Nan Chengyao accompanied me for dinner and then left, despite having won a great victory, there were still many military matters waiting for him to deal with.

  My heart is heavy with sorrow, and I don't want to be alone in my room anymore. I go to look for Lin, but he's not there either. So I can only wander aimlessly in the snowy ground by myself.

  "Princess!" Along with a crisp and tender cry, a little girl who looked like she was five or six years old, wearing a red dress, hopped and skipped to my front.

  I remember her name was Ling'er, the daughter of the inner affairs manager of the Ye City government office. Because she was the only little girl in the entire government office, everyone liked her very much. Nan Xiangyao also instructed the maid to often bring her to accompany me.

  Seeing such a delicate and lovely little girl, although her heart was filled with sorrow, she still smiled gently and bent down to touch her soft and tender face, saying: "Ling'er dear, are you cold?"

  Xiaoling shook her head and said in a soft voice, "No, it's not cold. I went shopping with my father earlier and met Xiaoyu sister, she asked me to bring this to you."

  She said, taking out a handkerchief from her bosom and handing it to me. My heart sank suddenly, on that snow-white silk, embroidered with proud snow plum blossoms, next to which were inscribed two lines of poetry - sparse shadows stretch across the shallow clear water, faint fragrance floats in the yellow dusk moonlight.

  That is a handkerchief which Pao Yu always carries with him, and a piece of scented silk given by Lin Dai Yu.

  I tried not to let my anxiety scare Little Ling, but there was still an uncontrollable urgency in my voice: "Ling, who gave you this handkerchief? Where is she now?"

  "It's Little Sister Yu from Dongji Business Firm. Every time I went to the store with Father to buy things, she would give me candies."

  I understand that the little jade sister she mentioned is probably Xiu Yu, and now it seems that Xiu Ying is also in her hands. However, I don't know what she wants to do with Xiu Ying after taking her away.

  "Ling'er, do you know where Little Jade is now? Did she say anything else?"

  "Little Jade sister said that this is a secret between me and her, only the queen can know, cannot let father know. She also said that she will be waiting for you at Qingmu Cliff outside the south gate of Ye City at midnight tonight, and you can only bring Brother Ming with you. Your Majesty, where is Brother Ming? I haven't seen him anywhere?"

  I slightly closed my eyes, and the purpose of Zhen Yu was already clear. She didn't know through what means she had taken Shu Ying hostage, then wanted to use Shu Ying to exchange for the life of the person I loved.

  But where can I find another good Dong Ming in this vast world?

  "Princess, can I go out and play with you tonight?"

  Xiao Ling'er's voice broke into my thoughts, I slightly calmed down and forced a smile to ask gently: "Ling'er, have you asked Little Yu sister? What did she say?"

  Xiao Ling'er pouted: "Little Yu sister won't allow it, she said only the queen can take Ming brother with her at midnight, if there's one more person or even a moment late, she'll be unhappy."

  I let out a long sigh, reached out and stroked the small, shiny braid of Little Ling: "Ling also heard it, I won't be able to take you tonight, or else Little Yu will get angry."

  I didn't return to my own room, but instead went to find Wei. Dong Ming was no longer in this world, and under the vast sky, I had nothing left that could be exchanged for Yu's favor. So, rather than going alone and passively waiting for her to make a move, it would be better to have Wei, with his exceptional martial arts skills, by my side to deal with any situation that might arise. The martial arts skills of Yu and the others were mediocre, and as long as Wei concealed his true abilities, they would never suspect a thing.

  However, Yu was still not there. I hesitated for a moment and went straight to the military camp, but unexpectedly, Nan Xiangyao was also not there. The guard told me that due to the heavy snow in recent days, more than half of the roads leading to the capital were blocked, and he had taken Qin Shuang and Yu, along with many soldiers, to explore the road.

  I watched as the sky gradually darkened, and it was almost midnight, but when they would return was still unknown.

  I took a deep breath, calmed down for a moment, but couldn't find any writing tools at the moment. If I went back to the government office, I was afraid that time would not permit it. So I had no choice but to instruct the guard: "The palace has an urgent matter to attend to outside, if the Third Prince and General Murong return, please tell them to come to Qingmu Cliff to find me, don't bring anyone."

  ∞ Ink Pavilion ∞ No Pop-up Window ∞