Lying on the cart, feigning weakness, Xiao Jingyuan caught every detail with his peripheral vision.
He had intended to quietly observe, but he hadn’t expected Meng Wantang to possess such skill. Her movements were swift and precise, with a force no ordinary woman could wield.
A flicker of shock passed through his eyes, quickly replaced by deep curiosity. How many more secrets did this woman conceal?
Meng Wantang looked down at the kneeling Young Prince of Anle, her gaze devoid of any mercy. She could feel her internal energy flowing more smoothly with each strike, as if this confrontation had sharpened her martial arts further.
Stepping closer, she loomed over the Young Prince, voice icy: “I warned you, don’t provoke me. Yet you have no memory of your own mistakes.”
“Stop! Stop it!” Meng Wanqing rushed forward, throwing herself between Meng Wantang and the Young Prince, eyes red, a picture of fragility. “Wantang, please! He didn’t mean it—just spare him!”
Her words pleaded, but her eyes glimmered with secret satisfaction. She hoped that by causing a scene, the officers would punish Meng Wantang.
Meng Wantang, however, was unmoved. She shot a cold glance at Meng Wanqing and walked toward the nearby officers. From her sleeve, she produced a silver ingot and handed it over, voice calm: “Officer, this Young Prince provoked trouble, attacked me, and even tried to harm my child. I ask you to enforce the law impartially.”
The officer weighed the silver, a smile spreading across his face. He had long disliked the Young Prince’s arrogance, and now someone had officially reported him. With money in hand, he eagerly seized the opportunity.
“Don’t worry, miss. I’ll handle this!”
He strode to the Young Prince, raised his whip, and lashed down mercilessly. “You fool! How dare you stir trouble on an exile route! Do you still think you’re that high-ranking prince?”
The whip fell repeatedly on the Young Prince. He curled and writhed in pain, but his resilience prevented him from crying out.
“Thank you, officer,” Meng Wantang nodded slightly, voice composed.
The officer waved dismissively. “It’s my duty—and thank you for the report, miss.”
Meng Wanqing’s smile froze, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief. She hadn’t expected Meng Wantang to avoid punishment, let alone see the Young Prince beaten. How could this woman be so fortunate?
The Young Prince, battered and humiliated, no longer radiated his previous arrogance. He glared at Meng Wantang’s retreating figure, his fury mingling with helplessness.
Meng Wantang returned to the roadside, holding Xiao Muyan, as if nothing had happened. The child clung to her neck, whispering, “Mother, you’re amazing! That bad uncle doesn’t dare scold you anymore!”
Meng Wantang gently patted his head, eyes sharp. On this exile route, only by being strong could one protect oneself and one’s child.
Xiao Jingyuan, lying on the cart, reflected on Meng Wantang’s duality—her tender care for her child and her deadly precision in combat. The woman was like a book that could never be fully read, always revealing new surprises, compelling him to unravel her mysteries.
Meanwhile, the Young Prince of Anle, lashed and bruised, still harbored defiant anger, unable to stand. Nearby, in another cart, sat his mother, Lady Rong.
A daughter of a military family, married to the Third Rank Minister of Justice, she had spoiled her only son, fostering his arrogance. But seeing him beaten, she felt excitement rather than anger, a subtle smile curling her lips.
“Well done! Finally, someone put that brat in his place,” she thought, secretly delighted. “After all these years, the capital praised him endlessly. Only Meng Wantang dared humble him!”
Her husband, the Minister of Justice, peeked over, eyes reflecting agreement. The boy deserved a lesson, and a mere concubine had delivered it perfectly. Both exchanged a glance of satisfaction, with no intention to intervene.
Meanwhile, a cold, refined man in coarse cloth observed Meng Wantang with calm, unreadable eyes.
As the exile caravan resumed its journey, dust swirling, Meng Mu suddenly leaned out of the cart.
She hurried to Meng Wantang, grabbing her sleeve, face streaked with tears, voice choked: “Wantang… your mother knows… it was my fault before. I was blind and failed to recognize you as my own daughter… please forgive me, will you?”
She clutched Meng Wantang’s hand, crying bitterly. “Now the Meng family is in disaster—your eldest brother, second, third, fourth, and even your father… they’re barely holding on. Could you… help us? With the carts, the rations…”
Her words were veiled requests for Meng Wantang to provide, to serve the family.
Meng Wantang lowered her gaze at her mother’s desperate hands, her expression unchanged. She replied lightly: “Oh.”
Meng Mu paused mid-sentence at the single word, then continued: “Wantang, I know you’re angry, but we are your family! You can’t just watch us starve or collapse on the road. Please have mercy…”
Again, Meng Wantang’s response was the same: “Oh.” Plain, detached, without even looking at her.
Meng Mu trembled, furious and helpless.
Aunt Meng stepped forward, pointing at Meng Wantang’s nose. “Wantang, you ungrateful wretch! Your mother begs you, and you still act high and mighty! If not for you, would the Meng family have fallen so? It’s your fault! You killed the family’s fortune!”
Finally, Meng Wantang lifted her eyes, coldly fixing Aunt Meng with her gaze. Without waiting for a response, she slapped her, the crisp sound silencing the surrounding commotion.
“You are nothing! How dare you speak to me?”
Her voice was icy, eyes sharp. “Mother? You are nothing but a treacherous woman who usurped my place. And yet you dare call yourself ‘my mother’?”
She raised her voice so the entire convoy could hear: “It was you! When my mother was weak after childbirth, you secretly switched me with Meng Wanqing! I am the real daughter of the Meng family! Meng Wanqing is just the illegitimate daughter of you and some rogue man! You stole my identity, took everything from me, tormented me for over a decade, and now have the audacity to beg for my help?”
Her revelation exploded like a thunderclap through the convoy.
Everyone stopped, staring at the Meng family in shock and gossip. Prisoners and officers alike, even those nearby such as Su Yanci and Zhao Lie, turned to witness the fallout of this aristocratic secret.