Chapter 83 Coming to the Borderland

Emperor Ning's admiration for Master Wu Na grew after the incident. So when Master Wu Na asked whether Yun Shang needed to rest at the Ning'guo Temple, the Emperor promptly asked Yun Shang, and upon receiving her confirmation, he gave his permission.

Yun Shang bid Lady Jin and the Emperor farewell before leaving the Palace with Wu Na. She didn't take Qin Yi with her this time. She was accompanied by Qian Yin.

Although Yun Shang did enter Ning'guo Temple, she snuck out from the back door. She, together with Qian Yin, disguised themselves as men and left for the borderland.

Situated in the border area of Ning State and Yelang State, Xiyi town is home to open-minded and progressive people. It is common for boys and girls to laugh and joke together on the street.

When Yun Shang reached Xiyi Town, she stopped at a reasonably clean tavern. She ordered two bowls of beef noodles. Since it was past lunchtime, there were few people in the tavern. She called the attendant to her side.

"My little brother and I have come here for business. During our journey, we learned that recently a war broke out here. Is it true? We were worried. But when we got here, we see that everything is peaceful and tranquil. What's going on here?" Along the journey, Yun Shang and Qian Yin had both disguised themselves as men and called each other brother.

The attendant found few customers in sight so he simply sat by Yun Shang's side and said, "A few days ago, there was a fierce fight. We didn't dare go out. And this town almost become a territory of Yelang State. But later, Prince Jing came here and fought back. You know, Prince Jing is a capable man." At this point, the attendant gave a thumbs-up and continued, "Within no more than half a month, Prince Jing defeated Prince Qingsu of Yelang State and the army of Yelang State was forced to retreat for five li*. Prince Jing and his army set up their encampment five li from here so that civilians could live a normal life. A stretch of encampment is visible when you go to the west of the town."

(*TN: 2.5 kilometers)

Yun Shang said with a big smile, "We are lucky. We have been worried about being engaged in the war. Before we arrived here, we thought that if there was an ongoing war, we would leave as quickly as possible. We are here now. Luckily, nothing is happening."

The attendant said after thinking for a moment, "Prince Jing deserves all the credit. Were it not for the leadership of Prince Jing, we would have to bow our heads to Yelang State. I heard that our army had a battle with the army of Yelang State last night. Our army, led by Prince Jing, won at last. But I heard that Prince Qingsu caught Princess Hui Guo. Princess Hui Guo is a good person. I hope the Prince can get Princess Hui Guo back."

"Princess Hui Guo was caught?" Qian Yin exclaimed loudly. She looked at Yun Shang with surprise.

"Yes. Prince Qingsu, after being defeated last night, claimed that Princess Hui Guo was under his control and that if Prince Jing did not surrender, he would kill Princess Hui Guo." The attendant looked around cautiously before whispering, "I heard that Princess Hui Guo is a kind and beautiful girl. What a pity it is that she has been caught by the ferocious Prince Qingsu. She will be mistreated by that Prince."

On hearing this, Yun Shang frowned and said, "How could it be? We passed by the Imperial City a couple of days ago. Princess Hui Guo was still there. Master Wu Na and the Princess made an appearance together when a malefic appeared in the Imperial City."

"What?" The attendant thought this big news was something he could boast about. So he hastened to inquire, "Is Princess Hui Guo in the Imperial Palace?"

Yun Shang nodded her head and said assertively, "Yes, she is. The Imperial Palace is so heavily guarded that there is a very slim chance that Princess Hui Guo was kidnapped. Even if they kidnapped our Princess, they would be unlikely to arrive here ahead of us."

Qian Yin added, "Prince Qingsu must be deceiving Prince Jing. He is trying to force Prince Jing to surrender. Now Prince Jing is at the border, which is so far from the Imperial Palace that he doesn't know what is happening in the Imperial Palace. Even if someone had sent him a letter, it would take some time to reach the Prince. What if Prince Jing believes the lie?"

The attendant said in a worried voice, "Oh, Prince Qingsu is too crafty."

Yun Shang rose to her feet quickly. "I can't let this happen. I have to tell Prince Jing about the lie lest he be taken in."

