Exile Queen is Beloved
Chapter 45 - Journey to the obsolete prison 1

The next day, everything was finished with their respective luggage, the journey resumed. Yuan Shi was still keeping an eye on Qing Er as he was very worried about the safety of his wife as well as the future successor who was in the empress' womb. When the sun began to soar over their heads, none escaped the exhausting heat they had walked along a quarter of the way to the old prison.

Yuan Shi occasionally turned his head towards the horse carriage that Qing Er and her Servant were riding in. While Yun Shan was faithfully across the carriage while keeping watch around. On the other hand, the tense atmosphere of Xiao who was starting to do the action prevented the queen mother assassins from feeling daunted. Because the thousand troops he brought seemed unable to hold a hundred high-class assassins who now began to slaughter some soldiers secretly.

However, it cannot be a defeat for them. Xiao who had been fully trusted by the emperor would continue to lash out at the assassins despite having to risk his life. The blade of the sword with the sword clashed, emitting a shrill ringing sound. Xiao manages to bend several herds of hitmen, but when one of them ransacked the empty horse carriage as a diversion. They begin to realize, that Xiao and the troops are only as bait.

"Fuck up! Where are the emperor and empress?" asked a man covered in black cloth on his face.

Xiao chuckled and straightened the blood-soaked sword that he was ready to swing towards the assassins who started attacking him. "Capture him as a hostage!"

Some of the soldiers managed to escape, but Xiao had already ordered in advance even though they managed to escape still not allowed to tell the emperor because it could lure the assassins to track down the whereabouts of the kiar and the others. Xiao got a hard hit on the back of his skull which made him instantly faint instantly. Unconscious, Xiao is taken hostage to discover Yuan Shi's whereabouts.

Almost half the journey will be passed by all the emperor's entourage, but because the day is near night and some people are no longer empowered because they are tired. They decided to rest in the middle of the wilderness, the sense of uncertainty Qing Er started to bother her. Is his family really in an old prison? What if this was just a trap that could make the matter even more fatal? Perhaps he would feel even more guilty towards Yuan Shi.

The woman got out of the horse carriage and saw all of them gathered in the middle of the bonfire that had been created by some of the Huo Tribe youths. Qing Er smiled faintly with a mind that was still feeling uneasy. He recalled his conversation with Su Mian back then, regarding the strategy that Su Mian had explained and convinced Qing 'Er not to hesitate on her strength. But in reality, Qing Er was just a loser with a big mouth she could only protest Yuan Shi and never dared to actually fight on real conditions.

Only when there was Ji did he believe in himself hoping to escape the emperor's entanglement. But, in this condition he felt helpless. Even in his heart now, if Su Mian were to replace him and save his family then he was willing to give up everything he had even his body. Yuan Shi was aware of Qing Er's slightly uninspired and mellow expression, but the man felt he had no right to ask and only watched her for a bit longer.

Yun Shan who had just joined the others, brought Qing Er a rattan rope that was made into a bracelet and handed wordlessly to the woman. Yuan Shi and Qing' Er instantly looked at Yun Shan with a frown on their foreheads, Yun Shan mingled with a faint smile on his face then explained the item he gave.

"If the empress and the emperor are pleased, please keep this thing as a gift from the servant to the future imperial successor" Yun Shan said as he waited for Qing Er to grab the small item. After being retrieved, Yun Shan also took the seating area beside the chieftain.

"Thank you for Prince Beiming's concern," Qing Er smiled faintly then placed the bracelet in a near-jade pocket hanging from her hanfu.

"Your Majesty, please enjoy the food that I have prepared. It's a boiled potato and chicken breast without seasoning." Chun's waiter suddenly poked from behind and brought a plate of food ready to eat.

The Emperor nodded at Qing Er asking her not to refuse. But, the woman's eyes seemed doubtful as everyone began to be handed one whole baked potato.

"Our availability is not much because the luggage we brought from the palace has contained a poison that causes some servants to urinate continuously. Thus, we only have provisions carried by the Huo tribe. The special chicken and fruits the emperor requested were only served to Her Majesty the Queen." Servant Chun explained to the empress.

"Emperor!" Qing Er turned her head towards Yuan Shi with a gaze full of question marks.

Yuan Shi sighed, then began to explain back to Qing Er. "In your body there's a successor that needs to be taken care of, so I just want to make sure he gets the best intake."

"I want to talk to you about this with four eyes!" Qing Er handed over a plate of the previous dish to Servant Chun before finally breezing off to leave the society.

He stood under a large tree that stared directly at the glowing crescent moon. Yuan Shi came in a gentle step then stood parallel beside Qing Er. "Hamba knows, the emperor cares a lot about this baby. But isn't everyone who's involved in my family's search equally valuable?"

"Qing 'Er is right, but as emperor I have the right to choose which one is the main one for me. Everyone understood it," Yuan Shi said meekly.

"It's not a wise choice, I feel guilty because for my sake they have to go through something difficult like this." Qing Er turned her head towards Yuan Shi.

In the moonlight Yuan Shi gazed into Qing Er's eyes hoping to see the figure she so longed for. However, it is only hope. "So this is what made Qing Er uneasy, are you sorry that you've implicated so many people for the rights you've done?"

Yuan Shi stared at Qing Er flatly. "You better be determined to find your family, so that the lives lost in this quest will not be in vain!" continued.

"I'm not Su Mian..." Qing Er shifted her gaze. "When I realized that your greatest burden was me, I felt ashamed to show myself before you. That figure you admire, he's very confident in his abilities, he's an expert in every field but I'm a lot different from him. It makes me sorry I came back."

"Then make it that way to raise your spirits," Yuan Shi turned around and was about to leave Qing Er.

"If I don't come back, maybe Ji's still alive here." Qing Er closed her eyes and did not feel her tears coming back. Likewise with Yuan Shi who tried to toughen up and returned to the gathering of people.