The Male Lead’s Backyard is on Fire! – Chapter 102: Coming Out With a Bang~

The day the Wolf Calvary returned victorious, the entire nation rejoiced. The streets of E’Gu were packed with people, and only an opening down the middle was left for Yuchi Li to pass through. Yuchi Li wore a diplomatic smile with her head popped out of the side of the carriage as she waved to the crowd. 

The people knelt as she passed by, crying out the name ‘Princess.’ Yuchi Li felt embarrassed. 

After the day the war ended, the news of the victory soon reached E’Gu, and with the embellishments tacked on through word-of-mouth, people grew to call Yuchi Li a great hero and portray Yuchi Li’s battle as that of a godly warrior; with a romantic flare, she alone penetrated the enemy forces, beheaded their leader, and set fire to their flag. 

And so, when she returned, the common people all cheered for her like she was their goddess. 

By the time she stuck her head back inside, her smile had stiffened on her face. She rubbed her cheeks, making a wry face at Liu Luoyi. 

The chaos of wartime could now be considered over, and another important matter was at hand; namely, how to explain to the Northern King that she wanted to marry Liu Luoyi. 

No matter how she thought it over, it was a difficult task. 

“Why don’t we pretend to be cuddling and have Xin Ran bring my Royal Father in and let him discover it himself?” Yuchi Li rubbed her chin. 

As soon as she heard this, Liu Luoyi blushed and hurriedly shook her head. 

“We could let my sister tell him?” Yuchi Li’s brow furrowed. 

“It’s wrong.” Liu Luoyi kept shaking her head. 

“Then we can only be upfront.” Yuchi Li said, gritting her teeth. 

She took some deep breaths and got her emotions under control. Speaking the truth in such a straightforward manner was more nerve-wracking than just blurting it out when emotions were running high. On the other hand, she was fortunate that she had just secured a victory. Regardless of how the Northern King reacted, he probably would not blame her too much. 

For the first time, Yuchi Li felt that E’Gu was pitifully small; they arrived at the palace gates in no time at all. The curtain lifted and beams of daylight fell onto Yuchi Li’s face. 

Liu Luoyi turned to look at Yuchi Li, gently took her hand, and the two of them alighted together. 

“A’Li, don’t be scared.” Liu Luoyi murmured beside her. Yuchi Li chuckled when she heard it. She did not expect that there would be a day where her own nerves were soothed by Liu Luoyi. 

“Mhm.” Yuchi Li smiled and nodded. They followed the attendant along the path and arrived at the palace’s receiving hall for distinguished guests. The receiving hall was unlike the grand, gilded one of the Yan Kingdom and was somewhat more simplistic. When they entered, Yuchi Li’s eyes were greeted with the tiger pelt behind the throne. 

The tiger’s pelt had two large cavities for eyes, making Yuchi Li immediately break out into gooseflesh. The receiving hall was quite empty and oppressive, its circular roof painted with an odd assortment of designs and patterns. 

“Li’er!” There was a rowdy shout, Yuchi Li shook, and then she was enveloped in a bear hug by the Northern King, who had appeared out of thin air. The Northern King also gave her a few good slaps on the back merrily. 

“This king previously thought this war would drag out a while longer and was readying to send additional forces to the border, but this king never anticipated that you would break their advance. You’re definitely this king’s daughter!” The Northern King roared with laughter. His hands pressed down on Yuchi Li’s shoulders, pushing her a bit away. He looked her up and down and, seeing that she was truly uninjured, could at last feel relieved. 

Yuchi Li covered her chest, having almost suffered internal injuries from his back slaps just now. She forced a smile as she listened to his praise. 

“Now that you’ve returned, there’s no need to go back to the military camp for such a short period of time, get some rest. I, your king,^[1]A little note, the king of the northern territory usually uses the self-address of 本王 ben wang. Here, however, he uses a different address of ‘zhen’ 朕, which is sometimes translated as … Continue reading have already issued the decree instating you as Crown Princess. In the coming days, there will be a grand ceremony, and after that, you will truly be the heir^[2]Another note, previously 太女 tainv was used to describe her new position as eldest princess, similar to that of 太子, taizi, which refers to a Crown Prince. Here, the king uses 储君 chujun, … Continue reading of my Northern Territory.” The Northern King beamed, looking delightedly at his precious daughter. 

