Chapter 152
"Royal Sister!"
A young man in a green lark robe immediately rushed to Ying Ning's side. His clear phoenix eyes were full of worry, and he held onto the hem of her brocade robe tightly, unwilling to let go.
"Why did you not return from hunting for so many days, and only sent a letter to me yesterday? I was worried about you for days." Bai Chuning noticed that she seemed a little tired, and her dark hair was a bit messy at the side of her forehead.
"But what happened?" Bai Chuning asked worriedly.
That day, the group that accompanied the imperial sister to the royal hunting grounds were several servants from the Western Regions. After a while, one of them hurriedly returned to the mansion to inform Bai Chuning.
It is said that the eldest princess did not return to the camp after the hunt, and the emperor of the Min Dynasty, for some unknown reason, flew into a rage and left in anger.
After much deliberation, Bai Chuning ordered the carriage to proceed, bringing along a trusted maid who bore a striking resemblance to her elder sister.
Upon arriving at the hunting grounds, she had her maid change into an old Western Region dress belonging to her elder sister, and then put on a long jade bead ornament to slightly cover the maid's profile.
Then, he instructed his attendants to pretend that he had suddenly fallen ill in the mansion. Upon hearing this, the "Princess" hurriedly boarded her sedan chair and left. At that time, the scene was already somewhat chaotic because of His Majesty, and everyone left one after another, so no one paid attention to what the woman in the intricate crimson Western Region palace dress in the distance looked like.
This approach is a very poor strategy.
He suddenly had a premonition that the Emperor's anger was probably related to his elder sister, so just in case, he immediately began to make arrangements.
Bai Chuning waited anxiously in the mansion for several days, but dared not send anyone to look for his elder sister in a big way. Instead, he sent a small team out of the city to "find medicine" and then circled around the hunting forest to look for her.
It wasn't until yesterday evening, when Bai Chuning received Ying Ning's letter, that he finally felt a little relieved.
He was worried day and night, fearing that something might have happened to his elder sister.
"Ah Chu, it's nothing."
"Don't make a fuss while I'm away from the manor." Yingning gently tapped Bai Chuning's forehead, prompting the latter to obediently nod.
“Ah Chu understands.”
"But Your Majesty, you still need to tell Ah Chu where you've been these past few days?"
"With whom?"
"Are you in danger?"
The phoenix-eyed young man's eyes were filled with the image of one person. He kept pouring out his unease over the past few days, completely disregarding whether his appearance and demeanor were incompatible with the royal bearing of the Western Regions.
His gaze reflected only one person.
"I've been with Yan Chaoji these past few days," Ying Ning said softly after pulling Bai Chuning into the hall and stopping.
"Regent, Yan Chaoji?!"
Bai Chuning was somewhat surprised to hear this name. He recalled the rumors about Yan Chaoji and thought of some other things before hesitantly speaking, "Royal sister, Yan Chaoji is... a major concern for him."
The young man did not mention the man's name, but Yingning knew he was referring to Bai Lirong, the emperor of the Western Regions, who was thousands of miles away.
“Indeed, he should be a major concern for him.” Yingning thought of her younger brother, who had already ascended the throne, and a hint of irony flashed in her eyes.
The original owner's beloved younger brother, due to the great defeat in the Rongsu War, sent a marriage alliance to him.
Although the defeat in the Battle of Rongsu was already predetermined when he ascended the throne, such a devastating defeat still caused his morale to crumble and inevitably made him resentful.
The marriage alliance was merely a delaying tactic by the Western Regions. Given any opportunity, he would surely launch a war to regroup one day.
Therefore, Bai Lirong must regard Yan Chaoji, the regent of the Min Dynasty and the commander-in-chief of the Rongsu War, as a major threat.
They couldn't wait to leave, lest they hinder his future grand plans.
......
"Elder sister, you wouldn't be planning to..."
Bai Chuning spoke again: "Yan Chaoji is not someone that you and I can deal with. Besides, we are still in the Min Dynasty and do not have the strength to confront him."
"Ah Chu, what are you thinking about?" Ying Ning couldn't help but find it a little funny when she saw his nervous expression.
Why should we help Bai Lirong?
"Besides, you're right. We're currently in the capital of the Min Dynasty, and we don't have the power we once had to confront Yan Chaoji." She gently instructed Bai Chuning.
"If we are outmatched at this point, all we can do is preserve ourselves and lie low in the soil."
"One day, someone will let their guard down and take another bite out of them."
"Ah Chu, besides, Yan Chaoji is Bai Lirong's biggest worry, not mine."
"My biggest worry right now is the poison in your body." Yingning looked him up and down, wondering if Bai Chuning had been feeling unwell these past few days, and asked him.
Bai Chuning shook his head, not wanting her to worry:
"Imperial sister, I'm fine."
"The medicine sent by the Fourth Prince tasted very strange, but it was quite effective. I only took one bowl of the medicine, and I haven't felt the usual depression and pain for the past few days."
"By the way, Your Highness, the Fourth Prince sent a visiting card a few days ago."
"I didn't have the servant accept it at the time," Bai Chuning said casually, thinking of the visiting card Yan Qizhen had sent.
He paused, seemingly lost in thought, and said, "Elder sister, don't compromise yourself for A-Chu's sake."
Although Bai Chuning didn't know where Yan Qizhen had found the elixir, the bowl of medicine was sent over by his elder sister after their trip.
Bai Chuning was worried that Ying Ning had wronged herself because of his health, and that something strange had happened between her and the Fourth Prince Yan Qizhen.
He had been with his elder sister since childhood and couldn't bear to see her suffer even the slightest grievance.
If it were truly his elder sister who had been wronged, he would fight and bite against "wolves and tigers" from all sides, even at the cost of his own safety.
Yingning scrutinized the phoenix-eyed young man. The worry that had never faded from his brows today, and the slight weariness around his light brown phoenix eyes, were striking. His black hair, which he usually tied up with a simple eagle feather ornament, was now simply draped loosely behind him.
They must have been worried about her safety these past few days.
How could she possibly care about tying her hair up?
Ying Ning's mind stirred, and she suddenly thought of Bai Chuning's fate.
The original owner passed away a year later on the anniversary of his death.
Bai Chuning was also discovered by his attendants to have died in front of Bai Yingning's tomb. At that time, he was still tightly holding a pair of jade pendant earrings with crescent moon shapes in his palm. The crescent moon shape even left a deep mark on his palm.
This shows how strong he was.
The creature that accompanied him to his death was the birthday gift that Bai Yingning had given him when he was young.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
