Chapter 122 Secret Thoughts Unanswered

"What did you say?"

Shen Yujiao stared in astonishment at the person before her. This was one of Jiang Chen's personal guards, who was standing before her with his head bowed in annoyance.

"Your Highness, truly... I had no idea you were coming. His Highness the Crown Prince has already pursued the Northern Di army to the capital."

Go straight for the enemy's heartland!

Shen Yujiao couldn't believe it for a moment. Jiang Chen had turned a war to repel the enemy into a war of annihilation. Moreover, even if the heavy cavalry and musketeer cavalry were strong, they couldn't withstand the enemy's stronghold!

"Has he...has he gone mad? What about the others? Did they all go with the army?"

"Your Highness, General He and Lord Shen are traveling with the army, and General Qi also insisted on going along. Currently, only Prince Wu is in Hancheng taking care of Prince Huan..."

Although Shen Yujiao came to find Jiang Chen, Jiang Yu was also one of her targets. Upon hearing this, she immediately asked, "Prince Huan? What happened to Prince Huan?"

“King Huan suddenly fell ill a month ago. Your Highness found many doctors to treat him, but none of them could find a cure. I heard that even Doctor Luqiu was consulted later… Your Highness felt that he had not taken good care of him, so he volunteered to stay and take care of King Huan.”

Between chasing after Jiang Chen and going to Hancheng, Shen Yujiao hesitated for only a moment: "Take me to see the King of Wu."

Now that the army has set off, Jiang Chen is determined to achieve his goal. If she goes to the battlefield, she will only hold Jiang Chen back. It would be better for her to stay behind and wait for him to return.

She thought for a moment, then looked at the Shen family guards who had escorted her: "I would like to trouble Sixth Uncle to go to the Northern Di capital and convey my arrival to the Crown Prince. I hope he will not act rashly and will return immediately if he achieves his goal. The capital is in such a state of chaos now that we really cannot linger in the Northern Frontier."

On the day she entered Beiding Prefecture, she received news in the prefectural city that the emperor had died in secret. Even though the news was being sent by fast horse, it would still take some time to arrive. Shen Yujiao carefully calculated that the emperor had probably died less than half a month after she left the capital. At that time, she was shocked beyond anything else.

The King of Zhao actually dared to kill his sovereign and father!

Then she immediately realized that the reason she kept the death a secret was perhaps not because King Zhao wanted to ascend the throne himself, but because he was waiting for King Huan to return.

She had no way of knowing what had happened in the capital, but she could deduce that the King of Zhao must have sent someone to find the King of Huan. Right now, several groups of people from all sides were rushing to the northern frontier. Shen Yujiao really didn't know who would reach the end of this race against time first.

The courtyard where Prince Huan was located was very small. So small that when she first saw Prince Wu standing at the door, the distance between the two was only a few steps. Prince Wu rubbed his eyes as if he could not believe it when he saw her, while Shen Yujiao found his somewhat dazed expression inexplicably amusing.

"Xiao Jiu, what are you doing standing here—"

"Sixth Brother Jiang..." King Wu was dazed for a while, then howled and rushed towards her. Fortunately, he still had his senses and stopped abruptly when he was about to touch Shen Yujiao's shoulder. His eyes were full of grievance as he looked at Shen Yujiao: "Why did you come here, sister-in-law?"

"What's wrong with you?" Shen Yujiao stood on tiptoe, plucked a leaf from his head, and then glanced behind him. "Is your older brother inside?"

"Yes," the light in King Wu's eyes dimmed slightly, and he turned to look back, muttering, "He's been lying here like this for almost two months, and there's no sign of him changing. He doesn't eat or drink, and we can only occasionally feed him some medicine."

"I...I'll go in and check on him. Can you stay here and keep watch for me?"

"good."

The King of Wu neither asked her why she had come nor why she wanted to go in to visit. He simply stood there obediently, acting as a lookout guard. Shen Yujiao was quite pleased to see this. She smiled, looked away, and turned to enter the room.

Upon seeing Jiang Yu, he understood why he had met Shen Yujiao and why the King of Wu was acting that way. Facing Jiang Yu like this every day, even the most cheerful person would feel depressed.

Her fingers traced the jade bracelet on her wrist as she murmured, "Miss Shen was worried and sent me to check on you, but I never imagined that something had really happened to you..."

