Ning Chen set out with his people that same night.

The Wu Kingdom lay north of the Great Xuan, and Bianzhou belonged to the Great Xuan's western frontier, so he had to go back to Xuanwu City first and swing around from there.

They rode light and fast the whole way.

The Great Xuan and the Wu Kingdom had been trading for a long time now. The trade road had been built smooth, with post stations along it, good for long journeys.

What used to take more than a month now took only twenty-some days.

Ning Chen made it back to Xuanwu City covered in dust from the road.

Other times he came back, the first thing he did was go to the Imperial Blessing Tower for roast duck.

This time he wasn't in the mood. He went straight to the city lord's residence.

By the time he entered the city, the guards had already sent word ahead to the residence and to Jiang Zhengyang.

With Ning Chen away, Jiang Zhengyang ran all of Xuanwu City.

When they saw Ning Chen ride up at the head of his column, Jiang Zhengyang, Gu Yichun and the others hurried out to meet him, overjoyed.

They hadn't seen him in a long time.

"Greetings, my lord prince!"

Ning Chen swung down from his horse with a smile. "Up, all of you."

He looked Jiang Zhengyang over. "Lord Jiang, you're glowing. Looks like you've been skimming plenty. You've put on weight."

Jiang Zhengyang jumped. "My lord prince, you must see the truth. This official wouldn't dare."

Ning Chen roared with laughter. "Just kidding. Look how scared you are."

Jiang Zhengyang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. When you kid around, it really could scare a man to death.

Ning Chen clapped Gu Yichun on the shoulder. "Wasn't Xiaoxing going on about going back to the capital to see Yudie? Why didn't you two go?"

Gu Yichun scratched his head with a sheepish grin. "We were going to the capital, but a while before we were supposed to leave, Xiaoxing got pregnant..."

Ning Chen…