NCCnovel Chapter 210 The eldest prince's worries
Chapter 210 The eldest prince's worries
Fifty miles east of the imperial city, in a small town.
"What? What does the prefect mean?" At the foot of the city, the second prince Fei Wu, wearing golden armor and riding a Ferghana horse, looked up at the city wall with a serious expression.
While there seemed to be a row of soldiers with guns standing on the city wall, there were rows of archers crouching in the shadows, all of them with their bows drawn and arrows loaded, ready to spring out from the shadows at any time.
In the middle of the city wall, a man in official uniform sneered, "Humph, what do I mean? I also want to ask, why did the Second Prince rush to the border earlier, but now he is back?"
Under the city wall, the Second Prince was leading five thousand guards. Originally, because of the sudden outbreak of war on the border, he was in a state of anxiety and had to rush to the border immediately. However, on the way, he met Doudou, who was sent by Zero One to give him a tip-off. He learned that the imperial city was now in a dilemma of being besieged on all sides, so he hurried back to provide support.
"I have already said that the enemy army has surrounded the imperial city, and there are as many as 100,000 of them. If the prefect does not believe it, he can send scouts to investigate." The second prince shouted again.
"Hahaha." The prefect of the small town suddenly laughed, "Your Highness, don't believe the rumors. The imperial city is safe and sound now. Your Highness has no need to worry." As the prefect spoke, his gaze gradually shifted from the second prince to the petite cat-eared girl, Doudou, beside the second prince, and he curled his lips in indifference.
The second prince had doubted Doudou before when he came back. After all, Doudou had worked for the "Ramo" organization and was a slave of the "desperate siblings". The two of them had destroyed the imperial city once. If it weren't for Lingyi's efforts to save the situation, the imperial city would have been reduced to ruins by now.
Since Lingyi fell into a coma, Doudou has been taking care of him personally. Whenever he visited her, Doudou would quietly stand beside Lingyi like a personal maid to take care of him. The Second Prince saw her sincerity towards Lingyi, but what really made the Second Prince let down his guard was that Doudou also had the same mark on Lingyi's forehead.
With the help of that mark, the Second Prince was able to confirm that Doudou had completely escaped the control of the "Ramo" organization and had become a member of the Zero One team. At this time, Zero One suddenly ordered Doudou to come and inform him of the siege of the city by 100,000 troops. Although he felt it was incredible, he still believed Zero One's information unconditionally.
It was indeed incredible that an army of 100,000 soldiers had jumped over several passes and gathered silently around the imperial city. However, the reaction of the prefect also made the second prince gradually feel that something was wrong.
The prefect had a smug look on his face at this time. He was not surprised or panicked after hearing the news that a hundred thousand troops were besieging the city. It was as if he had known it for a long time. He answered the second prince's questions calmly and refused the second prince to enter the city several times.
"Your Highness, what the prefect said is true." The adjutant behind the Second Prince gently kicked the horse's belly under his crotch and came to the Second Prince's side, staring at Doudou beside the Second Prince warily, "We just believed the news of a young girl, aren't we too hasty?"
"Yes, Your Highness." Behind the adjutant, another non-commissioned officer rode forward and discussed with the Second Prince, "I also think that it is really hard to convince people with just one sentence from the girl without any substantial evidence."
The adjutant nodded. "Yes, and there are seven or eight cities outside the imperial city, and more than ten passes blocking it. A hundred thousand troops passed through and poured into the outer perimeter of the imperial city, but no one informed them. Isn't this too unbelievable?"
The second prince lowered his head and fell into deep thought. After thinking calmly, he realized that Doudou had only relied on a piece of empty news and failed to produce any substantial evidence. It was indeed strange that Doudou had been agitated since he met him and only wanted the second prince to return to the imperial city as soon as possible.
