Zhenzhen glanced at Lu Yan, who looked like a beggar, frowned, and said, "The prince invites you."

Lu Yan naturally knew that this prince was not the same prince. He was delighted and hurriedly tugged at his clothes. Looking down, he saw that they were torn and dirty, and he felt a little annoyed: "Don't be rude to the prince. I'll go wash them."

Zhenzhen turned expressionlessly and headed towards the camp: "I've prepared a bathing area for the Marquis."

Zhenzhen was afraid that Lu Yan would offend her own Crown Princess by doing this. He was too dirty. How long had it been since he had taken a bath?

Lu Yan didn't bring any clothes himself, so Zhenzhen borrowed a set of clothes for him from the commander-in-chief of the Left Army.

The commander-in-chief of the Left Army stood at the door of the tent, his face dark. "How will you sentence yourself for leaving the capital without permission?"

Lu Yan thought of his military token and felt that there was no greater crime than this. The private soldiers of the Marquis' Mansion exceeded the regulations and were suspected of treason. What's more, the military token was gone, and he didn't know where Bai Wanyi had taken these people. He was probably going to lose his head. He was following Qin Wan now, one, to relieve her longing for him, and two, to make military achievements at the border, which might atone for his crime.

Of course, he didn't dare to say this now, and only asked: "Excuse me, where is the Crown Princess?"

The commander-in-chief of the Left Army immediately calmed down, looked around cautiously, and asked sternly, "How did you know?"

Lu Yan's eyes were filled with affection. "Commander, have you forgotten? The Crown Princess and I were married for eight years. How could I not recognize her?"

The commander of the Left Army frowned and looked at Lu Yan, feeling a little nauseous. He waved his hand impatiently and said, "Let's go. I'll take you to see the Crown Prince."

Whether in public or in private, the Commander-in-Chief of the Left Army would always address Qin Wan as "Crown Prince" to avoid being heard.

When Lu Yan entered the tent and saw Qin Wan, who was dressed in men's clothes and looked heroic, he felt a pain in his heart.

Qin Wanke had no time to look at him. She lowered her head to read the intelligence sent in from various places, and said without looking up: "I wonder why the Marquis of Pingyang followed me for thousands of miles?"

Lu Yan stared at Qin Wan blankly and couldn't answer at all.

When the commander-in-chief of the Left Army saw him like this, he wanted to leave immediately, but he had to stay here, otherwise if the private meeting between the former couple got out, it would be bad for the reputation of the Crown Princess.

He simply turned around, out of sight and out of mind.

Qin Wan didn't hear Lu Yan's reply, nor did she care. After finishing the work at hand, she looked up at him. It was as if she was looking at a stranger. Such a look made Lu Yan more heartbroken than a look of disgust and hatred.

He touched his chest and said with difficulty: "I was just worried about you, so I followed to see you."

Qin Wan dropped what she was holding, looked at him calmly, and asked, "I am traveling as the Crown Prince. You are spying on him. Do you admit your guilt?"

Lu Yan was stunned, looking at the completely unfamiliar Qin Wan in front of him. At this moment, she still had a peerless beauty and a heroic demeanor, but her aura was exactly the same as that of the prince. No wonder Qin Wan did not hide her whereabouts along the way, but was not recognized by anyone. It turned out that it was this aura that made people dare not look directly at her.

Under Qin Wan's gaze, he lifted his robe and slowly knelt down: "I know I was wrong."

Qin Wan nodded, not bothering to know why he followed her, but it was definitely not for her. He probably wanted to make merit on the battlefield.

Now that they have arrived and are at the border, staying outside will only pose a hidden danger.

Qin Wan waved her hand and said, "Since you've come with me, I think with your abilities, you can also go to the battlefield. You can become a soldier under Master Du."

After saying this, she looked at the Commander-in-Chief of the Left Army and said, "Marquis Pingyang is from the Five Armies Commander-in-Chief's Office anyway. Do you have any objection to me sending him to serve under Prince Du?"

The Commander-in-Chief of the Left Army just turned around and said, "The judge resigned from his post without permission, and left the capital without permission. I can dismiss him from his position now."

Qin Wan nodded and asked someone to call Master Du in.

Prince Du's eyes widened when he saw Lu Yan. He took two or three steps forward, grabbed his collar, and demanded, "You're the Fourth Prince's lackey. Your master has run away, so what are you doing here? Or has your master come to Shenyang? Or is he hiding in our army?"

Lu Yan didn't resist at all: "I don't know where he is."

"How could you not know? Lord Wu is the Fourth Prince's man, and your concubine is Lord Wu's most beloved daughter. Your wife frequently goes in and out of the Fourth Prince's mansion. How could you not know the whereabouts of the Fourth Prince?" Prince Du didn't believe him at all, but before they left Beijing, they had turned the temple where Wu Ziya lived upside down, but they couldn't find the Fourth Prince. His whereabouts remained a mystery.

Lu Yan shook his head. He knew that Master Du had saved his face by not revealing the Fourth Prince's affair with Bai Wanyi. He looked into Master Du's eyes and said sincerely, "I really don't know. The Fourth Prince is only familiar with the Bai family. He would go directly to the Bai family if he had any problems. I don't have much contact with the Fourth Prince."

"Hmph, I'll trust you for now." Prince Du then looked at Qin Wan: "The Crown Prince called me because of the Marquis of Pingyang?"

Qin Wan nodded. "Let him serve as a small soldier under your command. Watch carefully. He left the capital without permission. If he makes meritorious contributions while serving his sentence, he should be reinstated or transferred to a lower position when he returns. If he doesn't make any meritorious contributions, dismissal is a minor matter."

Prince Du laughed heartily. "He's in cahoots with the Fourth Prince, and they're in cahoots. Your Majesty saved face by not throwing him straight into the Heavenly Prison. And now he's even left the capital without permission. If he were found elsewhere, the Marquis of Pingyang would probably be thrown straight into the Heavenly Prison. How could he have the chance to follow me around and redeem himself for his crimes?"

But no matter what Lu Yan's purpose is, he will not be polite if he falls into the hands of Master Du.

Prince Du turned around and walked out: "Alright, follow me. Remember, don't come to see the prince unless you have something to do. You are just a soldier and you are not worthy of seeing the prince."

"Um."

Lu Yan agreed, and the moment he stepped out of the tent, he couldn't help but look back, only to see Qin Wan, her head lowered, busying herself again. At this moment, her figure seemed to faintly overlap with the Crown Prince's...

The commander-in-chief of the Left Army stood at the door, watching Lu Yan walk away. He then ordered someone to keep watch at the door. He walked over to Qin Wan and looked at the map on the table and said, "News has come in from Yongzhou. Everything is peaceful. I wonder what the situation is like in Fengyang and Bianyuguan."

Qin Wan was not very reassured. "There has been no news of King Yong for many years. If he is not in Yongzhou and the Qiang invade, I wonder if anyone in the Yongzhou garrison can lead the army to resist."

The Commander-in-Chief of the Left Army was very dissatisfied with Prince Yong. "Lead the army to resist? I am now worried that Prince Yong might take advantage of the chaos to raise an army. After all, the late emperor intended to pass the throne to him. If the late emperor had not suddenly fallen seriously ill and Prince Yong had not been leading troops abroad, and Your Majesty had succeeded to the throne in the name of Crown Prince, I am afraid the struggle for the throne would have been another bloody storm."