Chapter 61
Liu Jin, carrying a basket of vegetables, secretly followed the group to the back gate of the Duke's mansion.
He followed them to the kitchen, and while they weren't looking, he slipped away and wandered around the Duke's mansion.
This place is so big, where should I look?
He paused when a maid carrying a bowl of medicine passed by him. Medicine. Li Jinghe was sickly, so following the maid would surely lead him to Li Jinghe's residence.
He followed quietly, and a quarter of an hour later, he indeed saw Li Jinghe standing in the courtyard.
His face lit up with joy. "Finally, I've found you!"
From the shadows, Yue saw a furtive figure lurking in the corner, silently appearing behind Liu Jin.
"Ouch!" Liu Jin cried out in pain as Yue bent one of his hands behind his back.
"Who is it! Let me go!" Liu Jin shouted.
Yue led him toward Li Jinghe and said, "Master, he has been lurking outside, watching the courtyard."
Li Jinghe was surprised to see Liu Jin arrive and said, "It seems your princess isn't hidden in our Duke's mansion?"
Liu Jin's eyes darted around as he explained, "I'm not here to see the princess, I'm here to see Yuexing."
Upon hearing him mention Su Yuexing, Li Jinghe's eyes darkened, and he asked, "What do you want with her?"
Liu Jin was in a very uncomfortable position and said, "Make this man let me go first!"
Li Jinghe sneered and winked at Chaoyue. Chaoyue understood the meaning in his eyes and increased the force in her hands.
"Ah!" Liu Jin screamed in pain, "I am the imperial son-in-law! A member of the royal family!"
"You've offended me! You'll regret it!"
Li Jinghe didn't take his threat to heart and leisurely bent down, asking, "What do you want with her?"
Seeing that Li Jinghe didn't take his words to heart, Liu Jin felt even more disgusted with him, but he still pleaded for forgiveness, saying, "I was wrong!"
"Please have mercy and spare me!"
Li Jinghe glanced at him and said, "I'll ask you one last time, what do you want with her?"
Liu Jin explained, "I didn't need anything from her, I just wanted to have a chat with her."
Li Jinghe sneered, "Do you think I would believe that?"
Liu Jin lowered his eyes, his mind racing to come up with a solution, and said, "Last time when Yuexing came to see me, I had a huge misunderstanding with her, so I'm here this time to explain things to her."
Li Jinghe narrowed his eyes and frowned, saying, "You said she came looking for you!"
Liu Jin nodded and said, "That's right."
"Yuexing! Come out here! I have something to tell you!" he shouted.
Yue, annoyed by his noise, said, "Shut up!" Then a cracking sound came from his bones.
Liu Jin's face contorted in pain, turning deathly pale. He gritted his teeth and said, "I am the imperial son-in-law!"
Thinking about his strange behavior, Li Jinghe looked towards the room and then at the disheveled Liu Jin on the ground. He suspected that this man's true intentions were not what they seemed.
"Throw him out!" Li Jinghe ordered coldly.
"Yes!" Yue received the order and pulled Liu Jin outside.
Liu Jin could only keep shouting. Meng Wang walked towards him and, seeing the disheveled Liu Jin in Yue's hands, exclaimed in shock, "The... the prince consort!"
"How did you end up like this!"
When Liu Jin saw that someone was finally addressing him respectfully as the Prince Consort, he quickly said, "I came to find my fellow villager, but I didn't expect to be beaten up by villains."
Mengwang looked at Yue beside him. He knew who the villain Liu Jin was talking about was, and he wanted to save Liu Jin from Yue's grasp.
Yue said coldly, "If my master wants me to throw him out of the manor, no one can stop me."
Mengwang's outstretched hand stiffened slightly. Yue was a secret guard given to Li Jinghe by his grandfather. No one could offend him. Even his father had to give this secret guard some face, let alone himself.
Liu Jin hurriedly begged for mercy, "Young Master Meng! Save me! I am, after all, the prince consort. If something happens to me, and the princess blames you, your Duke's mansion will be in deep trouble."
A hint of disgust flashed in Mengwang's eyes. Was this the tone of someone begging?
If you weren't still somewhat useful, I wouldn't have helped you.
"Please give me some face, Guard Yue," Meng Wang said respectfully.
Yue frowned slightly. Since the young master of the Meng family had spoken like this, it wouldn't be good for her to disagree, after all, he was her master's cousin.
"Help me get rid of him." Yue left after saying this.
Meng Wang took Liu to the clinic to see a doctor. On the way, he asked, "Why did you suddenly come to the Duke's mansion without saying a word, Prince Consort?"
Liu Jin said irritably, "Why should I greet my fellow villager when I come to see him?"
Mengwang looked him up and down and said, "You don't need to dress so plainly when you meet someone from your hometown."
Liu Jin choked, "I..."
Mengwang then asked, "Who is your fellow villager?"
He replied, "Su Yuexing."
Mengwang frowned and said, "She is no longer in the manor."
"Huh?" Liu Jin asked, looking puzzled.
Mengwang continued, "They've already divorced."
Liu Jin lowered his head in thought. Although they were no longer together, Sai Taxue might still be hiding in Li Jinghe's place.
Meng Wang said, "Do you hate my cousin to death right now?"
Liu Jin immediately said, "Of course! He treated me like that! I have to get revenge!"
