Chapter 70 Chapter 69 Close relatives and distant relatives

"Anyway, Your Highness's good days are over. I can leave you alone. After all, it won't do me any good if you die.

But it will be difficult for you to step out of the courtyard again. Someone is here to take His Highness back to Lanfang Pavilion."

After she finished speaking, four guards came in from outside the hall and surrounded Wei Huaining and Qingyun, but they were stared at by her and did not dare to act rashly.

"Ha, hahahaha, do you dare to touch me?"

The situation was over and she calmed down.

"Zhao Xingde, let's wait and see."

After saying that, she no longer looked at his reaction, took Qingyun's hand and strode into the night regardless of everyone's strange looks.

"Master, this..."

Zhao Xingde's confidants asked him for instructions.

"Don't worry about her, just let her be. She's just a powerless princess and a rootless gelding. Just guard Lanfang Pavilion and don't let her die."

Zhao Xingde waved his hand in such a good mood that even Qingyun didn't bother to care.

A eunuch is not even a dog in his eyes.

"yes!"

The confidant was about to make arrangements when he was stopped by Zhao Xingde.

"I remember that there are many maidens in this mansion?"

The confidant smiled knowingly: "They are all tied up in the back hall, young master, are you going to go now?"

"Well done, it's none of your business. Go down."

Mengshan Pass.

"Lord Si Jun, the brothers have already prepared as you ordered. As soon as Beizhai's spies show up, we can completely surround this mountain pass and leave no one alive."

From the capital to the imperial mausoleum, one has to pass through the Mengshan Pass. At the northern corner of Mingzhou, Li Kong led all the Xuanyu Guards of Yiziying who were still in Mingzhou to attack for many days, and finally arrived on the agreed day.

Meng Keshu's identity is a hidden threat that Li Kong cannot avoid. The daughter of the guilty minister who should have been completely wiped out long ago cannot rest easy no matter what identity she changes.

Wei Huai'en didn't care whether Meng Keshu's existence violated the rules, just because she didn't take Li Kong seriously, and there would be other excuses if she didn't use this excuse.

But similarly, she would not help the Meng family reverse the case just because she wanted to attract Li Kong.

Li Kong knew very well the reason for the Meng family's misfortune, which even involved the real reason why the late empress died in depression. It was absolutely impossible for Wei Huai'en to help the gangsters in Dingyuan Hou's case to escape guilt just for the sake of Meng Keshu.

So he accepted the olive branch extended by King Duan without hesitation.

King Duan asked him to surround the Mengshan Pass and wait until the Beizhai people attacked Wei Huai'en's convoy, then kill all the Beizhai people in one fell swoop, completely eradicating all traces of the transactions between King Duan and the Beizhai people.

After the matter is completed, King Duan will go to court to re-investigate the Meng family case. By then, there will no longer be any conflict with Meng Keshu's identity, and there will no longer be any barrier between him and her.

This looks like a hugely profitable deal.

However, the moment he launched his troops, he had already tied himself to King Duan's ship.

If the Beizhai people succeeded, they would just pay it back. What Duan Wang did not say clearly was that Li Kong was the second reminder to kill Wei Huai'en.

Wei Huaien's fate was determined by Li Kong's surrender.

"There is Mengshan Mountain ahead, Wynn. The road in the mountain is difficult. How about we rest for the night and then cross the mountain pass tomorrow?"

At dusk, Xiao Qi came back with his guards to explore the way ahead.

"No, it has rained a few days ago and has delayed the trip. If we delay any longer, we will not be able to catch up with the new subjects this year. I have walked the road to Mengshan many times and I am very familiar with it.

According to my order, we will set off in half an hour and will not stop tonight."

Xiao Qi wanted to persuade him again, but Wei Huai'en had already lit up the lamp to read the secret report, making it clear that he would not change his mind.

Besides, he was disturbing others, so he had no choice but to comply with her wishes.

Several of the scholars Wei Huai'en had previously favored were ranked well.

Especially He Yao, who was not outstanding before, and even got to the edge of the palace examination after stumbling all the way, and actually won the top prize in Jinke.

The other two people, Zhao Hongdao and Wen Da, also lived up to her expectations and were both ranked in the top two.

The secret message sent by Shangguan Luming was urging Wei Huai'en to return to Beijing quickly and not to miss this best opportunity to show kindness to the Jinshi.

But Wei Huai'en was not very happy.

The previous chaos in Mingzhou forced her to start sorting out who were truly trustworthy under her wings and who were secretly loyal to Emperor Yonghe.

Although Emperor Yonghe had already acquiesced to her position as crown prince and did not prevent her from building momentum for herself, she could ignore these secrets, and those people would not harm her.

