"Now is not the ti for you to throw a child’s tantrum," Noble Consort Wen imdiately said with a stern expression. Zheng Haoyuan beca anxious and tried to stand up but was held down by Noble Consort Wen’s hands on his shoulders as she spoke with earnest gravity.
"Mother Consort, can’t we just content ourselves with being a Prince? Brother Crown Prince won’t..."
"Silence—" Noble Consort Wen couldn’t believe that Zheng Haoyuan still harbored such thoughts and abruptly interrupted him.
"Fu Gong, at this point, it’s not sothing that either you or I can decide. It concerns the entire Wen Family and our future. It’s not about whether we want to do it or not. Zheng Congyuan might spare our lives, but Empress Xiao won’t, the Empress Dowager won’t..."
"That won’t happen. Can’t Nanzheng State tolerate just one Prince? As long as I don’t harbor those ambitions, I just want to take good care of Mother Consort and don’t want you to be in danger."
"Fu Gong, you are still young. There are things you don’t understand, and you can’t fathom others’ hearts. Take your Imperial Uncle, for example. Is his life easy? Without Empress Dowager Yan Ping, he would have died ten or eight tis over," Noble Consort Wen said urgently. "The matter has already reached this point. If you let slip even a little bit, not only your Mother Consort but you and everyone in the Wen Family will die. Once Emperor Jingzhi is dead, our situation will beco even more..."
"I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it—" Zheng Haoyuan struggled and finally freed himself from Noble Consort Wen’s hands, then ran towards the outside of the palace.
"Your Highness..." The eunuch behind him was about to give chase when Noble Consort Wen looked up.
"Never mind, don’t chase after him. Let him think things through on his own. He needs so ti," Noble Consort Wen said slowly, lifting her gaze to the stars in the distant night sky and remaining silent for a long while.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, where are you going?" Cang Er, who stood guard outside the hall—Noble Consort Wen’s people wouldn’t let him in—suddenly saw his master rush out and imdiately followed. Seeing no one had caught up from behind, he beca anxious.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, please wait for your servant—" Without guessing, Cang Er knew his master was in a bad mood. Although Noble Consort Wen and Fourth Prince were mother and son, it was clear their temperants clashed; conflicts arose within a few words. Cang Er was no longer surprised, but he was worried. It was so late, what was Noble Consort Wen up to?
Cang Er chased through two halls and still hadn’t caught up with Zheng Haoyuan. What did Fourth Prince want to do outside the palace now?
Without ti to ponder, Cang Er hurriedly followed.
"Fourth Prince, the palace gates are already locked. You can’t go out..." The guard at the palace gate hadn’t finished speaking when Zheng Haoyuan drew the guard’s sword and struck. Cang Er imdiately intervened.
"Lord Yan, we have a palace token, have a..." Cang Er quickly searched for the token.
While the guard dodged and retreated, Zheng Haoyuan’s unauthorized departure from the palace was not infrequent; the guard opened a way by half-yielding. Zheng Haoyuan commandeered a horse and rushed out.
The guards couldn’t neglect their duty and imdiately got a horse for Cang Er, who hurriedly gave chase. Lu Hu and others, who received the news and hurried to the palace gate, found that Zheng Haoyuan had already left the palace. Alard, they quickly followed suit.
...
Zheng Congyuan was sowhat baffled when he received the secret report in his hand, Qi Ling poured tea and noticed that his lord’s expression was unusual. However, this was news from Nann State; even if it were a significant matter, it would still be an issue for Nann State. The hostage from Nann State securing the throne had already beco a certainty, a result they had foreseen a month earlier.
Furthermore, with the favor of heaven and earth, and the support of his maternal family, Nann Yu had proven his identity at a crucial mont. Now the call for his leadership in Nann State continued to rise. If there were any issues, it would be the Sixth Prince of Nann State desperately holding out, making his last stand.
Therefore, even Qi Ling could not think of a matter that would cause the Crown Prince to furrow his brow.
Zheng Congyuan had no intention of concealing anything from Qi Ling, and after all, the gathering of intelligence from Nann State was conducted through the hands of Qi Ling’s elder brother, so there was nothing to hide.
"The soon-to-be Emperor of Nann State is not in Lin Capital of Nann State," Zheng Congyuan said in a calm voice, not even sure himself what sort of doubts he was trying to express.
Qi Ling was startled but quickly cald down. Such occurrences were not unheard of. At such a critical ti, the Sixth Prince would undoubtedly resort to any ans. If Nann Yu died, the situation could take a turn. So, Qi Ling thought that if he could figure this out, his lord must also be able to do so. So, what was his lord puzzled about?
"Do you rember, originally Nann Yu and Princess Chao Ren were acquainted," Zheng Congyuan suddenly spoke up, ntioning sothing Nann Yu had specially brought up in subsequent negotiations with Nanzheng State, that Nian Ru once saved him. However, Zheng Congyuan didn’t believe Nian Ru had saved him on purpose, but rather, she disliked seeing violence in front of her. Furthermore, during that ti, Zheng Haoyuan was fond of frequenting Qishun Building—an incidental ntion, a likely action for her to take.
Zheng Congyuan had just suddenly recalled this, and with the thought of Nian Ru, he had already set aside the secret report in his hand, Qi Ling’s guess wasn’t wrong; indeed, the affairs of Nann State did not warrant too much of his attention. He was simply suddenly feeling sowhat perplexed.
Zheng Congyuan suddenly stood up, and in an instant, Qi Ling guessed that his lord was about to go out. After all, these days had been busy, and moreover, to avoid raising suspicion and not provoke Prince Duan’s doubts, he had restrained himself from visiting Prince Duan’s Mansion.
Zheng Congyuan used the main entrance, and Prince Duan hurriedly ca out to greet him. It was late at night, and Zheng Congyuan’s sudden visit surely ant sothing urgent must be happening.
Although Prince Duan was sowhat confused, he could still sense sothing was amiss and hurried out to et Zheng Congyuan.
Prince Duan’s thinking was simple. Emperor Jingzhi did not have much longer to live, so the grudges and hatred of the previous generation were slowly dissipating with the decline of his health. Zheng Congyuan was indeed a wise ruler, deserving of the title of virtuous and good. Moreover, he watched from a distance and bore no disdain toward Nian Ru; in fact, he even took care of her because of his own reasons.
Even though Prince Duan couldn’t fathom the exact reason, the thought that Zheng Congyuan only had one sister, and that the Eldest Princess was indeed...
When Prince Duan saw Zheng Congyuan, all these thoughts vanished. The Zheng Congyuan in front of him was genial and wise, exuding a convincing presence in his every move.
"Your Highness, why have you co so late?" Prince Duan dared not think too much. His only thought was that this would be the support for him and Nian Ru in the future.
"Imperial Uncle, sorry to disturb you," Zheng Congyuan returned the salute, glanced at Qi Ling beside him, and Qi Ling shook his head slightly; those people hadn’t left nor moved, so it seed that nine tis out of ten they were Prince Duan’s n.
"Please, Your Highness—" Prince Duan felt sothing unusual. Qi Jin and Qi Yu, what are they looking at? The persimmon tree in their mansion didn’t bear fruit this year; he had no idea why, and it wasn’t visible.
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