Xue Zi Ning’s expression shifted upon seeing the urgent dispatch from An Guo. Why would Han Guo breach the treaty without provocation?
She then remembered that her letters to Han Xi Xia had gone unanswered.
“Feng Jiu…”
Feng Jiu landed before her, bowing. “Your Majesty, Feng Jiu is here.”
“Go to Han Guo. Deliver this letter to Han Xi Xia.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Feng Jiu took the letter and departed.
In the imperial court, Xue Zi Ning proposed a personal campaign against An Guo, but the ministers opposed it.
After the court session, Xue Zi Ning kept Wen Yu Xi behind.
Wen Yu Xi looked at her, unlike the ministers in court, he did not oppose the Empress’s personal expedition.
Others might not know, but he understood what An Guo represented to the Empress.
“Your Majesty, must you go?” Wen Yu Xi asked.
Xue Zi Ning nodded. “Yes…”
Wen Yu Xi sighed. “I know no one can stop your progress, but I hope you will consider the greater good.”
“I suspect Xue Yu has escaped to Han Guo,” Xue Zi Ning said calmly.
Wen Yu Xi started. “That is indeed possible. Qian Jin Lou discovered that Xue Yu was once very close to Han Guo’s Seventh Prince, Han Xi Chen.”
“I must go personally this time. I will deal with Xue Yu myself.”
Xue Zi Ning’s gaze was piercing, clear and exceptionally bright.
Wen Yu Xi smiled. “I knew you would go. Would you like me to bring someone along?”
Xue Zi Ning faltered slightly. “Who?”
“Wen Yu,” Wen Yu Xi replied.
“Very well,” Xue Zi Ning agreed.
Wen Yu’s combat skills were evident; she was one of Qian Jin Lou’s Four Protectors.
“I entrust the affairs of the court to you.”
Wen Yu Xi nodded. “I will not fail your trust.”
Xue Zi Ning packed her belongings overnight and, with Wen Yu, set off for An Guo on horseback. The army was left to Wu Da Kang to provide support, while she departed ahead.
They traveled non-stop until nightfall before halting. Xue Zi Ning looked around; they were in a dense forest and wouldn’t be able to get out anytime soon. “It seems we’ll have to spend the night here,” she told Wen Yu.
Wen Yu lowered her head. “Your subordinate will go and scout around.”
Xue Zi Ning nodded. She watched Wen Yu turn and leave.
After a while, Wen Yu returned, bringing some wild fruits.
Xue Zi Ning ate the dry rations they had brought, bite by bite.
She looked up at Wen Yu and asked, “How is Wen Nuan?”
She had left Wen Nuan to care for Xue Yun Lan. However, Xue Yun Lan had been persuaded by Xue Yu and had captured Bei Jiang City. Xue Zi Ning wondered what had happened to Wen Nuan.
She suddenly thought of the girl at this moment and asked.
She saw Wen Yu pause slightly and then reply, “At Qian Jin Lou.”
Xue Zi Ning was taken aback, assuming Wen Yu was simply not talkative. She decided not to ask further.
She leaned against a tree and fell asleep. She had been under immense mental strain these past few days, and perhaps only now could she truly relax.
Wen Yu rose and took a cloak from her pack, draping it over Xue Zi Ning.
Suddenly, she grabbed his hand. “Yan Zhao…”
Wen Yu trembled. Seeing that she was merely dreaming, he did not immediately pull his hand away.
“Sleep!” His voice was as deep as the night, muffled and heavy.
Xue Zi Ning was awakened by the chirping of birds. Opening her eyes, the morning light had fallen upon her face, warm and gentle.
She smelled a fragrance and followed it to a fire. It turned out Wen Yu had caught and was roasting fish.
“Your Majesty, the fish is ready,” Wen Yu said, handing her a piece.
Xue Zi Ning took it and took a bite. “The fish is so fresh.” Compared to the dry rations she had eaten yesterday, it was delicious.
