Chapter 438: The Crown Prince Retreated

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“Therefore, if you guys want to apply to join the Warfire reserve team in the future, you have to be mentally prepared.” Qin Xiaoyao paused after she said this.

“Today, because the four of them didn’t apply for the assessment in advance but were chosen by me, 1 made an exception and allowed them to pass.

“But in the future, there won’t be such an occurrence.”

The members of the special forces team began discussing again, and they were once again envious of the four guys who took the assessment earlier.

Qin Xiaoyao glanced at the special forces team members.

“Ahem, ahem…” She cleared her throat softly.

Everyone on site fell silent again.

“Dismissed,” Qin Xiaoyao barked out.

When she turned around, a smile had already appeared on her face.

When she saw the Crown Prince who had fainted by the desk in front of her, the smile on her face disappeared.

“Send His Highness to the military doctor as well!” she ordered.

“Yes, Leader!” Huang Daqiao replied loudly. This time, he didn’t hide his expression at all. His words contained a strong overtone of amusement.

Qin Xiaoyao turned to look at Huang Daqiao and couldn’t help but smile.

Thereafter, she strode off.

The morning passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, it was time for lunch.

Qin Xiaoyao put away her documents and prepared to leave in advance.

After getting up, she suddenly remembered the Crown Prince.

It had been almost four hours since she asked Huang Daqiao to deliberately scare the Crown Prince.

Logically speaking, the Crown Prince should have regained consciousness by now.

However, he didn’t come to her tent. Qin Xiaoyao thought that was strange.

Could it be that a mishap had resulted from her act of frightening him?

It would be troublesome if that were the case.

“Men!” Qin Xiaoyao shouted to someone outside.

A soldier quickly entered the tent.

“Lord Marquis.” After entering, he bowed to Qin Xiaoyao.

“Mm-hmm.” Qin Xiaoyao acknowledged the soldier’s greeting.

“Go to the military doctor and check on the Crown Prince’s condition. After getting the facts, come back and report to me.”

Although she looked down on that weakling, that fellow was still the Crown Prince after all.

If something really happened, she would definitely not be able to answer to Empress Jia and the Emperor.

The soldier was stupefied momentarily.

He raised his head and glanced at Qin Xiaoyao before bowing again.

“Lord Marquis, there is no need to go and check.

“His Highness the Crown Prince regained consciousness two hours ago and left with his men.

“He also instructed us not to inform Lord Marquis for the time being. His Highness said…” The soldier looked at Qin Xiaoyao fearfully.

“He said what?” The soldier saw the Lord Marquis smiling brightly.

Hehe! That fellow ran away without even saying goodbye? It was good that he had run off!

It seemed that her painstaking efforts were not in vain.

“He said that he would never come and look for Lord Marquis again,” the soldier continued.

“Hahahaha…” Qin Xiaoyao laughed out loud.

The soldier was a little dumbfounded.

The Crown Prince was clearly scared out of his wits by Lord Marquis’s actions today.

He must have gone back in anger this time.

Why was their Lord Marquis not worried, but in a good mood instead?

Qin Xiaoyao didn’t care what the soldier was thinking and gestured her hand at him.

“Alright. You may leave.”

“Yes, Lord Marquis!” The soldier replied and left the tent.

Qin Xiaoyao hummed a tune and continued to pack her things happily.

Thereafter, she left the army camp in a good mood.

When she returned to her residence, Qin Xiaoyao instructed the kitchen to prepare some delicious food.

After having lunch, she returned to her courtyard to take a rest.

When it was almost time, she brought Huang Fei and a few men who had come to report her and left the Marquis’s residence.

The few of them left the capital city. When they reached the outskirts of the city, they changed their clothes and covered their faces with masks. They dressed themselves up as mountain bandits.

Following this, they rushed to the place where they had agreed with Lord Liu to receive the captives.

On a slope, in a pavilion located at the three-mile milestone.

Lord Liu had been waiting here for quite a while with four guards.