As if talking to herself, Shen Yujiao didn't expect him to answer her: "She missed you very much... worried that you weren't doing well, worried that you were lonely, and even more worried that you couldn't let go of your obsession. At the last moment of her life, the only thing she couldn't let go of was you."

"When I returned to Jiangnan two years ago, I came across this bracelet by chance. At first, I thought it was something Miss Shen had hidden when she was young, but later I learned that it was a token of your love."

"The capital is in chaos. For your sake, Prince Zhao is willing to drag everyone down with him. His Majesty has already passed away. The current state of chaos is probably not what you wanted to see. Miss Shen said that if possible, she would tell you not to be Prince Huan, but to go back to being Jiang Yu."

Upon hearing his name mentioned, Shen Yujiao couldn't help but pause in surprise, then murmured, "I saw her when I was in this deep sleep last time. What about you? Did you see her too? She misses you very much..."

Speaking of this, Shen Yujiao couldn't help but think of Jiang Chen. After a hundred days apart, she missed Jiang Chen very much. Moreover, in such chaotic times, she never imagined that she would come to find him empty-handed.

"......"

A soft hissing sound rang out, and Shen Yujiao subconsciously looked towards the source. Her eyes met those of Jiang Yu, who had just woken up. When they saw each other clearly, their subconscious reactions were both the same: a moment of surprise, followed by a quick look away.

Seeing that he could still react on his own, Shen Yujiao quickly got up and called to the King of Wu: "Xiao Jiu, quickly call the doctor over, your elder brother has woken up."

"What?"

Jiang Lin felt as if he had been punched. He turned around instantly, and the moment he saw Shen Yujiao nodding at him, he dashed out like an arrow. As he ran, his vision gradually blurred. No one knew how he spent those silent days and nights with Jiang Yu.

Fortunately, the doctor arrived very quickly, which relieved Jiang Lin and Shen Yujiao. Everyone held their breath and waited for him to finish taking their pulses before turning their attention to him.

"How is King Huan?"

The military doctor made his rounds, then shook his head and said to Shen Yujiao, "Your Highness, Crown Princess, please come in and we can talk."

“No need—” Jiang Yu interrupted, his voice now hoarse after a long silence. “Let’s talk here.”

Shen Yujiao noticed the military doctor's predicament. She glanced at the nervous Jiang Lin, then at the determined Jiang Yu, and nodded to the military doctor, "I'll go out with you."

"I--"

Jiang Yu seemed to want to say something more, but was interrupted by Shen Yujiao: "Xiao Jiu, take good care of your brother."

The two walked to the door, and the military doctor paused slightly before Shen Yujiao gave him a wink. They didn't stop until they were quite a distance from the courtyard. "Alright, now tell me, what is the state of Prince Huan's health?"

"Alas," the military doctor sighed first, then continued, "Dr. Lüqiu came once before, and he also revealed some details about Prince Huan's health to me. Although I don't know the specifics, I do know that Prince Huan's health had been compromised before. If he takes good care of himself, he might be able to live to be forty, but..."

He choked up as he spoke: "But in the Battle of Hancheng, in order to protect the people in the city and to defend the prestige of the Great Xia Kingdom, His Highness Huan actually managed to hold on. That battle ultimately damaged his vitality. His Highness was not as healthy as others to begin with, but fortunately he had practiced martial arts since childhood, which helped to make up for some of the damage. But after this battle, His Highness... His Highness originally couldn't have held on for these few days."

"Although His Highness has now awakened, I have only just examined his pulse and discovered that His Highness Huan has long been depleted of qi and blood, and his heart meridian is completely damaged. At this point, we can only say that we should take it one step at a time."

Hearing what he said, Shen Yujiao found it hard to believe. What did he mean by "the heart meridian is completely damaged"? What did he mean by "taking it one step at a time"? He was a perfectly fine person before he went to war, so how could he be described by the army doctor as someone who could die at any moment?

Her heart clenched again, and the sudden sharp pain made her press her hand to her chest. At the moment of parting, Shen Yujiao's words of entrustment still echoed in her ears. How could she tell Shen Yujiao that her Ayu would not find happiness as she had hoped?

