An Eight-year-old Princess novel Chapter 86

No one had thought that Hua Jing would be released until she appeared at the camp. Early in the morning, before Yun Shang was full awake, she heard a sound from outside. "Mr. Xiao, Mr. Xiao..."

Then Qian Yin got up and went out to see what happened. She returned in a jiffy. "Master, Prince Jing sent word that Princess Hua Jing is at the gate of the camp and is clamoring to see him, " said Qian Yin. She looked serious.

"Hua Jing?" murmured Yun Shang in surprise. "Wasn't she captured by the Yelang army? Why is she here now?"

She immediately got up, dressed, put on her silver mask, and went out of the tent. No sooner had she stepped out than she saw Prince Jing standing not far away. She hurried toward him. "Do you know why Hua Jing is here?" asked Yun Shang.

Prince Jing batted his eyelids without emotion. "Indeed, Qingsu is sophisticated. If I didn't know the truth that the person he had captured was Hua Jing, I might have been deceived. He is clever enough to send her back without being exposed, " said Prince Jing.

They walked to the gate of the camp together. Yun Shang walked behind deliberately so as not to be noticed by Hua Jing. Hua Jing stood at the gate, dressed in aquamarine silk. Two attendants stood at a distance.

"Oh...dear?" Prince Jing frowned in surprise. "How did you get to the camp?"

Hua Jing looked at Prince Jing, and then glanced at Yun Shang. "My husband is trapped at the border, so I'm here to help him, " answered Hua Jing with a sad face.

"Really? If memory serves, you set out before me." Prince Jing lifted his eyebrows when he spoke. "So... you mean you arrived here today?"

Hua Jing's eyes flickered scrupulously. "I was born in the Palace and have never been far away before. When I set out, I was in a hurry and did not take enough attendants, so I got into a lot of trouble along the way. And when I arrived at the border, I heard that you had been stationed here. So I'm here to ask you to lend me some soldiers to help me find my husband, " sighed Hua Jing.

"Really?" grinned Prince Jing, sardonically. "There are no women in the camp, so I'm afraid it's not proper for you to live here. Besides, your husband got into trouble in Linguan town. So if you want to find him, you'd better go to Linguan town. The enemy's army has withdrawn from the town, which makes it safer than my camp. And if you still don't feel it is safe, I can send someone to protect you."

Prince Jing turned his head and looked at Yun Shang. "This is my military counsellor, Mister Xiao. He is resourceful and highly skilled in martial arts. How about I send him to protect you?"

Hua Jing glanced at Mister Xiao and frowned. "But he's thin and weak...Besides, since he's your counsellor, you will need him in battle. I don't think it's a good idea to take him with me..." responded Hua Jing unhappily.

Hearing her words, Yun Shang grinned and tried to speak like a man. "No, no...Ability can not be measured by body size. I promise, even fifty strong men could not defeat me."

Hua Jing was glad to hear this as she already knew that a military counsellor was of great importance to an army even though she had not fought in any battle.

"Then I happily accept your kind offer." smiled Hua Jing. "I heard that my Mother-in-Law came to the border too. Do you know where she is?" asked Hua Jing sullenly.

"Oh, she's in Linguan town, " answered Prince Jing. Hua Jing was disappointed as she thought her husband's mother would cause her trouble.

But when she realized that Linguan town was far from Prince Jing's encampment, she smiled again. "She was excellent when she was young, so I believe that she will find him if he's in Linguan Town. Now that she's already there, I think I'd better search Xiyi Town."

"As you see fit, " answered Prince Jing impatiently. Then he turned to Yun Shang and spoke to her. "Please, the Princess's safety is in your hands now."

Yun Shang made an obeisance by cupping one hand in the other before her chest. "You may rest assured that I will spare no effort to keep Her Highness safe."

After Prince Jing returned to his tent, Mister Xiao walked to Hua Jing. "Your Highness, let's go. There are a few inns in Xiyi Town. However, they are all shabby, and I'm afraid you will have to compromise for several days, " smiled Mister Xiao.

"It doesn't matter. My husband is in danger, and I have to find him, " sighed Hua Jing.

When they find an inn in Xiyi Town, Hua Jing frowned unhappily. She glanced at her attendants. She was about to speak, but decided to say nothing. After Yun Shang checked in, a waiter led them upstairs to their rooms.

Three rooms had been appointed. Two were adjacent to each other, while the third was separated by several rooms. Hua Jing told Mister Xiao that her attendants had to take turns keeping vigil, so it didn't matter where they lived. Then, Yun Shang arranged herself for the room next to Hua Jing's.

Hua Jing beckoned Mister Xiao into her room and sat down. Yun Shang followed as she didn't dare to refuse her. The room was sparse. It had a bed, a table, two benches, and a tub. Although the outside looked terrible, the room was even shabbier than Hua Jing thought it would be. Hua Jing frowned as she sat down on the bed. "Sit down, please, sir." She said and smiled at Mister Xiao.

As soon as they sat down, Hua Jing asked curiously, "Why are you wearing a mask?"

"When I was a child, I was too naughty. I was scalded and disfigured by boiling water. People were scared to see my face, so I put on a mask, " laughed Yun Shang. She raised her hand to touch her silver mask when she spoke.

"Really? Where are you from? I find that you have the accent of someone who grew up in the Imperial City. But I've only seen Mister Wang follow my Uncle to the Imperial City. I mean, I haven't seen you in the Imperial City before." Hua Jing sized her up, but she did not realize that her sister, who she thought was far away in the Palace, was in front of her and dressed as a man.

