Du Ling smirked at this. “Yun Ruofeng has some skill to be able to sneak into Beimin’s capital city and have one of his men place a note in a horse carriage belonging to the Prince Hao Residence. I heard that he was the one behind the death of Nanzhao’s Eldest Imperial Princess, but has he come to take you back?” He looked at Su Xi-er as he asked.
Su Xi-er’s brows creased. “He is ambitious, and loves to spread rumors. His true objective is to take advantage of the chaos that results.”
“He wants to take over the world, but his abilities are lacking.” Du Ling crumpled the note in his hand and threw it on the floor. He then turned to Pei Qianhao and asked, “What next? I can’t return empty-handed now that I’ve arrived in Beimin. I need to give the people of the Western Region an explanation.”
They had decided that Su Xi-er’s real identity would remain a secret, so the only option would be to capture Yun Ruofeng alive and execute him publicly!
Pei Qianhao knew what Du Ling was getting at and said, “This Prince has already made the arrangements; all we need is for him to appear, and this note is our opportunity.” He then turned to Su Xi-er and said gently, “Stay in the residence, don’t go out.”
Su Xi-er refused instantly. “No way. He said clearly in the note that I have to go alone. Jinxiu, Yu Xiao, and Yinyin are with him now, so there’s no way I can risk their safety. I’m going, but you both can follow behind.”
Yun Ruofeng had many tricks up his sleeve, and he even stooped to using Yinluo Grass. He was worried about letting Su Xi-er meet someone like that all alone.
Du Ling, however, seemed to agree with Su Xi-er’s plan. “There’s no need to worry, Prince Hao. Everyone knows how skillful Nanzhao’s previous Eldest Imperial Princess was. Yun Ruofeng will have nowhere to run now that she has our assistance.”
Su Xi-er knew that Pei Qianhao was worried, so she took his hand and reassured him, “If I don’t go alone, he will kill his hostages. I don’t wish for what happened to Chao Mu to happen again, otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.”
Pei Qianhao nodded after a while. “Let’s plan how we’re going to lay the ambush at the foot of the mountain then.”
The three of them then entered the study to discuss the plan in detail, and it was about three hours when they finished drawing up a plan. In the meantime, Commander Zhao Wu and Huyan Fei had been settled in a posthouse.
A guard from outside reported, “Prince Hao, Lord Huyan from the Western Region is at the door.”
Su Xi-er and Pei Qianhao exchanged a look before Du Ling exited the study and headed for the main entrance of the residence.
Huyan Fei was rather antsy as he waited, unable to stop himself from worrying about Su Xi-er’s situation. The rumours were a major implication for the Western Region, since it would mean that the body of the Imperial Princess had been taken over!
He spotted Du Ling walking out and bowed. “Paying my respects to the King. Princess Consort Hao…”
He was cut off before he could finish. “The rumors are untrue; there’s no cause for concern. She is the Western Region Imperial Princess.”
“Your Majesty, this subordinate would like to request permission to enter and visit Princess Consort Hao.” Huyan Fei tried to look into the residence as he asked.
“Huyan Fei, that marriage bestowment decree is no longer in effect.”
