"Ahh, it looks like it's going to rain...I think we should stop here for today." An Hao casually said as he brought his horse to a stop. The soldier riding beside him nodded and then turned to the group behind them and ordered, "Make camp!"

The soldiers quickly complied, leading their horses to the side to begin setting up camp. One soldier who had been riding by the carriage rode up to the front, "An Hao! Why are we stopping again?" Li Bao asked in annoyance.

An Hao cast him a dismissive glance, "Is it you asking or is it the old man?" He asked as he jumped down from his horse.

Li Bao frowned, "And what does that matter? Why are we making camp already? The sun is still high in the sky!"

An Hao scoffed and shook his head, "It matters because you do not get to question me. Set up camp." He dismissively ordered and turned to lead his horse away. This Li Bao was naturally already irritating, but now that he has been kissing up to the Zou prime minister, An Hao found him even more irritating.

"You -!" Li Bao paused and took a deep breath to calm himself as he jumped off his horse, threw the reins at a passing soldier, and stormed after An Hao and condescendingly said, "You know, you really shouldn't be talking to me like this anymore. Even though I am still a mere commander, you should still show respect. After all, I am technically considered part of the royal family now."

An Hao rolled his eyes with a scoff, "Don't flatter yourself, just because your sister has been made a "Princess" doesn't make you a Prince"

{...Honestly, how could my Emperor make the mistake of accepting this idiot as an in-law?! Who knows what kind of crazy his sister is? My poor Emperor, the things he has to deal with -_-)...}

An Hao slightly shook in disgust but then reminded himself that said sister had been booted out of the Emperor's life, mostly.

Since An Hao suddenly had to take a big shot back to the capital with him, extra protection was required. It was not that they were necessarily anticipating an attack, it was more a matter of prestige. After all, Prime ministers typically did not leave their countries so unannounced and uninvited like this.

An Hao honestly had no idea what strings this Li Bao had to pull, but this was annoyingly the only unit available to spare. But An Hao knew that this was some sort of plot by other generals to make his life difficult. The fact that he was the youngest general - especially with no family backing, coupled with the fact that he, An Hao was not the most polite person made it so he was not very popular.

Then there was also the fact that he had a bit of a falling out with the generals before leaving. He had found the spies, but unfortunately, they were high-ranking generals. Since the Emperor told him to handle it, he could have executed the generals on the spot but it would have been a great headache. They naturally argued their innocence and got other powerful generals to stand with them and question his motives as well. In the end, An Hao decided to transport the traitors to the Emperor himself for judgment.

Knowing that An Hao and Li Bao did not get along, they must have saddled An Hao with him for a bit of payback. The joke was on them though, having someone stupid on your side had its benefits, despite the annoyance.

Li Bao stopped behind An Hao, who was feeding his horse an apple, obviously not interested in conversing, "What exactly are you trying to do here? We've barely made any progress today. First, it was that the horses needed to rest, and now, what is it? Do you need to rest too? Is that it? If you weren't competent enough, you should just have told the Emperor and he would have found someone else, it's not like you're irreplaceable." Li Bao said with a scoff.

An Hao froze at the mention of his Emperor and turned back to find Li Bao glaring at him. An Hao released his horse and faced Li Bao squarely, "Did you say competence? That reminds me, I've not even questioned about the fact that you fed the Zou prime minister diseased meat -"

"A "disease" you just so happened to have the cure for." Li Bao retorted, stepping up to him, narrowing his eyes in challenge.

"Guess you were in great luck." An Hao responded, narrowing his eyes back at him, "Can't imagine causing a national incident which would have more than likely resulted in a war would bode well for your career or your head. You're very welcome~" An Hao finished with a smile, giving Li Bao's arm a hard pat - which Li Bao quickly raised his hand to deflect, but An Hao was faster and withdrew his hand with a smug expression.

"You -!"

"Are you both done?"

An Hao and Li Bao turned to see Prince Rui standing next to them, looking unamused and not at all interested in their bickering.

Li Bao quickly went into his kiss-up mode and smiled at Prince Rui, "Oh, Prince Rui, do you need something? Anything -"

"An Hao, why are we stopping again?" Prince Rui directly asked An Hao, ignoring Li Bao.

Li Bao's expression deflated, while An Hao turned to Prince Rui and casually responded, pointing to the sky, "It's about to rain." Prince Rui looked up at the clear sky and back at An Hao with a slight frown, but before he could say anything, An Hao added, "Just because you can't see a storm, doesn't mean it's not brewing. We have to prepare early, we wouldn't want you or your grandfather to get sick again-"

"He's not my grandfather." Prince Rui corrected with a frown.

"It'll be a hassle." An Hao continued, not bothering to acknowledge Prince Rui's correction.

Prince Rui let out an irritated breath, dealing with this kid was never easy, "If a storm is coming, shouldn't we push forward and try to find shelter instead of camping out on the road?"

