Strangely enough, although Wanyan Liexin was the King of the Northern Courtyard, he treated the warrior with cautious deference at every turn. He asked quietly, "Your Highness, why exactly did you have me say those things to Hu Xiaotian today?" As it turned out, this young warrior was none other than Xima, the princess of Black Hu, in disguise.
Xima said coldly, "Wasn't that precisely what my father intended?"
"Princess, you've misunderstood the Great Khan," Wanyan Liexin said.
Xima shook her head. "Misunderstood him? We both know perfectly well whether this is a misunderstanding. For the sake of Black Hu, I would willingly sacrifice even my life!"
Wanyan Liexin felt ashamed. In truth, he had been the first to propose a marriage alliance, though the ice between Hu Xiaotian and Great Kang had yet to thaw at the time. Black Hu had long entertained the idea of joining forces with Hu Xiaotian against Great Yong. When Hu Xiaotian married, Wanyan Liexin had even gone to Cloud Marsh in person to offer his congratulations. His proposal to secure an alliance through marriage had come after Hu Xiaotian captured Yunyang through cunning and then took advantage of the earthquake in Western Sichuan to annex vast stretches of its northeastern territory. Although Hu Xiaotian had accepted an official title from Great Kang's Imperial Court, everyone knew the true nature of their relationship. Hu Xiaotian held the Yong River Natural Barrier, keeping Great Kang in check to the south while eyeing Great Yong to the north. If he agreed to ally with Black Hu, their combined attack from front and rear would leave Great Yong beset on both sides. Of course, this was merely Black Hu's ideal scenario. Recently, the situation in the Central Plains had been changing in the blink of an eye.