Chapter 96 If you don't abandon me, I will never leave you.
"yes."
Eunuch Liu accepted the order and turned to leave.
Meng Xingyuan and Meng Lingge both changed their expressions, not understanding the Emperor's meaning. Seeing that the matter had been settled, why was the Emperor summoning both the imperial physician and the female officials? What was he investigating?
Is there still a chance that things will change today?
The Emperor smiled calmly and said gently, "My dear minister and Miss Meng, don't worry. Since I want Miss Meng to divorce Prince Wen, I should first arrange for the imperial physician to examine Miss Meng. If Miss Meng is pregnant, then we will have to discuss it again."
Meng Lingge's heart tightened.
After marrying Wen Zhiming, she made love almost every night, and she always hoped to have a child with her husband, but it could not be now.
If she is pregnant now, she will either have to abort the child or continue to be under house arrest at Dongling Pavilion.
The Emperor will absolutely not allow her to leave peacefully with Wen Zhiming's child.
Meng Lingge didn't want to abort Wen Zhiming's child, nor could she stay at Dongling Pavilion.
Meng Xingyuan had no doubts about summoning the imperial physician, but what puzzled him was something else. He asked softly, "Then why did the Emperor summon a female official?"
The emperor lowered his head and smiled, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.
"It was merely out of concern for Miss Meng's health that I had the female official examine her."
Meng Xingyuan had a bad feeling.
The palace maids' physical examinations always included checking a woman's virginity. But why would Lingge, a woman who had only been married for a few months, need her virginity checked?
As if suddenly remembering something, Meng Xingyuan's eyelids twitched, and his panic was visible to the naked eye.
He guessed that the Emperor was attracted to Lingge's beauty, and also thought that Prince Wen was a fool who did not understand the pleasures of men and women. If it was discovered that Lingge was a virgin, he might make a move on her.
Although he was extremely loyal to the emperor, he was still very reluctant to give his teenage daughter to the emperor, who was nearing sixty.
Lingge had barely escaped danger, and he didn't want the matter to encounter any further complications.
In fact, Meng Xingyuan only guessed half of it correctly.
The Emperor did indeed think Meng Lingge was exceptionally beautiful and suspected she was still a virgin. However, at his age, he had little interest in beautiful women; what he cared about most was his reputation and the throne.
If Meng Lingge were still a virgin, the Emperor would not miss the opportunity to provoke Prince Anshun.
If this matter is made public, everyone will know that Prince Wen is not only a fool, but also incapable of consummating his marriage with a beautiful woman. Wen Kehao is about to pass away, and the only son left of Prince Anshun is unable to carry on the family line. With no successor, how can he not be shocked?
He would then arrange for Meng Lingge to be betrothed to his prince after some time, so that he would not have to worry about the Meng family colluding with the Prince of Anshun's family.
Meng Lingge was unaware of the Emperor's dark thoughts, nor did she know that it was precisely because of her past sexual encounter with Wen Zhiming that she was fortunate enough to escape this calamity.
The Emperor was pleased to hear the imperial physician diagnose that Meng Lingge was not pregnant. However, he was extremely disappointed when the female official reported that Meng Lingge was no longer a virgin.
It seems that Wen Zhiming isn't completely stupid; we still need to be wary of him.
He instantly lost interest in Meng Lingge. She could neither provoke Prince Anshun nor was she qualified to marry his prince. No matter how beautiful she was, she was just a useless vase and not worthy of being his pawn.
"The imperial physicians and female officials have examined you. Miss Meng is in good health and is not pregnant. I will issue an edict immediately to divorce Prince Wen. From now on, Miss Meng will have no further connection with the Prince of Anshun's mansion and will be free to marry as she pleases. You may now return to the mansion with Lord Meng."
Meng Lingge remained calm. "This subject thanks Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"
Seeing that the Emperor had no designs on Meng Lingge, Meng Xingyuan felt a huge weight lifted from his heart and immediately knelt down to express his gratitude.
"Your Majesty, I kowtow to express my gratitude for Your Majesty's grace. Long live the Emperor!"
After Meng Lingge and Meng Xingyuan took their leave, Meng Xingyuan waited until they were outside the palace and checked that no one was following them before patting his chest in relief and saying with emotion, "Lingge, your mother and Qingyu were so worried at home. They will be so happy to see you when you return to the manor. I know you are loyal and righteous, and I have always worried that you would share the hardships with the Prince of Anshun's manor. It is rare that you have been so clear-headed this time."
If her husband's family were to fall into decline, Meng Xingyuan would advise his daughter to share the hardships with her husband's family. However, the crime of the Prince of Anshun's family was treason, a capital offense. It's no wonder they would seek to avoid harm and seek profit.
People only have one life; how can one disregard their life for the sake of benevolence and righteousness?
Lingge was young and naive, and he originally thought it would take a lot of persuasion to convince her. Unexpectedly, the girl figured it out on her own and not only did she not argue with the emperor, but she also behaved extremely obediently.
She must have been terrified at Dongling Pavilion. Going from the Crown Prince's wife to a prisoner in just one day, she must have suffered a lot.
Thinking of this, Meng Xingyuan patted Meng Lingge on the shoulder, "It's all in the past. As long as you don't contact Prince Wen again, the Emperor will not punish you."
Meng Lingge kept her head down, her heart still heavy even after escaping.
Everyone told her to stop contacting Wen Zhiming, but no one cared about the opinions of the two people involved.
She knew that she had no choice but to do this in order to protect herself.
On their wedding day, when Wen Zhiming ran towards her through the crowd and made her the Crown Prince's consort, she made up her mind that as long as he did not abandon her, she would never leave him.
Now that Wen Zhiming has never abandoned her, how can she leave him?
This suspicious, treacherous, and ruthless tyrant asked her to divorce her husband, and she was to comply?
No, she refuses to admit it!
They couldn't win by confronting them head-on, but a foolish ruler couldn't keep an eye on them all the time.
A foolish emperor has his own decrees, and she has her own plans.
The most urgent task is to get Wen Zhiming back to normal.
Since it is true that Wen Zhiming is infected with the Gu worm, Su Leyan's method of expelling the Gu is more likely to succeed. She will find the right opportunity to see Wen Zhiming, make him feel extremely sad and fearful, and wait for the Gu worm to leave his body on its own. Then she will discuss countermeasures with her husband.
These thoughts could not be shared with my father, firstly because he would not agree to me taking such a risk, and secondly because he would tell my mother, which would cause the whole family to worry.
Now that she has returned to the Meng family, every word and action represents the Meng family, so she must be extremely careful and absolutely cannot implicate her family.
Meng Lingge nodded obediently, "Father, I understand."
Seeing her unusually well-behaved, Meng Xingyuan felt both gratified and heartbroken.
The father and daughter remained silent the entire way. When the carriage arrived at the Meng residence, Meng Qingyu and Meng Xiyao were waiting by the gate. As soon as the carriage stopped, they both gathered around.
They all called out "Father!" and when they saw Meng Lingge in the carriage, Meng Qingyu's eyes immediately welled up with tears. She called out to her elder sister and rushed to Meng Lingge's side.
Meng Xiyao, trying to be reserved, smiled softly and said, "Eldest sister is back. It's not that Qingyu and I insisted on waiting here, but Madam was worried and asked us to wait here for Father so we could tell him about you as soon as possible."
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