Yuan Zhao stared at the portraits with a cold look in his eyes.
In this painting, the ages, body shapes and movements of several children, from Yuan Musheng to Yuan Zhizhi, are all depicted in great detail.
It could only have been drawn by someone who had seen them recently.
And it appeared in Beiqiang, who drew it?
Mo Yu whispered to her, "Your Highness, I just went to inquire about this. I heard that these paintings were ordered by the Great Sima of Northern Qiang. He said that anyone who looks like the person in the painting should be captured."
"Da Sima?" Jing Yang frowned, "Isn't that..."
"Huo Pingchang!" Yuan Zhao couldn't help but tighten his grip on the drawing paper, but doubts also arose in his heart.
She had met Huo Pingchang when she was young, and he had been in Beiqiang ever since. How could he know the whereabouts of her and the children so accurately?
Moreover, why did he order the arrest of her and the children? And how did he know she would come to Xiaoyue City?
Jing Yang also frowned and explained the current situation in the DPRK as she knew it:
"Domin has yet to appoint a queen, leaving the harem empty... Ever since he ascended the throne, he's been indulging in pleasure and lust every day, rarely even attending to state affairs..."
"The clan leaders of the major clans each have their own thoughts on this. Among them, the Murong and Helan clans are the most favored by the emperor, especially the Murong clan leader. He has been visiting the palace frequently recently and has become Duoming's right-hand man."
"Helian Chang's position as Grand Marshal was not dismissed. Duo Ming even sent him to lead troops to the front lines."
Yuan Zhao pondered for a moment and asked, "Are the garrison troops in the city still from Huo Pingchang?"
Jing Yang nodded and lowered his voice, "Yes, but Helian Chang is not in the city. Most of the troops have been transferred to the border. My father has found out that there are only 20,000 soldiers defending the city. Although most of them are elite, without a general to lead the troops, morale is bound to be unstable."
After hearing this, Yuan Zhao's eyes flickered slightly. He tapped the car window with his fingers and said slowly, "It seems that we should not stay in this city for long."
Jingyang also agreed and advised them to leave the city immediately.
Yuan Zhao naturally had no need to stay for long. Right now, finding Zhizhi and Duota was the most important thing.
In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, Jing Yang personally escorted them out of the city.
When the guard at the city gate saw her, although he had doubts in his heart, he did not dare to question her too much and finally let her pass.
They drove out of the city and got off the car in a secluded place dozens of miles away from Xiaoyue City.
She lifted the curtain and looked at Yuan Zhao deeply, with a hint of worry in her tone.
"There are still many people outside the city secretly searching for the king's whereabouts. Your Highness must be extremely careful on this trip."
Yuan Zhao nodded slightly, his eyes firm, "Thank you, Jingyang."
Jingyang looked at her, his eyes flashing slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he suppressed his hesitation.
In the carriage, Yuan Nan'an kept looking at her quietly.
Seeing this, she suddenly spoke with a comforting tone: "Sister Jingyang, my eldest brother is on the front line now, he is doing well."
Jing Yang was slightly stunned and hesitated for a moment before he understood who Yuan Nanan was referring to.
She had a faint smile on her face, but an indescribable emotion flashed across her eyes.
She nodded slightly, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised, as if she was relieved.
"As long as he's...fine."
Yuan Zhao looked at her quietly. Jing Yang looked normal, but the suppressed emotions could not be hidden.
She seemed to have made a great decision, her voice trembling slightly, and she turned to look at Yuan Zhao and asked in a low voice,
"Your Highness..."
After calling out "Your Highness", he paused for a long time before finally asking the question that concerned her most. His voice was so soft that it was almost blown away by the wind.
"Ayu...will he never come back?"
As soon as these words came out, the wind around seemed to stop for a moment.
Yuan Zhao looked at her silently, without answering immediately, but slowly reached out and gently held her hand.
The warmth of his palm was transmitted through the delicate silk, as if giving her a little comfort.
"Jingyang... Helian Yu... He can never let go of Beiqiang and Xiaoyue City in his heart..."
She didn't say everything, and in fact, she didn't know what would happen on the front line.
Jingyang's eyes were slightly red. She raised her head, suppressed her emotions, and smiled self-deprecatingly, saying softly,
"But, he left in the end."
More than half a month ago, Jinghong sent her a letter and never came back.
She bit her lip, her eyes misted over, and then she took a deep breath, as if trying to swallow the sourness.
After a long time, she finally smiled, let go of Yuan Zhao's hand, and got out of the car.
"Your Highness, please leave quickly and don't delay."
Yuan Zhao looked at her, feeling a thousand emotions in his heart, and finally nodded: "Take care."
Jingyang stood there, watching the convoy go farther and farther away. The wind blew up her sleeves, making them flutter gently.
She stood there for a long time before slowly turning around and walking towards Xiaoyue City, her back looking thin.
Xuezhu walked back with her, and seeing that she looked unwell, she comforted her with some worry.
"Wang Ji, don't you dislike Young Master Helian? If he doesn't come back, you can just cancel the engagement, right?"
Jingyang closed his eyes slightly and sighed.
"Yeah...I hate him the most..."
…
After leaving Xiaoyue City, Yuan Zhao immediately wrote two letters and asked Mo Yu to send them to Yucheng and Jingcheng respectively.
In the first letter, she informed Huo Yan of the current situation in Xiaoyue City, hoping to be of some help to him and help him stabilize the situation on the front line.
The second letter was sent to the capital, with every word carefully considered and written with particular caution.
She already had a vague guess in her mind that Huo Pingchang had already secretly colluded with certain people in the capital.
As for who is behind the scenes, it will be up to Yuan Cheng to investigate.
At the same time, she had a hidden worry in her heart, and in the letter she warned Yuan Cheng to be careful of the disaster of witchcraft.
Although South Vietnam seemed calm recently, she always felt that this undercurrent had not really dissipated, but was lurking deeper, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
After handing over the letter, Yuan Zhao did not delay and immediately ordered his men to travel light and discard all unnecessary supplies in order to speed up the journey.
Then she released Xiaobai and let it continue to lead the way.
Xiaobai already had experience and knew how to avoid the dangers in the desert and the people who were searching.
They traveled at night and hid during the day, not daring to stop at night. They would only make slight adjustments on horseback before continuing on their journey.
The yellow sand is endless, the night wind is like a knife, every step is difficult, but no one complains.
Finally, at dawn, Yuan Zhao squinted his eyes and vaguely saw an oasis valley beside the river emerging on the horizon ahead.
That vibrant green is particularly eye-catching in the endless sea of sand.
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