“You eat too.” After eating two fish, she noticed Wen Yu hadn’t touched any.
Wen Yu picked up a fish and began to eat it slowly.
Xue Zi Ning’s gaze flickered. “Your eating manner doesn’t quite seem like that of a Qian Jin Lou assassin.”
Wen Yu heard her and asked, “Has Your Majesty seen them?”
Xue Zi Ning did not reply. “After we finish eating, we will set off.”
An incense stick later, Xue Zi Ning was back on the road. An Guo was once an isolated island in the sea.
To enter An Guo, one had to travel by boat. Later, for trade, An Guo reclaimed some of the sea, allowing An Guo and Han Guo to trade.
Travel became easier, but it also provided Han Guo with a convenient route to attack An Guo.
Xue Zi Ning planned to go to Han Guo first. She was worried about Han Xi Xia’s situation and could also meet up with Feng Jiu.
Passing by Xue Guo, she stopped her horse and gazed towards it.
“Does Your Majesty intend to go to Xue Guo?” Wen Yu, behind her, suddenly asked.
Xue Zi Ning shook her head. She was not yet ready to meet Yan Zhao.
After a day and a night of continuous travel, they finally entered Han Guo by evening on the second day.
After days and nights of rough travel, Xue Zi Ning finally checked into an inn.
She asked the innkeeper to heat a tub of hot water, preparing for a good bath that night. Midway through her bath, she suddenly heard some movement outside. Xue Zi Ning sprang from the tub and quickly threw on her outer robe.
Just as she was about to go and see who was at the door, a hand grabbed her arm. She instinctively struck back.
“Your Majesty, your subordinate is Wen Yu…”
Hearing it was Wen Yu, Xue Zi Ning retracted her palm and looked at Wen Yu with a cold gaze. “Why are you here?”
Wen Yu pointed to the window. “Your subordinate heard Your Majesty’s voice from next door.”
Xue Zi Ning glanced at the window. She had closed all the windows before her bath.
Moreover, could someone next door hear her speaking?
However, at this moment, it was clearly not the time to ponder such matters.
A scent permeated the room. Xue Zi Ning inhaled it, and her face changed dramatically. It was an anesthetic.
Wen Yu also sensed it, quickly pulled down some clothes from the screen, dampened them with water from the bucket, and tore them in half. He handed one piece to Xue Zi Ning and covered his mouth and nose with the other.
Xue Zi Ning took the cloth, her expression darkening. It was her undergarment…
And Wen Yu was holding her underpants.
She felt a numbness in her head.
At this point, the room was filled with the scent of the anesthetic.
Someone was prying the door open from the outside. Wen Yu grabbed Xue Zi Ning’s hand and they hid behind the door.
Xue Zi Ning paused, her gaze falling on Wen Yu’s hand. It was slender and fair, not the hand of a Qian Jin Lou assassin.
The door was forced open, pulling Xue Zi Ning back to reality.
Wen Yu suddenly released her hand and lunged towards the intruders.
Only a few groans were heard, and two people tumbled into the room.
Xue Zi Ning saw that they were the inn’s waiter and the innkeeper.
“Mercy, great hero, mercy!” the two begged.
“Why did you do this?” Xue Zi Ning asked coldly.
The waiter quickly said, “Miss, you may not know, but for the past six months, there has been a severe drought here, and many people cannot get food. Your subordinate… it was just for a meal. I have an elderly mother and a newborn child, it was truly out of desperation.”
“Has the court not provided porridge?” Xue Zi Ning asked.
The innkeeper also said, “Miss, the court can barely take care of itself, how can it care about us common folk?”
“Who is the current Emperor of Han?” Xue Zi Ning asked.
The innkeeper, unaware of why Xue Zi Ning was asking, still replied, “Half a year ago, the Emperor of Han suddenly fell ill with a strange sickness. The Regent is now the Seventh Prince.”