Chapter 68 Long time no see, elder sister. ...

The person who came all the way to Quzhou this time was none other than Eunuch Chen, who was by Ji Heng's side. In any case, at least on the surface, Ji Heng showed great importance to his "resurrected" niece.

Eunuch Chen helped Hengbo up, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He had only learned upon arriving in Quzhou that Princess Shenxiao was mute, and while he breathed a sigh of relief, he also felt a touch of sadness.

He was an old man who had served two dynasties. Although he was of low rank back then, he had still watched the exceptionally talented Crown Prince and his wife from afar. The child born to that divine couple should have had a bright future, but now he couldn't even speak, which inevitably made people sigh.

"His Majesty said that the Princess must have suffered a lot of injustices over the years, and now that her suffering has finally come to an end, she must be a child with good fortune in the future. His Majesty was unable to come in person due to official duties, but he really missed the Princess very much, so he sent this old servant to bring the Princess back to the capital for a reunion."

"Good fortune awaits..." Hengbo chuckled at the phrase, feeling a sense of mockery in her heart. However, she put on a sentimental expression, as if she truly longed to return to Yujing and meet Ji Heng.

"This old servant knows that the princess has been working hard day and night in Quzhou to govern the Japanese pirates, but the prefect's mansion is rather simple. The princess is of noble birth and it would be better for her to return to the capital as soon as possible."

His words implied that he wanted Hengbo to return to the capital as soon as possible, which shows that the sudden appearance of "Princess Shenxiao" really made Ji Heng feel a considerable threat.

At this moment, Ji Run, who was beside Hengbo, stepped forward and said, "The princess has already ordered that we depart tomorrow. We will have to trouble you, Eunuch Chen, to stay here for the night."

Eunuch Chen smiled with satisfaction: "Very good. It is this old servant who has troubled you. It is hardly a burden."

That night, Hengbo sat by the window, gently stroking the Hengbo sword on her lap in the moonlight. Its surface shimmered like winding streams of light. This was the sword her mother had used when she was alive, and now she was finally going to bring it back to Yujing in a dignified manner.

Although the road ahead is still long, with a sword in hand, the day when the clouds part and the fog clears is within reach.

In her moment of surprise, she saw a clumsy white dove hopping and leaping onto her windowsill. The dove had such a憨态 (simple and honest appearance) that one could tell at a glance that its meat must be very delicious.

The plump pigeon seemed to sense Hengbo's covetousness, and quickly turned around to show Hengbo its short legs. It turned out that the reason the pigeon walked so crookedly was because a small paper crane was tied to its thin legs.

Hengbo indeed shifted her attention away from its plump body. Her courtyard was guarded by Ji Heng's men, and with the night deep in the air, sending a message by pigeon was quite unexpected.

She took the paper crane off the pigeon's leg, and the pigeon, unafraid of strangers, opened its beady black eyes and tilted its head to look at her.

Hengbo gently tapped its head, ruffling its short, fine downy feathers, before turning to the paper crane in his hand.

The paper crane looked somewhat like the fat pigeon, with the same pair of small, black, beady eyes. Hengbo examined it carefully but couldn't figure out what was so special about it, so he simply took it apart.

Inside the thin sheet of paper was a strand of jet-black hair, and on the paper were two bold, elegant characters: "Token of Love".

Hengbo stared intently at the two words on the paper, while the fat pigeon, seeing that Hengbo had no reaction, boldly jumped to her hand and gently pecked at it as if urging her.

Hengbo then came to her senses. She suddenly remembered that back in the underground tomb, Shen Guitang seemed not to have returned a single strand of her hair to her.

She returned to her room, wrote down her thoughts on paper, folded the letter back into the shape of a paper crane, tied it to the pigeon's leg, and gently flicked its head. The good-natured pigeon wasn't annoyed; its black bean eyes were full of simple innocence. It hopped around her once before finally taking flight.

