Chapter 90 The Stolen Army Deployment Plan

Hua Jing had spent the whole day in her tent. When she peeked out, it was already dark. Sometimes, several patrol soldiers passed by. That and Hua Jing's agitated pacing were the only sounds that could be heard.

A sudden noise scared Hua Jing. She jumped in surprise. She turned around to see, and found that a stone had fallen by the table. Hua Jing watched as it bounced and rolled before coming to a halt. Hua Jing looked around carefully before picking it up. She split the stone into two halves and took out a strip of cloth from the inside. There were two lines of characters on the cloth, which said, Time is limited. Take action soon.

Hua Jing clenched her teeth and put the cloth into the sachet hanging on her waist. It was a letter from Qingsu urging her to finish and leave. But, she still had no idea as to how she would escape. She frowned and felt more agitated.

Hua Jing's stay in the Ning army and being a spy for Qingsu were just expedient. She had been impersonating Yun Shang since she met Qingsu, and had deceived him into writing a letter to Emperor Ning, in which he raised the request of marriage between him and Princess Hui Guo. Qingsu was so cruel that he would not let Hua Jing live if he learned the truth. So she persuaded Qingsu to send her to the Ning army. She had convinced Qingsu that she, as the Princess of Ning, could work as his spy in the Ning army, or steal an Army Deployment Map, or even poison Prince Jing.

However, Hua Jing would not do as she had assured Qingsu. She was, after all, the Princess of Ning. How could she do something to undermine her own country? She just did all this to escape from Qingsu.

But Hua Jing came to realize how simple-minded she was as soon as she set foot in the Ning camp. She had underestimated Qingsu. Qingsu not only placed guards outside the Ning camp, but he had also arranged spies to watch her inside the camp. He must know everything about her.

"Your Highness..." A voice announced from outside. Hua Jing was so shocked that she turned around hurriedly, "Who is it?"

Silence followed her question. Then the person spoke, "Your Highness, I am in service of Prince Jing. The Prince wonders whether Your Highness is willing to have a chat with him in his tent."

Prince Jing? Hua Jing squinted as she contemplated. She could feel suspicion from the Prince ever since she arrived at the camp. He always gave her the cold shoulder whenever she went to his tent. But today, the Prince was inviting her to his tent. How could it be possible? Hua Jing could not help but worry.

The soldier led Hua Jing to Prince Jing's tent. She vaguely heard the Prince speak as she stood outside the tent.

"My Lord, Her Highness is here." The soldier said aloud from the doorway. To prevent Qingsu from finding out her true identity, Hua Jing had ordered all soldiers to address her Princess instead of Princess Hua Jing since her first day at the Ning camp.

"Please come in." Hua Jing heard the Prince speak in a low and attractive voice. The soldier pushed open the curtain for Hua Jing, and she entered. But her face darkened after she got a clear view of the interior. There were three people in the tent, the Prince, Mister Xiao, and Lady Zhao.

Lady Zhao looked sullen too. She turned and gave Hua Jing a look of contempt, and said sarcastically, "It's you, Princess Hua Jing."

Hua Jing gnashed her teeth but walked in with a smile. "Mother, I didn't expect that Uncle had invited you here."

"Mother?" Lady Zhao smiled, "Your Highness is the star out of reach of the Zhao family. Before I came here, I requested the Emperor to allow Your Highness and my son to divorce. Anyway, no one knows whether Yingjie is alive or dead. Your Highness can relieve yourself of the burden if Your Highness divorces him."

Hua Jing fastened her hands into fists in her sleeves. How she desperately wished that she could consent to Lady Zhao's proposal! However, she recalled what the Empress had said to her when she was about to leave the Imperial Palace. If she divorced Zhao Yingjie at this moment, she would certainly be condemned as a hardhearted woman by everyone. Thinking of the stigma the divorce would bring for her, Hua Jing lowered her head to show pitiful meekness. She said while sobbing, "The Emperor's Son-in-Law is missing. I know mother must feel sad and worried for him. But, mother, please don't say something like that again. As Yingjie's wife, I feel no better than you. No matter what happens to him, I will bear the consequence with you, shoulder to shoulder."

