Chapter 298 Introduction
But now that things have come to this, there's no use in worrying or regretting. No matter how bad the outcome, he has to go back and report. Otherwise, if Wen Zhiming doesn't see him after waiting for a long time, he might come looking for him in person.
Cao Ran's face was full of shame.
"It is my incompetence as a general who failed to protect the princess and has implicated you all. If Your Highness wishes to blame me, I will bear the responsibility alone. I demand to see her alive or dead. Send half of the men to search at the foot of the cliff, and the other half will return with me to report."
Those under Cao Ran who knew the inside story lowered their heads and remained silent, while those who were unaware of the situation were secretly moved.
Knowing there was no other way, everyone had no choice but to obey.
The group split into two groups and quickly left.
Hearing that there was no more movement below, the guards were about to take her down when Meng Lingge shook her head. After waiting for another quarter of an hour and no one else appeared, Meng Lingge finally ordered the guards to bring them down.
All of their belongings, including Green Water's medicine box, were inside the carriage. The blood from Qiu Lan's arrow wound had stained her entire arm red, and her face was deathly pale.
The girl, who was usually very afraid of pain, didn't utter a sound today. Green Water had no choice but to tear a piece of cloth from the hem of her clothes and bandage her up simply.
Having survived the ordeal, the three girls were still somewhat shaken.
One of the guards said, "Your Highness, General Cao is behaving strangely today. As a veteran general on the battlefield, he should know how to protect people's safety, but his reaction today clearly indicates that he is waiting to put you in danger. It is possible that today's assassination attempt was arranged by him. We must return to the capital as soon as possible to inform the Prince and be on guard."
Another guard said, "But traveling at night makes it very easy to be discovered. General Cao is a cautious man, and he may have left people to keep watch along the way. Moreover, it is very likely that we will run into the group of people searching at the foot of the mountain."
Meng Lingge secretly rejoiced that Wen Zhiming had left her these few bodyguards, and that Cao Ran was unaware of their existence beforehand.
Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly heard a sound coming from the bushes ahead. The guards spotted it before she could and rushed forward with their swords drawn.
A voice quickly came from the bushes: "Don't attack, we're on the same side."
As the voice faded, a bodyguard appeared carrying a person on his back. The person on his back was motionless, with blood all over his hands and legs, indicating that he was seriously injured.
Wen Zhiming's ten bodyguards usually wore black clothes and masks. Apart from Jiang Lin, Meng Lingge didn't recognize any of them, but each of them had an exquisite wolf head tattooed on their wrist.
Moreover, the ten bodyguards had spent a long time together and knew each other well.
Upon meeting and exchanging words, they immediately recognized each other as the other two of the four bodyguards Wen Zhiming had left for Meng Lingge.
As Meng Lingge drove the carriage away, the four quickly split into two groups: two stayed behind to delay the pursuers, while the other two caught up to protect Meng Lingge.
Although their martial arts skills were not as good as Wen Zhiming's, they were all considered experts. The fact that even the secret guards were so badly injured was enough to prove how dangerous it had been just now.
Meng Lingge looked at the unconscious guard and said to Lüshui, "Check how badly he's injured. Does he need immediate treatment?"
Green Water responded and carefully examined the guard's wounds. "The others are all superficial wounds, but the knife in his chest is quite deep. It's best to treat him as soon as possible, otherwise his life will be in danger."
They are now a group of seven, four men and three women, one with minor injuries and one with serious injuries.
Moreover, none of the three girls knew martial arts. If they insisted on traveling at night, they might encounter danger, and the seriously injured person might miss the best time for treatment.
Meng Lingge said to Lushui, "Your medicine box isn't here. If we go down the mountain and stay with some local people, do you have a way to save him?"
Green Water nodded and said, "I still have silver needles and wound medicine on me. Go to a villager's house and find some dry cloth, salt water, and hemp thread. We can do a simple bandage and get through this crisis temporarily."
Upon hearing this, Meng Lingge did not hesitate any longer and ordered, "Go down the mountain first and find some commoners to stay with for the night. Tomorrow morning, we will disguise ourselves as ordinary people and enter the capital."
The group avoided the direction of Cao Ran's men and went down the mountain from the other side. After walking for a short while, they saw a village, but it was too late and only two houses still had lights on.
Meng Lingge addressed the three uninjured guards separately.
"Go to the capital first and inform the prince about the situation here. Tell him not to worry about me, but to be wary of Cao Ran."
"You're hiding nearby, secretly protecting our safety."
“You carry your brother on your back and come with us.”
Upon hearing this, the three guards immediately followed Meng Lingge's instructions and split into three groups.
Meng Lingge, accompanied by two maids and two bodyguards, knocked on the door of a house that was still lit and was relatively large.
An old woman opened the door. Seeing that there were two wounded people among them and that they were dressed in fine clothes, she was worried about causing trouble and wanted to refuse. However, the silver ingot that Meng Lingge gave them was enough for their family's expenses for a whole year.
The old woman's hesitant expression immediately turned warm, and after welcoming them inside, she kindly asked them if they were hungry and if they wanted something to eat.
Meng Lingge said warmly.
"Sir, could you please find us some dry cloth, salt water, and hemp thread, and then prepare two clean rooms? We're leaving first thing tomorrow morning."
The old woman was overjoyed to hear that they would be leaving the next day, and immediately followed Meng Lingge's instructions to find everything she needed.
Meanwhile, Cao Ran, guessing that Meng Lingge was surely dead, rushed to the capital without stopping and entered the Prince of Anshun's mansion.
At this moment, Wen Zhiming and his generals were still discussing the matter. One side decided to use a coordinated attack from within and without to quickly storm the palace and rescue the hostages. The other side believed that this method was too dangerous and would cause too many casualties. They suggested changing it to a siege, preventing those inside from coming out. As the palace's supplies dwindled, they would intensify the panic, thus subduing the enemy without a fight.
But this will definitely take some time. At the rate that the emperor kills one official a day, at least a dozen officials will lose their lives.
The two plans remained unresolved for a long time. Wen Zhiming would occasionally peek out the door, hoping Meng Lingge would appear and he could hear her opinion.
When Cao Ran appeared at the door, Wen Zhiming immediately stood up and said, "General Cao, please come in and have a seat. Where is the Princess Consort? Since everyone is here today, let me introduce you."
His eyes and brows were full of smiles. He thought Meng Lingge was just going back to her room first. He introduced Meng Lingge's identity to the generals first, so that when his wife appeared, everyone would not be too surprised and his wife would not feel embarrassed.
Apart from Cao Ran, Ren Yang, and General Liu, all the generals were quite surprised.
They knew that the prince had been married twice, with one princess dying and the other leaving him. He was currently without a wife, but had a confidante in the military camp. Now, a princess had suddenly appeared. Who was she?
Cao Ran met everyone's gazes, and tried to speak twice, but couldn't utter a word.
Wen Zhiming's heart skipped a beat, and his expression changed drastically.
"Cao Ran, where is my queen?"
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