Raising a wife? The mistress of the Hou family divorced and remarried her younger uncle

Chapter 254 Raid
The urgent report from the border shattered the peace of Huainan like a thunderbolt.

The cavalry guards stationed at the camp were suddenly attacked, and General Li hurriedly led his troops to resist. However, the enemy's attack was fierce and ruthless, and the cavalry guards gradually became unable to hold out. They could only send messengers back with great speed to report the news.

The messenger cavalryman was already unconscious, and the military report only briefly stated that the Xilin army had launched a surprise attack and was requesting reinforcements. Su Qingwan looked at the brief but tense military report, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly.

Peace talks between the two countries had just concluded, and a ceasefire treaty had been signed. Xilin Yongxuan had also long since sent a message back to Xilin. Logically, it was impossible for the Xilin border army to cross the Lanning River and carry out a massacre against the Huainan Cavalry Guards. Where exactly did things go wrong?

Upon learning the news, General Xiao Ning quickly donned his light armor, and his 3,000-strong vanguard assembled in the shortest possible time. He knelt before Su Qingwan, offering his command to rush to the camp for reinforcements. After a moment's thought, Su Qingwan immediately ordered her own light armor to be brought to her. She decided to personally lead the vanguard to the cavalry camp.

Seeing this, General Xiao Ning advised with a worried expression, "Princess, the situation at the camp is completely unknown. You should stay in the city, keep the gates closed, and ensure your safety. I will lead troops to investigate, and I will send someone to inform you as soon as I have any news."

Su Qingwan's expression was solemn as she shook her head and said, "Xilin Yongxuan's delegation should have arrived at Lanning River by now. The Xilin border army's surprise attack on the camp at this critical juncture is worrying. Sending messages back and forth is too time-consuming; I must go with you!"

As they were talking, Green Bamboo had already nimbly retrieved the light armor.

Su Qingwan moved swiftly, donning her light armor in the blink of an eye. Chenfeng, Lüzhu, and Qingyun followed closely behind her, leading the vanguard towards the cavalry camp alongside General Xiao Ning.

General Xiao Ning had accompanied Su Qingwan to Xilin before. As her bodyguard, he knew that the princess was determined and once she made up her mind, it was difficult to stop her. Helpless, he could only follow closely behind.

When they arrived at the cavalry camp, the scene before them was like a living hell, with rivers of blood and deafening battle cries. Inside the camp, besides the fierce fighting between the Huainan cavalry and the Xilin border army, there was also a delegation from Xilin Yongxuan. It turned out that on this dark and windy night, the three parties had met on a narrow path upstream in the valley, and the situation instantly spiraled out of control, erupting into conflict.

Xilin Yongxuan was also completely bewildered, and the officials in the delegation were even more at a loss, not understanding why such a small-scale conflict would suddenly break out on the border.

The Xilin delegation consisted of more than two thousand people, all of whom were elite soldiers.

General Chen, who led the troops, was Xilin Yongxuan's childhood friend and confidant. Faced with the sudden situation, General Chen immediately led the delegation's guards into battle with both sides. At first, the Huainan guards did not recognize the Xilin delegation in the darkness, only seeing that they were flying Xilin's flags, and mistook them for Xilin reinforcements, resulting in a fierce and evenly matched fight.

Although news from the cavalry camp was relatively isolated, it exchanged messages with Huainan City daily. General Li knew that Xilin Yongxuan was discussing matters with the princess, but the night was too dark for him to recognize them immediately. It wasn't until he discovered that the two sides had already engaged in combat and had suffered casualties that he finally recognized them as the Xilin delegation.

General Li felt a sense of foreboding. He immediately rushed to General Chen alone and loudly explained the situation, stating that this was a surprise attack by the Xilin border army on the Huainan cavalry camp.

Upon hearing this, General Chen immediately shouted for a halt and then quickly reported the situation to Xilin Yongxuan. Xilin Yongxuan's heart skipped a beat upon hearing the news, sensing that something terrible was about to happen.

Before he could make a decision, he heard the sounds of battle erupting again from the valley. Someone shouted at the top of their lungs, "The Huainan Cavalry ambushed the Second Prince! Follow me to kill the enemy!"

The situation spiraled out of control instantly, and the two sides clashed fiercely once more. Xi Lin Yongxuan's heart sank; he keenly sensed that something had likely happened back home—someone wanted to kill him on the border and then frame Huainan. He dared not delay, immediately preparing his horse. At this moment, the Xi Lin border army surged forward like a tidal wave, clashing violently with the Huainan cavalry.

"Second Prince, we've come to your rescue! Dayuan has broken the ceasefire agreement and gone back on its word. We, Xilin, will never let them live under the same sky!" After this shout, the enemy didn't care whether Xilin Yongxuan responded or not, and they led their troops to attack.