As she traveled north, she couldn't help but recall the conversation she had with Shen Yujiao. She even wondered: if she fulfilled Shen Yujiao's request, would the bond between her and this body disappear? Would she be able to return to the modern world?

But right now, Jiang Yu has been given a critical condition notice right in front of her. How is she supposed to face all of this? Even setting aside her shock at the relationship between Shen Yujiao and Jiang Yu, just considering the matter of the last wish, if Jiang Chen unintentionally fulfills Crown Prince Chen's last wish, then will she be left alone in this Great Xia?

Too much fear, too many thoughts, her heart was in turmoil.

By the time they returned to the courtyard, the setting sun had already painted the sky red. As soon as Shen Yujiao entered the courtyard, she saw Jiang Yu standing under a tree in a plain robe. He was looking up at her, seemingly looking at something.

Jiang Lin stood behind him, her face full of worry. Hearing footsteps and seeing that it was her, she quickly came over and whispered, "Sister-in-law, please persuade my brother! He won't listen to anything I say. He's not fully recovered and he's already out walking around. I'm really worried..."

Hearing this, Shen Yujiao was speechless. It turned out that Jiang Yu and Shen Yujiao had a close relationship, which even Jiang Lin, who had never grown up in the capital, knew.

A thousand words from others cannot compare to the weight of a single glance from her.

"You're back."

Jiang Yu turned to look at Shen Yujiao, a peaceful smile on his face and tranquility in his eyes. He seemed to hesitate, taking a step forward and then stepping back. He stood there for a moment, thinking, before looking at her again: "Have you had dinner?"

"No," Shen Yujiao sighed inwardly, then forced a smile: "Let's have dinner together."

"good."

Dinner was served in the side hall. To accommodate Jiang Yu's health, the dishes were rather light. Jiang Lin sat down at the round table next to the two of them. Before he could even pick up his chopsticks properly, he felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. After Jiang Yu started eating, he didn't care about table manners and ate half of his meal in a whirlwind. Then he wiped his lips and stood up: "Brother, sister-in-law, I'm done eating. General He promised to teach me riding tonight, so I'll take my leave now."

The two of them gave Jiang Lin a rare, genuine smile. Jiang Yu nodded, while Shen Yujiao cautioned, "Be careful, don't fall."

"Yes!" Jiang Lin responded, bowed to the two of them, and then fled the side hall as if he were escaping.

The freshness in the air vanished instantly. Jiang Yu and Shen Yujiao put down their chopsticks one after the other without prior arrangement. Shen Yujiao placed her hands on her knees. She knew that Jiang Yu was waiting for her to speak. She couldn't help but recall that she had sat down with Jiang Yu face to face several times before, but none of those times had been as peaceful as this.

That's quite rare.

The summer night in Hancheng was very cool. A gust of wind blew in from outside, causing Shen Yujiao to shiver involuntarily. Hearing the sound of the fabric of a cloak being rubbed as someone got up to get it, Shen Yujiao spoke before he got closer: "Father has passed away. I received the news halfway north. The Prince of Zhao killed the emperor and murdered his father. I guess he didn't do it for himself."

Seeing his frozen figure out of the corner of her eye, Shen Yujiao felt a pang of pity, but she still continued, "The capital is in chaos. Prince Zhao doesn't know I've come to the northern frontier, and the Emperor's death is being kept secret. Perhaps they want to wait until you return to the capital before finding a suitable reason."

"The Empress is now being held back by Consort Yao, and the entire palace and even Xiajing are under the control of Prince Zhao. You and I can probably guess the situation in the capital right now. Jiang Chen is not in the northern border, so I need to ask you for a decision."

As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Yujiao did not receive any evaluation from Jiang Yu regarding Jiang Jin's actions. He remained standing there stiffly, showing no emotional fluctuations or fluctuations, like a lifeless statue.

Thinking that he was still not fully recovered, Shen Yujiao frowned slightly and called out with some worry, "Jiang Yu?"

This call seemed to pull Jiang Yu back to his senses. He stiffened and slowly turned around, his eyes bloodshot as he looked at Shen Yujiao. His brows trembled, and he hid his tears in the shadow of his long eyelashes. When he spoke again, his voice was strained and broken.

He said, "Ah Jiao... Father doesn't want me anymore either."