Du Jianghong took a deep look at Xiao Jinxing.

Slowly, without further delay.

After all, it was indeed urgent.

He suppressed his trembling hands and said, "Your Majesty, please rest here for a while. I will immediately arrange for the Daxuan Empress to return to the Daxuan Camp."

"Thank you for your trouble," Xiao Jinxing replied politely.

Du Jianghong bowed again and left quickly and hurriedly.

He returned to the command tent.

Yuan Kai had been cursing incessantly, and upon seeing Du Jianghong return, he shouted, "What did the messenger say?! What tricks is the Cang Kingdom’s treacherous Emperor up to now?!"

Du Jianghong already knew Yuan Kai would ask.

He had already thought of a reason on his way back and said, "The Daxuan Emperor suddenly fell ill yesterday, feeling slightly unwell and needing rest, and asked us to deliver the surrender letter to the Daxuan Camp in a couple of days."

"Damn it, what other conspiracy is he up to?!" Yuan Kai fumed.

"Let’s not worry about it. Since the messenger delivered this message, we’ll wait for two more days..."

"Wait for what! Why not take advantage of the Daxuan Emperor’s illness and attack, catching him off guard!" Yuan Kai suddenly became excited.

"General Yuan, can you not act so rashly? The Crown Prince is still at the Daxuan Camp. Even if the Daxuan Emperor dies, we can’t attack! Unless you don’t want to rescue His Highness anymore!" Du Jianghong rarely lost his temper.

Yuan Kai pursed his lips, realizing he had misspoken.

Du Jianghong angrily continued, "Right now, we’re already at a disadvantage. We should be grateful that the Daxuan Emperor is willing to accept our surrender, instead of thinking about how to attack Daxuan!"

Yuan Kai felt utterly stifled inside.

At this moment, he wished to chop the Daxuan Emperor into pieces to relieve his anger.

"Enough," Du Jianghong waved, "Let’s wait for news from Daxuan!"

With those words,

Du Jianghong walked away briskly.

The guards naturally all followed behind him.

Seeing Du Jianghong’s current anger, Yuan Kai dared not speak further and harbored no suspicion.

He thought Du Jianghong was simply upset after being played by Daxuan like that.

After leaving the main command tent, Du Jianghong instructed one of his guards directly, "Prepare a swift horse, as quickly as possible!"

"Yes, sir."

The guard, hearing the urgency in Du Jianghong’s voice, dared not delay even a bit.

"The rest of you, step back!" Du Jianghong ordered.

All the guards retreated a few meters away.

Leaving only Du Jianghong and An Ning.

"Sir, what has happened?" An Ning, who had been holding back, couldn’t contain herself any longer.

"The person who just came..."

"It was Xiao Jinxing, the Daxuan Emperor." An Ning spoke outright.

She knew very well that since Xiao Jinxing had come in person and found Du Jianghong himself, he naturally revealed his identity.

There was no need to hide anything from Du Jianghong.

Otherwise, he might misunderstand their cooperation as being less than honest.

Du Jianghong nodded, "The Daxuan Emperor just said, the Crown Prince suddenly became unconscious, and the cause is unknown. He now asks you to return and treat the Crown Prince. Meanwhile, the Daxuan Emperor promises to stay at the Cang Kingdom camp in your place."

An Ning’s heart tightened.

As expected, just like she had speculated.

She knew something must have happened to Gao Ziyue, which is why Xiao Jinxing came here personally.

Yet she didn’t know.

Whether Gao Ziyue truly needed her treatment, or if Xiao Jinxing was risking his life for hers?!

Only this way could she retreat entirely.

Her mind replayed the night before the great battle with the Cang Kingdom, where Xiao Jinxing said he would never leave her again.

An Ning’s eyes turned slightly red.

Of course, Du Jianghong could also sense An Ning’s emotional fluctuation.

But at this moment, words were of no use.

