Chapter 145 She has to wait for him to come back

It was dark and the road was slippery. The biting cold wind blew the broken snow, hitting my face, making it freezing cold.

Wen Ning was burning with anxiety and just kept urging the horse to gallop.

But she was not a good rider, and her vision was blurred on a snowy night, so she failed to notice a shallow pit hidden underground in time.

The horse's front hooves suddenly stepped on empty air and it let out a terrified neigh. The huge inertia threw her off the horse's back!

She didn't even have time to scream before her forehead hit the frozen ground hard. A sharp pain came over her and her body sank softly into the cold snow.

When I woke up again, my whole body was tightly wrapped in the familiar and heart-throbbing scent of sandalwood.

Wen Ning slowly opened her eyes, and the tent ceiling came into view—

It was his bed! She was lying on the Marquis's bed!

An indescribable ecstasy instantly dispelled all her drowsiness and discomfort, almost bringing her to tears.

It was him! It must have been the Marquis who saved her!

Every time she was in danger, he would come to her like a god.

He is back!

He is safe!

"Miss! You are finally awake!" Wanqing and Yunxiu, who were standing by, hurried forward and were obviously relieved when they saw her open her eyes.

Wen Ning suddenly grabbed Wan Qing's hand, her eyes anxiously scanning the inner room and the door, "Where's the Marquis? Did he bring me back? Where is he? Quick, take me to see her!"

Wanqing and Yunxiu's faces froze slightly, and they subconsciously avoided her burning gaze.

Wan Qing twisted the corner of her clothes with her fingertips and whispered, "It was... the returning army encountered the girl, and she happened to be seen by the Qingmang guards, who rescued her."

Yunxiu secretly glanced up at her, "The troops from Prince Chen's Palace who were tracking you have arrived soon and have already reported your safety to His Majesty. Now that the young lady has woken up, I will send someone to the palace to pass on a message, so that His Majesty and His Majesty can rest assured..."

Wen Ning could no longer hear what was said afterwards.

She only felt a buzzing in her ears, and the sounds of the whole world became blurred and distant.

"Go... ask Qing Mang to come see me."

Qing Mang was guarding outside the door at this time. When he entered, he simply repeated the messenger's words in a more detailed and cruel manner through a screen.

Finally, he solemnly informed her, "Qing Feng will remain at Cangwu Pass, personally leading the search and rescue efforts. We will not withdraw until the Marquis is found."

Wen Ning took a long time to calm down before she suppressed the pain that was about to tear her apart back to the deepest part of her heart.

She firmly believed that the Marquis would be fine.

He told her to wait for him to come back, and he would never break his promise.

This belief was like a thin and tough thread, which gradually gathered her scattered mind.

"I understand...you can go out..."

Qingmang bowed and retreated.

Wen Ning turned around and asked, "How is the old lady?"

The old lady has seen off too many of her loved ones, and every farewell is a scar deep enough to see the bone.

She didn't dare to think too deeply about how such an old body and mind could bear the current situation.

Wan Qing whispered back, "My lady, the old lady was persuaded to go back by Nanny Zhou before you woke up. I heard from Nanny that the old lady held the young master tightly and refused to let go. Fortunately, the young master was with her. Otherwise... I'm afraid the old lady really couldn't bear this blow..."

Upon hearing this, Wen Ning felt that she had to remain calm and must become the pillar of the Marquis' Mansion.

She had to comfort the old lady and take good care of Xibao.

She wants to protect this home for him.

She would wait for him to come back.

…

When the news of Anyuan Hou's life and death remaining unknown after his great victory in Cangwu reached the imperial court, it immediately caused great shock and deep concern.

The sudden absence of this commander with great military achievements not only caused the border tribes that had just suffered heavy losses to become disloyal, but what was even more worrying was that the 200,000 elite border troops had always only obeyed the orders of Marquis Anyuan. If he really met with an accident, the powerful troops would be leaderless, and if they had the intention of mutiny, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The Crown Prince Xiao Jinhuan's previous misdeeds had already disappointed most of the court and the public, and at this critical juncture when the country was in trouble both internally and externally, it was even more difficult for him to win the support of the people.

