Chapter 299 Panic

When Wen Zhiming called Cao Ran by his full name for the first time, everyone present felt his chilling anger, which instantly intimidated the entire room.

Ye Guhong sensed something was wrong outside the door and quickly entered the room, standing beside Wen Zhiming.

Cao Ran had anticipated Wen Zhiming's anger and had prepared himself mentally for the journey, but because of his guilty conscience, he was still somewhat apprehensive when faced with Wen Zhiming's interrogation.

"Your Highness, the Princess Consort..."

Wen Zhiming's gaze was piercing, yet cold as ice.

The next second, the tip of the sword was already pressed against Cao Ran's throat.

Where is she?

"The princess has been assassinated." Forced into a corner, Cao Ran could only utter the words he had rehearsed several times in his mind. "As you instructed, I successfully retrieved her. But on the way back, a large number of assassins in black suddenly appeared, killing many of the princess and my men. To escape the pursuit, the princess drove her carriage away, but unfortunately fell off a cliff, and her fate is unknown..."

Upon hearing the words "fell off a cliff, life or death unknown," Wen Zhiming felt as if his heart was breaking.

The four bodyguards he left for Meng Lingge were all highly skilled, and there were also hundreds of men led by Cao Ran. Now that the emperor's men were trapped in the palace, Meng Lingge should be very safe.

How could it still be so dangerous?

Wen Zhiming turned to the generals who dared not speak and said, "Prepare your defenses well, and we'll deal with everything when I return."

Wen Zhiming's sword remained horizontally in front of Cao Ran, his gaze cold and sharp.

"Take me to her now. If anything happens to the princess, I will make you pay with your life."

Although many people in the military camp said that the Northern Frontier King was decisive and ruthless, in Cao Ran's eyes, Wen Zhiming was just a junior with high martial arts skills and decisive actions.

Wen Zhiming had always treated him with respect and gentleness.

He guessed that Wen Zhiming would be angry and take his anger out on him, but he never expected that he would be dragged down with him simply because he failed to protect him.

If Wen Zhiming finds out that he is the one who harmed Meng Lingge, wouldn't he tear him to pieces?

Cao Ran's fear intensified, but he managed to maintain a calm demeanor.

"Your Highness, now is the most crucial time to kill that dog of an emperor and seize the throne. You must not leave the capital. I have left men to search the bottom of the cliff. If they find the body..."

"Shut up!" Wen Zhiming thrust his sword forward without hesitation, and Cao Ran's blood dripped down the tip of the blade.

"Take me to her!"

It is precisely because of this crucial moment that if he leaves, the morale of the troops is easily shattered.

So he made a concession, sending his most trusted general to fetch Meng Lingge. Now that his wife's fate is unknown, there's no way he can use that as an excuse to hold her back!

Without his wife, what use is the world to him?

The generals were all very concerned. Cao Ran was right; it was indeed not appropriate for the prince to leave at this time.

If the emperor finds out and launches a surprise attack, the situation will be leaderless and could very well reverse.

However, Cao Ran, as Wen Zhiming's most trusted general, could not get the prince to listen to his advice. It would be even more useless for others to say anything. Besides, the prince looked murderous right now, so they really dared not stop him.

"Zhi Mo." Ye Gu Hong patted Wen Zhi Mo's shoulder and advised, "You stay here, your master will go and find him. Your master will bring him back for you."

Looking at Wen Zhiming, who exuded an aura of dominance, Ye Guhong recalled how he had previously praised his disciple's calm and composed demeanor. Now he realized that Wen Zhiming was not so composed in the face of everyone and everything.

The princess he spoke of was his Achilles' heel.

Wen Zhiming's journey has not been easy, and Ye Guhong did not want his disciple to make a mistake at the most crucial moment. Since no one else dared to advise him, he was the only one who did so.

Everyone thought Ye Guhong's suggestion was excellent, but Wen Zhiming still insisted, "I will go and find it myself."

Unable to refuse any longer, Cao Ran had no choice but to bite the bullet and turn around to lead the way.

At this moment, three light knocking sounds came from above the room where everyone was. Just as a guard was about to go and investigate, Wen Zhiming's eyes lit up. He drew back his long sword, turned around, went out, and leaped onto the roof.

"Wait here for a moment, I will be right back!"

Everyone was very confident in Wen Zhiming's skills. Although they were puzzled, they were not too worried. Only Cao Ran was very anxious and even wanted to follow him to see what was going on, but Ye Guhong stopped her.

"General Cao, what's the rush? The prince will be back soon. We can talk about it when he returns."

After Wen Zhiming gave the order, no one dared to leave.

His aggressive and menacing demeanor had shocked everyone so much that they dared not discuss it in secret, and each of them sat upright, as if walking on thin ice.

He could only sigh inwardly, wondering who this princess was that the prince valued her so much. If she were to return, the prince's confidante in the military camp would probably have no standing anymore.

Wen Zhiming returned less than a quarter of an hour after leaving, his murderous aura completely gone, and he had returned to his calm and composed self as the King of Northern Frontier.

Wen Zhimo said.

"I just received a message from my secret guards that the Princess Consort has been rescued and is now at the Prince of Anshun's residence. She has suffered a minor head injury and is still unconscious. She will not be meeting with you all today."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the princess is unharmed. Otherwise, if the King of Northern Frontier had insisted on going to find someone at this time, disregarding the military camp and the people, it would have seriously damaged his reputation. If anything had happened to the princess, who knows what the King of Northern Frontier would have done.

Only Cao Ran looked surprised, and a look of panic flashed in his eyes.

The cliff was not clearly visible at night, but since the bottom was not visible and there were no wreckage of carriages, it could not be too low.

Falling from such a height would not result in only a minor head injury.

By the way, the prince said that his secret guards rescued her. Could it be that the secret guards rescued Meng Lingge before the carriage fell off the cliff?

Cao Ran felt a chill run down his spine after realizing this. If that was the case, Meng Lingge might have been hiding in the shadows at the time, but when she saw that the pursuers were him, why didn't she come out to meet them?

He remembered that when the assassins were about to kill Meng Lingge's soldiers, Meng Lingge had peeked out to take a look. He wondered if she had noticed anything amiss.

Meng Lingge must have sensed something was wrong, otherwise she wouldn't have had her bodyguards take her to hide, and wouldn't have followed her to the Prince of Anshun's mansion so quickly.

Although she is currently unconscious, she will definitely tell Wen Zhiming what she saw truthfully when she wakes up.

Cao Ran grew increasingly frightened as he thought about it, and when he saw Wen Zhiming approaching him, he involuntarily took a step back.

"General Cao, please forgive me. I lost control of my emotions and acted rashly just now. Is your wound alright? Someone, quickly fetch the army doctor!"

Although Wen Zhiming was very angry at the time, he did not know that Meng Lingge was killed by Cao Ran, so he did not hit her hard; his main purpose was to warn her.

The wound only broke the skin slightly and didn't require treatment at all.

Cao Ran lowered his head and said.

"It was my fault for failing to protect the princess. I will go to the military doctor to apply some medicine myself."