My Princess and Crown Prince Are Revived
Chapter 127: Down to Jiangnan

Chapter 127: Chapter 127: Down to Jiangnan

"Ziyi, follow Su Jingfu."

From an inconspicuous corner, Yan Lin watched the scene where Chu Baihan and Yan Xiao stood together.

The surroundings were too noisy to clearly hear the conversation over there.

Yet he could feel that Yan Xiao must have threatened Chu Baihan.

Something must have happened to make Su Jingfu suddenly leave.

"Yes, my lord."

Bowing his head, Ziyi quickly led his men to follow.

Over here, Chu Baihan had already arrived in the hall.

Yan Tian was already seated on the Dragon Throne with a gloomy face, indicating extremely poor mood.

The ministers below all lowered their heads, trying to minimize their presence.

After Chu Baihan entered, she noticed that Yan Xiao followed her in, soon followed by Yan Lin and Yan Lian.

Shortly after, the other princes also arrived.

But...

Two were missing, the third and fifth princes.

"Where are the third and the fifth?"

Yan Tian on the Dragon Throne also noticed the absence of these two, and with a dark face, he asked coldly.

"Your Majesty, during the heaven-worshipping ceremony, the altar exploded. The third prince was closest to it and was injured; he is still unconscious, so he could not come," the eunuch quickly answered.

Injured, unconscious?

Chu Baihan slightly furrowed her brows.

This third prince really was unlucky.

Yet considering it, were they inherently fated to have discord?

Ever since she knew that he spoke up for Doctor Wu back then, she wanted to meet him, but there was never an opportunity.

This third prince always had something keeping him from appearing.

"Useless!" Yan Tian berated furiously, offering not a shred of face for his third prince.

The people in the hall exchanged glances, none daring to utter a word.

But some couldn’t help lamenting internally—

It seemed the third prince truly was not favored; the Emperor had never shown him any respect.

"And the fifth?"

Yan Tian asked again coldly, though his tone was slightly better than before.

"The fifth prince was injured by traitors and also cannot come," the eunuch said stiffly.

This time, Yan Tian’s face also looked very unpleasant.

After a long time, he snorted coldly, "With such incompetence, I should not have entrusted him to guard the Imperial Palace."

"Where is General Li?" he continued angrily.

General Li quickly stepped forward and kneeled.

"General Li, what in the world happened in the palace today?"

General Li could only kowtow and report all the day’s incidents.

But when Yan Tian asked him if he had caught the culprits, he could only respond with difficulty, "This servant has failed in his duty; I did not catch the culprits."

"What a failure! I promoted you to be a general, not a useless fool!"

Yan Tian reprimanded furiously; he took something from the eunuch’s hand and threw it forcefully.

The item struck General Li, who despite the pain, dared not evade it.

Yan Tian then called over other ministers, asking if anything in the palace had gone missing.

Everyone reported that they had checked, and nothing was missing.

Yet, Yan Tian’s heart could not settle down.

He narrowed his eyes contemplatively, his thoughts turning to the objects beneath the National Treasury.

However, he soon thought that the place could not be opened by just anyone.

If it really had been opened, it’s likely no one would have emerged alive.

Even he dared not enter lightly.

Suddenly, his sharp gaze fell on Chu Baihan.

"Princess, staying in the city today must have been somewhat tedious for you. I’m not sure what you’ve been up to in the city."

His words were filled with probing intent.

Yet Chu Baihan remained very composed.

She slowly walked to the center of the hall and then gently curtsied. She calmly spoke up, "Replying to Your Majesty, Baihan has been inside the Princess Residence all day, only coming here after receiving your summon."

"Is that so?"

The inquisitive look on Yan Tian’s face only grew stronger.

But no matter what, Chu Baihan’s expression was too serene, and he could not discern anything from it.

"I heard that Minister Su has also come to the palace. Where is he?"

His sharp gaze swept around before he directly questioned Chu Baihan.

