Chapter 189 Three Armies in Standoff
Holly's reaction disappointed him, and he lost all interest in playing the flute, casually tossing it to the back of the carriage.
Dongqing didn't ask him again, which made Guan Yi'an even more irritable.
At this moment, the carriage had traveled halfway when Guan Yi'an stopped it, picked up Dongqing, and threw her and the quilt on the ground.
Since holly will die anyway if we leave it here, there's no need to waste any more time.
The frail woman, barely clinging to life, sensed the surrounding darkness and waited for the wild boars and wolves lurking in the shadows to approach and devour her alive, piece by piece.
This method of death is bloody and cruel.
Since Dongqing would rather die than help her, then of course she can't be allowed to die too easily.
Guan Yi'an pulled the blanket down a bit, revealing Dong Qing's pale little face.
“I’ve lied to you many times and told you many lies, but what I threatened you with today is true. If you refuse to help me, I’ll throw you up in the mountains to be eaten by wolves. But you shouldn’t have to wait long, after all, you smell so strongly of blood. In less than an hour, you’ll be dead and your body will be gone.”
Holly's face was calm, and she even showed a slight smile.
"Brother Zheng, you once said that I was like a cute and innocent little rabbit. Is that true?"
"What rabbit? You're an idiot!" Guan Yi'an stood up and said mercilessly, "You can't be greedy. You either have to be loyal to your young lady or help me wholeheartedly. You chose me, but you're unwilling to betray your young lady. There's no such thing as a perfect solution. Being devoured by wolves is the consequence of your greed."
After saying that, he gave Dongqing a vicious look, turned around and prepared to leave, but Dongqing grabbed his trouser hem and said weakly, "Brother Zheng, I've finished embroidering those shoes and boots, remember to take them with you..."
Guan Yi'an forcefully pulled out his trousers, jumped onto the carriage, and drove away without looking back.
A cold wind blew, and Holly, lying on the ground, slowly closed her eyes.
Only little rabbits end up in the wolf's belly...
Brother Zheng probably didn't lie to her, which is why he arranged for her to die this way.
...
Meng Lingge, who was resting at the inn, suddenly woke up and immediately got out of bed and put on her clothes. Qiu Lan, who was not yet asleep, heard the noise and hurried over.
"Miss, what's wrong? Why are you all sweaty?"
Meng Lingge sat down at the table, took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat, and said with a serious expression, "I dreamed that Dongqing was in trouble."
Actually, it's not just that.
She dreamt that Dongqing was being abused by Zheng Qingshan, beaten until he was covered in blood and had already stopped breathing.
She only used the word "difficult" to replace it because she was afraid of scaring Qiu Lan.
Qiu Lan said, "Dong Qing has no money on her. If the man surnamed Zheng takes Dong Qing away, it's probably just for her. Dong Qing likes the man surnamed Zheng, so she will definitely obey him. There shouldn't be any other danger, right?"
She wasn't sure herself when she said that.
Zheng Qingshan dared to poison the young lady's child, which clearly shows he wasn't a benevolent person. His elaborate schemes to get close to and manipulate the young lady failed, and he only managed to take away a maid who was infatuated with him.
It's hard to say he wouldn't take his anger out on Holly.
But Dongqing was stubborn and didn't see the light back then, and now they are too far away from Dongqing. Even if Zheng Qingshan really did something to Qingshan, there's nothing they can do.
Meng Lingge still felt lingering fear when she recalled the tragic state of Dongqing in her dream.
She had made up her mind not to care about Dongqing anymore, but the dream was too real, so real that she could almost hear Dongqing's screams and the same words Dongqing kept repeating.
"Miss, I have not betrayed you, and I will never betray you."
Having been mistress and servant for over ten years, she knew of course that Dongqing would not betray her. But this silly girl was inexperienced in love, and once she fell in love with someone, her intelligence failed her, and she was always taken advantage of without realizing it.
She resented his lack of ambition, yet she still didn't want Holly to suffer misfortune.
Having this dream for no apparent reason now, I'm afraid Dongqing is really facing a terrible fate.
Meng Lingge clenched her handkerchief and ordered, "Go and call Jiang Lin over."
They haven't arrived in the Northern Frontier yet. Although Jiang Lin is a bodyguard, he doesn't hide in the shadows all day like before. Usually, after checking into the inn, several bodyguards take turns on duty.
Upon hearing this, Qiu Lan knocked on the window three times, and a figure jumped down upside down from the window, followed by Jiang Lin's voice.
"What are your orders, Your Highness?"
"How far are we from the northern frontier? I need two people to go to the capital; I have an important matter to entrust to them," Meng Lingge said in a low voice.
Jiang Lin cupped his hands in greeting.
"We should reach the Northern Frontier King's camp in about a day or two. There are four of us, including myself, who came to pick you up. However, in addition to the Northern Frontier King's camp, there are also imperial soldiers on duty there, as well as soldiers from the Blue Feather Kingdom. I suggest that we wait until the Princess Consort has safely arrived at our camp before sending anyone to the capital."
The Emperor dispatched General Leng and others to guard Dongjunling, while the Blue Feather Kingdom's soldiers camped at Qingxingzhang, and Wen Zhiming's camp was located at Nanmianshan, fifty miles away from the other two armies.
Currently, the three armies are in a triangular standoff.
The peace talks between the Golden Moon Kingdom and the Blue Feather Kingdom had been stalled, and at this crucial moment, Wen Zhiming arrived with his troops, further complicating the situation in the Northern Frontier. Coincidentally, the armies of the Golden Moon Kingdom and the Blue Feather Kingdom were originally evenly matched, but now, after Wen Zhiming's journey of recruiting soldiers, his forces had grown to nearly 90,000, creating a three-way power struggle.
They are several miles apart, yet they can still see each other from afar.
Currently, all three parties are observing and waiting, waiting for an opportunity, waiting for any one party to show a weakness, waiting for someone to lose their composure first, break the current delicate balance, and achieve the greatest victory at the lowest cost.
Although the other two parties were unaware of Meng Lingge's whereabouts, at this critical moment, with numerous dangers lurking, they could not afford to be careless until they reached the prince's camp.
"It will be too late then." Meng Lingge frowned slightly.
In fact, it's probably too late now.
But she couldn't completely ignore the matter; if Dongqing really got into trouble, it would be inextricably linked to Zheng Qingshan.
This person is too dangerous. Even though she had written to her father before to warn him to be careful, she still had a very bad feeling.
"Jiang Lin, you go yourself. You know Zheng Qingshan and Dong Qing, and you have the best lightness skill, so I trust you the most. I remember you warned me before that Zheng Qingshan was not trustworthy, but do you know anything about him?"
“I don’t know much about this person either, but he has followed you many times.” Jiang Lin said in a low voice, “Moreover, when Dongqing went missing, I saw him from the shadows. When Dongqing was knocked unconscious and thrown into the carriage, this person and Xiao Songyan were sitting in the same carriage. The two seemed to have a good relationship.”
At the time, he was ordered by Wen Zhiming to protect Meng Lingge's safety. He would not show himself unless Meng Lingge's life was in danger.
So he didn't get involved in the matter. It was only afterward, when Meng Lingge and the others brought Zheng Qingshan to the Du residence, that he wrote a note to warn Meng Lingge, worried that she might be deceived.
Hearing this, Meng Lingge felt even more uneasy.
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