When Li Qingchen rode out of the palace gate in his carriage, he saw a carriage parked at the other end of the moat. It was the Wei family's carriage.
He told the coachman to stop over there, and was about to get out of the carriage to greet them when he saw the carriage curtain being lifted from the outside. In an instant, Wei Shuwan and his nephew Sun Xingjian climbed into the carriage.
"How is it?" Wei Shuwan and Sun Xingjian asked in unison.
Li Qingchen nodded calmly, reassuring them first, and then said, "There are many eyes and ears here, let's talk as we walk."
So the three of them rode in Li Qingchen's carriage ahead, while the Wei family's coachman drove an empty carriage behind them. The two carriages quickly drove away from the palace gate.
Under the expectant gazes of the two, Li Qingchen finally spoke: "His Majesty has agreed that the Marquis of Pingyang will escort the princess to the marriage. Time is of the essence, and the imperial decree should be delivered today. Next, we need to carefully plan the specific details of the abduction."
“Wait, there’s one more thing,” Wei Shuwan interrupted.
Li Qingchen and Sun Xingjian's gazes both fell on her. Wei Shuwan then said, "Now that it's settled, we need to find a way to inform Sister Pan. I'm afraid that if she goes to the palace, she'll think there's no hope and..."
She didn't spell it out clearly, but Li Qingchen and Sun Xingjian both understood: she was afraid that Pan Wenjun's fiery temper might lead her to do something rash.
In fact, Wei Shuwan was not exaggerating. In her previous life, there were indeed rumors that a princess sent for a political marriage had attempted suicide, but she was saved and it did not affect her marriage to the Ziyi Kingdom.
Although nothing truly serious would happen, Wei Shuwan couldn't bear to see Pan Wenjun suffer in such a desperate situation, and she wanted to reassure her. Besides, if Sister Pan revealed her suicidal intentions, the Emperor would surely order even stricter surveillance and monitoring of her, which would make their attempt to abduct the bride much more difficult.
Sun Xingjian was naturally also distressed and worried about Pan Wenjun, and agreed, "We must think of a way, even if we can't see her, at least to send a message to Wenjun."
Li Qingchen pondered for a moment: "Women are more thoughtful; I hadn't thought of that. I'll find a way to arrange this."
Because there were still details to discuss regarding the abduction of the bride, Wei Shuwan and Sun Xingjian returned to the Prince's Mansion with Li Qingchen and entered the Jingchen Pavilion. Then, Li Qingchen took out a map.
He traced a line with his long finger: "On the day of the wedding, the princess's procession will exit through the north gate of the city via this road, and then head north, passing through six prefectures before crossing the border."
Sun Xingjian looked at the long line and said, "My opinion is to make a move after leaving the capital. That way, even if we don't succeed the first time, we'll still have opportunities along the way. We can proceed slowly and steadily. I don't believe we can't succeed every time."
Wei Shuwan understood her uncle's feelings, but after carefully examining the map, she said, "If we act as soon as we leave Shengjing, Sister Pan will have to travel to the North alone. Along the way, she will have to avoid Awuge's search and hide from the common people she encounters. After all, by then, arrest warrants should have been posted all over the prefectures and counties, and she will become the target of everyone's wrath. So my suggestion is to act when we get closer to the North, so that her risk of escaping will be much smaller."
The two had their own reasons, so they simply looked at Li Qingchen and asked, "What does the young prince think?"
Li Qingchen's gaze fell on the map. "What you two say makes sense, but I received intelligence that Awuge has sent back the route and time of the princess's departure to Ziyi Kingdom. If I'm not mistaken, he must be afraid that the Weirong army will obstruct her when she passes through the northern lands, so he wants to ask the emperor of Ziyi Kingdom to send a welcoming party."
Both of them were taken aback after hearing this, and Wei Shuwan immediately understood: "So it's best to do as Uncle said and take action as soon as possible."
Since the three of them reached a consensus, they finally decided to take action in the Yandang Mountains after leaving the city.
After all, the mountain range stretches across five states, and Pan Wenjun could have easily escaped by traveling along mountain paths and avoiding the marketplace.
Li Qingchen quickly gave instructions on the relevant details. This time, there was no room for error, so he decided to have Yan Sandao, the leader, personally lead the men into action. At the same time, he sent a message to Feng Wan, asking her to find a way to send a message to Pan Wenjun.
However, seven days later, Feng Wan sent back a message. She had tried every means to get close to Pan Wenjun these days, but the princess seemed to be under house arrest in her bedroom, and not even a fly could get in.
In fact, Li Qingchen had tried to sneak into the inner palace during his audiences with the emperor in the past few days, but the palace was now much more heavily guarded. It was impossible for him to see the princess in broad daylight without being seen by anyone. If he forced his way in, even if he could see her, he would alert her.
Li Qingchen had no choice but to tell Wei Shuwan the news. In fact, she had been worried about Pan Wenjun for the past few days, fearing that she might do something foolish. Fortunately, no bad news had come out so far. With only two days left, Wei Shuwan thought that her sister Pan would not do anything foolish like she did in her previous life.
Perhaps because Sister Pan and her uncle had found love in this life, she had something to look forward to and something to hope for, which made her even stronger than in her previous life.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Before dawn, Pan Wenjun was woken up by her nanny and made to bathe and dress. In fact, she hadn't slept at all the night before, just lying quietly in bed thinking about her way out.
She has been locked up here for half a month. Several times she was on the verge of collapse and almost driven crazy by these people, but whenever she thought of Brother Sun, Wei Shuwan and Xiao Qiaochuan Wang working hard for her, her hope was rekindled and she was determined not to die.
She bathed and burned incense, dressed herself up, and finally put on layers of auspicious robes and a heavy phoenix crown. Then, supported and accompanied by a group of maids and servants, she walked out of the bedchamber.
A string of vibrant coral beads hung like a curtain before her eyes, obscuring her beautiful face. No one saw the tears falling behind the curtain, or perhaps they saw them but pretended not to. Everyone's face remained smiling and cheerful.
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