Chapter 8: 第3章 去军营见他

Chapter 3: Going to the Military Camp to See Him

He was about to say something more, but he only heard Jing Yue'er continue, "Lan Feng, I beg you. Let me forget you! I beg you, don't appear in my mind anymore..."

"Luo'er..."

Ye Yunxie's heart trembled, and he hurriedly took Jing Yue'er's hand in his.

"Lan Feng, I hate you."

Perhaps Ye Yunxie had never seen this weak side of Jing Yue'er before. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, her tears had soaked her entire pillow. "You bastard, if you love your fiancée so much, why did you come to provoke me?"

Her hand withdrew countless times, yet when she touched the warmth of that hand, she hesitated for a moment.

"I said, the man of Jing Yue'er must be clean. But why did you..."

Tears fell boundlessly. Perhaps there were some words that could only be spoken when drunk. Perhaps only when drunk could one vent like this.

"Luo'er, from the moment I rescued you from the seaside, you told me your surname was Luo. You had changed your name then; it was equivalent to living a second life, was it not?" Ye Yunxie lifted her hand and pressed it to his lips with affection. "In this life, I will come to cherish you, alright?"

"Alright..."

At that intoxicated voice, Ye Yunxie never expected Jing Yue'er to respond to him. He even more so did not expect that her voice would be so enchanting, so captivating.

"Luo'er, say that again?"

An uncontrollable joy surfaced between Ye Yunxie's brows as he gazed at that beautiful, jade-like face. It felt as if his entire heart was overflowing with happiness.

"Give me time, I will definitely forget him..."

The slight trembling of her eyelashes and her half-awake, half-drunk words left Ye Yunxie momentarily uncertain. But thinking that truth comes out when one is drunk, the joy in his heart became uncontrollable once more. Only after Jing Yue'er fell into a deep sleep did he place her hand against his chest and walk out of the room.

At night, Ye Yunxie felt the wind was light and the sky was blue. Clad in his black robes, he turned and stepped out of the Purple Bamboo Palace, his joy beyond words.

The wind passed silently.

When Jing Yue'er woke up, she found the sky had already brightened. As she rose to dress, she heard someone pushing the door open from outside. A group of palace maids and eunuchs entered to serve her in washing, dressing, and styling her hair. Through the smooth service of these attendants, the entire routine was completed within fifteen minutes.

Before the Linghua Mirror, her perfect, jade-like face regained much of its luster. Jing Yue'er smiled slightly. "What time is it now?"

"Reporting to the Princess, it is nearly noon. This servant has prepared breakfast for the Princess. May I ask if the Princess wishes to dine now?" a submissive-looking maid said.

Jing Yue'er pondered for a moment, looking at the scenery outside with a smile. "I'll go find the Ex—err, Imperial Grandfather and the others to eat together."

"Princess..."

Watching Jing Yue'er run outward while holding up her skirt, the maid finally could not help but say, "The Emperor and Prince Yuxiao have already gone to the front lines."

Jing Yue'er turned to look at the maid, using her eyes to signal her to continue.

The maid struggled for a moment but ultimately could not resist Jing Yue'er's gaze. She continued, "Emperor Lan of the Dragon Flame Kingdom is personally leading the campaign. Prince Yuxiao and the Northern Emperor departed the day before yesterday to meet the challenge. Even Heir Ye has gone along."

"The day before yesterday?"

She was suddenly stunned, her brows furrowing instantly. "Exactly how many days have I slept?"

The maid fell silent.

"Speak!" Her tone became sharp.

"It has been three days. The Emperor and the others left two days ago. Now..." The maid fell silent again, her expression somewhat panicked. "Now, they are likely already engaged in battle."

Jing Yue'er took three steps back. Even now, she still felt dizzy. Helplessly, she closed her eyes and pressed her fingers to her own pulse. *A sedative...* The wine from that day had clearly contained a sedative, but because she had been so emotional at the time, she hadn't checked closely. She had actually fallen into Ye Yunxie's trap. If not for her strong constitution, that sedative might have lasted several more days. By the time she woke up, it might have been too late for anything.

She took a deep breath and said in a relatively calm tone, "Prepare a horse for me!"

"Princess, Heir Ye and Prince Yuxiao said that the Princess must not leave!" The maid said somewhat helplessly. "Heir Ye said that if anything happens, I should protect the Princess and leave."

Jing Yue'er couldn't help but scrutinize the woman before her. Despite her submissive manner, it was not hard to see that this woman's martial arts skills were absolutely not to be underestimated. However, her maternal grandfather doted on her so much; how could the maids by her side be ordinary people?

"If a maid by my side faints before trusting others, I will not keep such a person."

She narrowed her eyes, her gaze possessing a sharpness that was irresistible.

The maid took a few steps back and fell to her knees with a "thud." "This servant does not dare..."

~

The capital of the Wanyue Kingdom was some distance from the front lines. Along the way, Jing Yue'er only brought one maid who had good martial arts skills and was extremely obedient. They traveled without stopping; had it not been for the horse the Northern Emperor gave her—which could travel a thousand miles in a day—they would have been significantly delayed.

Jun Lanfeng was ruthless and never showed mercy in his dealings. For the eight-hundred-mile journey, they rested only to drink water and prepare some dry rations.

It was not until the afternoon of the second day that they barely reached their destination.

The front lines were filled with refugees. Jing Yue'er saw that the once beautiful fishing village had vanished in an instant, leaving behind nothing but countless ruins. The September wind was somewhat cold. Jing Yue'er wrapped herself in a goose-yellow cloak, watching the commoners walking in a line around her. She couldn't help but sigh inwardly: *Jun Lanfeng, you damn bastard, this is all your doing.*

"When will this war end? Heavens, my house was just built..."

"Who knows? The Northern Emperor fights every year. It was hard to get a period of peace, and unexpectedly, another country has attacked."

"Sigh, when will it ever end..."

The voices of the passersby reached her ears. Jing Yue'er took a deep breath. She didn't know what to say and could only quietly listen to the hearts of those people.

"I heard that the Northern Emperor is trapped on Mount Huafeng. That new Emperor of the Dragon Flame Kingdom is incredibly formidable. After several battles, it was originally a stalemate, but unexpectedly, the Northern Emperor fell into a trap in the end. Of course, Prince Yuxiao is not someone to be trifled with. This war will likely drag on for a while."

Among the crowd, there was a man who looked like a scholar, analyzing the situation at the front lines all along. He failed to notice the woman in the shadows listening deeply to these words, falling silent.

"Princess, what should we do now?" the maid asked anxiously, looking at Jing Yue'er.

"What do you think?" Jing Yue'er glanced at the maid who had followed her for a day and a night.

The maid was silent for a long while before answering, "This servant follows the Princess; in life, I am the Princess's person, and in death, I am the Princess's ghost."

Jing Yue'er looked at the azure sky and smiled faintly. She hadn't brought the wrong person after all; this was indeed a subordinate trained by her grandfather. She mounted her horse, controlling the reins in her hand. "Then, how about we go meet this Emperor Lan?"

The maid was startled, but after a moment, she also mounted her horse and replied, "Yes!"