This time, there was no news from Royal Prince Yang for more than a month. When they had said their reluctant farewells, the prince had only stated that he was going to the north to suppress bandits and didn’t go into detail.

As midwinter came closer, Xiaocao started to feel more and more concerned. She could faintly feel that Royal Prince Yang had mentioned suppressing bandits for the sole purpose of hiding the true mission from her to prevent her from fretting this much. When he left the capital, he had taken with him a large portion of the Jinwei elite troops with him. If he only had to suppress some mountain bandits, he would have long come back victorious. Was it possible that the northern border had gotten invaded instead and that's why the emperor sent Royal Prince Yang there?

Argh! If the border truly had a crisis, then she was afraid that it would be impossible for the prince to return before the end of winter. Winter in the northern parts of the country was harsh and long. If the roaming nomads north of the border had lost any of their cows or sheep, then they would definitely attack the Great Ming Empire in an effort to steal food. At this time, protecting the borders was a vital task!

The first snowfall was falling in the capital and Yu Xiaocao was sure that Royal Prince Yang wouldn’t be able to get back before the end of the year. However, he suddenly returned triumphantly. On the...