After hearing this, Helan Yanting looked thoughtful. After pondering for a moment, he turned and walked to the table beside him. "Grind the ink for this king."
The secret guard didn't know what his master was up to, but upon hearing the order, he immediately stepped forward to grind the ink for Helan Yanting.
Helan Yanting unfurled the rice paper on the table, picked up the wolf - hair brush, and with a solemn expression, wrote a few sentences on the blank paper in a flowing manner. His strokes were strong and forceful, the brush tips were crisp and neat. Just a few words already revealed a majestic atmosphere.
After writing the last character, Helan Yanting put down the wolf - hair brush. After waiting for the ink to dry completely, he ordered the secret guard to take this letter to Dongfang Yuan.
"Before rescuing him, you must ask him to write his name after this letter and seal it with his stamp. If he refuses, you can come back immediately and don't bother about him anymore."
The secret guard carefully put the letter into his front garment and quickly nodded in response. "Yes! Your subordinate will definitely do as the master said!"
After the secret guard left, when Helan Yanting walked back into the inner room, he saw Feng Yunshu staring at him with wide eyes.
"Weren't you saying you wanted to rest just now? Sleep a bit more. If there's anywhere in your body that still feels uncomfortable, inform this king immediately."
Feng Yunshu hesitated for a moment but couldn't hold back her curiosity and asked, "My lord, just now I accidentally heard your conversation with the secret guard. Is the Third Prince you mentioned Dongfang Yuan, the third prince of the Dan Kingdom?"
Helan Yanting's expression changed slightly, and he slowly nodded. "Yes."
"He's in trouble? What exactly happened?"
Feng Yunshu swore that she really asked out of curiosity. The person involved claimed that she didn't think much about it. However, as soon as the words came out, when she saw Helan Yanting's expression looked a bit strange, Feng Yunshu realized that she might have said something... inappropriate?
Helan Yanting looked at her with a slightly cold expression and raised his eyebrows faintly. "It seems that the lady is very concerned about the affairs of the Third Prince?"
Feng Yunshu quickly shook her head. "My lord, please don't think too much. I'm just simply curious! Really, I swear!"
"If you were curious about others, it would be fine. But this king remembers that you and the Third Prince grew up together as childhood sweethearts. Your curiosity about his affairs makes it hard for this king not to think too much."
Feng Yunshu could already smell the strong sourness in the air. Goodness, it turned out that he was such a jealous man.
"My lord, what you said. Is there no trust between us at all..."
Feng Yunshu cast a complaining glance at Helan Yanting. "Previously, my lord also said that the most important thing between two people is trust and asked me to believe in you. But you yourself are always suspicious. Isn't this like 'only the state officials are allowed to set fires while the common people are not allowed to light lamps'?"
Helan Yanting stood there silently looking at her. After a while, his expression finally softened. The corners of his lips slightly curled up as he reached out to pinch her slightly puffed - up cheeks.
"They say that women are made of water, but this king doesn't quite agree. It seems that the lady is made of pent - up anger?"
"What! How could I be made of anger?! If you don't poke me, see if I'll deflate?"
"Alright, this king was just joking. Don't take it seriously, lady."
Seeing Feng Yunshu still looking angry, Helan Yanting seemed to just realize that it was clearly he who had asked first. Somehow, in the end, it seemed that he was the one in the wrong.
"This king doesn't distrust the lady. Since the lady is so curious, this king will satisfy your curiosity."
"That's more like it." Feng Yunshu said discontentedly with a pout. "Next time if you suspect me randomly again, I won't protect you anymore! Humph!"
"Yes, yes, yes. I won't. I won't doubt you again! I hope the lady will always protect this king in the future."
When Helan Yanting heard Feng Yunshu mention Dongfang Yuan just now, thinking about the past between the two of them when they were young, he couldn't help but feel a bit bothered.
