Was she dreaming? Otherwise, how could she see him? Huangfu Mi, the Huangfu Mi she had been longing for!
Tears instantly fell, but she stood there, as if frozen in time, afraid to move, lest everything before her become an illusion in the blink of an eye.
I just stood there, quietly watching, watching...
The snow fell softly outside the corridor, cascading down the roof and landing on the grass and the ground, wetting her skirt. She seemed oblivious, simply standing there watching.
She didn't know how long she had been standing there, but the snow had become heavier and heavier, falling heavily as if it were about to cover the sky. She just stood there until a woman's voice sounded behind her, and then she turned around abruptly.
Turning her head, she saw a palace maid standing behind her, looking at her suspiciously. When she came to her senses, the maid stepped forward and said sternly, "Who are you? What are you doing here? Don't you know this is the princess's villa, and outsiders are not allowed to enter?"
Meng Wan was startled, and then suddenly came to her senses. However, she had no time to reply to the palace maid. Instead, she turned her head and looked in the direction she had been looking before.
But Huangfu Mi was nowhere to be seen at the end of the corridor. Only the cold white snow continued to fall, lonely and desolate, as if telling the story of human vicissitudes.
Meng Wan was stunned. She took a few steps in that direction, but after searching, she couldn't find anyone. She became even more bewildered, turned to look at the palace maid, and said sternly, "Where are the people who were here just now?"
The palace maid who asked the question was taken aback, then hurriedly shook her head: "Who is it? Besides you and me, who else is here?"
He paused, looked at Meng Wan, and then seemed to decide that he didn't need to pay attention to her, so he raised his voice even louder: "Who are you anyway, and what are you doing here? If you don't leave, I'm going to call for help!"
Meng Wan then let go of his hand, turned her head and glanced in the direction of the person from before, and was completely taken aback.
Did I see wrong? Did I see wrong again? How many times has this happened in the past three months? Ha--
Stumbling and staggering, she returned to the side hall. Meng Junheng was searching everywhere for her, and upon seeing Meng Wan return, he immediately went to greet her: "Wan'er—"
Meng Wan's face was pale, but she pretended to be fine and followed Meng Junheng into the house.
--
The King of Western Shu arrived to see the brother and sister in the evening. He had expected the arrival of the Prince of Ning to anger him, but to his surprise, he was delighted to see them.
"Gentlemen, I have good news!"
"Good news? What good news?" At this moment, not knowing what could be considered good news, Meng Wan and Meng Junheng exchanged a glance, but still asked in a cooperative manner.
The King of Western Shu stepped forward: "I heard from you earlier that Prince Heng was missing, so I sent people to search for him. I didn't expect to receive news so quickly. Just now, someone reported that a person who looks very much like your Prince Heng was found in Sanyuan Town, north of the imperial city. I came here specifically to inform you so you can go and take a look..."
Upon hearing this, the two were overjoyed and immediately stood up: "Is this really true?"
"Yes, absolutely true!" The King of Western Shu nodded.
Meng Wan was at a loss for words to describe her feelings. She had already decided to give up, but fate had given her hope again. Forgetting all formalities, she quickly walked up to the King of Western Shu, grabbed his hand, and said, "But we've only been here for a day. How can we have news so quickly? You know, we searched everywhere for three months."
One sentence caused the King of Western Shu to change his expression slightly, but only for a moment, before he regained his composure and asked, "Have you ever been to Sanyuan Town?"
Meng Wan was stunned for a moment before letting go of his hand.
Sanyuan Town—it sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite remember if she'd ever been there.
She turned her head and looked at Meng Junheng.
"They probably haven't been there yet," Meng Junheng said.
Meng Wan's eyes suddenly lit up: "So, it's very likely that it's him?"
Meng Junheng was also slightly pleased and nodded, a faint smile appearing on his lips: "Whether it is true or not, as long as there is news, it is good. Let's go and see, maybe there will be good news."
Meng Wan nodded, her face beaming with joy as she turned to the King of Western Shu. She performed a deep bow and said, "Thank you, King of Western Shu. If I find Your Highness this time, I will definitely come to thank you again."
That was a hopeful look on their faces, and the King of Western Shu couldn't help but stiffen his expression. He turned his head and glanced at the door. The figure in the distance was staring intently into the room. He hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "No need to be polite. I get along very well with your elder brother. Your affairs are my affairs. Rest well for the night. I have already ordered carriages and horses to be prepared. I will send you to Sanyuan Town early tomorrow morning."
Meng Wan thanked him profusely, and the King of Western Shu exchanged pleasantries before leaving. Before he left, Meng Junheng followed her out, saying, "King of Western Shu, please wait!"
The King of Western Shu paused, turning to look at Meng Junheng, thinking he had noticed something. But Meng Junheng walked up to him and whispered, "Will the Prince of Ning cause trouble this time?"
Unexpectedly, the King of Western Shu was visibly taken aback by the question. He opened his mouth but remained silent for a long time. Seeing this, Meng Junheng assumed there was a real problem and said, "If that doesn't work, Wan'er and I can discuss going to Sanyuan Town later and staying until after the princess's wedding..."
"No need!" Before he could finish speaking, the King of Western Shu suddenly interrupted Meng Junheng. Seeing Meng Junheng's stunned expression after being interrupted, the King of Western Shu was clearly at a loss. He coughed lightly to cover it up and then said, "What I mean is that finding the person is the priority. I will handle the matters of Western Shu. You can go with peace of mind!"
Upon hearing this, Meng Junheng pondered for a moment, looking at the astonished expression on the face of the King of Western Shu. Although he didn't know why, he didn't insist and simply nodded: "If there is any problem, send someone to find us, and we will definitely come as soon as possible."
--There will be another update tonight. Enjoy reading, everyone! Mwah!--
V86 [Second Update]
Upon hearing this, Meng Junheng pondered for a moment, looking at the astonished expression on the face of the King of Western Shu. Although he didn't know why, he didn't insist and simply nodded: "If there is any problem, send someone to find us, and we will definitely come as soon as possible."
The King of Western Shu nodded, his heart filled with mixed feelings. He simply patted Meng Junheng on the shoulder and watched him leave before finally walking out himself.
Outside the palace, Hongxiu was hiding cautiously. When she saw the King of Western Shu come out, she immediately went up to him and asked, "Father, how is it? When did they leave?"
The King of Western Shu turned his head and glanced into the courtyard, then sighed, "Let them go tomorrow, but Xiu'er, is this really the right thing to do?"
"Father!" Hongxiu's face fell upon hearing this, and she scolded, "What's wrong with that? We didn't do anything bad. We just sent them away to avoid them being upset later. What's wrong with that?"
The wrinkles on the face of the King of Western Shu deepened, and he stared at Hongxiu for a long time without uttering a word.
--
Early the next morning, Meng Wan and Meng Junheng left the imperial city under the escort of the guards sent by the King of Western Shu, heading towards Sanyuan Town.
For the past few months, I've been walking on the road almost every day, but I've never felt so hopeful as I do now.
Someone spotted someone who looked a lot like him. This time, the search was no longer aimless; it was a follow-up investigation based on the fact that someone had seen him.
Thinking back to the figure she saw in the palace the day before, was it just a hallucination caused by her thinking about it all day?