"Exactly!" Li Bao jumped in, "If you're so concerned about His highness and the Prime minister. Having them stay on the road exposed to the elements like this is not ideal. We should push forward." Li Bao echoed his agreement.

An Hao looked up to the sky, let out a sigh, and then wearily looked at the two and said, "There is no other inn close by. Unless you want to go back to the inn we left this morning, it will be foolish to try to outrun a storm. You talk amongst yourselves and then let me know what you decide, I'm alright with either way." An Hao said with a curt smile which quickly disappeared as he pulled his horse and stalked off.

Usually, An Hao enjoyed missions like this which involved him messing with people, but he has been finding this particular one quite lacking. He was tired and just wanted to go home. Another thing that was eating at him was the fact that Xiao Ting had not returned even one of his letters.

He did not write to her every report or that often actually. He had decided much earlier on that it was best to collate the things he wanted and send a comprehensive letter every couple of weeks, this way it would be more interesting to read.

But it had almost been four months now. He sent her one letter halfway through his journey to the border with Prince Rui. Then another one shortly after he arrived at the border. Then another shortly after his departure back to the capital with the Zou prime minister in tow. And finally, another one a week ago. He had just received his report back from the capital today and there was no letter from her again, hence his mood was not too good today. He did not understand this, why wasn't she writing back?!

He did, for a very brief moment or two, wonder if the Emperor had failed to pass the letters along, but he trusted the Emperor. They were definitely passed them along.

Which left him with the only other option, Xiao Ting was not writing back. An Hao plopped down on a rock, folded his arms, and closed his eyes with a deep contemplative frown.

{...Has she even been reading them?... Why wouldn't she though? Did they bore her? But I tried to write only interesting things...Is she angry with me then? Ah, I did say two months and now it's... But I explained that it wasn't my fault...I even explained to her, vaguely...Did she forget about me then? O_O)...No, no, something must be wrong, something could have happened to her...}

An Hao opened his eyes to see Prince Rui and Li Bao frowning at him, he glared at them and then twisted on the rock, turning his back to them as he debated whether he should ask the Emperor to check on her or if it would be better to send a message directly to Lei Yong to ask about her welfare, after all, he was living with her. He still had to delay their arrival in the capital for another month, but he really could not remain in the dark like this. He was becoming increasingly anxious, so he needed to do something for his own sanity's sake.

Prince Rui wearily watched An Hao for a bit, then he sighed and massaged his forehead as he wondered exactly what An Hao was trying to do now - asking him was pointless. But it's been one trouble after another during this journey to the capital, it was even worse than the one he took with him last time. It was either, this road is flooded, that bridge is broken, food is bad, horses are sick...something was always going wrong.

It seemed to him as if An Hao were stalling their arrival in the capital. Although Prince Rui could not work out if it was just An Hao naturally being his difficult self or if there was something else at play here.

"Your highness, we can't trust him. I can send some men ahead to scout out to see what they can find." Li Bao offered with a smile, trying again to gain some points.

"Upto you." Prince Rui dismissively said, walking off as well. He had much better things to do with his time than humoring this idiot. While he was anxious about Princess Nalan's condition, her letters have somewhat reassured him. She seemed well-taken care of and seemed happy with her situation, she said she has a plan and for him not to worry. But knowing Prince Yi and his ambitions, Prince Rui was having a hard time trusting these feelings she claims he has for her. Nalan was really too naive.

There was also Princess Nalan's grandfather, who had somehow got it in his head that he, Prince Rui encouraged into this "stupidity". This journey has also been taxing on the old man's body and he stubbornly refused to go home. So that was one more thing on Prince Rui's plate. Much like Long country, the last thing he needed right now was for the Zou prime minister to die on his watch. Prince Houyi and his minions would definitely pin that on his head and his life would become even more treacherous.

Li Bao frowned as he watched Prince Rui's back, these Zou people were really hard to win. He had been trying to get on their good side since he met them and it was working, at first. But ever since that diseased deer issue - although he had no proof, he was certain An Hao somehow poisoned the deer just to get under his skin. It was always like this with this guy.

An Hao stood in his way whenever he tried to approach the Emperor. Well, it was not just An Hao, Lei Yong apparently still held a grudge against him because of that small incident that happened between their sisters when they were younger, petty! Either way, thanks to these two, Li Bao was unable to make an impression on the Emperor. It was definitely not because he did not make any great contributions over the years.

Li Bao had been hoping to use this opportunity to get his chance before the Emperor. After all, his status was different now, surprisingly thanks to his usually useless and almost forgotten sister, Li Ru. He had been forgotten at the border but he was certain that once he arrived in the capital, the Emperor would quickly recognize his value and keep him close, given their relationship~

Li Bao took a deep breath to calm himself and went out ordering his men to go scout ahead for shelter. He would not let An Hao get in his way this time. Despite these minor setbacks, he had a noble goal awaiting him.