The Great Zhou army and the Southern Lan army fought in the Jishui area. The battle was extremely brutal and both sides suffered heavy casualties.

On the list of fallen soldiers, Emperor Jingming suddenly found a familiar name: Jiang Zhan, son of the Earl of Dongping.

Emperor Jingming closed the long list with a snap, and the image of the young man appeared before his eyes.

Handsome face, bright eyes, and that radiant smile.

When he asked the young man in the hall what reward he wanted, the young man said that a man should protect the land of the Great Zhou at the cost of his own life.

It was because of this that he was moved that he nodded and agreed to the young man's request.

But now, the young man's name appeared on the list of fallen soldiers, and he was the only son of the Earl of Dongping and the elder brother of the Princess of Yan...Emperor Jingming felt a headache, and he closed his eyes and pondered for a long time before opening them and looking at Pan Hai.

Pan Hai bowed slightly: "What does the emperor want?"

Emperor Jingming was silent for a moment before he spoke: "Call the Prince of Yan to the palace first."

"yes."

Yu Jin was quite puzzled when he received the summons.

He hasn't done anything recently, so why was he called into the palace for such a good time?

Because he couldn't guess, Yu Jin acted extraordinarily honest when he met Emperor Jingming this time.

"The son has seen the emperor."

Emperor Jingming glanced at Yu Jin deeply and said in a low voice: "Here I am."

Yu Jin felt something was wrong when he heard this, so he lowered his eyes and asked, "I wonder what instructions did the emperor have for me to come here?"

Emperor Jingming glanced at the list on the table. After a while, he handed the list to Yu Jin and said, "Take a look."

After taking the list, Yu Jin suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart. He quickly flipped through the names and soon saw a line of familiar words.

Those few ordinary words were like a sharp knife piercing his body, making his face suddenly turn pale.

The hand that was holding the sword with such firmness began to tremble.

Emperor Jingming said nothing and looked at Yu Jin silently.

After a long time, Yu Jin moved his eyes away from the list and looked at Emperor Jingming.

Emperor Jingming spoke up: "As for the Duke of Dongping's mansion, I will send Pan Hai to comfort them. As for your wife, you can talk to her."

Yu Jin moved her lips, feeling the urge to stay in the palace.

What did he say?

Want him to tell Asi that Jiang Zhan died in the battle?

"Um?"

Yu Jin clenched his fists and said frankly, "My son can't bring himself to ask this."

Emperor Jingming agreed with the sigh.

He is the only son, who can ask such a question?

The two grandfathers stared at each other, and no one said a word.

The atmosphere was extremely tense for a moment, and Pan Hai secretly wiped the sweat off his forehead.

The Princess of Yan's brother died in battle, which is really terrible.

Although Emperor Jingming felt deeply sorry for this, after all, he had experienced many ups and downs, and not long ago he had even killed his own son. This was even worse than the other. So he said first, "Go, tell your wife. It's better than her receiving a letter from the Duke of Dongping's mansion."

Yu Jin bit her lip and gently handed the list to Pan Hai: "Son, take your leave."

He turned and walked to the door, then suddenly turned back.

Emperor Jingming was slightly surprised: "What?"

"Father, I want to know the details of what happened, and when my uncle's body can be transported back to the capital."

If he just went back and told Ah Si that Jiang Zhan was dead, not only would Ah Si not be able to accept it, he would also be unable to accept it.

How could that simple-minded idiot who only thought of good people die?

This is very wrong. He had secretly sent someone to protect her...

After listening to Yu Jin's words, Emperor Jingming glanced at Pan Hai.

Pan Hai said: "These are the only things reported so far. I'm afraid we'll have to wait two days for more detailed information."

Emperor Jingming looked at Yu Jin again and said slowly, "Go back. I will let you know as soon as there is any news from the south."

Yu Jin was silent for a long time, then bowed and said, "My son is leaving now."

After leaving the palace, a cold wind blew in, chilling Yu Jin's face.

It was already winter, and the weather was getting colder day by day, but not as cold as his heart at this moment.

How should he tell Asi when he returns?

Only half of the sun was visible, the other half was covered by thick clouds. It was clearly morning, but the sky was gloomy, as if night was about to fall.

After returning to the palace, Yu Jin did not go to Yuhe Garden first, but called Leng Ying.

"What do you want, Master?"

"The people who went to the south to secretly protect Jiang Zhan must be your men, right?"

"Um."

"There's urgent news from the south that Jiang Zhan has died in battle. Have you received any news?"

Leng Ying's normally expressionless face showed a hint of shock, and after a while he said, "I haven't received any news."

"You should personally take people to check and see whether the person who secretly protects Jiang Zhan is dead or alive." Yu Jin gritted his teeth.

"yes."

Yu Jin stood up and walked towards Yuhe Garden.

In the past, he always felt that the road from the study in the front yard to Yuhe Garden was too long, but this time he felt it was too short.

Standing at the door, Yu Jin thought: How come we are here so soon?

Ah Man happened to come out and asked in confusion, "Why doesn't the prince go in?"

This is not like the prince's style. In the past, when he came to see his master, he would not wait for the message and would go in directly.

Yu Jin thought Ah Man was talking too much, so she glanced at her and walked in.

Ah Man blinked in a fog.

What happened to the prince?

After thinking about it, she simply followed in silently.

It won't be too late to do the task later. The reason for the prince's abnormal behavior is serious. I always feel that something is wrong.

Jiang Si was playing with Ah Huan.

Ah Huan is more than five months old. He always responds to his mother's teasing by grinning and even giggling out loud.

Hearing her daughter's laughter, Yu Jin paused, feeling even more depressed, but she did not show it on her face. She walked over to help Jiang Si coax her daughter.

Jiang Si noticed something was wrong and signaled the nurse to take Ah Huan away.

Even though he was just over five months old and shouldn't be able to recognize people very well, Ah Huan started howling with a grimace as soon as he realized he was being taken away.

The wet nurse looked at Jiang Si hesitantly.

Although Jiang Si felt distressed, he did not change his mind and said calmly, "Take the little princess down."

When Ah Huan's crying gradually faded away, Jiang Si looked at Yu Jin and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

Yu Jin's eyes flickered: "Did you see it?"

"Your footsteps are heavier than usual."

Hearing Jiang Si say this, Yu Jin felt even more uncomfortable.

Ah Si could even detect the slightest changes in his footsteps, which showed that she really cared about him, but he failed to protect Ah Si's brother...

Shame, pain, hesitation...all kinds of emotions intertwined in his eyes.

Jiang Si sat up straight, his expression becoming more serious: "Ah, what happened?"

Usually, A-Jian is not such a hesitant person.

Thinking of this, Jiang Si's heart sank.

Yu Jin pursed his lips and said in a hoarse voice: "Urgent news from the south——"

"And then?" Jiang Si's heart began beating uncontrollably and he had a bad feeling.

Yu Jinxin made up his mind and said, "Jiang Zhan... Jiang Zhan's name appeared on the list of fallen soldiers!"