"Don't glare at me. I'm doing this for your and the baby's sake. You should act like a pregnant woman. You should be taking good care of yourself instead of coming with us to fight the Japanese pirates. You can't swim, so you won't be of any help." She only knew she was a hindrance. The last sentence was said in her heart.
"Don't underestimate me. Even though I'm ten months pregnant and about to give birth, I can still wield a knife and kill enemies, believe it or not?" Zhang Xiantao rolled up her sleeves, unconvinced, and tried to snatch a knife from a soldier to show off.
Seeing that she was about to cause trouble again, Xingxing quickly raised her voice to stop her, "Zhang Xiantao, you better behave yourself. Try moving around again. Have you forgotten what the imperial physician said? You are not even three months pregnant yet, the pregnancy is not stable, you cannot make any big movements, and you cannot have too much emotional fluctuation. Do you still want to give birth to the child?"
"I, I won't move, okay, whatever you say, I'll listen to you, alright?" Zhang Xiantao was also worried about the child. She had only forgotten that she was pregnant in her excitement. It seemed that it was really necessary to go to Nanyang Prefecture to recuperate, otherwise, with her restless nature, something unexpected might really happen.
This is Zhang Xiantao and Zhao Mingyue's first child, so she naturally values it very much. She's already made a scene, but after calming down and thinking it through, she realizes that what she's doing isn't right. For the sake of the child, she'll just have to be patient for now.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Zhao Mingyue returned to the city gate with his men. Behind him was a group of people, including Prince Cheng and a group of local officials. It seemed that the local officials had a very good relationship with Prince Cheng.
Xingxing and Zhu Lin stood at the front watching them, the former looking at Zhao Mingyue with a puzzled expression.
Zhao Mingyue glanced at Prince Cheng beside her and said, "We had just entered the city when we met Prince Cheng and his party, so we came together."
Prince Cheng looked at Xingxing with a half-smile, "Why did the eldest princess suddenly come to Anyang Prefecture without giving me any prior notice so I could have come to greet her? Otherwise, she wouldn't have been turned away at the city gate."
Xingxing wasn't in the mood for pleasantries and asked directly, "Why are the city gates closed in broad daylight? Has something happened inside the city?"
"It's nothing, just that a wanted criminal has escaped from the Prince's Palace. I'm afraid he might harm innocent civilians, so I've ordered all the people in the city to stay home for the next two days and to close the city gates until the criminal is caught," Prince Cheng replied casually.
"Judging from Prince Cheng's good mood, it seems that the wanted criminal has been captured." Xingxing said confidently.
Prince Cheng nodded slightly. "We just captured them and were about to have the city gates opened when we unexpectedly encountered these people in the city. They claim to be sent by the imperial court. I wonder if the eldest princess could explain why you brought troops into the city by force?"
Xingxing slightly raised her chin, gesturing to Qingyan, who immediately produced the imperial edict, "Prince Cheng, listen to the decree."
Prince Cheng glanced at the imperial edict in Qingyan's hand, his expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. Prince Cheng threw off his robes and knelt down to receive the edict, and a group of officials behind him also knelt down.
The imperial edict meant that the emperor was worried that Prince Cheng alone could not handle the Japanese pirates along the coast. Although he had won a battle and driven the pirates away, the emperor had recently received a secret letter informing him that there were still Japanese pirates causing trouble along the coast. In order to eliminate future troubles, the emperor sent the eldest princess and Zhao Mingyue to support Prince Cheng.
I hope that the three of them can work together to completely eliminate the Japanese pirates.
Prince Cheng lay prostrate on the ground, a murderous glint flashing across his face, but he quickly concealed it, saying calmly, "Your Majesty obeys the decree, long live the Emperor!"
When Prince Cheng stood up, Qingyan presented him with the imperial edict. Prince Cheng lowered his head slightly and accepted the edict with both hands. He showed little emotion on his face and led Xingxing and the others toward Prince Cheng's residence.
"Where is the prisoner we just caught? May I see him?" Xingxing asked casually after entering Prince Cheng's residence.
Prince Cheng curled his lips, his face growing increasingly gloomy. "What? Doesn't the eldest princess believe me?"
"What are you saying? It's like we've never truly trusted each other. You seem a bit strange today." Xingxing's eyes held a scrutinizing gaze.
“We’re not close, are we? We even dislike each other. You don’t seem to know what I was like before or what I am like now. Besides, we haven’t seen each other for four years. How do you know if my behavior is strange?” Prince Cheng meant that Xingxing was deliberately picking a fight.
Her words were so well-chosen that Xingxing couldn't say anything more. She raised her chin slightly and said, "I'd like to see that prisoner, is that alright?"
"If I don't let you see him, it seems you won't give up. If you want to see him, then see him." Prince Cheng acted indifferently and even personally led her to the dungeon to see the so-called escaped prisoner.
When Xingxing saw the man, the prisoner was beaten half to death and barely clinging to life. "What did this man do that you want to kill him?"
"Is the eldest princess interrogating me?" Prince Cheng sneered, without replying.
"If you don't want to talk, then forget it." Xingxing shrugged, acting indifferent, and turned to leave the cell.
At this moment, Prince Cheng followed up and casually explained, "He is a womanizer who has harmed more than a dozen young girls in several nearby fishing villages. He rapes and then kills them, and his methods are extremely cruel. I finally managed to have him captured. How can we let such a menace go? If we don't deal with him, he will only continue to harm the people."
Xingxing turned her head slightly but did not respond. She would not believe a single word that Prince Cheng was saying. Although she had no visual aids in her mind, her intuition told her that the truth was not like that.
Prince Cheng was caught off guard by Xingxing and Zhao Mingyue's arrival and was very displeased, but he could not disobey the imperial decree and had to suppress his anger and arrange for the two to stay at the Prince's residence.
Xingxing and Zhao Mingyue were placed in two separate courtyards. Xingxing's courtyard was slightly larger, and several senior brothers and sisters lived in the same courtyard as her, as did Zhu Lin.
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