Seeing that Shen Mingrong still cared about what she liked and disliked to eat, Lu Ming felt a little relieved.
"I thought you were crying your eyes out right now."
Lu Ming sat down in a round-backed chair next to the large kang (heated brick bed) by the window, her gaze never leaving Shen Mingrong's face.
Shen Mingrong knew, of course, that Lu Ming had received the news and came to check on her, and that her words were not sarcastic.
But the thought of Shen Ming'e made her feel heavy-hearted, and she didn't want to respond. For a moment, the room fell silent.
“You’re pregnant now. If something happens to me, I absolutely don’t want you to worry about me like this, disregarding your own health.”
These were sincere words, and upon hearing them, Shen Mingrong's eyes immediately reddened.
Although Lu Ming was her sister-in-law, she understood her very well. Otherwise, she wouldn't have followed her into the palace without hesitation when she went to save Shen Mingzhuang.
At the time, she had considered having Shen Ming'e go with her, but Shen Ming'e was Liu Wenxin's nominal sister, meaning they were in the same boat. If she asked Shen Ming'e to go, she was afraid that things would be exposed. Furthermore, she was worried that Shen Ming'e's personality wouldn't be able to keep such a secret. When Lu Ming suggested going to the palace together, she was stunned.
Seeing that she was lost in thought, with a hint of melancholy in her eyes, Lu Ming took a sip of tea, got up and sat on the kang (a heated brick bed).
It was mid-spring, and the weather was warm. There was no fire in the kang (heated brick bed), but a thick cotton quilt was laid on it, making it soft and comfortable to sit on.
Lu Ming immediately ordered someone to bring a chessboard, and looked up at Shen Mingrong, saying, "It's been quite a while since I played chess with you."
Is that really all there is to it?
"You came all this way just to play a game of chess with me?"
Shen Mingrong looked at Lu Ming with amusement, and Lu Ming's somewhat heroic eyebrows curved up as he smiled at Shen Mingrong: "How about we make a bet?"
"A bet?" Shen Mingrong asked, puzzled. "What kind of bet?"
"Okay, if I win, will you grant me one request, whatever it may be?"
"Whatever your demands, what if you ask for an exorbitant amount?" Shen Mingrong objected.
Lu Ming couldn't help but laugh. "How could I possibly ask for such an exorbitant amount? If I were, you could simply refuse. Besides, am I that kind of person?"
"Just tell me if you're coming or not. I rarely come back, can't you even grant me this small request?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Mingrong smiled and naturally had no reason to refuse, so he had a chessboard brought out.
The two were playing chess, while Shen Mingzhuang and his group, far away in Qingmao Mountain, Weizhou, were in a rather dire situation.
The wolf pack had already surrounded them, leaving them no opening.
The thought that these canines could track people by smell made Shen Mingzhuang feel uneasy. They had already killed many of their wolf pack members, and it was impossible to reconcile with the wolf pack now. Moreover, they couldn't find a way to reconcile in the short term. How could they reconcile? Should they find ten cows to share with them?
That's impossible, of course. The only option now is to bite the bullet and go for it.
However, Shen Mingzhuang's body was starting to give out from all the hard work, and he was now clearly feeling somewhat powerless.
It's someone else's stuff, so how could I possibly find it convenient to use?
Shen Mingzhuang took a deep breath, pondering how to break this deadlock.
Among the palace's top experts, only Shuangyue is a young woman. Shen Mingzhuang glanced at her; she was currently helping He Wenqing sit on a high branch. After thinking for a moment, Shen Mingzhuang instructed Ling Feng in a deep voice, "Go and take over from Shuangyue. Let Shuangyue come with me."
Ling Feng's martial arts skills far surpassed Shuang Yue's; Shuang Yue's only advantage lay in her lightness skill. Upon hearing this, Ling Feng hesitated, but Shen Mingzhuang's expression left no room for negotiation. Recalling the ruthlessness with which the Empress had killed those wolves, he dared not hesitate, nodded, and stepped forward to replace Shuang Yue.
Shuangyue also deeply admired the Empress. Although they were sent to protect the Empress, in reality, it was the Empress who protected them most of the time, and they were just there to fill in the numbers.
With this understanding, Shuangyue had only one thought in her mind: to obey the Empress in everything.
It was precisely because she had this thought in her mind that Shen Mingzhuang's request for her cooperation had a different effect.
"Shuangyue, draw your sword!" Shen Mingzhuang's voice was very low, only she and Shuangyue could hear it. Shuangyue did not hesitate and immediately drew her sword. Shen Mingzhuang nodded in satisfaction and then continued to explain, "Later, we will cross the wolf pack together and head towards that tree in the northwest. We will fight our way out from there."
Shuangyue took a few breaths to react, then nodded, "Yes!"
Seeing that she understood, Shen Mingzhuang took two deep breaths and tossed an unlit torch to Shuangyue.
"Don't wear it on your waist, it'll come in handy later."
After saying that, she spun around and leaped to a high place, where she tied a rope. The rope was very long, and Shen Mingzhuang only took half of it out of his space. If the entire rope, which was several hundred meters long, were taken out, a person simply could not bear the weight. Putting it in the space would save a lot of effort.
She glanced at the cliffs to the northwest and realized she had no other choice but to take this gamble.
Otherwise, it would be virtually impossible for everyone to leave Qingmao Mountain alive.
When Shuangyue saw the rope, she was still a little confused about what Shen Mingzhuang was going to do. But Shen Mingzhuang suddenly took off the rope that had just been tied. She had changed her mind.
Why couldn't she just find a way to throw one end of the rope to the other side of the cliff? If she could, things would be much simpler.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
