Ye Chutang gently nodded, “I have long heard of Lord Hou’s great reputation.”
The Princess Chang let out a sigh, looking out the window. She seemed to remember something, a deep sorrow appearing in her eyes before quickly disappearing again.
“Yanchuan bears a striking resemblance to him; if you saw him, you would surely recognize him at a glance.”
Ye Chutang did not stay at the Princess Chang’s residence for long. After helping her take her medicine and chatting for a while, she took Xiao Wu and left.
Dingbei Hou hadn’t returned to the capital in many years; presumably, he also had matters to discuss with the Princess Chang.
Ye Chutang did not wish to disturb them.
The carriage slowly moved along the streets, which were still quite deserted at this time. Firstly, it was due to the national mourning period, and secondly… recent rumors had caused a tense atmosphere in the capital.
Suddenly, a man rode his horse at high speed from outside the city, shouting loudly:
“Urgent news from the border!”
Ye Chutang’s heart stirred, and she immediately lifted the curtain.
Xiao Wu also curiously poked her little head out.
— The border? Could it be news about Fourth Brother?
The soldier rode past them swiftly.
Ye Chutang sensed a faint smell of blood, and her heart sank.
That soldier came from the south.
Without any hesitation, she ordered, “Turn around, let’s head to the palace!”
The coachman was taken aback for a moment but immediately followed her command, whipping the horses sharply to change direction and head towards the palace!
……
Although Ye Chutang could now enter and exit the palace freely, the procedures were still rather cumbersome.
By the time she arrived at the Imperial Study, the urgent news from the border had already been delivered to Emperor Xiao Chengqi’s desk.
“Miss Ye, please wait a moment longer. The Emperor is currently discussing matters with Lord Dingbei Hou, the Crown Prince, and several other officials.”
The palace maid said this while glancing at the weather,
“The weather is hot; perhaps you should rest first…”
“No need.”
Ye Chutang shook her head,
“I’ll wait again.”
Seeing her determination, the maid knew she couldn’t persuade her any further and simply agreed without saying more.
The door to the Imperial Study was tightly closed.
Xiao Wu held Ye Chutang’s hand, her lips pursed in confusion and bewilderment.
— Why is sister in such a hurry?
Could it really be because of that urgent news from the border?
But that soldier moved faster than them. Logically, he should have been inside for some time by now; so why hasn’t he come out yet?
They stood far away and could only vaguely hear voices talking and arguing inside, but they couldn’t hear what was being said.
Xiao Wu couldn’t help but lean closer to Ye Chutang.
Perceiving her tension, Ye Chutang lowered her head, embraced her, and gently stroked her head.
Just then, the door was finally opened.
Creak—
Một bóng dáng cao ráo bước ra trước, nhưng ngay lập tức dừng lại khi nhìn thấy Ye Chutang đứng bên ngoài.
“Yanchuan! Đừng hành động theo cảm xúc…”
Giọng nói của Xiao Chengqi vang lên từ bên trong, đầy bất lực và khẩn cấp.
Ye Chutang ngước mắt lên, nhìn thẳng vào ánh mắt của Shen Yanchuan đang bước ra.
Cảm giác bất an trong lòng cô càng trở nên mạnh mẽ hơn.
Chen Songshi và những người khác cũng lần lượt theo ra ngoài, dường như vẫn đang cố gắng khuyên anh ấy.
“Yanchuan, anh…”
Tất cả mọi người đều nhìn thấy Ye Chutang, và giọng nói của họ bỗng nhiên im bặt.
Ye Chutang chào hỏi họ, nhưng họ đều quay mặt đi.
Người hầu trong cung có vẻ ngượng ngùng: “…Cô Ye thứ hai đã ở đây chờ khá lâu rồi…”
Cuối cùng, Ye Chutang lại nhìn về phía Shen Yanchuan.
“Thế tử.”
Cô nói một cách bình tĩnh:
“Có việc gì cần báo cho tôi không?”
Shen Yanchuan nhẹ nhàng nhíu mày.
Ngay sau đó, anh bước xuống các bậc thang và đứng trước mặt Ye Chutang.
Cổ họng anh rung lên một chút:
“Có tin khẩn cấp từ phía tây nam…”
“Yanchuan!” Chen Songshi trông rất đau lòng.
Nhưng Shen Yanchuan không quay đầu lại.
“Mặc dù là tin quân sự và liên quan đến gia tộc Ye, nhưng tôi vẫn phải nói.”
Lưỡi anh nhẹ nhàng chuyển động, giọng nói trở nên trầm xuống, từng từ một:
“Quân đội Nam Hồ gồm mười nghìn người tấn công bất ngờ vào Độ Châu. Ye Yunfeng dẫn dắt ba nghìn binh sĩ chống trả hết sức, nhưng cuối cùng cũng phải rút lui hơn năm mươi dặm trước năm ngày, và ông đã hy sinh… bên ngoài thành Độ Châu!”
