Chapter 23.2

Ten days had already passed by the time Ning Qinghuan received Jun Zishu's letter.

After Ning Qinghuan read the letter's content, she crumpled the letter with a grim expression on her face. At the same time, she also gnashed her teeth and inwardly cursed at him a hundred times.

Her fiancée had originally been waiting for her in the Ning manor obediently. Yet, because of the fifth prince's interference, her fiancée had to take shelter in some man's home while waiting for her to return.

After Ning Qinghuan burnt the letter into cinders, she heard the rallying horn blowing outside. So, she promptly picked up her halberd and walked out of her tent.

On the battlefield, the soldiers fighting alongside Ning Qinghuan noticed that the girl was especially ruthless when fighting against the enemy today. Her behavior made it seem as if she had a massive grudge against the enemy soldiers.

Meanwhile, in Ning Qinghuan's eyes, every one of the enemy soldiers in front of her had transformed into the fifth prince, and she stabbed every one of these fifth prince clones with great glee.

You want to steal my wife? I'll kill you! I'll kill you! Die! Die!

Such thoughts repeatedly echoed in Ning Qinghuan's mind.

When Ning Yunlang saw his little sister's behavior from a distance, he couldn't help but frown.

The battle this time was a massive victory for the empire's army, the enemy army frantically retreating from the battlefield after suffering huge losses.

Of course, the empire's soldiers didn't get away unscathed, either, with many suffering injuries. Meanwhile, Ning Qinghuan was one of these people.

She had received a slash to her left shoulder, and the wound looked quite terrifying.

Ning Yunlang was responsible for treating Ning Qinghuan's wound. Originally, the responsibility should've fallen onto the military doctors. However, many people crowded around the military doctors, and Ning Yunlang felt it would be inconvenient for his little sister to seek treatment there. It might be fine if Ning Qinghuan had suffered injuries to her hands or feet, but treating her shoulder wound required her to expose a huge portion of her back. Hence, Ning Yunlang felt that it'd be better if he did the treatment himself.

"What's wrong with you today? You looked more impulsive than usual. You also seemed very angry."

"It's nothing. Hurry up and patch me up."

Ning Qinghuan shook her head and grabbed the bottle of rice wine on the nearby table. After taking a huge gulp, she revealed an irritated expression, looking as if she was in a bad mood.

"What's a girl like you drinking such strong alcohol for?" Ning Yunlang said as he tried to snatch away the bottle in his little sister's hand.

However, Ning Qinghuan evaded his hand and said, "Just let me drink. We already won the battle today, so those bastards won't be trying anything for the next few days."

As soon as Ning Qinghuan finished speaking, she let out a groan as Ning Yunlang spread medicine on her wound.

While bandaging his little sister, Ning Yunlang curiously asked, "What's annoying you? Is it something especially important that you can't share with your big brother?"

"It's that scumbag fifth prince," Ning Qinghuan said contemptuously.

"Shh! Keep your voice down when talking about something like this. It'd be terrible if others heard you. Also, what did the fifth prince do? Did you receive a letter from home?"

"That's right. I honestly used to treat him as a friend and thought that he was a good person. Even though he was a prince, he didn't have that kind of domineering air royalty usually has. But I later realized that he was a little stupid. He couldn't even see through the facade of a hypocritical woman.

"I wouldn't have cared if he was a little dumb since I already discussed with Daddy, and we decided to side with the fourth prince. Although we have already decided to stand against the fifth prince, I didn't hate him. However, he actually dared to lay his hands on Wan'er!"

Ning Qinghuan smacked the table angrily, catching Ning Yunlang by surprise.

"I have long since severed relations with him and said that I won't marry him no matter what. Yet, despite knowing that Wan'er is very important to me, he vented his anger on Wan'er and tried to marry Wan'er off to someone in his faction while I'm away!"

Ning Qinghuan more or less understood the fifth prince's thought process.

The fifth prince probably hated her as much as she hated him right now. After all, the fifth prince had always thought that they should be together, yet she had crushed this thought of his.

Had the fifth prince hated her for this, Ning Qinghuan wouldn't have said anything about it. This was because she didn't care about the fifth prince's thoughts. However, it was different if the fifth prince tried to lay his hands on Jun Zishu. The fifth prince knew how important Jun Zishu was to her, yet he still tried to drag Jun Zishu to his side. To make matters worse, he had done so while knowing full well that Jun Zishu couldn't influence the decisions of the General's manor. He was simply trying to force the General's manor to use Jun Zishu as a sacrificial piece and anger the General's manor.

"What a narrow-hearted person."

After hearing the details from Ning Qinghuan, Ning Yunlang felt contempt toward the fifth prince's behavior. He felt that the fifth prince was childish for involving an innocent girl in his fight for the throne.

Ning Yunlang would've considered the fifth prince as a capable man if he had used some amazing tactics to gain the upper hand over his opponents. Yet, instead of doing so, the fifth prince had used a pitiful girl to create an issue. Moreover, he had only done so out of spite instead of doing so for a greater purpose. The fifth prince's actions were truly disappointing and infuriating.

"What happened next? How is Cousin Wan'er now?"

