Chapter 423

Prince Qing, upon hearing Sui Sui's request, his first reaction was to refuse: "No, Sui Sui, that place is dangerous!"

Sui Sui, after hearing that, was somewhat unhappy: "But Father can go, yet I cannot."

By this point, Sui Sui's voice choked up, almost bursting into tears: "Besides, I worry about Father; I don't want to be separated from Father; I can't be without Father."

At this moment, Sui Sui clung to Prince Qing like a spoiled child, refusing to let go, and even insisted that he must take her along.

How could Prince Qing bear to let his obedient, gentle little daughter go suffer at the Border Pass City?

So, he endured his reluctance and firmly declared, "No, not allowed!"

But Sui Sui insisted on going!

The little girl showed for the first time her stubborn nature.

The formerly docile little girl is now as stiff as a hedgehog with its spines raised, insisting on following Prince Qing no matter what.

Prince Qing must set out for the Northwest early tomorrow; now is the time His Majesty has given him to bid farewell to Sui Sui.

At this moment, Sui Sui threw a tantrum, insisting on coming along no matter what.

Prince Qing almost softened and agreed.

Thinking of the harsh, cold conditions in the Northwest, Prince Qing finally shook his head.

He tried to reason with Sui Sui, but the little girl covered her ears like a spoiled child, throwing a tantrum: "I won't listen, I don't want to listen!"

Sui Sui had seen Feng You Tan throw a tantrum before, and now she had learned it well, doing it with ease.

She was determined to go; Prince Qing couldn't stop her.

Princess Consort of Qi felt sorry and tried to coax her for a while, but the little girl remained stubborn, insisting on going no matter what.

Needless to say, Prince Qi felt the same.

Let Sui Sui go suffer in the Northwest?

What's the difference between that and digging out his heart?

But seeing Sui Sui stiffen her neck, on the verge of tears, Prince Qi's heart ached just as badly.

He wondered if he should just give in and let the child go?

Surely Border Pass City can't fail to look after a child, can it?

If it really won't work, he'll go too!

Thinking this way, Prince Qi felt his mind open up.

He raised his eyebrows happily: "I'll go, I'll go as well—I'll take care of the good child, you don't need to."

Prince Qing:?

Princess Consort of Qi:??

No, one or two, how come they're adding to the chaos?

Prince Qi thought his idea was simply marvelous.

Prince Qing only felt……

Chaos, utter chaos.

But he couldn't bear to see Sui Sui cry; after thinking, he gritted his teeth: "I'll take Sui Sui to the Border Pass City, Elder Brother, you stay in Jing Cheng."

Upon hearing this, Prince Qi became displeased, about to speak in objection, when he heard Prince Qing say: "The grain supplies here in Jing Cheng still need Elder Brother to keep an eye on."

No matter the dynasty, there are always pacifists, as if their heads and backsides were swapped; at the mention of war, they think only of making peace, paying money to preserve safety.

They can't stop the war at the front, sometimes they tamper with the grain supplies, waging war half-heartedly.

Prince Qing had encountered this before; after returning to the capital, he had those officials involved either executed or bound, thus deterring them for several years.

Now, when going to war again, Prince Qing actually isn't afraid of these.

His Majesty's attitude is clear, so they dare not act recklessly.

But Prince Qing needs a reason to make Prince Qi willingly stay behind.

Prince Qi, upon hearing this, indeed fell silent.

He still couldn't bear to part with the good child, yet feared the unstable Northwest warfare would drag his good child into danger; after gritting his teeth, he said: "Alright, but I'll say it plainly—if you're gone, our good child can't be gone either!"

This doesn't need Prince Qi's reminder; Prince Qing naturally understands: "Of course."

Having decided to take Sui Sui to the Border Pass City, and to set out early tomorrow morning, all preparations must be made.

First……

The personnel who will accompany them need to be attended to.

Princess Consort of Qi had asked for the opinions of Xiang Gugu and the maidservants.

The maidservants are young, their dispositions not yet steady; although their backgrounds aren't good and they've endured hardship, the hardships of the Border Pass...

They don't want to endure it.

When they hesitated, Princess Consort of Qi knew they were unwilling subjectively, so she didn't press them.

