Chapter 254 A Clever Plan
Although she and Wen Zhiming will also lead troops to the capital tomorrow, the speed of the army's march will definitely not be as fast as the speed of a single secret guard's action.
Since she couldn't rely on her father, she had no choice but to send someone to keep an eye on things herself.
Jiang Lin acknowledged and withdrew.
Only Wen Zhiming and Meng Lingge remained in the room. Wen Zhiming immediately frowned and looked angry.
Meng Lingge rarely saw him like this, so she poked him with her finger and said, "Who offended my knife? It looks like it wants to eat people."
Wen Zhiming had said just two days ago that he wanted to be the sword in Meng Ling's singing, but seeing him looking aggrieved and angry, he couldn't help but tease him about it.
Wen Zhiming looked hurt.
“My father-in-law looks down on me. He wasn’t keen on our marriage from the start. Now that you’re carrying my child, he still wants you to abort it. He even said he’d abandon you if you were caught. Not only does he look down on me, he’s also bullying you…”
Meng Xingyuan has broken his promise to Meng Lingge. He said that he would not allow anyone to bully Meng Lingge.
My father-in-law won't do either.
But Meng Lingge would absolutely not agree to him causing trouble for his father-in-law.
They would rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go free. But with Meng Lingge's family, they couldn't even utter a harsh word.
It was not easy for his wife to marry him. As her family, her father-in-law showed her no understanding whatsoever, only blame and complaints.
He was already feeling unwell, so his wife must have felt even more heartbroken and uneasy.
Hearing his deep noise, Meng Lingge smiled helplessly and said, "What bullying or not, whether I look down on you or not... My father is afraid that everyone in the Meng family will be punished by the emperor. He is worried about the lives of everyone in the family. My child is indeed not that important. Different positions, different views. As long as I firmly choose you, why do you care what my father thinks? You won't live with him, and I won't listen to him."
Wen Zhiming didn't hear anything else, except for the sentence "I firmly choose you, and I won't listen to him."
His grievances and anger all turned into deep heartache.
Even though Meng Lingge chose him, which was misunderstood by his family and he was blamed by his father-in-law, he still felt wronged and needed Meng Lingge to comfort him.
"My wife." Wen Zhiming stood up, squatted down next to Meng Lingge, hugged her legs, and rested his head on her thigh. "I won't let you get caught, I won't let others laugh at you, I won't let you lose."
With tender gestures and earnest tone, they spoke the most sincere words of love.
"Okay, okay. I understand." Meng Lingge's bitterness faded, replaced by a faint sweetness. She reached out and pulled Wen Zhiming up: "We'll be leaving the camp tomorrow, so get some rest."
"I will obey your orders, my lady." Wen Zhiming's eyes were as dark as ink, and he smiled slightly as he carried Meng Lingge to the bed.
Meng Lingge felt that his gaze was really dangerous, so she moved further to the inside of the bed.
"The kind of rest I'm talking about isn't this kind of rest."
"Don't worry, it's the rest area you mentioned." Wen Zhiming took off his outer robe and leaned closer.
He held Meng Lingge tightly in his arms, gently patting her stomach with his hand, "Tomorrow is the first day of our journey, you'll definitely be tired, so you need to rest well today."
The entire military camp was mobilized, consisting of cavalry and infantry. If a carriage were added in the middle, it would affect the speed of the entire camp and also affect the morale of the other soldiers.
In the past few days, both Lushui and Qiulan have learned to ride horses.
Therefore, tomorrow, Meng Lingge and the other two women will disguise themselves as men and ride horses along with the other soldiers.
Meng Lingge usually rode horses for leisure and sightseeing, which was completely different from the fatigue of traveling such a long distance.
Wen Zhiming felt sorry for her because she was pregnant and had to travel so hard. He originally planned to arrange a team to secretly escort Meng Lingge, but he was still not at ease with his wife not in front of him. In addition, Meng Lingge insisted on traveling with him, so he finally gave in.
Meng Lingge always put his needs first, and even though he had desires, he couldn't bear to torment his wife today.
His hand continued to pat rhythmically, but his face moved closer to Meng Lingge's hair, gently sniffing it. The smile on his lips remained, and his eyes were soft.
He felt quite content just sleeping with Meng Lingge in his arms like this, without doing anything wrong.
Meng Lingge shifted slightly, finding a more comfortable position. A gentle kiss landed on her ear, the voice both domineering and affectionate.
"Go to sleep."
Meng Lingge smiled, and with the rhythmic tapping and the sound of the man's heartbeat behind her, she quickly drifted off to sleep.
While the couple enjoyed their tender moments together, everyone in the capital's palace lived in fear.
After the news reached the palace that the Crimson Army had been defeated by the Blue Feather Kingdom and that the Northern Frontier King had taken away tens of thousands of soldiers, the Emperor's temper grew worse day by day. Whenever the Northern Frontier King was mentioned in court, the ministers would hold their breath and speak cautiously.
After several days of discussion, no good solution had been found to quell the rebellion of the Northern Frontier King. Then, on this day, the Emperor received a memorial from the Prefect of Guandu Prefecture.
It is said that bandits have become rampant in Guandu Prefecture, numbering over ten thousand. These bandits have committed arson, looting, and plunder, causing immense suffering to the local people. They are also fierce and skilled in battle, and the government is unable to suppress them. Therefore, they earnestly request the Emperor to send troops to quell the bandits.
Guandu Prefecture is located in the southwest corner of Jinyue Kingdom. It is mountainous with little land and inconvenient transportation, making it one of the poorest places in Jinyue Kingdom.
Historically, there have always been bandits in groups, but in the past they were all small gangs. When the government tried to capture them, they would hide in the deep mountains, and over time, they were left unattended.
Unexpectedly, they have now grown to a scale of tens of thousands of people, and the timing of their appearance was so unfortunate.
The Emperor slammed the memorial down, angrily saying, "This prefect of Guandu Prefecture is a complete incompetent fool! He turned a blind eye when the bandits were still a threat, but now that they've become a major disaster, he expects me to send troops to suppress them? Where would I get so many soldiers? The trouble with the Northern Frontier King hasn't been resolved, and now banditry has broken out. It's all because I've been too lenient, letting these lowly officials who are used to being corrupt eat too much. They all want to harm me!"
Whether or not to send troops is a major dilemma.
If he ignores it, the people and court officials will think that he, the emperor, doesn't care about the lives of the people, which will be detrimental to his reputation. If he sends troops to deal with tens of thousands of bandits who are familiar with the local terrain and are extremely vicious, he will need to send at least 30,000 soldiers, which is exactly what he needs most right now.
Although there are still over 200,000 soldiers in the capital, these people cannot be touched; they are there to protect the imperial family and ensure their safety.
Eunuch Chu picked up the memorial that the Emperor had thrown to the ground, gently placed it on the table, and smiled inscrutablely.
"This servant believes that the timing of these bandits' appearance is perfect. If handled properly, it can solve all of His Majesty's troubles, killing two birds with one stone."
The Emperor became interested and stood up, saying, "Oh? What brilliant plan does Eunuch Chu have?"
Eunuch Chu lowered his head and smiled faintly.
"Bandits have become a plague, harming the people. It is an inescapable duty for the imperial court to send troops to suppress them. But there is no one else who can lead the suppression of these bandits."
Eunuch Chu's two feigned suspense would have enraged the Emperor, who would have drawn his sword long ago if it were anyone else. But the Emperor was extremely patient with Eunuch Chu.
When Eunuch Chu remains so calm, it means he has a brilliant idea.
The Emperor's mood improved, and he followed up on Eunuch Chu's words by asking, "Who is this person?"
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