An Eight-year-old Princess

Chapter 89 Countermeasures

When Yun Shang woke up, it was 7 p.m. It was getting dark outside. Yun Shang stayed in bed with her

eyes wide open. She didn't want to move. She stared at the top of the tent and wondered why she was

still upset.

"Luo Ding. Luo Ding." It was Prince Jing's voice. Yun Shang was surprised. Her heart skipped a beat.

Then there were faint footsteps. Prince Jing spoke again. "Is there anything strange about Princess

Hua Jing and her servant today?"

"Your Highness, the Princess came to find you several times. And every time, she came here, she

snuck around your tent. As for the servant, there's nothing odd about him today. He stayed in bed at

the surgeon's tent. He hasn't moved." Luo Ding answered softly.

Hua Jing? Something suddenly struck Yun Shang. She recalled Hua Jing's odd behaviors after her

arrival at the camp, and made her guess.

After Luo Ding took his leave, Yun Shang got out of bed and walked to the front of the screen. She

hesitated for a moment and said, "Hua Jing has been looking for something these past two days.

Yesterday when she was here, I noticed her staring at the parchment on the table. Then after the fire, I

went into the Deputy Commander's tent. Nothing was missing, but his personal attendant told me that

the books on his table had been moved."

Prince Jing heard her voice and froze. He spent some time calming himself before turning to see her.

Yun Shang kept her hair down. She was wearing only her tunic and looked charming. The Prince saw

her tunic and froze again. Then he found his peace and said, "Prince Qingsu must have asked her to

steal something. Something that interests him. And among the things on my table, there is the Map of

Army Distribution, Map of Army Deployment and the Operation Map......"

As Yun Shang listened, an idea suddenly came to her. Her eyes flashed. "If that's what they want, then

why don't we fake the maps and let Hua Jing take the wrong map to Prince Qingsu?"

Prince Jing nodded, "That is an alternative. However, we have to plan it carefully and throughly. If it's

too easy for Hua Jing to get the map, Prince Qingsu will doubt its authenticity."

"That's for sure. And if we can get evidence of Hua Jing giving the map to Prince Qingsu, then she'll be

charged with treason. By that time, even God won't be able to save her." Yun Shang smiled and felt her

heart fill with excitement. How could she have not thought about this earlier? Hua Jing and the

Empress value power and fame the most. If she could drag them down from the top, and frame them

with eternal infamy, then it would be the cruelest revenge for them.

Isn't that what they did to Yun Shang in her previous life? She valued her mother's and father's love the

most, so they took it away from her little by little. They also took away her baby and her husband. In

this life, she swore to let them suffer the same pain.

Prince Jing kept his eyes on Yun Shang. He noticed her murderous look and frowned. There was

something that he didn't understand about Yun Shang. She was just a Princess raised in the Palace,

but why did she always carry that much hatred in her eyes? He couldn't help but shiver every time he

saw that look. What was it that she hated so much? She seemed to have been targeting the Empress

and Princess Hua Jing. But what did they do to her that made her hate them so much?

"Your Highness. The Generals are here. Princess Hua Jing also came with them." Luo Ding's voice

came from outside and interrupted Prince Jing's thoughts. He was surprised that they had all come at

this time. And before he could say anything, the curtain of the tent was lifted.

Prince Jing quickly stood up and went to Yun Shang. He held Yun Shang in his arms.

Yun Shang went stiff at his sudden behavior. Then they heard a husky voice rising from behind. "Son of

a bitch burned my tent! I've been cleaning it up for a long time. I can even smell burnt cloth in my

sleep......"

Prince Jing lowered his head and whispered to Yun Shang, "Go, put on your mask and pull up your

hair. Hua Jing is here."

Yun Shang lifted her hand to touch her hair. Only then did she realize that she had left her hair down all

this time. Surprised and embarrassed, she turned to rush further inside the tent. Prince Jing quickly

stopped her and kept her in his arms to keep her from being recognized. Then he led her to the screen.

