"What did you say? No, absolutely not!"
Zhao Junhou firmly rejected Li Huaiyin's request.
"Father, I beg you, please let me go."
"Yin'er, why are you like this? You clearly said you had let go before, so what's going on now?"
“I—” Recalling what he had said in Kunning Palace last time, Li Huaiyin blushed a little. But, but how could he let his feelings be?
Seeing him like this, Zhao Ru felt bad too. It seemed that Yun Qing's position in his son's heart was more important than he had imagined.
"I know you're worried, but have you thought about it? You're my only son. What would I do if something happened to you?"
"Father, I'm sorry." Li Huaiyin knelt down straight down. "Forgive your unfilial son. I have loved her for so many years and hated her for so many years. If something really happens to her, I don't know what meaning there is to my life."
"Alas! What a tragedy, what a tragedy!" Zhao Ru was speechless and threw the token in her hand at Li Huaiyin's feet.
“I’ve finally seen it clearly. Where there is no love, there is no hate. Go on, this is the last time I, as your father, will indulge your nonsense.”
"Thank you, Father!" Li Huaiyin kowtowed three times heavily, picked up the token from the ground, and ran away.
On his way back to the prince's residence, the words Yun Qing had left behind flooded his mind:
If I return safely, no matter how many hardships and dangers lie ahead, I will fulfill the promise I made in my youth and propose to you with great pomp and circumstance. If I do not return, then I hope you will have your wish fulfilled...
What a bastard! If you're so capable, why did you leave him all alone here?
No, this time he would not allow her to break her promise. He would search high and low, even if it meant death, to find her with his own hands.
Meanwhile, Yun Qing, whom everyone was worried about, was leisurely strolling around the Tongji County government office.
"My lady, are you sure you want to do this? What if Aunt Chen disagrees?"
Yun Qing, disguised as Qi Xiao's bodyguard, smiled and said, "Don't worry, she will definitely agree."
At night, Magistrate Chen was handling official business in her study when she thought of Qi Xiao, who was temporarily staying at the government office, and a trace of worry appeared on her face.
Qi's mother had once saved her life, so she took a huge risk to rescue Qi Xiao.
But unexpectedly, he came back. Given Qi Guo's current situation, it's really not suitable for him to stay any longer.
Chen Yuebai traveled to various countries in his early years and was well aware of the difference in national strength between Sheng and Qi. However, he believed that the rulers were incompetent and always had unrealistic ideas, attempting to annex Sheng.
As a low-ranking official in a remote border region, she was easily made cannon fodder. Even Qi's mother, who was highly capable and resourceful, became a thorn in the side of others. How much more so for her?
Just as she was worrying about what lay ahead, the study door suddenly opened.
As Yun Qing walked in, Qi Xiao, who was keeping watch, widened his eyes. Did he think that persuading someone to surrender didn't need to be done secretly?
However, no one knew what Yun Qing had done or said, because there was no unusual noise coming from the study.
After a while, she confidently walked out and winked at Qi Xiao.
"The matter is settled. Go and catch up with Magistrate Chen."
Is that all? Qi Xiao scratched his head in surprise and walked in, completely bewildered.
After persuading Magistrate Chen to surrender, Yun Qing did not rush back.
So, after Li Huaiyin had exhausted several thoroughbred horses, he finally arrived at the battlefield, covered in dust and grime.
"Cousin, what brings you here?"
Zhao Shuyu was shocked to see him appear.
Li Huaiyin arrived full of courage, but faced with this cousin whom he had always looked down upon, he felt somewhat ashamed and annoyed.
He used to look down on him, thinking he couldn't live without women, but now his behavior is no better than his.
"I heard some news in Shengjing, so I came to supervise the battle on the orders of the Empress Dowager."
"What news?" Zhao Shuyu's heart skipped a beat.
Could it be about Yun Qing's disappearance? He kept this matter very secret. Apart from him and Qin Zhiyao, no one else in the army knew about it. How did Li Huaiyin find out?
Moreover, if the news had indeed spread to places he wasn't aware of, wouldn't Yun Qing be in danger? If the people of Qi Kingdom found out, they would definitely offer a hefty reward and search everywhere for her whereabouts.
"Let's go inside and talk." Seeing Zhao Shuyu's guilty expression, Li Huaiyin wasn't happy either. On the way here, he had been silently praying that this matter was false, but now he couldn't convince himself anymore.
Once inside the tent, after dismissing the rest of the people, he lowered his head and stared intently at Zhao Shuyu.
"What exactly happened?"
"Sigh." Zhao Shuyu sighed, "To be honest, I'm not quite sure either. This is a letter Yun Qing left before she left. You can read it yourself."
Li Huaiyin took the letter and read it quickly, skimming through it.
After reading the contents, he slammed the letter on the table: "Nonsense! How could she risk her life and then talk about it so casually?"
"Cousin, how did you find out about this?"
"It was Yun Qing's private guards who came to Shengjing to ask for reinforcements, that's how I found out."
Call for reinforcements? Zhao Shuyu felt something was off. Pingyang County had so many people, why would they need to travel all the way to Shengjing? By the time the message was sent and reinforcements were found, it would be too late.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Li Huaiyin was puzzled, assuming that Zhao Shuyu knew about this.
"Oh, it's nothing, I was just a little surprised that you came so quickly, cousin." Thinking of the past between Yun Qing and her cousin, an absurd idea popped into Zhao Shuyu's mind.
He simply couldn't believe it. Yun Qing was such a virtuous and upright person; how could she resort to such methods? Out of trust in her, he didn't tell Li Huaiyin about this suspicion. However, a hint of emotion appeared in his eyes, indicating that he was no longer as worried as before.
"I changed horses several times and traveled without sleep to get here quickly. By the way, how is the battle going?" Li Huaiyin wanted to know the current situation before deciding how to find people.
"Not bad. We fought a battle with the Qi Kingdom's army a few days ago and won a great victory."
"That's good. In that case, let's go find her secretly and not alert her."
"That's what I was thinking too, but the war is urgent and General Qin and I really can't leave. We don't trust anyone else with this task."
“Your concerns are valid. No news is good news. Even now, don’t let this get out. Now that I’m here, I’ll go find her. You stay on the battlefield and keep watch.”
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