younger brother and sister-in-law
The north wind was howling outside the tent, hitting the cowhide tent, making a dull rustling sound. It was already late at night, and the allied forces of Beishuo and Mingzhuwei were about to set out. Ning Lingyi was still under the lamp, discussing the details of the march into Weizhou with everyone.
The halo of the oil lamp danced on her thin face, reflecting the lingering fatigue and solemnity between her brows. The road ahead was long, surrounded by powerful enemies, and every step was like walking on thin ice.
She was pointing at a pass on the map and was about to speak.
"Your Highness! Your Highness!" Su Qingfan's voice suddenly came from outside the tent.
Su Qingfan rushed in quickly, her hair was slightly messy, and she looked more nervous than ever, completely losing her usual composure.
Ning Lingyi's heart sank: "Qingfan? Why are you so panicked?"
Her first reaction was that something had happened in Beishuo, or there had been unusual movements in Xiqiang. Otherwise, why would Su Qingfan come back after only being away for a few days?
Before Su Qingfan could answer, two tightly wrapped figures behind her staggered in like frightened little animals and rushed straight towards Ning Lingyi.
"Sister!"
"Sister! Wuuuuuuu..."
The crying voice of a child broke the solemnity of the military tent. Ning Lingyi felt a weight on her legs, and found herself being held tightly by two small bodies.
She lowered her head in disbelief and met two pairs of tearful eyes.
It’s Ling Yao and Yan He!
Ning Lingyi's mind went blank. Her younger brother and sister should be in the Mingzhou government office thousands of miles away. How could they be here?
"Ling Yao? Yan He?" She subconsciously squatted down and reached out to touch the children's cold little faces. They were crying and nodded vigorously in response to her.
"Sister! I'm so scared! We miss you so much, sister!" Ning Lingyao buried her head in Ning Lingyi's arms, her small body shaking like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind, her crying sounded suppressed and aggrieved.
Ning Yanhe hugged her arms tightly, sobbing so hard that he couldn't utter a complete sentence. He just kept repeating: "Sister, there are bad guys chasing us, poisoning us, assassinating us, wuwu... I'm scared..."
Poisoning? Hunting? What's going on?
At this time, a dusty young man in a brocade fur coat hurried into the tent and knelt before Ning Lingyi. "I, Yang Tianlu, pay my respects to Her Highness Princess Mingzhu!"
Ning Lingyi recognized him. He was the only son of Yang Shouye, a wealthy businessman in Mingzhou. She had seen him before in Yang's house. At this moment, his face was full of fatigue, but there was a seriousness between his eyebrows.
"Yang Tianlu?" Ning Lingyi hugged her sobbing sister-in-law tightly in her arms.
"What's going on? Where is Mr. Shen? Why are my brother and sister here?"
Yang Tianlu raised his head and spoke quickly: "Your Highness, I am following the secret order of Lord Shen Qingyan and am risking my life to escort the two young princes north to find you."
"Several groups of assassins came from the capital to assassinate the two young princes. Although Lord Shen tried his best to protect them, he inevitably made some mistakes. He said that Mingzhou is no longer a safe place, and it is difficult for him to completely protect the two young princes!"
He continued, "Lord Shen said that only by your side, Your Highness, could the two young princes have a glimmer of hope. Therefore, I took the risk and ordered my most capable guards to lead us, disguised as a merchant caravan, and head north. Fortunately, with God's blessing, we finally met Your Highness!"
Ning Lingyi listened and felt a surge of rage explode from the bottom of her heart.
Emperor Guangqi!
Her good royal brother!
He was actually so cruel that he repeatedly killed two young children!
"Ning Yanli!"
She had just won a narrow victory, and the outcome of the next battle was still unknown, yet he was so impatient to kill her. Was he so afraid?
The violent emotional fluctuations caused the wound on her arm to ache again, but she was completely unaware. She just hugged her frightened brother and sister tighter, patted their backs gently with trembling hands, and comforted them in a hoarse voice: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, sister is here, sister is here, no one can hurt you anymore..."
Wang Mengzi and Nong Zishi also had ashen faces. They looked at each other and saw shock and anger in each other's eyes.
The guy in the capital really cut himself off from the world!
Yang Tianlu kowtowed again and said, "Your Highness, before I set out, I heard the news of your victory in retaking Qinghe. The people of Mingzhou were all overjoyed and celebrating!"
"My father said that since our Yang family has chosen to follow Your Highness, we have already staked our lives on His Highness. We share the same fate. This time, as we travel north to find Your Highness, my father has ordered us to bring along all the cash, grain, and medicinal materials that the Yang family can muster!"
He raised his hand and pointed outside the tent. "A total of fifteen grain ships, five hundred thousand taels of silver, and countless other supplies are now anchored at Qinghe Wharf! My father asked me to personally hand them over to Your Highness to help you fight the enemy in the Northern Expedition and recover our homeland! If you need anything, my Yang family will be willing to spend everything we have!"
A sudden turn of events!
Just now, I was still worrying about the food and supplies for the next one or two months, and the next moment, someone came to my rescue and delivered such a huge amount of supplies right in front of me!
Ning Lingyi looked at Yang Tianlu kneeling on the ground, feeling a mixture of gratitude, shock, and a heavy sense of responsibility.
How could she deserve such trust from so many people?