Ning Yunlang had long since known that their family had welcomed the arrival of a younger cousin with pitiful family background. However, apart from that, he didn't know much about Jun Zishu. Only with Ning Qinghuan's arrival at the battlefield did he learn more of this younger cousin.

"The fourth prince came to resolve the situation and took Wan'er in as his concubine."

"Ah, this seems like a good—"

Before Ning Yunlang could finish, Ning Qinghuan interrupted him, saying, "Good? It's not good at all! Even if the fourth prince wouldn't touch Wan'er, this outcome is still far from good! If not because of the fifth prince, Wan'er would still be waiting for me at home!"

Ning Qinghuan took another gulp of wine, dissatisfaction coloring her face.

"This doesn't seem like anything to be angry about. Although the fifth prince's actions are indeed infuriating, you don't need to lose your mind over it. Even if the fourth prince isn't a kind person, haven't you said it yourself that the fourth prince wouldn't touch her? Once you head back and solve the problem, wouldn't everything be alright?"

Ning Yunlang still couldn't understand why his little sister had gone out of control like she did today. The crazed manner in which she slaughtered the enemy soldiers was truly frightening.

"You don't understand."

"What don't I understand? Isn't it simply because you two sisters share a good relationship? But don't you think that the degree of concern and possessiveness you have toward Wan'er are a little abnormal?" Ning Yunlang asked in a solemn tone.

In reality, this wasn't the first time Ning Yunlang had seen his little sister lose control. Earlier on during the war, there was one time when Ning Qinghuan had nearly lost her neck to an enemy. Fortunately, she was quick to dodge out of harm's way, and the enemy's blade only managed to sever the string of the pendant Ning Qinghuan wore.

However, for some inexplicable reason, Ning Qinghuan suddenly went crazy and lunged at the enemy, pushing the enemy off his horse and brutally killing him.

After the battle that day ended, Ning Qinghuan had even run out to the battlefield by herself to search for her missing pendant. When Ning Yunlang discovered this, he also joined in on the search.

At the time, Ning Yunlang had asked Ning Qinghuan what special meaning that crescent-shaped pendant had to make her go crazy and ignore the safety of her life.

In response, Ning Qinghuan said that both she and Jun Wan'er possessed a copy of the pendant, so she couldn't lose it no matter what. When Ning Yunlang heard that explanation, he already started feeling that Ning Qinghuan was clinging too closely to Jun Wan'er.

Meanwhile, after getting her wound bandaged, Ning Qinghuan carefully put on a new set of clothes and nonchalantly said, "What's wrong with that? She's willing to stay with me, anyway."

"She has to marry someone eventually. You two cannot stay together like this forever," Ning Yunland said.

In response, Ning Qinghuan stood up, looked at her elder brother, and said, "We can."

"Qinghuan… You…"

Ning Yunlang was shocked when he realized the hidden meaning in his little sister's words.

"I didn't originally plan to tell you about it since the timing isn't right yet, but you'll find out about it sooner or later. So, I'll tell you now: I'll be marrying her once I return, Big Brother."

"Have you lost your mind?"

"I'm not crazy!"

When Ning Yunlang saw the expression on Ning Qinghuan's face, he knew that his little sister was serious.

Although he hadn't interacted much with his little sister after he had reached adulthood, he knew that his little sister had been an especially stubborn girl since she was a child.

"Otherwise, why do you think I would even come here? I'll do anything to obtain her."

Ning Qinghuan held up the pendant hanging from her neck, put it to her mouth, and kissed it.

Ning Qinghuan's expression was ever so serious, and her actions when she handled the pendant were ever so gentle. Yet, the meaning in her words caused Ning Yunlang to shudder.

"You don't need to poke your nose in this matter, Big Brother. I'll handle everything by myself. I'm not a man, in any case, so I don't have any responsibility to pass on the family lineage. I'll leave that kind of responsibility to you."

Ning Qinghuan raised her uninjured arm and patted her elder brother on the shoulder. Then, she revealed a sassy smile, sweeping away the gloom that previously covered her face.

"You don't need to agonize over this matter; you just need to focus on the war. I only hope that you can speak a few words on my behalf when the time comes. If I'm lucky, I might not even need you to speak for me to resolve this matter."

"Has she agreed to be with you?"

"Of course."

Ning Qinghuan revealed a sweet smile. Her smile was so dazzling that Ning Yunlang couldn't bear to look at her directly.

"Since you like her, just go for it. It's fine so long as you're happy. I doubt Mom and Dad will do anything about it," Ning Yunlang said as he massaged his aching temples.

"Mhm, mhm. Let's stop talking about me and talk about you instead. Although I don't know when we can return, once we do, you'll be forced to marry someone."

"I know, I know. I've already bandaged your wound, so get out."

Ning Yunlang had an even bigger headache when speaking about his marriage. So, he quickly ended the conversation and shooed his little sister away.

Meanwhile, Ning Qinghuan merrily hummed a song as she left Ning Yunlang's tent, her mood not as terrible as it was before. Now that she got her elder brother's support, she hoped that her parents could also support her relationship with her little cousin. If possible, she didn't wish to create an unhappy situation in her family. Though, with how much her parents doted on her, it was unlikely that they would disagree with her.