Chapter 88 The Unexpected Love

"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

g to sleep."

But she heard the Prince laugh. That was rare for the Prince, as he seldom laughed at ordinary times. Yun Shang felt her heart beat faster in her chest. The Prince always assumed an indifferent attitude whenever she saw him. He either smiled only with his lips slightly curled, or flashed a smile that no one would deem as a smile. Yun Shang wondered what the Prince would look like at a moment such as this when he laughed so heartily. His smile must be as valuable as a flower that would only bloom every hundred years.

"I have sent Luo Ding to find the military physician. He will come with the medicine soon." Yun Shang heard the Prince speak in a coarse voice and felt the bed sink a little. It seemed the Prince had sat down on the bedside. Yun Shang was so startled that her heart was in her throat...

Yun Shang was trying her best to figure out what was happening. But there was no more sound nor movement from behind her. She gave a gentle bite to her lip and held her hands tight. When she was about to turn around to look, she heard the Prince speak in a low voice, "I didn't expect that you would come tonight. I could not believe what I had seen when you came and stood right before me. I went to war when I was a teenager. I have saved my life from the God of Death many times, and I have never celebrated my narrow escape from death before. But last night, I did feel grateful that I was still alive. And I thanked the Heavenly God that I met you. You worry for me, care about me, and fight with me."

Yun Shang felt out of breath as if her heart had been grasped by an unseen hand. She was at a loss for a response.

She was reborn for revenge, and lived for revenge in this life. She even came to the border for revenge. She wanted to kill Hua Jing and enact her vengeance on the Empress.

She never thought of nor did she dare to dream of accepting love from a man. She had made up her mind to abstain from falling in love because of her husband's unfaithfulness in her previous life. Although she felt that Prince Jing was special to her, she was also clear that she didn't love the Prince enough to give up everything for him.

Yun Shang opened her mouth but could not utter a single word. After a moment, she curled her lips to calm herself down, and said, "Prince Jing is the God of War in the State of Ning. It's your responsibility to defend the populace and the land of Ning. Although I am just a woman, I will try my best to guard the Prince, as only the Prince can protect our populace from getting involved in the war."

Yun Shang could not help trembling while speaking those words, though she had attempted to speak them in a manner otherwise.

The man behind her seemed to freeze after hearing Yun Shang's words. After a long while, he said in defeat, "You must be tired after having gone through all this. You'd better rest now." The bed bounced to where it had been after Prince Jing had barely finished speaking, and Yun Shang knew that he had stood up.

After a short while, Yun Shang heard the Prince walk out of the tent. She was taken by surprise and frowned. Would he not wait for the military physician? Where would he go with his unattended injury?

Yun Shang felt a loss in her heart. Maybe the Prince was hurt by her words as well as her coldness. Yun Shang lowered her head, and clenched her teeth to prevent herself from crying. Her foes were still out there, and Hua Jing was living merrily at a stone's throw. Yun Shang shut her eyes. In the sheer darkness, she saw the pale face of her baby and the indifferent face of Mo Jingran. She could even hear the alluring voice of Hua Jing. She had to grit her teeth to subdue her heart which had wavered just now in its thirst for love. At last, she fell asleep.