Meng Wan was clearly taken aback. She looked up at Meng Junheng and asked, "Brother, where is His Highness? Why didn't he come back with you? Or did he return to the capital first?"
These words stunned Meng Junheng: "Your Highness? Are you talking about my brother-in-law? Why is he with me? Shouldn't he be here protecting you?"
Meng Wan was taken aback and turned to look at Huangfu Yi. Huangfu Yi was also puzzled and stepped forward: "But Seventh Brother went to look for you three days ago. What, didn't you run into him?"
Meng Junheng nodded: "Because the roads in Yunnan are rugged, we deliberately took a detour from neighboring counties and cities to return, and we did not encounter Prince Heng. As for why we came here, it is because my father wrote a letter to me before, so I knew that you were hiding here."
Now it was Huangfu Yi and Meng Wan's turn to frown. "So, you missed it? Does that mean Huangfu Mi will have to go to Western Shu alone?"
Meng Junheng was taken aback: "If Your Highness really goes, then you've missed out, haven't you?"
Meng Wan's face grew increasingly stiff. She had originally intended to go find someone, but in the end, she missed her chance. Now that Huangfu Mi was alone, would there be any problems?
Thinking this, she grew increasingly uneasy. Her brows furrowed, and she bit her lip, her face filled with worry. Meng Junheng, who was standing beside her, saw this clearly and couldn't help but feel apologetic: "It's all my fault for changing the route at the last minute. I'm sorry, Wan'er. Don't worry, I'll go find His Highness's whereabouts right away..."
Upon hearing this, Meng Wan shook her head: "Brother, you should send a few people instead. You have more important things to do."
She wasn't blind to the bigger picture. Huangfu Mi's safety was important, but fighting against the Empress was even more important. Their hopes were all pinned on her eldest brother, and he couldn't go looking for help right now.
Seeing this, Meng Junheng stopped and greatly admired Meng Wan's understanding of righteousness. At this moment, the emperor had already been helped out by Huangfu Yi. Meng Wan hurriedly left clues in the inn so that Huangfu Mi could return to the capital and meet them when he came back. The group then got into carriages and horses and headed towards the capital.
The court was in complete chaos. Although everyone was puzzled by the Empress's words, they could not find any rebuttal because they did not know the reason. Even though Prime Minister Meng strongly advocated for it, they did not dare to convict the Empress.
With the Empress having dealt with Prime Minister Meng and General Gu now in control of the military, the group was left leaderless.
Therefore, Meng Wan and the others planned to first let everyone know the truth, and then unite to deal with the Empress.
The emperor's health had gradually improved. Although he was still weak, it was only because he needed recuperation. So, they secretly sent the emperor's handwritten letter to the important ministers. When he fled the palace, Huangfu Mi also stole the imperial seal. So, after the imperial seal was affixed, it was even more convincing.
Soon, many ministers arrived at the Prime Minister's residence, expressing their willingness to follow the Emperor in suppressing the Empress. For a time, the atmosphere was high, and it was a rare instance of the Emperor and his ministers being of one mind as they discussed strategic plans.
Although Meng Wan was concerned, she knew they would handle the matter. What worried her more was Huangfu Mi – why was there still no news of him, and where had he gone?
Thus, while everyone else went to attack the imperial city, she packed her things alone, rode her horse, and left home.
Naturally, he had to go and find Huangfu Mi. He was really worried that something might have happened to him, so he didn't want to just sit and wait and decided to go and find him himself.
But before they had even left the house and the horse had gone far, another horse blocked their way.
He looked up and saw Huangfu Yi on horseback staring at her intently. When she looked back at him, he looked back, and their eyes met. He smiled suddenly and said, "I knew you wouldn't stay still. Just as I expected."
What does it mean to be restless?
Meng Wan frowned visibly, looking at him with displeasure, and said, "What are you doing here? According to the plan, shouldn't you be accompanying the Emperor to the palace today?"
