AWB Chapter 369 They all need to be cautious
Chapter 369 They all need to be cautious
Prince Chen raised his eyes, his gaze filled with worry. "Are you sure you don't need me to send more people to protect your safety?"
"The Prince of Qi has already set his sights on you, and the Prince of Yong is now even more eager to get rid of you. This time, as he leaves the capital, he will definitely make thorough preparations and try every means to take your life on his way to Huizhou."
Prince Chen also has many secret guards hidden in the shadows, unknown to anyone.
It is entirely feasible to assign a portion of the bodyguards to follow Yun Shang and protect his safety closely.
However, Yun Shang still refused.
"Your Highness, rest assured, I never do anything without certainty."
With just this one sentence, Prince Chen's furrowed brows relaxed.
He gazed silently at his young yet composed and thoughtful subordinate for a long time before solemnly saying, "Come back alive."
Yun Shang lowered his eyes and replied, "Yes."
They were leaving for Huizhou tomorrow, and both Shen and Yu Wan were busy packing Yun Shang's luggage.
To be precise, it was all done by Mr. Shen alone.
The saying "a mother worries when her son travels a thousand miles" perfectly applies to Shen Shi.
Before the news from the palace spread, neither Madam Shen nor Yunxi knew that Yunshang planned to go to Huizhou for disaster relief.
Yu Wan knew about it in advance, but she did not inform the Shen family beforehand.
If we had told them sooner, they would have been more worried.
Yu Wan was tidying up Yun Shang's clothes in the room when Shen Shi and Yun Xi happened to come over and saw her tidying up.
Yu Wan could only tell Shen Shi and Yun Xi that Yun Shang was going to Huizhou.
After learning of this, Madam Shen remained silent for a long time before starting to pack her things.
The clothes, the things we use, and the food we eat—what started as one bundle—have multiplied into seven or eight bundles.
Yu Wan stood aside watching, not daring to speak.
Judging from this, others might have thought Yun Shang was fleeing from disaster.
When Yun Shang returned from Prince Chen's residence and saw a pile of bundles, she almost thought her whole family was going to flee.
He and Yu Wan exchanged a glance, and seeing the helplessness in her eyes, he understood everything.
Yun Shang stepped forward and stopped Shen Shi, who was still packing her things, "Mother, there's no need to prepare these."
Shen paused in her act of stuffing biscuits into the bundle, looked up at her son, and her eyes gradually reddened, "Can't you just..."
After uttering only three words, Madam Shen could no longer continue.
Huizhou is an arid place. Let alone floods, it rarely even rains throughout the year.
But this year, a strange flood occurred, and Shen could not believe how dangerous the flood in Huizhou could be.
Deep down, she really didn't want Yun Shang to go to the disaster relief effort.
But she also knew that now that Yun Shang had become an official, he had to serve the people and not be afraid of death.
The words that were on the tip of Shen's tongue were abruptly changed, "...Can't you bring more?"
"The journey is long and arduous, and we'll be eating and sleeping outdoors, so we need to bring plenty of clothes and food."
Yun Shang paused for a moment, then glanced at the bundle on the table and said with a helpless smile, "Bringing some is fine, but this much is probably too much for the carriage to fit."
When Madam Shen glanced at the bundle on the table, she realized that she had prepared too much.
She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, but said, "These things might come in handy. Don't distrust your mother; we'll definitely need them on the way."
Yun Shang didn't want to upset Madam Shen over such a trivial matter, so she nodded in agreement, "Okay, Mother, I'll take them all."
Only then did Madam Shen reveal a slight smile. She began to carefully inspect the contents of the bundle again, muttering to herself, "Bring a few extra clothes, just in case they get wet; bring plenty of dry rations, so you don't go hungry on the road; and this ointment, I specifically asked Physician Feng for it, make sure you take good care of it, it might come in handy if you get injured or sick..."
Shen kept rambling on, and everyone listened quietly.
After finally persuading Shen to go and rest, Yun Shang turned around and closed the door. Before Yu Wan could react, the man pulled her into his arms.
He sat down in the chair, hugged Yu Wan, and held her in his arms.
Yu Wan was a little stunned by Yun Shang's initiative. After she sat down, she was about to speak when the man grabbed her chin and sealed her lips with his.
Yu Wan: "..."
If the original story weren't set in ancient times, she would have suspected that Yun Shang had taken some kind of crash course in dating.
Yun Shang held her and kissed her for a long time, so long that Yu Wan felt her lips were getting numb.
She couldn't help but reach out and push against his chest, letting out a soft moan, "Mmm..."
Yun Shang noticed that she didn't stop immediately, but kissed her for a while longer before letting go.
Yu Wan's eyes were slightly dazed, and it took her a while to calm down.
Looking at Yu Wan's slightly flushed cheeks and somewhat dazed eyes, Yun Shang couldn't help but smile.
He held Yu Wan firmly in one arm, while gently stroking her hair with the other, his voice low and deep, "I don't know when I'll return from Huizhou this time. I will leave behind the secret guards that Prince Chen gave me; they will help you with your tasks."
They had discussed this before, and Yu Wan did not refuse again.
She leaned against Yun Shang's chest, nodded, and whispered, "Be careful in everything."
Yun Shang nodded as well, "You too."
The two looked down and up, their eyes met, and they both smiled unconsciously.
They all need to act with caution.
The next day, Yu Wan and Shen Shi and others escorted Yun Shang to the city gate.
Yun Shang's group was small, consisting of only ten guards and two servants, a fraction of the number brought by Li Hai and Prince Yong.
The three groups met at Shili Pavilion outside the city.
Li Hai brought over thirty guards with him, along with two pretty maids.
Anyone who didn't know better would think he was going on a trip for fun, not on official business.
The same was true of Prince Yong; his carriage was clearly luxurious and comfortable, and the sounds of women laughing could be heard from inside.
At first glance, this group of people didn't look like a disaster relief team at all; they looked more like they were on a sightseeing trip.
Yun Shang was not surprised by any of this.
He had known about the behavior of some officials in the court for a long time.
But Yun Shang didn't care what these people were like.
Because Huizhou was far from Shengjing and there were bandits along the way, the imperial court specially dispatched a guard of three thousand men to accompany them to ensure safety.
As the person in charge of this trip, Yun Shang's guards only obeyed his orders.
When they set off from Shiliting, Yunshang instructed the team to travel at full speed and try to reach Huizhou as quickly as possible.
Both Prince Yong and Li Hai expressed their dissatisfaction with the rapid pace, but Yun Shang silenced them with a single, understated sentence:
"If Your Highness and Lord Li cannot endure this hardship, they may turn back to the capital before leaving Shengjing territory."
Prince Yong and Li Hai's expressions grew even more grim, but neither of them uttered another word.
Prince Yong had more important matters to attend to on this trip, so he had no choice but to endure it.
Li Hai, however, dared not go back like that.
What would it mean to go back now?
Openly defying imperial orders would only earn one a reputation for being a coward who fears death.
Although these people usually indulge in pleasure, they still have to consider their reputation at certain times.