Although the prince did not treat the princess well at first, he later treated her sincerely. She knew that if the court also sent troops to Shuozhou, Shuozhou might not be able to cope, but she still chose to give up the prince.
It should be known that there are more than a million people in Shuozhou. Her actions not only put the prince in danger, but also risked the lives of these millions of people!
Would she abandon everyone else for her father?
Cui Hao forced a bitter smile, a smile tinged with sarcasm.
"One is acting out of loyalty, the other out of filial piety. This father and daughter... are truly connected by blood."
...
It wasn't until three days after Yao Youqing left that Liancheng managed to get a chance to speak with his people and ask them to investigate who the child who had spoken to Yao Youqing was, who had instructed him, and what he had said to her.
There are many children in Cangcheng, and the incident happened a few days ago. Moreover, his servants were not present at the time and did not see what the child looked like. It took quite a bit of effort to finally find the child.
"He was just a child from an ordinary family in Cangcheng. He was young and his family was poor. He had never eaten anything good. He heard that if he helped deliver something to the princess, they would buy him candy. So he slipped a note to the princess. He didn't know what was written on it."
“He didn’t recognize the person who bought him the candy, and he didn’t even remember what the person looked like. He knew nothing when asked.”
The child was young and from a poor family. He had hardly ever touched paper, let alone learned to read, so naturally he wouldn't know what was on it.
Because they were young, they only cared about buying candy and didn't bother to remember what the other person looked like.
It seems that the person who bribed him did so precisely because of this, which is why they chose him to deliver the note.
"We couldn't find anything wrong with the child, so we checked other things, and surprisingly we found something."
"Although there's been no unusual activity in Cangcheng, there has been in our Southern Yan."
"It is said that the Emperor of Liang sent another letter to the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince then sent a group of people to the border between Southern Yan and Jin, seemingly waiting for someone."
"In addition, he sent someone to infiltrate Daliang, and that person appeared a few days ago not far from Cangcheng."
"As you instructed before, when you were not around, everyone should just go along with His Majesty and the First Prince's wishes, and pretend that the Third Prince in the palace is really you. As long as it doesn't involve our foundation, we should do whatever they tell us to do."
"So our people pretended not to know about it and didn't expose him."
"Although we can't be sure for sure right now that it was that person who sent the note to the princess, it's pretty close to the truth."
Liancheng lowered his head to copy the accounts. Although his hand holding the pen did not stop, it tightened more and more as he spoke, and the veins on the back of his hand stood out. He connected all the previous events in his mind.
After seeing the note, Yao Youqing did not make a fuss. Instead, she pretended to twist her ankle and went to the stone block to retrieve a letter.
The fact that she dared not tell anyone and obediently went to retrieve the letter herself must mean she was being threatened.
Wei Hong wielded immense power, and he could help her resolve any issue within Shuozhou's borders.
The problem he couldn't solve, but which could threaten Yao Youqing, must be outside of Shuozhou.
Outside of Shuozhou, Yao Youqing's only concern... was her father.
Furthermore, shortly after receiving the letter, Yao Youqing disregarded advice and left Cangcheng for the border, while Nanyan sent people to wait at the border with Dajin.
"...The Emperor of Liang threatened her with her father's life, forcing her to detour through Jin to Nan Yan and return to the capital himself."
The servant grinding ink nearby nodded slightly: "I see. This emperor is truly determined to have the princess."
Last time they failed to abduct her, so this time they'll force her to go back on her own.
Because it didn't concern him, the person spoke casually, not caring much.
But beneath Liancheng's scarred face lay a sinister expression. His hand moved faster and faster as he wrote, and he said in a deep voice, "Send someone to the border of the Great Jin to replace that group. You must save the princess."
The servant grinding the ink paused, nearly losing control of his strength and knocking the inkstone over.
He quickly regained his composure, concealing the shock on his face, and whispered, "And then? What does Your Highness intend to do?"
