zChapter 1014 - Zirui’s Crisis

Feng Yuheng knew that she was acting rashly out of worry. Going to find the second prince to send Xuan Feiyu into the palace, what would be the point of that? What if Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu and the eighth prince were crazy and also got Xuan Feiyu caught up in this? That would truly be something to regret.

She tapped her head and thought to herself that she really had become unsettled by this matter. Who knew if this was a result of her being too nervous over the past few days or if she had not slept enough, but her decision-making process was lacking. It really was shameful. Even if Zirui entered the palace, the opposition could not do anything to him in just one afternoon. No matter what, they would need to wait a few days; otherwise, it would be too noticeable. She could go into the palace tonight. If the situation in the palace was truly not good, she could just bring him out. At worst, she would just place him inside her space, making it so that the eighth prince would be unable to find him no matter where he searched.

Thinking like this, Feng Yuheng felt much more relieved. Since she would be going to sneak Zirui out, she even wondered to herself, would she be able to plant some more fake evidence? But after thinking about it some more, who would she be framing? He was being invited in by the Emperor. Could it be that she would be framing the Emperor?

Seeing her smile bitterly on her own, Wang Chuan received the tea that had just been brought in then quietly said: “Young miss, drink of a bit of hot tea to warm up your body. Then we can think of some more ideas. Just now, Lady Zhou said that His Highness sent someone back with a message. After court was dismissed, they went straight to the Chun Palace to see Her Highness Imperial Concubine Yun, and he fears that he will be late in coming back. How about we also go to the Chun Palace and let His Highnesses help think about what should be done.”

Wang Chuan consoled Feng Yuheng inside the room, while Huang Quan was talking to Ban Zou out in the yard. She said: “How about you sneak into the palace at night and sneak young master Zirui out! Look at how anxious young miss is. Young master only just returned to the capital, and he was taken into the palace before even coming home. If this had happened in the past, it would have been fine. But the current Imperial Palace is like a den of wolves. Just how anxious has the young miss become over this?”

At this moment, Ban Zou was hanging from a tree. Looking over at Huang Quan, he shook his head and said: “If he is to be snuck out, it would need to be master herself doing it. I don’t have that ability.”

“Nonsense!” Huang Quan did not believe what he had said, “Don’t think I don’t know how good your qinggong is. You haven’t had much of a chance to exercise these past few years and must have been holding it in all of this time, right? Now that such a good chance has come up, you don’t want to go?”

Ban Zou shook his head once more, “I can get into and out of the Imperial Palace on my own, but I am unable to bring a child out with me. Or it could be said…” He thought for a bit and continued: “I could in the past, but I no longer can. The entire palace is filled with the eighth prince’s people. They are out in the open and in the shadows. Did you think that it’s like our kitchen, and we can come and go as we please?”

Huang Quan stomped her foot and looked into the room with a worried expression, “Then what should we do? Looking at the young miss’ anxiety is also making me anxious, but my qinggong just happens to be no good. If I had your ability, I would at least try forcing my way through.”

“Forcing your way through is not any way to resolve a problem. On the contrary, it will cause even more trouble for our masters.” He swung on the tree branch a couple times then tapped Huang Quan’s head, “I say, you’ve followed master for so many years, yet why have you not shown any signs of growth? You forcing your way in will make you happy, but what happens if you’re caught? Don’t think that being caught will mean that you will suffer the consequences on your own. You must remember that you are your master’s maidservant, and your master’s imprint has already been carved into you. Even if you really made up your mind on your own, your master will definitely be implicated. Do you understand?”

Huang Quan was lectured but, surprisingly, did not get angry. This was because Ban Zou was tapping so hard on her head that she nearly passed out. This girl who had always been quick to speak and act was now feeling a little bashful. Her little face was bright red, as she did not know what she should say. It was Ban Zou who broke the silence, telling her: “To sneak young master Zirui out of the palace, not only do I not have the ability to do this, but even His Highness the ninth prince’s qinggong ability is presently insufficient. But to speak of someone who can do it, it would be our master. In this world, as long as she desires it, there is no place that she cannot go.”

Huang Quan furrowed her brow and was a little unable to understand what was being said. Ban Zou then reminded her of a truth: “Think back to the time that the military base was poisoned, and she pulled out a butt from her sleeve…”

Huang Quan’s face turned red once more; however, she recalled that scene from that day. That was right! How could she have forgotten? Her young miss was a mystical existence. She was different from everyone else. If it was said that His Highness the seventh prince was a deity then their young miss was also a deity, and she was a proper one. Compared to His Highness the seventh prince, she had even more divine abilities, thus she became happy once more, “Then saying it like this, young miss will safely bring young master Zirui out of the palace!”

Ban Zou shook his head once more: “That does not seem to be the case. That will depend on the situation in the palace. Bringing young master Zirui out sounds easy, but the resulting waves that would bring about would be too large. Master needs to make ample preparations before making her move, but she will need to go into the palace alone tonight. This is something that I can guarantee.”

Reality proved that Ban Zou understood Feng Yuheng very well. Feng Zirui had been brought into the palace. If Feng Yuheng did not go into the palace to take a look and stayed in bed to sleep, that would not be something that an older sister could do.