In order to quickly stabilize the turbulent situation, appease the panicked people, and consolidate the country, Emperor Chengxuan had to act decisively and issue an edict to depose Crown Prince Xiao Jinhuan, and at the same time enthrone Prince Xiao Jinyu as Crown Prince, in order to take control of the overall situation as soon as possible and deal with the crisis.

It was this decree of dethronement that completely shattered Xiao Jinhuan's last hope.

The overwhelming anger and unwillingness consumed him, and eventually gave rise to the craziest idea.

Since his father is ruthless and his subjects are betraying him, he will seize the supreme throne with his own hands!

Now that Marquis Anyuan's life or death is uncertain and the defense of the capital is leaderless, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to start an uprising!

At this point, the deposed Crown Prince Xiao Jinhuan was finally about to embark on the road of rebellion from which there was no return.

…

Late at night in the palace, candlelight flickered in the imperial study.

Emperor Chengxuan was reviewing memorials under a lamp when Eunuch Li presented him with an unsigned secret letter and whispered, "Your Majesty, from Cangwu Pass... an urgent message from eight hundred miles away, sent through a secret passage."

The emperor frowned and quickly opened the sealing wax. On it was Xie Jinglan's handwriting, which was so strong that it could be seen through the back of the paper:

"I thank Jinglan for the secret report:

The great victory in Cangwu was achieved thanks to Your Majesty's great blessing. The main force of the barbarians has been defeated and the border is temporarily peaceful.

However, when I was clearing out the remaining enemies, I captured a young barbarian general who was barking and secretly communicating with the Eastern Palace. He said that his leader had secret letters with the Eastern Palace hidden in his arms, and all his border violations, luring the enemy, and even his plans against me were carried out in accordance with the secret orders of the Eastern Palace.

I was shocked to hear this, but since it concerns the foundation of the country, I dare not take it lightly.

So he pretended to be in danger, catching the enemy off guard, and then he sneaked into the enemy chief's lair, fought hard to escape, and captured the enemy chief alive.

Now we have solid evidence in hand, the rebel leader is in custody and is being secretly brought back to the capital.

When I arrive in Beijing with witnesses and evidence to see the emperor, everything will become clear.

I thank Jinglan and bow again. "

The letter slipped from Emperor Chengxuan's slightly trembling hands and floated on the imperial desk.

His chest heaved violently, and after a brief silence, there was a loud "bang"!

The emperor slammed the rosewood table so hard that the pen holder and inkstone all jumped!

"My good son! My good prince!"

"I've been incredibly tolerant of him before, repeatedly backing off, hoping he'd change his ways and save the royal family's dignity! But he's gone even further, now even daring to... daring to collude with foreign enemies! He's inviting a wolf into the house!"

"Is he planning to hand over my kingdom and the legacy of my ancestors to those barbarians?! His heart is treacherous! His crime deserves death!"

Eunuch Li was so frightened that he immediately prostrated himself on the ground, his voice trembling as he repeatedly pleaded, "Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty, please take good care of yourself!"

The only sound in the imperial study was the emperor's heavy breathing. After a long time, Emperor Chengxuan slowly sat back on the dragon throne.

"Good...very good!"

"I...would like to see if this 'good son' of mine' would rebel, and what tricks he could come up with..."

"It's just right... to see if this newly appointed crown prince has the ability and courage to turn the tide and take control of the situation!"

…

The day before the ceremony of enthroning the crown prince, it snowed all day long in the capital. After nightfall, everything was silent except for the subtle sound of dead branches being broken by the accumulated snow.

Wen stared at the snowy world outside the window, feeling completely sleepless.

Suddenly, there was an unusual noise coming from outside, like the chaotic sound of horses' hooves crushing ice and snow, mixed with the shouts of weapons clashing.

Just as she was about to call for help, there was a hasty knock on the door.