When Liancheng's servants were out and about, they rarely addressed him as "Your Highness," and this was even less common within the territory of Daliang.
The address "Your Highness" was not meant to show respect, but to remind him of his identity and what he wanted to do when he chose to fake his death.
Rescuing the Qin princess was easy, but what happened afterward?
Should we send it back? Or hide it?
Regardless of the reason, his faked death could no longer be hidden, and all his previous arrangements were in vain.
This time, Liancheng paused, and the ink from the tip of his pen fell onto the paper, leaving a black dot.
If we don't save Yao Youqing, she'll most likely be imprisoned and kept as a plaything by Wei Chi once she goes to the capital.
If Yao Youqing is saved, his faked death will be discovered, and he will no longer be able to pretend that he knows nothing and let Nan Yan send troops to Shuozhou.
Otherwise, if the King of Qin wins this war, he will never let him or Southern Yan go.
Liancheng crumpled the discarded sheet of paper into a ball, picked up another one, and began to rewrite it. He only spoke slowly when he was almost finished copying the page, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible.
"There's no need to go."
Chapter 104 Seeking Death (Added 2400 words)
Wei Hong persuaded several generals to send troops to fight against Southern Yan, and after temporarily securing the southern border, he secretly returned to Shuozhou.
He could have gone directly to the border, but wanting to see Yao Youqing, he rode quickly and took a detour to Cangcheng first.
Before he even reached Cangcheng, he heard that the princess had gone to patrol the border in his place.
Upon learning this, Wei Hong frowned and lightly rebuked, "Nonsense!"
But deep down he felt a sense of pride, so his rebuke sounded insincere, causing his subordinates to chuckle.
Since they knew Yao Youqing wasn't in Cangcheng, there was no need to go around there anymore. So they turned back and headed towards the border, but they still didn't see Yao Youqing when they got there.
"Your Highness, the Princess Consort had no choice in the matter. Please... don't be too sad."
After Cui Hao handed the letter Yao Youqing left behind to Wei Hong, he read it and then said...
Although he harbored resentment and anger, he didn't want Wei Hong to be upset, which is why he said those things.
Wei Hong stared at the letter in his hand, his knuckles turning white, and remained silent for an unknown period of time.
He read the letter over and over again countless times, as if he couldn't believe it was real unless he engraved every word into his mind.
Those words were truly etched into his eyes, stroke by stroke, from the paper, causing his eyes to turn red and blood vessels to crawl out from his eye sockets, almost filling his eyes completely.
He suddenly remembered the question he hadn't been able to ask before: if one day there was an irreconcilable conflict between him and Yao Yuzhi, whose side would she take?
Even if he didn't ask at the time, he knows the answer now.
She showed him her choice through her actions.
Wei Hong tried his best to keep his voice as steady as possible, but when he spoke, a hint of embarrassment could still be heard.
"Is this the only letter? There's...nothing else?"
Even if you're leaving, do you really only leave Cui Hao a letter and have nothing else to say to him or explain things to him?
Cui Hao shook his head: "No, I suppose she knows she feels guilty towards you, so she doesn't dare to say anything to you."
After Yao Youqing left that day, Cui Hao sent someone to Daxian to take a look. When the person he sent arrived, he found that the princess had drugged a maid, changed her clothes into her own, and placed her on the bed. She then changed the maid's clothes and secretly slipped away when no one was paying attention.
Daxian was safer than the camp, and the Jingyuan Army soldiers following her couldn't easily go to the backyard where the women lived. With the help of her own people, she easily disguised herself as a servant and left the room. Then, with the excuse of visiting a local relative, she left the magistrate's residence.
When they first entered the mansion, Yao Youqing had told people that her two maids were going to visit relatives and would stay at their house that night and not return. So the people in the county magistrate's mansion didn't think much of it and let them go.
