My Lord, the princess doesn't want you anymore.

Bingzhou.

The prince met Wei Mengyun here.

"Where is Princess Jing?" Wei Mengyun's face turned unhappy when he saw that the prince was the only one in the carriage.

They were also planning to use Mei Xue'er to threaten the emperor - the empress dowager's illness had not yet fully recovered, and Mei Xue'er must still be useful to the emperor.

We can also blackmail Prince Jing - Prince Jing and Princess Jing are so affectionate, maybe we can use this rag to trick Prince Jing into revealing the secret decree of the late emperor. Although the probability of this happening needs further research and demonstration, it's worth a try.

"It's also my fault for being careless. I let her run away halfway. Now I don't know whether she is dead or alive. If I catch this bitch, I will never let her go." The prince said gritting his teeth.

Wei Mengyun's face was gloomy and ugly. He deeply felt the incompetence of this prince. He couldn't even keep an eye on a woman. "Then, what should we do now?"

The prince snorted, "I thought we still had soldiers at hand, and if we attacked the palace unexpectedly, we would still have a chance of winning, but I didn't expect that damn Wei Tianjie would escape from prison. Father acted so quickly, it seems like he had been prepared for it. I'm wondering, how could the secret letter to Xiling be stolen when it was hidden in my uncle's house?"

Wei Mengyun's expression became even worse. "What do you mean, Prince?"

"Uncle, you worry too much. I know how uncle has treated me over the years." The prince was a little impatient, "Prince Jing! This must have been done by Prince Jing!"

Wei Mengyun's expression eased a little, "Now, let's think about how to deal with it."

"It has come to this, what else can I do?" The prince's eyes were fierce. "Given my father's temper, even if I surrender now, I will definitely die. If I fight a hard battle, there may be a glimmer of hope. Even if I die in the end, at least I can die heroically."

"Well, at this point, this is all we can do." Wei Mengyun said, "Fortunately, we still have some troops in the capital. While the emperor's attention is on Bingzhou, we can start the action in the capital first. Maybe we can control the palace and make the emperor unable to cope with both ends, thus creating opportunities for action here."

"Send a pigeon to the capital right away." The prince made up his mind. "The more than 100,000 people in Bingzhou should immediately disperse and disguise themselves as merchants or civilians, and march towards the capital in batches from different directions. The speed must be fast, fast, and catch him off guard..."

"But if 100,000 people enter the capital, it will cause quite a stir no matter how we hide." Wei Mengyun was a little worried.

"There is no other way. We must first make a bigger scene in Bingzhou. The more attention our father will pay, the more he will mobilize a large army to attack us. We can then take advantage of the lack of defense in the capital and attack the palace in one fell swoop."

"Prince, this plan is feasible, but we must have enough military force here to hold them back." Wei Mengyun was a little worried.

"We will leave at most 20,000 people here to deal with my father's people. We have the advantages of terrain and climate here, which makes it easy to defend but difficult to attack. We just need to expand our formation and defend while fighting. When the enemy's main force arrives, we will focus on defense and hold them back. It should be no problem for 20,000 people to hold out for a month or so." The prince pondered for a moment, "Uncle, if a war breaks out in the capital, I must be there. Please take advantage of the free time these few days to go to Xiling on my behalf. The emperor of Xiling has promised to lend us troops..."

Beijing.

The Crown Prince was on the run, and Princess Jing had not been found yet, but the imperial edict granting the marriage had already been delivered to the Prime Minister's residence.

Mei Qianyue couldn't believe it was true - the emperor actually granted her a marriage on behalf of Prince Xiao, and she was the principal wife.

She has always been a smart, rational and understanding daughter. Although her heart is full of joy and expectations, she still has her own worries and doubts.

"Father, I think it is very unusual to grant a marriage at this time. I am worried that it will cause trouble to you and that it will restrict your actions in the court."

Prime Minister Mei knew exactly what Cui Qimo meant.

Mei Xueer's words and deeds were absurd and she had a bad reputation. Cui Qimo would never let her enter the East Palace. And because he hated Prince Jing, when the Queen encouraged him to marry Mei Xueer to Prince Jing, he agreed.

Anyway, Mei Xueer was in such a state that she couldn't get married. Giving her to Cui Hongjing as his principal wife was a relief for Prime Minister Mei.

Cui Hongjing also felt that this was a humiliation and would not treat Mei Xueer well. In this case, Prime Minister Mei would be unhappy about it anyway and would naturally not help her.

Unexpectedly, Mei Xueer suddenly became a different person and won Cui Hongjing's heart. To outsiders, the two of them were in love.

This was far beyond Cui Qimo's expectations, so he regretted the marriage he had arranged.

Prime Minister Mei has always been neutral and never takes sides, but Mei Xueer and Prince Jing are so affectionate, will Prime Minister Mei be biased towards Prince Jing?