"Your Highness......" Someone was calling them. But Yun Shang didn't have the time to identify whose

voice it was. She stayed frozen until Prince Jing had led her behind the screen. Then Yun Shang took a

breath of relief.

"Were you holding someone in your arms just now? I saw the head." The people outside the screen

were talking in a low voice. But they spoke loud enough for Yun Shang to hear them.

Prince Jing released his hands on her and coughed a little. He walked outside and caught someone

trying to peek inside. Prince Jing frowned. He stood at the screen to block him. "What are you looking

at?"

The Deputy Commander touched his bushy beard and asked in doubt. "I saw you holding someone

just now. But there's no woman in our camp. And I've confirmed from Luo Ding that it's just you and

Mister Xiao here...... Oh...... So Mister Xiao......"

Before he finished speaking, he saw Prince Jing glaring at him. The Deputy Commander swallowed.

Then he choked and coughed.

Prince Jing turned around and looked at the screen. He saw a figure leaning on the screen

eavesdropping. His mouth curved into a smile. Then he raised his hand to cover his smile and

pretended to cough. When he looked up at everyone, he saw Hua Jing. He paused.

"Seems like Prince Hua Jing is particularly interested in our agenda." Prince Jing looked at Hua Jing

with a superficial smile.

Hua Jing shivered at his coldness. She quickly put on an embarrassed smile and said, "Staying in the

camp is boring, so I'd like to join you. By the way, I didn't see uncle and the Generals last night. Where

have you been?"

Prince Jing lowered his head and looked at the back of his hand. He smiled. "Someone in my camp

has the habit of sleeping early. I was afraid of disturbing her, so I took the Generals to another camp to

continue our meeting. It was far from here. Why were you looking for me?"

Hua Jing quickly smiled and said, "Nothing special. The Deputy Commander's tent was on fire

yesterday and you weren't here. So, I got curious. Oh, by the way, I heard that someone snuck into

your tent. Is anything missing?"

"I didn't know that someone had snuck in my tent, but it seems like Your Highness knows more than I

do." "But I remember that you were already gone when I went inside the tent." Someone with a clear

voice interrupted her. Yun Shang came out from behind the screen wearing her formal clothes and the

mask.

Hua Jing frowned and denied, "Well...... This morning after, when I woke up, I heard that someone

might have set the fire deliberately and snuck into Prince Jing's tent. I didn't know whether it was true

or not. I was just being curious."

"Oh?" Yun Shang smiled coldly. She stopped pushing Hua Jing and turned to Prince Jing. "Lady Zhao

has been staying in Linguan Town for some time. I've sent someone to ask her about the Emperor's

Son-in-Law's status yesterday. It seems like she still hasn't found her son. Lady Zhao is aged. I'm

worried about her health after all these days of travel. Now that Princess Hua Jing is also in the camp,

I've sent some soldiers to Linguan Town to escort Lady Zhao here. They can discuss how to find the

Emperor's Son-in-Law together. If they need our help, we can assist them."

Yun Shang saw Hua Jing's face pale and smiled happily. Prince Jing thought about it and nodded. "OK,

that is really thoughtful. Your Highness just mentioned feeling bored here. It's inconvenient for a bunch

of men to chat with you every day. Now that we will have Lady Zhao here, I'm sure you'll have much to

talk about with her."

Hua Jing's hand clenched in her sleeves. She felt embarrassed and irritated. Then she bit her lip and

forced a smile. "Well, how lovely. Since my Mother-in-Law will arrive soon, I need to prepare." Then she

stood and left.

Yun Shang pulled a smile on her lips. Now, she felt a bit relieved.

After Hua Jing left, everyone kept silent. Then someone spoke. His voice sounded old and genuine.

"Thanks to Mister Xiao, we returned safely last night. Mister Xiao was impressive."

