Su Wan sensed the nervousness in Chu Mingyao's voice and was somewhat puzzled.
"Sister Chu, what do you mean by things getting worse?"
Chu Mingyao's voice was already soft, but now it was even lower as she whispered in her ear, "Ge Fanghai and that general are going to carry out a plan together, right?"
Su Wan nodded and said, "Yes, but they detained you because you and the Crown Prince decided to withdraw."
"After they detained us, they changed their plans," Chu Mingyao said nervously. "His Highness is Father's only son. If he finds out we're missing, he'll definitely blame the Youzhou General's Mansion. I'm afraid he..."
Su Wan asked in surprise, "The King of Xirong will blame the General's Mansion... Does he intend to send troops to punish them?"
“Yes,” Chu Mingyao emphasized, “that general and Ge Fanghai mentioned that they seem to want to use our detention to get the Western Rong army to attack Youzhou. And…”
Su Wan continued, "And Youzhou doesn't know you're being held here, so they have no way to hand you over."
She finally realized the seriousness of the situation.
Perhaps Ge Fanghai and his group originally planned to attack the General's Mansion and the Northwest Camp, but after the Western Rong Crown Prince Danma decided to withdraw from his captivity, they changed their plans and directly provoked a war between the Western Rong and the Great Jin. The Western Rong army and the Youzhou army, however, remained completely unaware of this.
“This plan is terrible, I must tell my husband.” Su Wan stood up abruptly.
Chu Mingyao grabbed her hand and said, "Sister, the door is locked from the outside. There's no way to get out. Besides, even if we did get out, we couldn't escape the soldiers guarding outside Suiyang City."
"Then let's go through the window." Su Wan groped her way to the window in the dark, pushed it hard, but the window didn't budge.
“Sister Su, let me help you too.”
Chu Mingyao also came to the window, and the two of them pushed together, but still couldn't get through.
Su Wan went to the door again, gently pulled on it, and turned around to say, "They're really all locked."
Chu Mingyao said, "Sister, there are still guards at the entrance of the courtyard. If we alert them, the people from the county government will come immediately. Let's wait and think of another way."
Su Wan was somewhat impatient and said, "If what you say is true, then Youzhou is in danger."
She turned to look in the direction of Youzhou, thinking to herself, "Ah Jin, is everything alright there?"
...
Youzhou, General's Mansion.
Just as dawn was breaking, a general rode up to the gate of the general's mansion, dismounted, tossed the reins to the guards, and hurried into Wei Jingzhuo's room. He handed Wei Jingzhuo a letter with both hands: "My lord, news from the scouts."
Wei Jingzhuo unfolded the report, glanced at it, and slowly said, "The Western Rong army has already advanced towards Youzhou. Have they discovered the whereabouts of the Western Rong crown prince and his wife?"
The general shook his head and said, "My lord, our scouts have already questioned the people on the border. They did see the Western Rong prince and his entourage heading towards Youzhou, but no one near Youzhou city has ever seen their procession."
“That means they didn’t come to Youzhou, but changed their route midway,” Wei Jingzhuo said thoughtfully. “Then where did they go?”
Seeing that Wei Jingzhuo remained silent, the general hurriedly reminded him, "My lord, should we send another messenger to contact the Western Rong army?"
Wei Jingzhuo waved his hand and said, "No need. Since the Crown Prince of Xirong disappeared in Youzhou, we must give an explanation. Sending someone to explain would be useless."
The general was somewhat anxious and urged, "My lord, the Western Rong army is currently advancing towards Youzhou. The leading general said that if the Western Rong prince and his wife are not returned within three days, they will attack the city directly."
"Three days, is that right?" Wei Jingzhuo said to the general. "Immediately order all troops outside Youzhou City to retreat into the city for defense. At the same time, send more people to search for the whereabouts of the Western Rong prince in various places, and inform us as soon as possible if there is any news."
The general accepted the order and turned to leave. Wei Jingzhuo went out the door and headed towards the general's residence.
Halfway there, Zhao Xiyue appeared and hurriedly ran up to him, saying, "Brother Jin, I heard that the Western Rong army is going to betray the treaty and attack our Youzhou, is that right?"
Wei Jingzhuo stopped and said with his hands behind his back, "The Crown Prince and Princess of the Western Rong have gone missing in Youzhou. The Western Rong army has come to demand their return. If we do not hand over the Crown Prince and Princess within three days, they will attack the city directly."
Zhao Xiyue's face turned pale. She said, "Brother Jin, that Western Rong prince didn't come to our Youzhou at all. You should send someone to explain!"
Wei Jingzhuo shook his head and said, "Don't worry, I will make the arrangements."
“Let’s go talk to Grandpa.” Zhao Xiyue wanted to take Wei Jingzhuo’s arm, but stopped halfway and quickened her pace, saying, “Brother Jin, hurry up.”
The two entered the room, where General Zhao Xian, wearing a robe, was pointing at a map on the table with several officers. Seeing Wei Jingzhuo arrive, he turned and asked, "Jinzhi, has the Western Rong army already marched towards Youzhou?"
Wei Jingzhuo said, "Yes. They want us to hand over the Western Rong prince and his wife within three days, or they will attack the city."
The military officers gathered around the table all looked up, their eyes filled with worry.
Zhao Xiyue ran to Zhao Xian and said, "Grandpa, the Western Rong people are so bad. They just signed a ceasefire agreement with us, and they're about to break it. They're really going back on their word."
Zhao Xian chuckled and patted Zhao Xiyue's head: "My dear granddaughter, you don't need to get involved in military affairs. Go outside first, Grandpa needs to discuss the military situation with your cousin."
Zhao Xiyue was still unwilling, and glanced at Wei Jingzhuo, saying, "You guys discuss, I'll just listen in."
Wei Jingzhuo didn't speak, he just looked at her quietly.
"Okay." Zhao Xiyue pouted and walked out of the room with her head down.
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