Chapter 157 He's Going to War
The two entered the dormitory room, where a small door opened against the wall next to the bed, revealing a cramped interior.
Xie Mianmian carefully examined the secret room. "By the way, Your Highness, how did you find this place?"
“Just half an hour ago, she tried to seduce the Minister of War again, but I discovered it and secretly tracked her all the way here.”
"She's really persistent; she's determined to kill all the officials of the Great Zhou."
The Seventh Prince said in a deep voice, "Because she doesn't have much time left."
Xie Mianmian didn't understand the hidden meaning in those words; she was peeking inside.
The space on the left was crammed with a tightly fitted wooden shelf, which was filled with green and yellow herbs, as well as bottles and jars.
The other half of the space was a small workbench; "it seems she makes medicine here."
Xie Mianmian picked up a stack of papers on the table and huddled together with the Seventh Prince to look through them. The papers were full of strange and unusual pill formulas.
Things like "Rat Comes to Life," "Road Crazy," "Bird Rampant," and all sorts of other nonsense.
The Seventh Prince said, "It seems that she was responsible for the previous attacks on officials."
"Now that we've caught the person, we've removed this cancer sent by the Northern Rong, and the Great Zhou can finally be at peace."
The seventh prince pursed his lips and remained silent.
Xie Mianmian keenly noticed his unusual silence.
Although the Seventh Prince was not usually talkative, she could always sense whether his silence was due to pleasure or unhappiness.
She forced a lighthearted laugh and said, "What's wrong? Is there anything we can't solve together?"
The Seventh Prince gazed at her intently: "Today we received an urgent report from the north that the border has been attacked, resulting in heavy casualties. The report says that it is suspected to be a group of ferocious beasts, extremely powerful and difficult for ordinary people to resist."
Normally, it takes the entire village's effort to kill a wild boar that runs down from the mountain; the villagers have to shed blood to do so.
Not to mention these well-trained, unstoppable ferocious beasts.
The Great Zhou Dynasty is in grave danger.
Xie Mianmian's eyes widened in surprise; her earlier guess had come true.
"It's the Northern Rong! That woman wasn't just talking nonsense; they really have successfully developed a medicine that's even more powerful than it was ten years ago."
The Seventh Prince nodded heavily. "The Northern Rong are coming with great force. Father Emperor plans to send troops. Tomorrow, I will head north."
"Your Highness! It's too dangerous, you mustn't..."
Xie Mianmian didn't voice the rest of her advice. She knew that the Seventh Prince, like herself, wouldn't easily go back on his decisions.
Besides, what grounds could I possibly have to persuade him? As a member of the royal family, protecting the people is his responsibility.
"Let's go."
The Seventh Prince left the bedroom first, with Xie Mianmian following dejectedly behind.
Inside the room, He Chuan had slowly woken up, rubbing his temples with dazed eyes.
"Brother-in-law, how are you? Do you feel unwell anywhere?"
He Chuan shook his head, trying hard to recall what had happened before.
"I was on my way back to my old house to get the blueprints when I heard a baby crying. I followed the sound, but there was no one there. Just as I was about to leave, I was knocked unconscious. What happened?"
Xie Mianmian briefly told him what had happened, and He Chuan sighed, "The Northern Rong have never given up their desire to destroy our country."
The Seventh Prince's subordinates arrived and took over the house. The woman was also taken away, leaving only the little fox that kept whimpering.
Xie Mianmian looked at the Seventh Prince with some difficulty, "Your Highness, what about the foxes from before? There should still be seven left, why have they disappeared?"
"When the woman was seducing the Minister, her affair was exposed. She was surrounded by guards and, seeing that she could not escape immediately, she threw the fox under her skirt at the guards one by one. That's how she managed to escape."
Hearing this, the little fox felt utterly despondent. It stopped chirping and went limp, like a fish on a chopping board, not even bothering to struggle.
"In that case, I'll take it with me. I think it's stupid. If it doesn't work out, I'll release it back into Qinglong Mountain and let the beasts there discipline it properly."
The seventh prince agreed.
When it was time to part, Xie Mianmian wished she could stay close to the Seventh Prince all day, even if she didn't say anything, just being together would be enough.
Her two dark eyebrows furrowed in worry; she knew that the Seventh Prince had many things to attend to.
The two stopped beside the carriage. He took a step with his long legs and boarded the carriage, leaving only the words "Let's go back" before bending down and walking into the carriage without turning his head.
Xie Mianmian also crawled inside.
"We're not on the same path..."
Before the Seventh Prince could react, Xie Mianmian buried her face in his chest, tightly hugging the man's lean waist.
The seventh prince's arms froze in mid-air, letting the woman in his arms rub against him.
"Your Highness, you must return safely."
"Yes, but don't cause trouble in the capital."
Xie Mianmian was furious again. Did he think she was just a troublemaker?
She darted out of the carriage like a rabbit, ran off, and hid under the eaves of a house, her nose red.
Inside the carriage, the Seventh Prince touched two dark spots on his clothes, which looked as if they were wet, and smiled helplessly.
Why did you make her cry before you left? I should have known better than to tell her.
Xie Mianmian watched the carriage drive away, then turned her head and saw He Chuan.
She calmed herself down and asked, "Brother-in-law, what blueprints did you come back for? Did you find them?"
"Here." He Chuan handed her a stack of papers to distract her and help her stop being so sad.
There were many small drawings of helmets and armor on the paper. Xie Mianmian asked curiously, "What are these?"
"There was a period when dog fighting and cat fighting were popular in Beijing. At that time, I was inspired to design armor specifically for cats and dogs, but unfortunately it was never used."
Actually, we were poor at the time and wanted to make money off those nobles, but we never expected that they would not care about the lives of cats and dogs.
Those people said, "Why bother with all that? If you die or get maimed, just buy another one. Who wants to use these things? Even if you win, it's an unfair victory. Besides, without hand-to-hand combat and flying blood and flesh, how can it be fun? Get lost, go away."
He Chuan continued, "Recently, Vice Minister Zhao has been researching improvements to armor. When I mentioned this, he became very interested. This grown man actually kept pestering me to bring him the blueprints."
Xie Mianmian's eyes flickered slightly, and she handed the paper back to He Chuan with a heavy heart. "Brother-in-law, I'm going back now."
"Don't think too much. If something is bothering you, tell us. Your sister is very worried about you."
Xie Mianmian said okay, turned around and slumped weakly on the snow wolf's back, burying her head in the soft fur and gently tugging at its ears.
Without her saying a word, the snow wolf automatically carried her home.
She slept soundly through the night, and the next day, Xie Mianmian woke up to find the sun already high in the sky.
She slept in late again.
But this time, what we missed was the Seventh Prince's expedition!
I didn't get to see him one last time.
Xie Mianmian lay back down listlessly. She had barely slept all night, tossing and turning in bed with her eyes closed, basking in the sun like a salted fish until her skin was golden brown.
A little while later, she sat up straight, got out of bed, and washed up.
She wanted to go to the palace to see Uncle Huang; she had something to say!
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