Ji Xinhe also felt very strange, but she had no time to wonder whether Song Yalin could survive in this turbulent world or speculate why Song Yalin thought it was safer to escape than to stay at the royal mansion.
What made her doubtful was the identity of the person who was helping Song Yalin and his purpose.
In today’s circumstances, anyone who risks helping Song Yalin out of the Prince Pingyang’s mansion must see some benefit in her, and the benefit should not be small, otherwise someone would not take such a risk for it.
But Ji Xinhe was puzzled about what value Song Yalin, in her current situation, could have.
Who was behind Song Yalin this time? Was it the imperial court?
When this thought occurred to her, Ji Xinhe’s eyes became slightly serious, and in her heart, she sounded an alarm. If it was indeed the imperial court, then Song Yalin may still have some secrets that had not been fully exposed!
"Damn it!" cried Ji Xinhe.
She had been indeed careless!
"Send someone to search for her immediately! She hasn’t escaped from Yu State yet. Seal off the entire city of Yu State and search for her. Even if you have to dig the ground three feet deep, find her!" Ji Xinhe ordered.
"Yes!"
Ji Xinhe’s gaze fell on the battlefield under the city wall. As she had expected, the Rouyi army was beginning to retreat.
"The Rouyi army is retreating. Should we pursue and kill them all?" A warrior inquired.
Ji Xinhe shook her head: "No need. The threat is not from these Rouyi forces. Killing them completely will do no good, but we’ll become mortal enemies with Rouyi, which will disadvantage us in the long run. We spared them today to maintain peace with Rouyi."
Ji Xinhe knew that at this point, the court and Yu State were in open conflict. Although we won this battle and held onto Yu State, increasing our chances of defeating the court in the future, Rouyi was still a foreign entity. If we completely wiped out the Rouyi army today, it might deter the court and make Yu State’s standing stronger, but it wouldn’t be a good thing in the long run.
After all, if we become irreconcilable enemies with Rouyi because of this, the Marquis Mu Houchu will not only confront the court, but also deal with Rouyi. In fact, the real purpose of Marquis Mu Houchu’s trip to Lian City was to win over Rouyi and try to break the alliance between the court and Rouyi. Since Ji Xinhe understands Marquis Mu Houchu’s intentions, she certainly couldn’t mess up his plans.
"Yes!"
Ji Xinhe looked into the direction of the Rouyi army’s retreat and asked, "Which direction did they retreat to?"
"Unless something unexpected happened, they should retreat towards Mingyin Mountain."
Ji Xinhe nodded, it sounds reasonable. The imperial court’s troops were just at the rear of Mingyin Mountain. Because Ji Xinhe had acted faster, she had held the court’s troops at Mingyin Mountain, making it impossible for them to approach Yu State. Now that the Rouyi army had been defeated, they were naturally going to regroup with the imperial court’s troops so that they can escort them to retreat safely.
When Ji Xinhe thought of this, an idea flashed across her mind and her eyes sparkled: "Mingyin Mountain."
Xiaoyu looked at Ji Xinhe in this state and was baffled. After a pause she asked, "What’s wrong with the princess?"
Ji Xinhe sneered: "If it’s the court’s people who helped Song Yalin escape, the escape route must be through Mingyin Mountain!"
At Ji Xinhe’s words, General Zheng was stunned, then said, "Mingyin Mountain is indeed located at the border of Yu State, the front of the mountain is within the territory of Yu State, and the back of the mountain is outside the territory. The original plan of the court’s army was to attack Yu State from the rear of Mingyin Mountain. Now that the court has been defeated, the defense of Mingyin Mountain is certainly not as strict as the city wall. It’s impossible for the enemy to break in from the back of Mingyin Mountain, but it’s not too difficult to slip two people out of Mingyin Mountain, especially with the help of someone within."
Ji Xinhe’s eyes grew colder and she made a swift movement downwards from the city wall. "Prepare a horse! We are heading to Mingyin Mountain!"
The only way for Song Yalin to escape is through Mingyin Mountain!
When I advised you not to get involved in this mess in the first place, you didn’t listen. Now that you are in, you want to escape? Dream on!
A soldier had already prepared a horse for Ji Xinhe. Ji Xinhe mounted the horse and galloped away, with a group of soldiers following closely behind her.
The moment Xiao Chaihu finished treating his wound, he saw Ji Xinhe galloping past him. Seeing her urgent appearance, he knew something had happened, so he immediately took a horse and followed.
——
Mingyin Mountain.
This mountain was actually quite barren. Although its geographical position was strategically important, because it was on the border of Yu State, it was sparsely populated. Shrubs grew all over the mountain, and there was no scenic spot to speak of.
Ji Xinhe, arrived at the foot of the mountain on horseback, then dismounted and quickly climbed up the mountain with her people. As she turned her head, she saw Xiao Chaihu had followed her. She looked surprised: "What are you doing here?!"
Xiao Chaihu replied: "I followed because the princess is here."
Ji Xinhe glanced at his recently bandaged wound, her brows furrowing slightly. Still, she didn’t say anything. Knowing how stubborn this child was, now that he had followed her, did she expect him to go back willingly?
The wild mountain was covered with shrubs, especially in the winter. They were dry and easily scratched the skin. Xiao Chaihu walked in front, paving the way for Ji Xinhe with his sword, because her skin was so delicate that even a small scratch would draw blood.
However, Ji Xinhe didn’t care about such matters and swiftly ascended the mountain.
Before ascending the mountain, she had already commanded her people to seal off Yu State. Now, there was only one possible route for Song Yalin to escape from Yu State. Since the court’s army was just beyond Mingyin Mountain, they could provide reinforcements. She naturally wanted to block this route and catch her in the act.
Suddenly, Ji Xinhe heard soft footsteps and immediately stopped.
Xiao Chaihu stopped too. It seemed he also heard it.
Ji Xinhe exchanged a glance with him, then nodded. She gently and quickly hid in a bush. The followers behind them were also clever and hid themselves accordingly.
Just as Ji Xinhe was hidden away, a group of ten or so men, dressed as merchants, strode along a small path.
"Who goes there!" The voice belonged to Yu State’s patrol. Upon noticing the group of people, they shouted to halt them.
The merchant group immediately started placating them, saying, "Sorry, sir, we’re businessmen passing by, from Ming state. We’re in a hurry to get back. We heard there’s fighting at the city gate with the Rouyi people, so we didn’t dare to go there and thought of leaving from Mingyin Mountain."
However, the guard answered coldly," It’s not a good time now. Everyone, head down the mountain! If you want to leave Yu state, wait a few more days!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
