It takes about half a month to travel from Huangcheng to Qilin Mountain by carriage, but Yunshang can't wait that long. There is still one month before she and Prince Jing get married. If that time, she and Prince Jing will not be there , that is really difficult.
Yun Shang resolutely decided not to take a carriage, and rode the hard-earned BMW that King Jing had found for her, and drove towards Qilin Mountain day and night. It only took five days to reach the small village at the foot of Qilin Mountain.
The small village is just a small village with hundreds of people. The name is Taoxi Village, and the people in the village are relatively simple. Seeing Yunshang and Prince Jing, there was a slight defensiveness in their eyes.
"A stranger has come to the village again. This is the twelfth one this month. Is something wrong?" Yunshang heard some villagers pointing at the two of them, discussing in a low voice. Both Yunshang and King Jing are not weak in martial arts, so they naturally took their words into their ears.
It's just that Yunshang couldn't help being a little suspicious. In such a small village, it is a big anecdote to have outsiders in the village. How did the soldiers of 100,000 people stay in Qilin Mountain for such a long time? Didn't arouse suspicion? Moreover, looking at such a situation, many people would know of their arrival even before they entered Qilin Mountain, including Xia Houjing and the others.
Yun Chang raised her eyes and exchanged a glance with King Jing, and at the same time, she noticed a bit of solemnity in each other's eyes. Yunshang was silent for a moment, then looked for a woman and said, "Auntie, the little lady and her husband came from Xiyi Town to visit relatives. However, the little lady's elder brother said that he was near Qilin Mountain, but the little lady The woman only found this small village near Qilin Mountain, the little woman thought, her brother should not be here, may I ask, is there any other larger city near Qilin Mountain?"
Seeing that both Yunshang and Prince Jing looked good, the woman thought highly of them, but she was a little surprised when she saw the two coming on horseback, how could anyone visit relatives on horseback? And they're still young couples. But when I heard Yunshang say that I came from Xiyi Town, I understood a little bit. Xiyi Town is located at the border. I heard that the people there are bolder and everyone knows how to ride horses and shoot arrows.
"There are no other cities under Qilin Mountain..." the woman quickly replied.
Yun Chang frowned, thanked him, and then turned to look at King Jing. King Jing pondered for a moment before saying, "Since the eldest brother is not here, let's leave first and send someone to ask."
Yun Chang nodded, jumped on the horse, and followed King Jing out of the village.
"If it is true as my grandfather said, if there is no big city for 100,000 people, how can they afford it?" Yun Chang frowned, feeling strange everywhere.
Yunshang quietly gave a signal, and after a while, when Yunshang and Prince Jing reached a secluded place, they saw a man in black kneeling on the ground, "Master."
Yun Shang nodded, "This Taoxi village is very exclusive. Where do you live these days? Did someone find you? You said that Xia Houjing is nearby, where is he now?"
"This subordinate has been living in a dense forest behind Taoxi Village these days. This Taoxi Village is relatively small, and strangers will attract attention when they come. This subordinate has not entered the village, and no one will find this subordinate. Seventh Prince Xia, He lived in Taoxi Village, and when he came, he fell ill and collapsed by the stream, and a deaf-mute woman took him in."
"Oh? Deaf-mute girl?" Yun Shang frowned, such a coincidence? But why did Xia Houjing do this? "During this time, what did Xia Houjing do?"
The man in black hurriedly said, "During the day, when the deaf-mute girl is at home, he pretends to be sick. At night, after the deaf-mute girl is asleep, he sometimes goes to see the village chief of Taoxi Village, and sometimes goes to Qilin Mountain. There is miasma in the mountains, and my subordinates dare not go in rashly."
Yun Shang nodded, "Any other discoveries?"
"My subordinates discovered that there are iron mines in Qilin Mountain..." the man in black pondered for a moment before whispering, "Also, my subordinates found out that there was no Taoxi Village here more than ten years ago, and it was eight years ago that this place was relocated. Some people came in, and the government registered that the people here were all fleeing. Eight years ago, water houses appeared in Yunlang City, and many people left their homes. Taoxi Village was those fleeing people who came here and discovered this place. , settled down."
Yun Chang frowned, and things seemed to be getting more and more complicated.
But when King Jing heard about the iron mine, his eyeballs moved slightly, and he stared at the towering Qilin Mountain with burning eyes.
Yun Shang let the man in black leave, and Prince Jing turned around, "I thought you had women under your command."
Yun Shang smiled slightly, "I like to use women only because I am a woman, and sometimes it is easier for women to lower the vigilance of others, but some things have to be done by men. Let the beautiful girls suffer, I can't bear it."
Prince Jing's eyes fell on the top of Yunshang's head. Because of her rush, her long hair was tied up, and she simply put a hairpin on it. Simple yet refreshing.
Apart from Taoxi Village at the foot of Qilin Mountain, there were no other villages. Yunshang and King Jing found a flat place to sit down and rest their feet.
