Chapter 69

  Looking at the quilt handed out from the door, Tang Yin's heart suddenly warmed up. The quilt hadn't even been covered on his body yet, but he was already feeling warm all over.

  As a princess of the empire, you are so considerate, how can one not be willing to protect you with all their heart?

  He took the blanket, bowed his head deeply and said in a low voice: "Thank you, Princess."

  "General Tang doesn't stand on ceremony!" Yin Rou said with a faint blush.

  She wore a white nightgown, the hazy moonlight pouring down on her, as if she were an otherworldly fairy who didn't eat human food, or a spirit of the dark night, so hazy, illusory and noble.

  Tang Yin's eyes were deep and profound, and for a long time, he couldn't shift his gaze away from Yin Rou's body. At this moment, he clearly knew that he wasn't being strict with himself, and Yin Rou wasn't made of crystal either - he was simply attracted to her.

  Under his scorching gaze, Yin Rou's small face turned even redder, and she hastily said: "I'm going back!" As soon as she finished speaking, she immediately slammed the door shut. Then he heard the thudding sound of footsteps, followed by a dull thud, it seemed that she had thrown herself onto the bed.

  Tang Yin's mouth corners involuntarily curled up, and a rare gentle smile appeared on his face, a smile that he himself might not have seen before.

  It's hard to imagine that he would one day end up keeping watch outside a girl's door overnight, but he also knew that he wasn't being forced into it. No matter who or where, no one could force him to do something he didn't want to do.

  Sitting outside the door, covered with the quilt given by Yin Rou, there was an indescribable happiness in her heart.

  This escort mission was the first meeting between him and Yin Rou, and it also created a subtle emotional connection between the two, which laid the foundation for Tang Yan's major transformation in the future.

  As he had expected, the assassin did not make another move that night. It was calm and peaceful until dawn broke when Tang Yin woke up, listened carefully to the sounds in the room, and breathed evenly, clearly indicating that Yin Rou was still fast asleep.

  He didn't disturb her, quietly went downstairs to find Qiu Zhen.

  That night, Qiu Zhen basically didn't sleep, and was busy dealing with the assassination. He arranged for five chiliarchs to be divided into five teams to conduct a thorough search of the entire city, hoping to find some clues about the assassins. The result was disappointing, as if the assassins had vanished into thin air. After searching all night, there were no leads.

  After listening to Qiu Zhen's report, Tang Yin did not feel surprised. The other party was well-prepared and the assassins were all exceptional Soul Cultivators. It was not easy to find clues.

  He did not intend to stay in Wan City for long and gave a decisive order, letting the whole army pack up their things and prepare to set off back to Yan City.

  With a single order, the soldiers of the Second Legion began to quickly gather their camp and bring their belongings. It wasn't until each chiliarch returned one after another to report to him that Tang Yin went to find Yin Rou.

  At this time, the sky was already bright, Tang Yin lightly knocked on the door, waited for a while, and then heard Yin Rou's muffled voice. A female official opened the door and asked softly: "Is the princess still resting? Does General Tang have anything to do?"

  Tang Yan looked straight ahead and said in a serious tone: "We need to set off immediately, please let the princess get up and wash her hair, I'll wait outside."

  The female official asked with a difficult expression: "Now?"

  Tang Yan said, "Last night, we didn't find any trace of the assassin, nor did we receive any news of their escape. It seems that the assassin is still within the city walls of Wan City. The longer the princess stays here, the more danger she will be in."

  "Ah! I'll go and report to the princess right away!" The assassin's intimidating power was indeed great, and the female official no longer obstructed him, immediately retreating into the room.

  Tang Yin waited in the courtyard of the mansion for almost half an hour before Yin Rou and the entourage came out from the main house.

  After the courtesy was over, Tang Yin let Yin Rou get on the horse-drawn carriage and immediately urged his subordinates to leave the city.

  Wancheng is not far from Yancheng, even on foot it's only half a day's journey.

  Afraid of accidents on the road, Tang Yin ordered his subordinates to speed up their march.

  They set out from Wan City in the early morning and rushed all the way. By noon, they had arrived at the border of Yancheng.

  Far away, they saw the city wall of Yancheng. The officers and men of the Second Legion all breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts. Having arrived here was equivalent to being completely safe.

  Moving forward, I saw that outside Yangcheng, flags were flying high and soldiers were like a forest. A branch of neat and majestic troops was standing there.

  Tang Yin's mind was stunned for a moment, and he carefully looked around, only to see that the flag being waved in the team was Wang Qi's.

  It seems that the lord himself came out of the city to welcome Her Highness! He thought, then slowed down his horse and called over several thousand men from behind, saying: "The lord may have come out in person to welcome Her Highness, you let your brothers line up in formation and get into ranks!"

  "Understood!" Several chiliarchs led their orders and left.

  Tang Yin's team was lax and scattered, with personnel scattered all over the place. At this time, they had to gather together and line up neatly, which took a lot of effort. All that could be heard were people shouting and horses neighing, with shouts coming from all directions without ceasing.

  As soon as he saw that his soldiers had finally formed up in order, Tang Yin straightened his back and urged on his horse, hastening forward.

  He guessed it right, Feng Wang Zhan Hua indeed came out in person to greet him, and with him were the heavy officials of the entire Feng Guo court.