He couldn’t make it so that the Daxuan Emperor and the Daxuan Empress left together.

No matter how much they admired each other, standing on different grounds leads to different choices.

"May I see him?" An Ning controlled her inner turmoil and asked.

"The Daxuan Emperor said the Crown Prince is critically ill but should pull through by noon today, and time is of the essence. The Daxuan Emperor wants you to go back immediately. But he asked me to relay a message to you."

"What is it?" An Ning clasped her hands until they reddened.

"He said that in his absence, you must take good care of yourself."

An Ning felt a sourness in her nose.

Her vision blurred completely.

What did he mean by absence...

Was it now?

Or from now onwards...

Xiao Jinxing had no certainty that she could cure Gao Ziyue, it was merely to ensure her safe return.

An Ning bit her lip, trying hard to keep silent.

Du Jianghong had always thought the Daxuan Empress was a calm and wise person.

He never expected to see her so out of control at this moment.

"Don’t worry, Daxuan Empress, with the Daxuan Emperor here with me, I assure you he won’t be in any danger," Du Jianghong guaranteed.

"Sir, I trust you."

Du Jianghong felt a slight twinge of emotion at her sudden trust.

At this moment, the guard had brought over a fine horse.

An Ning wasted no more time.

Since Xiao Jinxing did not even meet her, it must mean the situation was dire, and she could not afford to be sentimental now.

She leaped onto the horse and swiftly left without looking back.

Du Jianghong sent guards to escort her safely away from the Cang Kingdom camp.

Once outside the camp, An Ning saw several people dressed in Daxuan military uniforms waiting for her in the distance, evidently stationed by Xiao Jinxing’s order.

"Your Grace, we pay our respects..." The guards, upon recognizing An Ning, were about to salute.

"Return to camp at once!" An Ning issued her command.

She rode her warhorse swiftly in the direction of the Daxuan Camp.

There was not a moment to delay.

The guards followed her pace immediately.

The group returned to the Daxuan Camp.

Just at the entrance,

they saw a military unit coming out.

The two groups quickly encountered each other.

Xie Ruotong appeared visibly excited, "Your Majesty!"

An Ning looked up at Xie Ruotong.

Unexpectedly, Xie Ruotong arrived at the camp so quickly.

She had just had a child; it had only been two or three months?!

An Ning didn’t have time for pleasantries with Xie Ruotong and said directly, "I need to go to Gao Ziyue’s tent."

"I’ll accompany Your Majesty. I came out to receive you," Xie Ruotong turned her horse around.

Having come to the camp today, she had pretty much grasped the current war situation on the way, knowing that the Cang Kingdom was about to formally present their surrender letter. There was no longer a need to come, but she still felt that since she hadn’t fully participated in the war, she owed a duty of gratitude, and even if it was a mere formality at the end, she should be present. So, she left her less-than-day-old daughter with Song Yanqing and rushed into the camp.

Upon arrival, Yuan Wenkang informed her about the current situation. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Indeed, nothing was going as smoothly as imagined.

Seeing An Ning return, she could easily guess that the Emperor stayed behind at the Cang Kingdom’s camp.

Xie Ruotong followed An Ning directly to Gao Ziyue’s tent and stopped.

An Ning quickly dismounted and entered the tent swiftly.

Inside the tent, there were still numerous military members.

It was only about an hour until noon.

If the Cang Kingdom Crown Prince did not get better, they would not be able to bring him back to life.

The Emperor had already issued orders.

Should the Crown Prince of the Cang Kingdom die, everyone would have to be buried with him.

Now, all the military doctors inside were watching the Cang Kingdom Crown Prince nervously, hoping for a miracle.

Only Feng Xiyun seemed out of place.

She could not wait for the Cang Kingdom Crown Prince to die.

Once he dies, the Emperor would not be able to justify things to the Cang Kingdom, and An Ning would also die there.

Thinking of it felt so exhilarating!