Rebirth of the Phoenix Princess novel Chapter 83

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 identity of the girl that he has caught. I was raised in Ning'guo Temple, so few people have seen me. It is possible that Prince Qingsu has mistaken another girl for me. I remember that Ning Qian told me that Prince Qingsu saved Hua Jing. I have every reason to suspect that the person whom Prince Qingsu has caught is Hua Jing."

"But why does Hua Jing pose as you, Your Highness?" asked Qian Yin with a puzzled expression.

At this moment, a grim smile appeared on Yun Shang's face. She said, "Only Hua Jing can answer this question."

"Don't move. Who are you? This is a military stronghold. You are prohibited from entering." said a soldier. As Yun Shang and Qian Yin rode to the gate of the encampment, they were stopped by two soldiers.

Yun Shang took out a token and said, "We are friends of your Prince. We come from the Imperial City. We have something important to report to your Prince. Please notify the Prince and give this token to him. He will know who I am."

The two soldiers looked at each other before examining Yun Shang from head to toe. Although dressed as a man, Yun Shang's appearance gave them the impression that he was of high-born elegance even though he looked quite tired after a long journey. The soldiers didn't dare snub Yun Shang. After taking the token from Yun Shang, one of the soldiers ran into the encampment.

Almost half an hour later, Yun Shang saw several people walking out of a military tent. They were led by a man with whom she was familiar. When he approached, her suspicions were confirmed. It was Prince Jing.

When Prince Jing looked at Yun Shang, he frowned and said, "Why are you here? Life is tough here. You shouldn't have come here." As he spoke, he walked up to the horse on which Yun Shang was seated and held the horse for her. Then he turned and began walking towards the encampment.

The soldiers escorting Prince Jing widened their eyes when they saw their Prince holding the horse for the emaciated guest who had come from afar. This gesture was beneath his rank and they couldn't help but look astonished. Yun Shang was also shocked and said, "Un ..." Just before she could finish saying the word, Uncle, it occurred to her that if she addressed Prince Jing as Uncle, she would reveal her identity to others. So she corrected herself quickly, "Prince Jing, how can I let you hold the horse for me? Please let me get off the horse."

Prince Jing turned round to glance at Yun Shang before continuing to proceed towards the encampment without saying a word. Some soldiers saw this scene and followed Yun Shang. Yun Shang felt embarrassed and didn't know what the Prince's intentions were. She hurried to jump off the horse and walked alongside Prince Jing, only to find that the Prince was... in a daze.

"Prince?" called Yun Shang gently.

Prince Jing replied, "Yes" and turned to find that Yun Shang was walking by his side. He was startled. Then he looked at the horse and asked Yun Shang, "When did you jump off the horse?" After that he whispered to himself, "I am not dreaming!"

Yun Shang was not close enough to Prince Jing to hear him clearly and only caught a few vague words such as dreaming. Without knowing what Prince Jing said, Yun Shang explained herself, "Prince, if I keep sitting on the horse, I would feel as if I were a monkey in an acrobatic show, which is being watched by an audience."

Looking around, Prince Jing saw several soldiers following him and Yun Shang. He said in a cold voice, "You! What are you doing here?"

The soldiers broke into a loud laugh. "Prince, you act as if you've lost your senses. Do you mind introducing your guest to us? Introduce him to us, please."

"Don't bother me. Go away! Go!" Prince Jing frowned and said impatiently.

The crowd burst into laughter again. Yun Shang's face flushed but she stared at Prince Jing with a look of surprise. Prince Jing was always cool and emotionless. She had never seen Prince Jing act like this before. She was curious about Prince Jing's behavior.

A while later, they reached a military tent with a Chinese character for General painted on it. Prince Jing threw the reins to the nearest soldier and walked into the tent. Yun Shang and Qian Yin followed him. Just as they entered the tent, Prince Jing said in a joyless tone, "Why are you all here? Does Prince Qingsu provoke a fight again?"

Yun Shang's sight was blocked by Prince Jing. She couldn't see anything inside but heard a hearty laugh. A male voice spoke, "No, he doesn't. I am told that you have a guest here and you volunteered to hold the horse for him. We are curious about this person. So we came to meet this person. Where is he?"

On hearing this, Yun Shang began to realize what all she was going to deal with in the encampment. There were only men here, and it seemed that they spoke candidly without meaning harm. Before Prince Jing could explain, Yun Shang said, "I am Xiao Yun, a friend of Prince Jing. Today, he held the horse for me because he lost a bet to me."