Gu Chaonan pressed his lips together and sighed. Mengdie was planning for the two of them, for his sake as well—he should understand that. It was just that she no longer seemed as gentle and obedient as before. Her eyes were filled with sharp, cutting things that made him feel… somewhat unfamiliar.

With no path of retreat, they could only move forward. The foreign barbarians had already made contact with them. When they reached the border and the Emperor arrived at Yecheng, they could turn around and open a path for the barbarians, letting them use their iron cannons to fight the Emperor’s reinforcements. Life and death would be up to fate—it wouldn’t count as regicide or usurpation on their part.

Everything was according to plan. There should be no problems.

Xu Mengdie thought of the West Mountain matter and casually picked up the map beside her, “If the Empress and Imperial Prince were to disappear on the mountain, the Emperor would surely be thrown into complete chaos, wouldn’t he?”

Gu Chaonan glanced at the map, “Drawn in such detail, how could anyone possibly disappear?”

Xu Mengdie laughed lightly, “This one is fake.”

It was just a map she had randomly drawn. West Mountain was treacherous—no one had ever been able to map the entire thing.

Indeed, if Shen Guiyan followed Xu Mengdie’s map, she and the First Prince would likely never make it out of West Mountain. When the Emperor’s trusted aide returned to report, he said, “The local people all say that no one dares venture above West Mountain’s midpoint. Even when gathering wild foods, they stay below the middle slopes. No one lives on the mountain, and whether there are any divine physicians, nobody knows.”

Shen Guiyan looked at the map in her hands. Xu Mengdie wanted her to go straight to the mountain peak. If she really followed this map, would she even make it back?

“Mother, aren’t we going to treat my legs anymore?” the First Prince asked quietly.

Shen Guiyan looked up and pressed her lips together, “We cannot go—it’s a trap. As for the Imperial Prince’s legs, once we reach Yecheng, we’ll find another way, all right?”

His eyes dimmed somewhat. Ming Sigu understood clearly—so many imperial physicians had examined him and were all at a loss. He could only pin his hopes on a divine physician, but now even the divine physician was a lie. He would probably have to spend his entire life in this wheelchair.

“All right,” he still obediently agreed.

The Emperor held Yan’er close and said in a low voice, “We’ll reach Yecheng in another month. When we arrive, I’ll probably be very busy with no time to keep you company. How about right now, we toss these two little ones in front to the carriage behind? Hmm?”

Shen Guiyan gave him a dark look, “Your Majesty, the carriage behind is for the palace attendants.”

The First Prince, with his keen hearing, turned his head to look. Gu Chaobei gave a dry laugh and held Shen Guiyan close, “I was just joking.”

Being a father is no match for being a son. The Emperor truly wanted to use his personal experience to warn those newly married men around him: if you haven’t had enough time being intimate with your wife, definitely don’t have children!

“Mother, the carriage is so bumpy. Your son can’t hold himself steady anymore,” the First Prince said with a pout, swaying unsteadily.

Shen Guiyan looked outside—this stretch of road truly wasn’t very good. She broke free from the Emperor’s embrace and went over to hold her son in her arms, “You must be tired from the journey. Let Mother hold you, and you can sleep for a while.”

“All right.” The First Prince smiled sweetly, his little hand clutching the clothes at Shen Guiyan’s waist as he peacefully closed his eyes.

Nuo’er stuck out her tongue beside them. When she turned back and saw the Emperor’s dark expression, she was startled. She tugged at the First Prince’s sleeve, wanting to wake him, but the First Prince seemed to be sound asleep, completely motionless.

Gu Chaobei was so angry! This little brat—what kind of temperament did he have? He held grudges over every slight! Just because he made one comment, the boy was stealing his Yan’er!

Shamelessly scooting over, the Emperor also played tricks, “Yan’er, I can’t sit steady either.”

Shen Guiyan looked at him in shock, then at his legs, “Your Majesty?”

“…No, I have no problems,” Gu Chaobei pressed his lips together, his starry eyes brimming with moisture. “I just want to hold you.”

Her face flushed. Shen Guiyan glanced at the son in her arms and said quietly, “You’ll squeeze the Imperial Prince. Sit properly for now. If it really won’t do, you can hold Nuo’er instead.”

Gu Chaobei’s face fell. He turned and sat back down, facing the carriage wall in silence, his entire being radiating an aura of “I’m unhappy, come coax me quickly.”

Shen Guiyan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This man—how old was he? He had conquered the realm, yet he was still so childish.

The convoy stopped to rest when passing through Chushui Town. Beside them was a very large inn. The Emperor ordered several of his vice generals to go inside and rest together, while the military staff arranged for the soldiers to set up camp outside the town.

The First Prince had awakened but still wanted Shen Guiyan to hold him. The Emperor went down with a dark face and sat in the inn’s main hall without saying a word.

Several vice generals stood beside the Emperor, looking at Shen Guiyan with some curiosity. They were all men who had spent years in the military, unaware of outside affairs. They knew Shen Guiyan was the Empress but didn’t know how she had become Empress, nor did they understand why the Emperor would bring her along when personally leading troops to Yecheng.

Dragging family along like this—wouldn’t it become a burden?

“Your Majesty, actually we could have pushed on to another town today,” Vice General Zhang said quietly. “It’s not even dark yet.”

The Emperor pressed his lips together, “The town ahead has too much wind and sand. This town is just right.”

Was he choosing Chushui Town considering the Empress’s and Imperial Prince’s rest? Vice General Zhang felt somewhat dissatisfied, “Forgive this general for speaking frankly, but if Your Majesty slows our pace, in a month’s time we may not reach Yecheng.”

“That won’t happen,” Gu Chaobei said with a light laugh. “Tomorrow we can travel to an extra town. There will be no delays whatsoever. General, rest assured.”

Vice General Zhang said no more, only frowning as he looked at the Imperial Prince and Empress at another table. The Empress was gently helping the Imperial Prince drink tea. Though her appearance was beautiful, she looked like nothing more than an ordinary woman who supported her husband and taught her children. He truly didn’t know what use bringing her along served.

That evening, the First Prince developed a mild fever from not being accustomed to the local conditions. The Emperor hastily had someone fetch a physician, and the lights in the room burned until the middle of the night.

“Both delicate and troublesome. The precious should stay in the imperial palace. I really don’t know what His Majesty is thinking,” Vice General Zhang closed the door and muttered in his room.

Vice General Liu, sharing the room with him, snorted, “You don’t know about this? His Majesty is fond of that Empress—treats her like a treasure, can’t bear to be parted from her for even a day, so he brought her along. What I want to know is, when it comes to the battlefield, where will His Majesty place the Empress?”

“Since ancient times, even wise rulers have been led astray by beautiful women. Ah, who knows how this battle will turn out…” Vice General Zhang sighed with worry, blew out the lamp, and lay down on the bed.

The next day at dawn, everyone set out again. The First Prince’s high fever had broken. Looking at the magnificent scenery retreating outside the carriage, he couldn’t help but smile, “The outside world is truly vast.”

Shen Guiyan nodded, “This is the realm your Father Emperor wishes to protect. When you grow up, you should continue to safeguard it as well.”

Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft—just right for the vice general riding his horse beside the carriage to hear.

Make a cripple the emperor? Vice General Zhang snorted coldly to himself. Better to have another healthy one instead.