Chapter 88 Calamity Approaches
Dongling Pavilion is a dilapidated courtyard located on the east side of the palace. It has been abandoned for two or three decades and is even more desolate than the Cold Palace. It has always been used to imprison royal children who have committed serious offenses.
Having Wen Kehao personally participate in the capture of the Prince of Anshun would not only cause the Prince of Anshun to be filled with grief and despair, but also strengthen the credibility of the Prince of Anshun's rebellion.
As for whether Wen Kehao can withstand the accusations from the people of the Prince of Anshun's mansion, and how much pressure he will have to bear, those are not things that the Emperor needs to consider.
After all, how could a chess player care about the feelings of the pieces?
Wen Kehao closed his eyes, and it seemed as if he had exerted a great deal of effort to raise his head and clasp his hands in greeting. At this moment, he only regretted that he was not cold and indifferent enough, otherwise, how could he be in so much pain?
He slowly knelt down, saying, "Your subject obeys the decree."
...
Anshun Prince's Mansion.
Upon learning that the Prince of Anshun had arrived outside the city, Meng Lingge carefully dressed herself and Wen Zhiming.
She hadn't seen Prince Anshun for over ten years and had long forgotten what he looked like, only remembering him as a dashing, stern-faced middle-aged man.
Today is her first time meeting Prince Anshun as the Crown Prince's consort, so she naturally needs to dress elegantly and quietly to avoid leaving a bad impression on her father-in-law on their first meeting.
As for Wen Zhiming, now that he was dressed as a wife, he couldn't be as casual as before. He needed to be respectable while also moving freely, befitting his status. Only in this way could Prince Anshun feel at ease, and she took excellent care of Wen Zhiming.
Meng Lingge wore a light blue embroidered silk skirt with a ribbon tied at her waist, exuding elegance and poise as she walked. Wen Zhiming wore a blue cloud-patterned robe, its color vibrant yet tasteful; when he smiled with his head down, he was as gentle and refined as jade.
Looking at Wen Zhiming, whose lips were curved into a smile, Meng Lingge pulled him down to sit and instructed him, "Husband, when Father comes back later, you should spend more time with him and talk to him. Don't always follow behind me, okay?"
Although her husband's intelligence is like that of a toddler, in the eyes of the Prince of Anshun, he must still hope that he will be a good man who strives for self-improvement. If he sees him always hiding behind his wife, he will probably be displeased.
Wen Zhiming shook his head repeatedly, "No. Father is very fierce, I don't want to accompany him. I will accompany my wife, wherever she goes, I will go."
"Husband." Meng Lingge was about to speak again when Xia Zi walked in anxiously.
Seeing that there were no outsiders in the room, Xia Zi lowered her voice and said, "Princess Consort, Chen Luo just came into the manor and said that there are many Imperial Guards lying in ambush on the southeast, west and south sides of the Anshun Prince's manor, about a mile away. There are also many suspicious people at the gate of the manor. Chen Luo suspects that these people are coming for our Anshun Prince's manor and asked Princess Consort to make preparations in advance."
Meng Lingge quickly stood up, her expression grave.
To the north of the Prince Anshun's Palace is Cuiwei Avenue, the only way for the Prince Anshun to return to the palace from outside the city. The Imperial Guards bypassed the Prince Anshun's return route and surrounded the palace from three directions. Just thinking about the implications of this is terrifying.
The Prince's mansion is now preparing for his return, and the whole place is filled with joy.
No one except her knew that a crisis was imminent.
Only the current emperor can command the Imperial Guards, and the Prince's residence is surrounded; escape is impossible and there is no way to escape.
Meng Lingge was extremely flustered, but she knew that time was of the essence. Once Prince Anshun returned to his residence, it would be time for the Imperial Guards to arrest him.
"Xia Zi, go and tell the princess to hide any valuables that don't take up much space immediately, and to call Chun Hong and the other two in when she leaves."
Now that neither she nor her belongings can leave, the only thing she can do is hide some valuables in the mansion.
"Yes." Upon hearing Meng Lingge's instructions, Xia Zi ran out.
Chunhong, Qiulan, and Dongqing then entered.
Meng Lingge calmly instructed, "Qiu Lan, go to the storeroom and fetch all the goldware, small jewelry, and silver notes from my dowry. Chun Hong and Dong Qing, go to the outhouse and get two buckets of water. Be quick. If anyone asks, just say it's for fertilizing the flowers and plants in the yard."
Chunhong and the other two didn't know what had happened, but judging from Meng Lingge's expression, they knew it must be something very serious. After responding, they did as she instructed.
Wen Zhiming noticed that her complexion was off and stepped forward to ask with concern, "Wife, what's wrong? Why are you sweating? Xia Zi just said there were Imperial Guards. Are they here to welcome Father too?"
“No.” Meng Lingge grasped Wen Zhiming’s hand and said earnestly, “Husband, no matter what happens today, no matter how others try to deceive you in the future, you must never tell anyone what you just heard or what you are about to see. Never tell anyone.”
Wen Zhiming used his handkerchief to wipe Meng Lingge's sweat and nodded obediently.
"If my wife tells me not to tell, then I won't tell. I won't tell him even if someone tries to coax me."
"Come with me." Meng Lingge led Wen Zhiming into the courtyard and took out a farm tool from the side room. It was brought over a few days ago when planting grapevines. Sometimes she would loosen the soil for the flowers and plants in the yard, so she kept it in the side room.
Meng Lingge took her farm tools to the grapevine planting area and began digging. These tasks were usually done by the maids and servants in the outer courtyard, but she couldn't let them know about this today. Her four personal maids hadn't returned yet, and she was worried that there wouldn't be enough time, so she had to dig herself first.
But she had never done this kind of work before, and after digging for a couple of minutes, she couldn't figure out the technique and almost hurt herself. Wen Zhiming, who was watching from the side, quickly grabbed the farming tools and said, "What are you planning to plant today, my wife? You rest over there for a bit, let me do it."
Wen Zhiming had obviously never done such rough work before, but he was tall and strong, so although he was clumsy, he was not slow. Meng Lingge directed him to carefully dig out the grapevines first, and then dig down a meter deep. By the time Qiu Lan and the others returned, they had already dug a suitable deep pit.
Meng Lingge first closed the courtyard gate. Then she had several maids put the gold and silver jewelry they had retrieved, along with the boxes, into the deep pit, filled it with soil, planted the grapevines, and finally sprinkled some of the two buckets of cleansing liquid onto the soil surface.
After doing all this, he loosened the soil in the rest of the yard and sprinkled the remaining cleansing utensils on it.
Fortunately, the wind was strong today, and the unpleasant smell was quickly blown away.
The four maids and Wen Zhiming silently followed Meng Lingge's instructions. After they finished, Chunhong asked worriedly, "Is the Princess Consort worried that the Prince will withhold your dowry? Why did you bury all these things?"
Apart from Xia Zi, the other three maids were unaware that the Prince's mansion had been surrounded. They only knew that the Prince was returning to the mansion today. So, although they knew that their young lady was not such a stingy and cunning person, they couldn't help but think that way when they saw her secretly hiding her dowry at this time.
Meng Lingge's gaze swept over the four maids' faces one by one, and she said with a heavy expression, "The Prince of Anshun's mansion has been surrounded. If I am not mistaken, the mansion is facing a great calamity today. My life and the young master's life are in danger, and you maids will likely be implicated as well. These things are buried here, and you must all keep your mouths shut. If we can survive this time, these will be our means of survival in the future."
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