Chapter 603: Chapter 603: Border Blockade

Mo Lingwei paused slightly at her words.

He furrowed his long, skeptical brows. "Your mother? Didn’t Madam Xie pass away long ago?"

Shen Ningning lowered her lashes. "I can’t explain the details to you. Even if I did, you might not understand. In short, my mother didn’t die. She just... left in a different way. Now she’s coming back, and I have to help her return."

Mo Lingwei’s pupils constricted slightly as he stared at her, his stern face etched with disbelief.

"What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" Shen Ningning found it amusing.

Mo Lingwei’s thin lips pressed into a line. "From what you’re saying, Madam Xie is no different from a legendary immortal."

A smile instantly bloomed on Shen Ningning’s lovely face. She lifted her chin, a little proud. "Of course. My mother is even more incredible than an immortal."

Mo Lingwei’s expression turned serious. "Then I’m wondering... when I meet Madam Xie, how should I act to make it easier for an immortal to accept a son-in-law?"

Shen Ningning stifled a giggle with her hand. "I don’t know either."

As she spoke, her smile gradually faded, and a flicker of anticipation appeared in her eyes.

"Because I’ve never met my mother either. I don’t know what her personality is like, or what she looks like when she smiles."

Mo Lingwei instinctively took her hand, his deep voice gentle and reassuring. "One thing is for sure: she must be a very good person."

The boat traveled for three days. On the fourth day, Shen Ningning noticed Mo Lingwei sending out his Hidden Guards on several occasions.

Seeing him sitting in a cabin that had been converted into a temporary study, his brow tightly furrowed, Shen Ningning couldn’t help but go in and ask, "Brother, is something wrong? Did Uncle Emperor send a letter from the Capital telling you to go back?"

"No," Mo Lingwei said. His tightly knitted brows relaxed slightly upon seeing her. "I didn’t bring many men with me this time, only about thirty or so. They are all highly skilled confidants."

"Along the way, I’ve had two scouts scouting the path ahead. They were the ones who discovered the news about you in Ping City and rode back at top speed to report to me."

"Before setting out for the border this time, I also arranged for two scouts to test the route first. According to the plan, they should have reached the border two days ago, but we haven’t received any news. My men can’t contact them either. Something isn’t right."

Hearing this, Shen Ningning also grew contemplative.

"Now that you mention it, I suddenly recall that on this waterway to the border, we’ve only seen boats heading there, none coming back. It’s strange. Could there be some kind of disturbance at the border?"

Mo Lingwei pursed his thin lips. This was precisely what worried him.

"It’s unlikely. The border is guarded by three hundred thousand elite soldiers. General Peng served under General Liang and General Fang; he’s extremely trustworthy, a loyal subject. Even if there were a disturbance, he would immediately send a man on an eight-hundred-li express dispatch to the Capital City. But on my way here, I heard no news of any fighting at the border."

That was even stranger.

Shen Ningning thought for a moment, then said suddenly, "Brother, when we get to the next ferry crossing, let’s have the boat pull over. We’ll switch to a carriage."

As soon as she said it, Mo Lingwei guessed the reason without having to ask.

"You’re afraid there’s an ambush ahead?"

Shen Ningning nodded emphatically.

"We accidentally revealed our identities back in Ping City. If someone means you harm, now is the perfect time. So let’s switch to a carriage and change into less conspicuous clothes."

Mo Lingwei had no objection, but he was a little worried. "A carriage won’t be as fast as the boat. Will it delay your business?"

"It shouldn’t," Shen Ningning said, shaking her head. "The thing mother mentioned can’t run away."

Hearing this, Mo Lingwei said in a low voice, "I’ve caused you trouble, but you didn’t leave me behind. It’s really nice."

As he spoke, he suddenly pulled Shen Ningning’s hand to his lips and kissed the back of it.

Shen Ningning’s cheeks instantly grew hot, as if splashed with rouge. She snatched her hand back as if shocked and shot him a look of feigned anger. "Stop messing around and go give the order!"

Mo Lingwei laughed. "Yes, Your Highness, the Crown Princess Consort."

Shen Ningning raised a small fist as if to hit him, but Mo Lingwei had already left the cabin.

The young woman lowered her arm, her red lips pouting as she muttered to her flushed cheeks, ’I’m not your Crown Princess Consort yet. You say it so easily.’

That afternoon, the two of them changed into inconspicuous clothing and switched to a carriage at the ferry crossing.

To avoid attracting attention, Mo Lingwei kept only one guard, dressed as a driver. He had two other guards on horseback accompanying the carriage.

The rest of the Hidden Guards were not to get too close, following covertly from a distance.

And so, they traveled until evening.

Worried that Shen Ningning’s back would get sore from sitting, Mo Lingwei had the driver stop at a tea stall on the mountain path, also giving the horses a chance to graze.

When he and Shen Ningning appeared in the tea stall, the owner beamed, unable to hide his delight.

"Customers, at last! Oh my, you two honored guests have come at just the right time. Any later and I’d have been packing up to go home."

Shen Ningning found a seat and sat down, watching the owner wipe a table while preparing teacups.

She glanced around. The tea stall wasn’t large, but it had four tables. It was also located at a crossroads, so business should have been good.

"Owner, from the sound of it, business hasn’t been good?"

"You can say that again!" The owner was talkative. Having waited all day for customers, he chattered away while pouring tea from a pot. "Business has been terrible lately, ever since Ling Mountain City was sealed. The people inside can’t get out, and no one from the outside can get in... Huh? You two, from the direction you’re heading, I’d say you’re going to Ling Mountain City, aren’t you?"

The so-called border was comprised of one large city and two smaller towns linked together. Beyond these three settlements was Cangyun Country’s frontier with Changliu Country.

The city they were heading to was the large one, Ling Mountain.

Shen Ningning was very surprised to hear the owner’s words. "Ling Mountain City is sealed? How come we haven’t heard anything about this?"

She looked at Mo Lingwei, who was also frowning, and he shook his head.

Sealing a border city was a major affair; the court should have received a report.

The owner said, "It was the decision of the border governor, Lord Ren. I heard that several spies from Changliu Country infiltrated Ling Mountain City and stole military secrets. So, Governor Ren locked down the city to investigate, determined to root them out. It’s been like this for half a month already."

Shen Ningning and Mo Lingwei exchanged a look. Both of them felt that something was wrong.

After finishing their tea, they got back in the carriage and continued on their way.

As they discussed the matter, Mo Lingwei said, "If the owner’s rumors are true, Governor Ren is likely not sending word to the Capital City because he doesn’t want to be punished."

A slight frown touched Shen Ningning’s pretty face, her dark brows knitting together.

"I can’t believe Changliu Country is still so relentless. To think they’ve bribed spies to infiltrate the border again. What are they trying to stir up now?"

Shen Ningning felt that she had been right to make this trip.

Besides, she and Mo Lingwei both suspected something else. Could it be that something truly serious had happened at the border, and Governor Ren had hastily sealed the city—allowing people in but not out—simply because he was terrified of the news leaking out and reaching the Capital City?

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