The hawk messenger letter from Su Rong had not yet reached the capital, Daliang, when Yan Huisheng, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, had already received news of Dawei making aggressive moves towards Daliang.
Yan Huisheng was surprised, "Dawei is mobilizing troops?"
"Yes, Dawei has a force that, three days ago, attacked the border fort. Fortunately, the border general Zheng Yun was alert and had always been on guard against Dawei, preventing them from succeeding."
"What were the casualties?"
"Several thousand troops were wounded."
"It was just a single sneak attack?" Yan Huisheng frowned.
"This one attack has already caused severe consequences. If it hadn’t been for Zheng Yun’s quick response and having informed Lord Su Xingze in Jibei City, who then immediately dispatched reinforcement, our border post might have already fallen by now."
Yan Huisheng nodded, paused for a moment, then ordered: "Prepare the carriage."
"Your Highness, are you going to visit the palace?"
"No, the Duke’s Residence."
"Yes."
The services in the Eastern Palace were prompt. In a short while, the carriage had been prepared. Yan Huisheng put on his cloak and left the Eastern Palace. He got into the carriage and headed towards the Duke’s Residence.
At night in the Duke’s Residence, the old Duke was listening to the eldest princess Sheng An sighing heavily one breath after another, which made him feel annoyed, "Oh, my dear, why do you keep sighing? I even lost my appetite for tea."
The eldest princess Sheng An glared at him, "You still have the mood for tea? We’ve not heard any news from Zhou Gu for a long time. And Su Rong too, no news from her either. What exactly is happening in Nanchu, whether they are okay and whether things are going smoothly, we have no idea."
"No news is good news, it shows they are not in major trouble." The old Duke replied.
"Nonsense." The eldest princess Sheng An was not buying it, "How can no news be good news? They are probably too busy to report back or maybe the situation has become too complicated to spare any attention for sending news."
The old Duke was taken aback, "You are the eldest princess, please behave yourself."
The eldest princess Sheng An was irritated and had a stern look on her face, "Who said a princess can’t swear? Haven’t you heard me scold you all these years?"
The old Duke touched his forehead, "I can’t argue with you."
"I am just worried about them. I always feel uneasy." The eldest princess Sheng An expressed her concerns, "I had a nap this afternoon and had a dream where Zhou Gu was being chased and killed; it was all blood and death, my heart..."
"Dreams are often contrary to reality, don’t scare yourself." The old Duke didn’t believe in dreams at all, "You are just too worried, that’s why you’re having such dreams."
The eldest princess Sheng An covered her heart, "No, we can’t wait anymore. You need to send people to Nanchu right now. I want to know what’s happening."
"We already dispatched a group yesterday." The old Duke said: "They left yesterday."
"You old man, you were worried too." When the eldest princess Sheng An thought about when they could receive the news as they had just left yesterday, she became a bit impatient, "Why don’t we go to the Xie Residence and ask Su Rong’s wife if she has received any news from Su Rong?"
"No, I sent someone to ask her the day before yesterday, Su Rong’s wife hasn’t heard from them either." The old Duke said: "Madam Su told me that Nanchu is thousands of miles away, the roads are too far, especially with the snow in winter, it’s normal that the letters are delayed on the way. I shouldn’t worry."
"Oh goodness, how can I not worry? It’s been so long? The new year is just a few days away, it has been two months since Su Rong left." The eldest princess Sheng An was disappointed, "But Madam Su did make sense, with the heavy snow and Nanchu being so far away, it is normal for the letters to be delayed."
While they were talking, someone outside the room reported that the Crown Prince had arrived. Both of them were surprised and rushed to greet him.
The old Duke went to the door. Seeing snowflakes in the sky, he raised his hand to stop the eldest princess Sheng An, "You stay, I’ll greet the Crown Prince."
"Stay here for what? Maybe there’s news from Nanchu? I’m going with you." The eldest princess Sheng An shook her head.
"Then put on more clothes, don’t catch a cold." The old Duke said.
The eldest princess thought about it and thought he was right. She has to take care of her old bones, waiting to go to Nanchu to see her grandson someday. She quickly ordered someone to bring her a cloak.
After the eldest princess had put on a thick coat, she and the old Duke went to the front yard. The housekeeper said that the Crown Prince had been invited to the study. They immediately went to the study.
Yan Huisheng had just sat down in the study when the old Duke and the eldest princess arrived together. After greeting the Crown Prince, all three of them took their seats.
The eldest princess asked anxiously: "Crown Prince, is there any news from Nanchu? Is it about my nephew Zhou Gu?"
Yan Huisheng shook his head, "I am afraid not, your Aunt, there is no news from Nanchu."
The eldest princess immediately felt disappointed, "Then why are you here so late..."
Yan Huisheng said: "Dawei has mobilized troops at the border and attacked the border city. Thanks to the alertness of the border guard and the rapid response of Su Xingze who came to reinforce, the border city was not captured."
"What?" The old Duke jumped up from his seat, "Dawei really dares to."
The eldest princess also changed her facial expression, "Why has Dawei suddenly decided to mobilize troops? Didn’t they withdraw their troops earlier?"
Yan Huisheng said: "Therefore, I am also puzzled about Dawei’s move. I am not sure if Dawei is really planning to attack Daliang, or whether they are planning to take advantage of Nanchu’s instability and seize control of Nanchu."
"But how come?" The old Duke sat up straight.
"Today, Nanchu is in chaos. Su Rong has requested me to prepare 200,000 troops for battle at the border between Daliang and Nanchu. Once Nanchu is short of troops, reinforcements will be sent." Yan Huisheng said: "Nanchu’s Nangong family holds a powerful position and has deeper roots than Zhang Ping. Dawei’s Crown Prince, Yuan Zhao, failed to gain benefits from Daliang by making use of Zhang Ping. Now, regarding the current situation in Nanchu, he will not let go of the Nangong family, but use them to seize control of Nanchu. Therefore, I think, Dawei might be pretending to attack Daliang, but their real target is Nanchu."
The old Duke was deep in thought.
"But I can’t be completely sure, Dawei might really take advantage of the chaos in Nanchu, Su Rong hasn’t gained a firm foothold, and can’t help Daliang. And she has taken 300,000 Daliang’s soldiers, so they might take advantage of this opportunity to attack Daliang." Yan Huisheng looked at the old Duke, "That’s why I came to seek your advice, Duke, in case I make the wrong judgement."
The old Duke frowned and pondered for a while, "Your Highness, how many soldiers does Dawei have? Are you clear about it? What is the situation in Nanchu now? Are you clear about it?"
"Based on what I know, Dawei is supporting a million-strong army." Yan Huisheng said: "My covert operatives reported back, Nanchu’s situation is extremely bad. Even I didn’t expect the Nangong family to hold such a powerful position. My covert operatives posted in Nanchu were all destroyed in an instant. Fortunately, Master Xie killed the head of the Nangong family, Nangong Yin, when he led his family to chase and kill the King of Nanchu in the royal capital. But in the process, he caused irreparable grievances with the Nangong family. Su Rong and Zhou Gu in Nanchu have been unable to send back any news because they are too busy."
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