Chapter 316 The Strategist

The State of Qi agreed to end the war by marrying Princess Changle, with only one condition.

That means the Prince of Xiaoyao must personally come to the border to welcome the princess back, to show his determination to maintain good relations between the two countries and his respect for Princess Chang Le.

Qi Yuxuan learned of this news two hours after she woke up.

The bandaged wound on her finger was still throbbing slightly, but she listened calmly to Xiahou Yin's account without being moved in the slightest.

It wasn't that she believed Qi Jun and her mother had truly agreed to the marriage alliance, but rather that having the Prince of Xiaoyao come to the border in person seemed like a pretext for something else entirely.

Besides, even if she became the bait, she believed they wouldn't just stand by and watch her die.

Xiahou Yin looked at the quiet girl in front of him and felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

"Princess, this is just a delaying tactic. The Crown Prince and his men must have other plans. Please don't be sad."

"Tomorrow, the princess's maid should arrive in Kuncheng. If the princess would like to stroll around Kuncheng, I can take her out for a walk again..."

He only just learned that Princess Chang Le did not need to return to the capital. She could simply depart from Kuncheng to the Qi-Yue border. The imperial dowry procession had already set off and was expected to arrive in Kuncheng tomorrow. If Prince Xiaoyao wished, he would come to pick her up the day after tomorrow.

Princess Mingming had just escaped from the Yue Kingdom, yet only a few days later, she was to be sent off for a political marriage...

Xiahou Yin was preoccupied with his own distress and did not notice Qi Yuxuan's thoughtful expression.

What she was thinking was that when the wedding procession arrived tomorrow, wouldn't Lady Li be rendered useless?

Lady Li was only temporarily taking care of me for three or four days. If I were to leave tomorrow, I would definitely have to complete my task and send out the message before then.

We can't delay any longer.

Only Qi Yuxuan and Xiahou Yin were in the tent. Qi Yuxuan lowered her voice and said:

"Young General Xiahou, have there been any suspicious individuals or unusual events in the camp these past few days?"

Hearing her question, Xiahou Yin's expression immediately turned serious. He looked around, pondered for a moment, and then looked at Qi Yuxuan with a somewhat heavy voice:

"Princess, did someone say something to you?"

That shouldn't be the case. The spy was just caught, and apart from the camp where that person was, no one else probably knows about it yet. They are also afraid of alerting the enemy, so they haven't spread the word. The princess only has one lady-in-law, Lady Li, who just went out for a stroll this morning. Who would have told the princess about this?

Xiahou Yin's puzzled expression caught Qi Yuxuan's attention, and she tensed up. Had Lady Li already made her move?

It's unclear whether they're just gathering information or if they intend to kill everyone in the Qi army.

Qi Yuxuan asked anxiously, a hint of worry appearing on her pale face: "What is it?!"

Seeing her expression, Xiahou Yin knew he had been worrying unnecessarily. It seemed the princess was just asking out of curiosity and hadn't actually heard anything.

He was relieved: "Princess, there's no need to worry. It's just a petty scoundrel trying to sow discord among the troops, but he failed. Now he's been imprisoned and tortured, and we should be able to pry a lot out of him. When the Prince of Xiaoyao comes to fetch the bride, we'll send him over as part of his dowry, so that the Jiaozhi people can see what happens when they plant spies here."

He was full of vigor, as if he could already foresee the fear and anger of the Yue people when they saw that the person they had painstakingly sent in was no longer human.

Qi Yuxuan shook her head: "No."

Xiahou Yin: "What?"

Qi Yuxuan sighed: "It's not just this."

Her words were like a thunderclap from a clear sky, and the boy in front of her stared wide-eyed.

"What did the princess discover?"

The princess has only been here a few days, yet she has already noticed something amiss in the army. Could it be that the Yue people have really planted sieves in this military camp?!

Qi Yuxuan: "Li Niangzi, who is beside me, is also a spy."

Before Xiahou Yin could react, she continued:

"She's been relatively well-behaved by my side these past few days, but I wonder what her mission is."

Xiahou Yin had already stood up, pacing back and forth anxiously. "I personally went to find Lady Li, how could this be..."

“It’s not your fault,” Qi Yuxuan said softly. “If I hadn’t known some methods, I wouldn’t have been so certain that she wasn’t from Qi. It was all just a coincidence.”

"However, since they sent more than one person, whatever their purpose or purpose is to gather information, it must be something very important. Do you have any leads? What are the original plans for the camp in the next few days?"

Qi Yuxuan could only ask Xiahou Yin about these matters.

The other soldiers simply carried out orders and did not participate in decision-making. They were kept in the dark, and even high-ranking officials like Duan Wei and Xiahou Zhong would not discuss these important matters with her. Only Xiahou Yin knew her and never hid anything from her because of her identity.

This time, Xiahou Yin thought about it carefully.

"If it's the original plan... everything else is fine, except that later today, the inner city will send people to deliver grain to the granary east of the military camp. But even if they do send it, it will only be for three days. Even if the spies set it on fire and destroy it, they can just get more from the inner city. It won't cause any problems..."

As Xiahou Yin spoke, his voice gradually faded.

"You mean..."

Suddenly, he thought of something, looked up sharply at Qi Yuxuan, and met her equally surprised and uncertain eyes.

"Poison?!" they both exclaimed simultaneously.

If we were to talk about the most powerful skill in the Yue Kingdom, it would be the shamans who were revered throughout the country. Making poisons and creating Gu were their specialties.

The epidemic that struck the capital of Qi last year was the work of the people of Yue.

If they were to use the same vile, plague-like poison again, and put it in three days' worth of rations, it might not seem like a big deal if a few soldiers fell ill after eating. But by the time the army was paralyzed and large numbers of soldiers collapsed, three days' worth of rations would have been gone long ago. They would have no way to investigate and could only suspect without any basis.

Xiahou Yin's face was full of worry:

"But if we go to the inner city now to notify them to change the time, it will definitely be too late. Besides, the provisions are supposed to be delivered every three days, and there are no more in the camp now. If they are delivered tomorrow, then the soldiers will go hungry tonight and tomorrow morning."

Qi Yuxuan: "Therefore, we don't need to notify the inner city; instead, we should notify other people."

Xiahou Yin looked puzzled.

Qi Yuxuan continued, "If that's their plan, then in the past few days they must have thoroughly investigated the defense map and troop rotation schedule of the eastern granary. The only opportunity for them to act is during the brief troop rotation. We just need to..."

The more she spoke, the brighter Xiahou Yin's eyes became, until finally, it all turned into a long sigh—

“Princess, if you were a man, I would definitely recommend you to General Duan and my father as our strategist.”

Qi Yuxuan chuckled: "What, even without the title of strategist, I can't act as a strategist?"

Xiahou Yin hurriedly said he dared not accept such praise, and after thanking him, he immediately set about carrying it out.