Chapter 144: Returning to Beiyu

Fortunately, Nanxing did not refuse the Third Prince's embrace. When she was held by him, a smile appeared on her face, and she returned the hug.

"My dear brother, I have made you worry all these years," Nanxing said.

The Third Prince released his sister, looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar face before him, shook his head with a smile, and said, "As long as you are safe and sound, nothing else matters."

Nanxing shook her head helplessly, "My dear brother, I have already revealed the military deployment of the Nanyang Kingdom to the Ninth Prince of the Beiyu Kingdom. I..."

"I know it all."

Nanxing wanted to continue, but the Third Prince directly raised his hand to stop her from saying more.

"The Ninth Prince has already told me about these matters," the Third Prince continued.

Nanxing nodded. This result was not unexpected to her, because she knew her daughter had already married the Ninth Prince, and the Third Prince was her daughter's uncle, so it was very likely that he had already met the Ninth Prince long ago.

"Since my dear brother already knows about these things, there is no need for me to say anything more," Nanxing replied.

After saying this, Nanxing paused for a moment and continued, "As for Ah Nuo, please, dear brother, do not blame her anymore."

The Third Prince nodded and replied, "That is only natural. Before, I did not know the situation, but now that I do, I will not continue to blame Ah Nuo. Rest assured."

Hearing the Third Prince's words from the side, Ah Nuo felt much more at ease in her heart. After all, although it was Nanxing who had sent her to approach the Third Prince and remain by his side, the Third Prince had truly and genuinely saved her life back then.

Therefore, deep down, Ah Nuo did not want to deceive the Third Prince either. However, servants have their respective masters, and her ultimate allegiance had always been to Nanxing, meaning she could not betray her. Thus, the Third Prince's decision not to continue blaming her was the best possible answer for her.

"My dear brother, let us go inside and talk about everything. The chaotic situation in the Nanyang Kingdom will soon come to an end," Nanxing said.

The Third Prince nodded and followed his sister into the dilapidated little wooden cabin.

Although he had now found his sister and confirmed that she was safe and sound, seeing her living in such a broken house just to seek revenge and guide the Nanyang Kingdom back onto the right track still made his heart ache profoundly.

Meanwhile, the Ninth Prince brought Yan Heru back to the border.

Lord Dongfang and several other officials immediately broke into smiles when they saw the Ninth Prince return. They hurried forward to welcome him, and upon discovering that the Ninth Prince's Consort was also by his side, their hearts leaped with unbounded joy.

After all, whenever the Princess Consort was away from the Ninth Prince, he practically turned into a completely different person. Although the officials could sense that the Ninth Prince was desperately trying to suppress his fury, the lingering, uncontained wrath still made their blood run cold.

Therefore, now that the Princess Consort had returned, they were naturally overjoyed, as it meant the Ninth Prince would no longer terrify them quite so much.

"Your Highness! You have finally returned!" Dongfang Qing was the very first person to reach the Ninth Prince's side.

During the time Yan Heru was away from the border, the Ninth Prince had poured all of his focus into the war and political affairs.

Throughout this period, the Ninth Prince had successfully helped Dongfang Qing secure the position of the head of the Dongfang family.

Dongfang Ming was truly a piece of mud that could not be plastered onto a wall, so the group of people behind the scenes who supported him and wished to use him as a puppet ultimately failed. Dongfang Qing gained absolute, practical control over the Dongfang clan.

As for those within the Dongfang family who had stubbornly refused to support Dongfang Qing, they had already been thoroughly purged by the Ninth Prince. Dongfang Qing's word was now law within the family, and no one dared to dispute him anymore.

"Mm. How have you all been handling matters at the border?" Shen Hezhi asked.

Dongfang Qing immediately answered, "There are naturally no problems at all. Even though Your Highness was not here to handle affairs at the border, we have managed everything smoothly. Please rest assured, Your Highness."

Shen Hezhi nodded and walked toward the courtyard, his hand tightly holding onto his little wife's the entire time.

Seeing his little wife once again, the feeling of recovering something he thought was lost was intensely overwhelming, so he gripped her hand firmly, as if he were afraid she might suddenly vanish into thin air.

Yan Heru knew how deeply worried Shen Hezhi had been, so she simply allowed him to hold her hand. Although the current setting was hardly appropriate for such intimacy between the two of them, there was nothing she could do—who else could be blamed when Yan Heru loved Shen Hezhi just as deeply?

She simply could not bear to cause Shen Hezhi any more heartache.

Everyone followed the Ninth Prince into the courtyard of the post station. Yan Heru glanced around roughly and found that most people were present, but a few were missing.

Thus, she turned her head to look at her husband and asked, "Why do I not see Ah Nuo, or Yan Yi and his two brothers?"

Yan Heru remembered that when she left the post station, Yan Yi and the other two brothers had remained here, and as for Ah Nuo, even though it was discovered she had approached with ulterior motives, logically speaking, she should still be at the post station as well.

"Ah Nuo has already returned to the side of the master she truly serves—which is your mother. As for those three Yan brothers, I sent them back to the capital long ago," Shen Hezhi replied.

Her mother? Yan Heru blinked in surprise, never expecting that the person Ah Nuo swore allegiance to was actually her own mother.

Yet Yan Heru distinctly remembered that Ah Nuo had previously been loyal to her uncle.

Thinking carefully about it, Yan Heru quickly guessed the underlying connection. Her mother must have been worried about her uncle and thus sent Ah Nuo to his side, a fact her uncle had never uncovered.

At this thought, Yan Heru smiled helplessly, feeling that her mother was truly a master of planning. Having already met her father, she felt a profound sense of anticipation in her heart for this mother she had never yet met.

Although Yan Heru had always believed she was not the original Yan Heru of this world, the emotions left behind by the original owner constantly influenced her, making it feel as though they were truly one and the same person.

Consequently, there were many times when she would forget she was a foreigner to this world, yet just as often, she would remember that she was merely someone from another realm who had accidentally stolen the body of a girl with the exact same name.

Because of this, regarding everything she currently possessed, Yan Heru often felt a profound sense of insecurity, terrified that all these blessings might suddenly vanish.

She was even more afraid that everything that had transpired so far was nothing more than a fleeting dream.