After the Crown Prince Chunyu left, Xiaoman saw the young lady staring at the river in silence, her gaze never moving.
She was a bit scared, and there was an indescribable tension.
If the General were to fall in battle, from then on, no one would protect them, master and servant.
And there was the Left Guard; he would certainly be with the Great General. Once, out of curiosity, Xiaoman asked him what a guard did every day and what he would do if the General were in danger...
The Left Guard told her without hesitation.
If the General were in danger, he would stand in front of the General.
Xiaoman didn’t want the Left Guard to die...
She liked his silly attempts at seriousness, liked that he often ca to deliver ssages and chat with her. She hadn’t entertained other thoughts, but the idea of never seeing that person again still made her sad.
And there was Guard Ao...
Thinking of Ao Qi, Xiaoman involuntarily glanced at Feng Yun.
"Young lady, if... if they all die, what shall we do?"
She turned her head to look at the tightly closed door, half-knelt in front of Feng Yun, and whispered, "Without the General, the vicious Empress Dowager will not let us go. Young lady, on our way to Xinzhou... if we... if we receive unfortunate news, perhaps we should think of a way... to leave?"
Feng Yun looked at her coldly.
"If you wish to go, you and Daman can leave."
Xiaoman panicked and held onto her knee.
"Young lady, Xiaoman is worried for you..."
Feng Yun narrowed her eyes and remained silent.
Xiaoman pouted, not understanding.
The young lady hadn’t spent much ti with the General, nor had she ever shown any particular affection for him. Xiaoman didn’t quite understand why the young lady would be so determined to place her bets on the General.
A wise bird chooses its tree to nest in, Xiaoman understood this principle as well.
With the General, it was right for the young lady to follow him.
If the General were no longer there, they would need to find soone to rely on; otherwise, in this chaotic world, beautiful won were like prey in the mouths of vicious wolves, inevitably subject to scrambling and fighting...
At Xinzhou docks, when the tower ship docked, Feng Yun did not see Crown Prince Chunyu Yan’s ship.
She looked at the water surface with confusion, inquired Tan Dajin before disembarking, and then, with her entourage, headed straight to Wen Xingsu’s residence.
-
Hengqu Pass.
The sun shone brightly on the camp after the rain, making it feel hot and stuffy.
The ground was still damp, and several people knelt neatly in front of Xiao Cheng’s tent.
At the very front was Ping’an, his head bowed and face contorted in pain, his knees feeling as if they would snap.
Hearing footsteps, Ping’an looked up to see a line of people walking slowly towards the camp, led by two won holding hands. One was dressed in the ornate attire of a deep-pleated skirt, her hair adorned with a gold ornant, walking with an air of ostentation. The other was dressed more simply, her hair only pinned with a vibrant hibiscus velvet flower, light and graceful in movent, her features soft and gentle as jade, clearly a lady from an aristocratic family.
Ping’an’s eyes brightened for a mont.
"Princess, Madam Feng..."
Xiao Rong was Xiao Cheng’s sister, the forr Princess Hanzhang, now the Princess of Daqi. Being children of the sa mother who had passed away early, the siblings had relied on each other for years, with Xiao Cheng holding deep affection for his sister.
Therefore, Xiao Rong wasn’t too flustered to see Ping’an being punished by kneeling.
"Is His Majesty enraged?"
Ping’an nodded and then shook his head, murmuring softly:
"His Majesty is not just angry about the Princess and Madam..."
Xiao Rong raised an eyebrow, "Then what is it for?"
Ping’an opened his mouth as if to say sothing but then swallowed his words, hanging his head low, "Your Highness should ask yourself, I dare not speak any more."
Xiao Rong gave him a look and knew what he ant.
If even Ping’an was punished to kneel here, it ant the Emperor was truly furious.
If it wasn’t because of her and Feng Ying, then it must be for that woman on the north bank.
Knowing that His Majesty had personally led the expedition, she was originally not very interested in enduring hardship by accompanying him, but it was Feng Ying who had begged her.
Feng Ying said that she learned from Ping’an the Emperor had gone to great lengths to rescue Feng Shi Er Niang, sparing no expense and braving danger to lead the troops himself, not to ntion involving Crown Prince Chunyu Yan of Yunchuan in the negotiation, all to rescue Feng Shi Er Niang from Pei Jue’s clutches.
For this, he was even willing to sell off ancestral properties...
"As my elder sister is trapped with the enemy and subjected to their humiliations, I too hope day and night for her safe return, but at this mont..."
"Arong, His Majesty seems to be throwing caution to the wind for the sake of rescuing my sister."
"You and your brother have finally made it to this day, how can you make a grave mistake for a fleeting romance? Arong... are you willing to let this happen?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Rong was on the verge of exploding with rage.
The treasury of Daqi was empty, the Emperor had just ascended the throne, money was needed everywhere, and he actually thought to invest all his family wealth on that Feng Shi Er Niang, to casually benefit those people from Yunchuan?
Xiao Rong and Feng Ying had always been on good terms, and she couldn’t bear to see her looking so pitiful, nor could she accept the absurdity of what her Imperial brother had done. She never liked Feng Shi’er Niang; how could she allow her to ruin their family, to destroy the Imperial brother’s reign?
