The butler, already frazzled by the chaos unfolding before him, felt a strange sense of reliance on Meng Wantang’s calm demeanor. Without hesitation, he obeyed her command.
Soon, he returned carrying two sets of faded, coarse cloth garments.
Meng Wantang knelt carefully, peeling off Xiao Jingyuan’s bloodied and tattered clothing.
Though he bore wounds, they were far from life-threatening—clearly exaggerated to lull the Crown Prince into complacency.
Outside, a tumult of arrogant footsteps approached.
The Crown Prince, accompanied by the Crown Princess and a host of guards, entered the courtyard.
Clad in luxurious robes, they gazed down at the scene with condescending satisfaction.
Meng Wanqing, spotting the Crown Princess, desperately clutched at her skirts, as if seizing a lifeline.
“Sister! Please save me! Weren’t we best friends? Plead with His Highness for me, let me go!” she cried.
The Crown Princess coldly kicked her aside, voice cutting: “Best friends? You dare? Once, out of respect for you as the Prince’s consort, I tolerated your presence. Now, a traitor’s wife, and you still dare cling to me? Shameless!”
Meng Wanqing fell hard to the ground, her gaze meeting the Crown Princess’s disdainful eyes.
She looked to the Crown Prince’s haughty expression and felt her heart shatter—any trace of former grace vanished.
The butler watched Meng Wanqing’s pitiful state, then glanced at Meng Wantang, calmly helping Xiao Jingyuan change his clothes.
Facing confiscation and exile, Meng Wantang’s composure far exceeded even the official Prince’s consort.
Meng Wantang finished dressing Xiao Jingyuan in the coarse garments and took Xiao Muyan from the waiting maid.
She returned to her room to change herself into the same rough attire.
Simple, yet neat, it accentuated her upright bearing.
The officials assigned to escort the exiles entered, urging: “The time has come! Everyone, change into your prison garments and prepare to depart!”
They tossed a pile of tattered, stained clothes onto the ground.
The Meng family recoiled at the sight.
“I am the Meng family’s matriarch! How dare you give me these lowly rags! Do you know who I am? Change me at once!” Meng Mother screamed.
The four Meng brothers echoed her outrage, with Meng Yunchong haughtily shouting: “We are imperial officials! Even in exile, we should not suffer such indignity!”
Meng Wanqing clutched her sleeves tightly. “I won’t wear this! I am a Prince’s consort! I cannot wear such rags!”
The officials, already irritated by the empty confiscation, were infuriated.
Meng Wantang’s voice, calm and commanding, cut through the tension: “Follow the rules, official. No need to argue with those who do not understand.”
Her words ignited the fuse.
An official struck Meng Mother across the face with a sharp slap. Silence fell instantly.
“Rules? You dare talk about rules here?” he barked, whipping Meng Yunchong with a burning lash.
“Imperial officials? Now you are nothing but prisoners! Obey, or I will strike you dead!”
Pain seared the Meng family; cries filled the courtyard.
Meng Mother dared not speak. The brothers grimaced, enduring the lashes.
Meng Wanqing trembled, silenced by fear, resentment blazing in her eyes as she watched Meng Wantang’s back.
If not for this woman, none of them would have ended in such disgrace!
Meng Wantang, oblivious to the glances, went to Xiao Jingyuan and helped him to his feet.
As the family’s attention diverted, her fingers discreetly hooked his palm.
In a voice only they could hear: “Stop pretending. I know you’re fine. Trust me, with me here, nothing will happen.”
Xiao Jingyuan stiffened, eyes widening briefly in surprise before returning to feigned weakness.
He lightly squeezed her fingers in return, a subtle acknowledgment.
Even in this moment, he hadn’t expected her perceptiveness—or her audacity to signal him now.
The Crown Prince, observing the scene, snorted and commanded the officials: “Do not delay. Depart immediately!”
The officials roughly hauled the Meng family and Meng Wanqing to their feet, shoving them toward the exit.
Meng Wantang supported Xiao Jingyuan, held Xiao Muyan, and followed behind. Sunlight fell across her figure, the coarse attire unable to conceal her upright posture.
Her eyes showed no fear—only unwavering resolve.
As the exiles left the city gates, distant relatives lined the road.
Carrying small bundles, they passed a few coins and pieces of clothing through the officials’ blockade, murmuring, “Take care.”
Meng Father and Mother, trembling, accepted the silver, fingertips cold.
Yet their hearts felt no warmth, only deep despair.
They knew the harshness of the Northern wastes—the endless yellow sand, the barren land. The Emperor’s decree forbade any return.
The silver might ease the journey, but in that frigid, desolate land, it was meaningless.
Tears streamed from Meng Mother’s fingers. “It’s over… everything is over… we’ll never return…”
Meng Father clutched the silver, knuckles white, eyes filled with resentment.
This was all the fault of that cursed Meng Wantang.
Even the Meng brothers, heads hung, had lost all former arrogance.
Meng Wanqing, battered and broken by the journey and despair, slumped in the prison cart, hair disheveled, eyes vacant, muttering endlessly, “I won’t go to the North…” like a madwoman.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, alongside the scheming elder princes, remained at the Jing Prince’s mansion, awaiting the confiscation’s spectacle.
Standing in the main hall, they gazed disdainfully at the guards carrying the “dying” Xiao Jingyuan, faces brimming with malicious glee.
The eldest prince rolled up his sleeves, mocking: “Sixth Brother, why insist on holding onto military power? Now, look at you—nearly dead, even your life at risk. Was it worth it?”
His gloating nearly spilled over—he had been oppressed by Xiao Jingyuan’s command before, now at last he could step over him.
The third prince joined in, sneering: “Overreaching, indeed! You thought Father would protect you? A leftover from the late Empress, and you dared covet what isn’t yours. Now, exiled and disgraced, it’s your own fault!”
The fifth prince, younger, chimed cruelly: “I doubt Sixth Brother will survive this. Bloodied, nearly gone—perhaps he won’t even reach exile. Then one less nuisance in our way!”
The Crown Prince, standing silently, eyes gleaming with triumph, savored Xiao Jingyuan’s helplessness.
The greatest threat had finally been neutralized; no one could challenge him in court again.
The Crown Princess, leaning on him, cast a disdainful glance at Xiao Jingyuan, then at the sobbing Meng Wanqing. Her lips curled in amusement—she clearly relished the scene.
At that moment, a frantic official responsible for the confiscation rushed in, face pale, sweat pouring from his brow.
“Your… Your Highness… something’s wrong!”