Su Wan and Wei Jingzhuo rushed day and night, arriving in Youzhou that evening.
The vanguard of the Western Rong army had reached the outskirts of Youzhou, and the people of nearby villages and towns fled into Youzhou city. Fortunately, the Western Rong king had strictly ordered the Western Rong army not to harass the villages and towns of Da Jin. They had only come to reclaim Crown Prince Danma and had not harmed the people of Da Jin.
Su Wan had been running around non-stop for the past few days, and was so sleepy on the road that she couldn't fall asleep because of the jolting of the horse.
By the time she arrived at Youzhou Post Station, she was so sleepy she was swaying.
Chu Mingyao said, "Sister, you rest at the post station. I'll go see the Western Rong general and explain what happened to them."
Su Wan thought that Chu Mingyao was the Crown Princess of Xirong, and if she appeared to persuade them, the Xirong army would definitely stop advancing. She said to Wei Jingzhuo, "Ajin, I really can't go on. You and Sister Chu go."
Wei Jingzhuo personally carried her to bed, changed her clothes, pulled the blanket over her, and wanted to say a few more words, but found that Su Wan had already fallen asleep.
He touched Su Wan's face tenderly, bent down and kissed her forehead, then got up and left the room.
Su Wan slept soundly until midnight when someone suddenly shook her: "Madam, wake up."
Su Wan was rudely woken up from a good sleep. Without even opening her eyes, she rolled over, pulled the covers over herself, and muttered, "Don't bother me. Go talk to A Jin if you have something to say."
The maid who was responsible for calling Su Wan had no choice but to bend down and whisper in Su Wan's ear, "Madam, news has arrived."
Su Wan jolted awake, opened her eyes, and sat up abruptly, asking, "What news? Is the Western Rong attacking the city?"
The maid nearly bumped into her nose, and steadied Su Wan, saying, "Madam, don't panic. The Western Rong haven't attacked the city. I just received two pieces of news, one good and one bad. Which would you like to hear?"
Su Wan composed herself and said, "Tell me the good news first."
Honestly, nobody wants to wake up to bad news. Even if good news follows, you won't feel happy after hearing bad news. Hearing the good news first at least gives you a few seconds of joy before the bad news arrives.
Life is short, so every extra second of happiness is a bonus.
A maid poured a glass of warm water at the table and handed it to Su Wan, saying, "A report just came from the Northwest Camp that the Lin family's private army ambushed and attacked in Ganxi Valley. The General escaped under the protection of his guards and has safely arrived at the Northwest Camp."
Su Wan was gulping down water when she heard the news. She put down her teacup, swallowed, and said, "The Lin family is really bold, daring to ambush the army... They didn't mention anything about explosions or anything like that?"
The maid replied, "No."
Su Wan thought that the fuse probably got damp halfway there and failed to ignite the explosives. But the fact that General Zhao Xian was unharmed was great news.
"Does Ah Jin know?" She happily handed the teacup to the maid and lifted the quilt. "Quickly, bring me some clothes."
The maid took the teacup and placed it back on the table, then fetched clothes for Su Wan, saying, "Madam, the master doesn't know yet. The next piece of news is bad."
As Su Wan dressed, she said, "Go ahead and speak."
"The bad news is that the Crown Princess of Xirong failed to persuade the Xirong army. The Xirong army issued an ultimatum: if Crown Prince Danma is not handed over before dawn, they will attack Youzhou."
Su Wan was startled and said to the maid, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
This wasn't just bad news, it was terrible news, completely unexpected. She had always thought Chu Mingyao could handle this. Were all the Western Rong soldiers nearsighted and unable to recognize Chu Mingyao as the Crown Princess?
The maid said, "I just received these two messages and came to tell Madam as soon as possible."
Su Wan dressed, put on her shoes and socks, hastily tied her hair back, and got up to walk towards the door. The maid hurriedly followed her and said from behind, "Madam, the master instructed that you should rest well at the post station."
"The Western Rong army is about to attack Youzhou City, what am I supposed to do but rest?" Su Wan said angrily as she walked quickly down the corridor. "Get me something to eat, I'm starving."
The maid nodded repeatedly and went to the kitchen to call for help.
The food at the post station was kept warm 24 hours a day, ready to serve passing messengers at any time.
Su Wan ordered two vegetable buns and a chicken leg, which she wolfed down. She then said to the maid, "Find a carriage; I need to go to the Western Rong army's front line."
The maidservant dared not delay and immediately arranged for a carriage and a troop of cavalry to escort Su Wan.
The general in charge of guarding the city, knowing that Su Wan was going to leave the city, hurriedly came to see her in person and said, "Madam, General Wei has already gone to negotiate. If you go there on your own, you may be in danger."
Su Wan stepped onto the car door, turned back and smiled, "No, they know me."
Leaving the stunned general behind, she entered the carriage and said to the driver, "Take me to the front lines of the two armies."
Escorted by cavalry, the carriage left Youzhou City and headed north. After traveling several miles, the coachman outside said, "Madam, we can now see the formations of the two armies."
A silver moon hung high in the deep night sky. Su Wan saw two armies facing off on the open ground ahead, torches standing tall, reflecting the glint of swords and spears. They looked like dozens of long, fiery dragons arrayed together.
Beyond that was the main camp of the Western Rong army. Su Wan had been to the Western Rong army's camp before and had experience with it, so she could tell that the Western Rong had brought at least 50,000 troops this time.
Unexpectedly, the King of the Western Rong valued his son so much that he immediately launched a massive military campaign upon his disappearance.
The Western Rong army did not invade any villages in the Great Jin Dynasty, nor did they plunder any civilians. Su Wan knew that the Western Rong king did not want to break the peace treaty. She had to appease both sides at the front lines and get the Western Rong army to agree to stop in their current positions so that she could find the Western Rong crown prince, Danma, as soon as possible.
The carriage arrived behind the Northwest Army formation, and Chu Mingyao, having learned the news, hurriedly came to greet it.
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