350: Chapter 350 A King's Promise Is Never Broken

Xiao Qingxuan smiled, "You're asking me? That will naturally have to wait until my husband returns, so we can listen to him."

"Then you were lying to Marshal Suhe?"

Leng Bingyan was about to say, "A sovereign's word is final," but then she reconsidered—the state had already fallen, so it didn't seem to be a problem.

"Yaner, we have only one goal, and that is to protect the people of the Central Plains!"

"We must avoid having the world say that the Zhenbei Army neglected its border duties, which would damage my husband's reputation."

"As for where Marshal Suhe's army goes, it doesn't matter, as long as they don't come to harm the people of the Central Plains."

"Whatever becomes of him in the Khitan lands in the future is irrelevant."

"In my husband's grand vision, the entire North will eventually be within his grasp; it is only a matter of time."

Once Xiao Qingxuan explained, Leng Bingyan immediately understood.

"Let's go. We must bury the fallen soldiers as soon as possible and arrange for their pensions. When my husband returns, we will engrave the monument together and pay our respects to them..."

"Also, send scouts to the Western Qiang as soon as possible to relay a message to my husband and report on the battle situation here."

Leng Bingyan asked, puzzled, "My husband went to the Western Qiang? Could he be on his way back?"

"No, my husband certainly believes that we can hold the northern border, just as we believe in him," Xiao Qingxuan said firmly.

Leng Bingyan felt encouraged upon hearing this and nodded vigorously.

At some point, a cold, drizzling rain began to fall from the sky.

The snow on the grassland began to melt, yet it felt even colder.

Xingyuan City, located in the Darkhan Pasture, was a rare sight on the grassland.

Although its scale was similar to some county towns in the Central Plains, and most of the Western Qiang people still pitched tents outside the city, it was already one of the few bustling places on the grassland.

Looking from afar, there were some large tents with distinct Western Regions styles, proving that this place was a major gathering point for foreign merchants.

However, the most eye-catching thing now was not the palace in Xingyuan built of white marble, but the many camps of the Zhenbei Army that directly surrounded the royal city!

Twenty thousand troops of the Zhenbei Army had set up camps on all four sides and had taken control of the place several days ago.

There were many small ditches near the capital, still carrying the lingering scent of blood, and the soil was a dark red.

This proved that quite a bit of bloody slaughter had taken place here.

"My husband, it is so quiet."

Lin Xiao and his party arrived outside Xingyuan and found that they could only hear the sound of rain, with no human voices.

Mu Wanying could not help but feel surprised and mentioned it casually.

"It seems Lu Sanchuan must have killed quite a few people."

Lin Xiao saw from afar that on rows of wooden poles outside the city gate, there were many gaudy yet exquisite hats perched on top.

"Princess Meng Xi, those hats..."

"They belong to our Western Qiang nobles and officials."

There was a hint of sorrow in Princess Meng Xi's eyes; these people originally did not have to die.

But her royal brother, Prince Meng Zhe, chose to betray them and colluded with the Northern Barbarians to deceive the Zhenbei Army.

Therefore, they could not blame anyone else for being executed.

"What a pity..." Lin Xiao sighed.

Princess Meng Xi's eyes widened in surprise, and she felt moved.

The Western Qiang had deceived the Zhenbei Army, yet Lin Xiao was lamenting their deaths?

Indeed, did this "God of Death" General actually have a gentle heart?

"Lin Xiao, you do not need to blame yourself. This is the punishment for doing wrong, and it has nothing to do with you," Princess Meng Xi said earnestly.

Lin Xiao curled his lip. What was this girl thinking?

He was only regretting that these people had been killed by Lu Sanchuan—that was all potential prestige!

Not long after, Lu Sanchuan, clad in armor, came out of the city with a group of generals, clearly having received news and come to welcome them.

"The disgraced general Lu Sanchuan has already captured the Western Qiang capital, Xingyuan. I welcome the Grand General to enter the city!"

Lu Sanchuan dismounted and knelt on one knee.

The group of soldiers behind him also followed suit and knelt.

It must be said that when they first joined the Zhenbei Army, some of them were still unconvinced.

But now, Lin Xiao was the first general from the Central Plains in history to conquer the Northern Desert Royal Court and subdue the Grand Shaman, so they naturally admired him to the point of prostration!

Moreover, this time they had let Marshal Suhe escape, which could be considered a grave mistake, so they naturally felt ashamed.

"Lu Sanchuan, you mistakenly allowed Marshal Suhe's main force to escape; you are indeed guilty. Considering your expedition to the Western Qiang and the capture of the capital, it can be considered a merit. I shall dock one year of your salary."

"As for the others, forget it. After all, you are not the commanding officers, so I cannot blame you."

Lu Sanchuan breathed a sigh of relief; such a punishment was already quite light.

"Has it been determined who colluded with Marshal Suhe?" Lin Xiao asked.

Lu Sanchuan reported, "It has been confirmed that it was the Western Qiang First Prince, Prince Meng Zhe. Most of the officials and nobles who supported him have already been executed by my subordinates."

"Prince Meng Zhe and his family have been detained, awaiting the Grand General's disposal!"

Princess Meng Xi dismounted and hurried forward to ask, "Grand Marshal Lu, how is my father?"

Lu Sanchuan frowned slightly, guessing that this was Princess Meng Xi, and replied, "The Western Qiang King Meng Liang... before we arrived, he had already passed away from his severe injuries and had been buried."

Princess Meng Xi's pretty face turned pale, and she stumbled, nearly falling over, while tears flowed down her cheeks uncontrollably.

Zhao Caiwei and Mu Wanying dismounted, walked over to her, one on each side, patted Princess Meng Xi's shoulders, and comforted her warmly.

Over these days of interaction, the women had developed a good sisterly bond.

"Princess, there is no rush to deal with your royal brother later; go and pay respects to your father first," Lin Xiao said.

Being able to let a woman like her hold power within the tribe, King Meng Liang had been very competent as a king on the grassland and as a father.

"Thank you, Lin Xiao!"

Princess Meng Xi mounted her horse and, ignoring the increasingly heavy rain, galloped toward the royal cemetery.

Lin Xiao did not linger either and, led by Lu Sanchuan, entered the capital.

Lu Sanchuan was experienced; having controlled the royal nobles early on, the Western Qiang army dared not act rashly and could only watch from afar.

Upon arriving inside the palace, the servants here had all been replaced by soldiers of the Zhenbei Army.

They went straight down to the dungeon. As soon as Lin Xiao walked down, he heard voices coming from below...

"Royal Brother, Third Sister is back. In a moment, just humble yourself and beg her to intercede for you."

"Even if you don't want to live, for the sake of your wife and children, I am begging you, brother..."

Another cold and arrogant voice said, "Hmph, that little bitch Princess Meng Xi, she wishes for my entire family to be wiped out; how could she agree to spare them?"

"Want me to beg for mercy from that traitor? In your dreams! I should have sent a group of slaves to torture her to death back then!"

"Big Brother!! How can you still be so stubborn!? Princess Meng Xi is our own sister; blood is thicker than water..."

"Shut up!!"

Lin Xiao looked thoughtful and asked Lu Sanchuan, who was beside him, "Besides Prince Meng Zhe, who is the other person down there?"

Lu Sanchuan replied, "It is the Second Prince, Meng Chong. Because he was born a cripple, I specially permitted him to stay here to be responsible for delivering meals to Prince Meng Zhe."

"A cripple?"

Lin Xiao's expression became intrigued.