"I looked at the map before I came here. There is indeed only a Peach Blossom Village under Qilin Mountain. The nearest one is Yaming City, which is more than ten miles away from here. But, Qilin Mountain..." Yun Shang paused, "This mountain is higher, There are dense forests on the mountain, there is miasma in the dense forest, and there is snow on the top of the mountain, the entire Qilin Mountain stretches for tens of miles, because very few people have actually entered it, so the drawing on the map is not very clear, only the general situation is known."
Prince Jing nodded slightly, he knew all this.
"If it is true as my grandfather said, those soldiers in this Qilin Mountain, with a population of 100,000 people, will definitely need supplies for food and drink. However, there is only one Taoxi Village here. I saw it on the way here. The land is at most Enough for the people in the village to eat and drink... From this point of view, this does not seem to be a good hiding place, why..." Yun Shang muttered to herself.
King Jing narrowed his eyes, "Because of iron ore." King Jing looked towards Qilin Mountain, "Xia is rich, so it is not difficult for him to recruit troops, but within Xia's territory, there is the most iron ore shortage. Xia's iron ore They are all bought, and because they are afraid that Xia Guo will wantonly manufacture weapons after they have iron mines, so the countries supply very little iron, just now your subordinates said that there are iron mines in Qilin Mountain."
King Jing took out a map from his pocket, "The Qilin Mountain is steep and the dense forest is full of miasma, so even the people of Ning Kingdom don't know much about the situation inside. This happens to be an excellent condition for Xia soldiers to hide. , the issue of how they live is really worth investigating.”
Yunshang nodded, "The people in Taoxi Village should also check it out. Although the village that suddenly appeared looks simple, no one knows if there is something tricky in it. Moreover, Xia Houjing came here just in time. I was rescued by a deaf-mute woman from the onset of illness. This matter is also very strange. I went to find the village chief at night, I am afraid that the identity of the village chief is also doubtful. I always feel that this place around Qilin Mountain is very unusual. I'm afraid that something big will happen to Ningguo."
Yun Chang frowned. It seemed that this did not happen in her previous life. What went wrong? Could it be that for some reason, everything has changed
"We're afraid we won't be able to enter Taoxi Village, but there are no other places around here. Where are we going now?" Yunshang asked softly.
"Go to Qilin Mountain."
Yun Chang frowned, she was a little hesitant, it was hard to predict what would happen if she went here, but she still had someone she wanted to protect and unrevenged revenge.
However, she had a premonition that this army on Qilin Mountain would be a catastrophe for Ning country, and it would also be an unforeseen variable. If even Ning country was in chaos, then what protection would she talk about
Prince Jing seemed to be aware of Yun Shang's hesitation, the corners of his mouth curled slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "Do you know what I have investigated recently?"
"Huh?" Yun Shang turned to look at King Jing, only to feel that King Jing's face was a little dignified, and it should be an extremely important matter.
King Jing turned his head to look at Yunshang, with a deep coldness in his eyes, "The Li family is basically Xia Guo, a secret work placed in Ning Guo."
Yun Chang's surprise was extraordinary, and she looked into King Jing's eyes suddenly, but saw that his eyes were extremely serious, Yun Chang felt her heart tremble, "How could it be?"
Prince Jing looked at Qilin Mountain in the distance, his eyes were cold, "I was shocked when I found out about this, but this matter was detected by the information I trust the most, and it will never be false. The ancestors of the Li family He is a descendant of the Xia Kingdom. However, he is just a child of a maidservant. It is said that because of the failure to seize the throne, in order to save his life, he voluntarily asked to come to Ning Kingdom to hide his name, and promised that the descendants of him would definitely serve Xia Kingdom and strive to become Ning Kingdom. Those who matter, then seize the ruling power of Ning country in one fell swoop."
"You should know that although the Xia Kingdom has a vast territory and is very rich, it has few people, and lack of weapons, relying on the protection of the natural terrain, they have a foothold in this world. Naturally, they also have ambitions, but They don't have enough ability. The Xia people are smart, so they came up with such a way to outsmart them. I suspect that the Li family is now very important in Ningguo, so Xia Guo thinks it is the best time and wants to accept it. This The soldiers in Qilin Mountain are most likely sent by Xia Guo."
Yun Shang couldn't react for a long time, and she was very shocked. If it was true what King Jing said, then the scheming and foresight of the ruler of Xia Kingdom is really shocking.
If Mrs. Li is indeed a hidden clue laid down by Xia Guo a long time ago, the matter will be even more complicated.
"Isn't the father... very dangerous?" Yun Chang's eyes were a little anxious, "Xia Houjing and Hua Guogong are both in Ningguo, these soldiers must be under their orders, or should they be arrested directly? In that way, these soldiers will not be able to act rashly."
Prince Jing shook his head, "Don't say that we don't have any evidence to prove that Xia Guotun has 100,000 soldiers here. Even if we have evidence, we can't be so brutal. If we arrest those two, I'm afraid the emperor of Xia Kingdom will be killed." There is an excuse to send troops to Ningguo."
Yunshang was silent for a long time, gritted her teeth and said, "I'll make arrangements for the imperial city and my concubine, and we'll go into the mountain."