Chapter 1082: Chapter 1073: Return to Camp

As Princess Nanzhang fainted, Mrs. Zhao hurriedly called someone to carry her back.

By the time Princess Nanzhang woke up, it was already evening.

On that late night, just after the Princess Consort coaxed the Little Princess to sleep, Princess Nanzhang had come to kneel in the courtyard again.

Weeping bitterly, she begged the Princess Consort and the Ministry of Justice to say a word to let her see Xie Jingchuan one more time.

The Princess Consort ignored her.

In a blink of an eye, three days passed.

On this day, the sky was gloomy; it was the day Xie Jingchuan was to be executed in public.

At West Street Vegetable Market, crowds of people gathered layer upon layer.

For the traitor to the nation, his death is not lamented!

But compared to Xie Jingchuan, people were more eager to see Duke Chong executed.

After all, Xie Jingchuan failed.

Yet Duke Chong, with his same treacherous ambition, succeeded and even thrived for over ten years!

Duke Chong colluded with Nanliang, poisoned the Flying Tiger Army, and schemed to usurp the title of Duke Chong. For power, he even cruelly harmed his biological father.

Such a beast is not fit to be human!

Killing him is necessary to appease public anger!

Luckily, the truth about the annihilation of the Flying Tiger Army was revealed, and even Duke Huguo was killed by Marquis Dongxiang. Could Duke Chong still escape?

Killing him is only a matter of time!

Xie Jingchuan was escorted by a prisoner cart from the Ministry of Justice to Xingtai.

All the way, rotten eggs and wilted vegetable leaves flew around.

He was forced to kneel on the ground, with the Minister of the Ministry of Justice supervising the execution.

Just waiting for the hour to arrive for the head to fall.

Hearing the endless curses from the watching crowd, Xie Jingchuan was truly frightened.

He did not want to die.

He wanted to live!

Princess Nanzhang fainted again in Peony Garden, but even then, the Princess Consort remained indifferent.

But today was the day of Xie Jingchuan’s execution. Before the beheading, it was permitted for family to feed him a last meal.

Princess Nanzhang knelt on the ground, touching Xie Jingchuan’s face, crying, "It was mother who harmed you, it was mother who harmed you..."

"Mother shouldn’t have sent you to the border."

Mrs. Zhao placed the food box, which contained Xie Jingchuan’s favorite dishes prepared by the main kitchen.

Princess Nanzhang opened the food box and fed Xie Jingchuan.

But in such a situation, who could eat?

Xie Jingchuan held a mouthful of rice, unable to swallow it for a long time.

When the hour came, he hadn’t eaten two bites.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice threw down the execution token, and the executioner stepped toward Xingtai.

Princess Nanzhang refused to leave and was dragged away by the guards.

The executioner grabbed a wine jar, took a fierce sip, and sprayed it onto the blade.

The wooden plaque behind Xie Jingchuan was pulled out and thrown to the ground.

The blade.

Raised high.

"No!"

In the distance was Princess Nanzhang’s hysterical cry.

Before the sound could fade, Xie Jingchuan’s head fell.

Princess Nanzhang broke free from the guards and ran forward, falling to the ground unconscious.

The pain of losing a child, especially watching one’s own son be killed, is unbearable for any mother.

Mrs. Zhao and the maid supported Princess Nanzhang.

When they returned to the mansion, they were reeking of a foul stench.

The crowd had thrown all their leftover rotten eggs and wilted vegetable leaves at Princess Nanzhang.

Although it’s a father’s fault for not teaching well,

The Prince, being a general, was busy defending the nation and had no time to care about his son.

Likewise, her son was shedding blood at the border, facing avalanches, while the son she raised wanted to inherit the title without effort and conspired with Nanliang to destroy the Flying Tiger Army.

Clearly she was at fault!

Just from Xingtai to where the carriage stopped, countless rotten eggs had hit them.

Especially the one that flew straight into Princess Nanzhang’s forehead.

The rotten egg slid down her face, unbearably disgusting.

Mrs. Zhao’s heart ached like a knife cutting through.

The servants of the Prince Mansion stayed far away for fear of being implicated.

Xie Jingchuan’s body was collected by Manager Li and his people, not enshrined at the Prince Mansion but at another courtyard.

A disgraceful descendant like Xie Jingchuan wasn’t fit to enter the ancestral tomb; with the Prince absent, Manager Li dared not bury him there to disturb the ancestors of the Prince Zhenbei Mansion.

Princess Nanzhang was brought back to the mansion, and upon waking, realizing Xie Jingchuan was not there, she went to the other courtyard.

Two days later, Xie Jingchuan was hastily buried.

Embracing the tombstone, Princess Nanzhang cried uncontrollably, regretting deeply her past choices.

Touching the words on the tombstone, her face twisted with pain, "Mother won’t let you be lonely down here; I’ll definitely send them down too to keep you company!"

Mrs. Zhao stood aside, trembling at Princess Nanzhang’s words.

The second young master was already gone, what more could the Commandery Princess do?

Must she really torment herself to death as well?

Daqi, military camp.

Although Nanliang had hoisted the no-battle sign, the soldiers in the camp remained vigilant, even more so than before.

The Flying Tiger Army was formidable, but after all, they were human, and after prolonged battles, they had suffered significant losses.

Marquis Dongxiang decided to select elite soldiers from the army to replenish the Flying Tiger Army.

The Flying Tiger Army was undefeated, attacking unyielding, especially Marquis Dongxiang, a legendary figure.

To become a member of the Flying Tiger Army was a matter of great honor.

To join the Flying Tiger Army, the soldiers trained diligently, aiming for the competition in half a month.

A soldier not wishing to join the Flying Tiger Army wasn’t a good soldier, including those guarding the camp.

Just standing there felt like a waste of time, affecting their performance.

Time being short, the guards chose to practice horse stance instead.

While focusing intensely, they spotted a man approaching on horseback from afar.

The horse ran fast, just a few breaths from seeing the figure to recognizing him.

Seeing Xie Jingchen’s flawless face, the soldiers were momentarily stunned, their legs wobbled, causing them to sit on the ground.

"Heir of Prince Zhenbei!" The soldier’s voice floated, filled with astonishment.

Unable to intercept Xie Jingchen in time, the soldier scrambled up and shouted toward the camp, "The Young Master is back!"

Hearing the shout, the soldiers rushed over, seeing Xie Jingchen, first shocked, then pleased, happy for Su Jin.

The soldiers had received favor from Su Jin, from golden sore medicine to cotton clothes to grain and grass, helping write family letters, bandaging wounds, Su Jin had significant prestige in the army.

Xie Jingchen had been caught in an avalanche, neither dead nor alive, soldiers worried for Su Jin’s unborn child, fatherless before birth...

Now, with Xie Jingchen alive and returning, it was like heaven had mercy, good people rewarded.

The military instantly erupted in excitement.

The only flaw was the timing of his return, unsure if it was too good or too bad.

With Nanliang raising the no-battle sign, the war likely didn’t need to continue.

Upon first entering the battlefield, having few military exploits, he encountered an avalanche, and no one knows where he stayed until now that he’s returned.

Xie Jingchen’s return, which should have been celebrated, was somewhat subdued because it was expected.

Now back, it’s already very late.

Logically, with General Shi leaving the Nanliang military camp to join Zhao Xu, Xie Jingchen should already return.

Dawdling until now, do they still have to celebrate his triumphant return?

Inviting a fist would be more suitable!

Seeing Xie Jingchen, Prince NanAn and their faces soured, "If you’d been even two days later returning, we’d certainly have hung you up for a beating upon your arrival."