An Eight-year-old Princess novel Chapter 188

Yun Shang was shocked. There was an army from another state in the State of Ning. But no one knew?

"An army consists of at least ten thousand soldiers. And if they have a bigger plan, I assume this number would be much bigger than that. But how did such a large group of people enter the State of Ning without drawing any attention?"

Xiao Yuanshan looked at the horizon with vacant eyes. "Break the whole into parts. They might have disguised themselves as ordinary people or businessmen when crossing the border. Judging from the size of their camps, I think there are at least a hundred thousand soldiers. It is a plan that has been deliberately prepared over a long period. Even if they arrived in smaller groups, it would take several years for them to enter the State of Ning considering their number."

A hundred thousand?

Yun Shang's face gradually grew solemn. If it were an elite force, a hundred thousand soldiers would be capable of wreaking havoc, including overthrowing a nation.

No wonder conspiracies against Prince Jing had emerged more frequently in recent days. Maybe they were ready to make their move. As Prince Jing was their primary threat, they needed to get rid of him first. Yun Shang couldn't imagine the fate of Ning if Prince Jing wasn't around to defend it against such an intricate and well-planned conspiracy.

"Grandfather, Prince Jing was abducted. We have to find him now. Shall we tell His Majesty about this army?" Yun Shang went blank and asked Xiao Yuanshan.

At the sight of her worried expression, Xiao Yuanshan patted her shoulder and smiled. "Shang'er, don't worry. Now that I know about their plan, we can always find a way out. Calm down. I'll talk to His Majesty. Your priority is to look for Prince Jing. Besides, I know you have deployed some people in the State of Ning and in other states. It's time for them to play their part. I'm sure you will make it work."

Yun Shang gradually calmed down. Grandfather was right. She shouldn't panic now. "I will not let you down, Grandfather. I'll think about it and confer with you soon."

After that, Yun Shang returned to Qingxin Palace and locked herself in the inner Hall. Qian Yin and Qin Yi saw her sketching and writing on parchment, but they didn't understand the content.

A hundred thousand. Even if they had entered Ning in small groups, it would take them a long time. These soldiers would also need someone to coordinate with them from inside Ning. According to Yun Shang, that person must have high social status in Ning. Otherwise, it would be impossible to move a hundred thousand soldiers without being noticed. Someone had concealed the movement of all these people very carefully.

Ning Ye was the first suspect who came to Yun Shang's mind.

Based on the information the Princess currently had, someone had definitely been posing as Ning Ye for years. She couldn't guess why an impostor had been planted in Shun Qing Mansion before. Even though Prince Shun Qing was a part of the Royal family, he had no real power. His son, Ning Ye had nothing special except his tittle as well. But now, Ning Ye seemed to have been the perfect choice to help them hide the whereabouts of the foreign army.

Although Ning Ye had no real power, he maintained a good relationship with many government officials. And those officials trusted him implicitly because Ning Ye was not a powerful person. If he gave bribes every now and then, it was highly plausible that these officials would feel indebted enough to help him with a favor.

Yun Shang recalled that a short while ago, Wang Jinhuan was investigating Ning Ye. Maybe Prince Jing had noticed something strange about Ning Ye and asked Wang Jinhuan to do so?

This assumption drove her to leave the Palace and visit Wang's Mansion at once.

As Yun Shang had been there before, the chamberlain recognized her immediately. He welcomed the Princess with a smile. Yun Shang didn't have to wait for too long in the living-room before Lady Wang entered to greet her. "Your presence has honored our home, Your Highness. Are you here to see Jinyan, Your Highness?"

Yun Shang wanted to explain that she was here to see Wang Jinhuan, but it occurred to her that, even though she was a Princess, as an unmarried woman, it would be inappropriate to visit an unmarried man in his house. So she smiled politely and said, "Yes, I haven't seen her in days, so I snuck out today to meet her."

Lady Wang responded. "I'll send for Jinyan right now."