If Cui Hao hadn't sent people to check, no one would have known that the princess was no longer in the mansion by dawn.
The room where Yao Youqing had briefly stayed was also thoroughly searched by the servants, who confirmed that there was nothing else besides the luggage she brought with her.
"The princess left Daxian before the city gates were locked, heading straight for the Jin army. We discovered her too late; it was too late to stop her."
Of course, if he insists on bringing her back and is willing to fight a battle with the Jin dynasty to intercept her, he might be able to successfully take her back.
But this only works if the princess herself is willing to come back.
How can he bring her back to the country when he chose to leave? How can he explain to the soldiers that the princess, who was so gentle and friendly chatting with them just the afternoon before, has run off to the Jin Dynasty today?
Although the border was dangerous, it wasn't to the point where the Jurchens had crossed the border and abducted the princess without them even knowing.
"Because the matter is of great importance, I have not made it public for the time being. People in Daxian have also kept quiet and are not allowed to reveal a word. We will wait for your return to make a decision."
"But... this matter cannot be hidden in the end, especially after the Princess Consort came to the capital to testify for His Majesty."
By then, the whole world will know that the Princess Consort of Qin is in the capital. Unless they can find a twin sister who looks exactly like the Princess Consort, just like the father and brothers of the young master Lian, they will definitely not be able to keep it a secret.
But the princess is Yao Yuzhi's only daughter. Where can she conjure up a sister out of thin air?
Wei Hong remained silent for a long time. Cui Hao felt a pang of sadness and said to him, "Your Highness, this marriage was never your wish from the beginning. Now it's just... just going back to the way things were before. There's no difference. Just pretend... just pretend you never met the Princess."
Wei Hong twitched the corners of his mouth and murmured, "It's fine, it's fine."
There is bound to be a battle between him and Wei Chi. Now that she has gone to the capital and to Wei Chi's side, even if he takes control of the capital in the future, he can guarantee that he will never harm her.
But if she stays by his side, and Wei Chi wins in the future, he might not let her go.
Wei Hong slowly put the letter down, looking somewhat tired, and said to Cui Hao, "You can go out now, I want to rest for a while."
Cui Hao acknowledged the order, bowed, and withdrew.
He felt stifled for a long time by the somber atmosphere in the tent. After going out, he took a deep breath and looked at the many soldiers and officers who knew nothing about the matter. A sense of powerlessness rose in his heart.
After standing there for a while, just as he was about to return to his own tent, he saw someone waving at him from afar. It was Li Dou, who had returned with Wei Hong this time.
Cui Hao knew what he wanted to ask, and although he didn't want to answer, he still walked over.
Sure enough, after they stopped, Li Dou stammered and asked, "Lord Cui, Qiongyu...did she also leave with the Princess?"
Qiongyu was the princess's personal maid. If the princess left, she should have left as well.
He knew he shouldn't ask, but he still wanted to ask and confirm it.
Cui Hao shook his head: "I sent someone to Cangcheng to check. She is still there, and she still goes to the soup kitchen and the wounded soldiers every day to help. She seems to know nothing about this matter. The princess must be thinking that you two have already made a marriage agreement, so she deliberately kept her in the dark."
Qiongyu is someone who can't keep secrets. If she had known the princess was leaving, she would never have been able to remain calm and still appear in front of people with a smile every day.
The fact that she can continue like this shows that she really doesn't know anything; the princess didn't tell her anything when she left.
“Before the prince returned, I was afraid that if she found out, everyone would know, or she would stop going to the soup kitchen, and people would notice something, which would disrupt the morale of the army and the people, so I didn’t tell her.”
"Now that the prince has returned, even if everyone finds out, it won't cause too much chaos. Wait until he has rested and made a decision, then you should go and tell him about it yourself."
"As for your marriage... you can decide for yourself. The prince won't stop you from marrying her because of this."
But whether or not they ultimately marry, or whether Qiongyu marries, is their own business.