Rebirth of the Phoenix Princess novel Chapter 88

"Yes, I am quite sure that the book on the table has been moved." The soldier nodded as he spoke.

Yun Shang said after pondering, "You have been here since the beginning. Did you notice a stranger helping the people who came to extinguish the fire?"

If Yun Shang was right, the person who started the fire had been hiding in the camp. Once the Deputy Commander's tent had been set on fire, and all the attendants had run off to fetch water, he snuck into the tent in search of something. Taking advantage of the absolute chaos, he then joined the group and pretended to extinguish the fire as one of them.

"Many men helped with the fire. But I didn't spot anyone behaving strangely. Your Highness, should I have those people watched?" The attendant asked Yun Shang's opinion immediately.

Yun Shang shook her head and walked out of the tent. There had been so many people running to and fro to fight the fire, the culprit must have escaped by now. It would be impossible to find him.

No sooner had Yun Shang walked out of the tent than she saw a flame soaring up into the sky. Then, there was a huge explosion. Yun Shang was taken aback at first. When she got past the shock, she realized that the flame originated near the Prince's tent. She looked around in search of Hua Jing, but could see no sign of her.

Suddenly, it dawned on her that the fire in the Deputy Commander's tent must have been a trick to distract her. Yun Shang scolded herself for her carelessness.

"Where is Princess Hua Jing?" Yun Shang asked.

A soldier stepped forward and answered, "Mister Xiao, Princess Hua Jing has returned to Her Highness's tent."

Returned to her tent?

"Take me to the Princess's tent."

Yun Shang was escorted to Hua Jing's tent by the solider. She hesitated for a moment when in front of the tent. At last, she raised her voice and said, "Your Highness, are you in there?"

Hua Jing replied from inside, "Yes. Is that Mister Xiao? Is there anything I can do for you? Please come in..."

"It's unnecessary. I was worried about Your Highness's safety as I haven't seen Your Highness since the fire. I came here to ensure that Your Highness is not hurt. As there have been some incidents in the camp today, Your Highness should stay in the tent and not walk around. I will arrange some guards to protect you." Then she turned and spoke to the soldier behind her, "Call thirty soldiers to guard the Princess's tent carefully. If someone sneaks into the Princess's tent and hurts the Princess, there would be no possibility for you to get a pardon from the Lord."

The soldier said "yes" and then walked away.

After everything had been arranged, Yun Shang returned to her tent. If someone had slipped into the Prince's tent, he would find that the Prince had not been in the tent. The flame must be a signal to inform the enemy about this, and the Prince would be in danger if he were in the enemy's camp now. However, the Prince had previously mentioned that there was a spy in the Ning army. If she took any action to rescue the Prince, the spy would probably find out and inform the enemy of the rescue mission. That would be terribly awful.

"Mister Xiao." Qian Meng hesitantly addressed Yun Shang who had been in deep thought.

Yun Shang lifted her eyes to see who had spoken. She saw Qian Meng. Then a thought occurred to her. She said to Qian Meng, "You, stay in the tent. There is something I need to handle. I must leave now."

Qian Meng was taken by surprise. She nodded at Yun Shang, and watched the Princess leave in a hurry.

"Mister Xiao, where are you going?" Seeing Yun Shang walk out of the tent in a hurry, Luo Ding caught up with her and asked.

"Are there any other generals in the camp?" Instead of answering Luo Ding's question, Yun Shang raised a question for him.

Luo Ding answered, "General Zhang is still in the camp."

Yun Shang selected a horse, and said to Luo Ding, "Go and tell General Zhang that no one should leave the camp tonight. Execute whoever violates this order." Then she mounted the horse, and whipped the horse to run out of the camp.

Luo Ding frowned as he watched Yun Shang's figure fade away. He knew something must be wrong. And so, he ran to General Zhang's tent without delay.

"Woo..." The night was tranquil. In spite of the cold, Yun Shang's forehead was covered in sweat. She reached Xiyi Town within half an hour, but the gate to the town was already closed. Yun Shang squinted as she studied the surroundings carefully. Then she jumped down from the horse and climbed over the wall around the town. She ran to an ordinary house in the town and knocked on the door. The voice of a familiar woman inquired from inside, "Who is it?" Yun Shang lowered her voice and answered, "It's me. Xiao Yun."

The door was pulled open. Yun Shang was surrounded by several women as soon as she set foot inside the room. "Master, it's quite late now. Why are you here? Is something wrong?"

Yun Shang nodded, "Where is Ning Qian? How many people do we have here?"

"She is chatting with Qian Yin in the room inside, and there are over thirty people here." A soft voice replied.

Yun Shang nodded at the maid. Then she walked across the yard, pushed open the door of a room, and walked in.

"Master?" The women in the room addressed her simultaneously.

"There is no time to explain. All of you need to come with me now, and bring your weapons." Yun Shang's eyes swept across everyone in the room before she left.

Several women had been sitting in the room. Qian Yin was one of them. And in the middle, sat Ning Qian, the most beautiful among them. Ning Qian rose to her feet after Yun Shang left. She said, "Pack up and follow the master."

Once the women had changed and collected their weapons, they scurried out of the room and into the yard without delay.

"Master, there are thirty seven people in total. Everyone is here." Ning Qian said gently.

Yun Shang nodded and said, "We are going to carry out a secret mission in the enemy's camp. It is far from here. Prince Jing planned a surprise attack on the Yelang army. But Yelang's spy in our army has sent them a signal. I'm afraid the Prince might be in danger. The Prince told his plan to me before leaving. I believe the Prince to be near the river at the foot of the mountain on the right. We need to aid the Prince as soon as possible. But it would be risky for us to be seen together. We'd better leave town separately and meet up outside."

Yun Shang opened the door and left after finishing her explanation. Once all the women had collected at the designated meeting spot, they rode toward their destination.

The river was frozen, and the horses kept slipping on the pebble-paved path along the river. Yun Shang said with a frown, "It's too slippery. We'd better walk." She jumped down from the horse while speaking.

It was a long river. They had walked for about four hours before they vaguely heard something. Yun Shang gave a sign to stop the procession, "There is someone ahead. Hide."

Fortunately, the grove by the riverside was so thick that it was not difficult for them to hide.

Hidden in the brushwood, Yun Shang heard footsteps. Then she heard a man with a coarse voice speak, "We've gotten a signal from our man in the Ning army. The Ning soldiers must have escaped from our camp. We must find an excellent spot for an ambush, and kill them all."

There was a trace of Yelang accent in his voice.

Yun Shang needed to send out a warning. She mimicked a cuckoo.

"It's winter now. What kind of bird would sing in such cold?" The man asked in wonder. Then he resumed speaking, "Hurry up. Our men along the road have to be well prepared except for..." Before he could finish speaking, his head was already off his neck and fell to the ground.

Silence filled the air. After a short moment, a voice was heard, "Aha... dead..."

That man did not get a chance to finish his words either. Yun Shang rushed out from behind the brushwood. She held in her hand the sword given by Ning Qian. She dashed toward the soldiers. Shouts and screams were heard before they fell to the ground one by one. An instant later, the world was shrouded in silence again.

"Master, there were twenty four soldiers. All dead now." Ning Qian spoke in a soft voice.