Cui Qimo didn't want to see this result, he didn't want to see Prince Jing getting any help.

Originally, the crown prince could suppress Prince Jing in terms of status, but after confirming that the crown prince was planning a rebellion, he knew that he could not protect the crown prince, so he quickly named Prince Xiao as Prince Xiao, hoping to quickly use a prince to restrain Prince Jing.

Giving Mei Qianyue to Prince Xiao as his principal wife was also intended to prevent Prime Minister Mei from always favoring Prince Jing.

At the same time, it was also a warning to Prime Minister Mei using God's grace.

Prime Minister Mei did not expect that this concubine's daughter, whom he had never paid much attention to, turned out to be so smart and insightful.

He looked at Mei Qianyue, thoughtfully, "Tell me the truth, do you really want Prince Xiao? If not, I will risk my old face and ask the emperor to revoke his order."

Mei Qianyue's pale face turned slightly red, she lowered her head and nodded slowly.

Prime Minister Mei sighed heavily. He never thought that his daughter, who had grown up in a southern village, would meet Prince Xiao. It was this encounter that planted the seeds of love in their hearts.

When love comes, it is really unstoppable.

"Forget it, forget it, maybe this is God's will..." Looking at the snowflakes flying outside the window, Prime Minister Mei murmured, "Really, the weather has changed..."

The person who was most driven crazy by this imperial edict was actually Mei Zhihua.

She has always been very self-confident and has always wanted to marry a prince. Even if she couldn't be the principal wife, she would be willing to be a concubine, preferably the crown prince's concubine.

But Mei Xueer and Mei Qianyue were granted marriages one after another, but it was not her turn.

The arranged marriage with Mei Xue'er was originally a humiliation to Prince Jing, and Mei Zhihua had always regarded it as a joke. However, she did not expect that the rag-to-riches girl to become a completely different person, not only deceiving Prince Jing into being so affectionate with her, but also causing the Queen Mother and the Emperor to change their views of her.

As for Mei Qianyue, who had always lived in the countryside, she was just a wild girl, and he never looked at her seriously. But now, she has turned into a phoenix, soaring into the sky, surpassing him and becoming the imperial concubine of Prince Xiao!

He is a prince! Even more powerful than Prince Jing!

How could she swallow this humiliation? She was thinking of finding Prime Minister Mei to cry and make a fuss, but when she arrived, she heard the conversation between her father and Mei Qianyue.

Seeing Mei Qianyue's frail appearance, she was so angry that she rushed forward and pointed at Mei Qianyue's nose and scolded, "Who are you pretending to be so weak for? You are just a slutty fox, living in the countryside and still busy seducing Prince Xiao, you are such a slut!"

Mei Qianyue didn't fight back or say anything back, she just looked coldly at Mei Zhihua's furious face with a hint of sarcasm in her eyes, as if she was looking at a clown.

Prime Minister Mei was so angry that he pulled Mei Qianyue over to protect her behind him, then slapped Mei Zhihua in the face, "How dare you! How could I have a daughter like you?!"

"Father!" Mei Zhihua covered her face with her hands, her eyes red as she looked at Prime Minister Mei in disbelief, "Father, you actually hit me?"

Prime Minister Mei has never hit his three daughters, even though Mei Xueer acted outrageously in the past, he never hit her.

But he was really furious at the moment. He was already annoyed that Mei Zhihua had a private relationship with the prince, and when he heard her speak rudely and show no affection for her own sister, he attacked her on impulse.

"Father, you actually hit me for a wild girl?" Mei Zhihua felt very aggrieved.

"You bastard! This is your own sister!" Prime Minister Mei was furious. "I don't expect you to do anything for the Mei family, but I will never allow you to betray your family and plot against them! This is simply a disgrace to our Mei family."

"The Mei family's reputation?" Mei Zhihua sneered, "Didn't that scumbag Mei Xue'er bring disgrace to the Mei family's reputation? Father, you really have double standards! Yes, she is the legitimate daughter, and I am a concubine's daughter, so of course my status is not as noble as hers." She pointed at Mei Qianyue, "But, tell me, what is this thing?!"

Prime Minister Mei was so angry that his liver ached, and he felt a breath stuck in his heart, unable to speak for a long time.

Mei Qianyue's mouth twitched, she took two steps forward and stared at Mei Zhihua.

She had no expression, her face was still pale, and her body was still thin, but Mei Zhihua felt scared and took two steps back, "You, what are you going to do?"

"Second sister!" Mei Qianyue said calmly, "Is this the attitude you should have towards father? Besides, no matter whether we are born legitimate or illegitimate, we are all daughters of the Mei family and should be united and close. But you chose to team up with outsiders to persecute our family."

"I...how could that be..." Mei Zhihua felt a little guilty.

Mei Qianyue didn't give her a chance to speak, "Second sister, do you dare to swear? Do you dare to swear that it's not your fault that the eldest sister is in trouble this time..."