Huangfu Yi smiled slightly, appearing completely calm and composed: "Father has regained consciousness. Let alone one empress, even ten or eight of them wouldn't be a match for him. Besides, there's your eldest brother, who is incredibly brave. He really doesn't need me, so I came out to protect you, isn't that right?"
"Tch!" Meng Wan curled her lip. "Don't make it sound so nice to say you're protecting me. Just say you're scared!"
Another round of teasing ensued, but Huangfu Yi didn't care. He turned around, took the reins, raised an eyebrow at her, and walked ahead on his own.
Seeing this, Meng Wan was truly grateful, even though she spoke venomously. With him there, she could finally feel more at ease. Otherwise, as a young woman, the long journey would inevitably make her feel a little apprehensive.
So he grabbed the reins and followed behind, and they went out.
They couldn't ride very fast inside the city, so the two walked one after the other. Many common people were talking about things in the palace. Meng Wan seemed to have vaguely heard the commotion. She was worried and tightened her grip on the ground. She hoped that everything would go smoothly, both in the palace and on the road to welcome Huangfu Mi.
With that in mind, once they left the city, the two of them set off at full speed.
The journey to Western Shu took only three days and was very smooth. After arriving at the border of Western Shu, they found an inn to stay in. Huangfu Yi then settled Meng Wan in the inn and went out to look for Huangfu Mi's whereabouts.
The Western Shu region was in great turmoil, which was why Huangfu Yi refused to let Meng Wan go out. Meng Wan was well aware of this and waited anxiously inside the house.
After waiting for an unknown amount of time, there was a knock on the door. Meng Wan was sitting by the window when she heard the noise, so she immediately got up and hurriedly went to greet them.
"who?"
Past lessons made her extra cautious, and she didn't dare to open the door immediately, but instead asked a question warily.
Outside the door, Huangfu Mi chuckled softly and said through the crack in the door, "Silly girl, who else could it be? Open the door!"
Huangfu Mi's voice made Meng Wan's eyes widen suddenly. Almost without thinking for a moment, she flung open the door and saw Huangfu Mi standing tall outside. She rushed over and exclaimed, "Huangfu Mi!"
He caught her firmly and held her in his arms. Seeing her joy and excitement, he smiled and said, "It's me."
His voice was slightly hoarse as Meng Wan finally got off him. Looking at his travel-worn appearance, she frowned and said, "Why did it take so long? What were you doing? How annoying! You even sent someone to look for you!"
"Heh--" Seeing her displeasure, he reached out and gently pressed her furrowed brow. "Don't be upset, let me explain. I went to pay my respects to the King of Western Shu. I heard that my elder brother went back early this morning, so I wasn't in a hurry. Just then, the King of Western Shu found the news that he had found his long-lost prince, so I stayed here for two more days to see if I could help."
"The prince who has been separated from his family for many years?"
Meng Wan raised her eyebrows. She had heard before that the King of Western Shu originally had a prince, but he was lost in his youth for some reason. He had been searching for him all these years, but there had been no news. Had he finally found him?
"Well, it's a pity, it's just another fake news, a complete scam. So I was planning to go back in the next couple of days, but I didn't expect you to find me."
So that's how it is...
Meng Wan nodded without asking any further questions. She simply held Huangfu Mi's hand tightly, her heart filled with joy. "In that case, let's go back as soon as possible. We don't know what the situation is like in the palace, which is truly worrying."
Huangfu Mi nodded. "I've discussed it with Lao Ba, and we'll set off first thing tomorrow morning."
---
The next morning, the three of them set off early to head back.
Not knowing what the situation was in the palace, they decided to return as soon as possible. So they hurried on without stopping and didn't know how far they had gone. In order to get back as soon as possible, they deliberately chose a secluded path. When they passed through a grove of trees, the three of them dismounted to rest. Suddenly, the trees began to rustle. They were all deep in thought. When they came to their senses, a man with a sword appeared in front of them in a flash.
It was the same person who had come to hunt them down that day, the same person they had met during the day. His arrival was completely unexpected, and the group was momentarily distracted, failing to see how he had arrived. Before they could even react, another group of the same person came rushing over from a distance, each carrying a sword.