Chapter 207 Unexpected

Fortunately, she had a backup plan. Meng Xiyao's skin was delicate, but also very fragile. She couldn't touch some common foods and plants, otherwise her skin would ulcerate and emit an odor.

She has suffered a lot in this regard since she was a child, and she remembers very well what she can and cannot do.

She didn't even need to leave the manor. There was a type of grass in the Meng family's garden that she couldn't touch. If she touched it, many small red spots would appear on her body, and after two days, there would be an unpleasant odor. The symptoms would take six or seven days to subside.

This time, she not only wanted to touch it, but also to take a bath with this herb.

The household was so busy preparing for her entry into the palace that Meng Xingyuan and Du Shiyin didn't pay much attention to her condition. After discovering that she had caught a cold, they called a doctor to come and see her. She took medicine, but she still didn't get better.

The day before she was to enter the palace, when Du Shiyin went to Meng Xiyao's room to give her some more instructions, she discovered that in addition to catching a cold, Meng Xiyao had developed many small red bumps on her face, and when she lifted her sleeves, they were covered with them. It was almost impossible to find a spot on her body that was unscathed.

If you smell it closely, there seems to be an unpleasant odor from festering skin.

Du Shiyin instantly guessed Meng Xiyao's plan, and was both anxious and angry.

The palace examiner had already examined Meng Xiyao two days ago, and she was perfectly fine then. But now that she's supposed to enter the palace tomorrow, she's in this state. Offending the Emperor is a serious crime.

"Xi Yao, is this what you mean by 'there's always a way out'? After you enter the palace tomorrow, there will be another nanny to examine you. You won't even pass that nanny's test."

Meng Xiyao's biological mother has passed away. Since her relationship with Meng Lingge improved, Du Shiyin has also become much closer to her. These days, the two have been calling each other mother and daughter.

She didn't want Meng Xiyao to enter the palace as a concubine, but she was powerless to change it and had to accept the fact.

Seeing Meng Xiyao willing to torment her body to avoid being favored by the emperor, I am worried about her and even more worried about the safety of the Meng family.

“Mother, don’t worry. If I had lost my virginity before entering the palace, then I would need to worry about the nanny. But I did not lose my virginity. My skin becoming like this is an accident. From childhood to adulthood, the family has consulted doctors many times for my skin problems, and they all said it was urticaria. These are all detectable, and this time it will be the same. If the Emperor sends me back because of this, then he cannot blame the Meng family for it.”

If they don't blame the Meng family and can even set her free, that would be the best outcome.

But the Emperor certainly wouldn't let her off the hook. He would order the imperial physicians to examine and treat her. In any case, these were genuine illnesses, so there was nothing to fear from his investigation.

"Is this an unexpected situation?"

Du Shiyin clearly didn't believe it.

Meng Xiyao has seen many doctors since childhood because of skin problems, but never one this severe. Now that she's older and takes good care of herself, these skin issues rarely occur anymore.

It would be even more inappropriate for her to suddenly fall ill the night before entering the palace, at such a critical juncture.

Meng Xiyao nodded calmly, "Of course it was an accident, and it had to be an accident."

This was clearly something she did intentionally.

But since things had already turned out this way, Du Shiyin had no choice. On the day designated by the Emperor, the concubines had to be sent to the palace.

As for what would happen if she were sent to the palace, she could only pray to Buddha for protection now.

She truly hadn't expected that the legitimate daughter would be so resourceful, and now this illegitimate daughter had quietly accomplished something significant.

There were some complaints, but more than anything, there was worry.

But Meng Xiyao was right; in any case, this illness could only be an accident. Du Shiyin held the handkerchief, stunned for a long time, and finally could only say, "Be careful."

...

While the Meng family was busy preparing for Meng Xiyao's entry into the harem, Meng Lingge and Wen Zhiming enjoyed a few carefree and comfortable days.

Aside from visiting the military camp during the day to discuss the war situation with several generals, Wen Zhiming spent the rest of his time with Meng Lingge.

Most of the men in the military camp were single, and the tents were not very private or soundproof, so there wasn't much room for romance between the two of them. Besides, Meng Lingge was pregnant, so they couldn't be too indulgent.

But it's just a glance when two people look at each other, the dizziness of turning around and bumping into each other's arms, the upturned corners of the mouth when drawing eyebrows in the morning, the knowing smile when blowing out candles at night—all these are sweet feelings that fill the other person's heart and warm the affection that lasts all day.

Meng Lingge had met Wen Weizhu a few times, but always when Wen Zhiming was present. After all, apart from Wen Zhiming being busy with official duties, she rarely had time to be alone with him.

Just as Meng Lingge had guessed, Wen Weizhu pretended to be very honest and obedient. Knowing that she couldn't expose Meng Lingge's identity, she called Meng Lingge "elder sister" and acted like a well-behaved little sister.

Although Meng Lingge disliked her, she wouldn't make things difficult for Wen Weizhu when she was polite, and the two got along fairly well.

At the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) that day, Wen Zhiming and Meng Lingge had already retired for the night, leaving only the guards on night patrol in the entire military camp. Suddenly, they heard a noise outside the tent. Almost instantly, Wen Zhiming jumped up, took a spear from the wall, and went out of the inner tent.

He was extremely vigilant. Even though he had been enjoying himself with Meng Lingge every night these past few days, he would always get dressed and sleep fully clothed afterward, so that he could immediately get into combat mode in case of any unexpected situation.

Worried that the rough clothes would make Meng Lingge sleep restlessly, he would cover her with a brocade quilt, wrap her up, and then hold her as she fell asleep.

The noises outside the tent and the sound of him getting up and leaving the tent were not loud. In addition, he had only been asleep for a short time, so Meng Lingge was not woken up and was still sleeping soundly.

A guard was already waiting outside the door.

Upon seeing Wen Zhiming emerge, he hurriedly reported, "Reporting to the King of Northern Frontier, a small enemy force attacked tonight, intending to set fire to our granary. General Cao has already led his men in pursuit."

After nearly half a month of standoff between the three armed forces, some people finally started to get restless.

Wen Zhiming calmly asked, "Approximately how many people are on the other side? Have you figured out which side they belong to?"

The guard said, "Judging from their attire, they should be from the Blue Feather Kingdom. There aren't many people here, probably only a few hundred, but they are all brave and skilled in battle. The one leading them is a big man wearing a blue robe."

Wen Zhiming's expression changed.

Before his father, Prince Anshun, left, he told him that there was a general in the Lanyu Kingdom named Lan Ying, who was extremely brave and unparalleled. He usually wore blue robes and was considered the most powerful general in the Lanyu Kingdom.

When the Blue Feather Kingdom first attacked, it sent its top general with only a few hundred men, which probably meant that its true intentions were not what they seemed.

How many men did General Cao bring?

The guard said, "The enemy has twice the strength. General Cao has told the King of Northern Frontier not to worry; he will capture all the enemies."

Cao Ran, perhaps seeing that the enemy was outnumbered, wanted to take them down in one fell swoop and win the first victory in this stalemate between the three armies.

Cao Ran is now in charge of the entire army's defense. If someone launches an attack, he will pursue and capture them first, and then send a guard back to report to Wen Zhiming. This is not a big problem.

But Wen Zhiming had a gut feeling that things weren't that simple.