Doudou shook her head helplessly. Ever since she met the Second Prince, the criticism against her has never stopped. Doudou was tired of explaining and looked at the Second Prince: "Everything is up to the Second Prince. Xiao... Since Xueyan sent me here, she believes that I can bring the Second Prince back to the Imperial City for support. If the Second Prince doesn't believe me, he can punish me for "falsely reporting military intelligence". I will give you my life."
"Hmph, that's easy for you to say." The sergeant mocked coldly, "A little girl who has never been to the battlefield, do you know the pain of having your heart pierced by thousands of arrows? Do you know the pain of having your hands and feet disabled?"
"Forget it, don't say that." The adjutant raised his hand and stopped the sergeant's words with his eyes, then turned back to look at Doudou, "Little girl, we respect the heroism of Young Master Xueyan. Conversely, since Young Master Xueyan has such magical powers, it should not be a problem for him to face an army of 100,000 alone."
"What do you know! Xiaoyi is still in a coma, and you want a patient to help you solve the crisis of national destruction?" Doudou did not reveal the news of Lingyi's awakening, because Lingyi had specifically instructed Doudou not to reveal the news of Lingyi's awakening when he asked him to take back the second prince, so as to avoid spies in the second prince's army.
"How dare you! Our dynasty is at its peak right now, you can't curse us at will!" The adjutant pointed at Doudou and shouted angrily.
"Stop arguing." The second prince's steady voice interrupted the quarrel of the three people. He turned his head to look at Doudou beside him, then looked at the adjutant and non-commissioned officer on the other side, and said lightly, "My choice has not changed. I believe in her."
"Your Highness!" the adjutant and the non-commissioned officer protested in unison.
But the Second Prince immediately raised his hand impatiently, indicating that he did not want to listen to the two's protests: "I know what you are mainly entangled with. The 100,000-strong army is not a heavenly army. How can they pass through these passes and march straight into the outskirts of the imperial city? But after thinking about it carefully, there is indeed a possibility."
The sergeant looked at the Second Prince with a puzzled look, while the adjutant immediately understood and widened his eyes in shock: "Your Highness, are you saying... that they are marching straight into this pass city and approaching our Andressa Imperial Capital?"
"How is that possible? If there were only one or two places, it must be that the thieves had deceived their minds. But an army of 100,000 cannot be allowed in by just one or two passes. Moreover, the city passes are close to each other, so how could there be no clues when they patrol each other?" The sergeant protested immediately.
"But what if these several passes are all taken over by the bandits?" the second prince said suddenly.
"Your Highness, have you been bewitched by that little girl?" After hearing the second prince's absurd speculation, the adjutant immediately looked at Doudou with wide eyes.
"Your Highness, even if your guess is correct, why is there no news from the imperial city's patrol team? Could it be that they have also been bribed by those thieves?" The sergeant was also shocked and asked the second prince again.
"This possibility cannot be ruled out." The second prince said confidently.
"Nonsense!" The adjutant seemed unable to bear it any longer and shouted angrily, "Your Highness, the war on the border is tense right now, but we are still wavering here and unable to move forward. Are you worthy of our brothers at the border?"
"Yes, Your Highness. There have been heavy casualties at the border. Please go to the border as soon as possible." The prefect waved his hand with a smile, as if he was sending away the second prince and his entourage under the city.
"It looks like you are smiling very happily. There are heavy casualties on the border, and the foreign enemies are advancing rapidly. Your lives will be in danger. Or are you also connected with the foreign enemies?" The second prince asked again out of the blue.
"Humph, what nonsense! I have been the prefect for more than ten years, and have always done my best to serve the people. Why is the Second Prince slandering me?" The prefect retorted with a sneer.
"The arrow on the city wall has been exposed." The second prince suddenly said.
"What..." The prefect was immediately confused after hearing the second prince's words. He looked around in panic, but recovered in an instant and pretended to be calm, "Your Highness, you are joking. Why should we, who are loyal to our country, go to war against Your Highness?"
