The fourth year of Jingxing, the fourth day of the second month.
The emperor led all the officials to the Bei’an Gate of the capital to support the northern expedition army.
Prince An did not go to the city gate, he stood in the courtyard of the mansion for a long time, looking towards the north and silently praying for his lover and good friend to return safely.
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“Master, Young Hall Master, and the others have already set out. His Majesty has also returned to the palace from Bei’an Gate. You should also go back and rest for a while.”
Shiyi and Chen Mo followed to see off the Northern Expedition Army. When they returned to the mansion and saw their little master still standing in the courtyard, they stepped forward to persuade him.
“Alright.”
Yan Muning smiled at Shiyi, “I’m tired, I’ll go to sleep for a while and have lunch later.”
The little prince returned to the warm pavilion and lay on the couch, feeling very tired, but he couldn’t fall asleep.
His fingers unconsciously scratched the fur blanket—the fox fur that he liked the most, it was the one he took away from Yun Jiangli when he left Jinzhou.
The two of them cuddled together and didn’t sleep last night.
It was early in the morning, and Yun Jiangli was about to get up and go to the army. The little prince stubbornly held his belly and personally fetched warm water for his lover to wash, tie his hair, change clothes, and put on light armor one by one.
In the past, Yun Jiangli took care of him. This was the first time that the little prince did these things for the big beauty.
Yun Jiangli, who was wearing light armor and with his hair tied high, had a handsome face and did not appear lazy but full of heroic spirit instead. Yan Muning approached him gently, hugged Yun Jiangli, and said with a smile, “My Ah Li, how can you be so good-looking?”
……
When Yan Muning woke up, there was still a smile on his lips. When he opened his eyes, he was dazzled by the warm sunlight shining through the window. He raised his hand to block the light and thought, They are setting out today, and such good sunshine is definitely a good omen.
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While the Commander, General Yuchi Che, led his troops northward, the western and southern borders also entered a state of combat readiness under the arrangement of Old Prince Yuchi and General Zhen Ge of the Lingnan Army respectively, in order to prevent the small countries such as Xiqi from making a feint to the east and attacking in the west to lure the tiger away from the mountain.
When Yuchi Che and his companions arrived at the northern border, they realized that the situation there was a little more difficult than they had expected.
The rest was fine. After the Northern Expedition Army arrived in Handan, they successfully took over the defense and affairs of the city. However, Prince Wu’s mansion was empty. It was said that Dachun heard that the Dasheng court had sent troops to help, so they took away the old prince and all the people of the Wu family.
In this way, taking over the original garrison in the northern border was much more troublesome than before.
Inside the big tent of the Handan garrison camp.
The Yuchi brothers and Yun Jiangli were listening to Ah Xiao and Chen Tan reporting on the various information they had just received today and discussing how to deal with the current situation.
Yuchi Zhao was the most direct, saying disdainfully, “If you ask me, it’s just right that he was taken away, it saves us a lot of trouble!”
As soon as he finished speaking, his second brother looked at him sideways. Yuchi Che raised his hand and knocked him on the head, saying, “Do you really think I want to save that old guy? But he is still a vassal king of our Dasheng, and he still holds the military command! Now that the charges have not been determined, how can we…”
Yun Jiangli frowned and thought for a moment, interrupting the argument between the Yuchi brothers: “I think that Old Prince Wu was not abducted, but he went there on his own initiative.”
As he spoke, he pointed to a place on the map: “According to the news we received, Old Prince was abducted from here. But you see, this location has only one way in and out from the front.”
“But there were no signs of obstruction or fighting from the guards of the Wu family mansion.”
After listening to Yun Jiangli’s words, Yuchi Che pondered for a moment and immediately understood what he meant.
“Then that’s easy! The charge of treason is certain, but this matter is another matter.” Yuchi Che sneered, “If that’s the case, we really have nothing to worry about.”
With a new direction, Yuchi Che quickly sent two teams, one in the light and one in the dark, to gather information.
