As soon as Jing Yan shouted, a flurry of panic erupted behind him. In no time, two men emerged slowly from behind the tree.
When the older man saw Jing Yan sitting under the tree, his slight intoxication vanished instantly, and his legs went weak, causing him to kneel down.
"Greetings, Your Highness. Your Highness, please forgive me."
Upon hearing that it was His Highness the Crown Prince, the young man hurriedly knelt down as well, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Your Highness, please forgive us."
"Raise your head," Jing Yan said indifferently, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.
Upon hearing the order, the two men cautiously raised their heads.
The older man only glanced at Jing Yan before he broke out in a cold sweat and missed his gaze.
Jing Yan recognized the other person at this moment. He was a centurion in the camp, and the young man with him was probably his apprentice.
“How can the Crown Princess be discussed so casually?” Jing Yan stared back at the centurion, his tone still frighteningly calm.
The centurion had risen to this position through countless trials and tribulations, encountering all sorts of superiors, but he had never directly faced the Crown Prince or been questioned by him.
He didn't dare to look directly at the Crown Prince, nor did he dare to observe the Crown Prince's expression.
However, after sobering up, he reviewed the reasons in his mind and wondered how he dared to talk about the Crown Princess.
The centurion inadvertently noticed that his apprentice was trembling even more than he was, and suddenly remembered the whole story.
The young apprentice, having just gotten married himself, suddenly became curious about His Highness's wedding. They should have been discussing the Crown Prince first!
The centurion knew that no matter what, they had committed a serious verbal offense, so he kowtowed repeatedly to admit his mistake.
"I know I was wrong... I didn't mean to offend the Crown Princess. It was just that Your Highness was being discussed. Besides, Your Highness, please forgive me."
"Your Highness, please forgive me. It was all my fault. I was the one who started talking to Master first. Please punish me."
The centurion's apprentice was not cowardly. Since his master had not confessed, and he could not bear to let his master take all the blame, he banged his head against the ground repeatedly.
Even on muddy ground, he bumped his head and got bruises.
The two men's constant pleas for mercy quickly attracted the attention of some soldiers around the campfire, but none of them dared to come forward.
A moment later, it seemed that Rong Ying's figure flashed in the crowd, and those who noticed the movement sat down again.
Jing Yan complained, "That's enough."
Instantly, the centurion and his apprentice both stopped what they were doing, remaining kneeling in the same position.
Jing Yan always upheld strict military discipline in the military camp, but he would not arbitrarily criticize his soldiers. If they hadn't mentioned him and Yue Jiang, he could have simply ignored them.
Now that the truth has been revealed, how can military discipline be upheld without some form of punishment?
Jing Yan: "Considering this is your first offense, and that one of you is relatively honest and the other is relatively loyal and filial, each of you will receive twenty strokes of the cane tomorrow. If you dare to offend me again, you will be severely punished without leniency."
"Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness!" The master and disciple were moved to tears.
After receiving their punishment, the master and apprentice were about to leave when Jing Yan suddenly called out to them, "Wait."
The master and apprentice's legs, which hadn't straightened yet, buckled again, and they had already received their punishment. At this moment, neither of them dared to speak.
Then Jingyan suddenly asked the centurion, "How old are your children?"
The centurion felt a chill in his heart, realizing the gravity of the situation, and his recently calmed mind was filled with panic again.
"Your Highness, please forgive me. My child is still very young, not even as big as Xiao Mu. Please punish me and spare my child!"
Jing Yan shook his head helplessly: "When did I ever punish the children? Never mind, go ahead and leave." He waved his hand and generously let them go.
Only when Jing Yan stopped speaking did the centurion's heart slowly return to normal.
He thought about it carefully and realized something was wrong. Just as he helped his apprentice, whose legs had gone weak, up, the centurion immediately understood what was going on.
Before leaving, he cautiously added, "Your Highness, Xiao Mu has just gotten married and has many questions. I may have said some things that were inaccurate; I was just teasing him."
"His wife is willing to stay with him, so there must be something about her that she approves of him."
"My wife is not bad either. Although she has a child, she worries a lot about the child. She gave birth to the child with great difficulty and is raising the child with me."
"If you have no petty thoughts in your heart, why suffer such torment? The petty person takes his leave."
The centurion didn't know if his cleverness was correct, and after speaking, he dragged his apprentice back to the camp.
By the time Jing Yan snapped out of his daze after hearing the centurion's words, the person in front of him had vanished without a trace.
Only when that one sentence lingers in your ear and is in your heart will you be willing to accept it and endure the suffering of childbirth.
Jing Yan looked up at the bright moon in the sky again. In the dark night sky, the moonlight emitted a faint glow, quiet and peaceful. Yue Jiang was not a quiet woman in front of him.
But he still felt that the moon, hanging high in the sky, was worthy of her.
Even after seven days without seeing Yuejiang, Jingyan still misses her.
I should go back and spend more time with her tomorrow, after all, Yue Jiang has only been married to him for half a month.
...
A thin mist hung over the mountains, surrounded by lush greenery. Jing Yan rode his horse to the palace early in the morning.
On his return journey, he would see many men, women, and children farming in the familiar countryside, as well as people picking flowers on the small hillside.
Unbeknownst to him, Jing Yan slowed down his horse. Rong Ying, who was following behind, noticed this and rode forward a few steps, smiling as he looked in the direction Jing Yan was staring.
"The hillside is covered with wildflowers, which the Crown Princess must have never seen before. Would Your Highness like to pick a bunch for her?"
Jing Yan hesitated: "It wouldn't be good if we frightened the people."
He did have that thought. Yue Jiang herself was a woman with a natural fragrance. Even if she told him that wearing a sachet was to cover up her body odor, there shouldn't be any woman who doesn't love flowers.
Yuejiang must have seen many exotic flowers and rare herbs; I wonder if she has ever seen wildflowers covering the mountains and fields.
Rong Ying pointed ahead: "There are also old women selling flowers there, Your Highness can buy a bouquet."
Jingyan looked in the direction Rongying pointed and saw several old women carrying flower baskets on their backs, occasionally calling out to passing carriages to sell their flowers.
He continued to drive his horse forward.
...
Knowing that Jingyan was returning today, Yuejiang stayed in the East Palace after getting up early in the morning, except for going to the inner palace to pay her respects.
Qingke Qingfei thought that the Crown Princess was looking forward to His Highness's return, and she was working even more efficiently today. Qingfei even took out the quilts and pillows that she had put away before.
Seeing this, Yue Jiang called out to Qing Fei, "No need to take it out, just put it back!"
Qingfei asked in confusion, "Crown Princess, please put it away. What will His Highness sleep with tonight?"
During the few days that Jingyan stayed at Yichun Palace, he had his own quilt and pillow. After he went to the military camp, Yuejiang removed Jingyan's pillow and quilt so that he could sleep more comfortably.
With His Highness back, Qingfei naturally felt it was time to make preparations.
Yue Jiang chuckled: "Your Highness naturally has your own palace. What's so great about me keeping it for you? Just put it away."
Qingfei listened to the Crown Princess's reasonable explanation and obediently put it away.
Just then, Qingke hurried in and announced with a smile, "Your Highness, His Highness has returned and is on his way to Yichun Palace!"
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