Chapter 189: About to go
When Sun Wei thought of Sima Jun's back, her face seemed to feel hot again.
"Of course he was carried down." Sun Wei said vaguely, then changed the subject, "Go and see what the prince is doing."
A'ru looked at her and said, "Why would I go to see him for no reason? The princess should at least let me bring a message."
"If he hasn't rested yet, tell him what I said and let him rest early."
Aju looked a little strange.
"What's wrong?" Sun Wei asked.
"Nothing." A'ru smiled. "Just now, the prince sent someone to ask if the princess had rested yet. If not, let the princess rest early."
Sun Wei: “…”
"The princess and the prince are truly a loving mother and a filial son now." Aju said.
——Madam, please observe the etiquette and do not resist.
Sun Wei thought again of what Sima Jun had said before.
"Go quickly." She said expressionlessly.
——
Sima Jun's residence was also in the county governor's mansion. After Aju left, she came back soon.
"It's still early for the prince to rest. The front yard is brightly lit, and a group of civil and military officials are waiting outside, all waiting to discuss something with the prince. I don't know what it is, and why it can't be discussed tomorrow." She said, "The prince said that the princess should rest quickly, because we have to get up early tomorrow, and he wants to take the princess to a place."
Sun Wei was surprised.
"Tomorrow? Where to?"
"He never said that."
Perhaps because she was too tired during the day, Sun Wei slept very soundly that night.
After a while, she heard someone talking in the yard, and soon Aju came into the house.
"What time is it?" She rubbed her eyes.
"It's the morning hour," A'ru said. "Sima Deng just came to ask Princess to get up. It's time to set off."
Sun Wei was surprised and looked outside.
The light was reflected in the window, but it was still dark outside.
"So early?" she asked. "Where are you going?"
"I don't know about that." A'ru said, "The prince is waiting for the princess to have breakfast in the hall. The princess should ask him."
Sun Wei perked up, stood up immediately, packed up briefly, and went to the hall.
Sima Jun was dressed neatly, looking like he was about to go out.
"Prince must have gone to bed late last night, why did he get up so early?" Sun Wei asked.
"I've slept for almost two hours. That's enough." Sima Jun looked at Sun Wei, and soon his gaze shifted to her feet. "How is your foot injury, Madam? Can you take a boat or a carriage?"
"The doctor said that applying the medicine for two or three days will be fine." Sun Wei asked, "Where will the prince take me?"
"Guangzhou," Sima Jun said gently, "I wonder if Madam can go?"
When Sun Wei heard the word Guangzhou, his heart skipped a beat.
The seat of Guangzhou was Panyu County of Nanhai County.
Panyu and Cangwu are connected by water, and the journey only takes ten days.
She became alert.
"Guangzhou?" she asked calmly. "From Linhai to Guangzhou, even by sea, it takes quite a while to go there and back. I wonder what happened that forced the prince to make this trip?"
"Although Kong Qi has been captured, the Three Immortals Sect still has over 100,000 followers entrenched on the island. If they don't surrender, they'll become a serious threat. The key is to cut off their supply lines, forcing them to leave the island. When we set out from Jiankang, my wife mentioned that Wu Fen, the Three Immortals Sect's left protector, has connections with the Guangzhou governor. This presumably means Guangzhou is the source of the Three Immortals Sect's supplies. To eliminate this threat once and for all, I have no choice but to make this trip."
Sun Wei nodded.
Sima Jun and she had the same idea about this matter.
She had mentioned Guangzhou to Sima Jun earlier, asking him to take action.
"But the war in Kuaiji is still ongoing. How can the Crown Prince just withdraw?"
Sima Juan smiled faintly.
"Why not? With Kong Qi captured, the threat from the Three Immortals Sect has been largely eliminated. The Crown Prince is personally leading the expedition, commanding the 140,000 troops occupying the Three Wus and Jingkou. I have already arranged military affairs for Jiangzhou, and Zhuo Jing has also accompanied the Crown Prince to Kuaiji to assist him in deploying troops. The Crown Prince will be more at ease without me."
Sun Wei said, "How can you say that? This battle was strongly advocated by the Crown Prince. The one who stood beside the Crown Prince as his right-hand man must also be the Crown Prince."
"Is that so?" Sima Jun asked, "Why did the Crown Prince insist on Madam coming to the battlefield? Didn't the Crown Prince mention this to Madam?"
Sun Wei looked at him, speechless for a moment.
—Ziheng and I, though king and subject, and brothers, are bound to have disagreements. When that happens, we need someone with a say to mediate. I believe the princess is the perfect choice.
The words the prince said are still ringing in my ears.
Sima Jun said, "I was the one who sent the soldiers from Jiangzhou and Jingzhou to the Three Wus, and they all obey my orders. The Northern Governor, Chu Yue, is on good terms with me and allows me to deploy his troops. To put it bluntly, as long as I'm here, even if the Crown Prince leads the army himself, some in the court and beyond will say he's simply taking credit for my achievements. Who knows how many more people will accuse him of incompetence, and who knows how many more accusations of being a tyrant will be leveled against me. The Crown Prince is also concerned about this; he wants to lead the war himself, but he's afraid I won't yield. So, he wants Madam to mediate between him and me, isn't that right?"
Sun Wei thought that it was becoming increasingly difficult to deceive Sima Jun nowadays.
"When did the prince figure it out?" Sun Wei asked.
"Before leaving Beijing, I visited the Grand Tutor and received some advice from him," Sima Jun said. "The Grand Tutor is right. On the battlefield, there's never a need for two commanders. For the greater good, it's better for me to leave early than to remain here. Besides the Three Wus, there's a more crucial place, Guangzhou. I could go there."
Sun Wei looked at him, feeling a little sad.
Whether in his previous life or this life, Sima Jun always has a pure heart and does not care about anything.
"Why aren't you talking, Madam?" Sima Jun asked.
"I was just thinking that when we go to Guangzhou now, both you and I should bring less clothes."
Sima Jun's brows lit up.
"Will the lady agree to go with me?" he said.
"I am from Lingnan, and Aju is from Guangzhou. No one is more familiar with that place than her." Sun Wei said, "It will be beneficial for the prince to take me with him."
Sima Jun looked at her, a smile appeared on his lips, then he turned his face away, picked up the teacup and took a sip of water.
"One more thing." He remembered something and said, "Madam, do you miss home? You've been away for a year now, so you can take this opportunity to go back south and visit your family."
Sun Wei was stunned.
What you fear will come to you.
She looked at Sima Jun and saw that he looked calm, as if he had no other thoughts.
Maybe it's just pure kindness, she thought.
"That's right." Sun Wei came up with a plan and said, "But it will take two or three months to return to Cangwu. Since I am going on such a long journey, I should return to the palace to report to the Queen Mother and get her consent before I can set off. This..."
"That's not necessary," Sima Jun interrupted. "I've already written a letter to the Queen Mother. It's been a year since my father passed away. I'm going to Cangwu with my wife to pay my respects to him. The Queen Mother won't object."
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