Yang Qiong, seeing their nomadic attire and lack of hostile intent, ordered his soldiers to stop and inquired about their situation. The Buxia elders, sensing no malice, knelt and begged for help. Upon learning that the pursuers were Northern Di cavalry, Yang Qiong immediately ordered his troops to engage, leading to the recent battle.
Sang Duo asked, confused: "Who are you?"
Yang Qiong dismounted and bowed: "I am General Ningyuan under the Wu King of the Great Chu. Since you saved the Lady, you are also my benefactors. How can I accept your thanks? Please rise!"
Sang Duo, hearing this, couldn't hold back her tears: "I told you we should have sought Chi Ying's help. I told you!"
Bo Muer, barely conscious, tried to speak but couldn't form words. The medic brought a stretcher, and two soldiers carefully lifted him onto it. Sang Duo sobbed, following beside the stretcher.
A deputy officer asked, "General Yang, what do we do next? Should we pursue the retreating Northern Di?"
Yang Qiong shook his head: "Northern Di cavalry excel in open-field battles. They were unprepared for mountain warfare and suffered a crushing defeat. We only have three thousand men, pursuing them would be unwise. Let's return. Also, ask the Buxia people if they wish to enter the border or have other plans."
The deputy returned shortly, informing him that the Buxia people decided to follow them into the border.
"I figured as much," Yang Qiong nodded, "Their chieftain is severely injured, and there aren't many young men left. Staying outside the border would mean certain death at the hands of the Northern Di. Entering the border is safer. However, His Highness..."
Cao Qian had accompanied Cui Yi south to retrieve Chi Ying, and Yang Qiong hadn't witnessed the confrontation firsthand. Later, Cao Qian recounted Bo Muer's disrespectful behavior to him and Bai Lichan. Considering Cui Yi's possible reluctance to aid a rival, Yang Qiong felt uneasy.
What if Cui Yi flew into a rage and kicked Bo Muer out along with the stretcher?
In reality, Cui Yi was indeed in a foul mood, though not because of Bo Muer.
"What?! Hunger strike?!"
After Bai Lichan went on a government-funded trip, Cui Yi had to personally review reports daily. With Chi Ying by his side, it was tolerable, but without her, reading reports became torture, leading to his irritability. Now, someone had dared to provoke him at the worst possible time—just after breakfast, a palace guard reported that the Consort was on a hunger strike.
Cui Yi almost flipped the desk: "Will she ever stop?! Hanging herself, banging her head, now starving herself. Does she have an endless supply of tricks? How can anyone be so insensible, why not use all her tricks at once? Who would believe she cares about her own life!"
Chi Ying happened to be absent, and Cui Yi, enraged, slammed the table: "Lead the way, I'll teach her a lesson myself!"
Xie Yuchan, if she knew that after being confined for over a month, Cui Yi still didn't know why she was upset, would surely be furious enough to die.
In the northwest corner of the palace, a small courtyard guarded by two soldiers outside and two inside, arranged by Chi Ying, even the maidservants were specially selected and instructed to take good care of the Consort, ensuring she ate regularly and preventing access to dangerous items like scissors or ropes. Everything was done to prevent self-harm.
Fortunately, Xie Yuchan, despite her constant crying and screaming, had never considered suicide, perhaps unwilling to let Chi Ying win easily.
But inexplicably, for the past two days, she seemed to have lost her mind, attempting suicide repeatedly but always stopped by the maidservants. Chi Ying visited once and left after seeing she was fine. Xie Yuchan screamed at her presence and quieted down after she left, making it seem as if she had truly gone mad.
Cui Yi stormed into the courtyard where Xie Yuchan was confined, accompanied by two guards.
The courtyard was eerily quiet, without the expected wailing. The guards inside saluted and informed him: "She is sitting in the room, hasn't eaten since yesterday, nor spoken."
Cui Yi nodded suspiciously, wondering what trick she was playing this time, and gestured for them to step aside, entering the room himself.
The maid opened the door and let him in. Cui Yi saw Xie Yuchan sitting disheveled on the couch, untouched dishes on the tray beside her.
Surprisingly, she hadn't overturned the food, saving a few bowls and plates. Cui Yi stood emotionless before her: "You're not eating?"