The other Generals also took the opportunity to compliment Yun Shang. Seeing that Yun Shang was

quite embarrassed, Prince Jing changed the topic. "During these past two days, we've all noticed that

Princess Hua Jing has been acting weird. Her motives are not pure. I'm afraid that she is after our

map."

After he said that, the tent went quiet again. After a long time, someone hesitated before speaking with

uncertainty. "I don't get it. Hua Jing is a Princess of our country. Why would she need our map?"

Yun Shang lifted her head and looked at the person who had spoken. He was in his forties and looked

weak. He didn't seem to be a General. Yun Shang squinted her eyes. Well, this guy somehow seemed

familiar to her.

As he said this, all the other Generals nodded in agreement. They were all confused.

Yun Shang smiled. "I don't know if you've noticed, but the servant that Princess Hua Jing brought with

her seems to have brown eyes. And the people in our country generally have black eyes. Only......"

"Only those bastards of Yelang Country have brown eyes." The Deputy Commander finished her

sentence. His voice dripped with despise.

Yun Shang nodded, "To my knowledge, Hua Jing left the Palace two months ago when she heard the

news about her husband. And I left half of a month later than her. But she still arrived here after I did.

According to her, it was because she was unfamiliar with the country and so they spent extra time on

the road. That is understandable. But I also remember that Lady Zhao departed at about the same time

she did. Even Lady Zhao arrived before the Princess. That doesn't make sense to me. Moreover, when

the Princess left the Imperial City, she brought four servants and two maids with her... The Princess

said that she had not faced an assassination attempt on the road. She was attacked the day that she

arrived at Xiyi Town, at which time, she lost a servant. Now with only one servant here, what happened

to her two maids and two servants?"

Everyone present pondered over Yun Shang's words. "So you mean that......"

"My instincts tell me that Princess Hua Jing must have come across something on her way here.

Maybe she had been kidnapped by the people of Yelang Country. Or she was threatened and forced by

someone to steal the Map of Army Deployment from us." Yun Shang squinted her eyes as she spoke.

The soldiers and Generals in the camp looked at each other for a long time before someone asked, "If

the Princess is under threat, then the servant who followed her is our chance. If we kill him, will that

save the Princess?"

Yun Shang shook her head, "No, we can't kill him. For one thing, we don't want to notify our enemy and

alarm him. I've heard that there are wizards in their country that can control people's minds and order

them to do things against their will. If that's true, then we'll put ourselves at risk. The other thing is that I

saw someone lighting a flame to notify our enemy last night when the fire in the Deputy Commander's

tent started. This is proof that we have spies here, and there may be more than one......"

"Then in your opinion, what should we do?" Seeing that everyone was listening carefully to Yun Shang,

the Deputy Commander asked.

Yun Shang smiled. "That's why I've invited you here. Let's discuss a countermeasure. My idea is that

we fake a Map and help Hua Jing get it. Then we watch her closely and find out who is controlling her.

That's how we take them down together."

Once Yun Shang had shared her idea, she earned everyone's support. Then they worked closely on

the details of her plan.

After the soldiers and the Generals left their tent, Yun Shang was still frowning. No one knew what she

was thinking about. A while later she asked the Prince, "Do you know the General who appears weak?

He looks to be about forty or so."

"His name is Zhang Ying. What about him?" Prince Jing asked softly.

Yun Shang frowned, "I get the feeling that he is familiar. But I can't remember when or where we have

met each other."

Prince Jing heard her and comforted her, "Don't push yourself too hard. Take your time." Seeing that

Yun Shang was still trying so hard to recall the details, the Prince stood and smiled. "It's been a while

since you arrived here. I bet you haven't seen the sunset at the frontier. Even though it's winter now

and the sun is faint in the daytime, the sunset is breathtaking. Come on, I'll show you."

Yun Shang heard Prince Jing and became interested. She thought for a while, and finally decide to

forget about the General. So she said, "OK." Then she stood and walked out of the tent.

After waiting outside the tent for a while, she saw Prince Jing stepping out from behind the tent curtain.

