Chapter 256 Elite Soldiers
After giving his instructions, Eunuch Chu swaggered away.
Meng Xingyuan remained frozen in place, his whole body shivering with cold.
They set off two hours later. The emperor was afraid that the officials would object, so he took the initiative. By the time the other officials reacted, he had already led the troops out of the city, and it would be useless for them to object.
The Emperor was determined to take his life.
After careful reflection, Meng Xingyuan was certain that he had not done anything to offend the Emperor recently. Ultimately, it was all because of Wen Zhiming, the Prince of Northern Frontier.
Perhaps the Emperor was upset by the Prince of Northern Frontier, but there were no relatives or friends of the Prince of Northern Frontier in the capital. Only the Emperor's former father-in-law could barely be associated with the Prince of Northern Frontier.
Therefore, the emperor's decision to send him to lead troops could be to kill him, to vent his resentment towards the King of the Northern Frontier, or it could be to use this matter to see if he was colluding with the King of the Northern Frontier.
Even though he had served the emperor for many years and knew that the emperor was cold-hearted and ungrateful, Meng Xingyuan felt a sense of sorrow when he thought that the emperor had never truly trusted him in all these years of being his subject, and now, because of a little suspicion, he wanted to put him to death.
He was always worried that Meng Lingge would act impulsively and associate with the King of Northern Frontier, which would bring disaster to the Meng family. However, he never expected that despite his cautious words and actions and unwavering loyalty, and his complete lack of intention to have any further involvement with the King of Northern Frontier, the Emperor would still easily sentence him to death based on a single suspicion.
Seeing the tense atmosphere, none of the servants in the Meng household dared to utter a sound. The steward dismissed the servants and slowly walked up to Meng Xingyuan.
"Sir, shall we prepare our travel gear?"
Meng Xingyuan nodded with difficulty.
The imperial decree had been issued, and no matter how unwilling or incomprehensible he was, he had to act in accordance with it.
Going to suppress the bandits might offer a sliver of hope, but disobeying the imperial decree would mean certain death. Not only would he die, but the rest of the Meng family would also perish.
Du Shiyin pushed the wheelchair to Meng Xingyuan's side and whispered, "What does Your Majesty mean by this? Lingge was only married to the Prince of the Northern Frontier, and she has already divorced him on his orders. Why does Your Majesty still keep targeting our Meng family? Lingge has no home to return to, and Xiyao and Qingyu have been imprisoned in the palace by him. Now he is not even willing to let go of her husband. Are all the military generals in the court dead? Why must you, an elderly civil official, be sent to suppress the bandits?"
The couple had been married for many years, but had many disagreements.
Du Shiyin still hoped that Meng Xingyuan would be alright. Upon receiving this devastating news, she was filled with worry for Meng Xingyuan, fearing that with his passing, the two would be separated forever.
Since Meng Xingyuan took a concubine, she rarely called him "husband." She usually used polite but distant terms like "sir" or "master." But in this time of hardship, she forgot all the unpleasant things between them and only remembered the good things about the man beside her.
Du Shiyin hugged Meng Xingyuan's leg, tears streaming down her face.
"Since Your Majesty is determined to exterminate everyone, why not kill me, this useless piece of trash, first? My useless legs can't even go with you. If everyone else leaves, how am I supposed to survive?"
Normally, if Du Shiyin had said such outrageous things, Meng Xingyuan would have already scolded her. But today, he let Du Shiyin speak her mind, and not only did he not want to scold her, he even wanted to join in with a few curses.
No matter how loyal or cautious he was, he couldn't escape the emperor's suspicion. Now, he didn't even know how many days he had left to live, so why should he blame his wife who was devoted to him?
As Meng Xingyuan pushed Du Shiyin toward the backyard, he whispered.
"Yin'er, listen to me. After I leave, everything in the manor will remain the same. If Heaven is on my side and I return from suppressing the bandits, I will make it up to you properly and never hold a grudge against you again. If you receive news of my death, you should dismiss everyone in the manor, leaving only a few old servants who have nowhere to go. Do not go to the Emperor to complain, and do not gossip to others. The more destitute and miserable you are, the safer you will be."
Upon hearing this, Du Shiyin was overcome with grief and burst into tears.
He choked up after a long pause.
"My husband, is the Meng family really doomed? Lingge is nowhere to be found, and I can't see Qingyu and Xiyao either. If you're gone too, what's the point of me living?"
Du Shiyin has taken good care of herself over the years. Due to her leg problems, she rarely goes out. Her skin is much fairer and more delicate than that of women of the same age. Even when she cries, she has a gentle and graceful look, like a pear blossom in the rain.
Meng Xingyuan used to be annoyed whenever he saw her cry, but now he felt a pang of heartache.
He knelt down and wiped away Du Shiyin's tears with his sleeve.
He held his wife's face in his hands and said tenderly, "I mean, if I can live, I definitely will. I won't ask for high office or great wealth. I'll push you around and travel wherever you want. But if I can't live, you have to live well for me. The children have lost their father, and they can't lose their mother too. For the sake of the children, you have to live well."
Du Shiyin has severe angina.
She desperately wanted to cling to Meng Xingyuan's legs and refuse to let him leave.
Having said so many unlucky things before setting off, it's really not a good day to go out.
But the imperial decree could not be disobeyed. She was not afraid of death. Lingge was not in the capital. What would happen to Qingyu and Xiyao? What would happen to the more than one hundred people in the Meng family?
She could only wipe away her tears forcefully, staring intently at the man in front of her, etching his face into her heart, the kind she would never forget.
Meng Xingyuan grasped Du Shiyin's hand and rubbed it vigorously repeatedly.
"Yin'er, remember what I said, you must do as I say. If you don't agree, I won't be able to leave in peace."
"I promise, I promise..." Du Shiyin's tears, which she had just wiped away, welled up in her eyes again in the blink of an eye.
Meng Xingyuan's trip was already fraught with danger, so how could she let him still worry about his family?
The couple hugged each other and cried for a while, knowing that they didn't have much time left, and had to painfully separate.
Meng Xingyuan was going to the backyard to give a few more instructions to his two concubines, telling them to obey his wife's orders.
Du Shiyin went to help the housekeeper prepare Meng Xingyuan's luggage.
Having served as a civil official for so many years, Meng Xingyuan was suddenly sent to suppress bandits. The steward felt a pang of sorrow and packed everything he could think of that might be of use.
A change of clothes for going out, various common wound medicines, a handy weapon, and writing materials that, though perhaps not needed, are always a good precaution.
When Du Shiyin saw the two large bags that had been sorted out, she knew that if Meng Xingyuan carried so much, he would not only be laughed at, but his body would also be unable to handle it, so she took out most of them.
Finally, Meng Xingyuan only took half a bag of luggage that she had packed, and mounted his horse, looking back every step of the way, heading towards the place where he would meet with the soldiers.
Although Meng Xingyuan was unwilling, he still had a sliver of hope for the bandit suppression. However, when he arrived at the destination and saw the "elite troops" prepared for him by the emperor, even that last bit of hope turned into disappointment.
At a glance, none of the five thousand soldiers could be described as elite troops; they were all carefully selected old, weak, sick, and disabled soldiers.
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