Yun Shang was sitting near Hua Jing. She glanced at Hua Jing with a look of contempt, and thought to herself, You are smarter now, Hua Jing. I should never have underestimated you.

Yun Shang cast her eyes on both women before speaking with Lady Zhao with a smile, "Hua Jing is right, Lady Zhao. You two should not quarrel with each other at this time when the Emperor's Son-in-Law is missing. Her Highness is worried for the Emperor's Son-in-Law, too. Her Highness came to the border in search of the Emperor's Son-in-Law. She left the day after you left the Imperial City. All people in the Imperial City are talking about the virtuous deeds of Her Highness and lauding her faithfulness to the Emperor's Son-in-Law. But Prince Hua Jing had gotten lost along the way, and was delayed in arriving here. Her Highness must have suffered tremendously. Wouldn't it be improper for you to blame Her Highness after so long and hard a journey?"

Yun Shang smiled. Though she seemed to speak in favor of Hua Jing, Lady Zhao was clever enough to catch the subtext behind the words. Hua Jing sought to better her repute among the populace by leaving th

w the Prince had suffered because of Qingsu in her previous life.

Yun Shang heard a hiss while in deep thought. It seemed the Prince had aggravated his injury when he was about to pick up the teapot on the table. He had worn a white night robe to pretend as if he had been awakened from his sleep for something urgent. The cut was bleeding now, and there was blood on his robe.

Yun Shang said with a frown, "The cut has torn open." She walked to the Prince, rolled up his sleeve, and unbound the bandage. The cut was so deep that even the bone could be seen. Yun Shang frowned again at the sight of the cut. Then she walked towards the screen and fetched a white jade bottle. She poured some powder onto the cut from the bottle, and bound it again with a strip of clean cloth.

Yun Shang was so focused on treating the Prince's injury that she didn't pay attention to the Prince's smile. She said, "You looked as health as anyone else. I thought maybe you were not hurt badly. But the cut is too deep. Please don't lift anything heavy again."

"It's OK. Just a mild wound. I have suffered many such wounds on my body. Not to mention those scarred ones. It doesn't matter." Then Prince Jing continued, "We cannot control everything at the border. I was lucky this time as I could get treatment for my wound. I can even take rest as there is time before the next battle. But it was quite different three years ago when I was at war with the State of Xia. I was shot by an arrow and there were enemies chasing me. I didn't have the time to take a break. And it was snowing. I escaped into a thick forest, and passed out there in the snow. Fortunately, I had a narrow escape. I awoke later, and met my subordinates who came to save me. But the would festered for lack of attention. I had to lie in bed for quite a few days. I almost lost one of my arms that time."

Yun Shang was breathless as she listen to the Prince tell his story. She felt so sad for him that she only regained her ability to speak again after a long while. "People that narrowly escape are blessed. No matter what the situation is, taking care of one's body is of great importance. And it is also important to stay alive. You will break the heart of those who care you, if you don't take care of yourself. Having so many scars can be unsightly. What if your wife dislikes you for your scars when you get married?"

Prince Jing raised his head to look at Yun Shang after hearing her words. "Hum? Dislike? It doesn't matter. Doctor Xue Yan has many medicines that eliminate scars. But..." Prince Jing continued with a bitter smile, "If I cannot marry the woman I love, I would rather stay single for the rest of my life. Then nobody would have the chance to dislike me."

Yun Shang paused when she heard the Prince's words. Then she managed to tie a knot on the bandage, and started another topic. "Keep the wound away from water. My medicine is much better than the military physician's. Please keep this bottle, and let the military physician use this medicine instead." Yun Shang gave the bottle to the Prince after finishing speaking.

Instead of taking the bottle, Prince Jing said, "Although the military physician's medicine is slow in taking effect, it is effective, too. You keep this for you. It might be of help if you get hurt."

Yun Shang was taken by surprise. She lowered her head to look at the white bottle in her hand, and replied gently, "Yes."

Yun Shang felt embarrassed now and could not utter another word. Fortunately, the curtain was raised. Then the Deputy Commander came in. He realized what had happened when he saw the Prince's bound up arm and the bottle in Yun Shang's hands. The Deputy Commander felt a little flushed, too. But he quickly reported to the Prince, "My Lord, Princess Hua Jing is missing."