"I did live in the Imperial City when I was a child." Yun Shang raised her hand and adjusted her sleeves. "I have only been with His Highness in recent years, but I seldom go back to the Imperial City. He has always acted with caution. Although he returns to the Imperial City, he still needs a trustworthy man in his army to take care of daily affairs. Whenever he returns to his troops, if there is no war, he sends me home to my family."

"Aha, " chuckled Hua Jing. "Who's in your family?"

"Only my mother and I..." answered Yun Shang with her head lowered. She wondered why Hua Jing tested her. So Yun Shang looked out of the window and pretended to be irritated. As if to emphasize, Yun Shang tapped her hand on the table.

Seeing that the the man in front of her was becoming impatient, Hua Jing became unhappy. He's monstrously audacious! How dare he be so impolite to me? Thought Hua Jing. But, she tried to be courteous in appearance. "I'm sorry. I am so tired after my long journey. I need to rest now. Please go about your business, sir."

Yun Shang nodded and stood up. "I will take my leave then." Seeing that Hua Jing nodded too, Yun Shang left the room and headed to her own room.

As her room was next to Hua Jing's, she opened the window to check if Hua Jing's window was open too. She then left the window open so that she would notice if anything was happening in Hua Jing's room. However, Hua Jing was silent all that morning.

At noon, she heard the waiter come to the adjacent room to deliver lunch. After a while, silence returned.

From morning till night, Yun Shang did not see Hua Jing leave her room, nor had she heard her sister speak.

"I went out and looked around the town. I was trying to find General Zhao. But I didn't find him." answered Hua Jing, with a tired look. It seemed that she didn't want to talk at all as she walked straight to her room and locked the door. Another afternoon passed, but Hua Jing had not yet been seen leaving her room.

Then night came. Hardly had Yun Shang fallen asleep when she heard a rustle. Suddenly, she opened her eyes. It was dark in the room, but she heard a soft breath coming from the window. Then her mind became alert and she held her breath nervously.

Before she could see what happened, she heard a scream from the next door. "Ah! Assassins! Help! Help!" Hua Jing cried in fear. Her scream was followed by the sounds of a struggle.

Yun Shang was astonished and she thought for a few seconds. "Assassination? It was not late at night and they made too much noise. How strange..." thought Yun Shang in confusion.

She sprang out of bed and opened the window. Then she made a sudden leap from the window and jumped into the adjacent room. Of the two attendants, one lay motionless on the ground, while the other although wounded, was still fighting with a masked man. Four or five masked men lay on the ground too. She squinted and joined the fight, but she deliberately did not to exert all her strength.

Realizing that he had no chance to win the fight, the man quickly retreated to the door and ran out. At that moment, the second attendant, who was not badly hurt, stood at the door. He looked at the escaping assassin and pretended as though he could not follow as he was hurt. But in fact, he was blocking Yun Shang's way. She couldn't give chase either.

"He escaped!" The attendant pretended to be sorry, then he rolled his eyes and fainted.

The sound of horseshoes filled the silence. The horses seemed to stop outside the inn. Soon Prince Jing appeared. He looked anxious. "Dear Princess, are you okay?"

Yun Shang narrowed her eyes. She noticed that only a short time had passed between the assassin's attack and his escape. She knew it took longer to ride from the camp to the inn. Since Prince Jing had come so quickly, someone must have informed him about what was going to occur.

"Her Highness is safe, " answered Yun Shang, looking back at Hua Jing who was still cowering on her bed. After Yun Shang checked the breath of the two attendants, she continued. "One of the attendants is dead, but the other one is still alive. Take him back to the camp for treatment."

Prince Jing nodded and told his soldiers to help the wounded attendant. Then he walked to Hua Jing. "Can you walk? You know, It is improper for men and women to touch each other's hands. But there are no maids or eunuchs in my army. So I'm afraid you have to walk by yourself. It is not safe here, please follow me back to my camp."

Hua Jing mumbled and nodded as though excessively frightened. After a long time, she came to her senses, stood up cautiously, and went downstairs. Yun Shang observed her closely, and found that she had no sweat on her forehead which didn't match the terror reflecting on her face.

As soon as everyone had gathered outside the inn, they made the journey back to the camp. After Prince Jing helped Hua Jing settle down, he returned his tent with Yun Shang. "Are you okay?" asked Qian Yin as she hurriedly made her way to Yun Shang.

Yun Shang shook her head and looked at Prince Jing. "It's okay for me to wear a mask, but I'm afraid it's not appropriate for Qian Yin to wear a mask too. Please ask someone to send her out later, " said Yun Shang. Then she turned to Qian Yin. "Would you please tell Ning Qian to choose someone else to serve me? By the way, Hua Jing is here too, and she has no maid now. I think we'd better bring two women, who look honest."

"Aye, " nodded Prince Jing in agreement. Then he called a servant and repeated Yun Shang's suggestion.

Yun Shang continued. "I think their purpose was to enter the camp. They thought you would refuse her request if she asked you directly, so they enacted an assassination to create an excuse. This way they can stay in our camp without being suspected."

"But I could actually use it to my advantage, " answered Prince Jing. He grinned cooly. "Now I have a good chance to find the spies in my army." Then he paused and stared at Yun Shang. "Qingsu is so shrewd that he set many spies in our army. I think some of them knew that you were always in my tent and they must be wondering who you are. So, I told my soldiers that I'm gay, and that you and I are lovers, to avoid their suspicion." He paused again. Yun Shang felt shy and bowed her head since she knew what he meant.

"What's more, Hua Jing and her unidentified attendant are here now. So we have to be more careful." Prince Jing gave her a knowing glance. "You'd better share a room with me for some days and pretend to be gay to dispel their doubts."