In the end, several officials were demoted and had their salaries reduced as punishment.

Those who could survive in the political arena were all more cunning than others.

Other observing courtiers saw the fate of those officials and knew they had touched a sore spot.

None dared to continue pressing the matter.

Their proposals were intended for the Princess Consort, but they ended up in the hands of the Crown Prince.

The couple, with both holding significant power, were not to be trifled with, especially when they were of one mind.

They pressured the Princess Consort, only to be reprimanded by the Crown Prince afterward.

With the world in turmoil, if they couldn’t gain the Crown Prince’s favor, those who later sought refuge would be squeezed out.

It would be much harder for them to rise again in the future.

After Chu Chengji’s act of killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, the courtiers were as clear-minded as a mirror and dared not entertain any other ideas.

After dealing with these unpleasant matters, the army was about to set off, and Chu Chengji had to repeatedly check the marching orders and confirm the details of raising banners with his strategists and generals.

He hadn’t rested for the whole day.

When he returned to the main courtyard, it was already dusk.

He saw from afar that the main courtyard was not lit up and couldn’t help but wonder why Qin Zheng retired so early tonight?

As he entered, he subconsciously softened his movements, but both inside and outside the room were cold and lifeless, not at all like someone was living there.

Even the dim candle next to the inner room, used for nighttime illumination, wasn’t lit.

Chu Chengji stood at the door for a moment, perhaps feeling the chill of the autumn night.

Looking at the dark room, his heart inexplicably felt heavy.

As if to confirm something, he strode into the inner room, lit the candle inside, and found the bed empty.

The bedding was neatly folded, without a single wrinkle, no traces of anyone having lain there.

The maid on night duty heard the movement, entered, and saw Chu Chengji.

She hurriedly bowed, “Greetings, Your Highness.”

Chu Chengji turned his face slightly.

The dim candlelight cut across his face, with the other half hidden in the shadows.

The curve of his lips was straight, “Where is the Princess Consort?”

Though he didn’t show any signs of anger, the maid’s voice trembled with fear, “The Princess Consort said… said she was going to the riverbank and will return in a few days.”

The air in the room seemed to thin out suddenly, and the prolonged silence became torturous.

Beads of sweat slowly formed on the maid’s forehead, and her legs trembled.

“You may leave.”

After a long while, he finally uttered these words.

The maid hurriedly retreated.

It wasn’t until she left the main house that she looked back with lingering fear.

The Crown Prince was only so intimidating when he was by the side of the Princess Consort.

In the room,

Chu Chengji paced to the edge of the bed and sat down, his palm brushing over the bedclothes.

The candlelight reflected in his cool eyes, making even the candlelight seem chilling.

He lay down with his clothes still on, but his lips remained tightly pressed.

Qin Zheng and her entourage temporarily settled in a village near the Riverbank.

The villagers were very hospitable, offering ingredients from various households’ festive meals to entertain them.

Knowing that the land was still troubled by war and the people were suffering, Qin Zheng instructed the official in charge of finances to settle the costs of lodging and food with the villagers, ensuring that they wouldn’t take a single penny without payment.

During the day, everything was fine.

She, along with Song Heqing and others, followed the local foreman to inspect the underground river.

She was so busy that she didn’t have time to think about anything else.

At night, when washing up, ordinary households didn’t have bathing tubs, and Qin Zheng had rolled in the mud, so it took some effort to wash herself from head to toe using a wooden basin to carry water.

Fortunately, she brought several martial maids trained by Lin Zhao with her.

Otherwise, tasks like fetching and pouring water would have been quite troublesome.

With limited conditions, the food, clothing, shelter, and transportation were incomparable to those in Qingzhou City,

But she didn’t complain or show fatigue, and the accompanying officials didn’t dare to grumble either.

After a simple dinner, she let the officials rest, assigned soldiers to take turns on night watch duty,

And also had two martial maids stationed outside her room taking turns.

After lying down on the bed, Qin Zheng was indeed tired, but she felt no sleepiness, even with the scent of soapberry permeating the bedding.

Considering Chu Chengji’s usual routine, he might still be working with documents at this hour.

Realizing she was thinking about him, Qin Zheng felt suffocated, pulling the covers over her head, trying to clear her mind and sleep, but it didn’t go as planned.

She tossed and turned several times, but couldn’t find any sleepiness.

Every time she closed her eyes, thoughts of Chu Chengji would flood her mind.

For the first time, Qin Zheng felt ashamed of herself.

Why was she thinking about him?

He was supposed to be sleeping in the study area last night, right?

Now that she was gone, he should be able to sleep peacefully in his own room!

There was no need for him to deliberately avoid her anymore.

Some things were better left unexplored; the more she thought, the worse it felt.

Those officials’ proposals, everyone’s attitude towards him choosing concubines…

Qin Zheng wiped her eyes awkwardly, only realizing the dampness in her palms.

She was surprised to find herself crying over such trivial matters.

Feeling even more frustrated, she rolled up the blanket, forcing herself to sleep.

The next day, Qin Zheng continued to oversee the excavation of the final stretch of the underground river.

Song Heqing estimated the departure date of the army and tried to persuade Qin Zheng to return.

No matter what, she had to see Chu Chengji off.