Within half a day, news came back.
As they expected, the Wu family, though apparently abducted, were actually enjoying a good life in Dachun’s camp.
When the emperor appointed Yuchi Che as the commander, he promised him the power to handle all the affairs on the northern border. After hearing the latest news, Yuchi Che immediately began to write a memorial and prepared to send someone to report the current situation in the northern border to the capital.
He then summoned two more commanders to go with him to take over the permanent garrison on the northern border.
Since Yun Jiangli and Yuchi Che had made adequate countermeasures in advance, the subsequent war went very smoothly, and good news was reported frequently.
Yuchi Che sat in the rear, calm and experienced, and his cooperation with Yun Jiangli was perfect. The two frontline commanders were also brave generals, and they defeated the enemy every time they sent troops. Yuchi Zhao, who was on the battlefield for the first time, was young and energetic, brave and resourceful. With his cleverness, he led elite teams to surprise attack the enemy several times.
Just over half a month after arriving at the northern border, they had already wiped out the Dachun and Xianglian coalition forces that had previously invaded their northern border.
At this point, the Dasheng northern expeditionary army was in great momentum.
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Yan Muning sat in the study of Jiayue Pavilion holding the letter sent by Yun Jiangli. He had read it over and over again for countless times, calculating in his mind as to how many days it would take to receive another letter.
“Master, the Old Hall Master is here.”
Xiao Jiu poked his head out of the door and interrupted the little prince’s thoughts.
Perhaps because Yun Jiangli had left and he used to raise him like a spoiled child, the little prince was unable to adjust to the days without the big beauty by his side.
It has been nearly a month since Yun Jiangli left for the war. He always sleeps uneasily at night, and his spirits are not very good during the day.
After the old hall master learned about it a few days ago, he began to check the pulse of the little prince at a fixed time every day.
“Aiyo, Child, you will soon poke through these letters if you keep looking.” The old hall master was still at the door, and his powerful voice had already echoed throughout the courtyard.
Yan Muning’s ears instantly turned red. He pursed his lips and said with some embarrassment, “You only know how to make fun of me.”
The old and the young men joked for a while, and the old hall master was still thinking about the business. He just tapped the table with his finger, and the little prince obediently placed his wrist on the pulse.
“Are you using the sleeping incense that Jiangli prepared for you?” The old hall master asked gently while carefully examining the patient.
Shiyi stood by and answered, “It is lit every night before nightfall.”
The old hall master nodded and then asked, “Have you always felt a little tired recently? It doesn’t feel better even after sleeping?”
Yan Muning was a little surprised. He did feel tired recently, but he didn’t have any other discomfort, so he just thought he didn’t sleep well.
“This kid is very annoying ah. He is growing up well, but it’s hard for you, good child.”
The old hall master pointed at Yan Muning’s belly and continued, “Most men who are pregnant tend to deliver before the full term. In my opinion, based on the current situation, it may come earlier than the mid-May that Jiangli had previously calculated. We should prepare around the beginning of May.”
“In the next two months, you may become more tired, and you must not worry too much.” The old hall master patiently advised the little prince, “Don’t keep anything in your heart, remember?”
Yan Muning nodded obediently.
After sending the old hall master out of the yard, Shiyi returned and squatted in front of Yan Muning.
“Master, the news from the north is all good news, don’t worry, the Young Hall Master and Shizi will be able to return triumphantly soon.”
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As everyone had hoped, the war in the north began to come to an end in mid-March.
Under the leadership of Yuchi Che, the Dasheng’s Northern Expeditionary Army became more and more courageous, while the enemy’s coalition forces had already been defeated, and their morale was weakened, and they all retreated back to the border.
Because the enemy’s army was originally a temporary alliance of interests, on the surface they seemed to be working together, but in fact they were secretly making their own calculations.
At this time, not only did they not gain any benefits from Dasheng, but they also lost a large number of troops. They were unwilling to fight again, so they began to send envoys to negotiate with Yuchi Che, trying to use the old prince of the Wu family as a bargaining chip.