But Xiang Gugu is willing.

She truly likes Sui Sui and is willing to accompany her to different places.

She thinks it could just be a different life experience.

The governess aunt having been decided, regarding the maidservants, Prince Qing said they need not be brought; they can discuss it upon arrival at Border Pass City, and since they have repelled the enemy and will return soon, there's no need to bring so many people, as it would slow the march.

Once the entourage was set, Princess Consort of Qi, uneasy, prepared various food and supplies.

Actually, these things really can't be taken along.

After all, traveling light and simple is about speed; too much stuff simply can't be carried.

In the end, Princess Consort of Qi could only take the essentials; even so, she still managed to pull out at least one cartload.

As she selected items, she shed tears; only after Prince Qi persuaded her did she reluctantly pack a few necessities, compressing Sui Sui's luggage.

Prince Qi's heart also ached terribly: "It's fine; later we can send people to deliver it. Qing Wang Younger Brother needs to make haste this time; too much baggage will hinder progress, and His Majesty will blame him."

Princess Consort of Qi also knows, but it's not that she feels sad; she just can't bear to part with Sui Sui.

Prince Qi and his consort were reluctant; when Feng Xuanrui and his several older brothers heard the news, it was as if the sky had fallen.

Feng Xuanrui was the first to shout at the top of his voice: "I don't agree!!!"

After realizing his opposition was useless, Feng Xuanrui put on a cold, bun-like face and said angrily, "Then I'll go too!"

In response, Prince Qing delivered a killing blow with one sentence: "I heard from the instructor that your recent archery class hasn't been going well?"

Feng Xuanrui: ……

He's just being playful and slacking off—how did he end up catching the instructor's eye?

Wuu—!

How can he bear to let his sister go?

Feng Xuanrui, relying on his young age, cried "wu-ao-wa-la", as if summoning wolves.

Upon hearing this, Feng Xuanbin also started howling "ao-ao" and crying.

Feng Xuanbo, being older, couldn't hold back his tears either, but he didn't make a sound.

Feng Xuanjie cried so hard his body kept twitching.

Feng Xuancang was still relatively rational, but his eyes were red too.

They had too much reluctance, and too many things they wanted Sui Sui to take with her.

But in the end, reluctance could only turn into blessings; the items would affect their burden, so they could only turn into longing.

Sui Sui actually didn't want to part with her brothers either, but she was more worried about her father.

She decided to follow her intuition, but seeing her brothers cry so miserably made her waver a bit.

The system couldn't bear to see the children struggle, and soon urged gently: 【We're not not coming back; we'll return after the battle!】

Upon hearing that, Sui Sui also thought it made sense, and hurried to comfort her brothers: "Father will bring me back after the battle!"

Upon hearing that, Feng Xuanrui cried even more sadly, since he would only see his sister after the battle.

In the end, the children's cries all turned into blessings.

The next morning, before dawn, Prince Qing set out fully equipped, with a retinue of over thirty—all promising recruits he had spotted during recent drills—directly taking them to the battlefield for experience.

To better bring Sui Sui along and to keep the child from affecting the march, Feng Xuancang skillfully made a small travel basket that could just hold Sui Sui.

When Prince Qing rode his horse, he hung the small basket in front of him, thus keeping Sui Sui safe in his arms.

Thus, it neither slowed their march nor made Sui Sui endure the hardships of horseback riding.

Prince Qing was very pleased with the small basket, and Sui Sui found it quite novel.

At the time of parting, Prince Qi and his consort escorted them all the way to the city's outskirts.

Princess Consort of Qi cried several times to the point of being unable to control herself.

Sui Sui was actually reluctant too; after kissing and hugging her father and mother consort, she then firmly crawled into her little basket.

Heading to the border pass, the road ahead is unknown.

Sui Sui also isn't sure what final outcome awaits her.

But she thinks, perhaps Le Le is right.

If they are defeated, it will be a family reunion.

If they triumph, it will be the victory of the entire Great Summer!

No matter the outcome, she has no regrets about her choice.

She thinks, if her mother has a spirit in heaven, she would surely support her as well.

The second watch is at 19:00.