Imdiately she agreed and helped Feng Ying sneak out of Tai City, rushing all the way to Hengqu Pass.
When Xiao Cheng received the news from Tai City, he had Ping’an and several imperial guards punished.
If it weren’t for the current warti situation, they probably couldn’t have escaped a beating.
"Don’t worry, I’ll plead for you."
Xiao Rong gave a small smile and strode confidently into the tent with Feng Ying.
Her Imperial brother doted on her and wouldn’t get angry over such a minor issue.
Xiao Rong was very confident, but Feng Yun was extrely anxious.
"Arong," at the entrance of Xiao Cheng’s camp, Feng Yun stopped, looking at her nervously.
"If His Majesty finds out I instigated you to leave the capital, I’m afraid... I’m afraid he’ll forsake ."
Her eyes brimming with tears, she looked as though she was about to cry, which was quite distressing to see.
Xiao Rong wrapped an arm around her waist and chuckled, "Don’t worry, I know my limits. It won’t affect your relationship with the Imperial brother. I’ll tell him it was who forced you out of the capital. Rest assured. He’s not that petty..."
She pulled a funny face at Feng Ying.
A hint of a smile finally appeared in Feng Ying’s tearful eyes.
"Arong, you’re so kind to ."
"Why ntion that? We are best friends," Xiao Rong said cheerfully as she held Feng Ying’s hand, "Why are you so afraid of the Imperial brother? You’re the Feng Family’s treasure; everyone likes you. It’s just that he doesn’t show you a kind face, all because you spoil him."
Feng Ying hung her head, biting her lip.
"According to ," Xiao Rong pulled at her, "he’s nonchalant with you exactly because you’re too nice to him..."
Feng Ying gave a bitter smile, "He is His Majesty."
She then dabbed at the corners of her eyes, trying to force a smile.
"Let’s go. Whatever His Majesty says later, we just need to listen, and mustn’t talk back at all."
Xiao Rong stuck her tongue out, "I won’t coddle him. Watch fight for your justice."
The guards at the entrance of the tent, upon seeing the Princess and Lady Feng, were about to salute and greet them, but Xiao Rong burst in with Feng Ying, leaving them no ti to react.
"Imperial brother—"
Inside the tent, Xiao Cheng had a stern face as he interrogated a Qi Army general.
"The siege at Hongye Valley on Pei Jue’s reinforcents was a once-in-a-lifeti opportunity, and yet you went so weak-handed... If closing the gate could let them break through and even take Bingzhou City, is this the ’absolute certainty’ you told about?"
"Imperial brother..." It was rare for Xiao Rong to see Xiao Cheng angry and disciplining soone this way, as she was always used to a gentle and smiling Imperial brother.
Seeing the situation and guessing it was sothing to do with the battlefield, she imdiately stopped in her tracks and turned to look at the dispirited generals.
"What happened here? Imperial brother, General Xie... what mistakes have they made?"
Xiao Cheng glanced over with a slightly relaxed expression.
He had sent people to intercept Xiao Rong when he found out she had left the capital discreetly.
Not having found her along the way, he was quite worried.
No matter how angry he was now, at least she had appeared before him, safe and sound.
Xiao Cheng waved his hand, "All of you, leave now. Send orders to Xiahou Xian and Feng Tingji, by noon tomorrow, Hongye Valley must be cleared and Bingzhou must be given no chance to catch their breath. This ti, I want to see where Pei Jue can run to!"
The generals responded in unison and withdrew.
With no outsiders left in the tent, Xiao Rong’s mood instantly lifted. Brimming with joy from the reunion, she ran towards Xiao Cheng, laughing heartily.
"Imperial brother, I’ve missed you terribly these past days."
She then winked at Feng Ying.
"And sister-in-law too, worrying about you daily. Look at her; she has grown so thin."
Feng Ying glanced at the silent ruler, her head slightly lowered.
"Your Majesty, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have taken the Princess out of the capital..."
Seeing her eager to take the bla, Xiao Rong yelled in urgency, "No no no, Imperial brother, she’s talking nonsense. She didn’t want to leave the palace; I forced her to co with ... I missed you so much, the palace felt so empty and boring, and I didn’t dare to go out alone. You understand , right?"
Feng Ying kept her head down, her eyes red.
Xiao Cheng glanced at her but didn’t say much. In front of Xiao Rong, he had always been the kind and approachable brother, not the distant and detached emperor.
"It’s getting late today. You should rest early. Tomorrow at dawn, I’ll send soone to escort you back to Tai City."
Feng Ying bit her lower lip in distress, "Yes."
Xiao Rong started to protest again, widening her eyes in argunt.
"How can that be? Do you know, Imperial brother, how difficult it was for us to avoid the people you sent to block us and to finally make it to Hengqu Pass? Sister-in-law got sick so many tis on the road..."
At this point, as if a lightbulb went on in her head, her eyes brightened.
"Imperial brother, shouldn’t you have an Imperial Physician examine sister-in-law? Who knows, maybe she’s pregnant?"
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