The Beauties of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 130

Zhao Dezhao was taken aback, his brows furrowing. "Defang?"

"Yes, could Your Highness please summon the Prince of Qin?"

This kind of thing should naturally be discussed with the parties involved, and it must be kept absolutely secret; if others find out, the impact would be enormous. They are a marching army...

This is such a headache!

Zhao Dezhao stared at him for a long time, making Xue Weiji's scalp tingle, before finally waving his hand to have a soldier fetch the Prince of Qin. A moment later, the curtain of the military tent was lifted, and Zhao Defang, dressed in military uniform, entered with a face full of doubt. "Brother, you wanted to see me?"

Zhao Dezhao snorted coldly, "It's Lord Xue who's looking for you."

Zhao Defang looked at Xue Weiji in surprise, "Lord Xue? What is it?"

"this……"

Xue Weiji glanced awkwardly at Zhao Dezhao, who was watching coldly with his hands behind his back, and forced a smile. "Would the Prince of Qin be so kind as to move to my tent?" Zhao Defang was taken aback, but seeing his predicament, he smiled slightly. "It's alright. My brother is no stranger. Please speak freely, Lord Xue."

Okay, then he'll just say it.

"I have someone there who requires the King of Qin to travel there to see him."

Before Zhao Defang could say anything, Zhao Dezhao scoffed, "What arrogance! He actually expects the Prince of Qin to lower himself to meet him! Lord Xue, shouldn't you have summoned that person to pay his respects to the Prince of Qin?"

Xue Weiji chuckled twice.

But that person has to be willing to come.

"The King of Qin?"

Zhao Defang raised an eyebrow with curiosity, smiled, and said, "Let's go." He wanted to see who this person was. Xue Weiji's tent and Zhao Dezhao's tent were not far apart; the two arrived in just a quarter of an hour on foot. Xue Weiji first lifted the tent flap and peeked inside. Not seeing the expected person, he stepped inside, turned back to let Zhao Defang, who was behind him, enter the tent as well, and said:

"She may have left for a while. Wait a moment, I'll go ask her."

As he spoke, he crawled out of the tent again.

After he left the tent, Zhao Defang walked to the low table in the center of the tent, intending to wait for the person who actually asked him to come and see him in person.

But he ultimately didn't sit down.

It should be said that he didn't have time to sit down.

His gaze was drawn to something on the low table.

His initially puzzled eyes widened under the gaze, until he finally bent down and grasped the object in his palm, staring at it in disbelief. It was a pair of white, fur-like things.

These are clearly gloves that he had someone make for Wanlan!

"Boom!"

A deafening clap of thunder jolted Zhao Defang awake. He turned blankly, peering through the gap in the curtain that didn't completely obscure his view. He saw large raindrops pelting down, kicking up tiny specks of dust. Could the person Xue Weiji had brought him to see be Wanlan?

No, how could that be? How could she be in the military camp? She's not such a reckless woman. But... what about these gloves? Could they belong to Xue Weiji?

Judging from the size of the gloves, they could not possibly belong to a man.

Zhao Defang was stunned by the sudden sarcasm, frozen in place, completely forgetting to move. Wanlan was actually hiding in the military camp… She was a woman! She was actually hiding in the military camp!

How did she manage to endure five days of continuous travel with her frail body? Why did she take such a risky step without telling him?

That damn woman!

"Boom—"

The thunder seemed to rip a person's brain apart, accompanied by terrifying lightning. Zhao Defang suddenly turned and rushed outside. It was raining!

Where on earth has Wanlan, a woman, gone?!

Just as they stepped out of the tent, they nearly collided with someone running towards them. Both of them quickly stopped, stared at each other for a moment, and then asked in unison, "Has she returned?"

Where are they?

Xue Weiji was suddenly filled with terror; he realized he had done something extremely dangerous. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, I didn't mean to hide it from you, but my wife—"

"Stop saying anything! Find them first!"

Zhao Defang, with a stern face, turned and ran outside.

They chose to camp near the river, originally considering the convenience of getting water. Zhao Defang had a feeling that Wanlan would definitely go to the river; she was a woman with a slight obsession with cleanliness, and after several days of travel, she would probably go to wash up.

But now it's raining!

This reckless woman!

Zhao Defang ran frantically to the riverbank, which was only a mile from their camp, and searched frantically along the riverbank, but there wasn't a soul in sight. "You come out here!"

He roared, but he couldn't call her name; if someone overheard and reported it to the Emperor, she would be punished. "I know you're here! Come out now!"

Scattered along the riverbank were trees of varying thickness and height, beneath which grew thickets of shrubs. Zhao Defang ran, pushing aside the shrubs with his bare hands, his palms covered in cuts and scratches, but he paid no heed. "Where are you hiding? It's raining, please come out quickly... Wanlan..."

He called her name in a low, anxious voice, his hands frantically pushing through the bushes. Suddenly, a rustling sound came from his right. He instantly stopped what he was doing, holding his breath and listening intently to everything coming from that direction. "You...you promise you won't scold me, then I'll come out..."

Her voice, lowered and trembling noticeably, was hard to tell whether from fear of his scolding or from the cold. Zhao Defang silently closed his eyes, feeling as if his heart, which had stopped abruptly, had come back to life. He pushed aside the waist-high weeds and walked towards the source of the sound, his hands frantically pushing through the bushes until she finally came into view.

She wore a gray servant's robe, now soaking wet and clinging to her body. Her long, black hair, which she remembered, was hidden behind a gray cloth. Her delicate face was pale and bloodless, with a few specks of dirt on her small nose and cheeks. She had been crouching in the grass, hugging herself, when he brushed aside the bushes. Startled, she looked up at him, her eyes slowly turning from fear to surprise, then to guilt. Her pale lips trembled as she lowered her head, unable to look at him again. Zhao Defang silently pursed his lips, reached out and pulled her up, holding her in his arms. He turned and headed back towards the camp. "Zehua…,"

She obediently followed him, glancing at him cautiously before stammering, "Shut up!"

He didn't want to say anything right now, and it was best if she didn't say anything either. He didn't want to get angry, didn't want to hurt her, and didn't want to become enraged.