She gently let go of her sister-in-law, walked forward, and helped Yang Tianlu up: "Young Master Yang, please stand up quickly. Your Yang family saved my sister-in-law's life first, and then provided such generous funds. I, Ning Lingyi, will remember this kindness and this love forever!"
Yang Tianlu stood up, his cheeks flushed with excitement. "Your Highness, you are too kind. It is a great honor for our Yang family to be able to do our part for you and for the people of this world! I am at your command!"
Although he was angry about Emperor Guangqi's trip, everyone in the account returned to calm now that his brother and sister-in-law were safe and the Yang family was providing great support.
Su Qingfan reacted immediately and said, "Your Highness, I will immediately take people to count the supplies and distribute them as soon as possible."
Ning Lingyi nodded: "Okay, go quickly and make sure to coordinate and distribute the food and military supplies as soon as possible."
She paused and looked at Wang Mengzi, "Mengzi, the original plan remains unchanged. Once the army is assembled, we will immediately march to the Weizhou front!"
"Yes!" The two of them took the order and left in unison.
Ning Lingyi was about to take her siblings to rest when Yang Tianlu pulled out a letter and said, "Your Highness, before I set out, my father wrote me a letter, asking me to present it to you personally, saying that this letter might be of some use to you."
Ning Lingyi stopped, took the letter and read it carefully.
After a while, he sighed and said, "The one who understands me is Yang Gong."
Then he said, "Did your father tell you anything else?"
Yang Tianlu said, "My father said that if Your Highness is interested after reading this letter, I will arrange the itinerary and escort Your Highness."
Ning Lingyi took the letter and read it twice, sighing slightly inwardly. After wasting some time, she finally said, "You take care of it, Yang Qing."
"Yes, Your Highness."
*
The next morning, outside the gate of Beishuo camp.
The huge army was marching out in an orderly manner, the sound of hooves was like thunder. Su Qingfan led a huge convoy to deliver the first batch of food and military supplies to the Beishuo army.
Tuoba Hong rode on his majestic black horse, looking at the mountains of grain bags and boxes in front of him. His face was calm, but a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He did not expect Ning Lingyi to fulfill her promise so quickly.
He glanced at the grain delivery team, but didn't see the familiar figure. He couldn't help but ask casually, "Mr. Su, why don't you see Her Royal Highness the Princess today?"
Su Qingfan had already prepared his words. He bowed slightly, his expression respectful yet distant. "To the Khan, His Highness has other important matters to attend to and is unable to come in person. He has asked me to personally deliver the supplies to the Khan to help him achieve victory."
Tuoba Hong's gaze lingered on Su Qingfan's face for a moment, as if he wanted to explore something from it, but in the end he just said "hmm" lightly and didn't ask any more questions.
He waved his hand, signaling his men to receive the supplies.
The army continued to march forward, and the desolate sound of trumpets echoed across the wilderness.
As Tuoba Hong rode forward, his mind suddenly resurfaced with Ning Lingyi's words from that day in the tent: "While a husband fights bloody battles at the front, a wife comforts the people and tidies up the country in preparation for her husband's triumphant return. Isn't that her duty?"
At that time, I just thought it was a clever expedient, but now thinking about it, I can taste a little different. She must be talking nonsense, but it is also quite interesting.
He looked at the vast land of Weizhou ahead with a dim and unclear look in his eyes. No one could see what was really in the mind of this Beishuo hero at the moment.
*
At the same time, Qinghe Wharf.
A seemingly ordinary Yang family cargo ship quietly cast off, went downstream south, and merged into the mist on the wide river surface.
Inside the cabin, Ning Lingyi took off her military uniform and changed into plain casual clothes. She sat on the edge of the couch, with Ning Lingyao and Ning Yanhe snuggling up to her on either side, their little hands tightly grasping the corners of her clothes, as if they were afraid that if they let go, their sister would disappear.
Since that terrifying night, the two children have become extremely dependent on Ning Lingyi like frightened kittens and never leave her side.
Ning Lingyi felt extremely sad and guilty, knowing that they had suffered a great fright.
Along the way, she no longer talked about the war, but just accompanied them patiently, sometimes telling them about the scenery along the way, sometimes soothing them with gentle words after their nightmares in the middle of the night, and sometimes just hugging them quietly, letting them feel her real existence.
The boat sails steadily and the river flows gently.
Leaving behind the cold wind of the north, the warm and moist air of the south gradually spread. With their elder sister always by their side, Ning Lingyao and Ning Yanhe's tense faces finally relaxed, the fear in their eyes slowly faded away, and occasionally they even revealed some timid smiles.
The half-month voyage isolated them from the outside world and became a rare period of peace and warmth for the three siblings. Ning Lingyi felt relieved when she saw her brother and sister-in-law gradually regain their spirits.
Until this day, the cargo ship slowly stopped at a bustling large dock.
Yang Tianlu got off the boat first and made everything ready, and then respectfully invited Ning Lingyi to get off the boat. Several inconspicuous sedan chairs were already waiting on the side, picking up Ning Lingyi and her brother, and drove through the bustling streets, making many turns, and finally drove into a house that was not very impressive but extremely quiet and elegant inside.
The door of the house closed gently behind her, completely isolating the noise outside. Finally, she arrived at the place Yang Tianlu mentioned. Ning Lingyi felt mixed emotions.
Ning Lingyi held her brother and sister-in-law's hands, stood in the courtyard, and looked around. She knew that the brief tranquility had ended, and a new chess game was about to unfold quietly here.
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