Chapter 725 This is absolutely treason

The ten-mile plum blossom forest was stunning at first, but after staying there for a while, it became incredibly cold.

The heavy snow kept falling, and the snow on the ground was a thick layer. When you stepped on it, it was almost up to your knees.

Ruan Mingzhu clung to Cheng Wanwan's arm, breathing heavily as she said, "It's so cold, so incredibly cold! My trousers and shoes are soaked through. If this continues, I'll really freeze to death... Princess Rongqing is so ruthless! She deliberately abandoned us in the plum grove. If we freeze to death there, outsiders will only think we came to admire the plum blossoms and brought this upon ourselves, while she manages to escape unscathed... I always thought she was kind, but I never imagined she was so vicious. The Empress Dowager was deceived by her..."

She kept talking, as if that would warm her up.

As she was talking, she suddenly saw Cheng Wanwan pull out a compass-like object from her sleeve, with two needles inside that were spinning around.

She asked curiously, "What is this?"

“This is called a compass, a strange gadget I don’t know where it came from,” Cheng Wanwan explained. “A friend gave it to me, and I didn’t think it was very useful, because I can usually tell which way is north, south, east, or west. But now, this thing can come in very handy. See this needle…”

Ruan Mingzhu listened attentively to her explanation, her face full of amazement: "There are such amazing things in this world! They might even be useful on the battlefield. Where did Sui Shuren's friend buy them? Are they still available? How much do they cost?"

Cheng Wanwan: "..."

Is this the time to talk about compasses? Shouldn't we be hurrying to find Merlin's way?

She carefully determined the direction, "Go west."

Ruan Mingzhu frowned: "Going west means going into even deeper forests, which is even more difficult to traverse than Meilin."

“There’s no way to go north, and going south is going down the mountain, which would be like walking into a trap. Going east is an unknown canyon, and I’ve been to the west once; there’s a cave there,” Cheng Wanwan explained. “With a cave, we can avoid the wind and snow, and we won’t freeze to death so quickly. Your parents know we’re coming this way, and they’ll definitely come up the mountain tonight to look for us. Everything will be alright.”

Nguyen Minh Chu immediately nodded: "Then let's hurry up and go."

With a compass, the two had a direction and wouldn't wander around aimlessly in the plum grove. After walking for a while, it got completely dark.

Deep in the mountains and forests, under a dark sky, with heavy snow falling, a person standing here would definitely faint from fright.

However, Ruan Mingzhu was bold, and Cheng Wanwan was calm. Although they were panicking, neither of them showed it, and they continued to walk westward while talking.

She walked for an unknown amount of time, until Cheng Wanwan's legs were numb, before finally seeing the familiar scenery.

She had been here before during her last trip to Linxi, so she knew the place well.

During this period, she would listen to He Ling's movements every night. Because of the heavy snow, the road up the mountain was difficult to travel, and no one was coming here for the time being.

This gave her an excellent opportunity.

"I see a cave!" Nguyen Minh Chau exclaimed in surprise. "Su Thuy Man, there really is a cave! Hurry, hurry!"

The two quickened their pace and soon arrived at the cave entrance.

There was snow and a faint light outside the cave, but inside it was pitch black and nothing could be seen.

Cheng Wanwan reached into her sleeve and said, "I brought a tinderbox. Now we need to find some dry firewood to start a fire."

Nguyen Minh Chau nodded and immediately turned to go outside the cave to find firewood.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Cheng Wanwan quickly entered the cave, found the mechanism, twisted it, slipped inside, and then turned on her flashlight.

She went into the inner room and was startled by what she saw.

When she came here last time, there were only a few dozen crates, but now, they have been piled up from the ground all the way to the top of the cave. There are at least several hundred crates, and these weapons are enough for 30,000 to 40,000 people.

In such a short period of time, He Ling has manufactured so many weapons. This is definitely a rebellion!

She took out all the weapons in the storage space that were engraved with the unique mark of the He family. This time, the mark was not a random one, but a real pattern provided by He Xiao. This was irrefutable evidence!

The weapons in the storage space were replaced with the weapons in the cage. It took less than fifteen minutes to do all of this.

She quickly closed all the boxes and cages.

Now, all we have to do is wait for the General of the Cavalry to arrive!

She turned and hurried out. Just as she closed the door, Ruan Mingzhu returned, dragging a large tree trunk, her face full of dejection: "All the wood is wet. How can we possibly burn this? It's so cold, I'm freezing to death..."

Cheng Wanwan pointed to the corner of the cave: "I just found a pile of dry firewood here. It must have been left by someone before. Let's quickly help set it up and start a fire."

In fact, she bought this firewood from the mall and put it here.

Without a shred of doubt, Nguyen Minh Chu happily moved the firewood over and skillfully arranged it into a flammable frame. She blew on the tinderbox, and the fire slowly ignited, finally bringing light to the dark cave.

She quickly took off her shoes and socks and hung them on the side to dry.

"Ah, it's finally warm up." Nguyen Minh Chu let out a comfortable sigh. "If only I had a pot, I could simmer some soup and have a hot bowl of soup. How wonderful that would be."

Cheng Wanwan chuckled: "We don't have hot soup, but we do have shortbread. Do you want some?"

She took two packets of pastries out of her sleeve and handed one over.

Nguyen Minh Chu took it and said in surprise, "Why does Su Su-ren still carry these with her?"

“My grandchildren love snacks, so I have to carry extra with me to appease them,” Cheng Wanwan lied without blushing. “After they’ve eaten, they come over and lean against me for a nap, and they’ll be fine by midnight.”

Nguyen Minh Chau finished the snack in a few bites and said with lingering satisfaction, "It's so delicious, better than any snack I've ever had."

She clapped her hands, moved over and sat down next to Cheng Wanwan, hugging Cheng Wanwan's arm tightly, and said contentedly, "If I had been thrown into the plum grove alone, I would have frozen to death by now. Many people say that Sui Shuren is lucky, and now I understand what luck means. Anyway, I'm sure I'll be fine with Sui Shuren."

"If I were lucky, I wouldn't have caught Princess Rongqing's eye." Cheng Wanwan looked at the firelight in front of her. "How much do you know about Princess Rongqing?"

Ruan Mingzhu shook her head and lowered her voice, saying, "I only know that she's not a member of the royal family. She was raised by the Empress Dowager because she saved the princess years ago. Princess Rongqing hasn't caused any trouble all these years, so I don't know why she's targeting Consort Sui... When I get home, I'll have my mother take me to the palace to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager. I need to ask Princess Rongqing why she..."

“If you ask her directly, she naturally won’t admit it,” Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. “She’s here for me, so don’t worry about it.”

“Sui Shuren, you’re so warm!” Ruan Mingzhu rested her head on Cheng Wanwan’s lap and squinted her eyes as she said, “When I was little, I would sleep next to my mother, but later she always forbade me from playing with guns and knives. She controlled everything I did, and my mother and I gradually became less close…”

She talked and mumbled to herself, and slowly fell asleep.

Cheng Wanwan threw a few pieces of burning charcoal into the fire, added some dry firewood, and then bought a large mink cloak from the mall to wear. She covered the little girl's back with the other half of the cloak and fell asleep with her eyes closed.