Su Rong took the letter and the Tiger Talisman, nodding at the Nanchu King.
The Nanchu King continued, "Be very careful. Crown Prince Yuan Zhao of Dawei has stationed five hundred thousand troops at the Nanchu border. I’m not sure if Zhou Gu told you about Nangong Yin’s eldest grandson, Nangong Zheng, who is only fourteen, but is quite capable. After driving us into the Zhangdu Forest, he did not personally lead his men to chase us, but instead went off to an unknown location. Zhou Gu and Zhang Yun speculated that he might have gone to Dawei to borrow troops from Yuan Zhao. If he heard the news of Nangong Yin being killed by Xie Yuan, he will definitely kill Xie Yuan at any cost, and never let Xie Yuan live."
Nangong Zheng very much respected his grandfather Nangong Yin. Even though he might have gone to Dawei to borrow troops from Crown Prince Yuan Zhao, he would not fully align himself with Dawei. While capturing Xie Yuan would be beneficial for Dawei, as they could threaten Su Rong, for Nangong Zheng, his only desire is to kill Xie Yuan and avenge his grandfather.
For this reason, Nangong Zheng and Dawei’s Crown Prince Yuan Zhao cannot reach a complete agreement. However, no matter who captures Xie Yuan, they won’t be merciful to him.
Su Rong nodded, "Rest assured, Father."
The Nanchu King wanted to pat Su Rong’s shoulder to comfort her, but eventually didn’t extend his hand. He then handed Su Rong a token and a folded piece of parchment from his pocket. "This is my token, the Nangong Family may be powerful, but with Nangong Yin dead, you can rightfully remove their influence. This parchment contains information from an agent I have planted within the Nangong family. Zhou Gu and I didn’t use this information on our journey due to the Nangong Family’s power reserves, but it should be useful to you now. You can act on my behalf to execute royal orders."
Su Rong nodded, accepting the token and the parchment, then gave her father a hug, "After I leave, continue to listen to Zhou Gu and Zhang Yun."
The Nanchu King, wrapped in his daughter’s arms, became incredibly emotional. "I... I will listen to them."
Once Su Rong released him, she turned to Zhang Yun. "Take good care of yourself. I’ve already briefed Zhou Gu on what needs to be done. You two can decide how to proceed."
Zhang Yun nodded, "We will, Princess."
If it weren’t for his severe injuries, he would have liked to go with her as well, but now all that remained by her side was Fen Ling.
Thankfully Fen Ling was there.
Zhang Yun urged, "Make sure you keep yourself safe, Princess. It would be best if you can rescue Master Xie, but if you can’t, he certainly wouldn’t want you to risk your life for his."
"Yes." Su Rong gently patted his shoulder, "I’m off."
Once she exited the royal tent, Fen Ling had already arranged the fifty thousand cavalry. Su Rong mounted her horse and, with her secret guards and the troops, left Wanren Mountain.
The Nanchu King and Zhang Yun, supported by their men, exited the royal tent and saw Su Rong rapidly retreating into the distance.
As the Nanchu King watched until her figure completely disappeared at the mouth of the valley, he turned to Zhang Yun and, in a surge of excitement, said, "Did you see it? My daughter hugged me."
Zhang Yun nodded, "I saw."
The Nanchu King was delighted, "She really hugged me."
Zhang Yun simply watched him.
If the Nanchu King hadn’t been critically injured, he probably would have danced in circles on the spot, maybe even made a few rounds around the camp, shouting what had just occurred to everyone. He was so happy that he cried, "She really hugged me, she actually hugged me."
Seeing the King’s overwhelming excitement, Zhang Yun quickly advised, "Your Majesty, there will be plenty of time in days to come. Not only will the Princess hug you again, but you will have more chances to be together. Don’t get too excited, excessive excitement is not conducive to recovery."
The Nanchu King nodded, "You’re right, she told me, I must live longer, I cannot live a day less than the man who raised her, Su Xu. As long as I have time, everything will come."
He gradually calmed his emotions, "To live to a ripe old age, it’s important to avoid extremes of joy and sorrow. From here on out, I need to take care of my body and mind."
"That’s right. In the future, when Princess Su and Brother Zhou have children, you can even play with your grandchildren." Zhang Yun encouraged the Nanchu King.
The Nanchu King nodded continuously, "Yes, yes, yes. I will definitely try my best."
Zhang Yun laughed, thinking to himself, the king was quite an interesting man and a good father. The princess was indeed lucky. Whether it was her foster father, her biological father, or her mentor Uncle Xie, all of them were excellent. Unlike him, who had a father like that and in the end, had to personally terminate the familial bond in order to avenge his mother.
The Nanchu King returned to the royal tent, relishing in the warmth of his daughter’s hug, and felt so elated that he couldn’t sleep.
Zhang Yun also couldn’t sleep, so he decided to visit Zhou Gu.
The camps were not far apart, so he had someone assist him to Zhou Gu’s camp and called out, "Brother Zhou."
"Come in." Zhou Gu, having lost his desire to sleep after Su Rong’s departure, was naturally still awake.
Zhang Yun entered the camp and saw Zhou Gu lying on the bed with his eyes open, as if lost in thought. He asked, "Brother Zhou, how’s your condition?"
"Are you asking me whether or not we should start traveling?" Zhou Gu turned his head and asked him.
Zhang Yun nodded, "Although the princess suggested we rest for a day, I think that we can heal while travelling slowly by carriage. As for the soldiers, they rested last night, and if they rest for half the day today, perhaps if your condition permits, we could embark on our journey to Fengming Ridge in the afternoon. The distance of two hundred li isn’t too far. Once we are there, we can quickly help the Second Young Master Ye eliminate Nangong Yun and his fifty thousand troops."
"Alright. I can bear it. We’ll arrange it as you suggested," Zhou Gu responded.
Zhang Yun nodded and looked at him, noting his lack of vitality. He teasingly asked, "Do you miss the princess already?"
Zhou Gu shot him a glance. Wasn’t that obvious? He didn’t even need to answer. Having just met, how could he not miss her already? He wished he hadn’t passed out for the night. This morning, he hadn’t even been able to speak much with her. If only he had known...
He should have let her tease him a little while longer. He wouldn’t have even needed to eat.
Zhang Yun found it amusing. "Is it really about that? The Princess left with fifty thousand troops. Once we meet up with Second Young Master Ye and discuss the plan, we can soon take the troops to the border between Nanchu and Dawei. We should be able to see her soon. Not to mention, we’ve passed through such life and death calamity, what more risky ventures could we possibly encounter in the future? You and the Princess have a lifetime ahead of you."
Zhou Gu shook his head, "You don’t understand."
"Why don’t I understand? Aren’t I right?" Zhang Yun looked puzzled, convinced that his reasoning was sound.
"Someone without a fiancee, someone without a loved one, you won’t understand," Zhou Gu said, hitting the nail on the head.
Zhang Yun: "..."
He shouldn’t have come to comfort him.
So what if you have a fiancée? So what if you have someone, you love?
"Don’t be displeased," said Zhou Gu, "The saying goes: A single day apart feels like three long seasons. How could you understand?"
Zhang Yun didn’t want to talk to him any longer. He signaled to the person helping him to stand up and directly walked out of Zhou Gu’s camp.
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