Yuchi Li thought the moment was just about right. She gritted her teeth, but just as she went to open her mouth, she was suddenly hauled off to the side by the Northern King pulling her by the collar. 

He surreptitiously pulled out a stack of paper and stuffed them into Yuchi Li’s hands. 

Dumbfounded, Yuchi Li took the papers and asked: “Royal Father, what’s this?”

“These are the Fuma’s this king has selected for you. You can pick one from among them.”

Yuchi Li’s heart jolted. She stiffly flipped through the pages and, sure enough, that Baili Mingyuan’s portrait was at the top. Yuchi Li rolled her eyes and tossed the stack of papers onto the table. 

“Royal Father, to be honest, I…” Yuchi Li reached out and pulled Liu Luoyi, who had been standing behind her, over, wanting to tell him the truth. However, before she could finish, she was interrupted by the Northern King. 

“Ever since this king saw this young woman painting last time, this king has had a good impression of her. Come, this king has something to tell you.” The Northern King’s gaze landed on Liu Luoyi. A tremor ran through Liu Luoyi’s body. She looked at the Northern King, hesitated a moment, and then nodded. 

When the Northern King was chatting and laughing, he had an air of kindred gregariousness. But when he was not smiling, his presence was intimidatingly awe-inspiring. Liu Luoyi was caught unprepared by his gaze meeting hers and her heart tightened with fear. 

But, with effort, she smiled and patted Yuchi Li on the hand to signal that she was fine. 

Whatever the Northern King could speak about with Liu Luoyi, Yuchi Li was a little puzzled. She clasped Liu Luoyi’s arm, not letting her go. 

The Northern King said nothing more. He tilted his head and walked into the back of the hall himself. 

Liu Luoyi patted Yuchi Li in admonishment, saying softly: “A’Li, I’m fine, don’t worry.”

Yuchi Li bit her lip, refusing to let go. Liu Luoyi huffed a laugh. She rubbed Yuchi Li’s chin like she was cheering up a little child, then she went up on her tip-toes and nuzzled her face with her downy hair. 

“A’Li.” She murmured. There was a smile in her eyes, like she was flirting. 

Yuchi Li unconsciously released her, and by the time she came to, Liu Luoyi had already disappeared. 

The back of the receiving hall was an empty passageway with only a single small window, making it look rather somber. The Northern King turned around and waited for Liu Luoyi quietly. 

Liu Luoyi swallowed. She walked over with head lowered and offered her obeisances in the way she had learned from the locals. 

“Just who are you.” The Northern King asked. 

“This common woman is named Liu Luoyi, the daughter of the Yan Kingdom’s Prime Minister, Liu Ru.” Liu Luoyi said, head bowed. 

The Northern King grasped the glittering silver bracelet on his wrist between his fingers. Something on his mind, he looked at Liu Luoyi for a moment, his gaze deep, before saying: “This king has heard some rumors previously. Though they are rumors, they are extremely detailed, so this king must have some doubts.”

Liu Luoyi felt her heart constrict, like someone was squeezing it so tightly that she was suffocating. Time seemed to stop. After a long moment, her knees suddenly went soft, and she simply knelt on the ground. 

The Northern King’s brow furrowed but he made no movements and kept looking at her calmly as before. 

“What is the meaning of this.”

Even though she was kneeling, Liu Luoyi’s body was still ramrod straight. She pinched her sleeves, her eyelashes fluttering. She slowly opened her mouth. 

“To answer you, Northern King, the rumors circulating E’Gu are true.”

The Northern King’s hands jolted slightly. Keeping his composure, he bent down halfway and opened his hand. Liu Luoyi could sense the roiling energy in his coarse palm; if it were to fall, she would surely die. 