Xie Yuchan, with messy hair and swollen eyes, sat motionless, as if she hadn't heard him.
"If you don't want to eat, fine," Cui Yi sneered, "Better to save some food by letting you starve to death."
Xie Yuchan slowly raised her head, tearful eyes gazing at him: "Yingge..."
Cui Yi looked at her coldly, unmoved.
"These days, I've been thinking about why you don't love me," Xie Yuchan wiped her tears, sniffing and sobbing, "Since childhood, I knew I would marry you, although we never met. I loved you regardless of your status, whether you were a prince or not, my feelings never changed."
She clenched the handkerchief tightly, knuckles white: "I swore that as long as you were well, I would endure anything. I haven't been doing well lately, especially with your current difficulties. I shouldn't be causing trouble..."
Cui Yi's eyebrows twitched, showing suspicion at her abnormal behavior.
Xie Yuchan trembled, pulling out a letter from her bosom, handing it to the maid, who passed it to Cui Yi.
"My father must be troubling you, right? I wrote a letter telling him I'm better, not sick anymore, asking him not to worry and assuring him I'm doing well in Yan Prefecture."
Cui Yi eyed her distrustfully, reading the letter. Indeed, Xie Yuchan reassured her father about her condition and urged him not to pressure Cui Yi.
"Changed your tune?" Cui Yi wondered, feeling this wasn't typical of Xie Yuchan. After being confined for over a month, it was possible she had reconsidered some things.
Possible.
Cui Yi thought for a while but couldn't tell if she really understood or was just acting. So, he decided to find Chi Ying with the letter in hand.
Chi Ying was currently leading a group of people studying pig and chicken farming issues. As soon as Cui Yi walked into the courtyard of the farmhouse, he was hit by the overwhelming stench of pig manure, causing him to step back two steps, covering his nose with one hand and frowning, "What are you doing! Why is it so smelly!"
"Why has Your Highness come?" Chi Ying, dressed in coarse cloth, turned her head in surprise at the sound of his voice.
Cui Yi stared nervously at the brownish-yellow substance on her hands, and Chi Ying noticed his gaze and smiled awkwardly, "Your Highness should go back quickly; it's dirty and smelly here. Have you finished reviewing the documents?"
Cui Yi, exasperated, exclaimed, "What exactly are you doing! What's on your hands..."
Chi Ying replied solemnly, "I'm helping deliver piglets."
Cui Yi: "..."
After who knows how long, the sow gave birth to a litter of piglets. Everyone in the courtyard sighed in relief, especially Cui Yi, who had been standing far away at the door. Seeing the crowd dispersing, he hurriedly asked, "Is it over yet?"
Chi Ying spoke a few words with the farmer's wife, then went inside to wash her hands and change clothes before walking up to Cui Yi, "Why is Your Highness here instead of working properly in the government office?"
Cui Yi finally let out a long sigh, "How can you, the esteemed Princess Consort of Wu, be delivering piglets! You—"
Chi Ying couldn't help laughing, "I'm doing this so everyone can have decent meat. How can we always eat salted meat? I've discussed with this family, they will give half of this batch of piglets to the Prince's residence, and when they grow up and have more piglets, we'll return them."
Cui Yi was shocked, "You even want to raise pigs in the Prince's residence?"
"Not in the Prince's residence," Cui Yi relaxed slightly, but then heard Chi Ying add, "In the yard next to the Prince's residence. I've hired several experienced local women to take care of them every day and teach the soldiers how to raise pigs. In the future, we'll raise our own pigs and won't need to buy meat from the market anymore."
Is there any difference between raising them in the Prince's residence and next door? Cui Yi felt like crying, hurriedly handing over Xie Yuchan's handwritten letter, "That woman wrote this letter, take a look."
Chi Ying took the letter in surprise, unfolded it, and frowned.
Cui Yi asked, "What's wrong?"
Chi Ying folded the letter and put it back in the envelope, asking, "Whose idea was this? The handwriting looks similar to hers, who copied it? And why didn't anyone consult me beforehand?"
"No one's idea, she wrote it herself."
Chi Ying paused, staring at him intently, "Did Your Highness visit her?"
