Song Xingzhi a vécu sous le règne de l'empereur Huizong

Chapitre 43

I miss him so much...

It's almost July, isn't it? She's been in the Song Dynasty for four months, but she's spent less than half the time truly with Zehua. They always seem to be parting ways, always separated. This time, she's determined to make a clean break with Zhao Dezhao, and never allow that man to have any excuse to interfere between her and Zehua again.

With her eyes closed in exhaustion, she leaned weakly against the window, swaying with the jolting of the carriage. Her mind seemed to be shattered, and she suddenly had the illusion that she was about to fall into a deep sleep. This illusion made her unconsciously murmur:

"Xuan'er... if I fall into a deep sleep, remember to go back to the capital to find the Imperial Uncle... and have him call Zehua to pick me up..." Zehua will wake her up like last time... Her thoughts were drifting, and her words were intermittent. Xuan'er, who was beside her, could only anxiously support her and secretly pray that they would get into the city soon.

"...I miss him so much—uh!"

"ah!"

When Wanlan suddenly gasped for breath, Xuan'er cried out in alarm. The carriage beneath them had apparently struck some boulder and suddenly jolted violently. For a moment, the carriage tilted to one side, and Wanlan, who was clinging to the window, fell out of the carriage without any warning. Xuan'er was stunned by the sudden accident for a moment, then hurriedly told the driver to stop the carriage. She immediately jumped out of the window and rushed towards Wanlan, who had rolled into the grass.

However, someone was faster than her, scooping up Wanlan, who had rolled several feet on the ground, and retreating far away from Xuan'er.

"Who are you? Put the lady down at once!"

The newcomer was dressed in black with his face covered, only revealing a pair of dark eyes staring at Xuan'er. He said in a deep voice, "Miss Xuan'er, my master invites the Princess for a chat. I apologize!" Without lingering, the man turned and leaped away, carrying Wanlan in his arms.

Chapter 49, Orchids Overflowing with Dew Like a Handkerchief (3)

Xuan'er refused, leaping forward with her toes and simultaneously striking the man's head with her right palm. The man in black dodged quickly to the side, then ducked and swiftly slashed horizontally at Xuan'er's waist. Startled, Xuan'er somersaulted to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. Her right hand suddenly pressed against the jade belt at her waist, and with a soft "clink," she drew her weapon from her waist, flashing a silver-white sword as she attacked the man.

"I don't care who your master is, put the lady down right now!"

Holding someone in his arms was quite restrictive, so the man in black put Wanlan aside. Wanlan, who had already fainted, lay limply in the grass, completely unaware of what was happening around her.

The unarmed man in black appeared somewhat disheveled under Xuan'er's relentless attacks. Xuan'er pursed her lips and wielded her soft sword mercilessly. Now, she was the only one protecting the lady, and she would not let anyone who threatened the lady's life go unpunished.

The man in black retreated step by step until he reached a thick, large tree, where he suddenly stopped. He ducked and dodged the oncoming soft sword, circled the tree, flipped over, and leaped onto the trunk. He glanced down at the menacing Xuan'er, then abruptly turned and left.

Xuan'er was stunned, unable to process the other party's intentions. Watching the figure gradually disappear into the woods, she was still wondering who had sent that person when she heard the coachman's scream behind her. Xuan'er's heart skipped a beat, and she turned around and ran straight to the carriage, only to find the coachman hiding under the carriage with his head in his hands, trembling all over. Wanlan, who had clearly fainted in the grass, was nowhere to be seen!

A diversionary tactic!

Xuan'er's eyes widened, and she reached out and pulled the coachman out, shouting sharply, "Where is Madam?! Who took Madam away?"

"I...I don't know..." The driver pressed himself against the carriage wall, staring wide-eyed at the furious Xuan'er in terror, stammering that he couldn't explain clearly.

Xuan'er took a deep breath and holstered her soft sword at her waist. "So, which direction did they go?" Damn it! How could she be so careless! Madam is ill; how can she withstand such an ordeal?

"I...I didn't see clearly..." The coachman looked cautiously at the girl in front of him. All along the way, the girl had been very docile and obedient to her mistress, taking meticulous care of her. How could he have known that she could be so terrifying when she got angry? Just now, he was so scared that he couldn't even hide, let alone pay attention to how those people were walking.

"Miss...?"

The driver quietly withdrew his hand from the carriage wall to his side, carefully relaxing his body, which had become sore and numb from being stiff for too long. He noticed that the girl in front of him seemed to be thinking about something, sometimes frowning and sometimes cursing, which made him quite uneasy. He wanted to turn around and run away.

"Gu——"

"Let's go!" Xuan'er pulled the coachman over, leaped onto the carriage, and immediately turned the horse around, heading straight back the way they came—

"Let's go back!"

Regardless of who took the lady away, she alone would not be able to find her whereabouts, and even if she did, it would be difficult to resolve the situation. So she listened to the lady's advice and returned to the capital to discuss the matter with the Prince of Jin.

Perhaps... we should also inform the Prince. The Prince once said that such a thing must not happen again, yet she herself has put her wife in danger once more. Even before the Prince punishes her, she herself cannot forgive herself.

Xuan'er pulled hard on the reins, urging the carriage on. The coachman, who had been sitting beside her, nearly fell off, but she tossed him into the carriage. She spurred the horse on, and the next morning she returned to Luoyang. She paid the fare to the coachman, who was still dazed from the jolt, then chose a fast horse from the market and set off alone again, heading straight for the capital.