It flew over the heads of people hidden in the shadows with an air of nonchalance, and slowly returned to its owner's yard.

The seemingly simple pigeon immediately transformed upon its return, its black bean eyes gleaming with cunning. Upon seeing its owner waiting in the house, it eagerly nudged its head towards him, even turning its head around with a rather scheming air, ready to showcase its "merits" from every angle.

Shen Guitang noticed the messy feathers on the pigeon's head that had been ruffled by someone, and said with a smile, "You've worked hard. I'll give you an extra meal tomorrow."

The pigeon, now seemingly possessed, raised one wing and began to groom itself contentedly.

Shen Guitang poked its belly, which was already covered in a layer of oil, before taking the paper crane off the pigeon's leg.

The paper crane was unfolded, and the "token" inside had been taken away, but there was one more word on the paper: "Good".

But with just this one word, Shen Guitang felt as if a weight had finally been lifted from his heart.

He slept soundly through the night, and the next day was a rare sunny and pleasant day, perfect for an outing. The Prince of Yueyang and his entourage had come for Shenxiao, and naturally, they would return to the capital together.

Their journey was a boat trip along the canal from Quzhou back to Yujing. Now, on the third day of their journey, after spending two days in their room, the suddenly appearing Princess Shenxiao finally appeared before everyone.

On the deck, Ji Run gazed at Hengbo ahead, who was deep in thought, and couldn't help but think of her conversation with Shen Guitang yesterday.

He was initially suspicious when he received Shen Guitang's letter, but after discussing it with Wen Tinglan, he decided to believe it was true rather than not and brought the Prince of Yueyang to Quzhou as well.

As it turned out, Shen Guitang had not lied to him this time.

But he still had doubts, "Weren't you on the same boat as the Prince Xian? How come you suddenly contacted me again?" The Prince Xian wanted to secretly bring Princess Shenxiao back to the Northwest to carry out his great cause, but with Shen Guitang's interference, the princess's identity was exposed, and Ji Heng would never let her go to the Northwest, so the Prince Xian's plan was in vain.

Shen Guitang fanned himself, "Let's be frank." Since Ji Run already knew about his secret dealings with the Prince Xian, she must have a good idea of ​​his identity.

Ji Run grinned. This guy surnamed Shen clearly knew everything in his mind, but he still insisted on making him say it.

He gave a forced smile: "Lord Shen, are you planning to kick Prince Xian aside and cooperate with your old subordinates instead?"

“No,” Shen Guitang continued to leisurely fan himself with his fan. “I don’t want to cooperate with my old subordinates. I just think that the only redeeming quality of Wen Jie is that he can protect the princess.”

Ji Run felt a pang of jealousy. What was his only redeeming quality? This guy was definitely just jealous!

“Besides, if we start an uprising in the Northwest, we will inevitably be branded as rebels in the end,” he said, his eyes narrowing slightly. “But Shenxiao should be the most legitimate in this regard.”

Ji Run was taken aback. Besides worrying about the princess's safety, this was indeed a concern that his former subordinates had always had. Otherwise, they would have sent people to contact the Northwest long ago.

"Then how can you guarantee that the princess will be able to..." He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone present understood what he was trying to say.

“I will hand this opportunity to the princess,” Shen Guitang said, his eyes filled with determination and barely suppressed anticipation. Then he could return to her side. “Until then, you must protect the princess no matter what.”

Ji Run turned and left, her tone impatient but revealing a good mood: "Do you need to explain this to me?"

"Princess." Eunuch Chen's anxious voice brought Ji Run back to her senses.

Before them, Eunuch Chen whispered something to Hengbo, his voice barely audible, but judging from his relatively calm expression, it shouldn't be a big problem.

Hengbo's eyes narrowed slightly. The ship must have been inspected before setting sail and was fine, but now Eunuch Chen was saying that the hull was leaking and they needed to stop at a nearby mooring point...

