On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

Chapter 2291 Old Friends in a Foreign Land

Princess Mingzhao watched the funeral procession disappear at the end of the mountain path before turning her gaze away.

Looking down at the newly turned soil, the coffin was hastily covered, without even a grave mound, let alone a tombstone.

She felt increasingly uneasy.

She strode forward, with Mu Chen beside her, glancing around warily, his fingers gripping the hilt of his sword. He asked in a low voice, "Princess, what should we do?"

Princess Mingzhao squatted down and brushed the soft, fresh soil, and the image of Yan Ruyu suddenly flashed through her mind.

If Yan Ruyu were here, she would not be fooled by this superficial cover-up and would surely investigate the matter thoroughly.

She looked up, her gaze lingering, and uttered a single word: "Dig!"

Upon hearing this, Mu Chen didn't waste any words and immediately nodded: "Then you step aside and wait, I'll dig it up, so you won't get mud on your hands."

“Digging together will be faster,” Princess Mingzhao said, raising her hand to roll up her sleeves and tie the cuffs to her forearms.

These days, traveling and sleeping in the open are common occurrences. She has long lost the pampered airs of a princess and no longer cares about getting a little mud on her face.

As she spoke, she drew the sword from her waist and used the scabbard to pry down along the edge of the new soil, causing the soil to fall to the side.

Seeing her like this, Mu Chen said no more. He also drew his sword, and the two of them, one on the left and one on the right, dug the soil quickly.

At this moment, three fast horses galloped up on the mountain path outside the forest, their hooves shattering the tranquility of the night. The three riders were all dressed in tight-fitting short clothes, with knives slung diagonally across their backs.

Upon reaching the edge of the woods, the leader suddenly raised his hand and reined in the horse, and the other two also stopped immediately.

All three listened intently to the sounds coming from the woods, and could vaguely hear the sound of the earth turning over.

The leader's eyes darkened, and he gave a wink to the two people beside him.

The three men immediately dismounted, tied their horses to trees by the roadside, placed their hands on the hilts of their swords, and quietly walked into the woods.

At the same time, Mu Chen inside the forest also keenly heard faint footsteps coming from outside the forest. It wasn't just one person; there were at least three.

He immediately stopped what he was doing, looked up and gestured for Princess Mingzhao to be quiet.

Both men held their breath, gripped their sword hilts, and slowly straightened up, their backs tense. They turned to look at the entrance to the woods, their eyes wary, and their aura instantly darkened.

Beside the freshly dug soil, a corner of the coffin was faintly visible, its dark wood gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

Inside the Prince's mansion, candlelight flickered, casting a warm glow throughout the room.

Yan Ruyu sat at the table, her fingers gently stroking her temples, a hint of weariness in her eyes.

Huo Changhe walked in carrying a white porcelain soup bowl, with a faint steam rising from the rim.

He handed the soup bowl to Yan Ruyu and said gently, "Take a rest. Don't overthink it. This is a nourishing soup that your mother made herself. She added lily bulbs and lotus seeds. Drink it and go to bed early."

Yan Ruyu took the soup bowl, nodded, scooped up a spoonful of soup and drank it. The sweet taste slid down her throat, soothing her restless mind.

After drinking half a cup, she put down the spoon and said softly, "I don't know why, but I feel a little uneasy. My eyelids are twitching badly. I wonder if something bad is going to happen again."

Seeing this, Huo Changhe sat down beside her and gently massaged her temples with just the right amount of pressure to relieve her fatigue.

Huo Changhe said gently, "Don't overthink it. Nothing could have happened. It's just that you've been too tired these days. From the epidemic to the investigation, you've been under too much pressure, which is why you're like this."

"Rest assured and recover. I'll take care of everything else; you don't need to worry about it."

Yan Ruyu leaned back in her chair, feeling the warmth of his palm, and gently shook her head.

“You’re no less relaxed than me. Don’t think I don’t know. Recently, you’ve been handling everything, from the city’s garrison rotation drills and the manor’s guard training to the final stages of the city-wide search at the governor’s manor. You haven’t even had a moment to rest.”

Huo Changhe chuckled softly, his fingertips still moving, a hint of tenderness in his eyes: "These things are nothing, just some trivial business. Compared to when I was the commander-in-chief in Shanghai, managing border defenses and training troops for war, it's much easier."

When Shanghai was mentioned, his brows furrowed slightly.

He unconsciously thought of Xiao Chiye, wondering if Xiao had received the message he had sent by carrier pigeon.

Then he thought of Chen San, Li Wu, and Wang Gui. Their bodies had already been collected by the people in the mansion. Tomorrow morning, he would arrange for people to escort their bodies to Shencheng so that they could return to their roots and be laid to rest.

Seeing the change in his expression, Yan Ruyu knew that he had thought of the events in Shanghai, and asked softly, "Then tomorrow, would you like to go to Shanghai yourself to see your three brothers off on their final journey?"

Upon hearing this, Huo Changhe hesitated for a moment, his fingers pausing slightly, before finally shaking his head.

"Let's forget about it. These are turbulent times. Youcheng has just gone through a storm, and the matter of the Dragon-Breaking Sword has only just begun to make progress. The forces behind it have not yet been investigated."

If I leave, there might be trouble in Youcheng. It's not too late to go to Shencheng to pay my respects after all this is over.

Yan Ruyu nodded, said nothing more, and simply raised her hand to hold his hand. They both understood that the other was not in control of his own destiny.

Meanwhile, in Chongzhou, a thousand miles away, three dark figures were slowly walking into the dense forest. Their footsteps made soft rustling sounds as they stepped on fallen leaves and withered branches, growing ever closer.

Mu Chen and Princess Mingzhao pressed themselves against the ancient tree behind them, hiding their figures in the shadows. They suppressed their aura to the extreme, their fingers gripping the sword hilts slightly, staring at the approaching shadow.

As the three drew closer, Mu Chen shifted his stance slightly, already prepared to make his move.

Just then, the man in the lead on the other side suddenly stopped.

Mu Chen struck first, drawing his sword and lunging forward to stab!

The three retreated and prepared to fight.

One of them spotted Princess Mingzhao's face at a glance, hesitated, and called out, "Princess?"

Princess Mingzhao raised an eyebrow, her eyes filled with surprise. She looked the three people in front of her up and down; they were all unfamiliar faces.

He was dressed in a sharp and sleek outfit, displaying exceptional skill, but his origins remained completely unknown.

She asked in a deep voice, "Who are you?"

Seeing this, the lead guard raised his hand to signal the two men beside him to stop their stance. He then took out a black iron token from his pocket and threw it towards Mu Chen.

The token was about the size of a palm and felt heavy in the hand.

The front is engraved with a powerful "Huo" character, while the back features Huo Changhe's unique cloud pattern mark, and the edges are engraved with fine, hair-like gilded patterns.

This is the token of Huo Changhe's personal guard, which is extremely difficult to counterfeit.

Mu Chen took the token, checked it repeatedly, then released his hand from the hilt of his sword and handed the token to the princess.

He whispered, "Princess, it is the Prince's token, it's genuine."

Princess Mingzhao took the token and glanced at it.

Yes, she recognized the token.

She looked up at the three of them, her tone softening slightly: "Since you are from the Prince's Mansion, what are you doing in Chongzhou?"