Chapter 597: King Yan Nan in Danger
Chapter 597: Chapter 597: King Yan Nan in Danger
Ye Chutang swiftly threw off the covers, slipped on a robe, and hurried to the door.
The moment she opened it, she saw Princess Qingyang rushing over, her expression urgent and her face pale.
Ye Chutang had never seen her like this. She frowned and asked, "Princess, what’s wrong?"
Princess Qingyang took a deep breath, but the urgency in her eyes didn’t fade in the slightest.
"There’s trouble in the Southwest!"
Ye Chutang froze. "What?"
’The Southwest?’
’Isn’t that King Yan Nan’s garrison?’
Princess Qingyang said urgently, "I just received a secret message. It says a rebellion has broken out in the Southwest! My father was framed by villains and is now trapped in Long City. His condition... is unknown!"
All traces of sleepiness vanished from Ye Chutang.
She gripped Princess Qingyang’s wrist firmly, led her into the room, and carefully closed the door and windows.
Princess Qingyang had clearly lost her composure, her face etched with panic and worry.
"Chutang, what should I do?"
The commotion woke Xiao Wu. A small, round head poked out from under the covers, sleepy eyes blinking in their direction.
Ye Chutang gave Xiao Wu a reassuring look, her voice still gentle and calm. "Xiao Wu, the Princess has something urgent to discuss with me. You can go back to sleep."
Xiao Wu rubbed his eyes, his gaze shifting between the two of them before he nodded obediently and lay back down.
Princess Qingyang felt a pang of guilt. "I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you. It’s just... this happened so suddenly, and I didn’t know who else to turn to..."
Ye Chutang shook her head. "There’s no need for such formalities between us, Princess. But about King Yan Nan... what exactly is going on?"
Hearing Ye Chutang’s clear and steady voice, the panic in Princess Qingyang’s heart seemed to be soothed by an invisible hand, and she grew much calmer.
She collected herself, then relayed all the information she had.
"Half a month ago, my father received a report that a group of Southern Hu Blade Men had appeared in Long City and the surrounding areas. They were pillaging and slaughtering the locals. They even beheaded the Long City Magistrate and hung his head over the city gates as a show of force—it was incredibly brazen! When my father heard the news, he led his troops to eradicate those Southern Hu Blade Men. But when they arrived, they discovered that the other officials in Long City had already betrayed the kingdom and defected to the enemy. They told my father there were only a few dozen Southern Hu Blade Men, but in reality, five thousand Southern Hu troops were lying in ambush inside the city!"
Princess Qingyang gritted her teeth, hatred flaring in her eyes.
"My father was caught off guard. He only brought five hundred of his personal guards. The difference in forces was immense, and just like that, he was captured and detained in Long City!"
’Who could have imagined that Long City had already fallen, with everyone from top to bottom becoming puppets and slaves to those Southern Hu people?’
"Long City has kept the news under a tight lockdown, which is why no one in the capital knew until now. One of my father’s trusted men risked his life to escape and send the message back to me via a messenger pigeon..."
As she spoke, Princess Qingyang took a small copper ring from her sleeve.
"After I got the message, I wanted to go to the palace for an audience immediately, but I was afraid of alerting the enemy. If those people suddenly went mad and harmed my father, then..."
Princess Qingyang’s eyes suddenly reddened, but she forced back the sob rising in her throat.
"The Eldest Princess is in poor health, so I didn’t dare tell her. After thinking it over and over, you were the only one I could come to."
She looked at Ye Chutang, her eyes filled with worry. "Those people have already taken Long City and captured my father, but the outside world knows nothing about it. I don’t know what they’re planning... Chutang, you’ve dealt with those Southern Hu Blade Men before. Can you guess what they might be up to?"
Princess Qingyang was truly in a panic, which was why she had come knocking on Ye Chutang’s door before dawn.
Though she was usually arrogant and willful, she was, at the end of the day, just a teenage girl. With King Yan Nan trapped, she was naturally burning with anxiety and at a complete loss.
Ye Chutang thought for a moment. "Does the Princely Heir know about this?"
Princess Qingyang shook her head helplessly. "I was going to find him first, but when I got to the Dingbei Marquis Mansion, I learned that he had gone out late last night on some business."
Ye Chutang paused.
’Shen Yanchuan, going out in the middle of the night at a time like this? What for?’
’The Wazhen Mission has already left the capital, so he doesn’t seem to have... right, he went to the palace the day before yesterday to report to Emperor Muwu about the situation in Qingzhou.’
’Could his late-night departure be related to this matter as well?’
But since he wasn’t here, she couldn’t very well ask. Ye Chutang could only suppress her doubts for the time being.
"So, you came straight here from the Dingbei Marquis Mansion?"
Princess Qingyang pressed her lips together tightly and nodded.
Ye Chutang asked, "You haven’t gone anywhere else since you received the message, have you?"
Princess Qingyang nodded again.
Ye Chutang let out a small sigh of relief. "Good. There are countless eyes in the capital, both seen and unseen. There’s no telling which pair might be watching you. It’s best to be careful."
Princess Qingyang usually treated the Long Princess Mansion and the Dingbei Marquis Mansion as her own homes, coming and going as she pleased. Her friendship with Ye Chutang was no secret either, so if anyone were to ask, it would be relatively easy to come up with an excuse.
The most important thing right now was...
"Can we be sure this information is authentic?"
Princess Qingyang nodded firmly. "Yes! My father raises several messenger pigeons, and one is used exclusively to contact me. No one knows about it except him and me. The one that flew back this time was that specific pigeon. My father must have sent it under his personal instruction."
Ye Chutang nodded, relieved.
"That’s good. Since we can confirm the message is real, the next steps will be simpler."
Ye Chutang lowered her gaze and mulled it over. "They’ve taken your father hostage but haven’t made a move since. That’s highly unusual."
’King Yan Nan is no ordinary person. They have such a huge bargaining chip in their hands, yet they’ve done nothing?’
’If they wanted to make a statement, they could have just killed King Yan Nan and sent his head to the capital as a show of force.’
’If they wanted money or something else, they could have released the news and started negotiations.’
’But they did nothing. They’ve even kept the news of King Yan Nan’s capture a tightly guarded secret.’
Back in the Capital City, there hadn’t been a single whisper.
’What do they really want?’
’Such an anomaly must mean trouble.’ Ye Chutang felt a growing unease.
She pondered for a moment. "Where is King Yan Nan’s message? Let me see it."
Princess Qingyang immediately pried open the copper ring, and a small, rolled-up slip of paper fell out.
Ye Chutang unrolled it.
There were only a few words.
—King trapped in Long City. Dire peril!
The handwriting was rushed, and the edges were stained with a trace of blood, a testament to the immense danger involved in sending this message.
Ye Chutang looked thoughtful. Seeing Princess Qingyang’s pale face, she gently patted her hand. "Don’t worry for now. No news is good news. Since they’ve taken your father hostage, they won’t kill him easily before they’ve achieved their goal. Besides, even if those people are planning something, it’s a thousand miles from Long City to the capital. It would take a messenger traveling day and night a considerable amount of time to get here."
She paused.
"How about this... I’ll find someone to go to Long City and investigate the situation first."