Meng Junheng nodded slightly but did not say anything more. He simply walked past Meng Wan and stood in front of Huangfu Mi: "This subordinate greets His Highness Prince Heng."
Clearly, he was here for Huangfu Mi. Huangfu Qian slightly raised his hand: "Commander Meng, are you waiting for me?"
"His Majesty ordered me to wait here. Please return to the palace immediately, Your Highness."
When he said this, Meng Junheng's face was very serious. It was unclear whether it was because the matter was of great importance or because he had just seen Meng Wan and Huangfu Mi together.
Huangfu Mi raised an eyebrow, waved to Meng Wan, signaling her to go inside, and then turned around with Meng Junheng before asking, "Has something happened in the palace?"
Meng Junheng nodded, glanced at the Prime Minister's residence, and saw Meng Wan still standing there looking at the two of them, or rather, looking at Huangfu Mi. He frowned, feeling a mix of emotions, but said nothing, only saying, "Princess Hongxiu of Western Shu was kidnapped by villains on her way to the capital, and her whereabouts are currently unknown. His Majesty has ordered the entire city's guards to search for her, determined to find her before the King of Western Shu arrives in the capital."
Huangfu Mi's heart skipped a beat. Without saying a word, he hurriedly walked towards the palace with Meng Junheng.
--
Meng Wan stood there, and although she was quite far away, she could still faintly hear their conversation. She couldn't help but frown. A foreign princess had disappeared within their territory. What a serious matter! They should be worried right now!
Thinking about this, he was so worried that he didn't eat dinner and just sat by the window waiting, not forgetting to send Huanyan to the front to inquire about the news.
I thought that if anything happened, I would surely hear back. In any case, I would feel at ease knowing.
Perhaps because he was thinking too much, he ended up sitting there with his knees drawn up to his chest and taking a nap.
V34 Unexpected Turbulence (Part 1)
Huangfu Mi arrived and immediately spotted Meng Wan, who was dozing off with her head down. He quickly stepped forward, cupped her cheek with one hand, and made as if to embrace her.
The sudden chill startled her awake. Still half-asleep, she immediately noticed the ornaments on Huangfu Mi's waist and hurriedly got up.
"Ah, you've come..."
"Hmm..." He gave a barely audible response through his nose, then nudged her towards the inner room.
It was already completely dark, obviously very late. After entering the house, Meng Wan suddenly remembered something important: "By the way, have you found the person?"
With her eyes glazed over and looking drowsy, Huangfu Mi curled the corners of his lips and gently pinched her cheek: "Don't worry about others, look at yourself first. Why don't you go inside and sleep if you're sleepy? You're still sitting by the window. What if you fall?"
"I won't fall!" Meng Wan muttered softly, but she didn't have time to be arrogant this time. She asked again, "What exactly happened? Have you found the person?"
"Yes." Huangfu Mi nodded: "I went there not long before I said I found it. I went to the post station myself, and Father has already sent people over to make arrangements."
"Oh, weren't they said they were kidnapped by bad guys? How did they get back?"
"I don't know, I heard she was rescued."
"Oh." Without asking any more questions, she finally felt relieved. Huangfu Mi pushed her into the inner room, lifted the bedding, and she lay down. Looking at Huangfu Mi sitting by the bed, she raised her eyebrows: "Since everything is alright, you should go back and rest early. I'm going to sleep too."
"Hmm, I'll sit a little longer and watch you fall asleep before I leave." Huangfu Mi said softly, pulled the brocade quilt over her, watched her close her eyes, and then said, "By the way, the King of Western Shu will also be coming to the capital tomorrow. Father is preparing a banquet to entertain him and wants me to take you there."
"Huh?" Meng Wan suddenly opened her eyes: "Isn't it inappropriate for me to attend such an important diplomatic event between the two countries?"
“You are my future princess, there’s nothing wrong with that. Anyway, the Ministry of Rites has already chosen a date for our wedding, and we will be married soon.”