The second prince's words were of course meant to deceive the prefect. The moment he saw the prefect panic, he knew what was going on. At the same time, the adjutant and the sergeant beside him no longer targeted Doudou, but stared at the prefect on the city wall with wide eyes.
"It seems that I don't need to explain the situation further." The second prince glanced confidently at the adjutant and non-commissioned officer beside him.
"Although I still don't trust that little girl, this guy is indeed suspicious." The adjutant replied calmly.
"That's right, and he has driven us away again and again, plus he just laughed about the brutal war on the border. Driving us away doesn't seem like he cares about the war on the border, but more like he is hindering us from returning to the court." The non-commissioned officer also answered affirmatively.
The second prince sneered and slowly drew his sword from his waist: "It looks like we will have a tough battle tonight."
The sun gradually set in the west, its light was gradually submerged by the forest, and the remaining light gradually dyed the sky blood red, and then gradually faded away until it disappeared.
……
Late at night, in the palace.
Prime Minister Li walked quickly through the hall and arrived in front of the imperial study.
The two guards on duty at the door of the study suddenly grasped the hilts of their swords and shouted, "Prime Minister Li, it's late at night, why are you visiting us?"
Li Xiang was slightly stunned when he saw the guard's clenched sword handle and his angry face. "How dare you stop me? I have something important to report to His Highness.
"Prime Minister Li, it is late at night. Please go back first and come back to report to His Highness tomorrow." The guard glared at Prime Minister Li in a threatening tone.
"You..." Just as Prime Minister Li was about to argue with the guard, the eldest prince's voice came from the imperial study.
"Prime Minister Li is here, let him in." The eldest prince's voice sounded from the study.
However, the two guards looked at each other and began to hesitate and stood there.
After a moment, perhaps because he saw that Li Xiang had not yet entered the study, the eldest prince spoke again: "Why hasn't Li Xiang come in yet? Is there any difficulty?"
"Your Highness, it is indeed a bit difficult." Prime Minister Li bowed outside the study, turned his head and glared at the two guards sternly.
Upon seeing this, the guard quickly loosened his grip on the hilt of the sword and stepped back. Only then did Li Xiang enter the study.
The study was very dark, with only a dim lamp on the table. The eldest prince sat at the table, looking haggard, sipping a bowl of tea and reviewing memorials.
Li Xiang hurriedly came to the eldest prince and said, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened. Second..."
Just as Li Xiang was about to speak, the eldest prince immediately stretched out his index finger, put it in front of his lips, and signaled Li Xiang.
Prime Minister Li immediately understood and stopped talking, but sat down in front of the eldest prince.
But when Li Xiang just sat down, the eldest prince waved at Li Xiang, motioning Li Xiang to come forward. Li Xiang sat down next to the eldest prince with a puzzled look on his face.
The eldest prince put down the tea bowl in his hand and placed the memorial in front of him aside to make some space on the table. Then he lightly touched the tea with his fingertips and slowly moved them across the table.
'Walls have ears.'
The eldest prince wrote down four words, which shocked Li Xiang, but he immediately calmed down and nodded affirmatively.
"Is something wrong with Takeru?"
After erasing four words, the eldest prince wrote down the reason why Li Xiang came. Li Xiang widened his eyes in surprise again, but he quickly calmed down and nodded affirmatively again.
"Did His Highness also foresee this?"
Li Xiang also dipped his fingers in the tea and wrote down his doubts on the table.
The eldest prince also nodded and continued writing on the table.
"During the day, there are many people and eyes, so I can only do this."
"What will happen next, Your Highness?"
Li Xiang once again wrote down his doubts in confusion.
'Help me put on a play.'
The eldest prince wrote down six words, and Li Xiang was particularly puzzled after reading them. But when Li Xiang wanted to continue writing, the eldest prince grabbed Li Xiang's hand, pressed it to Li Xiang's side, and wiped the water stains on the table with his sleeves.
Just as Li Xiang was looking at the eldest prince with a puzzled look on his face, there was a knock on the door: "Your Highness, the Minister wants to see you."