An Eight-year-old Princess novel Chapter 201

If Yun Shang and Prince Jing traveled to Mount Kirin by horse and carriage, it would take them half a month. That would be too long for Yun Shang, as her wedding with Prince Jing was a month away. If she and Prince Jing weren't in the Palace at that time, it would be troublesome.

So Yun Shang decided not to take the horse and carriage. She chose the Ferghana horse that Prince Jing had found for her. Together, the Prince and Princess rode day and night to reach Mount Kirin as quickly as possible. It took them five days to arrive at the village at the foot of Mount Kirin.

It was a small village with a population of only several hundred people. It was called Peach Stream Village, and the villagers were said to be honest and friendly. Seeing Yun Shang and Prince Jing, the villagers became agitated and defensive.

"This is the twelfth time that strangers have come to our village. Is something wrong?" The villagers pointed to Yun Shang and Prince Jing as they whispered amongst themselves. Yun Shang and Prince Jing were both good at Kung Fu, so they had good hearing. They heard what the villagers had said.

Yun Shang couldn't help but become suspicious. In such a small village, any strangers' arrival was big news for the villagers. If the secret army of one hundred thousand soldiers stationed themselves in Mount Kirin, why hadn't they been noticed by the villagers? And given the fact that the villagers were so suspicious and gossiped a lot about strangers, Yun Shang was afraid that many people were aware of her and Prince Jing's arrival, even before they reached Mount Kirin. This meant that Xia Houjing must know of their arrival, too.

Yun Shang glanced up and exchanged a look with Prince Jing. They both noticed the worry reflected in the other person's eyes. Yun Shang kept silent for a while. Then she approached a woman and started talking, "Madam, I come from Xiyi Town with my husband. We came here to visit my brother and his family. But my brother only told me that he lives near Mount Kirin. This is the only village near Mount Kirin that I could find, but I don't think my brother lives here. I wonder if there are any other major cities around Mount Kirin."

The woman examined Yun Shang and Prince Jing, and found that they looked quite elegant, which made her respect them. But the woman couldn't understand why Yun Shang and Prince Jing rode horses to the village. 'Who would ride horses to visit their relatives? Not to mention there are only two of them.' Upon hearing Yun Shang's explanation that they came from Xiyi Town, the woman stopped questioning their story. Xiyi Town was located at the border. The Town's folk were known for their emboldened outlook, and every person in Xiyi Town knew how to ride a horse and shoot an arrow.

"There are no other major cities around Mount Kirin......" The woman quickly answered.

Yun Shang frowned. She thanked the woman and turned to look at Prince Jing. Prince Jing pondered before he said, "Since our brother doesn't live here, we can leave now. I'll send someone to ask about his address later."

Yun Shang nodded and mounted the horse in preparation to ride away from the village with Prince Jing.

"If grandfather is right about the army of one hundred thousand soldiers, then how do they support themselves without the basic living facilities of a big city?" Yun Shang frowned. She felt that they must have missed something.

Troubled by doubt, Yun Shang gave her secret signal. After a while, as she and Prince Jing walked to a quiet place, a man in black knelt before Yun Shang. "My Lady, " he said respectfully.

Yun Shang nodded before speaking, "People in the Peach Stream Village seem hostile to strangers. Where have you been staying these days? Have you been noticed by someone? You've reported to me that Xia Houjing has arrived here. Where is he now?"

"My Lady, I've been living in the dense forest behind Peach Stream Village. Peach Stream Village is small in size, so any stranger will catch the villagers' attention. To avoid that, I don't live in the village. And no one has noticed my existence yet. The seventh Prince of the State of Xia lives in Peach Stream Village. When he first came here, he fell ill and was found lying beside a stream. A deaf-mute girl took him to her house and took care of the Prince."

"Oh? A deaf-mute girl?" Yun Shang frowned. 'Is that pure coincidence? And if not, why did Xia Houjing do that?' "What has Xia Houjing been doing these days?" Yun Shang asked again.

The man in black quickly answered her, "In the daytime when the girl is home, Prince Houjing pretends to be ill. At night, after the girl falls asleep, the Prince goes out to meet the chief of Peach Stream Village. Sometimes the Prince also goes into Mount Kirin. But there is miasma on the mountain, so I didn't dare to go in."

Yun Shang nodded, "What else did you find?"

"My Lady, I found that there is an iron mine in Mount Kirin......" The man in black thought for a while before he continued, "There's something else that I found strange. There weren't many people living in Peach Stream Village a decade ago. However, eight years ago, a few people moved in and started living here. Official records show that these people are all refugees from Yunlang City. There was a flood eight years ago in Yunlang City, and some citizens left the city and found this village to settle in. That's how this place became Peach Stream Village."

Yun Shang frowned. Things were getting more and more complicated.

When Prince Jing heard about the iron mine, he rolled his eyes. He stared at Mount Kirin which was so high that it looked like it was hiding in the clouds.

After Yun Shang let the man in black leave, Prince Jing looked at Yun Shang and said, "I thought you only have female servants."

Yun Shang smiled, "I like female servants because I am a girl, so it is convenient for me to give orders. And sometimes, women are more effective than men when I need to lower people's guards. But still, some things must be done by men. It breaks my heart to let my beautiful girls suffer."

As Yun Shang was talking, Prince Jing studied the Princess. Since they were in a rush to get here, Yun Shang had pulled her hair into a simple hairstyle and set it with an ordinary hairpin. Her hairstyle looked simple but refreshing.

Peach Stream Village was the only village at the foot of Mount Kirin. There were no other villages around. Yun Shang and Prince Jing found a flat ground to sit and rest.

