Chapter 42
A few days later, the imperial edict finally arrived, and the court carefully selected a team to escort Zhao Congyun to the border.
This force consisted of over a hundred soldiers, led by Wei Zhi, a capable lieutenant under General Weiyuan. Zhao Congyun rarely interacted with the military, but while traveling through the court, he had heard praise for this man, suggesting he was young and promising, and held a high position of trust.
I just don’t know...is he Emperor Zhaoming’s man, or Lord Fan’s man?
The journey to the border is long and treacherous, and Fan Gong's followers would not miss such a good opportunity to attack. Emperor Zhaoming naturally knew this, and in order to protect Zhao Congyun and Anian, he must have put a lot of thought into the team selection.
Therefore, this team is filled with murderous intent but also with hidden help.
Zhao Congyun and Dong Shu were also prepared. Thirty-six secret guards, each composed of six men, took turns on duty day and night, communicating with Dong Shu daily using secret codes. Another small team was tasked with scouting the route ahead of time to ensure there were no ambushes.
As a result, after a few days of travel, everything was peaceful along the way. Not only were there no suspicious people, but even a stray dog was not seen.
Even so, Uncle Dong is still worried every day, because the biggest source of insecurity is not anyone else, but Zhao Congyun himself!
This person has been moody since he set out on the journey, with dark clouds hanging over his head all day long. An imperial envoy was specially dispatched for this trip, and this imperial envoy happened to be Li Si——
The censor who tried to invite Yue Mingming to elope but was thrown into Yuhu Lake by him.
Yue Mingming was also surprised by this arrangement, but she had done nothing wrong, so she was naturally not afraid that the jealous Zhao Congyun would come to make trouble, so she greeted Li Si generously when she saw him.
On the contrary, Li Si often stared at her back like a pervert, causing the soldiers to talk about it, and even Wei Zhi asked Dong Shu about it openly and secretly.
One day, Zhao Congyun finally couldn't bear it anymore. As soon as he arrived at the post station, he took the opportunity to block Li Si at the door.
Li Si ignored Zhao Congyun's unfriendly expression and said sternly, "If you have something to say, please speak up. If not, excuse me."
Zhao Congyun said, "Please, Your Excellency, take care of your eyes. If this pair of useless creatures doesn't obey, there's no point in keeping them. I'd rather gouge them out and feed them to the dogs."
Li Si sneered, "Zhao Congyun, you still think you're a prince? Even if you're bullying others, you should know your place. With your current status, you're threatening the imperial envoy like this. I have the right to punish you for disrespect on behalf of the emperor!"
Zhao Congyun said: "Who I am has nothing to do with whether I like you or not."
He took a step forward and said, "It seems you haven't had enough of the water from Jade Lake. I wonder if the well water from this desolate mountain would suit Your Excellency the Censor's taste?"
Li Si raised his neck and said, "My eyes are on me. I look at whoever I like. What can you do to me?"
The two men were on the verge of a fight when a soldier passed a message to Yue Mingming, who hurried over to stop the fight. Before she could say anything, she was shocked by Zhao Congyun's murderous gaze.
What I mean is, do you dare to help him again?
Li Si was a master at courting death. He shouted at Yue Mingming, "Mingming, this is a matter between him and me. Don't get involved!"
Yue Mingming: …………
Zhao Congyun: …………
Yue Mingming couldn't really ignore it, so she rushed between the two of them and grabbed Zhao Congyun. She thought Zhao Congyun would definitely resist, but he was very easy to follow and bumped into her.
Yue Mingming was confused about the situation... When did the prince become so weak and frail?
Zhao Congyun turned around and smiled at Li Si: "I'm sorry, my wife can't wait any longer and wants to take me back to my room to rest. Your Excellency, take care of yourself, and we will talk again another day."
"Remember what I told you. I'll keep my word."
After saying this, he didn't give Yue Mingming any chance to smooth things over. He dragged her away, leaving Li Si with only a dashing back.
