书斋小说网>《蛮族之花 > 第 25 章（第1页）
第 25 章（第1页）
Chapter25—BeforetheStorm
XieZhengstudiedthemapforalongmomentafterNannyZhangfinishedexplainingwhatsheknew。Hisexpressionhadbeeincreasinglygrim。“SuyuanisstillinYounis?”heasked。
NannyZhangnodded。XieZhengsfiightenedslightlyaroundtheedgeofthetable。Hehadexpectedtheprincesssdaughtertobefrightened。Hehadnotexpectedhertosendtheonlytwopeopleshetrustedawayfromherandremainbehindherself。NannyZhangloweredhereyes。
“Onceshedecidessomething，itisverydifficulttomakehergeit。”
Ayaoimmediatelyspoke。“General，pleasedontdontwasteanymoretimebythen，itmightbetoolate。”
XieZhenglookedtowardtheashesjarrestingoable。PrincessShuranhadalreadydied。Hecouldnotallowherdaughtertodisappearaswell。“Iwillsendriderstothecapitalfirst，”hesaid。“Theywilltakethenews，themap，andtheprincesssashesdirectlytotheEmperor。”NannyZhanglookedrelieved，butonlyforamoment。“WhataboutSuyuan?”
“Iamgoingafterher。”
Ayaoseyeswidened。“Theusetoo。”
XieZhengshookhishead。
“No。”
“But—”
“YouhavetravelledfromYounistotheborderalready。Youareexhausted，aherofyouistrainedformilitarytravel。”Hisvoiceremainedfirmbutnotunkind。“Ifyouewithus，therescuepartywillhavetoslowdowntoprotectyou。Thatcouldcostusvaluabletime。”NannyZhanguoodimmediately。Shebowedherhead。
“Thenwewillstayhere。”“Illleavesoldierstoprotectyou，”XieZhengsaid。“Youwillremainatthefrontieruntilthecapitalsendsfurtherorders。”Ayaochedherhands，clearlyunhappy，butsheknewhewasright。“Pleasebringherback，”shewhispered。
XieZhenglookedather。Hefoldedthemapcarefullyandhatooneofhismosttrustedriders。“Rideforthecapitalimmediately。Donotstopunlessnecessary。TelltheEmperoreverythingyouhavelearned。”Theriderboweda。Outside，horseswerealreadybeingprepared。XieZhengsteppedtowardthebarracksentrandlookednorth。Somewherebeyondthemountainsandfrozenplains，SuyuanwasstillinYounis。AndifNannyZhangwasright，shewasnotwaitingtoberescued。Shewaswaitingforsomethingelse。
XieZhengmountedhishorse。“Preparetwentyriders，”heordered。“Weleavebeforedawn。”Behindhim，thefrontiercampstirredintomotion。ForthefirsttimesiheashesofPrincessShuranhadreachedXiansborder，helpwasfinallymovingtowardSuyuan。Butwhetheritwouldreachherintimewasanothermatter。
