She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

Chapter 515 Abandoning Her

Prince Yu, whom Guangning was so eager to see, went first to a farmer's house at the foot of the mountain, spent money to buy a new set of clothes, changed into them, and then sent out a signal flare to contact his subordinates.

After waiting for nearly an hour, his subordinate arrived and met him: "Your Highness, I lured away the pursuing guards and dared not go back into the mountains to look for you, for fear of not having shaken off the pursuers and bringing you danger. So I found a place to stay and waited for you to contact me."

At this point, he knelt down to apologize: "I am late. I will accept my punishment after I escort you back to the Great Zhou."

“There’s a reason for this; the fault doesn’t lie with you.” Prince Yu inquired, “What is the current situation in Northern Qi?”

He was injured and unable to travel, so he rested in a cave. Now that his injuries had improved considerably, he immediately went down the mountain to contact his subordinates.

Now, he knows nothing about what is happening in Northern Qi.

The subordinates executed Zhao Yi, a corrupt official in Yongqing County, which inadvertently exposed the crimes of the virtuous king. They told the prince one by one, "Now that there are people all over the country attacking the virtuous king, it is actually beneficial for your subordinates to cover your return to the Great Zhou."

Prince Yu nodded slightly. Prince Xian was mired in a quagmire, and becoming the crown prince would likely not be an easy task. Unless the Emperor of Northern Qi had great courage and disregarded his own reputation to appoint Prince Xian as crown prince.

Unfortunately, the Northern Qi emperor was a selfish and self-serving ruler. Despite being incompetent and tyrannical, he cherished his reputation and wanted to be known as a wise and benevolent monarch.

The wise prince's path to becoming the crown prince was bound to be fraught with difficulties.

If Zhao Yi seizes this opportunity, he will surely be able to completely withdraw the Prince Xian from the struggle for the throne.

Seeing that Prince Yu was lost in thought, his subordinate couldn't help but call out, "Your Highness?"

Prince Yu glanced at him.

The subordinate asked, "Shall we set off tonight?"

Prince Yu hummed in agreement.

The subordinate continued, "Shall we go to the ferry and wait there now?"

Prince Yu glanced at the clear, bright sky. The sun was high in the sky, and if he went to the ferry now, he would greatly increase the risk of being exposed. He was about to suggest turning back to a farmer's house to wait when he suddenly remembered Princess Guangning, who was still waiting for him in the cave.

Traveling with a woman would be a burden for him.

Moreover, Princess Guangning's foot was injured, making it difficult for her to move around.

During his recovery, Prince Yu had already decided to abandon Princess Guangning.

Because after escaping Yongqing County with the help of Princess Guangning, the trouble that Princess Guangning would bring him would be far greater than her own value to him.

Princess Guangning seemed to realize this as well. When she learned that he was going to leave the cave to contact his subordinates, she became somewhat absent-minded and stared blankly at a jade tablet in her hand.

He sat beside her and could clearly see the phoenix pattern carved on the jade pendant, with the character "白" (white) engraved underneath.

In the Northern Qi Dynasty, only the current empress could use phoenix patterns, and the current empress's surname was Bai. The identity of the owner of this jade pendant is self-evident.

The Empress and Princess Guangning had no affection for each other, so she wouldn't give her a jade pendant as a keepsake. If it were simply a jade pendant added to Princess Guangning's dowry, she wouldn't wear it personally. Since it was an item worn close to the body, it must have had immense value.

He speculated that this jade tablet could likely mobilize the Empress's power.

As for why the Empress would give such an important item to Princess Guangning, he had no idea.

He had assumed that Princess Guangning would explain the origin of the jade pendant to him, thus demonstrating its value.

But even after he left, Princess Guangning never mentioned the jade pendant to him. She simply stood at the cave entrance, holding up one index finger: "Your Highness, could you bring me back an egg?"

Seemingly afraid that her request would displease him, Princess Guangning said timidly, "If you... if you find it inconvenient, you don't have to bring it for me. My foot just hurts, and I want to roll an egg on my ankle to reduce the swelling."

She was clearly afraid of him, and during their time together in the cave, she dared not look him in the eye. But now, her hands were tightly gripping the vines beside the cave, her eyes wide as she stared at him, looking like a pet about to be abandoned by its owner, appearing exceptionally pitiful.

It was as if just a simple response from him, saying he would bring her eggs, would soothe her inner unease.

But he didn't say a word and left without looking back.

Because that statement was a promise.

This means he will go back.

Prince Yu said coldly, "Go to the farmhouse."

After saying this, he led his subordinates to the farmhouse. As soon as he entered the yard, he saw the farm woman take two eggs out of the chicken coop and instinctively stopped in his tracks.

Finally, Prince Yu took some food and a basket of eggs to the cave.

This food was enough for Princess Guangning to sustain her until her foot injury healed.

Before he even got close to the cave, he heard Princess Guangning's panicked voice: "Let me go... Help..."