*
Back in the room at the inn, Zhao Congyun's true colors were revealed.
She was a cocky vixen in public, but when Yue Mingming was around, she immediately became jealous and found fault with everything. To sum it up, she was like this:
This prince is unhappy and needs to be coaxed.
Yue Mingming was also a bit furious. She had put on a few smiles to keep things quiet, but she was already feeling a bit impatient. She thought, with all the internal and external troubles, whether she could even make it to the border safely was a question. Zhao Congyun had always been a clear-headed person, so why did he seem like someone had taken over his body lately?
Li Si is a stubborn guy. It's obvious that he has become stupid because of reading too much. Being jealous of him... is it really that serious?
Zhao Congyun's expression changed. Seeing Yue Mingming was still hesitant to respond, he said coldly, "What? I threatened him, and you're upset?"
Yue Mingming had just finished setting the table when he said unhappily, "Our team of a hundred or so has a weird guy who's causing us so much trouble. I don't want to cause any more trouble for everyone!"
Zhao Congyun said, "Just say what you want to say. Why beat around the bush and scold me?"
Yue Mingming: "I've explained it over and over again hundreds of times. There's nothing going on between Li Si and me. You insist on being jealous of this pointless thing. What can I do?"
She pushed the food in front of him and said, "Eat first. If you're interested, I'll recite the same speech to you again later. Is that okay with you?"
Zhao Congyun pushed his bowl away and said, "I have no appetite."
Yue Mingming nodded: "Okay, then when you have an 'appetite' later, let Uncle Dong prepare it for you."
She started eating without hesitation, commenting as she ate: "Tsk, tsk, this posthouse must use old rice, it smells musty... The shredded potatoes would be better if they were a little more sour... This soup is really good, and the tofu is delicious!"
Zhao Congyun's face turned pale. He knew that Yue Mingming was deliberately trying to piss him off. They had set out early in the morning and had been traveling for most of the day. They were already starving. How could he have no appetite?
But he had already made the harsh statement, and even if he had to starve to death, he must not lose face.
Yue Mingming glanced at him sideways, finding his gnashing teeth hilarious. He felt there was no need to be childish with him, so he picked up a piece of tofu and handed it to him, "Your Highness, try it. How does your cooking compare to mine?"
Zhao Congyun was just hesitating whether to go down the stairs when the door suddenly opened. Uncle Dong said in panic, "Don't eat! The food is poisonous!"
The chopsticks in Yue Mingming's hand fell to the ground with a thud. Zhao Congyun's expression suddenly changed. He grabbed Yue Mingming and said, "Spit it out before you take a few bites!"
Yue Mingming was also panicking: "I... I don't feel anything! What kind of poison... is there an antidote?"
Uncle Dong sealed several of her major meridians, then held her wrist and concentrated for a moment before letting out a sigh, "Fortunately... everything is fine."
Zhao Congyun was worried: "Are you sure?"
Uncle Dong explained, "A soldier died of poisoning while eating. The poison took effect very quickly. Madam Yue is now fine and shows no signs of the poison taking effect. You can rest assured."
Yue Mingming's eyes widened. "I heard from General Wei that every meal is checked with a silver needle. How could it be poisonous?"
"There are people in the team with ulterior motives who always find opportunities to strike. They're really hard to guard against." Uncle Dong glanced at Zhao Congyun anxiously and continued, "Your Highness... the secret guards on duty last night have lost contact, and there's been no news from the scouting team ahead... I'm afraid they've begun to act."
Zhao Congyun's eyes turned cold: "That's right, I'm also getting impatient."
He asked Uncle Dong, "How's the team investigation going?"
Uncle Dong shook his head. "There are too many people, and they're all strangers. I think Lord Fan has told them to be cautious. If they don't move, it will be difficult to investigate."
Zhao Congyun thought for a moment and said, "Let's put the others aside for now. We must find out more about Wei Zhi. If he sides with us at a critical moment, it will be disadvantageous to us."