Cui Yi grunted, scratching the back of his neck impatiently, "The servants reported that she wasn't eating or drinking, so I went to see her. What should we do with this letter? Should we send it to Xie Xiao? If we do, we won't need to raise pigs anymore—they're smelly."
Chi Ying sighed, tearing the letter into two pieces. Cui Yi was shocked, "Why did you tear it up!"
"She's locked up, and I've instructed the servants not to tell her anything about what's happening outside. How could she know what her father did to Your Highness?" Chi Ying said seriously, "There's something I've suspected for a long time, and now it seems confirmed."
Cui Yi was utterly confused, "What do you mean?"
As they walked side by side out of the courtyard, Chi Ying explained, "Do you remember when Third Prince pretended to be Shan Jian to create discord between Your Highness and Master Shangguan in the capital?"
"Yes," Cui Yi's voice was low, "Third Prince thinks highly of scholars and looks down on someone like me who fights with swords. He helped the Crown Prince against me."
Chi Ying smiled, "Since Shan Jian has known Master Shangguan for a long time, he naturally understands his abilities. Knowing that Master Shangguan is in the Wu Prince's residence, he wanted to lure him to Third Prince's side. It's not surprising that he plotted to drive a wedge between you two, but there's one thing I never understood: How did Shan Jian know that Master Shangguan often came to the main courtyard to see me?"
Cui Yi stopped in his tracks, and Chi Ying continued, "If Shan Jian intended to recruit Master Shangguan, he shouldn't have put him in danger. What if Your Highness killed him in anger? Including me seemed to drag another person into the scheme, but it inadvertently revealed the existence of a traitor within the Wu Prince's residence."
Cui Yi took a deep breath, his eyes filled with murderous intent, "Xie Yong..."
Chi Ying also stopped, "What did Your Highness say?"
"Xie Yong told me that Master Shangguan often came to the main courtyard to see you," Cui Yi clenched his fists tightly, gritting his teeth, "Jian Chui is indeed talented, planting such a spy. That b*st*rd! The entire Xie family isn't good!"
Chi Ying immediately stopped him, "Wait! Even if Xie Yong is a spy, the entire Xie family might not be loyal to the Crown Prince. Patience is key. Let me think."
Cui Yi, unable to contain his anger, shouted, "What's there to think about? Once we know he's a spy, should we keep him around? I've never liked that useless pretty boy who only eats and does nothing but tattle and leak secrets."
Chi Ying laughed, "That's precisely why we need to punish him properly. If Your Highness kills him with a knife, wouldn't it be too easy for him?"
Cui Yi agreed, "Then what do you suggest?"
Chi Ying waved the torn letter and smirked, "If they don't provoke us, we won't attack. But if they do, we must eliminate them completely."
That night, Chi Ying studied the letter written by Xie Yuchan carefully, then imitated her handwriting and tone to write another letter—this time, accusing her brother Xie Yong of betraying their family for the Crown Prince. She claimed he designed to ruin her reputation and deceived everyone into thinking she was insane. She managed to write this letter secretly, hoping her father would receive it and avenge her.
"Do you think Old Man Xie will believe it?" Cui Yi asked doubtfully.
"If he believes it, great. If not, we lose nothing. The grain shipment is already on its way. In a couple of days, General Cao will lead a thousand troops disguised as bandits to rob the north-bound grain convoy. Leave some clues suggesting it was done by the Emperor. Then, we'll write to the Xie family saying the grain hasn't arrived. When the workers return to Xuancheng and tell what happened, Xie Xiao will suspect the Emperor interfered. At that point, whether he believes the letter or not, he'll have no choice but to trust us. Maybe to maintain the alliance with Your Highness, he'll send another shipment. Either way, we win."
While explaining, Chi Ying sealed the letter and called Xiao Qiu to secretly deliver it to the post station messenger.
Cui Yi listened in amazement, "This is too cunning... you..."
Chi Ying sighed dramatically, "I have no choice. To ensure everyone has enough food, I'm prepared to be disliked by Your Highness."
Realizing what he said, Cui Yi quickly apologized, hugging her and apologizing profusely until Chi Ying couldn't help laughing and forgave him.