“Brother, do you think they are stupid?”
Yuchi Zhao raised his eyebrows and watched the negotiating envoy leave the tent and couldn’t help but ask, “Can’t they see the situation clearly at this moment? They actually want to use the old man from the Wu family to negotiate?”
Yuchi Che sneered: “No, I think this must be a bad idea from some smart person.”
Yun Jiangli and Yuchi Che had similar ideas and a relatively tough attitude, refusing to negotiate.
Not only will they not give in, but they will also take this opportunity to promote the prestige of Dasheng and give a good warning to the restless small countries around them, so that they will not dare to easily provoke Dasheng again.
It would be best if after this battle, the northern border could be kept stable for a hundred years.
After they reached a consensus, they summoned the envoy.
The envoy was a smiling tiger, pretending to be stupid while practicing Taichi[mfn]To beat around the bush[/mfn], as if he was determined to get some benefits before he would stop.
The left front commander, Jing Yuan, had a bad temper. After listening to the envoy’s nagging for a while, he finally couldn’t hold back his anger and slammed the table and cursed: “What is there to talk about? Do you know that the one who provokes first is the one at fault?”
“You guys were the ones who started the provocation without knowing your own strength. Now that you can’t defeat us, do you expect us to give in to you? What’s the logic behind this? You found a principle in Dasheng that even a 13-year-old child can understand, but now you are pretending not to know it?”
Yuchi Zhao had actually been annoyed for a long time, and when he heard Jing Yuan’s words, he instantly felt relieved and laughed out loud without restraint.
The envoy was scolded so much that his face turned pale and blue, and he could only walk away in disgrace.
So far, the enemy’s attempt to negotiate was completely thwarted.
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In mid-March, spring had already arrived in the capital.
After a few spring rains, the weather became warmer day by day, and everything was nourished and full of vitality.
At this moment, the little prince reluctantly held Shiyi’s hand and slowly strolled in the small garden to bask in the sun.
Since March, the child in his belly has grown very fast. Now the little prince has become much heavier. He feels sore in the waist after walking a few steps, and he is more and more reluctant to move.
Two days ago, after the old hall master’s routine diagnosis, he seriously warned him not to be lazy every day. Every day when the sun is nice, he should walk slowly in the yard for half an hour.
There was no way, so the little prince was forced to go out for a walk by being watched by Shiyi and Chen Mo in turn.
“Lao Qi!”
Prince Cheng stood under the pavilion in the small garden and waved at Yan Muning.
The little prince’s eyes suddenly lit up: “Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, let’s walk a few more steps. Fifth Brother is here. Maybe it’s Ah Li’s letter!”
“Aiyo, Little Master, normally I beg you to walk faster, but it doesn’t work. Only now can you be more active…”
Shiyi complained while carefully protecting the little prince.
The little prince looked back and glared at him: “I noticed that you are becoming more and more disrespectful!”
Prince Cheng watched him staggering and walked towards him. “Slow down, I get worried every time I see your belly.”
The little prince smiled with his lips curled, “Fifth Brother! Did Ah Li send a letter? Are they coming back soon?”
“You have nothing else to say when you see your Fifth Brother? You are only thinking about your Ah Li.” Prince Cheng teased him deliberately, took out a letter from his arms, and handed it to him: “Read it yourself, I don’t want to read the sour letters from you two youngsters.”
The little prince took the letter happily, sat on the stone bench in the pavilion, and opened it to read.
“Little Master, what’s wrong?”
Shiyi saw that his little prince was not as happy as usual after reading the letter but frowned and leaned over to ask.
Yan Muning held the thin letter in front of Prince Cheng: “Fifth Brother, didn’t you say that the war was going well? Why didn’t Ah Li mention returning to the capital? Today’s letter is so brief!”
The little prince was unhappy, shaking the letter in his hand.
Prince Cheng took the letter and glanced at it, but he didn’t see any difference from the previous ones, except that it was indeed shorter than before.
