Chapter 266 Urgent

Meng Xingyuan truly did not expect Wen Zhiming to save him.

And he came in person.

The Guandu Prefecture and Wen Zhiming's military camp were far apart, and Meng Xingyuan's actions when the Anshun Prince's Mansion was in trouble were not exactly ethical.

If Wen Zhiming didn't want to come, he had countless reasons not to.

But he still came in the end, and there was only one reason for that: the way Wen Zhiming addressed him now.

Wen Zhiming still regarded him as his father-in-law, so he had no choice but to come.

Meng Xingyuan was indeed moved, but his panic was even greater.

Wen Zhiming saved him, but fell into the emperor's trap. From then on, the remaining members of the Meng family in the capital became tools to manipulate Wen Zhiming.

This deal was a huge loss!

Wen Zhiming couldn't get over the fact that his father-in-law looked down on him and had even made Meng Lingge abort his child.

He had intended to scare Meng Xingyuan, but seeing how panicked he was, he was afraid of making him do something bad, so he could only comfort him.

"Father-in-law, there's no need to worry. I've already taken care of things in Guandu Prefecture. You were killed by bandits, your head was hanging from a tree, and your face was disfigured. Your men witnessed all of this. No one knows that I've already rescued you. Everyone in the Meng family will be fine."

He was calm and composed, with a serene gaze, and his words carried a convincing quality.

His gaze swept over her with an air of authority, his every gesture exuding elegance and composure.

There was no trace of the foolish prince left.

Meng Xingyuan's panicked expression froze, and he stammered, "I'm already dead? Then I'm no longer the Prime Minister Meng Xingyuan of Jin Yue Kingdom. I'm just an unknown nobody who can't see the light of day. I can't go with you either. Too many people in the military camp know me. If they recognize me and the news gets to the capital, I'll still be a threat."

Losing his official position was certainly a pity, but after this test by the emperor, he deeply understood the saying that serving the emperor was like serving a tiger, and he was already very lucky to have survived.

Wen Zhiming did not plan to let Meng Xingyuan return to the military camp with him for the time being. Unlike Meng Lingge, there were quite a few people in the military camp who recognized the Prime Minister. Even though he was masked, others could still guess his identity from his voice and other physical characteristics.

But having gone through so much hardship to rescue him, we must not be careless. Even if we don't bring Meng Xingyuan to the military camp, we cannot leave him alone outside.

Wen Zhiming nodded and said, "Father-in-law is right, but Lingge is very worried about you. I must bring you safely to her and arrange a safe place for you."

Meng Xingyuan looked ashamed and lowered his head, saying, "There's no need for such trouble. You've already done more than enough by rescuing me. I'll find a place to hide myself. You should go back now."

It turns out that Lingge had indeed already joined Wen Zhiming's side. I wonder if Wen Zhiming heard what he said to Lingge's guard earlier.

He ordered Lingge to get rid of the child with Wen Zhiming, but in the end, his life was still saved by Wen Zhiming. Just thinking about it made his old face tremble with rage.

Wen Zhiming knew he was a little embarrassed, so he said, "You are my father-in-law. There is no reason for me to leave you behind alone, both for public and private reasons. Father-in-law, there is no need to say anything more. I have been away from the camp for several days and we cannot delay any longer. We can talk about it when we get there."

After saying this, Wen Zhiming gestured to the guards with his eyes to continue on their way, and then ignored Meng Xingyuan.

Even if Meng Xingyuan was unwilling, he could no longer object and could only let the guards do as they pleased.

Even though the journey was so bumpy on horseback that his old bones felt like they were about to fall apart, Meng Xingyuan was too embarrassed to suggest taking a break. It was only when Wen Zhiming noticed that his complexion was off that he slowed down and made him feel a little more comfortable.

Seeing how cautious and humble he was, Wen Zhiming's slight dissatisfaction with him disappeared. Thinking of Meng Lingge, he felt even more that he should be gentler with his father-in-law.

Meng Xingyuan's body couldn't travel through the night like Wen Zhiming, but Wen Zhiming had been away from the military camp for several days and was eager to return home, so he couldn't keep up with Meng Xingyuan's pace and moved forward slowly.

After careful consideration, Wen Zhiming entrusted Meng Xingyuan to his bodyguards, arranged a meeting place and hiding place with them, and then headed to the military camp alone.

Five days later, Wen Zhiming was getting closer and closer to his military camp, and they would meet in about a day.

Meanwhile, in the palace in the capital, the emperor received three memorials in succession.

The first report came from another prefect, fifty miles away from Guandu Prefecture. He said that the bandits in Guandu Prefecture had ulterior motives and had killed the prefect of Guandu Prefecture and all the soldiers and officers in the neighboring towns. They had even hung the heads of some soldiers at the entrance of the bandit's den. He pleaded with the emperor to send military officers to suppress the bandits as soon as possible.

After reading it, the Emperor snorted coldly and tossed the memorial aside.

"Absurd! How could there be such arrogant bandits in my land? They not only kill government soldiers, but also hang up their heads. This person probably heard that I sent civil officials to suppress the bandits, and he was worried that the suppression would be ineffective and that these bandits would run into his territory and cause trouble. So he wanted to use this trick to trick me into sending reinforcements to completely wipe out the bandits."

He had just finished complaining when Eunuch Chu brought up the memorial written by Meng Xingyuan.

The Emperor accepted the memorial with a cold laugh. “Minister Meng should have already arrived in Guandu Prefecture. Once I have read Minister Meng’s memorial, I will naturally know the true nature of the bandits in Guandu Prefecture.”

But after just one glance, the smile vanished from his face, and his expression instantly turned cold and somber.

After reading it, the Emperor handed the memorial to Eunuch Chu and said coldly, "Meng Xingyuan's statement is almost identical to that of the prefect of Daonan Town. He said that the bandits in Guandu Prefecture did not harm civilians, but only killed government soldiers. They have already slaughtered all the government soldiers in Guandu Prefecture and nearby towns, and even hung the heads of government soldiers on trees at the entrance of the bandit's den. He suspects that these bandits have bad intentions, or that they may also have the intention to rebel."

“Meng Xingyuan did not pass through Daonan Town on his way to Guandu Prefecture, and the two were complete strangers. The two places are more than fifty miles apart, so it is unlikely that they colluded. Therefore, this matter is most likely true.”

Eunuch Chu closed the memorial and said solemnly, "Since it's true, we can't ignore it. First, the King of the Northern Frontier rebelled, and now even a bunch of bandits have the sinister intention to rebel. If we don't deal with this soon, the villains in the world will think that Your Majesty is easy to bully, that anyone can start a rebellion, and that anyone can be fearless of the government troops and Your Majesty!"

These words were extremely treasonous, but the emperor was not angry.

Eunuch Chu knew him very well, and these words struck a chord with him.

Unable to resolve the Northern Frontier King's problem for the time being, he had long harbored resentment. Now that these bandits were bullying him, if he remained indifferent, the dignity of the royal family would become a joke.

This is a good opportunity to vent our anger on these bandits and make an example of them.

A sinister glint flashed in the Emperor's eyes as he turned his back.

"Such treacherous officials must be eliminated. But we must wait a little longer. Meng Xingyuan has arrived at Guandu Prefecture. We will soon know whether the King of the Northern Frontier will intervene in this matter. Let these bandits run rampant for a few more days before I use their blood to offer sacrifice to the heavens."

That very evening, however, the emperor received a third urgent memorial.