webnovelfull Chapter 448 The Princess's Maid (52)
Chapter 448 The Princess's Maid (52)
Yue Zeyuan took Qi Ning to the camp to rest for a while. He told Qi Ning to stay in the camp to rest, while he went to discuss matters with Prince Rui, the General of the State, and other ministers.
Yue Zeyuan didn't return until late at night.
Qi Ning happened to be coming out of the tent with Yulan. When she saw Yue Zeyuan, she quickly went up to him and said, "You're back?"
Yue Zeyuan naturally saw Qi Ning as well. He took three steps at a time and walked up to her, taking off his cloak and draping it over her shoulders.
"It's late at night and the weather is cold. What are you doing out here? How are the people below taking care of you? They didn't even tell you to wear more clothes."
Yue Zeyuan's tone carried a hint of reproach.
He gave Yulan a disapproving look, blaming her for not taking good care of Qi Ning.
Qi Ning quickly said, "It has nothing to do with Yulan. I just came out to see why you haven't come back yet, and I'm not dressed lightly either."
She planned to just take a look at the tent entrance and then go in; she didn't intend to go far.
Yue Zeyuan took her hand and tested its temperature; her hand was indeed warm.
He didn't say anything more, but just pulled her towards the tent: "Let's talk inside."
The two returned to their tent, where a fire was burning and it was very warm.
Qi Ning asked him, "Why are you back so late? Is something wrong?"
"What problem could there be? I don't take Chu Hanfeng seriously, it's just that..."
"But what?" Qi Ning asked.
If it were an ordinary woman, Yue Zeyuan would never have discussed such important military matters with her.
But Qi Ning was different. Yue Zeyuan knew she was intelligent, so he didn't intend to hide it from her.
"Come with me."
Yue Zeyuan pulled Qi Ning along and led her to the military sand table in a corner of the camp.
He pointed to the sand table and said, "Look, the State of Chu is located south of the Yangtze River. It has a strategic location with many mountains and forests."
"Mm." Qi Ning nodded.
"The terrain of Chu is different from that of Yue. If we defeat Chu Hanfeng and want to pursue the victory or invade the heartland of Chu, we will inevitably have to pass through these places. If we had a more detailed map, that would be great."
Qi Ning laughed upon hearing this: "Why didn't you say so earlier? I could have drawn up a map for you."
"You can also draw maps?"
Yue Zeyuan looked at Qi Ning with slight surprise.
He knew Qi Ning was intelligent, but he had only talked about these things with her. He never expected that she could draw maps.
"of course."
Qi Ning didn't know about maps, but the system could provide them; she just needed to draw them by following the example.
Without changing her expression, she said, half-truthfully, "When I was in the State of Chu, I served Chu Xiyue in her study, tending to her writing materials."
"Chu Xiyue and Chu Hanfeng are siblings with a very close relationship. At that time, Yun Jing often went to visit Chu Hanfeng, but Chu Hanfeng found it annoying and would always hide in Chu Xiyue's study. As the crown prince, he naturally came into contact with a lot of such things on a daily basis."
“I’ve been tidying up my study for years and have seen plenty of this kind of thing. I can draw it with my eyes closed.”
Yue Zeyuan's eyes brightened slightly: "I didn't expect Ning'er to have such abilities."
Qi Ning laughed without any modesty: "Of course, I can draw it right now."
Yue Zeyuan then had her sit at the desk, while he stood to the side: "You draw, and I will grind the ink for you."
Qi Ning didn't bother with formalities and sat down at his desk to start drawing.
As she bent down to draw a map, Yue Zeyuan stood beside her, grinding ink and watching her focused expression.
After a while, Qi Ning drew up two maps.
One is a topographical map of the Chu Kingdom, and the other is a map showing the internal defenses of the Chu capital and palace.
"look."
When Yue Zeyuan took the two maps, he was overjoyed, as if he had found a priceless treasure.
"How about it?"
This was copied by Qi Ning based on the map provided by the system, so there was absolutely no mistake; she was very confident.
Yue Zeyuan looked at it carefully and compared it with the sand table.
A moment later, he put down the two maps, pulled Qi Ning into his arms, and kissed her on the lips.
His eyes crinkled with laughter: "I've truly struck gold."
Qi Ning smiled smugly: "It's good that you know."
Yue Zeyuan wanted to lower his head to kiss Qi Ning again, but she stopped him with her hand.
"Wait, I haven't finished what I want to say yet."
Yue Zeyuan paused, "What?"
Qi Ning said in a serious tone, "It's about the two hostages, Yun Jing and Shen Yixiao."
"What happened to them?"
"Chu Hanfeng is very likely to send people to kidnap you, so you need to arrange for someone to keep a close eye on them."
"I understand." Yue Zeyuan looked confident. "I had already arranged for a pair of fake hostages as bait. The two of them have been imprisoned elsewhere, so don't worry."
Qi Ning chuckled. Yue Zeyuan was indeed an old fox.
She pulled Yue Zeyuan aside again: "Also, I'll tell you how to use these two hostages."
Yue Zeyuan was very cooperative, leaning in to listen to Qi Ning explain in detail.
The next day.
Yue Zeyuan then took the two maps and went to the military tent where they would discuss serious matters.
He showed the two maps to his subordinates.
Those people were astonished.
"Your Majesty, just yesterday you were saying how wonderful it would be to have a map. How come, overnight, we suddenly have two such detailed maps?" the General Zhenguo asked.
Based on his experience, these two maps should be accurate.
The other ministers were equally surprised.
Yue Zeyuan stood with his hands behind his back, a hint of pride on his face: "This is a map that Consort Ning drew herself last night."
"What? This is actually a map drawn by Consort Ning herself?" The General of the State was somewhat incredulous.
“That’s right.” Yue Zeyuan nodded slightly. “It was drawn by Consort Ning herself.”
At this moment, someone remembered: "That's right, Consort Ning was once a spy sent by His Majesty to the Chu Kingdom. She infiltrated the Chu Kingdom's palace for many years, so it's not surprising that she was able to draw these two maps."
"I see."
As if they had found the reason, everyone began to praise them.
"Your Majesty truly has a discerning eye, discovering such an extraordinary woman as Consort Ning!"
"Consort Ning has rendered great service to His Majesty and the Yue Kingdom. No wonder His Majesty dotes on her so much."
"No wonder His Majesty brought the Empress to the battlefield; it turns out that Consort Ning has such abilities."
Originally, there was some gossip among the crowd about Yue Zeyuan bringing Qi Ning to the battlefield, with some feeling that Yue Zeyuan was bringing his personal feelings to the battlefield.
But now that everyone has seen the two maps drawn by Qi Ning, they have to admit their superiority.
Yue Zeyuan listened to the praise with satisfaction. He had previously thought that when he made Qi Ning his empress, she might face some obstacles because of her status.
Unexpectedly, his Ning'er was so outstanding that she won everyone's respect through her own abilities.
Presumably, there would have been no objection to making her empress at that time.
Just as everyone was still looking at the two maps, someone suddenly came in to report.
"Your Majesty, last night several men in black broke into the military camp and headed straight for the place where the hostages were being held. They must have come to kidnap the hostages."
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