“You, do you really think he is free in the North?” Prince Cheng poked his youngest brother’s forehead. “Chen Tan, that brat has also gone with him for so long, yet he only sent a letter to your sister-in-law once.”
Prince Cheng knew that his youngest brother missed Yun Jiangli again, so he smiled and coaxed him.
“By the way, I’ve told your sister-in-law, she will come to your mansion in a few days to help you prepare things for the child.”
Prince Cheng remembered his princess consort’s instructions and said, “She has also selected two experienced and reliable maids from my mansion for you. I will bring them to your mansion at the end of next month. You don’t have to worry about these things anymore.”
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Yun Jiangli has been very busy on the northern border these days.
The war has stopped, and now it is time to start thinking. As a military advisor, he is even busier than those generals, sorting out and analyzing the information received from various lines day and night.
Although there were no major battles at the moment, but the small groups of troops that appeared out of nowhere were always annoying the border.
Yuchi Zhao was the most thoughtful, leading the right front commander, Ge Yumin, to deal with those little idiots, while Jing Yuan led two deputy generals to reorganize the northern border garrison that had been corrupted by the Wu family in recent years.
Yun Jiangli and Yuchi Che quickly grasped the enemy’s biggest loophole after summarizing the information of the open and covert lines—
Uneven benefits.
The four small countries that joined forces this time were originally uneven in strength. In the war over the past month, they had suffered different losses and had already had considerable internal disagreements.
According to a secret source from “Xuezhu”, Dianzhen was the most brutal of the four countries. The day before yesterday, when discussing the withdrawal of troops, they directly killed two generals of Dachun due to a disagreement, which seriously caused dissatisfaction among the other three countries.
Dachun has already fallen out with Dianzhen. Xianglan and Xiqi appear to be weaker and more submissive, but in fact they are the most tolerant.
Yun Jiangli and Yuchi Che decided to start with the brainless but domineering Dianzhen and completely disintegrate their alliance that had long been alienated.
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“Master, a letter from Xiao Wangye.”
At night, Yun Jiangli rubbed his shoulders tiredly and returned to his tent. Lao Qi came up to him, handed him a warm handkerchief, and took out a letter from his arms and handed it to him.
All his tiredness disappeared after reading the letter from the little prince. The little prince’s cute and somewhat willful look seemed to be right in front of him.
“Ai…”
Yun Jiangli smiled and shook his head, helplessly saying to Lao Qi, “Bring me some paper and a brush.”
Lao Qi handed over the paper and brush, ground some ink, and asked with a smile, “Why is the letter from Xiao Wangye so short this time?”
“Well, the little thing said he’s holding a grudge.” Yun Jiangli said with a smile and affection.
Previously, the little prince’s letters were always thick, and he wanted to tell him everything that happened every day in detail.
But this time, not even a whole sheet of paper was filled with writing. Between the lines, there was dissatisfaction with Yun Jiangli’s perfunctory response in the last letter. At the end, he even wrote in very small words: Yun Jiangli, if you don’t coax me, I won’t write back to you next time.
Therefore, Yun Jiangli wrote seriously and in detail about his situation in the northern border this time and also wrote some sweet words in the same small handwriting. Finally, he wrote: Xiao Qi, do you know that I can sleep well every night only if I’m holding your letter?
Lao Qi was so upset seeing this.
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In early April, the enemy alliance had collapsed under Yuchi Che and Yun Jiangli’s strategies, and they were almost powerless. There was no need for them to send troops, and the enemy was already facing a situation where they could not form an army.
Dachun had taken the lead in surrendering and took the initiative to send a letter of surrender. In the letter of surrender, the king of Dachun promised that he would never violate the border of Dasheng again and was willing to take the initiative to pay iron ore tribute every year.
Although the remaining three countries have not yet taken the initiative to surrender, they seem to want to fight a last-ditch battle. But as Yun Jiangli said, if one of the alliances withdraws, the alliance will naturally collapse in an instant and will never be able to survive again.
