With a respectful and humble demeanor, the Prince of Nan ordered his men to bring his mother into the palace. He then turned to Ning Yin, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Please forgive me, Madam Shen."

Ning Yin felt that the Prince of the South seemed to appear wherever she appeared. While she was suspicious, she also wanted to find out some information about Xiao Xuan from the Prince of the South.

He is a prince of the Chu Kingdom; he should know this much.

However, she couldn't find a reasonable reason to ask, and she knew that if she asked rashly, the Prince of the South would surely suspect her identity.

Just then, a maid rushed out of the hall in a panic, shouting, "Your Highness, the Empress has vomited blood again..."

The Prince of the South wanted to say something more, but upon hearing this news, his gentle eyes instantly turned cold. He frowned, lifted his robe, and was about to turn around.

After taking only two steps, the Prince of Nan turned back to look at Ning Yin, "Madam Chen, please excuse me."

Ning Yin nodded, clenching the handkerchief between her fingers. Although she really wanted to go in and see what the people inside were like, she could only pretend not to see them in order not to reveal her identity.

Now she can only wait and see. The more she does, the more mistakes she will make. Besides, she is now pregnant, so she can't be careless.

When Ning Yin returned to the Jade Pavilion with the palace maid, Shen Yun was sitting at the head of the main hall.

Shen Yun removed his heavy armor, wearing only a black python-patterned outfit. His beard was also cleaned up, making him look much neater and more presentable than he had a few days ago.

Shen Yun made a special effort to tidy himself up before coming over, believing that Xiao Xuan could not compare to him in terms of strategy, appearance, or martial arts.

Xiao Xuan was just lucky to be born into an imperial family. If he himself had been born into a noble family, he would have crushed Xiao Xuan to dust.

When Ning Yin came in, Xiao Xuan was still looking himself up and down. He only looked up when he heard the noise.

I came here today not only to have dinner with Ningyin, but also to try and please her.

He quickly grabbed the wooden box from the table, stood up and went to greet it. This was a gift from the deputy general in the military camp, given to him on his first day in office.

Knowing that Shen Yun had brought back a beautiful wife, the lieutenant specially prepared jewelry that women love and presented it to Shen Yun.

Upon receiving the jewelry, Shen Yun selected a few pieces that he thought were beautiful, hoping to please Ning Yin.

"Ayin, I heard from the eunuch that you went out for a stroll in the garden. Why are you back so soon?"

Shen Yun smiled and handed over the wooden box, saying, "It's for you, open it and take a look?"

Ning Yin forced a smile; in front of the palace maids, she had to play her part completely.

He reached out and took the wooden box, glanced at it, and then quickly closed it. "Thank you, General. I like it very much."

Seeing Ning Yin smile at him, Shen Yun felt very happy. He quickly helped her to a seat and poured her a glass of water.

"I'm glad you like it. I might not have as much time to see you in a few days, so I came here today to keep you company."

As Shen Yun spoke, he poured himself a glass of water, drank it all in one gulp, and continued, "Actually, Chu is better than Daqi, both in terms of weather and scenery. You'll get used to it if you stay here longer."

"kindness."

Ning Yin replied with a faint "Mm," and Shen Yun's joyful expression paused for two seconds, but he quickly smiled again.

He needs to be more patient. Ning Yin just smiled at him and said she liked the gift he gave her, which means his efforts are effective.

He shouldn't push people too hard, as that would backfire.

The two sat together and chatted for a while. Shen Yun talked about how powerful he was in the army, boasting about how he could shoot an arrow through a willow leaf from a hundred paces away, split a tree with his bare hands, and take on five people by himself.

Ning Yin frowned unconsciously as she listened, thinking that if it hadn't been for the bandits bringing reinforcements that day, Shen Yun would have died under Xiao Xuan's sword long ago.

After dinner, Shen Yun reluctantly bid farewell to Ning Yin and returned to the military camp with Lan Yue.

After everyone left, Ning Yin's thoughts were focused on Xiao Xuan's safety. Little did she know that Xiao Xuan and Chu Mo's forces had already entered the territory of the Chu Kingdom.

Chu Mo deliberately spread the false news that Xiao Xuan was critically ill, and then made an excuse to return to the country to visit the King of Chu. The King of Chu believed that his daughter must have poisoned Xiao Xuan, which was why Xiao Xuan was about to die.

Since Xiao Xuan was going to die, there was no need for his daughter to stay in Daqi. He planned to conquer the neighboring Wei Kingdom in the same way.

I heard that the Emperor of Wei is celebrating his 60th birthday recently, and the King of Chu wants to send his daughter over. He was originally struggling with which daughter to send, but now that Chu Mo is coming back, he will send Chu Mo over instead.

Chu Mo is exceptionally brave and resourceful, with superb martial arts skills. Sending people over there can also protect himself.

The King of Chu was shrewd in his calculations and had already begun to dream big.

The following evening, Chu Mo's convoy slowly drove into the Chu Kingdom's palace. The King of Chu specially ordered a banquet to be held in the Taiji Hall to welcome Chu Mo and wash away the dust of his journey.

When the King of the South saw his younger sister return safe and sound, he could not hide his joy. However, when he looked up at the King of Chu above, he still gritted his teeth in hatred.

As the moonlight streamed through the window into the room at midnight, Ningyin was still tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep.

She couldn't sleep, feeling restless, thinking about Xiao Xuan and how to escape her predicament.

The Chu royal palace is like an impregnable fortress; what can I possibly do to get out?

Lost in thought, Ning Yin didn't notice that her window had been quietly pushed open, and a thin, dark figure instantly flipped inside.

Seemingly without making a sound, Ning Yin was completely unaware that the dark figure was approaching her bed step by step.

Perhaps due to her pregnancy and excessive worry, Ningyin inexplicably felt suffocated in the room.

She wanted to sit in the courtyard for a while, but as soon as she turned around, she saw a dark shadow appear above her.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly grabbed a pair of scissors from under her pillow and stabbed at the shadowy figure.

In an instant, her wrist was gripped tightly by the man. Feeling the strong masculine aura emanating from him, Ning Yin's heart pounded, and her eyes welled up with tears.

"Let me go, Shen Yun! I'd rather die than let you succeed!"

Through the moonlight, the man could clearly see the tears welling up in the woman's eyes. Her pitiful, weak, and helpless appearance made his heart ache as if it were being gnawed by a thousand insects.

"Ah Ning, don't cry, I'm here..."