He stared at the intersection in the road for a long time. When the person he was waiting for still had not arrived after a long time, Lord Liu became increasingly more worried.

After being threatened by that intruder last night, he barely slept for the rest of the night.

He spent most of the night vacillating and only finally made up his mind this morning to make this trip.

Before Lord Liu came, he was feeling very uneasy and a little regretful vaguely.

However, after waiting here for a long time, the intruder who appeared yesterday did not show up. Lord Liu then became worried instead. He was afraid that the other party would not come.

Right at this moment, the sound of people riding and spurring their horses came from the direction of the intersection.

Lord Liu got a shock and immediately looked in the direction of the intersection.

When he saw a few masked people appearing, his heart skipped a beat.

Qin Xiaoyao and a few men rode their horses over at an extremely fast speed and soon arrived at the pavilion.

When she saw that Lord Liu had indeed brought the two people she wanted, a smile appeared on Qin Xiaoyao’s face.

“Hah! Not bad. At least you’re sensible!” Qin Xiaoyao said with a chuckle.

Then, she added, “Leave them here. You guys can leave now.”

Lord Liu and his four subordinates were trembling with fear.

Lord Liu looked at Wang Cheng and Yun Kuan, but he still mustered up his courage and stepped forward. He cupped his hands and bowed to Qin Xiaoyao sitting astride her horse.

“Hero, can you tell me if the person behind all this is Prince Huaiyin?” he asked.

If it was someone else, he would not be able to feel at ease.

However, if it was Prince Huaiyin, after today, he would completely submit to Prince Huaiyin. He would no longer have to think about other things and his heart would be at ease.

Lord Liu suspected this matter was most likely instigated by Prince Huaiyin. However, before he could confirm it, he still felt uneasy.

Qin Xiaoyao chuckled softly.

She lowered her head and gazed down at Lord Liu from her lofty position.

“So what if he is? So what if he isn’t” she said.

Lord Liu’s face turned pale.

He mustered his courage and pressed on. “If he is responsible, I swear on my life to follow Prince Huaiyin and help His Highness achieve great things.” “What if he isn’t?” Qin Xiaoyao was still smiling casually.

Lord Liu’s heart shuddered momentarily.

“If he isn’t…

“Hero, please tell me. Who is the Master?” he pleaded anxiously.

He did not dare to risk his life for the other party without even knowing who his master was!

“Hmph!” Qin Xiaoyao gave a scornful sneer.

“Since you are already prepared to acknowledge him as your master regardless of whether he is Prince Huaiyin or not, then is the Master’s identity still important?”

Lord Liu’s expression changed at once. Following that, he knelt down in front of Qin Xiaoyao.

“It is important.

“If it is really His Highness, then my heart will be at ease. I will definitely work for His Highness faithfully and would never have disloyal thoughts.

“If it isn’t…

“I will still work diligently, but my heart will never be at ease and will keep worrying about slip-ups.

“Hero, please tell me the truth and let me feel at ease.” After Lord Liu finished speaking, he actually kowtowed to Qin Xiaoyao.

In fact, not only did he guess that the master behind this person was Prince Huaiyin, but he also had some guesses about this person’s identity.

As the prefectural magistrate of the capital, he had been in this position for several years. No matter how stupid he was, he had learned a lot during this period.

Although this person was dressed in men’s clothing and his actions were quite manly, he could still tell that this person was a woman.

In the capital right now, how many women had such skillfulness as this person? Who else could it be other than Marquis Xiaoyao?

Everyone in the Imperial Court was saying that Marquis Xiaoyao had been roped in by the Empress and had parted ways with Prince Huaiyin.

It was said that Marquis Xiaoyao had distanced herself from Prince Huaiyin and expressed her true feelings to the Emperor and Empress. She said she would only be loyal to the Imperial Court and would not take sides.

Now, if this person was really Marquis Xiaoyao, then the strength of Prince Huaiyin’s faction was different from the earlier assessment..