With the way Qin Zheng behaved today, Song Heqing was certain that the couple had indeed quarreled.

He sighed, “Her Highness, why be angry with the Crown Prince because of others?”

Qin Zheng remained businesslike, “It has nothing to do with others.”

Song Heqing had no choice but to say, “The Crown Prince is about to set off. Princess, if he is distracted because of this and something goes wrong on the battlefield, it would be a loss…”

Qin Zheng didn’t say anything, but her grip on the engineering drawings tightened.

Suddenly, there was a cry from where they were excavating the underground river, followed by wails.

A group of people rushed over.

Qin Zheng was also drawn to the sound and hurried over, asking, “What’s going on?”

“Reporting to the Princess Consort, a woman has fainted,” a soldier reported.

Qin Zheng quickly had the accompanying physician examine the woman.

The woman looked particularly haggard, and her mental state was not good.

Qin Zheng was afraid that the officials were pressuring the people too much. eShe told the officials, “Finishing the excavation of the underground river within the deadline is a must. Do not pressure the people.”

The officials below hurriedly said, “Princess Consort, the excavation of the underground river has always been carried out by the local villagers themselves. Subordinates dare not pressure them…”

“This woman, it is heard that she received bad news a few days ago. Her husband died in the army, which left her in a daze.”

This revelation surprised Qin Zheng, and the villagers nearby expressed their sympathy, saying, “It’s a tragic couple. Her husband joined the army a few days ago, and they had an argument before he left.

She went back to her family in anger and didn’t even see her husband off.

Shortly after she returned, the government sent her family rice and money, saying that her husband died on the battlefield.”

Qin Zheng’s heart pounded as she listened.

When several peasant women took the fainting woman back,

Song Heqing hurriedly approached Qin Zheng, ” Her Highness, you…”

Qin Zheng turned and walked away, saying, “Prepare the horses. We’re going back to Qingzhou City.”

Song Heqing quickly ordered the officials to pack up, and the group hurried back to Qingzhou.

When they returned to Qingzhou City, they learned that the army had set off in the morning.

Song Heqing demanded, “Wasn’t the departure scheduled for tomorrow? Why the sudden change?”

A junior officer said, “A urgent message from Xuzhou arrived this morning. Upon seeing the urgent report from Xuzhou, His Highness immediately mobilized the troops to Xuzhou.”

Qin Zheng remained silent as she got off the carriage.

When Song Heqing cautiously glanced at her, she only said, “Back to the mansion.”

Two days later, another military situation came from Xuzhou.

Chu Chengji, despite being heavily injured, managed to stabilize the situation upon arriving at Xuzhou with his troops.

However, Qin Zheng heard that all the doctors in the medical clinics in Xuzhou had been called to the military camp.

Upon hearing this news, Qin Zheng was in the middle of reviewing documents.

She was so shocked that she couldn’t even hold the brush properly, and it fell onto the document, staining it.

Immediately, she summoned all the strategists and generals remaining in Qingzhou.

“The news of His Highness’s serious injury has spread, and the enemy camp might take advantage of this. Qingzhou must be prepared for any attack.”

As she spoke, her voice remained calm, but Song Heqing stood close by, noticing the trembling hand gripping the armrest of her chair.

He shared her worries and tried to console her, “We have yet to receive the urgent report from Xuzhou. It’s hard to distinguish the truth about His Highness’s injury. Her Highness, we must not panic at this moment.”

“What Lord Song says is true,” Qin Zheng said, tightening her grip on the armrest. “The entire city of Qingzhou is on high alert. If the enemy attacks, just defend the city. The naval battle will be under the command of General Dong.”

At this point, she looked at Dong Cheng.

Dong Cheng clasped his fist and said, “I will not fail my mission!”

Qin Zheng then looked at Song Heqing, “The internal mobilization of the city’s defenses will be under the command of Lord Song.”

Song Heqing sensed that something was wrong.

These were tasks that Qin Zheng should have handled. He said, “Her Highness…”

Qin Zheng raised a hand to signal him to stop, “I have decided to secretly go to Xuzhou to visit His Highness and verify the news. If the Chen army crosses the Yuan River, remember to hold the line. If morale is low, find a leader who resembles His Highness and dress them in his armor to spy on the battle from the city tower. The Chen army will hesitate if they suspect trickery.”

Song Heqing also understood that with such an incident, Qin Zheng’s mind would be hard to focus on Qingzhou.

He said, “I will send two hundred elite riders to escort Her Highness to Xuzhou.”

That afternoon, Qin Zheng packed her belongings, most of which were medicinal herbs.

She also brought along a highly skilled doctor from Qingzhou City.

They arrived at the gates of Xuzhou in the middle of the night and presented their credentials.

Upon hearing that the Princess Consort was visiting in person, the guards quickly let them through.

Qin Zheng opened the carriage curtain and asked the guard, “Where is His Highness now?”

Under the silver moonlight, the beautiful figure draped in a cloak had a cold expression, solitary as a blooming white lotus.

The guard was stunned, and when the martial maids in front of the carriage coughed heavily, he turned his gaze away, respectfully saluting, “His Highness is in the military camp.”

Qin Zheng lowered the curtain and ordered the carriage to head to the Xuzhou camp.