The soldiers, who had been resting with their eyes closed, were all awakened by Xuan Yuanzhan's loud shout.

"What's going on? What is Your Highness shouting?"

"I don't know, I didn't hear you clearly."

"Is another war about to break out?"

"That can't be it! There's been no other movement!"

Seeing that the soldiers had been woken up by Xuan Yuanzhan, Mu Lingchen quickly waved to them, indicating that they were alright and that they should continue to rest.

Seeing Mu Lingchen's statement, the soldiers closed their eyes again to rest.

Just as Mu Lingchen was calming the soldiers, Xuan Yuanzhan suddenly stood up.

Mu Lingchen was startled again and quickly stood up: "What's wrong with you?"

"Ning'er is in trouble!" Xuan Yuanzhan grabbed Mu Lingchen's shoulder in a panic, but when he touched Mu Lingchen's shoulder, he froze again.

He's got him!

Why?

Why couldn't he touch Ning'er just now?

Mu Lingchen was startled by his words and quickly said, "How do you know that Cousin Ning'er is in trouble? You were just having a nightmare. None of that happened! Cousin Ning'er is perfectly fine!"

Xuanyuan Zhan frowned, finally understanding what was wrong with everything that had just happened.

It turned out he was dreaming, so he couldn't touch Ning'er, and Ning'er couldn't hear what he said. The imperial guards and palace servants couldn't hear him or see him either, because he was in a dream.

But why would he have such a dream? It was terrifying!

What does that dream foretell, Ning'er...?

"Ning'er is having a difficult childbirth in the Cold Palace, I need to go back now!"

As he spoke, Xuanyuan Zhan immediately abandoned Mu Lingchen, leaped onto his horse, and prepared to leave.

"Xuanyuan Zhan!" Mu Lingchen was completely bewildered by Xuanyuan Zhan's actions. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed Xuanyuan Zhan's reins: "Where are you going in the middle of the night? Besides, isn't Cousin Ning'er in the Heavenly Prison? Even if she were to give birth, she would do so in the Heavenly Prison, not in the Cold Palace."

Mu Lingchen had absolutely no idea what Xuan Yuanzhan was talking about.

Let alone the fact that my cousin Ning'er has her master by her side and wouldn't have a difficult childbirth, even if she did have a difficult childbirth, why would she be in the Cold Palace!

"It was in the Cold Palace, I saw it all. She really had a difficult childbirth there, and no one helped her deliver the baby. She suffered so much..." The vivid dream seemed to be right in front of him, and Xuan Yuanzhan's heart was torn apart again, so painful that he couldn't breathe.

...Mu Lingchen, however, could not understand his worry and heartache, and frowned, saying, "I've already told you, that was a dream, just a dream, how could you take it seriously!"

What did he see?

He was just asleep next to him. How could he possibly have seen what happened in the Cold Palace? I already said he was dreaming. Why is he still stuck in that nightmare?

Bai Ying, Ling Lang, and the others had been woken up by Xuan Yuanzhan earlier, and seeing that Xuan Yuanzhan seemed to be leaving, they immediately ran over: "Your Highness, what happened?"

Before Xuan Yuanzhan could speak, Mu Lingchen answered for him, "It's nothing, he just had a nightmare."

Bai Ying and Ling Lang looked at each other, both completely bewildered.

Did you have a nightmare?

Where is Your Highness headed?

Mu Lingchen then said to Xuan Yuanzhan, "Stop fooling around, come down now!"

Xuanyuan Zhan refused to get down, glaring at Mu Lingchen and saying, "I want to go back now. I can't wait to reach the next city."

Bai Ying and Ling Lang were both stunned upon hearing this: "Is Your Highness leaving? Returning to the capital?"

Xuanyuan Zhan nodded: "I'm going back to the capital. I'll leave things here to you."

Bai Ying and Ling Lang both frowned. Handing it over to them wasn't a problem, but…

"Now that the Second Prince and the Third Prince have issued arrest warrants for you, Your Highness, the capital must be under martial law. How will you get back?"

