Chapter 42 The Secret of the Crown Princess's Survival...
"How can you be so sure that Father and Mother will not accept this child?"
Yunzhu had never spoken harshly to any of her relatives since she was a child, but Mu Chenxiao's words completely enraged her.
She tilted her head back, her moist eyes wide open. Her originally dark skin seemed to have lost some of its natural color, turning a fiery red.
Mu Chenxiao's tall figure loomed over Yunzhu, his chest heaving violently. Men raised on the grasslands were naturally more rugged and imposing than men from the Central Plains.
Yunzhu had never argued with her family since she was a child, and so had Mu Chenxiao.
There was no other person between their father and mother. All of them, including their brothers and sisters, were born of the same mother, so there were almost no conflicts between them from childhood to adulthood.
However, as people grow up, disagreements will inevitably arise even among their closest relatives, which is perfectly normal.
Mu Chenxiao calmed down for a long time before he managed to stop arguing with Yunzhu in the streets of Liangzhou.
He simply looked down at his younger sister, catching his breath for a while before saying, "Yunzhu, there are some truths I don't need to explain to you in detail. I'm sure you understand them too. This child, as long as you want to return to the grasslands, is destined not to stay!"
“What if I insist on keeping him?” Yunzhu asked stubbornly.
"..."
Then you'll never be able to go back to your home again.
Mu Chenxiao looked intently at Yunzhu.
She wasn't the first daughter to be married off, but she was the first to be married off to such a distant place as the Central Plains. Before that, Mu Chenxiao felt almost nothing but heartache and longing for this younger sister. He even wished he could rush to Yunzhou and tear apart the people in the Huan Prince's mansion for her when he learned of her death.
He prayed day and night that his sister would come back to life, but when she did come back to life and stood in front of him, his first thought was of the interests of the grassland.
Yunzhu looked up and gazed at Mu Chenxiao for a long time.
Gradually, she seemed to finally see the resistance towards her in her brother's eyes.
She pursed her lips tightly, finally giving up on expecting his answer. She turned her head and grabbed Ayan's hand, leading her forward with large strides, without saying another word to Mu Chenxiao.
younger sister……
Mu Chenxiao opened his mouth, looked at Yunzhu and Ayan's figures, took two steps to catch up, and seemed to want to call them back.
But when he noticed the direction Yunzhu had gone, he froze on the spot, his parched throat unable to utter a single sound.
Because they did not continue towards the city gate, but instead changed course and began to return to Liangzhou City.
Yunzhu's physical condition meant that she couldn't actually walk fast at all, but she stubbornly insisted on taking big strides, as if the bigger her strides were, the more determined she was to break away from the grasslands.
Mu Chenxiao stood there for a long time without moving, his heart filled with mixed feelings. He wanted to go forward, but he knew that if she insisted on keeping Xiao Mingzhang's child, then they would have no choice but to part ways.
They are no longer children.
—
Yunzhu and Ayan returned to the inn.
This was the second time they had checked out, only to return both times. The innkeeper knew they were from the Western Regions and were staying there to return to the grasslands. Seeing that they had failed to cross the border twice, he couldn't help but wonder if something had happened.
Yunzhu shook her head, thanked the boss for his concern, and said, "My husband and I suddenly wanted to go to another place. It's not easy to leave the pass now, and it will probably be difficult to come back to the Central Plains later. Why don't we take advantage of the fact that the pass is still open and finish what we need to do in the Central Plains? Then we won't come back after we leave the pass."
"I see!" the innkeeper nodded. "Where do you two plan to go next?"
Where to go?
Yunzhu was taken aback. Yes, she had been so busy arguing with her brother that she hadn't returned to the grasslands. Where were she and Ayan going now?
She and Ayan exchanged a glance.
On the way back, she didn't say a word to Ayan or ask for her opinion; she just pulled her back like that.
Yunzhu looked at Ayan with a hint of guilt and said, "If you still want to go back to the grasslands..."
“I’m not going back!” Ayan said firmly.
Yunzhu and Mu Chenxiao's conversation had just been overheard. Mu Chenxiao's words completely shattered the princess's hopes of returning to the grasslands.
She did want to go back, that's true, but only if she could stay by the princess's side. She was a guard who had grown up with the princess since childhood; if she betrayed the princess, who else would stand firmly by her side?
"Wherever my wife goes, I will go; I will never betray my wife!" In front of the innkeeper, Ayan couldn't say anything else, but her tone was firm, as if she were making a vow.
Upon seeing this, the innkeeper immediately praised him as an exceptionally good young man.
Under his praise, Yunzhu couldn't help but twitch the corners of her mouth.
She slowly nodded to Ayan, and they held hands tightly.
If they weren't going back to the Western Regions, then where were she and Ayan going?
Yunzhu was at a loss for words.
She had originally planned to return to the royal tent while pregnant, so that she could give birth with her family by her side. Now she could not go home, but she could not ignore her pregnancy.
Returning to the heart of the Central Plains would be impractical due to the long journey. Once back in the bedroom, Yunzhu opened the window, gazed into the distance, and discussed with Ayan, "Ayan, what do you think about us finding a town nearby to settle down?"
"OK!"
Ayan has never had any objections to such things, because she believes that there is no place in this world where no one can't survive. No matter where you are, it's all up to you. As long as you are willing to manage things well, you will definitely be able to survive.
So as long as the princess is willing, she has no objections.
Yunzhu had already guessed Ayan's answer, but when she heard her words, she couldn't help but pat her head.