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April is the rainy season in the capital.
When it rains in the capital, it won’t rain continuously like in Jinzhou, it is often sunny during the day and showers at night.
But if it rained at night, the sound of rain would disturb the little prince and make him sleep even more uneasily.
On this day, the little prince received Yun Jiangli’s letter of safety. He read it over and over again and compared it with every previous letter. He always felt that something was wrong.
But there was nothing unusual in the war reports from the north or the news brought by Prince Cheng. Moreover, Chen Bai came to tell him today that the northern expeditionary army would return triumphantly in a few days.
Now, looking at this letter, he felt inexplicably uneasy for no reason.
The little prince was particularly worried and in low spirits, so he went to bed early after dinner.
Not long after he fell asleep, a spring thunder suddenly sounded in the silent night, and lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating half of the sky.
Yan Muning was awakened by the thunder, his heart was beating like a drum, and the child in his belly seemed to be frightened as well, rolling around restlessly.
The little prince sat up with some difficulty, trying to calm his violent breathing and heartbeat, and stroked his lower abdomen with one hand, trying to comfort the frightened child in his belly.
“Shiyi?”
The little prince called out with a trembling voice but got no response.
“Chen Mo?”
He frowned and raised his voice.
The occasional thunder and heavy rain outside the window alternately hit Yan Muning’s heart. His chest felt so stuffy that he couldn’t calm down.
The inexplicable uneasiness had reached its peak at this moment. The little prince opened the bed curtain, put on his shoes and supported his waist, and walked out slowly.
The people who were supposed to be on duty outside tonight were not there. The little prince pursed his lips, opened the bedroom door, and continued to walk outside. Just as he turned around the corridor, he suddenly heard several guards arguing in low voices—
“Impossible! I don’t believe it…”
“Calm down and keep your voice down!”
“This… what to do… what should Xiao Wangye do…”
……
Yan Muning was stunned where he was. What?
In the sound of thunder and rain, those words came to his ears word by word. He seemed to have lost the ability to understand suddenly. He seemed to understand every word, but when they were connected together, he seemed to have no idea what they were saying either.
Young Hall Master…
Oh, this is about Ah Li.
What happened to Ah Li? Who are they talking about who suddenly disappeared?
Is it Ah Li?
Yan Muning’s breathing became more and more rapid, and his heartbeat made his ears buzz. He raised his hands to support the wall, trying to steady his trembling legs. He closed his eyes and asked, “You, you… what are you talking about?”
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Several guards turned around in panic and looked at Yan Muning, who had stood at the corner. Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating his pale face.
“Your Highness! Why did you come out in such heavy rain?”
Shiyi strode over and tried to support the little prince.
Yan Muming stubbornly pushed Shiyi’s hand away, trembling but asking again with great determination, “What are you guys talking about?”
Several people looked at each other in confusion.
Finally, Chen Mo responded, “Your Highness, don’t worry. The news is not yet certain. Chen Bai has already led people to track down the whereabouts. You…”
“What’s wrong with Yun Jiangli?”
The little prince interrupted him. He didn’t want to think, nor did he have the energy to think. He just wanted a clear answer.
Chen Mo paused: “Yes, there is news that the Young Hall Master and the right front commander led 20,000 people back to the capital first. When they passed by Mount Liansai… they temporarily, temporarily lost their trace.”
“Boom—”
Thunder exploded again.
Thunder seemed to ring in the little prince’s head.
He seemed to hear someone calling him loudly. He tried to wave his hands and say that he was fine, but he couldn’t make a sound.
.
When Yan Muning woke up again, he found himself lying on the bed. His head felt like it was exploding, and his stomach was cramping. He couldn’t help but groan.
Just as he was about to move, he found that he was being pierced with acupuncture needles. The old hall master was sitting beside the bed with a worried look on his face.
“Old Hall Master, I, I just had a dream, they said… they said Ah Li he…”
The little prince’s eyes were red and filled with tears.