At this moment, Liu Luoyi was suddenly unafraid. She raised her head and looked the Northern King directly in the eyes as she stated: “Feelings of love toward the Princess took root in this common woman’s heart during our time in the Yan Kingdom. The Princess has also said that she would marry no one in this life but me.”

“Do you not fear death?” The Northern King bit out upon hearing her words. 

Liu Luoyi shook her head without breaking eye contact. 

“Even if you mean for this common woman to die, this common woman will not take back those words.” Liu Luoyi said, her eyes growing red. The tears welling up in her eyes matched the unyieldingness within them. 

“I love the Princess, so very much.”

The Northern King stared into Liu Luoyi’s teary eyes, and after a while, he finally put his hand down and withdrew his internal force as if nothing had occurred. 

He straightened, pulling Liu Luoyi back up at the same time, then strode toward the hall’s exit. Alarmed, Liu Luoyi hurriedly followed him. She only saw the Northern King saying something to Yuchi Li and, for some reason, raised his hand all of the sudden. Yuchi Li was startled and instinctively lifted her hands for protection. 

Everything happened so quickly, and Liu Luoyi had no time to react. She ran faster than she ever had in her life and wrapped her arms around Yuchi Li, using her body to block. 

Yuchi Li was hit by the force of her impact and almost fell backwards, but luckily, because of her strong foundation, she only took a few steps back and remained standing. 

The pain Liu Luoyi was expecting never arrived. Only then did she dare slowly turn her head and saw that the Northern King’s expression, which had been tense this entire juncture, at last relaxed into what appeared to be helplessness, exacerbation, and amusement. 

Yuchi Li held her by the waist, then rubbed her head. She said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: “Xiao Liu’er, what’s the matter with you?”

Only then did Liu Luoyi discover that she had pounced on Yuchi Li and was currently hanging off her like an octopus. Her position was utterly indecent. She immediately blushed and let go, adjusting her clothes. 

However, whether intentionally or unintentionally, she still stood in front of Yuchi Li, in case the Northern King wanted to vent his anger on Yuchi Li. 

The Northern King coughed lightly. He rubbed his jaw, his expression a bit embarrassed. His gaze was hesitant to land in Yuchi Li’s direction. He only spoke after a while: “I, your king, have government affairs to handle. You both can go back and rest.”

“Royal Father, wait.” Yuchi Li hurriedly called out to him. 

“There’s no need to say it. This king has long investigated this matter and was just testing you two.” The Northern King sighed, shaking his head, “Child, you’re always like this. Didn’t you suffer enough last time?”

He glanced at Liu Luoyi, who looked soft and weak as she leaned into Yuchi Li’s embrace, teary-eyed, yet could throw herself over so bravely, and let out another long sigh: “Nevermind, I’d wager you won’t suffer a loss this time.”

He waved his hand: “Die’er is supposedly inviting you to a welcome dinner and did not call on this king. You two go ahead.”

Finished speaking, he turned around and left in a flurry. A row of attendants, stunned by the scene that occurred before them, followed behind, not daring to speak. 

“Your Majesty, are we going to the study now?” One of the attendants asked cautiously. 

“Piss off. This king’s going back to bed to cry for a while.” He said indignantly. 

“This king’s grandchildren ah…” He let out a long sigh that reverberated down the path. 

Yuchi Li’s expression was still a bit stunned. She stroked Liu Luoyi’s hair again and asked: “Wait, what did you talk about just now?”

Liu Luoyi’s face reddened, and she hemmed and hawed: “Just, about us.”

“You told him?” Yuchi Li gulped in astonishment. She had never expected that something like this would be resolved just like that, without her even lifting a finger. It felt entirely unreal. 

“Does that mean that…Royal Father agrees?” Yuchi Li spoke again. Yuchi Li was pushed toward the entrance as she continued rambling on with questions. 

“Should be.” Liu Luoyi blushed and led Yuchi Li along by the hand. As soon as she thought of her comportment just then, she was beside herself with embarrassment. 

Little did she know that the things that would make her even more embarrassed were awaiting her ahead.

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