It's just that there is no room for others to snore on the side of the bed.

She couldn't bear to experience the powerlessness of no one around her again, and she couldn't stand that even now, she still had to be constrained and had others interfere with her choices in the name of her own good.

Not even Emperor Yonghe, nor anyone else.

Now that she has chosen Xiao Qi, and since she has taken this unconventional path, she will never allow herself to become anyone's vassal again.

Whether she is right or wrong, she will bear the consequences, but she must make her own decision.

Wei Huai'en thought for a moment and circled Zhao Hongdao's last name.

It seemed that this person's hometown was the same as that of the Duke of Fuguo, so she had to be suspicious of this clan.

Although Zhao Xingde and the Duke of Fuguo behind him relied on Jiafu's relationship to help her and King Duan, but this time King Duan went north, Zhao Xingde's contribution was not insignificant, and she could not trust them.

She always felt strange when talking about the North.

Xiao Qi had been patrolling the Fuyuan Army in the northern border for many years. She knew that General Chen Fang was strict in running the army, and everyone in the army worshiped him. He had been fighting against Beizhai for many years, and he never retreated even a step no matter how difficult the battle was.

But for such an army, after she had allocated food and medicinal materials in advance years ago, and after the Ministry of Revenue had just raised the pay for the Fuyuan Army, there would actually be a rebellion by the city defenders after the beginning of spring?

Moreover, the rebellion was suppressed by General Chen Fang within a few days, and even made the victims who were originally ready to take action calm down a lot.

It seems that the rebellion was specifically designed to make King Duan miserable without breaking his bones.

If according to what she had guessed before, Emperor Yonghe attacked the north and south at the same time to cut off the most solid force around her and King Duan, and her confidant was Xiao Qi, then who did King Duan lose?

Looking at King Duan's unwillingness to show any regrets in court, and Zhao Xingde's resentful behavior, she did not feel that King Duan had damaged his vitality.

The motorcade set off again, and the flickering candlelight was not suitable for reading the letter anymore. Wei Huai'en had to put down the letter for the time being, lift the curtain and look outside.

It was dusk and the vegetation on Mengshan Mountain was dense. She could not see very far in the darkness.

However, there was only the sound of horse hooves and the occasional chatter of guards in the quiet forest, which temporarily relieved her tense nerves.

Suddenly a bouquet of flowers was thrown into her car window.

She held up the fragrant bouquet composed of various wild flowers with surprise and joy, and looked at the knight in black who came to her with a smile.

"I have nothing to show my courtesy to you. Tell me, what do you need from me to help you with, Mr. Xiao?"

"Is anything okay, Your Highness?"

He bent down slightly, took out a packet of snacks from his arms and gave it to her.

"Dinner is in a hurry, so you don't need much. If you are hungry, you can still use this cushion."

Although they already have such a close relationship, they can't always be too casual in front of others. So Wei Huai'en leaned out of the car window, looked around, and asked him in a low voice:

"Do you want to get in the car?"

Xiao Qi's heart seemed to be lightly tickled by her soft ending, and he almost agreed.

However, he was still worried about traveling at night. Even though Shifang led the team and the guards of the Princess Mansion were good experts, he did not dare to entrust her safety to outsiders.

It seemed that after being supported by her love and becoming a complete person, he naturally regarded her as a Jiaojiao who needed his protection.

He even wanted her to rely on him more than before. He wanted to make all the decisions for her, so that she would be safe and worry-free, so that she no longer had to frown for others.

"No, I have to go to Shifang to talk about something. If Your Highness is sleepy, just sleep peacefully."

He still couldn't hold it back, reached into the car, pinched her cheek with moderate force, then took out a small yellow flower from the bouquet and pinned it on her temple.

"I match you very well, Wynn."

After saying this in a low voice, he grabbed the horse's belly and headed towards the front group.

Wei Huai'en put down the car curtain, put the bouquet and snacks on the small table, and lay down half leaning on the soft pillow.

Although she preferred the ocher red flower in the bouquet to the bright yellow flower on her temples, she thought about it and did not change it.

"Deputy Ambassador Xiao, we have reached the gravel slope. Not far ahead is the mountain pass. After passing there, we are halfway to Mengshan Mountain."

Although it was dark all around, Shifang was familiar with this road.

The guards talked more at night, trying to cheer each other up. Anyway, they were far away from their master's carriage, so Shifang and Xiao Qi didn't stop them.

It's just that Xiao Qi vaguely seemed to hear voices different from the chatter of the guards.

"stop!"

He raised his arms and clenched his fists, and everyone reined in their horses. For a moment, all sounds disappeared, even the crackling of the torches was a bit harsh.

Xiao Qi threw the torch towards the rock wall without hesitation.
To be continued...