Feng Yuheng would be going into the palace, and Xuan Tianming urgently requested that he be brought along; however, she said: “Bringing along one more will increase the number of targets and make things more dangerous. Be obedient and wait for me at home!” Xuan Tianming felt that he was being looked down upon by his wife, but after giving Feng Yuheng’s words some more thought, he would indeed become a deadweight. With her heavenly space, Feng Yuheng would be able to move freely. There would be no need for him to worry too much.

Getting free from Xuan Tianming, Feng Yuheng used her old method to successfully enter the Imperial Palace. To others, this was a restricted area, but to her, it really was the same as entering or leaving the Yu Palace’s kitchen. Even if some people would occasionally catch glimpses of her shadow, but based on her understanding of her ability to disappear, they would just think that their eyes had gone blurry.

She did not know where Feng Zirui would be living, and Zhao He Hall had been occupied by Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu. The Emperor would be doting on her in there. Thinking about it, they would not keep Zirui there. While Feng Yuheng walked, she wondered where she should go to search for Zirui; however, who knew that Zirui would be sent to a remote palace in the western region of the Imperial Palace. That palace was furnished quite well. Apparently, it was where the eighth prince had lived before he had gone to live outside of the Imperial Palace. There were even servants who told Zirui that being able to live there was his good fortune.

But Zirui felt very uncomfortable with being brought to this place. This place was quite far from Zhao He Hall. When he left Zhao He Hall, the Emperor did not let him sit on a sedan. He had followed the palace servants and walked over here. It had snowed heavily in the afternoon, and there was a thick layer of snow accumulated on the ground. He only arrived after walking for one hour. When he entered the room, his shoes were completely soaked, and his feet were numb from the cold.

Along the way, he heard the two eunuchs quietly chatting. The reason that this palace was so far away was that, over-twenty years earlier, the Emperor had been wholeheartedly focused on favoring Imperial Concubine Yun. It was because of this that the Emperor avoided the last child born before Imperial Concubine Yun had been brought into the palace. In addition to this, that was the time when Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu was causing the most fuss. After all, she was the most recent member of the imperial harem to lose favor! Because of this, the Emperor specifically had the eighth prince live further away. it was such that Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu would need to travel quite a distance just to see her son.

The system of princes in Da Shun was a little unique. Not all of the princes could be raised at their birth mothers’ sides, but there were no rules dictating that a prince must be brought somewhere else after being born. Everything would depend on how much the Emperor favored their birth mothers. If they were favored, they would be able to raise their own sons. If they were not favored, the prince would go and live in some other palace to be raised by a wetnurse, and this would continue until they began studying at the age of six. As for the members of the imperial harem, if they wanted to see their own sons, they would only get a chance once every ten days.

Initially, Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu was favored, but it was because she was favored and had given birth to the eighth prince that the Emperor felt awkward once Imperial Concubine Yun entered the palace. He found her to be an eyesore, thus he even had the eighth prince taken away. This also led to the eighth prince living in a place that was so far away from Cun Shan Palace.

Zirui was eleven years of age and could understand the meaning behind what the eunuchs were saying. He could also analyze this matter on his own. Although most of it was just guesswork, he could guess the main points quite accurately.

But so what? He had been in the palace for the entire afternoon, and he already understood why his elder sister would have that sort of reaction and expression upon hearing that he had been invited into the palace by the Emperor. Ever since he saw Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu at the Emperor’s side, ever since he saw the eighth prince join them for their meal, and ever since Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu appeared to be so intimate with the Emperor combined with the Emperor’s fatherly love for the eighth prince, he understood that something unimaginable had happened while he was in Xiao Zhou.

But Zirui had become very mature over the years. This child had always been understanding. With Feng Yuheng having reminded him beforehand, he kept it in mind. No matter what he saw or what he heard, he would not ask about it. He would be courteous, and he would not allow Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu or the eighth prince to find any issues with his conduct.

But he was still not let out of the palace at night. Not only had he been kept in the palace, but he had been sent to this place that was so far from Zhao He Hall.

Zirui sat in his room and was unable to fall asleep. From dusk until later into the night and approaching midnight, he still had not felt the slightest bit sleepy. He was feeling a little bit panicked and felt as though something bad would happen tonight, but he could not guess what it might be. It could not be that he would be killed in the Imperial Palace, right? Moreover, what would he be killed for? He was Feng Yuheng’s younger brother and the ninth prince’s brother-in-law. If he really died in the Imperial Palace, even if the eighth prince and Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu were currently favored, it would be difficult to provide accountability for this.

Zirui felt that this feeling of panic was not life-threatening, but he also felt that it was definitely not baseless. He decided that he simply would not sleep. He would just sit on the bed and wait. He would wait for the situation to break out on its own. He would wait in this remote part of the palace to see what exactly would happen.

Midnight passed, and the majority of the palace servants went to rest, leaving only one person to stand guard outside. Boys, unlike young misses, did not need to have a maidservant sleep on a makeshift bed nearby, thus he was the only person sleeping in the room. He was not afraid, but his heart continued to be filled with anxiety.

Finally, when it was half-past midnight, there was movement outside of the room. Zirui became alert and quickly clambered under the blankets to act as though he had already fallen asleep. In reality, he was very awake and listening with his ears perked up.

Very quickly, the door was pushed open from the outside, as someone stealthily walked in then closed the door. Walking over to his side, he could feel that person was getting closer and closer to him. He was growing even more panicked, as it seemed as though a hand was reaching out to kill him.

He was scared witless, thinking that he would definitely be dying, but that hand did not kill him. Instead…