He held a white cloak in his hand. "It will be cold after the sun sets. Take this with you."

Yun Shang nodded and took the cloak. Then Luo Ding brought two horses to them. Yun Shang put the

cloak on the horse and mounted. She followed Prince Jing toward the camp exit.

Prince Jing led the way toward the desert behind the left mountain. Sandy wind blew over the desert.

The sun was slowly setting in the west. In her previous life, Yun Shang had kept herself in the Imperial

City and seldom came out. In this life, she kept herself busying learning new things, so she didn't have

much time. This was her first experience with such breathtaking scenery. The fiery red sun was burning

bright till the last second. It was so round and huge, it looked as though it covered the whole sky. Then,

as the sun set lower, the glowing rays of the sun dyed the clouds with a brassy glare.

Yun Shang was so shocked that she couldn't find words to express her feelings. She just to stood there

in silence. Her eyes followed the sun. She watched as it seemed to sink into the desert. After the sun

disappeared in the horizon, it left brightly colored clouds hanging over the dunes.

"Splendid." Yun Shang was still shocked at what she had seen. After a long time, she murmured that

one word.

Prince Jing looked at her face. The red glow had painted her fair cheeks as well. He smiled. "I

remember that when we were at the Imperial City, you asked if I wanted the Royal position. I've been

longing for that position for more than a decade now. I don't want it as much anymore. I've been at the

border for more than ten years, and I am afraid that such beauty cannot be seen in the Imperial City or

the Palace."

Yun Shang smiled, "I agree. The only thing that people in the Palace can see is power and fame. They

don't have time for such beautiful scenery. Being the Emperor is exhausting. Even I feel tired for my

father. When he is in Court, everyone obeys him and praises him loyally. But no one can tell how many

of them mean it. When he goes from the Court to the Palace, he is also welcomed by his concubines.

But those women are not being loyal to him. They are only being loyal to his title. Even if someone else

becomes the Emperor, they would remain unchanged and treat the man like he is everything."

"You, as an outsider, can really see through things. But as an insider, we don't look at things that way."

Prince Jing smiled and turned his eyes to the fading glow. "Don't forget that you are also part of the Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

Royal Family."

Yun Shang raised her eyebrow. "I'm just a Princess. It's a whole lot easier for me to leave the Palace.

My fief is in Jinling. I've heard that it is a fertile region where fish and rice are abundant. It's also a land

of picturesque scenery. And the people there are honest and hospitable. When I'm done with the affairs

at the Palace, I will go to Jinling to spend the rest of my life......"

Prince Jing squinted his eyes. He clenched his hands in his sleeves and kept silent.

When they returned to the camp, it was completely dark. As soon as Prince Jing entered the camp, he

was called away to deal with something. Yun Shang had nothing to do, so she wandered to the stable

and tied her horse there. When she was about to go back, she heard someone gossiping.

"Do you know that Mister Xiao is such a beautiful young man that even women can't match his

beauty?"

Another voice said with curiosity, "You mean the Mister Xiao who wears a mask?"

"Yes, but he wasn't wearing his mask when he first arrived here. Anyway, I've heard that he has a

special relationship with Prince Jing......" The man who started the conversation lowered his voice and

said with disgust.

"What kind of relationship?" The other man seemed to miss his point and asked again.

"You know, the kind of relationship where two people do something in bed......" Then he spat and said,

"My mate who is on duty at the Prince's tent told me that Mister Xiao lives in the Prince's tent with him."

"No way. Isn't Mister Xiao also a man?" The other voice quickly doubted him, "Men and men can do

that?"

"Of course. Why not? You just need to......" The two seemed to get closer together and started to

whisper. After a while, Yun Shang heard the other guy say, "Ah...... So His Highness doesn't like

women? He has a thing for men?"

Yun Shang frowned. She picked up some stones and threw them at the two soldiers. Then she heard

them shouting in pain. She turned and left the camp through the back ...