As for that Ah Lang, he must have known that Ye had been captured by the Green Ant Clan after setting off the fireballs. That's why he was so fearless as to disfigure himself, wear a fake dragon robe, and pretend to be the emperor who had been injured by the fireballs. Then General Lin and the others found him and sent him to the palace overnight.
"Tomorrow, the Imperial Palace will go with you to the Green Ant Tribe."
When Hai Ling spoke, General Lin and the others quickly stood up and respectfully replied, "Yes, Your Majesty the Empress."
Hai Ling nodded and stood up. General Lin immediately called his men in and arranged for the Empress to rest in a tent. The others also went to rest. The next morning, they would enter the Green Ant Clan according to the map and wipe out the Green Ant Clan's lair in one fell swoop.
Inside Hai Ling's tent, Nalan Mingzhu reached out and helped Hai Ling sit down, her face full of heartache.
"Miss, your lustful thoughts are acting up again. Stop thinking about it. Don't think about people casually in the future, or you won't be able to handle it. Think more about the children."
Nalan Mingzhu knew that Hailing cared about Ye Lingfeng and the child in her belly, which was why she brought up the child.
Sure enough, as soon as she spoke, Hailing nodded in agreement.
"Mingzhu, I know, I don't want to hurt my child."
As she spoke, she reached out and touched the baby in her belly. It was almost four months along, and soon her belly would probably start to show. Thinking of the battle tomorrow, Hai Ling glanced at the people in the tent.
Nalan Mingzhu, Shen Ruoxuan, Shi Mei, and Shi Lan, in fact, also have fifty Feather Guards in secret.
After tomorrow, she will leave Beilu and head to the Great Zhou Dynasty to kill Jiang Batian. These people don't need to follow her, so she needs to make things clear to them.
"Please sit down."
Hai Ling instructed her two maids, Shi Mei and Shi Lan, who were taken aback, knowing that the Empress must have something to say. However, they did not sit down but shook their heads.
"Your Highness, please speak freely. We will listen attentively."
Hai Ling sighed and said softly, "As you all know, I'm under the influence of the Soft Love Silk, and it will be impossible for me to see the Emperor again for a while. So I've decided that after the battle with the Green Ant Clan tomorrow, I will go to the Great Zhou Dynasty. I have my own things to do, so there's no need for you to follow me."
As soon as she finished speaking, Shi Mei, Shi Lan, and the others knew what she wanted to do: kill Jiang Batian.
Now that they were the Empress's servants, how could they abandon their mistress? So Shi Mei and Shi Lan knelt down with a thud and spoke calmly.
"Your Majesty, please allow us to follow you."
Nalan Mingzhu also stood up and looked at Hailing: "Miss, I will not leave you."
She couldn't bear to let her mistress go to Da Zhou alone, which was where they used to live. No matter what, she had to go back with her.
After Shi Mei, Shi Lan, Nalan Mingzhu and the others finished speaking, Shen Ruoxuan, who had been sitting, also stood up and spoke seriously.
“You are all willing to follow Master. If I don’t follow her, wouldn’t that be too disloyal? So Master, I will accompany you back to Da Zhou. I will help you with whatever you want to do. Right now you are pregnant and need a doctor by your side. With me here, the baby will be safe.”
As soon as he brought up the child, Hailing gave in. She knew that Shen Ruoxuan was right. Right now, she was quite pregnant, and if she returned to the Great Zhou Dynasty, she really couldn't do without Shen Ruoxuan and the others.
"Alright, I accept your kindness, and I hope I can repay it in the future."
"What is Your Majesty saying?"
Shi Mei and Shi Lan shook their heads in disapproval. They were just doing their duty and absolutely did not want the Empress to repay any favors.
Shen Ruoxuan glanced at Hai Ling, thinking that she must be extremely tired from traveling by carriage for days, especially since she had to go to the Green Ant Clan tomorrow, so she should get some rest.
"Master, you should get some rest. You have to go into the Green Ant Tribe tomorrow."
"Well, everyone, get some rest. We'll head to the Green Ant Clan early tomorrow morning, and then return to the Great Zhou Dynasty."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Several people responded, and Hai Ling then remembered something else. She called to Shi Mei, "Mei'er, later you can have those fifty Feathered Guards return to the Emperor's side. Don't we have people from the Shadowless Pavilion with us? We don't need them following us anymore."
"Yes, I understand. I'll send them back and bring in people from Wuyinglou to serve me."
"OK."
Hailin nodded, got up, washed up, and rested in her tent.
The next day, before dawn, the area outside the camp was bustling with noise and chatter. The soldiers were extremely excited; after this battle, Ye Lingfeng was seen by them as a wise and resourceful emperor.
Hailing didn't sleep much that night. Her erotic cramps flared up several times. She was more excited than anyone else to see Ye, but whenever she thought of him, it felt like a thousand needles were pricking her heart. And it had been getting worse lately. She knew she couldn't think about him anymore. If she did, she was afraid she wouldn't live long, and the baby in her womb would be in danger.
As dawn broke, her face had a luminous white glow. Mingzhu, Shimei, and the others knew she hadn't slept well and were extremely distressed, but they were helpless. They all looked rather listless.
However, the army outside had already prepared, and General Lin sent someone to ask the Empress whether they should set off.
"Let's go."
Hai Ling nodded. This battle would determine the outcome. She hoped that the Green Ant Clan would be eliminated successfully so that she could return to the capital at night. It was time for her to leave as well.
In the early morning, with only a sliver of blue light on the horizon and no light yet, Hailin took a deep breath and calmly said, "Let's go."
The group set off in formation, a force of tens of thousands, with no one on horseback, all running forward. This was the Emperor's order; no one was allowed to ride horses. Following the map, the group ambushed the Green Ant tribe in several locations, waiting for the signal fire to rise before launching a full-scale attack and killing these vicious people.
Leaving the city, the crowds, like nimble cats, sped forward in the morning light, seemingly seeing a bright future ahead. Smiles graced their faces, and they moved with the lightness of swallows, stealthily infiltrating the Green Ant Clan.
Hailin and the others also hid among the army, heading towards the Green Ant Clan.
The Green Ant Clan lived about twenty miles away from Dengzhou, surrounded by mountains and forests. They hid in the mountains and forests, and without a map, it would be impossible to find their place. Now, because they had a map, everyone followed the direction marked on the map and marched towards the Green Ant Clan.
Amidst the lush, verdant mountains, shrouded in mist, it was impossible to discern any place from any other. It was said that this mountain contained many traps and mechanisms, and without the blueprints, none of them would have made it out alive.
Even with the blueprints, General Lin carefully instructed everyone to stay with the group and not to accidentally trigger the mechanisms, as doing so could alert the Green Ant Clan. So everyone was told to be careful.
Then General Lin dispatched several groups of soldiers to ambush at various key points according to the directions marked on the map.
By this time, it was already broad daylight. Birds chirped softly in the forest, and each of them wore a green willow hat, blending into the woods.