But this didn't mean that he didn't trust Feng Yunshu. Moreover, a mere Dongfang Yuan was not enough to pose a threat to him. Helan Yanting had confidence not only in Feng Yunshu but also in himself. So just now, he did exaggerate a bit on purpose to make a joke.
Then, Helan Yanting told Feng Yunshu exactly what had happened to Dongfang Yuan. After finishing, he asked a question. "What does the lady think? Should this king rescue him?"
After hearing this, Feng Yunshu looked up at Helan Yanting. "What, just after finishing, my lord is testing me again?"
Helan Yanting shook his head with a smile. "It's not a test. This king just wants to know what the lady thinks about this matter."
Feng Yunshu didn't continue joking either. After thinking for a moment, she honestly expressed her thoughts.
"Currently, the Dan Kingdom and the Yuan Kingdom are still at war. The emperor of the Dan Kingdom sent both the third prince and the crown prince to the front line, each leading an elite troop. At first, when I heard about this, I was quite puzzled. Isn't Dongfang Chuan afraid that his two sons will die in the battlefield and never return?"
Helan Yanting smiled faintly after hearing this. "The lady is quite smart when thinking about things. Then what do you think the emperor of the Dan Kingdom did this for?"
"Later, I thought about it. Maybe Dongfang Chuan sent the crown prince on this expedition to let him make some achievements and gain the affirmation and support of more ministers in the court so that he can inherit the throne more smoothly in the future."
Speaking of this, Feng Yunshu paused for a moment and then continued. "As for why he sent the Third Prince on the expedition, I think maybe Dongfang Chuan also thought that the crown prince's character, temperament, and ability were not enough to firmly hold the throne. Maybe the emperor is still considering and weighing. Perhaps the one who will finally inherit the throne may not be the crown prince."
Helan Yanting didn't hide the admiration in his eyes at all. He clapped his hands with a faint smile and looked a bit surprised. "I didn't expect the lady to have such insights. If it weren't for this king hearing it with his own ears, I really wouldn't have believed it."
Feng Yunshu raised her chin proudly and smiled. "That's right! My lord always says that I'm good - for - nothing on weekdays. Now you've seen it. Anyway, I've lived two lifetimes. I'm not stupid. I'm just too lazy to be smart."
"Hehe," Helan Yanting was amused by her words. There were smiles in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows. "Yes, the lady is absolutely right. The lady is not stupid at all. She's just too lazy to be smart."
"These days, in order to defend Stone City, the troops of the Yuan Kingdom and the Dan Kingdom have been in a stand - off. That good - for - nothing crown prince has provoked us several times. You just said that Dongfang Yuan originally led an elite troop and planned to reinforce Dongfang Qi, but was ambushed on the way..."
Helan Yanting nodded. "Yes, that's right."
"His first reaction must be that he was ambushed by the troops of the Yuan Kingdom. But I know that the troops of the Yuan Kingdom didn't send anyone to ambush him. So, who else would have the motive to ambush Dongfang Yuan and want to kill him?"
At this point, the answer was obvious.
"If this matter was really done by that good - for - nothing crown prince, it's really too much. After all, they are brothers. How could he harm his own brother like this?"
Feng Yunshu couldn't help but frown, and her eyes showed disdain for Dongfang Qi.
"My lord, if the Third Prince dies like this, won't it fulfill that good - for - nothing crown prince's wish? Currently, in the royal family of the Dan Kingdom, the only one who can pose a threat to that good - for - nothing crown prince is the Third Prince. Once the Third Prince falls, not to mention what will happen to the royal family of the Dan Kingdom, the people of the Dan Kingdom will surely suffer the most."
"The lady's analysis is very reasonable. So do you think we should rescue the Third Prince?"
"Well... of course it's - " Halfway through her words, Feng Yunshu finally became smart for once and knew to look at Helan Yanting's eyes and expression before speaking.
Seeing her looking hesitant to speak, Helan Yanting couldn't help but laugh. "The lady is looking at this king like this. Is this king that scary?"