“That news may be false. The messenger has been detained by Prince Cheng and is being interrogated. Don’t scare yourself.” The old hall master said in a deep voice.
When Yan Muning heard this, tears could not stop falling from his eyes. He struggled to get up.
Shiyi, who was standing by, stepped forward and held his shoulders, calling out urgently, “Master, what are you going to do!”
“I, I want to go to the North… I want to go to Liansai to find Ah Li…”
The little prince choked and uttered.
The old hall master looked at the usually calm child, who could no longer listen to anything, and raised his hand and inserted the needle neatly—
Yan Muning fell softly on the bed.
Shiyi was frightened and pointed at the bed and stumblingly asked, “Old, Old Hall Master, this, this is…”
“It’s alright, it’s just sleeping acupuncture.”
The old hall master sighed, “Let him sleep well for a few hours. If he keeps tossing around like this, the child will come out prematurely!”
.
After that, for three days in a row, whenever the little prince was awake, he would keep thinking about going out to find Yun Jiangli.
Prince Cheng specially brought Chen Bai to tell him that the messenger was Xianglong’s spy in the capital, it was because he was unwilling to accept Xianglong’s defeat.
Not sure who told them that Yun Jiangli, who was the military advisor for the Northern Expedition, was the princess consort of Prince An, so they wanted to take revenge, so they deliberately let Xianglong’s secret agent intercept the news of Yun Jiangli’s 20,000 people and sent false news to Prince An’s mansion.
Yan Muning was drowsy and couldn’t believe what he heard.
As long as he didn’t see Yun Jiangli standing in front of him, he wouldn’t believe any news. He thought that his fifth brother was just making up a lie to comfort him because he was worried about him.
The child in his belly seemed to miss his father and had been making a fuss for several days, refusing to rest. The old hall master had strictly forbidden the little prince to get out of bed and only let him stay in bed to recuperate.
That afternoon, the child started to toss and turn even more violently, causing the little prince’s waist and abdomen to ache as if they were about to break.
The old hall master was giving him acupuncture and kept persuading him.
Shiyi and Chen Mo were sweating with anxiety, and Xiao Jiu was so scared that he started crying.
“Good child, listen to me.”
After the old hall master finished the acupuncture, he held the little prince’s hand and said seriously, “Be patient, this child is supposed to be born in ten days. If you continue to use force like this, the child will be born today!”
Yan Muning’s face was pale, and he endured the tearing pain, gritting his teeth and nodding with tears.
The old hall master continued, “Trust me, Jiangli will be fine. When he comes back, I will personally beat him up for you to make you feel better.”
The little prince endured the pain for a while and fell asleep in a daze.
But he had only slept for half an hour when he was awakened by the restless child again.
The child was very noisy, as if he wanted to burst his stomach, which made his stomach churn and swell and hurt. The little prince couldn’t help but vomit a few times while leaning on the edge of the bed.
The little prince, feeling both hurt and aggrieved, raised his hands and covered his belly tightly, crying and mumbling, “Child, stop causing trouble…”
He kept mumbling for a long time, but the child didn’t listen at all.
The pain in his abdomen became more and more unbearable. The little prince was almost confused and choked with sobs.
The temper that had been accumulated for so long suddenly surged up. The little prince gritted his teeth and cursed, “Yun Jiangli! You, you bastard… If you have the guts, don’t come back…”
“Tomorrow, tomorrow, no, today I will marry a dozen concubines! Huhuhuhu…”
.
However…
At the bedroom door, Yun Jiangli, who had just returned to the capital in a hurry, had just stepped over the threshold when these words came crashing down on his head.
He stood there in a daze, quite confused.
It was fine if he cursed at him, but what about marrying dozens of concubines?
Yun Jiangli’s thoughts and heartaches for the past few months were intertwined in his heart, but in the end, he couldn’t resist the jealousy that took over first—
Little heartless, at this point, he’s still thinking about marrying a concubine?
Bro, the situation, this is no time to be jealous !