  Tang Yin had never seen the Wind King before, and he was surprised to see that he looked almost forty years old. He had a dignified appearance, an elegant demeanor, and an air of refinement about him that made him look like a scholar. It was hard to associate this refined-looking man with the fierce and wild national style of Fengguo's paintings.

  Others were either riding horses or standing on both sides, only he was wearing a magnificent black brocade robe, sitting in the middle of the carriage, without asking Tang Yin could guess his identity, let alone the charming dance in the crowd who kept making eyes at him.

  As he approached, Tang Yin dismounted his horse and, due to wearing armor, could only cup his hands in salute, saying solemnly: "Your subordinate, Commander of the Second Legion, Tang Yin, reporting for duty!"

  Zhan Hua had heard of Tang Yan's name and carefully sized him up for a moment, smiling blandly as he waved his hand and said: "General Tang has had a hard journey."

  Tang Yin said: "You are polite to your superiors and just fulfill your duties to those below you."

  "Ah!" Zhan Hua nodded slightly and looked up at the carriage behind him, asking: "Is Her Highness well?"

  The news of the assassin's attempt on the princess has already spread to Yancheng. Tang Yin said, "Thanks to your good fortune, the princess is safe and sound."

  "That's good!" Zhan Hua first let out a sigh, then said to Tang Yin: "This time you protected the princess and have merit, I will heavily reward you."

  "Thank you for your hospitality!"

  "You go rest first."

  "Yes! Your Highness!" Tang Yin bowed again and stepped aside.

  Next, Zhan Hua stood up and got off the horse carriage, bringing along the high-ranking officials of the court to welcome the horse carriage where Yin Rou was in.

  The dancing girl did not follow the crowd, slowly falling behind to the end. After everyone had passed by, she came to Tang Yin's side, suppressing the joy of reunion in her heart and asked in a low voice: "I heard that something unexpected happened on the way?"

  Tang Yin nodded and said: "Twice."

  "Twice?"

  "Once was near the city of Chong, where we encountered bandits' ambush, and another time was inside the city of Wan, just last night, where we were attacked by assassins." Tang Yin looked deeply at Wu Mei and said: "The tasks you've given me seem to never be easy to complete!"

  Her face turned slightly red as she muttered discontentedly, "How was I supposed to know such an accident would happen?!" After finishing, her expression sank and she gritted her teeth, saying, "This is truly outrageous, who exactly is so daring?"

  Tang Yin said, "The first group of bandits who attempted to attack the princess's mansion have been completely eliminated by me, with over a thousand people. The second group of assassins was clearly well-prepared and very vicious, and they almost succeeded in their plan to collude with the lord of Wan City. I know that Li Xian is not deeply involved in this matter, but in order to save face, I can only sacrifice him."

  "Is it Lord Wan Cheng? Li Xian?" Wu Mei asked in surprise.

  He nodded and said: "That's right, it was him!"

  "This is indeed strange!" Wu Mei's face was filled with doubt, and she muttered to herself: "Li Xian has always been timid and afraid of trouble, so why would he suddenly go crazy and attempt to assassinate the princess?"

  "Do you know him?" Tang Yin's heart skipped a beat.

  She shook her head and said, "I had some contact with him when I went to Wan City for a trip before, but we can't be considered familiar."

  "Oh!" Hearing this, he secretly let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Li Xian was not a dancer, otherwise things would have been really difficult to handle.

  Seeing him bow his head in contemplation, Wu Mei patted his shoulder and smiled: "This time you've done a great job, and just now the king himself said that he would heavily reward you. It seems that your position will take another step up." The troops under her command could also be increased by one or two thousand. She added silently in her heart.

  The entire country of Feng, from top to bottom, showed great respect for Princess Yin Rou. Not only did the king personally lead a group of high-ranking officials out of the city to welcome her, but also held a grand welcoming ceremony in the palace, which was a great honor for the imperial family of the Empire.

  Tang Yin was a battalion commander, and his position could only be said to be not low, but also not high enough to enter the palace to attend grand banquets.

  Because of his contribution to protecting the princess, he and the Second Legion under his command were given a three-day holiday. The tension that had been building up over the past few days was finally alleviated, but Tang Yin couldn't help feeling a little down and missing Yin Rou, whom he hadn't seen in a while.

  He wanted to take advantage of these three days to have a good rest, but unexpectedly, these three days became the turning point of his life.

  Tang Yin escorted the princess from Ba Guan to Yan Cheng, and two unexpected events occurred along the way, both of which were resolved by him. The first time, he annihilated a bandit gang of over a thousand people, and the second time, although he did not eliminate all the assassins, he successfully captured the "accomplice" Li Xian, which can be considered a great achievement.

  Yu Wenyong naturally spoke highly of Tang Yin in the imperial court and proposed to promote him to Zhenxi General, governing three battalions.

  In response to his proposal, the first one to stand out and oppose him was Prime Minister Liang Xing.

  Tang Yin is a dancer, and Liang Xing cannot tolerate him becoming powerful and increasing the influence of dancers. If it were someone else, he might not have opposed him so strongly, but towards Tang Yin, he has an intense dislike and fear, and at the same time, he has made up his mind that he absolutely cannot give him the opportunity to rise to prominence.

  At this time, Tang Yin's hidden danger of being at odds with the Liang family thoroughly surfaced and became a fatal obstacle to his official career. However, who would have thought that misfortune could be a blessing in disguise? Liang Xing's obstruction at this time actually pushed Tang Yin onto another path that was completely different from his current one.