"I studied the map before we came here. It shows that there is a Peach Blossom Village at the foot of Mount Kirin. And the nearest city is Yaming City, which is ten miles away from here. But, Mount Kirin......" Yun Shang hesitated before she continued, "This mountain is high, and there's a dense forest with miasma covering the mountainside. The mountain is also capped with snow. Mount Kirin covers several miles on the ground and there aren't many people who have been into the mountain. So what's drawn on the map is unclear. I only have basic information about Mount Kirin."

Prince Jing nodded. What Yun Shang had just shared was the same information that Prince Jing had about the mountain.

"If grandfather is right about the army of a hundred thousand people that hide in Mount Kirin, then they definitely need a huge supply of food and other resources. But there is only Peach Stream Village here. And on our way here, I saw that the crops and plants grown on the farmland are only enough to support the villagers...... As far as I can see, it doesn't seem like a good place to hide. So why did they......" Yun Shang murmured to herself.

Prince Jing squinted before explaining, "It's because of the iron mine." Prince Jing looked at Mount Kirin, "The State of Xia is wealthy, so it's not hard for anyone in their state to buy horses and recruit soldiers. But iron is a scarce resource in the State of Xia. All of their iron supply is bought from other countries. Every country is afraid that if the State of Xia owns too much iron, its people will make a lot of weapons. So they all controll iron supply to the State of Xia. And just now your man said that there is an iron mine in Mount Kirin."

Prince Jing took out a map from his clothes. "Mount Kirin has precipitous peeks. And there is miasma in the dense forest. So even people from our state don't know much about what's inside of Mount Kirin, which makes Mount Kirin the perfect place for the soldiers from the State of Xia to hide and cover their traces. However, how they supply themselves is really a matter of concern."

Yun Shang nodded, "We should also investigate the villagers in Peach Stream Village. The village appeared from nowhere. Although it looks normal, no one knows whether there are hidden secrets behind its existence. Besides, it is strange that Xia Houjing fell ill upon his arrival. And it didn't look like a coincidence that he was saved by the deaf-mute girl. And visiting the chief of the village in middle of the night? That is also suspicious. I have a feeling that everything around Mount Kirin is quite unusual. I'm afraid something big is going to happen in the State of Ning."

Yun Shang frowned. In her previous life, there wasn't such an incident. 'What might have caused this? Did something happen unexpectedly and cause everything else to change?'

"I'm afraid we can't get into Peach Stream Village at the moment. But we can't go anywhere else. Where should we go now?" Yun Shang asked softly.

"We can stay in Mount Kirin."

Yun Shang frowned. She hesitated at the thought of going into Mount Kirin. It was hard to know what might happen. She had someone that she wanted to protect. And her unfinished vengeance awaited her.

Yun Shang also had the feeling that the secret army in Mount Kirin would be a catastrophe for the State of Ning. The army was also an unpredictable variable. If the State of Ning suffered a national crisis, then how would she protect her family?

Prince Jing noticed Yun Shang's hesitance. He curved his mouth and said in a low voice, "Do you know what I've found recently?"

"Well?" Yun Shang turned to Prince Jing. Seeing that Prince Jing looked serious, she knew it must be something extremely important.

Prince Jing turned to Yun Shang. The Princess shivered when she saw his frigid expression. "The entire Li Clan are spies placed in the State of Ning by the State of Xia."

This news was shocking to Yun Shang. She searched Prince Jing's eyes for any hint of jest, but found that he wasn't joking. Yun Shang felt her heart sinking. "How is that possible?"

Prince Jing looked at Mount Kirin. His eyes were still filled with coldness. "I was shocked too when I came to know about this. But this secret was found out by my most trusted intelligence specialists. It can't be fake. The ancestor to the Li Clan was a descendant of the State of Xia. But he was the child of a maid and failed to be the heir of his Clan. To save himself from being persecuted by others, he voluntarily asked to come to the State of Ning. Upon arrival, he changed his name, and asked his descendants to promise that they would work for the State of Xia. Together, they schemed to secure important positions in the State of Ning. Slowly but steadily, their power and influence has grown so much that they now intend to rule the State of Ning.

As you know, even though the State of Xia is a large country and is rich in resources, it is scarcely populated and lacks weapons. They have a foothold among all their surrounding countries only due to the protection offered by their natural terrain. People of the State of Xia have their ambitions. They just don't have the chance. But they are smart enough to think of this plan. They are trying to occupy our state in a bloodless way. I suspect that with the Li Clan's high position in the State of Ning, the State of Xia must think this is the best time for them to implement their final plan. The soldiers in Mount Kirin are probably deployed by the State of Xia for this purpose."

It took Yun Shang a long time to accept what Prince Jing had said. She was struck by the news. If Prince Jing was right, then the ruler of the State of Xia must be alarmingly scheming and had shocking foresight.

And if Li Clan were really spies placed by the State of Xia a long time ago, then it would make things more complicated.

"So father must be...... in great danger." Worry filled Yun Shang's eyes. "Xia Houjing and Lord Hua Guo are both in the State of Ning right now. These soldiers will follow their orders. Should we arrest Xia Houjing and Lord Hua Guo? In that way, those soldiers can't act effectively."

Prince Jing shook his head. "We don't have evidence to prove that the State of Xia deployed a hundred thousand soldiers here. Even if we did have the evidence, we should still be prudent. If we arrest Xia Houjing and Lord Hua Guo, I'm afraid the Emperor of the State of Xia will take it as an excuse to declare war on us."

Yun Shang kept silent for a long time. She bit her lip and said, "I need to make some arrangements for mother. I will also need to see to other things in the Imperial City. After that, I'll go into Mount Kirin with you."