Chapter 592
Chapter 592
“General Wen, when you see Prince An, please tell him to take good care of himself,” Li Tianyou instructed solemnly as he looked at Zhang Yanchu.
“Rest assured, Lord Li. I will certainly pass your message on to Prince An.” Zhang Yanchu nodded.
“Tell him that Weiwei and the child are still waiting for him.” Li Tianyou’s eyes reddened as he spoke.
Zhang Yanchu nodded, then turned and left.
He knew that Li Tianyou might have sensed something, but there was nothing he could do to give him an answer.
All he could do was pray that Xu Heming would return safely.
Heping County
After Xu Heming had made all the necessary arrangements, he fell into a coma.
For some reason, he found himself at the Ruyan Marquis Residence.
A bright-red bridal sedan stood outside the gates of the residence.
Strangely, the gates were tightly shut.
Xu Heming stepped forward to ask what was going on, only to discover that no one seemed able to see him.
After a long while, the gates of the Ruyan Marquis Residence finally opened. The person inside the bridal sedan slowly emerged, but after entering the residence, she was met not by a lively wedding feast, but by nothing more than a remote woodshed.
Yet there was something strangely familiar about the bride’s figure.
“Li Zhiwei!”
A woman’s voice came from nearby.
Weiwei?
Was that woman Weiwei?
Xu Heming’s entire body trembled. How could Weiwei marry someone else?
Wasn’t she his princess consort?
Then Xu Heming saw the woman force a cup of wine down Li Zhiwei’s throat and watched as she fell into the woman’s trap.
He watched as those people squandered her dowry, then murdered Li Tianyou and Lady Yao.
Finally, he watched Li Zhiwei burn to death in the woodshed.
Xu Heming was furious, yet utterly helpless.
He tried to rush over and save her, only to discover that he could do nothing.
He could only watch as the raging flames consumed Li Zhiwei alive.
He stood silently to one side. He could not feel the heat of the fire, yet he could feel the agony and despair she experienced as she struggled before being burned to death.
“Weiwei!”
Xu Heming sat bolt upright with a roar.
“Your Highness, you’re awake!” Seeing Xu Heming sit up, Xu Song hurried forward to support him.
“How are you feeling, Your Highness?” Xu Song asked with concern.
After all, his prince had been asleep for an entire day and night.
“What time is it?” Xu Heming shook his head, asking uncertainly.
His mind was still filled with the sight of Li Zhiwei engulfed in flames in his dream.
He had to reach Lu City as soon as possible.
“It’s the hour of Chen, Your Highness. Would you like something to eat?” Xu Song asked.
“No need. How are the arrangements I gave you coming along?” Xu Heming had no appetite. All he could think about was completing the emperor’s assignment as quickly as possible so he could go see his beloved wife.
“Your Highness, rest assured. Our men are all prepared. As soon as the people from the Northwestern military camp arrive, we’ll be able to transport those items back to the capital,” Xu Song reported honestly.
What he did not mention was that, for some unknown reason, the people from the Northwestern military camp had yet to arrive.
He was afraid that if the reinforcements continued to delay while the people from the Marquis of Zhennan’s residence remained in Heping County, they would be hopelessly outnumbered.
What awaited them might be a fight to the death.
“Send another message to the emperor.” Xu Heming frowned. He could not understand why the emperor had not sent reinforcements. Had he not received the letter Xu Heming had sent earlier?
Or had someone intercepted their correspondence?
“Xu Song, perhaps you should return to the capital personally and find the emperor.” Xu Heming still felt uneasy and spoke to Xu Song.
“Your Highness, I must stay here to look after you.” Xu Song’s eyes widened at the suggestion. How could he leave at a time like this?
“We must resolve this as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the Lannuo Kingdom will be in danger.” Xu Heming sighed.
Xu Song trembled when he heard this. He understood what his prince meant. If no reinforcements arrived, they would have no choice but to wait here for death.
Meanwhile, at the Northwestern military camp—
“Well, if it isn’t Deputy General Fang. What brings you here?” someone teased with a smile upon seeing Fang Sheng.
“General Liu!” Fang Sheng’s heart sank when he saw who it was. Why was he here?
With General Liu around, it would not be easy to bring reinforcements.
After all, General Liu had never gotten along with their general, and Fang Sheng did not have the command tally. Thinking of this, Fang Sheng grew anxious.
General Liu looked at him suspiciously, unable to understand why he had come to the military camp at such a time.
Had Zhang Yanchu discovered the secret between him and the Prince of Zhennan?
“Shouldn’t Deputy General Fang be enjoying the good life in the capital alongside General Wen? Why have you come back?” General Liu asked.
“General Liu, I have something extremely important to take care of.” Fang Sheng replied somewhat awkwardly.
“Oh? I’d be delighted to hear about it.” General Liu smiled at Fang Sheng, already considering how to send him away.
Fang Sheng gritted his teeth and said awkwardly, “Well, you see, I’ve recently taken a liking to a young woman. She has quite the fiery temper, so I want to find a few brothers here to help me put on a show of force—to seize her and bring her home as my wife.”
Fang Sheng did not dare tell General Liu that he intended to lead men to reinforce Xu Heming. Instead, he came up with this clumsy excuse.
General Liu froze for a moment, then burst into loud laughter.
“What kind of woman is so fierce that even our Deputy General Fang can’t win her over?” Although he laughed, General Liu looked at Fang Sheng with contempt. He had thought something serious was happening, but it turned out that this useless man had been outmaneuvered by a mere young woman.
“Oh, General Liu, you mustn’t tell our general about this. Otherwise, he’ll probably punish me,” Fang Sheng said with an anxious expression.
“Hahahaha! Don’t worry, Deputy General Fang. I certainly won’t mention it to your general. But how many men do you need? I’ll definitely have them accompany you to seize this little wife of yours.” General Liu laughed.
He thought to himself that Zhang Yanchu was truly useless. He could not even keep an ordinary subordinate under control, allowing him to sneak back here for the sake of a woman.
This would give him another opportunity to mock Zhang Yanchu for his lax discipline. In time, the position of grand general would surely be his.
Fang Sheng had intended to say that five hundred men would not be enough, but five hundred was better than none.
Besides, he had claimed that he was going to seize a young woman. Bringing too many men would only arouse General Liu’s suspicions.
“That’s more than enough! Thank you, General Liu. Once I bring the woman back, I’ll certainly invite you to a feast and drinks.” Fang Sheng put on a grateful expression.
“Very well. Choose the men yourself.” General Liu waved his hand, believing that Fang Sheng would not be able to select anyone particularly formidable.
After all, without his military order, the important commanders would not dare leave the camp.