"Why don't we cooperate?" Mengwang said earnestly.
Liu Jin frowned slightly and said, "Cooperation?"
"You're going to help an outsider like me deal with your cousin?" he asked, looking puzzled.
Do you think I'd believe what you're saying?
Meng Wang thought to himself, "This person is quite wary." He said, "If you knew that an elder's love only favors one person, you would understand how I feel."
Liu Jin realized that he was jealous of Li Jinghe's favor with the old Duke.
Knowing that this was the reason, Liu Jin felt relieved and agreed, "Okay, we can cooperate."
Upon hearing that he was willing to cooperate, Meng Wang asked, "Then tell me, what is your real purpose in coming to the Duke's mansion?"
Liu Jin remained silent, unsure whether he should reveal his inner thoughts.
Seeing his hesitation, Mengwang said, "To show my sincerity, I will tell you my future plans."
Liu Jin suddenly looked up, frowning, and asked, "Your plan?"
Mengwang nodded seriously and continued, "Yes! My plan!"
"I intend to!" He gestured towards his neck, his eyes revealing a ruthless glint.
Liu Jin asked incredulously, "You really want to do this?"
“Of course! But I need your help here!” he said.
Liu Jin asked in confusion, "What would I do to help you?"
Mengwang replied, "You'll find out then."
"Now can you tell me why you came to the Duke's mansion?" Mengwang asked tentatively.
Liu Jin pursed his lips. What if he tries to steal the credit from me if I tell him about this?
Moreover, the person is hiding in their Duke's mansion, and when the person is caught, it will inevitably implicate the Duke's mansion.
So... after thinking it over, Liu Jin decided it was best not to say anything.
But what reason could I give to deceive him?
Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Meng Wang knew that he did not trust her yet.
Just as he was thinking about how to get him to talk, Liu Jin said, "Actually, you're right. Meeting a fellow villager was just a pretext for me."
"Actually, my real purpose is to find the princess."
Mengwang asked with a puzzled look, "Looking for the princess!"
"How could the princess possibly be at the Duke's mansion?"
Liu Jin explained, "Someone secretly wrote me a letter."
"I know there's no evidence for this, so I disguised myself to find out!"
“I just didn’t expect…” His eyes turned cold.
Mengwang comforted her, "I will investigate this matter thoroughly."
"If the princess is hiding in the Duke's mansion, it means that our Duke's mansion is colluding with the militia!"
Liu Jin nodded and said, "Yes! That's why I've been hesitant to tell you about this."
Mengwang explained, "I understand!"
"But don't worry, now that I know about this, I will definitely find out the truth!"
"And it's much easier for me to investigate than it is for you at the Duke's mansion."
Liu Jin said respectfully, "Then I'll have to trouble you!"
Meng Wang escorted Liu Jin to the clinic, and then drove off to another location.
In a courtyard, several carriages were parked outside. Mengwang came in from outside, and inside sat a man about the same age as Mengkang.
They were all officials appointed by the imperial court, but this time they were dressed in the clothes of ordinary people.
Mengwang came in from outside. "Why are you so late?" Mengkang scolded.
Mengwang lowered his head and admitted his mistake, saying, "I was delayed by something."
"Get into your seats," Meng Kang instructed.
"Yes!" Mengwang replied respectfully.
Meng Kang, seated at the head of the table, said, "My colleagues, you've worked hard!"
"His Majesty is unwell, and his health has deteriorated rapidly since the disappearance of the divine physician."
"We can't even attend the morning court session, and there are militia uprisings in other places, so I would like to discuss with you how we should stabilize the situation!"
The Grand Commandant stepped forward and said, "Why don't we let you, Prime Minister, temporarily take charge of the government?"
Meng Kang declined, saying, "This...no! The prince is still alive; I absolutely cannot take power!"
The other officials knelt on the ground and pleaded, "Please, Prime Minister, take over the administration of the state!"
Meng Kang stood up with a helpless expression and said, "You're forcing me!"
The crowd repeated themselves, "We beg the Prime Minister to take charge of the government!"
Mengwang stepped forward and said, "Father! Just agree! This is the will of the officials!"
Meng Kang said helplessly, "Then I have no choice but to agree."
After everyone left, Mengwang told Mengkang about meeting Liu Jin.
Meng Kang said, "Let's hold back for now! Send some men to keep watch in his yard from the shadows."
"Those people's methods must be handled carefully; their bodyguards must never find out!"
“Yes!” Mengwang replied.
"Father, we've been planning for so long, how much longer until we make our move?" Mengwang asked.
Looking at his appearance, Meng Kang said with dissatisfaction, "Don't be so impatient when doing things, you need to calm down!"
"Once you're in that position, you absolutely must get rid of this bad habit of yours!"
Mengwang lowered his head and said, "Your son understands."
Seeing that he knew he was wrong, Meng Kang stopped arguing with him and said, "Now most of the officials in the court have turned to us."
"As long as the Grand Tutor is on our side, then what we're doing will definitely succeed!"
Meng Wang said, "Father means that we can make our move once the Grand Tutor's daughter marries Li Jinghe!"
Meng Kang nodded. "So we have to be careful lately! We absolutely cannot let the news leak out!"
Mengwang's face lit up with joy: "That's wonderful!"
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