Mu Lingchen explained, "Don't worry about that. Xuan Yuanzhan is very skilled in martial arts. He can easily infiltrate the capital city on his own."

Mu Lingchen then looked at Xuan Yuanzhan and said, "My cousin Ning'er is still half a month away from giving birth. Aren't you being too hasty?"

Xuanyuan Zhan was filled with anxiety: "I can't wait any longer, I have to go back now. I'm leaving things here to you all, I'll wait for you in the capital! And if anything happens, just let me know!"

As Xuan Yuanzhan spoke, he glanced back at the prison cart covered with a black cloth and said to Mu Lingchen, "Keep a close eye on Long Jiaojiao and don't let anyone touch her!"

Long Jiaojiao is a very poisonous woman. Although he has not given her a chance to wake up along the way, he is afraid that she might wake up at any time and bewitch the soldiers in the army, which could lead to a big disaster.

After all, Long Jiaojiao's Gu magic is so powerful that she must be kept under close watch to prevent her from harming the soldiers in the army and causing a great disaster.

Upon hearing this, Mu Lingchen quickly replied, "Don't worry, I will personally take care of Long Jiaojiao!"

He knew all too well how formidable Long Jiaojiao was, and he certainly couldn't afford to be too careless.

Xuan Yuanzhan frowned. If he weren't in a hurry to go back and see Ning'er, he would have liked to take care of Long Jiaojiao himself. But now he could only leave her with Mu Lingchen.

Xuanyuan Zhan then looked at Tuoba Xiong: "Keep an eye on that person too. Although he probably won't run away, he'll be of great use!"

He was also counting on Tuoba Xiong to go back and testify against Xuanyuan Zhi for treason, so Tuoba Xiong couldn't be lost either.

Mu Lingchen glanced at Tuoba Xiong, who was resting with his eyes closed, and said, "Alright!"

Actually, he also wanted to talk to Xuanyuan Zhan about Tuoba Xiong, but Xuanyuan Zhan obviously had no interest in listening to him now.

"I'm leaving!" Xuan Yuanzhan pulled on the reins and rode away.

Upon seeing this, Ye Yun and Ye Feng immediately mounted their horses and followed Xuan Yuanzhan away.

Bai Ying and Ling Lang frowned as they watched Xuan Yuanzhan's retreating figure and asked, "Is Your Highness in such a hurry to return to the capital because he is worried about the Princess?"

Mu Lingchen nodded and said, "Yes, he had a nightmare that his queen was having a difficult childbirth, so he panicked and wanted to rush back to the capital."

Bai Ying and Ling Lang finally understood upon hearing this.

Although they had only been with the prince for a short time, they knew that he deeply loved his princess, so it was no wonder that he was in such a hurry to return to the capital because of a dream.

Mu Lingchen looked at Bai Ying and Ling Lang and said, "Actually, he originally planned to rush back to the capital because his princess was about to give birth and he wanted to go back to be with her. However, we had previously agreed that he would return to the capital after we reached the next city. Now that he had a nightmare, he is in a hurry to go back."

Bai Ying and Ling Lang were very capable and understanding of Xuan Yuanzhan, especially Ling Lang: "It's alright, let the prince go back. If it weren't for the sudden invasion of the Northern Rong, the prince would have returned to the capital long ago. It was us who delayed the prince. Now, even if the prince is not here, we can still fight our way to the capital. Let the prince go back to accompany the princess first!"

Mu Lingchen and Bai Ying nodded; they could indeed understand him.

Just as Xuanyuan Zhan ran out of the woods, he saw a letter owl.

Ye Yun also saw the messenger owl and quickly said, "Your Highness, it's a messenger owl from the Holy King's Mansion!"

Xuanyuan Zhan suddenly stopped his horse and whistled at the owl.

As if it understood Xuan Yuanzhan's summons, the owl immediately swooped down towards him.