she should fight for some status for her daughter, but he had saved her before, so she didn't know how to say it.
Song Qingshu didn't expect his carelessness to cause her to worry so much. "I'm here to solve the crisis you're facing. Now that the Mongolian army is here, and Galdan has been defeated, Peerless City will not be able to hold on. Rather than wait for the city to fall and be slaughtered, it's better to surrender earlier."
"Surrender to the Mongolians?" Gu Ningqing and her daughter looked at each other. They had been enemies with the Mongolians for so many years, and it was hard for them to change their minds.
"We're not really joining the Mongolians. We're just preserving our strength and waiting for the situation to change before we make a comeback. After all, based on what I understand, the Mongolians treat the forces of power that surrender quite well, and they usually keep their original forces. "Song Qingshu gave a general analysis of the situation.
"With you as a guarantor, of course we can trust you, but …" Gu Ningqing's beautiful face showed a hint of hesitation. She glanced at her daughter. "Temujin is famous for being cruel and lecherous. I heard that many women died after being raped by him. If he has any ideas about Xian 'er, we won't be able to resist."
"I've thought about that as well," Song Qingshu explained. "Temujin may be lustful, but he won't let his lust get in the way of his business. Over the years, there have been many forces that have surrendered to him, but he has never touched their women in order to avoid affecting his future recruitment. The Mongolians still have many enemies, so I don't think he'll take such a risk. "
"Women, but Xian 'er …" Gu Ningqing hesitated.
Song Qingshu said, "As far as I know, Xian 'er and the Young City Lord of Peerless City were engaged. Now that Dugu Yifang is dead, Dugu Ming is the successor of Peerless City. Therefore, with Xian' er's status, Tie Mu won't touch her."
Noticing Gu Zi Xian's pale face, he hurriedly comforted her: "Don't worry, this is just an act, not a real marriage. Moreover, I will be by your side at all times, I won't let you encounter any danger."
Gu Ningqing felt the need to speak up for her daughter. "But this will ruin Xian 'er's reputation. In the future, people will only think of her as Dugu Ming's wife. If she continues to be with Young Master in the future, I'm afraid people will gossip."
Song Qingshu replied, "Madam, you've misunderstood. I'm not asking them to marry for real, I'm only asking them to be my fiancée. After all, according to your family's tradition, the princess of the Dual Cultivation House will be married to the successor of Peerless City. There's no official engagement. The reason for this is to prevent Tie Mu Zhen from having any evil thoughts."
Gu Ningqing's expression softened a little. Just as she was about to say something, Gu Zi Xian, who was beside her, gently grabbed her hand. "Mother, don't worry, I'm willing. Moreover, I won't really lose anything."
Song Qingshu couldn't help but sigh. "Xian 'er, I'll have to trouble you for now. Don't worry, soon I'll let you regain your freedom, and we'll be together openly."
"It's nothing." Gu Zi Xian pursed her lips and smiled. All this time, she felt that she couldn't do anything for Brother Song. This was a good opportunity. If she became the nominal wife of the Peerless City Lord, it would be perfectly justifiable for her to take over the power of Peerless City.
As for Dugu Ming, she didn't care about that good-for-nothing playboy at all.
After that, the three of them discussed a few more details. Then, Gu Ningqing gathered the middle and upper echelons of Peerless City for a meeting and announced that Gu Zi Xian would be betrothed to Dugu Ming.
Dugu Ming, who was originally anxious, was overjoyed when he heard this news. He almost jumped up in joy. One had to know that he had always coveted this beautiful and alluring princess. However, she had always been indifferent to him. Especially after the trip to Western Xia, she didn't even bother to give him face. This made him think that the marriage between the two of them wasn't going to happen.
Now that his wish had been fulfilled, the joy he felt made him forget that his father had just died not long ago.
Then, when she proposed to surrender, many people subconsciously opposed it. However, in reality, when they saw the Mongolian army pressing down on the city, many people already had the intention to surrender. It was just that they didn't want to show it before.
Now that the princess had taken the initiative to propose it, these people jumped out and went along with what she said.
Dugu Ming, who was supposed to be the most staunch opponent of his father's death, was already overjoyed when he heard that Gu Zi Xian had agreed to marry him. How could he have any other ideas? He subconsciously went along with what she said.
Seeing their leader like this, the other opponents knew that there was no point in continuing to resist, so they accepted their fate and went along with the proposal.
Song Qingshu left the city and brought the news to the Mongolian camp. Temujin didn't expect things to go so smoothly and was overjoyed. He even rewarded Song Qingshu with a piece of land and a thousand herdsmen.
Because of the deaths of the Red Sun Dharmaraja and Li Chimei, the status of the "Shuiyue Clan" was now second only to Ba Siba.
Everyone in the Mongolian tent congratulated him. Song Qingshu couldn't help but sigh at how generous Temujin was in rewarding his subordinates. If it were anyone else, they would have been moved to tears by his generosity and would have risked their lives for him.
The next day, the surrender ceremony was held. Dugu Ming, the princess, and the princess led a group of high-ranking officials of Peerless City out of the city to pay their respects to Temujin.
The whole process went quite smoothly, but something unexpected happened during the banquet. Perhaps it was because they had been drinking for a long time, but Temujin suddenly said, "I have long heard that the princess and the princess are the most beautiful women in the Western Regions, but I have never had the chance to see your faces. Why don't the two of you take off your veils and let us have a look?"
Dugu Ming panicked and forced himself to say, "Great Khan, the House of Dual Cultivators has a tradition that the appearance of the women in the house cannot be seen by outsiders."
Temujin smiled. "Ah, now that you have surrendered to the Mongols, we are all brothers and sisters, how can we be outsiders? Besides, the House of Dual Cultivators has this rule, and we Mongols also have our own. If we don't show our faces, aren't we not friends? "
As he spoke, his tone carried a hint of threat.
Dugu Ming was intimidated by his aura and didn't dare to say anything else.
"No matter, Great Khan's words make sense. We should indeed show our sincerity. It's just that we are ugly, so I hope we won't stain your eyes."
As she spoke, she slowly took off the veil on her face, revealing a plump and charming oval face.
Gu Zixian, who was standing to the side, was the first to see her. Since the oath she had sworn was broken, she had nothing to worry about and also took off her veil, revealing her beautiful face.
The entire tent, which had been very noisy a moment ago, was now completely silent. Everyone's breathing seemed to have become heavier, and the sound of someone swallowing could be clearly heard.
It should be noted that either one of them was a dazzling beauty, and now that they were standing together, the visual impact was more than doubled. For a moment, all the men in the tent could only stare in awe.
"Madame and the princess are truly outstanding beauties." Temujin laughed heartily, a hint of fanaticism flashing across his eyes. "I, Madame and the princess, have many things I would like to learn from. Later, I will be hosting a private banquet in the tent. I hope Madame will come and give me some pointers."
The House of Dual Cultivators was, of course, best suited for dual cultivators. The meaning behind his words was self-evident.
As soon as he said this, both Gu Ningqing and Gu Zixian's faces paled. Even Song Qingshu's expression changed. All this time, they had been trying to prevent Temujin from harboring any ill intentions towards Gu Zixian, but they had neglected the fact that Gu Ningqing was also a beautiful woman. How were they going to deal with this?
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