Getting married...
Meng Wan's face flushed slightly, and a warm feeling welled up from the bottom of her heart.
Even though she was deceived and hurt in her previous life, she was still willing to fall in love with Huangfu Mi after meeting him, because she believed that he was really good to her and that he would not hurt her. So, marrying him was probably the thing she looked forward to the most.
Overjoyed, they remained silent all night. The next morning, the Prime Minister's palanquin arrived at the palace early.
Originally, Meng Wan wanted to go to the palace to express her gratitude to the emperor, but when she entered the palace, she heard that the emperor was receiving the King of Western Shu and that the banquet would not start until the evening. So, Meng Wan had nowhere to go, and took the opportunity to wander around the palace.
The path was just filled with flowers and plants, and there wasn't much to do. I got tired after walking for a short while and thought there was a pavilion ahead, so I went there. But I ended up seeing an acquaintance.
Consort Xin was in the pavilion, seemingly enjoying the scenery or something else, but she was utterly bored. When she saw Meng Wan, her eyes lit up, but she immediately turned away, feigning indifference.
Meng Wan couldn't help but smile. This Consort Xin's temperament was truly quite strange. She wondered how the Emperor could tolerate her spoiled young lady's temper.
However, when Meng Wan was injured last time, she still asked someone to bring her medicine. Even though she knew it was because Meng Wan had saved her before, she still had to say thank you. Since she had the rare opportunity, she went over.
"Greetings to Consort Xin!"
Consort Xin was clearly taken aback, as if she hadn't expected her to come over so suddenly. She wanted to pretend she hadn't heard, but then felt it wouldn't be appropriate. Besides, she didn't actually have much hostility towards Meng Wan. She had only been hostile to her before because she thought Meng Wan was trying to seduce the Emperor. Now that Meng Wan's marriage to Prince Heng was settled, she had nothing to be hostile to anymore.
He nodded slightly and said calmly, "Get up."
Meng Wan got up as instructed, and without waiting for Consort Xin's instructions, she sat down next to her. Consort Xin was surprised again, but Meng Wan smiled and looked at her, saying, "Thank you for the ointment, Consort Xin. I haven't had time to thank you before, so I hope you won't mind."
"I gave it to you because it's useless. Don't overthink it. It's just a waste to leave it there anyway."
Meng Wan chuckled softly at Xin Guiren's insincere manner. Xin Guiren glared at her, and Meng Wan stopped smiling, though a charming smile still lingered in her eyes. She nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, yes, yes, I know very well that Xin Guiren gave it to me because she had no use for me. Is that alright?"
"That's more like it."
Actually, Consort Xin's personality is quite likable. Just as Meng Wan had thought, she expresses all her emotions without being scheming, which makes her rather endearing.
The two sat for a while longer. Just then, two figures approached from afar. Someone announced that the Fifth Prince and Prince Heng had arrived. Before the two could react, Huangfu Yu and Huangfu Mi had already come over and bowed, saying, "Greetings to Consort Xin!"
In fact, Consort Xin was not much older than the other two, but because she was the emperor's woman, they had to greet her respectfully.
Consort Xin raised her hand, indicating that she should not stand on ceremony. Meng Wan also hurriedly bowed to the two of them. When she stood up, Huangfu Mi had already walked to her side: "I heard that you went to the palace. I looked for you for a long time but couldn't find you. It turns out you were talking to Consort Xin."
"His Majesty is busy, and you are busy too, so I came over for a visit. I didn't expect to run into Consort Xin."
The two chatted away, oblivious to everyone else, while the other two couldn't help but chuckle. Huangfu Yu couldn't help but roll his eyes in annoyance: "Seventh Brother, you can't do this! Didn't we just meet yesterday? Why are you acting like you're inseparable again? Are you trying to provoke me?"
It was a rare moment for Consort Xin to crack a joke, and she smiled, while Meng Wan blushed with embarrassment.