Shengjing.
Shang Yunlan took the letter from Qingzhu and read it quickly. When she looked up again, her eyes were filled with ruthlessness.
Lin Jing's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly asked, "What happened? Is An'an alright?"
Shang Yunlan rubbed her temples and handed the letter to Lin Jing: "Uncle Lin, take a look."
Lin Jing felt uncomfortable being called "Uncle Lin," but with important matters at hand, he quickly took the book and began to examine it carefully.
"The Western Turks have invaded Shuocheng?" Lin Jing paled, then looked up at Shang Yunlan. "This is a letter from Qiao Zhuo. After all, he is the seventh prince of Northern Zhou. Could it be..."
Shang Yunlan's expression was solemn. Upon hearing this, she shook her head and said, "He doesn't have the brains to lie."
Lin Jing stood up and paced around the room, radiating anxiety and worry.
Shang Yunlan closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down: "The news hasn't reached Shengjing yet, which means that the Northwest is now under An'an's control... Let's not rush, An'an won't lose the battle."
Lin Jing nodded, then hurriedly poured herself a glass of water and took a shaky sip.
Shang Yunlan was only pretending to be calm, but she was actually panicking.
Seeing this, Qingzhu waited at the door. After a long while, Shang Yunlan said to Qingzhu, "Qingzhu, go and invite Marquis Yongle over."
Qingzhu hurriedly went out.
Time passed by unnoticed. Li Langxuan wondered what had happened to make Shang Yunlan, a usually calm person, so anxious to see him. He rushed over as quickly as possible, but even so, it still took him half an hour.
"Do you have any way to see your elder sister?" Shang Yunlan didn't bother with pleasantries when she saw the person arrive, and went straight to the point. "An'an has encountered some trouble. If you could help me send a message to the Imperial Concubine, that would be the best thing."
Li Langxuan frowned, looking at Shang Yunlan with some hesitation: "What happened? I've never seen you so anxious before. Has something happened to the county princess?"
Shang Yunlan glanced at Li Langxuan, then lowered her eyes and said, "An'an was ordered to go to the Northwest this time, and now we have received news from her people that she has gone missing... As you know, An'an is traveling in secret, and this matter should not be publicized. Telling His Majesty will only cause trouble for our entire household, so I would like to ask the Noble Consort to think of a solution."
Li Langxuan glanced at Shang Yunlan without showing any emotion. He didn't know how Shang Yunlan knew that he could contact Li Langhuan, and besides, he didn't believe this explanation. However, he could also see that the situation was urgent and could not be delayed. Therefore, he did not intend to investigate further and simply nodded: "Okay, I will send the message to my sister later."
Shang Yunlan breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes filled with gratitude: "Thank you for your trouble."
Li Langxuan shook his head: "It's no trouble. It's just that you... no matter what you're doing or what you want to do, you have to consider the people around you." As he spoke, he looked sharply at Shang Yunlan. Shang Yunlan raised her eyes and looked back without flinching. Her deep eyes made it impossible to see the emotions in them.
After a long while, Li Langxuan smiled, withdrew his gaze, and said calmly, "Alright, that's enough. I'll go check on A Ning and then leave."
No sooner had he left than Yingge rushed in, her face beaming with joy: "My lord, good news! The county princess has won the battle!"
Shang Yunlan: "...?"
He and Lin Jing looked at each other in surprise, then came to their senses and burst into laughter.
No one paid any attention to Li Langxuan, who had already gone to deliver the message.
...
Shuocheng.
Shang Shaoyan woke up early, looking at the jade pendant in his hand over and over, his face expressionless.
Mo Xing sat to the side wiping his long sword. Seeing Shang Shaoyan's appearance, he couldn't help but look at him curiously a few more times.
He held back for a long time, but finally couldn't help asking, "Princess, what are you looking at? This jade doesn't seem particularly special..."
Shang Shaoyan placed the jade pendant on the table, then looked up at Mo Xing: "Ashina Yeting said that this jade pendant was left by my parents, but I don't know if he is telling the truth."
Mo Xing scoffed: "That kid Ashina Ye Ting is a fox, very cunning. Who knows where he'll pull out a jade pendant from and claim it was left by the Duke and his wife."
Shang Shaoyan rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on: "But the problem is, I did see this jade pendant at my parents' place before."
Mo Xing's expression turned solemn.
Shang Shaoyan lowered his eyes and continued, "Ashina Yeting said that he and my parents were both enemies and friends, and that they were old acquaintances. This jade pendant was a gift from them to him."
Mo Xing's brow twitched, and he immediately said, "Princess, that is indeed true."
Shang Shaoyan raised his eyes, his gaze sharp, making Mo Xing somewhat intimidated. However, he still said, "Moreover, Ashina Yeting has always respected them... Southern Chen and the Western Turks have fought several times. Before Ashina Yeting emerged, the Western Turks suffered repeated defeats, and Shuocheng was captured during that time. Since Ashina Yeting began leading troops, the two sides have been evenly matched. However... since the first encounter with Ashina Yeting, the old Duke and his wife, as well as Ashina Yeting himself, have not personally taken to the battlefield."
He paused, then added, "This is Ashina Yeting's first time leading troops since the passing of the old Duke and his wife."
Shang Shaoyan frowned even deeper, looking at Mo Xing with some confusion: "But I can't understand how my parents could entrust me and my brother to a foreigner? Especially an enemy."
Mo Xing was also a bit confused. He had always been a rough and uncultured man who couldn't understand many things, and he couldn't figure it out at this moment either. He comforted her, saying, "Princess, don't worry too much. After all, we have captured Ashina Yeting. What's there to be afraid of? He's right there. We'll figure it out one day."
Shang Shaoyan nodded, suppressing his deep-seated doubts, and then asked, "Has the Western Turks made any unusual moves today?"
Mentioning this, Mo Xing's eyes lit up: "Your Highness was truly a prophet yesterday. They really did feign defeat and set up an ambush of 50,000 troops not far away, just waiting for us to catch up. If they hadn't turned back in a huge horde before we arrived, the soldiers might have thought Your Highness was being overly cautious!"
Shang Shaoyan chuckled and said, "The battlefield is ever-changing. Every battle, whether successful or not, is won with the blood and even lives of soldiers. Being careful is not a bad thing."
Mo Xing nodded, seeing that Shang Shaoyan still seemed to be in a bad mood. After thinking for a moment, he joked, "Yesterday's battle really scared me - it was only because of you, County Princess. If it were anyone else, that kind of reckless fighting style would only lead to defeat, and they might even lose their lives. County Princess is truly born to fight."
He paused, then asked with some doubt, "But the county princess neither led the army nor received an imperial decree, so why did she come to the Northwest, and even personally lead the expedition yesterday?"
Shang Shaoyan paused, his hand about to brush his hair aside, and smiled, "It's nothing, I just wanted to see how my parents used to live."
After chatting casually with Mo Xing for a few more minutes, Shang Shaoyan said he wanted to sleep, and Mo Xing left.
Shang Shaoyan sat at the table, tapping the surface of the table with his knuckles.
Yesterday's battle came at just the right time; she seized the opportunity to completely win over the crowd. What she needs to do next…
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