Chu Baihan slightly lowered her eyes, replying calmly, "Replying to Your Majesty, Minister Su, having traveled back and forth, fatigued from the journey, and unaccustomed to the local conditions, started feeling unwell in the stomach just now..."

She didn’t need to say more; everyone understood what she meant.

Yan Tian frowned, but he did not continue to press the issue.

However, Chu Baihan did not want to let the matter rest.

She continued to speak, "Minister Su was originally supposed to return to Nanduan Kingdom, but after hearing the news of my mishap a few days ago, he hurried back. On his way, he received a letter from my imperial father, suggesting that if Yan Country were truly in such danger, then this alliance through marriage..."

She left her last words unsaid, but everyone knew what she meant.

Yan Tian’s expression darkened once more.

Yet, he also knew that it was indeed Yan Country’s fault in this matter. He quickly responded, "I have already written a letter to the Emperor of Nanduan, explaining the situation clearly. The Princess has been wronged while in Yan Country; how could we let you return just like that? Naturally, we in Yan Country should offer compensation. You can then decide whether to stay or leave."

Since he had offered her a way out, Chu Baihan naturally seized the opportunity to end the topic on a good note.

She slightly bowed her head, then softly said, "Your Majesty overstates the matter. It is just the Chu Family and the Liu Family showing their true ruthless ambitions that led Yan Country to become implicated, nothing more. I will explain this in the letter to my imperial father."

"The Princess truly has a good understanding of the situation," Yan Tian spoke again, offering insincere praise to Chu Baihan.

Chu Baihan nodded slightly. She knew that after bringing up this issue, the Emperor would no longer be inclined to question whether the disturbance in the Imperial Palace had anything to do with them.

Just when she was about to step back, Yan Tian spoke up again unexpectedly.

"I wonder if the Princess has heard anything about today’s heaven-worshipping ceremony, and the situation in Jiangnan?"

Chu Baihan paused in her steps.

She turned back, bowed her head, and spoke softly, "On the way here, I did hear a little."

She was puzzled. Why had the Emperor suddenly brought up this matter?

"I’ve heard that during Nanduan Kingdom’s drought years ago, it was the Princess who had the canals built to divert water, saving many people from different regions."

Yan Tian looked at her with an insinuating gaze and suddenly said this.

Hearing this, Chu Baihan’s frown relaxed.

So, that was what he was asking about.

"It was the collective effort of all the people of Nanduan Kingdom, not the merit of Baihan alone." She slowly raised her head and humbly replied.

"The Princess is too modest. Without the initiative, the people of Nanduan Kingdom, suffering from both floods and droughts, would have remained in dire straits," Yan Tian said meaningfully.

This time, Chu Baihan didn’t rush to respond.

Instead, she was curious to see what Yan Tian was getting at.

As expected, Yan Tian soon revealed his intentions.

"The citizens are suffering in the wake of the disaster, and I’ve been losing sleep over it. I intend to dispatch a Prince and several Ministers to aid in the disaster relief. The Princess has experience; I wonder if you’d be willing to accompany them?" he probed.

Actually, even he was not certain of her response.

After all, disaster relief work was hard and even dangerous, and she, Nan Baihan, as the Princess of Nanduan Kingdom, would probably be unwilling to put up with such hardship.

But none of his Princes were of any use, and now he found himself in the awkward position of seeking help from an outsider.

The more Yan Tian thought about it, the angrier he became.

Was that his purpose?

A flicker passed through Chu Baihan’s eyes.

Just half an hour ago, she was wondering how she could secure an opportunity to go down to Jiangnan.

And here, the opportunity had presented itself.

She immediately nodded, "The people beneath the heavens are one family, and besides, Nanduan Kingdom and Yan Country also have allied intentions. As the Princess of Alliance, doing something for the people is no trouble at all."

Upon hearing her agreement, Yan Tian let out a sigh of relief.

But at that moment, Yan Xiao stepped forward proactively, "Father Emperor, this Prince wishes to go to Jiangnan for the disaster relief."