Xi Lin Yongxuan frowned deeply, turned his horse around without hesitation, and galloped towards Huainan City. He knew in his heart that he absolutely could not die! If he died, the ceasefire treaty would immediately be nullified, the trade cooperation he and Su Qingwan had painstakingly negotiated would become worthless, and the two countries would inevitably fall into war again.

This must mean there's trouble in the country. Someone wants to prevent him from returning home, so they've decided to kill him at the border and then frame Huainan, using this as a perfect excuse to start a war.

At this moment, the three sides were locked in a chaotic melee, everyone completely bewildered by the disarray. Both sides of the Xilin forces were utterly confused, blindly fighting amongst themselves. Even more terrifying, a mutiny had broken out within the delegation itself, with hundreds of soldiers suddenly turning against their own comrades. In an instant, swords flashed, and the battlefield was littered with corpses—a gruesome sight too painful to behold. General Li, however, paid no heed to the internal strife; he and his cavalry closely followed Xilin Yongxuan.

Although he was completely bewildered, he remained calm and loudly ordered, "No matter what happens, we must do everything in our power to protect the Second Prince of Xilin!" He knew in his heart that if the Second Prince of Xilin died, the crime of murder would surely be pinned on Huainan.

"Yes!" the guards responded in unison, their voices firm and strong.

Su Qingwan and General Xiao Ning led three thousand light cavalry, galloping through the pitch-black night.

The Xilin delegation, with its large number of people and carriages, traveled slowly, taking a whole day to reach the valley. Meanwhile, the light cavalry galloped swiftly, like black lightning. Xilin Yongxuan was also fleeing towards Huainan, and within just an hour, the two sides met halfway.

Su Qingwan could see the flickering firelight in the distance and faintly hear the sounds of fighting. General Xiao Ning waved his hand, and three thousand light cavalry instantly split into two groups, like a black dragon, quickly spreading out to the left and right, then rapidly closing in again, charging aggressively into the battle.

The banner of the Prince of Huainan's mansion fluttered fiercely in the night wind, and under the banner, Su Qingwan, dressed in light armor and white clothes, looked heroic and valiant.

Holding a longbow, she took the fire arrow handed to her by Green Bamboo, her gaze resolute, and with a flick of her wrist, launched it into the air towards the battlefield. The fire arrow, trailing a dazzling flash of fire, streaked across the night sky like a meteor and fell into the battlefield.

Upon seeing this, General Xiao Ning roared, "Cavalry, move to the right! The princess is here! All soldiers, follow me and press forward!"

In the midst of the fierce battle in the darkness, it was difficult to distinguish friend from foe, and General Xiao Ning could only command his troops by shouting slogans.

The Huainan army had its own unique training standards. Upon hearing General Xiao Ning's call, the cavalry quickly assembled on the right and charged towards the battlefield in an orderly fashion. The Huainan light cavalry surged into the battlefield like a raging tide.

"Princess!" A shout came, and Xilin Yongxuan was seen clutching his chest, staggering, looking extremely disheveled.

He had fallen from his horse, a knife wound in his right chest, blood gushing out and staining his clothes crimson. He dragged his heavy steps toward Su Qingwan with difficulty.

The Xilin border army brought nearly 10,000 troops this time, all elite soldiers, a formidable force. Xilin Yongxuan fled towards Huainan City, pursued relentlessly until they reached this point. During his escape, Xilin Yongxuan had been stabbed several times, and now he was in a sorry state.

Su Qingwan spotted him immediately. Xilin Yongxuan, dressed in the magnificent robes of a prince, stood out conspicuously in the crowd.

Just then, an arrow shot towards Xilin Yongxuan's back like lightning. Xilin Yongxuan was already exhausted and had no power to stop it.

At this critical moment, Su Qingwan did not hesitate. She drew her bow again, squeezed her legs hard against the horse's belly, and the horse neighed and galloped forward like an arrow released from a bow.

Almost at the same moment, Su Qingwan released an arrow from her bow.

Xilin Yongxuan opened his eyes wide and looked at Su Qingwan from afar. At that moment, he was filled with despair, thinking that this arrow would be his death warrant. However, to his surprise, the arrow that Su Qingwan shot actually passed right past his ear and knocked away the cold arrow that was shot from behind him.

Behind him stood a familiar soldier, the very one who had fired the fatal arrow. Xilin Yongxuan stared at this scene, frozen in shock, his heart filled with a complex mix of emotions. He never imagined that his own people would try to kill him, and that the one who saved his life at the crucial moment was none other than the Princess of Huainan, whom he considered his sworn enemy.

No, they are not only sworn enemies, but also friends.