Chapter 50, Desiring to Send a Letter (1)

In mid-July, on the first day of the month of Yiwei, King Qian Cheng of Wuyue presented soldiers who could shoot rockets. On the day of Dingwei, the Emperor ordered Dang Jin, the Commander of the Imperial Guard Cavalry, to be the Commander of the Cavalry and Infantry of the Hedong Road Campaign, Pan Mei, the Commissioner of the Xuanhui Northern Court, to be the Supervisor, and Yang Guangmei, the Commander of the Right Wing of the Tiger Swift Army, to be the Commander-in-Chief. Together with Niu Sijin and Mi Wenyi, they led troops in five routes to attack the Northern Han.

Xuan'er never expected that the situation she would face upon returning to the capital would be so terrible.

Upon arriving in the capital, Xuan'er went straight to Prince Jin's residence to explain her experiences along the way. Without hesitation, Prince Jin went to the palace to meet the Emperor and convey the seriousness of the matter. He repeatedly asked the Emperor to thoroughly investigate who was harassing the troubled Princess Qin and to issue an edict summoning Zhao Defang from Guizhou back to the capital. However, the Emperor was too busy with the campaign against the Northern Han to see her. Prince Jin, however, was unwilling to give up. He had been instrumental in Wanlan's departure from the capital, and if something happened to her while she was away, he would be unable to explain it to Defang.

He never expected things to take such a dramatic turn without warning. The incident, while not particularly serious, was nonetheless significant. He had assumed the Emperor would entrust him with full responsibility, but instead, it brought him disaster. After repeated unsuccessful attempts to persuade the Emperor to handle the matter, he was placed under house arrest in his palace by the suddenly agitated Emperor, forbidden from seeing anyone.

Everyone in the court knew that the Emperor often said that Prince Jin was kind, loving, and filial by nature, and that during his fifteen years of governing the capital, all industries flourished. Back then, when Prince Jin shot and killed the Emperor's most beloved "Lady Huarui" in the hunting grounds, the Emperor did not utter a single word of reprimand. No one dared to doubt the deep brotherly affection between them. However, this time he was inexplicably placed under house arrest, and no one knew what had happened, including Prince Jin himself.

Upon hearing this, Xuan'er was completely terrified. She was unaware of what had happened in the court; she only knew that Prince Jin was already in dire straits, and that rescuing his wife would likely require a different approach. Desperate and without any other options, she went directly to Prince Yan's residence, only to be turned away at the door. This action by Prince Yan's residence aroused Xuan'er's suspicion. Although Zhao Dezhao had secretly made some moves, he had never so openly refused to let anyone from Prince Qin's residence in.

With nowhere else to turn, Xuan'er returned to the Qin Prince's mansion, intending to take a desperate gamble and chase after the Prince of Yan to demand his release. However, she was told that Lan Wen had returned to the capital from Guizhou to pick up his wife on the Prince's orders. Unexpectedly, she not only failed to see the person but also encountered this kind of trouble once again.

Inside the main hall of the Prince of Qin's mansion, after listening to Xuan'er's account, Steward Pei and Lan Wen quickly discussed the matter and decided to follow Xuan'er's method.

"You shall immediately return to Luoyang by the same route and track him directly to Junzhou. I will return to Guizhou to fetch the Prince and meet you in Junzhou," Lan Wen said, before getting up. Xuan'er also stood up with him.

"Wait!" Chief Eunuch Pei hurriedly called out to the two of them, "Don't rush off yet. I think it would be better to inform Her Majesty the Empress about this matter. His Majesty is currently preoccupied with state affairs and cannot intervene in the matter of Prince Yan, but the Empress can."

Lan Wen hesitated for a moment, "But the Prince and his wife are not here. How can we go to the palace to report to the Empress?"

Just then, Yuan Niang stepped into the hall. The three of them looked at her and their eyes widened in surprise.

"Xianniang!"

Yuan Niang hurried into the room and was slightly taken aback when she saw the three of them looking so strange. Then, remembering why she was there, she asked directly, "Where is Madam? Please ask her to come out for a moment. I have something urgent to discuss with her."

The three shook their heads in tacit agreement, and Lan Wen spoke up: "Some time ago, Madam accompanied Miss Xue to Luoyang for recuperation. They originally planned to change their route to Junzhou, but Miss Xue disappeared in Luoyang, and Madam was also kidnapped on the way to Junzhou. Xuan'er returned to the capital this time to seek help, but unexpectedly, His Highness Prince Jin also suddenly had an accident. We were just discussing reporting this matter to Her Majesty the Empress and asking her to come forward to save Madam."

Yuan Niang stared blankly at the three of them for a long time before she suddenly realized, "So it was because of this that Prince Jin... No wonder..." Yuan Niang shook her head and didn't continue. She could only tell Lady Wanlan about Prince Jin's matter, but she didn't expect to find out. She didn't know how the Emperor knew about Prince Jin and the Empress, nor could she guess how long the Emperor had been holding back or how much inside information he knew. Prince Jin was now under house arrest, and Lady Wanlan's disappearance was probably just the fuse.

"Yuanniang, could you please help us report Madam's matter to the Empress?"

"No!" Yuan Niang quickly shook her head, and seeing the puzzled looks on the faces of the three people in front of her, she tried to soften her expression and said with a smile, "Her Majesty has been unwell recently, so it's better not to tell her about this. It would be best to go to Guizhou and invite the Prince back as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, the three had three different thoughts. Steward Pei immediately resigned himself to handling the matter in the original way, while Lan Wen began to think about how to get to Guizhou in the shortest possible time. However, Xuan'er noticed Yuan Niang's unusual behavior, but she remained calm and simply said, "In that case, Lan Wen and I will each set off."