Zhu Yu’s legs gave out when she saw Lu Liangwei walk inside. Chu Jiu managed to catch her before she fell to the ground.
“Jiu…” Zhu Yu’s face was full of tears when she turned to look at Chu Jiu.
Chu Jiu pursed her lips and said nothing. She tugged on Zhu Yu’s hand and dragged her out of the bedchamber.
It was only once they were in the garden that she released Zhu Yu’s hand. She looked at her grimly. “Zhu Yu, you must not let Her Highness find out about this, do you understand?” Zhu Yu had almost let it slip. Chu Jiu could not even begin to imagine what would happen if Her Highness found out about the Third Princess.
Zhu Yu lowered her head and stared blearily at the tips of her feet. “I know, but… Is it right of us to keep this from her?” There was still no news of the Third Princess and Her Highness did not even know of her existence. Was this even fair to Third Princess?
Chu Jiu fell silent for a while. “We should at least wait until Her Highness is done with her confinement to tell her. If she found out now, would she be able to complete her confinement in peace?” This was the reason everyone was working so hard to keep it a secret from her.
Zhu Yu understood this as well. She wanted her mistress to complete her confinement peacefully too, but the thought of not knowing if Third Princess was dead or alive depressed her immensely, not to mention the overwhelming sense of guilt it brought her.
Zhu Yu could not forgive herself if Third Princess could not be found.
Third Princess was destined to be a child who grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth, but why did she have to suffer so much the moment she was born?
Chu Jiu’s eyes also reddened as she thought about the Third Princess.
The child was abducted at such a young age and there was still no news of her. Even Chu Qi had gone missing along with her. They might already be…
Chu Jiu closed her eyes. She did not dare continue that train of thought.
“Alright, wipe off your tears and make sure Her Highness doesn’t see them. You are her maid-in-waiting and she could summon you anytime.” Chu Jiu patted Zhu Yu’s shoulder.
Zhu Yu quickly fished out her handkerchief to wipe her face clean of the tears.
In the bedchamber.
Lu Liangwei was feeling unsettled and could not focus.
Nanny Wang immediately asked when she noticed this, “Are you not feeling well, Your Highness?”
Lu Liangwei shook her head. “I’m fine.” She lifted her head to look at Long Yin in the nanny’s arms and her voice softened. “Is Yin’er asleep?”
The nanny gently patted Long Yin’s back and nodded. “He’s just about to fall asleep.”
Lu Liangwei got up once more to look at Long Yinyao who was in Nanny Chen’s arms. The baby girl’s eyes were closed as well and she, too, was asleep.
The frustration she felt finally disappeared when she watched her children’s tender faces.
…
Long Xuan emerged victorious from the battle and returned in a grand fashion after a few days. He received a monumental commendation from His Majesty, who had made an exception to promote him to the West Reigning General.
Both men went to the imperial study after the imperial court session was dismissed.
Long Xuan suddenly knelt on one knee when they were inside. “Royal Uncle, I have let you down.”
Long Yang glanced at him with a stoic expression. “Why do you say this?”
“Long Chi is still alive,” Long Xuan said regretfully, a frown on his face. He had already written a secret letter to his Royal Uncle previously before making his victorious return.
However, he felt he still needed to inform his Royal Uncle about the matter again now that they were seeing each other face-to-face.
The other day, he had led the imperial army into the final clash against Long Chi’s rebellion at Xuyang’s Void Jaw Valley.
Even though the rebellion had a massive army, they were all stragglers and disbanded soldiers who were no match against the well-trained army from the imperial capital, and the struggle was one-sided.
The army from the imperial capital was dominant from the get-go and the rebels were immediately thrown into disarray.
The climax saw Long Xuan facing off against Long Chi.
Long Chi had lost all his spirit when he saw that victory was not attainable. Their battle lasted less than ten moves before Long Xuan sent Long Chi flying.
However, Long Chi had disappeared by the time Long Xuan tried to give chase.