The night passed quietly.
The two of them woke up early the next morning and began their preparation to leave. There were not many things that they required, but they still brought some of their personal belongings including their weapon and writing tools.
"Before you leave, I wish you can hand this to Manager Xin."
"Is this your new book?" Yang Xian asked.
Wei Liuying nodded. "I already got His Highness' approval on the book, but you might want to read it again. It contains some of the things that occurred at the north during the war against Xiong Tribe."
"Do you include yourself?"
"No."
Yang Xian arched his eyebrows. "And here I thought that you're going to include yourself in the story."
Wei Liuying shook her head. It might sound glorious to have her name written in the history and all, but as a young girl, she knew that it would only give her unwarranted attention. Besides, there were some things that would be better to be kept a secret forever.
"There's no need for them to know so much about me."
"Fine. Take care, Wei Liuying."
"You too, Yang Xian. Don't get killed by their schemes or I'll create a method of how to bring you back alive and become Prince Ji Sheng's slave."
Yang Xian chuckled and waved his hand. The horses and the soldiers who would accompany him was already waiting not far from the gate. He only needed to ride on the horse that was prepared for him and departed to the capital city.
As he walked out, he turned to look at the wall. Prince Ji Sheng was standing there with Gao Ling beside him. The two of them were keeping calm and indifferent expression as if they were only seeing normal things.
'They're always good at keeping their emotion in check.'
Yang Xian waved his hand and cupped his fist before he saluted to Prince Ji Sheng. Prince Ji Sheng waved his hand, which was the signal that told him that he should leave and return back safely.
"Are you ready, Strategist Yang?" the messenger from the capital city asked.
"Yes. We can depart anytime."
The messenger nodded and ordered the soldiers to start moving. He sneaked a glance to Yang Xian. Back in the capital city, Prince Ji Shu had said that it would be better for Prince Ji Sheng to be the one to leave. But since it was easy for him to give excuse that the war was still going on, they could just settle on Strategist Yang.
No matter which one it would be, Prince Ji Shu was satisfied as long as one of them departed to the capital city.
Standing on top of the wall, Gao Ling was trying hard to keep her expression stoic. She was feeling anxious because she knew that it would be a dangerous journey, but she didn't have any capabilities to stop it.
"He'll be fine," Prince Ji Sheng said in a low tone.
Gao Ling looked at her husband and nodded. "Yes."
"Don't show any emotion on your face. Keep your head straight and look at the front."
The message from Prince Ji Sheng was something that Gao Ling had heard countless times. When she undergone training in the past, her father had warned her that she couldn't show her real emotion outside. It was not only for the battle of women. Even men were the same because they couldn't let anyone grasp their weakness.
The marriage she had with Prince Ji Sheng might become a double edge sword in the future, but they have to keep supporting each other.
That was the best method.
"Liu Ying will leave now."
Gao Ling peered down and noticed that Wei Liuying walked out with a small bag on her back. She was wearing light brown robe with her hair tied into a small bun. Her current appearance could easily make one mistake her for a boy.
"She still hadn't grown up."
"She's only 15 years old."
(A/N: reminder that 'ta' that meant she and he in Chinese sounds the same. Even if they used the one for women, no one else would be able to notice it as long as it's not written because the writing is different)
Gao Ling passed a glance at Prince Ji Sheng before she focused her attention back to Wei Liuying. Even though she had turned 15 years old, Wei Liuying still didn't show much of her womanly features. It might be a good thing since she was acting as a boy, but it would surely hinder her in the future if it continued.
'May the Heaven be with you.'
Wei Liuying glanced up just like what Yang Xian did and cupped her hand when she saw the two of them. Afterwards, she began to pace her horse towards the east. The journey to Zhuang City would take two to three days with horse, so she would have to camp a lot in the journey.
Originally, Prince Ji Sheng wanted to send someone with her, but Wei Liuying was more comfortable to have a journey by herself. As for protecting herself, she didn't have any problem whatsoever.
"We should return back, Ling'er."
"Yes."
Gao Ling passed one last look to the south and east before she turned her head around. If only it was possible, she wished that there wouldn't be any war happening that would involve the lives of so many people.
…
- Capital City -
"There's a message from the bird, Your Highness. The one whom Prince Ji Sheng selected to come is Strategist Yang."
Prince Ji Shu was cleaning his sword with a cloth as he nodded. There were several dead bodies lying in front of him. Some unfortunate people were looking for troubles with him.
"Where's Xiao Hua?" Prince Ji Shu asked nonchalantly.
"Replying to His Highness, Her Highness is resting in the garden."
"You can leave."
Slowly, Prince Ji Shu made his way to the garden. When he saw his wife, a smile broke down from the corner of his lips. One would never be able to guess that he was known as the tyrant when they looked at his current expression.
"Xiao Hua."