Two days after leaving the capital, Xingxing still felt that things were too calm. Lord Zheng hadn't made a move at all. Could it be that Prince Cheng hadn't revealed anything about his affairs in Anyang Prefecture to his maternal family, and that he was doing it all by himself?

“Something’s strange. Prince Cheng himself would never have such audacity, but the Zheng family wouldn’t be so stupid as to betray the country, would they? The more I think about it, the stranger it seems.” Xingxing frowned as she analyzed the situation with a burning desire.

Zhu Lin couldn't stand seeing her like this. Had the little girl been frowning a lot lately?

"Relax and don't overthink things. If your mind keeps working like this, you'll easily get headaches. We've already left the capital and will arrive in Anyang Prefecture soon. We can find out what's going on once we get there."

Xingxing knew he felt sorry for her, but she couldn't help but speculate about things. She was so uneasy that her eyelids kept twitching, so she couldn't help but overthink.

However, to avoid worrying the boy, she pretended to be calm and said in a playful voice, "Don't worry about me. I know what I'm doing. I won't make things difficult for myself before I've even resolved them."

"Don't talk about death all the time, it's bad luck," Zhu Lin said softly.

"Brother Phosphorus, you're as long-winded as my mother!" Xingxing said, then suddenly remembered the Empress. The day she left the capital, the Empress cried so hard she could barely breathe, and Xingxing almost gave up and dared not leave.

Four years ago, after completing disaster relief efforts in various places, she returned to the capital and stayed there for four years. Next year she will be of marriageable age, and she should be able to return to the capital before then, right?

Otherwise, Mother would be silently weeping every day. Alas, this pampered young lady is just too sentimental. Fortunately, Mother doesn't cry like that, otherwise she would really be worried about both sides.

After a month and twenty days, Xingxing finally arrived in Anyang Prefecture. On the way, she sent a small team to escort Fu Ge and his friends back to Nanyang Prefecture, while she and Zhu Lin went directly to Anyang Prefecture.

Before leaving, Erfu and Sifu solemnly told Xingxing, "Sister, you and Lin Ge'er go first. Your second and fourth brothers will come to find you in a few days and fight the Japanese pirates with you."

"Okay, Second Brother and Fourth Brother, you can stay at home for a few more days. There's no need to rush over. Brother Lin and I can handle it. Zhao Mingyue and the others can also help. Don't worry."

Xingxing offered her words of comfort in a clear and cheerful voice. These words were also meant for Zhou Laoda and his wife. When they learned that Xingxing was going to fight the Japanese pirates, the couple were very worried and wrote several letters to persuade her.

But what could they do, no matter how worried they were? They couldn't dissuade her. They wanted to go help, but they were afraid of being a hindrance. In the end, they could only tell her to be careful and hoped that Xingxing and her group would return in triumph soon.

Xingxing also regretted it. She should have known better than to tell her parents that she was going to fight in the war, otherwise they wouldn't have been so worried.

That day, Zhao Mingyue led 20,000 troops to the city gate of Anyang Prefecture, only to find the city gate tightly closed and no one guarding the city wall. Upon seeing this, she frowned. Something was definitely amiss. It seemed that the situation in Anyang Prefecture was more serious than they had imagined.

What exactly is Prince Cheng up to?

Xingxing stepped out of the carriage and stood at the city gate, looking up at the city wall, but she didn't see a single person. She looked up at the sun, which was almost overhead, and whispered, "It's almost noon, why isn't the city gate open yet? There are no people from the surrounding area coming to the city gate either. What are Prince Cheng and the prefect of Anyang Prefecture planning?"

"Princess, what do you think we should do?" Zhao Mingyue asked in a deep voice.

Xingxing lowered her eyes and pondered for a long time. In the end, she could only come up with a helpless solution. She said in a low voice, "Since no one is going to open the city gate, we can only open it ourselves. I want to see what has become of Anyang Prefecture."

Xingxing was accompanied by a group of highly skilled bodyguards, so there was no need to trouble the senior brothers and sisters of Xianwu Island with many things. With just a gesture from Xingxing, ten bodyguards flew out from the shadows and used their lightness skills to fly up to the city wall.

Before long, the sounds of fighting and screams could be heard from the city tower. There were indeed people guarding the city tower, but they deliberately did not show themselves. Anyone who went up would immediately launch a sneak attack. However, the secret guards were highly skilled, and the soldiers guarding the city tower failed to launch a sneak attack and were instead killed.

The fighting lasted for a quarter of an hour before it ended. Soon after, one of the guards on the city wall made a hand gesture to the people below. Qingyan reported to Xingxing, "Princess, there were fifty soldiers guarding the city wall, but they have all been dealt with."

"It seems Prince Cheng knew we were coming and made preparations," Xingxing said thoughtfully.

Another short while passed before the city gates were opened by the guards. Zhao Mingyue looked at the stars and said, "Princess, there may be an ambush inside the city. If we rush in, we might fall into a trap."

"So, what does General Zhao mean?" Xingxing asked.

"It would be better if I led a team of elite troops into the city first to test the waters," Zhao Mingyue said firmly. This time, Zhang Xiantao insisted on coming along as well.

The problem was that Zhang Xiantao was pregnant, already two months along, but no one knew. Perhaps the journey was too bumpy, and Zhang Xiantao couldn't take it anymore, so she started vomiting. It was only after the imperial physician took her pulse that they discovered the pregnancy.

The princess left the capital, and Zhu Chumo remained in the palace. The emperor was worried, so he arranged for an imperial physician to accompany her, which proved to be of great use.

Zhao Mingyue was shocked when he learned that Zhang Xiantao was pregnant. He was stunned at first, then came to his senses, and finally got angry. He said with a stern face, "Nonsense! How old are you? You're still acting like a child. Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant? You kept it a secret and insisted on traveling with me on this long journey."

If they hadn't already arrived in the south and weren't far from Anyang Prefecture, Zhao Mingyue would have wanted to have someone send her back to the capital. Zhang Xiantao had never seen him lose his temper like this before, and she was truly frightened.

Normally, she would have yelled back even louder, but now that she was pregnant, she was naturally more sensitive. Instead of yelling back at Zhao Mingyue, she paused for a moment, then pouted and started to cry.

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