General, your wife has gone to deliver another calf for your horse.

Chapter 646 Li Rong, whom I have never seen before
After clearing her throat, Jiang Nuanzhi looked at Dongzang and asked, "Did the general say anything else to you?"

After a moment's thought, Dongzang said, "The general only said that you must protect yourself. Your own safety is the most important thing. Everything else can be sacrificed."

Jiang Nuanzhi nodded: "Is there anything else?"

Dongzang shook his head: "The general didn't say anything else, he just said that you will understand after you read the letter."

Jiang Nuanzhi suddenly felt something was wrong: "You mean, the general wants General Huo to bring Ping'er to the capital to come here to see me?"

Dongzang nodded blankly: "Yes, Madam. Is there something wrong?"

No, that's definitely not right.

Looking back now, following Li Rong on the expedition was much better than staying in the capital with me!

The purpose of bringing myself and my child to the capital was to check A Rong. Now that Ping'er has returned, she will undoubtedly become a tool to restrain Li Rong as well. Since Huo Xiao has already picked up the person, why not go to the front line together?

Given the current complex situation, there's only one reason why Li Rong still sent Ping'er to the capital: the situation there might be even more dangerous than the treacherous situation in the capital.
Jiang Nuanzhi's face paled instantly; she felt as if Li Rong was giving his final instructions.
He paused to calm himself, patted his face, and tried to clear his mind of the jumbled thoughts. Perhaps these weren't his own thoughts; maybe Li Rong simply felt the battlefield was too risky and he wasn't confident in his abilities.
Then, she took a deep breath and calmed herself down to open the envelope.

After quickly reading through the text, Jiang Nuanzhi's expression changed drastically. It took her a while to regain her composure, and she looked at the person beside her, clenching her fists tightly: "Get ready, we're going to the palace."

As if knowing that the Great Jing army was about to set out, the sky was shrouded in mist early in the morning, and soon after, fluffy snowflakes began to fall.

Large snowflakes fell on the blue brick city wall, and soon it was covered with a layer of white.

"I am personally seeing you off on your expedition today. I hope that my brave warriors of the Great Jing will live up to your expectations and return in triumph soon!"

After speaking, the Emperor picked up his wine bowl and looked towards Li Rong below the city wall.

Behind the emperor were civil and military officials, including Jiang Nuanzhi, who was looking down at the city walls.

That was a version of Li Rong she had never seen before.

Below, thousands of soldiers stood in neat rows. A chilling atmosphere hung in the air.

The leader was clad in golden crow armor, wore a three-foot-long purple-gold pheasant feather crown, and held a long spear. His red cloak fluttered in the north wind. Jiang Nuanzhi was slightly taken aback; this was a version of Li Rong she had never seen before.

Knowing he was a general was one thing, but seeing him standing right in front of her was another.

The next second, their eyes met, but they were too far apart, so far that Jiang Nuanzhi couldn't see the emotions in Li Rong's eyes.

The eunuchs around the emperor were giving long speeches of blessings, but Jiang Nuanzhi didn't hear a word they said. She just looked down at the city wall, trying to see more clearly.

She never expected that from the moment she received the imperial decree, they would never have a proper conversation again.

Fortunately, Dongzang managed to send back everything he had prepared for him.

May our brave warriors of the Great Jing return in triumph soon!

Suddenly, the civil and military officials behind her shouted in unison, and at that moment, a bowl full of strong liquor was stuffed into Jiang Nuanzhi's hand.

In her moment of stunned silence, she met a pair of eyes that were scrutinizing her with ill intent. The newcomer looked familiar; he was probably a Vice Minister of Rites, a former top scholar in the imperial examinations. He had always been critical of her for being a woman. Jiang Nuanzhi didn't seem to care much. She took the cup and turned to look down at the city wall. Li Rong was raising his cup to her from afar, his smile flamboyant and unrestrained, clearly visible even from this distance. He was always expressionless; perhaps he was afraid of making her worry?

After the soldiers drank the farewell wine, the sound of porcelain bowls shattering echoed one after another. Then they turned around and walked away into the distance amidst the congratulatory voices of the crowd.

As Jiang Nuanzhi watched Li Rong's black-armored troops slowly disappear before her eyes, a vast expanse of white stretched out before her. For some reason, her nose suddenly stung with tears.

In a daze, he picked up the wine and drank it all in one gulp.

The spicy flavor went down her throat, and Jiang Nuanzhi's lips twitched slightly: "May my brave warriors of Great Jing return in triumph soon."

Li Rong's black-armored troops had disappeared from sight, but in the distance, the noisy cheers of the people bidding them farewell could still be heard.

On the city wall, the wind and snow continued.

The Emperor's gaze remained fixed on the direction from which they had left below the city. After a long while, he finally withdrew his gaze without uttering a word.

But amidst his complex expression, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Jiang Nuanzhi turned to look at everyone, and it seemed that it wasn't just the Emperor who breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Majesty, with the God of War Li Rong, Yelü Qi is nothing to worry about. He will surely return in triumph soon!" After saying this, Minister Wang of the Ministry of War spoke with a beaming smile.

However, the Emperor's thoughts were completely different from his. He merely glanced at him for a while before saying, "Oh? Is that so?"

Grand Secretary Wang Yong glanced at him and stepped forward, saying, "It's too early to talk about this now. I hope General Li still has the courage he had back then."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor lowered his eyes slightly, but when he looked up again, he was looking at Jiang Nuanzhi.

Jiang Nuanzhi's heart tightened. So, as soon as A Rong left, he was coming?
Sure enough, the next second, Lord Wang Yong's gaze fell on Jiang Nuanzhi: "Speaking of which, there is an important matter I need to discuss with Madam Li."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's gaze swept sideways towards Jiang Nuanzhi. The moment Li Rong stepped out, their inherent disdain for the only woman present was almost undisguised. Jiang Nuanzhi even noticed many of these scrutinizing looks. However, she simply didn't care.

However, it seems that we can't disperse today. Ah Rong knows exactly what kind of people these are.

He then slightly curled the corners of his mouth and said, "Lord Wang, please speak your mind."

"Lord Jiang," Lord Wang called out, then summoned Jiang Ren, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and said to himself, "Go and tell Madam Li."

Jiang Ren stood before her, towering over Jiang Nuanzhi by more than half a head. He looked down at her with a defiant gaze in his eyes: "Madam Li, to be honest, the royal princess who was previously separated from her family has been found. Who do you think she is?"

Jiang Nuanzhi raised an eyebrow; so that's what they came for. They turned on her even faster than she'd expected.

For a moment, she ignored Jiang Ren in front of her and looked at the emperor, only to see that the emperor was looking at the broken snow in his hand, as if he had not heard the sound from this side.

Jiang Ren was ignored again, and anger rose in his heart, but he smiled and said, "Speaking of which, I must congratulate Madam Li. The true identity of your daughter should be that of a royal princess. Back then, Consort Rou and Li Sheng both gave birth at Huguo Temple. It was probably due to negligence on the part of the servants that the babies were switched at birth. Now, it is time to bring the princess back."

(End of this chapter)