Tang Xinyi had every reason to have had a fit.
If it had been others, it would only have ended up in a more awful way.
Qiu Wanli had been suppressing the Fengxiang Armed Escort for years, in a bit to contain her royal highness; he resorted to extreme measures simply for the sake of his dark deed.
The Fengxiang soldiers, consequently, hadn't got paid for six months at least.
Qiu Wanli simply shooed the Princess Baidie away even if she condescended to ask him to earmark funds to her soldiers. He prevaricated on her even though she only asked for fifty thousand kilos of gold.
Being the commander of the Fengxiang Armed Escort, she felt the most agonized about their narrow circumstances.
On one hand, Qiu Wanli had the Fengxiang Armed Escort in a pickle, on the other, he satisfied every request of his own son came what might — even if Qiu Yunchong laid out a million kilos of gold on the raw stones all at once.
The sharp comparison could piss off everyone informed right away, not to mention Tang Xinyi.
Her own soldiers had to tighten their belts on a daily basis; Qiu Yunchong's troops enjoyed extravagant treatments in the meantime.
She had every reason to question Qiu Yunchong to his face.
Qiu Yunchong, nevertheless, didn't take any notice of her cross-examination but simply sneered.
"Tang Xinyi, do you have what it takes to be mentioned in the same breath with me? My troops are responsible for the security of the boundaries of the Qingyun Empire. They are literally an impregnatable fortress of our empire! What about the Fengxiang Armed Escort? A kid's thing! I fail to find any point to keep it. Not to mention fifty thousand kilos of gold, a sum of five hundred is a waste in my eyes!"
"Qiu Yunchong, the Fengxiang Armed Escort is responsible for the security of her royal highness. It's not in the least inferior to yours! How dare you look down upon us?!"
"No kidding! Her royal highness lives a secluded life in the Yunzhong City, around which there are three great troops with six hundred thousand soldiers safeguarding her. She is pretty safe and sound without your Fengxiang guys! Your troop just stand no reason to exist anymore."
"Humph. Without us, her royal highness would, very likely, have been assassinated by someone."
"Tang Xinyi, you sound rather evasive! Who are you alluding to? Can't you be clearer?"
"No need! Qiu Yunchong, you can easily pick up on that even if others can't."
"Bastard! So you mean I might harm her royal highness?"
"One should never intend to do harm to others, but should always guard against the harm others might do to him. It's way too early for us to tell who is the culprit before it takes action."
"You…"
Qiu Yunchong caught himself in mid-sentence before he flew into a rage, letting out a sneer.
"Well, I got it. You are simply jealous of me. You know, jealousy can easily drive you nuts and even make you talk nonsense. I, therefore, won't blame you for what you just said. Tang Xinyi, you're fairly a talent, but you served the wrong master. Well, I got an idea. You go and tell her royal highness — if she is willing to have a few drinks with me in person, I can, by all means, give her the fifty thousand kilos of gold myself."
"Qiu Yunchong, how dare you! Based on your filthy talk alone, we can sentence you to an offense punishment and kill your family across the board!"
Knitting her eyebrows, Tang Xinyi's blood was up.
Qiu Yunchong simply responded with a sneer.
"If so, why the wait? You will make a great contribution if you kill all my family! Her royal highness hates my family to the core after all!"
"You…"
Qiu Yunchong's arrogant manner, indeed, provoked Tang Xinyi to the brim.
She, nevertheless, dared not put down him for real. Otherwise, his death would definitely cause a great stir in the Qingyun Empire. Her royal highness and herself would probably get killed in the chaos thanks to her great contribution.
On seeing Tang Xinyi's helpless fury, Qiu Yunchong let out a hum.
"If you are a real loyal right-hand commander of her royal highness, you'd better persuade her into taking the right side. If she goes on causing troubles, she might not be able to retain her royal title anymore. In so doing, her lofty aspirations will only end up a joke!"
"Qiu Yunchong, are…are you threatening her royal highness?"
Tang Xinyi glared at Qiu Yunchong, terribly startled.
By no stretch of the imagination could she expect that his venom even went beyond his father.
He made no scruples to manifest his obsession for his malicious ambition.
His intimidation came as a warning to her — did it mean that Qiu Wanli and Qiu Yunchong had long got prepared for that?