Chapter 3563 Father Has Not Returned Yet
Nan Yan didn't sleep a wink that night.
She didn't even take a nap. She just sat on the head of the bed, holding her sleeping daughter in one hand, and watched with her eyes open as the dark night outside the window slowly revealed a little milky white morning light.
It's getting light.
Throughout the night, there was no peace outside. The people in the South Courtyard had experienced a previous riot, so during this battle in the north of the city, the entire South Courtyard was on high alert. Even though the Yue army in the north of the city had retreated, they did not relax their vigilance. So throughout the night, Nan Yan could hear the sound of patrols passing by outside from time to time.
But this time, she heard some other sounds. It was obvious that someone entered the mansion, stood outside the yard and said a few words, but did not come in.
She quickly relaxed and got up from the bed.
Xinping was actually very alert during her sleep. She immediately opened her eyes and asked drowsily, "Mom, what's wrong?"
Nan Yan didn't even take off her clothes. She just dusted them off to tidy them up a bit, then turned around and said, "It's okay. Go to sleep."
After saying that, he pushed the door open and walked out.
It was still dark outside, with only a hint of paleness peeking through the distant eastern horizon, but the entire South Courtyard was ablaze with lights, and alert people were everywhere. As Nan Yan stepped outside, she saw several people standing at the courtyard gate, with others holding lanterns, outlining their familiar silhouettes.
It was King of Han Zhu Chengjun, and following behind him were Wei Ying, Wen Wuyu and others.
Nan Yan immediately asked, "Cheng Jun?"
Upon hearing her voice, Zhu Chengjun turned around and a joyful smile immediately appeared on his soot-covered face. He hurried over and almost bumped into her because he was rushing too hard. He quickly stopped and said with a smile, "Mom!"
Wei Ying and the others also hurried over and bowed respectfully to Nan Yan: "Greetings to the Imperial Concubine."
Nan Yan looked down and saw their hair was disheveled, their clothes covered in blood and dust. They had obviously returned from a major battle. There was even some soot on their faces, making their handsome faces look like cats. Although she hadn't seen them kill the enemy with her own eyes, just by looking at the children's faces, she could imagine how they had spent that night.
But fortunately, they all came back safely.
Nan Yan couldn't help but smile and said, "You are all back."
Zhu Chengjun said happily, "I'm back. As soon as I got back, I rushed over to see mother. But I heard that mother was still resting, so I didn't dare to disturb her."
Nan Yan said, "What's the big deal? Last night was your first time on the battlefield. Now that you've returned victorious, I should personally welcome you."
Zhu Chengjun said with a smile: "A small victory is nothing."
"Oh, you're being modest."
Xinping's voice rang out from behind Nanyan. Everyone looked up and saw that she had also put on her clothes, but her hair was uncombed. She ran over happily. Nanyan glared at her and scolded her for being so. But Xinping didn't care about that at all. She ran to her brother, looked him up and down, and then said, "Did you really win?"
Zhu Chengjun immediately puffed out his chest.
Wei Ying, standing behind him, also smiled and bowed to Xin Ping, saying, "Princess, please do not doubt it. His Royal Highness the Prince of Han won a resounding victory last night, striking fear into the hearts of the Yue people. From now on, whenever they mention His Royal Highness the Prince of Han, they will probably tremble."
When Xinping heard this, she smiled so hard that her eyes curved.
She reached out and punched Zhu Chengjun's shoulder, saying, "Not bad. Tell me how you fought this battle."
Zhu Chengjun rolled his eyes and smiled deliberately, "Sister, guess."
Xinping immediately pouted: "How would I guess?"
Seeing them like this, Nan Yan, standing nearby, also laughed and said, "He must have taken Wei Ying and the others to Doubei Town. The fighting was so fierce in the north of the city last night, so the troops from Doubei Town must have been transferred to the north of Yongzhou City, leaving the gates wide open, so they were able to take advantage of the opportunity to enter. We even saw a fire over there in the middle of the night. You must have burned their belongings."
“…”
"It's food, isn't it?"
Zhu Chengjun was speechless for a moment.
Even Wei Ying and Wen Wuyu, who were standing behind him, opened their eyes wide in surprise. They looked at each other, and finally Wei Ying stammered, "Your Majesty, did you go to the tower to watch the battle?"
Nan Yan laughed and said, "I've been waiting here for news all night, why would I go to the city wall to watch the battle?"
Zhu Chengjun said, "Then how did Mother know what we did? It's as if she saw it with her own eyes."
Nan Yan smiled and simply waved them inside, sending some refreshments. The children had been busy all night and must be tired and hungry. She sat down on a chair and said slowly, "What's so hard to guess? Your father specially transferred you from the capital to join the war, but this is your first battle, and he certainly wouldn't let you fight against the main force of the Yue Kingdom."
“…”
"This is a clever battle. You don't have to kill the enemy, just intimidate the people in Doubei Town."
“…”
"I see there's still soot and some grains on you. I'm afraid you've burned other people's food supplies."
Wei Ying and Wen Wu Yu were so surprised that they were speechless.
They didn't even know about this plan before they set out. His Majesty the Emperor also wrote very clearly in the letter to the King of Han that no one should be told before taking action. How could the imperial concubine know such top-secret information?
Zhu Chengjun couldn't believe it and asked, "Mom, how do you know everything?"
“…”
"Did Father tell you?"
Nan Yan smiled faintly and said, "How could your father tell me this?"
Zhu Chengjun was even more surprised: "Mom, did you guess that?"
“…”
"How did you guess that?"
Xinping sat aside, looking at his surprised expression, and waved her hands, saying, "You underestimate Mother too much. Mother is like a worm in Father's stomach. She knows everything Father is thinking."
Nan Yan reached out and poked her hard.
But after laughing, she felt something was wrong in her heart and turned to look outside.
The sky gradually brightened, and lanterns and torches were extinguished in various places in the South Courtyard. The palace maids and eunuchs began to move about busily, but there was no movement outside.
Where is Zhu Feng?
She couldn't help but frown slightly and asked, "Where's your father? Why hasn't he come back yet?"
Upon hearing this, the room immediately became quiet.
Nan Yan turned around and saw Wei Ying and Wen Wu Yu immediately lowering their heads. Then he looked at his youngest son, whose eyes flickered. After a moment of silence, he said softly, "Father...Father hasn't come back yet."
"Not coming back?"
Nan Yan frowned: "Where has he gone and why hasn't he come back yet?"
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