Villain Lady

"Good. Now, shall we drink some wine to cele…."     

"You're underage, Strategist Yang."     

Yang Xian winced a bit and turned to look at Prince Ji Sheng. On the other hand, Prince Ji Sheng shook his head. "Next time. We're in important mission now."     

"Fine."     

In truth, Yang Xian didn't really bring anything with him when he was coming here. All he wanted was simply to make sure that they were all well. The three of them descended the small hill and returned back to their respective camps to sleep.     

When it was dawn, Wei Liuying woke up early.     

Awoooo!     

There was faint howling of wolves not far from there. Furrowing her brows, Wei Liuying walked out of her camp.     

"Apprentice Strategist Liu," a soldier greeted her.     

"Is there any wolf nearby?"     

"We're currently scouting. There's no need to worry, Apprentice Strategist Liu."     

Wei Liuying nodded and looked around once more. Her eyes landed on the hill where she played with Ji Sheng and Yang Xian yesterday. Slowly, she bypassed the trees towards the hill and looked around. Even though the sky was still dark, she could see that most of the layout of the forest and all from this position.     

A head peeked from the bush.      

Wei Liuying gripped her sword and looked at that wolf's head. There was a deep scar on the face, a familiar scar that she had seen just around two weeks before.     

The wolf could sense Wei Liuying's wariness, so he only stepped forward and wagged his tail. Rather than a wolf, he looked more like a big dog who was paying his respect to his owner.      

He looked happy.     

Wei Liuying was confused. She didn't try to attack the wolf but didn't really put down her guard. After all, she didn't want to risk having the wolf suddenly attacked her.     

As if knowing that Wei Liuying would not let him get close, the wolf also didn't move. He merely looked in her direction for a few more breaths of time. After a while, the wolf howled to the night sky once more before he turned his body and disappeared into the bushes once more.     

"What is he doing here?" Wei Liuying was confused.     

She looked around, but the sound of the wolf howling slowly disappeared in the darkness. After a moment of confusion, Wei Liuying turned around and returned back to her tent only to find the others have woken up too.     

Yang Xian glanced up. "Clean up your things. It's time for us to depart."     

"Alright."     

…     

Their journey truly felt like military advance as they moved forward to the north. The distance was several days' worth of travel, so they had no other choice but to continue walking and walking again. The good thing was that they were riding horse, so that it would be smoother.     

Wei Liuying learned how to ride horse better along in the journey. She had to admit that it was not a pleasant experience, but she loved it. At least, she didn't fall off the horse after the long journey.     

"We're going to pass by a small village," Yang Xian informed. "We'll stop for a while to stock our food supplies. You should stay behind and watch here."     

"Got it."     

Just like what Yang Xian said, they passed through a village and stopped near there. Wei Liuying was staying with the crowd while Yang Xian headed to the village to buy some necessary supplies that they were running out of.     

At this time, Ji Xiaoli was looking out from her carriage. She was feeling indignant after having to suffer for a long time in the carriage. Not to mention, her maidservants would never leave her alone even when she had to go because of nature's call. It was so frustrating for her.     

This time, they were a bit more scattered because they had to help the soldiers.     

'This is my chance.'     

Slowly, Princess Ji Xiaoli sneaked out of the carriage. The areas where they stopped were filled with trees on the opposite side of the villages. She was unfamiliar with the terrain here, but she knew that there must be another village after a day's worth of journey. Not eating for a day would be worth it if she could escape her fate.     

With that in mind, Princess Ji Xiaoli rushed through the forest. Her dress made it hard for her to walk fast, but she didn't care. All she could think of right now was how to make sure that she could escape from this dense place.     

Slip!     

"Kyaaaa!"     

Splash!     

Inside the forest, there was a small creek. Ji Xiaoli was already having a hard time trying to walk with her dress. Her unfamiliarity of the terrain only made things worse. Her body was now drenched from head to toe.     

"Ugh."     

Princess Ji Xiaoli tried to stand up, but she found out that it was hard for her to move due to the slippery ground. Just as she was frustrated, a hand pulled her from the back and pushed her out from the creek.     

"Your Highness, are you alright?" Wei Liuying asked in a low tone.     

"You! Don't touch me!"     

Slap!     

Once more, Princess Ji Xiaoli nearly fell down to the creek. She was looking at Wei Liuying's direction with trepidation in her eyes. When she was trying to run away, she had seen that Wei Liuying was still within the group of soldiers, arranging them to help. How can she come here so quickly?     

Wei Liuying wore calm expression as she looked at the princess before her. She had guessed that Ji Xiaoli would try to escape someday. It was not out of her calculation that she would try to escape at this time, so she simply followed from behind in a leisure pace.     

"You… how….?"     

"Princess, we can't choose who we born as, but we can decide our course of action," Wei Liuying said slowly. "It's not your decision to be born as the princess of Han Shi Kingdom, but since you have been born as one, it meant that you have responsibility to fulfill."     

"What responsibility?" Princess Ji Xiaoli screamed. "Do you think I want to be born as a princess? If I can, I want to be a commoner instead."     

"Even a commoner have their marriage determined by their parents."     

Princess Ji Xiaoli winced. "Then I wish to be a man!"     

"A man had to be able to protect his family and worked hard for the sake of everyone around him. He will not run away in the face of trouble," Wei Liuying said slowly.     

"You won't be able to persuade me." Princess Ji Xiaoli was looking at Wei Liuying with hatred within her eyes. She wanted to escape.     

"I won't persuade you. I simply wish for you to listen…"     

"I'm not going to listen."     

Wei Liuying could see that Ji Xiaoli tried to block her ear with her hand. However, she still continued speaking, "The marriage agreement between Han Shi Kingdom and Xiong Tribe is made to make sure that the two can coexist. Without the agreement, thousands people will die because of war.     

Every single day, there's an attack from the Xiong Tribe to the border of Han Shi Kingdom. Many people lose their home, their family members, and also their friends. They had no other choice but to become refugee and moved to a safer place. Those who didn't have any option will stay in the same place and had to brace themselves for the next attack.     

Only if the war stop would they be able to live better."     

Princess Ji Xiaoli had no intention to listen, but how could she stop the words from Wei Liuying's mouth from entering her ear. Even when she used her hand to close her ear, she still could hear what Wei Liuying said.     

"All of us will die too if we fail our mission. The Emperor had been wanting to find faults with Prince Ji Sheng because he didn't like him. If you wish to send all of us including thousands of soldiers to our death's door, you can try to leave again, Princess."     

The lives of a lot of people are in the princess' hand.     

In front of her, Princess Ji Xiaoli had started crying. Imagining so many people suffering has become easier for her because of her own hardship lately. She had to stay in a carriage for a long time and could only eat dried meat when it was day time. Only when it was night time would the condition be a bit better.     

Princess Ji Xiaoli looked at Wei Liuying. "You purposely tell me the story, don't you?"     

Wei Liuying looked at Princess Ji Xiaoli. "Every action has the consequences. If you chose to run away, you have to be ready to bear the burden of killing so many people who could have been alive with your different course of action. Your position will affect a lot of people, Your Highness."