Uncle Dong lowered his head and said, "I understand! Poisoning isn't entirely without benefits. At least in this matter, someone is bound to reveal their true intentions. I'll go check it out!"
Yue Mingming interrupted, "Is there anything I can do?"
Zhao Congyun's heart was still pounding after the false alarm. He frowned and looked at her: "Take care of yourself and Ah Nian. Don't worry about the rest."
Speaking of Ah Nian… Yue Mingming noticed something was wrong: “Why don’t I see Ah Nian?”
Uncle Dong suddenly felt a little embarrassed: "...Just now, I rushed over to inform you that Ah Nian...took the initiative to remind Master Li...Master Li always eats alone."
"..." Zhao Congyun was slightly stunned. Yue Mingming glanced at him, and his eyes clearly said "some people are not as sensible as a five-year-old child."
As soon as he mentioned the devil, he appeared. The next second, Li Si ran in with Ah Nian in a panic: "I heard the food is poisonous! Why are you..."
He glanced at Zhao Congyun and immediately changed his tone: "Mingming, are you okay?"
Zhao Congyun interrupted, "Your Excellency the Censor has arrived just in time. I have something to say to you in private."
Yue Mingming was speechless: "Hey, hey, hey, it's already this late, stop being unreasonable!"
Zhao Congyun's face darkened as he heard this. Without a word, he dragged Yue Mingming out of the room and almost slammed the door on her face when he closed it.
"You..." Yue Mingming jumped up and was about to kick the door, but was stopped by Uncle Dong: "Don't worry, my lady, the prince knows his limits and won't really do anything to Lord Li!"
Yue Mingming said angrily, "You and him are just like each other! Can't you control him and let him act like a troublemaker at this critical moment?"
Uncle Dong looked helpless. "The prince had some personal grudges with Lord Li in his early years. They disliked each other, but it's not like they were endlessly jealous."
Yue Mingming paused: "What do you mean? You said... he's not jealous?"
Uncle Dong reminded: "My lady, think carefully, when did the prince's mood start to deteriorate?"
Yue Mingming muttered "Who knows", but he began to think seriously in his heart - it seemed that before setting off, he would occasionally sit alone in a corner, depressed, and wonder what he was thinking about.
She suddenly understood what was bothering him.
After he agreed to take a long-term view, he didn't say anything else, and she didn't ask any more questions. They both tacitly agreed not to bring up the matter again, but everyone knew that this was a difficult problem between them that they couldn't get around.
Yue Mingming lowered his voice: "I'm not rushing him... He can take his time to think about it!"
Uncle Dong sighed: "It's a good thing that my lady is at peace, but the prince is always thinking about it. Maybe he already has the answer."
Yue Mingming's heart tightened. Was it because of that answer that made him even more anxious?
Uncle Dong continued, "The prince is very concerned and doesn't like to explain, so please bear with me. No matter what he chooses, I believe he will leave the smoothest path for you."
Yue Mingming lowered his eyes.
Uncle Dong patted her, turned around and went downstairs. Yue Mingming held An Nian and stood there, not moving for a long time.
Ah Nian asked, "You were very rude just now. Do you want to apologize?"
"..." Yue Mingming choked: "Who are you calling rude? He was the one who threw me out! How can a little brat like you have so many ideas? Who are you in league with?"
Ah Nian habitually ignored Yue Mingming's trash talk and folded his arms, saying, "So...are you going or not?"
"Go away!" Yue Mingming rolled his eyes and said, "But I need to prepare something to show my sincerity."
Ah Nian thought to himself, "What are you going to do?"
Yue Mingming tested him: "Xiao Anian, who do you think has the roster of our team?"
Ah Nian blurted out, "Of course it's the commander of the army, General Wei. You... you're not going to steal the list, are you?"
Yue Mingming smiled slightly: "That's exactly what I meant!"
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