Fan Min let out a cold snort, "Then send him to Xue Changan. I believe Xue Changan will be greatly pleased."
"Yes, Master." Jiuxing stepped forward to help Xue Jingyun up, then suddenly remembered Xue Jingyun had rejected her. She couldn't help but ask, "Can you walk by yourself?"
After asking, Jiuxing felt she was asking the obvious, as Xue Jingyun had already fainted.
"Jiuge, you help him!" Jiuxing retreated several steps after standing up.
Jiuge descended, glancing at Jiuxing, and said, "Jiuxing, you will make Master suspicious."
Jiuxing lowered her head, "What does Master reviving Master's wife have to do with him?"
Jiuge sighed, "Jiuxing, your temperament will ultimately harm you."
Jiuxing bit her lower lip and said in a voice only she could hear, "I promised him, and I will protect him with my life."
After everyone left, a person walked over from not far away. Seeing the clue Jiuxing had secretly left, he tucked the item into his怀 and also left.
An Ning woke up again when it was already bright. Madam Wu and Wu Zhengdao looked at her anxiously, "Your Highness Princess, you are finally awake." Madam Wu breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sister..." Wu Zhengdao called her.
An Ning got up, took Wu Zhengdao's small hand, and said, "Don't worry, Sister is fine."
Wu Zhengdao nodded, "Sister is a good person, she will surely be fine."
An Ning stroked Wu Zhengdao's head, "Thank you, Zhengdao."
Madam Wu said worriedly, "Before Your Highness woke up, this humble one heard someone outside shouting about a fire. I fear we will have to leave here soon."
An Ning didn't panic, thinking it must have been Wen Yuxi's doing.
Just then, a voice came from outside the door, "Princess An Ning, please make preparations. You will return to Han City in two hours."
"Yes, this Princess understands," An Ning replied.
Madam Wu, standing nearby, her face lit up, "Is the war over?"
An Ning nodded, "It appears so."
Madam Wu clapped her hands together happily, "Thank heaven, my husband can rest easy."
"But you cannot return," An Ning said with some guilt.
Madam Wu shook her head, "As long as Dongling Pass is secured, what does it matter if I can never return? As long as my husband and the people of Dongling Pass are well, this humble one is content. This humble one dares not be greedy any further, this is already very good."
An Ning looked at Madam Wu and asked, "Is it worth it to be separated from your family for a promise?"
Madam Wu smiled, "What is worth it or not? Whatever my husband wants to do, this humble one lets him do it. Moreover, the Empress is truly worthy of my husband's loyalty."
"She is worthy?" An Ning asked.
Madam Wu thought for a moment and then smiled, "Don't laugh at me, Your Highness Princess, but this humble one used to hate her. Because initially, I was not supposed to marry my husband. It was she who saw through my concubine's scheme and instead arranged for me to marry my husband. At that time, this humble one hated her, but as time passed, this humble one realized that gentleness is true."
Her expression was a little shy, "Although my husband is reckless, he dotes on this humble one. Since giving birth to Zhengdao, my husband sent away the other women in the inner courtyard with a sum of money. Only a few who had followed my husband stayed; there were no others. This humble one is very happy."
"She is that kind of person?"
Madam Wu smiled, "One cannot guess her intentions, but she is a wise and strong-willed person."
"She is worthy of how you treat her..." An Ning looked up at Madam Wu and said, "Madam Wu, please go pack your things. We will likely be leaving shortly as well."
Madam Wu nodded, took Wu Zhengdao, and left.
After Madam Wu left, An Ning finally said, "Moyuan, you're back?"
Moyuan descended and knelt on one knee, "Your subordinate is incompetent. I did not manage to rescue the Crown Prince of Xue Guo."
"How can it be your fault? You were no match for them." Anyone who could defeat Xue Jingyun is certainly not an ordinary person.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince left something behind." Moyuan said.
"Give it to me." An Ning stepped forward, and Moyuan handed the item to her.
An Ning was startled. It was a token. She examined it repeatedly, finding no other anomalies. "Did he drop it?"
Moyuan shook his head, "Your subordinate does not know. When your subordinate arrived, they had already taken the Crown Prince away."
An Ning frowned upon hearing this, "Do you know where they went?"
Moyuan shook his head, "Your subordinate does not know."
"You may go. Do not come out unless I summon you," An Ning instructed.
Moyuan received the order and hid himself.
Moyuan was her last trump card, to be used only when absolutely necessary.
What was this token for?
An Ning thought about it for a long time but could not figure it out, so she put it away and kept it on her person.
Two hours later, she and Madam Wu and her son were put into a carriage.
Slowly, they drove away from the place.
Dongling Pass was completely secured.
Outside Dongling Pass, a tall man in armor knelt. His face was weary and haggard. His eyes were bloodshot from not having slept for several days and nights. The veins on the back of his hands bulged, yet he stared intently at the spot where there was no longer any sign.
"General, you have been kneeling all night. Madam and the young master have already left," the副将 said with red eyes.
Wu Dakang shook his head, "I have failed them, my wife and son."
He had lived up to the Empress's dying wish and to the people behind him, but he had failed his own wife and son.
"General, someone has sent a letter."
Wu Dakang took it, opened the letter, and his gaze trembled. Finally, he cried out excitedly, "Have you returned? Have you returned?"
The 副将 stepped forward to look. The letter contained only a few words: "I will surely protect Madam Wu and my young child."
The 副将 knew the General should be happy, but why was he so excited?
"General Yang, what is wrong with the General?" someone behind asked Deputy General Yang.
Deputy General Yang shook his head, "I don't know either. What is wrong with the General?"
Wu Dakang ran crazed for two laps. When he calmed down, Deputy General Yang stepped forward and asked, "General, what is wrong?"
Wu Dakang pointed at the handwriting on the letter and asked, "Don't you find this handwriting familiar?"
Deputy General Yang frowned and finally remembered, but it seemed impossible, "This...how is this possible? Wasn't the Empress..."
Wu Dakang said excitedly, "I knew the Empress wouldn't die so easily! How could someone who could get rid of the all-powerful Regent be willing to hand over Huangze to others?"
Deputy General Yang also became happy, "If that's the case, it would be wonderful."
Heaven knows that under Xue Changan's rule, Huangze was no longer what it used to be.
Wu Dakang knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times solemnly, "Your Majesty, Wu Dakang has not failed your trust, I have guarded Dongling Pass, and I also hope you will return soon."
In the carriage, An Ning clutched her chest. The pain was getting worse. Could it be that this body could no longer bear "her" soul?
She was unwilling, truly unwilling.
Suddenly, a force entered her body. It was very warm. She subconsciously reached out to find the source of this force, and she touched the token Moyuan had given her.
She took it out. The token was emitting a glow. It had only one character on it: Ning.