"You should tell him. Let me tell you how to find him. When you walk out of here, turn left and go straight. You will see the west exit of this town. Pass the exit, and you will see Prince Jing's encampment." The attendant couldn't suppress his excitement. He said, "You two are gallant men. Please serve yourselves some noodles before you set off."

Yun Shang nodded. After a while, the attendant brought two bowls of noodles. When they had finishing eating, Yun Shang and Qian Yin set out to find Prince Jing according to the attendant's directions.

"Your Highness, why did Prince Qingsu claim that you are under his control? Apparently you are here with me. Doesn't he know that Prince Jing has seen you and he would recognize you easily?" said Qian Yin.

Yun Shang smiled coldly. "There are two possibilities. One, Prince Qingsu had found someone that looks very similar to me and ordered her to pose as me. Or he just asked somebody to wear a mask made of human skin to disguise as me. Second, Prince Qingsu has been deceived by someone. He has no idea of the real ide

e the officers had left the tent, Prince Jing spoke openly. He languidly leaned back on his chair. As he took a cup of tea from the table, he fixed his eyes on Yun Shang.

Yun Shang nodded and replied, "Yes. I sent them here to kill her."

"I was right! I knew Hua Jing had no enemy who hated her as much as you do, " said Prince Jing. He paused as he thought of another detail. "Before I left the Imperial City, the Emperor told me that Hua Jing's husband was stuck in Linguan Town. I led a group of soldiers to search for the Emperor's Son-in-Law, but only found some of his subordinates. His subordinates said that it was not soldiers of Yelang State that attacked them and that the Emperor's Son-in-Law had been caught by those attackers and never returned. I wonder if you sent those people to kidnap Hua Jing's husband to force Hua Jing to come to the borderland. As long as Hua Jing is here, you can get rid of her easily." The more Prince Jing thought about it, the surer he was about his conjecture.

Yun Shang said nothing. Instead, she looked at her feet with a smile on her face.

"Well, well, Yun Shang, I shouldn't judge you harshly. I have seen Hua Jing oppress you several times. I thought you were incompetent. I didn't expect that you would make such a perfect plot to get rid of Hua Jing." said Prince Jing while laughing loudly. Judging from her expression, Prince Jing was almost sure about his theory.

Yun Shang said with a smile, "Uncle, thank you for praising me. The Empress is powerful in the Imperial City. So when I am in the Imperial City, I have to pretend to be innocent and weak. If I do something to contend with Hua Jing in the Imperial City, she will suspect me. But at the frontier, the Empress is unable to exert her power to control me. So I can do whatever I want here."

"And you intend to get rid of Hua Jing yourself this time?" asked Prince Jing. He remembered that Yun Shang had said that she wanted to kill Hua Jing with her own hands.

Yun Shang nodded and said, "I don't want Hua Jing to return to the Imperial City."

Prince Jing nodded, but then he shook his head. "You have been too impetuous this time. The frontier is full of dangers. You come here without taking that into consideration. What's more, the encampment is full of male soldiers. You are a maiden. You entered the camp without considering the potential danger.

Yun Shang smiled and said, "Uncle, please let me stay here. You know, Hua Jing is in Prince Qingsu's encampment, which is not far from here. If I stay here, I will get quicker updates about her situation."

On hearing this, Prince Jing thought for a while. Then he said, "OK. I will allow you to stay here. But you should be more cautious."

Yun Shang nodded quickly. "Uncle, trust me. I promise I will be more cautious."

"Whoa…" The sound was followed by the clap of hooves and the crash of armor. Then a voice said, "General, …"

"Come in." Prince Jing frowned and straightened up. A soldier entered and quickly spoke, "Prince, the army of Yelang State is provoking us again. They have thrown the head of one of our soldiers to us. Besides, they claim that If we do not surrender, they will kill Princess Hui Guo."

Prince Jing lifted his eyes to look at Yun Shang. He found that her eyes gleamed with excitement. He smiled and said, "Let's go face them."

Yun Shang hastened to stand up and said, "Prince, I will go with you."

On hearing this, Prince Jing raised his eyebrows. It seemed that everything was going as expected. He found Yun Shang, though disguised as a man, was stunningly gorgeous. He then took out a silver mask and gave it to Yun Shang.

Yun Shang took the mask from the Prince before putting it on and following him out of the tent.