After discussing it with Ayan for a few more minutes, she asked Ayan to go out and buy a map of the Western Regions.
Previously, Yunzhu had seen maps of the area around Yunzhou and the entire Dayu region in Xiao Mingzhang's study, but she still knew very little about the towns and cities on the border of the Central Plains.
After Ayan bought the things, they looked at each other's heads for a long time before finally deciding on a place.
Dozens of miles past Liangzhou lies a small town called Hanze. It's a place famous for its horses, near the grasslands, but not quite part of them. If they went there, they could not only frequently see horses to their liking, but also often gallop freely across the pastures.
Most importantly, the place wasn't too big or too small, just the right size to live in. Yunzhu no longer needed to painstakingly conceal her appearance, and Ayan could regain her female identity and live freely.
After deciding on their destination, Yunzhu and Ayan didn't linger any longer, as they had already stayed long enough in Liangzhou these past few days.
The next day, they packed their bags, mounted their horses, and headed to the small town called Hanze.
Just before leaving, Yunzhu took out the travel permit again from her packed bag.
Ah Yan bought it on the black market; it cost them a lot of money.
Yunzhu still vividly remembers the moment she received her travel permit. She felt that the wind in Liangzhou was sweet, and she thought it was the wind blowing from the grasslands. She thought she would soon be able to return to her hometown and her homeland.
Little did I know, it was all an illusion.
She can never go back to the grasslands.
During her years in the Central Plains, her ideas had become vastly different from those of the people on the grasslands.
In fact, Yunzhu herself knew that without this child, she would probably not be able to stay at home for long.
Having spent so many years in the Central Plains, she had learned to care for the people there. The people were innocent, and if her father insisted on using her as a pretext to start a war, she feared she would have to leave the royal tent after only three days.
It's all good now. She doesn't have to go back and argue with her father. From now on, she will just be a simple commoner, a simple Mu Yunzhu.
She looked at the travel document in her hand again and again, until she saw that every word on it was deeply imprinted in her mind. Only then did she reach out and tear the document to shreds.
There's no point in keeping things she no longer needs.
Seeing this, Ayan immediately followed Yunzhu and tore up her own travel document.
They set off for Hanze.
It was a small town they had never been to before, a town they had never even heard of, but they planned to settle there and try to start a new life there.
"Princess, what if we don't like it when we get there?" After setting off, Ayan finally felt a bit lost about the unknown future.
Yunzhu looked at her and smiled, "That's easy, let's just keep going."
Just like in Yunzhou, just like in Jizhou, and just like in Liangzhou, their feet are their own, and they can go wherever they want.
If you're unhappy with your accommodation, leave. If you're unhappy with your life, leave.
...
When news of Yunzhu and Ayan's journey to Hanze reached Xiao Mingzhang's ears, he was reading a secret letter in his hand.
It was another secret letter from Jinling, but this time, the person who sent the letter was no longer from the Ying family.
After Yunzhu's funeral, more and more court officials in Jinling began to secretly contact and curry favor with the Prince Huan's mansion. At its peak, they received more than a dozen secret letters in a single day.
Unable to make a decision on his own, Xiao Shao would always ask Xiao Mingzhang to discuss with him which ministers were worth befriending and which should be rejected outright.
After listening to the report from Yuzhou Mausoleum, Xiao Mingzhang murmured, "...Hanze?"
“That’s a small town near Liangzhou, famous for its horses. You should have some impression of it,” Yu Zhouling said.
"Hmm." Xiao Mingzhang did indeed have an impression of this place.
But he never expected that Yunzhu would choose to settle down in this place.
"So what should we do next?" Yu Zhouling asked.
"Let's hold back for now," Xiao Mingzhang said. "Since she has chosen that place, let her stay there for a while. At least... let her give birth to the child safely."
Xiao Mingzhang closed the secret letter in his hand, his tightly furrowed brows remaining motionless. Even knowing Yunzhu's current location and that she was pregnant with his child, he still couldn't relax for a moment.
Yu Zhouling secretly observed Xiao Mingzhang's expression.
Three months ago, he never dared to imagine that the Princess Consort of the Prince Huan's Mansion, whose death was known to the whole world, was actually not dead at all, and had returned to the vicinity of the Western Regions with her maid.
Moreover, she was pregnant with the Crown Prince's child.
When Yu Zhouling received the message from Xiao Mingzhang that he had been sent to monitor Liangzhou, he thought that Xiao was concerned about the harassment of the border by the Western Regions. Unexpectedly, it was for this purpose.
But... how did the Crown Prince know that the Crown Princess was definitely not dead? And how did he know she would go to Liangzhou? When the Crown Princess passed away, wasn't he confined to the Prince's mansion and unable to do anything?
“Zhouling…”
Yu Zhouling stood silently for a moment, then Xiao Mingzhang frowned and suddenly called out his name.
"Yes!" Yu Zhouling immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute, ready to obey his orders.
But Xiao Mingzhang stared at him for a long time with his phoenix eyes before finally speaking, "You won't betray me, right?"
“…” Yu Zhouling immediately felt a cold sweat break out on his back.
He looked up, staring blankly at Xiao Mingzhang's gaze, his eyes wide open, remaining motionless for a long time before clenching his fists even tighter and continuing to say, "Your Highness, rest assured, I will never betray you in this life. I will keep the matter of the Princess Consort a secret and will never let a third person know about it!"
Xiao Mingzhang was relieved, nodded slightly, and let the person leave.
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Author's Note: The next chapter should be about time manipulation! [Let me see!]
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