This was too much of a coincidence, but judging from Hengbo's expression, she really seemed unaware of it beforehand. Besides, the person who least wanted her to be in trouble at this moment should be her good uncle who was sitting firmly in the capital.

So, who exactly wants her to stay in Zhuzhou? And what is that person's purpose?

Hengbo concealed the thoughtful look in her eyes and simply nodded slightly to indicate that she understood. Watching Eunuch Chen breathe a sigh of relief and then hurriedly leave, Hengbo subconsciously rubbed the calluses on her fingertips from years of sword practice. She had thought that Yujing was her battlefield, but it turned out that some people were already so impatient.

The Prefect of Zhuzhou was Wen Xu, the eldest son of the Wen family, who was also the father of Wen Jie, a favorite of His Majesty.

After disembarking, Eunuch Chen followed Hengbo with an awkward smile: "The princess is of noble birth, and in principle she should be resting at the prefect's residence for the next two days. However, for the princess's safety, it is best for us to keep this trip a secret."

Wen Xu had been the Crown Prince's study companion, so Hengbo knew exactly what Eunuch Chen was worried about. Having only recently returned to her former identity, she was unsure how to face her old friends and acquaintances, so she readily agreed.

However, things in this world did not go as she wished.

"Your Highness, you..." A cacophony of voices and footsteps echoed down the corridor, numbering at least ten people. Hengbo frowned slightly. During her two days in Zhuzhou, she had barely left the house to avoid unnecessary trouble, and Eunuch Chen had tacitly refrained from bothering her. Was this... trouble finally arriving?

The visitor had already arrived at the door. Ignoring Eunuch Chen's humble dissuasion, the woman's clear voice said, "Having heard that Sister Shenxiao was passing through Zhuzhou, Mingzhen has come to see her."

Seeing that things had come to this point, Eunuch Chen had no choice but to explain to Hengbo inside the door, "Her Highness the Princess heard that the Princess was staying here and insisted on meeting you no matter what." His words were full of attempts to absolve him of any involvement.

Both the person inside and outside the door understood his little scheme, but neither of them cared.

Hengbo was searching for Princess Mingzhen in her long-forgotten memories, while Princess Mingzhen Ji Zhu outside the door had a complicated feeling. It always seemed that there was a wall separating her from this Princess Shenxiao.

What was once the magnificent walls of the Shenxiao Palace is now just this narrow wooden door. Yet behind this seemingly short distance lies an insurmountable chasm destined from birth.

After Chen Gonggong finished speaking, there was a moment of silence. Just as everyone outside the door unconsciously held their breath, the wooden door creaked open, and a beautiful and radiant face appeared before them.

Ji Zhu's heart skipped a beat, and his fingers curled unconsciously. It wasn't until the woman in front of him swept over him with her calm gaze that he regained some composure.

She heard herself struggling to suppress her voice: "Long time no see, elder sister."

Hengbo's gaze fell on the woman who spoke, and finally she found a timid little face in her memory. She couldn't help but be a little surprised. It was actually her.

Although puzzled as to why Ji Zhu had approached her, Hengbo remained calm and nodded slightly, which was considered an acknowledgment of their relationship.

Ji Zhu felt a sense of relief for no apparent reason, but before he could fully relax, a bitter feeling welled up inside him again.

“Sister,” she said, a smile that didn’t quite seem genuine, “this place is so simple. Why don’t you come with me to the prefect’s mansion? We sisters haven’t seen each other for years, and we can have a good chat.”

As if afraid that Hengbo would refuse, Ji Zhu continued, "I will soon be engaged to Wenjie, and I'm afraid that my carefree days in the boudoir are numbered. Please agree to my proposal, elder sister."

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Author's Note: I'm so sorry for being so late. Please save this for later; updates will resume soon. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2024-04-12 00:37:07 and 2024-05-12 18:17:31!

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: North Wind 32 bottles; Fu Bao Duanduan Good Luck 5 bottles; Wow my goodness~; 30106346 1 bottle;

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!