Chapter 115 -
After watching Mingyu head back indoors with his maids, Duchess Lin Meiyun and Xi Ronghua quickly backed away into the shaded hallway, slipping out of Su Yueqing’s sight before she could spot them.
The brief humor of Yueqing’s silly inner complaints had completely vanished, replaced by a heavy wave of terror.
Lin Meiyun’s hands shook badly. Her face was pale as paper as she leaned against a wooden pillar for support. Her eldest son was riding straight into a deadly trap.
"Ronghua..." Meiyun gasped, her breath coming fast and uneven. "An ambush at Red Cliff Pass... The supply line is too slow... He doesn’t know!"
Ronghua’s face was white, her eyes big with real fear. "Sister-in-law, calm down! We have to act now! If Wenzhe’s force is ambushed from the high ground, they won’t stand a chance!"
"I have to write to Jianyu," Meiyun said frantically, turning and rushing toward her private study. "Right now!"
Ronghua stayed right at her heels, her heart pounding fast.
Inside the study, Meiyun didn’t even sit down. Her hands shook so hard she almost knocked over the ink bottle as she grabbed a brush. She began writing an urgent letter to her husband, Grand Duke Xi Jianyu.
She laid out the danger, Red Cliff Pass, the slow supply line, and the waiting enemy. She plainly wrote that these were Su Yueqing’s thoughts, reminding him that Yueqing’s inner predictions were always right. She begged him to send fast troops immediately to save their son.
The moment the letter was sealed, Meiyun called for her most trusted guard. She handed it over with desperate haste. "Take the fastest horse! Get this to the Grand Duke right now! Go!"
The guard bowed sharply and ran out.
Once the door closed, the heavy silence of the room settled over them. Meiyun sank into her chair, pressing her shaking hands against her face as tears fell from her eyes. "What if the letter is too late, Ronghua? What if the ambush happens before Jianyu gets there?!"
Ronghua walked back and forth, her fingers tightly gripping her sleeve. "Jianyu’s men are fast, but... Wenzhe is already far ahead. He is in terrible danger."
Meiyun suddenly looked up, her eyes locking onto Ronghua with desperate focus.
"Ronghua," Meiyun said, her voice shaking. "I am going to do something drastic. We cannot just sit here!"
Ronghua stopped walking, looking at her with deep worry. "What are you thinking?!"
Meiyun stood up, pointing toward the courtyard.
"I am sending Su Yueqing to Wenzhe!"
Ronghua’s eyes widened in shock. "Send Yueqing?! To a war zone?! Sister-in-law, how can sending her into danger help Wenzhe?!"
"Because she is the only one who knows what will happen next!" Meiyun cried out, her voice breaking. "Listen to me! If we send a fast carriage with guards and Yueqing, using the excuse of an anxious wife bringing extra supplies, we can move much faster than the slow wagons and reach Wenzhe in time!"
Meiyun grabbed Ronghua’s hands tightly.
"And more importantly Wenzhe can hear her! If Yueqing is close by, her mind will track every trap and every enemy move. Wenzhe will hear her thoughts directly! Her mind will keep him alive!"
Ronghua froze, realizing how important the plan was. The fear in her chest turned into a sudden ray of hope.
"You’re using her mind to save his life..." Ronghua whispered, her voice tight. "It sounds crazy, sister-in-law... but it might actually keep our boy alive."
Ronghua’s face tightened as a sudden, troubling thought crossed her mind. She looked at Meiyun, her voice dropping into a tense whisper.
"Wait, sister-in-law," Ronghua warned, her eyes filled with genuine concern. "This is dangerous to do, though. What if her life ends up in danger out there? Wenzhe won’t be happy if you risk her life just for his!"
Meiyun froze, her hands stiffening around Ronghua’s.
"Think about it," Ronghua continued, pacing back and forth again with frantic energy. "Wenzhe already feels complicated about her. He took her white fox coat before he left, and he spent the whole morning making sure she was taken care of before heading to war! If anything happens to Yueqing on that road, or if she gets caught in the crossfire of an ambush... Wenzhe will never forgive us, nor will he forgive himself."
Meiyun’s throat felt dry. The harsh reality of Ronghua’s words hit her hard. Sending a delicate, spoiled noblewoman toward an active battle zone was a massive gamble. If Yueqing was killed or captured, the guilt would tear the family apart and Wenzhe would be completely devastated.
"I know it’s dangerous," Meiyun said, her voice shaking with quiet intensity. "I am not sending her to die, Ronghua. I am sending her with our best shadow guards and elite soldiers! They will protect her with their lives!"
"Shadow guards or not, it’s a war zone!" Ronghua argued back, her tone sharp with panic. "Yueqing is terrified of getting hurt! She literally screams in her head if a tea cup is too hot! How is she going to react when she finds out we’re throwing her near a battlefield?!"
Meiyun closed her eyes tightly, taking a deep, shuddering breath to steady her racing heart.
"She will complain, she will throw a fit in her head, and she will call us all crazy," Meiyun said softly, opening her eyes with fierce determination. "But she won’t die. Because as long as she is near Wenzhe, he will hear her thoughts. He will protect her with his own body before he ever lets a single arrow touch her. And in return, her knowledge will save him."
Ronghua stared at her sister-in-law, her chest heaving as she processed the sheer madness of the plan.
"You’re relying on Wenzhe’s desire to protect her just as much as you’re relying on her mind to save him," Ronghua whispered, a stunned look on her face.
"I have no choice," Meiyun replied, her voice breaking with emotion. "I am a mother trying to save my son. I will take Wenzhe’s anger later as long as he comes back alive to yell at me."