CH 55

T/N: Thank you for the donation, Alex! Double chapter updates today to show my gratitude~ 

“Chunfen jiejie, wait! Don’t go in.” The maid guarding the door saw Chunfen planning to enter the room with a tray and quickly reached out to stop her. “Master and Madam are talking with Young Miss, so no one is allowed to step inside.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of porcelain breaking came from within. Chunfen and the little maid’s expression changed slightly. They took a few steps back.

Their Master and Madam had extremely good temperaments and rarely got angry. The last time they were so enraged was many years ago when Lingzhou’s Ming family made a little girl claiming that she was their Young Miss.

After some time’s wait, Chunfen and the maid finally saw the door open from inside.

Their Master, dressed in black clothes, had an unusually calm expression, so much so that it was unnerving. He adjusted his sleeve and spoke indifferently: “Chunfen, I accidentally knocked over a tea set just now. Bring people in to tidy up the room.”

“Yes, Master.” Chunfen walked into the room and caught Shen-shi’s red-rimmed eyes. Worried, she thought: Was Young Miss wronged while she stayed in the imperial Palace? 

She bent down to pick up the fragments with the maids.

“Chunfen jiejie, be careful with your hands.” Jiuzhu noticed Chunfen’s absent-mindedness and reminded in a low voice: “Broken pieces of porcelain are extremely sharp.”

“Don’t worry, Young Miss. This slave is used to this kind of work.” She looked up at Jiuzhu, not seeing any sadness on her face. She calmed down and tidied up the room.

When she walked out, she saw her Young Miss leaning against the Madam and acting coquettishly, as if comforting her mother.

Seeing this scene, Chunfen suddenly felt relieved. No matter how sad Master and Madam were, having Young Miss accompany them would bring them some relief.

Over the years, Madam couldn’t help but buy things that little girls usually liked. When she saw brightly colored fabrics, she would always speak a few words about the kind of good-looking dresses that could be made from them.

Soon after, she would become unusually silent.

“Chunfen jiejie, what just happened in the room?” A little maid asked curiously.

“Nothing. Master accidentally broke a teacup.” Chunfen adjusted her expression. “You all don’t need to stand here and guard the door. Go do your tasks.”

“Oh, by the way, Chunfen jiejie, I heard that Young Miss brought us gifts from the Palace. We’ll be waiting for you to distribute them.”

Listening to the joyful chatter of the little maids, Chunfen shook her head helplessly with a smile. Others bring gifts for their family when they return from long trips but their Young Miss didn’t think of bringing anything even to the Palace.

These things were probably all given by Su Guifei niangniang. 

Thinking about how she got along with His Highness Chen Wang, a smile appeared on Chunfen’s face. 

Nothing could compare to her Young Miss’ good relationship with His Highness.

“Chunfen jiejie,” a young maid rushed in, holding a box in her hands. “Jiejie, a eunuch rushed over just now to deliver this. He said that these things are what Young Miss usually uses in the palace. Guifei niangniang worried that she might not like the ones prepared at home, so she specially had someone deliver this box.”

Chunfen opened the wooden box and saw that it contained hand cream commonly used by young girls. The chilly wind in the autumn and winter seasons could be harsh on the hands, so the young ladies from wealthy families put a lot of effort into taking care of their delicate and fair hands.

She shook her head and smiled. Niangniang treated their family’s Young Miss like her own daughter.

“Is the hand cream delivered to the Ming family?” Chen Wang asked the eunuch behind him.

“Please rest assured, Your Highness. This slave personally delivered it into the hands of the Ming family’s servants and clearly stated that it was a gift from Guifei niangniang to Ming Xianzhu.” The little eunuch said with a flattering smile. “This slave would never dare to be negligent with the task you entrusted.”

“En.” Chen Wang nodded. The hands of young girls were delicate. Applying this cream ah, would prevent them from becoming dry and uncomfortable.

“Your Highness, why did you send it under Guifei niangniang’s name?” The little eunuch leaned closer and asked. “Wouldn’t Xianzhu not know of your consideration this way?”

“What’s so special about this little thing? Can it be deemed as a consideration?” Chen Wang smirked. “Don’t spew nonsense. It’s more important if the product is useful or not.”

“Your Highness.” A blue-robed eunuch walked up to him and bowed.

“What is it?” Chen Wang recognized this eunuch; he was from Taiyang Palace.

“Liu gonggong asked this slave to invite Your Highness. He said he wants to take you somewhere.”

“Ben Wang understands.” Chen Wang remained silent for a moment, then got up and met Liu Zhongbao. He followed the latter to the imperial prison guarded by the Dragon Guards.

“Your Highness, the ones held here are the two runaway servants of the Zheng family,” Liu Zhongbao pointed his horsetail whisk at the prisoners in the cell, who seemed to cower in fear. “These two were also involved in the plot to assassinate you and Guifei niangniang.”

Chen Wang looked at the scar on the chin of one of them and his gaze became profound. “Ben Wang has seen him before. He is the Zheng family’s steward.”

At that time, he noticed something off about Jiuzhu’s expression upon seeing this man and made him squat in a corner.

The Dragon Guards brought Scar’s confession and placed it in Chen Wang’s hands. He quickly scanned the contents and finally reached the part about killing a little girl. His brows furrowed tightly.

Staring at this part for a long time, he slowly folded the paper. “Where are the Zheng family members being held?”

“Your Highness, please follow this old slave.” Liu Zhongbao led Chen Wang inside.

The further they went, the quieter it became. The imprisoned criminals sat quietly, not making a scene. Even when they passed by, they only dared to kneel on the ground, unable to say a single word.

“Your Highness, this is the place.” Liu Zhongbao stopped and pointed to two prison cells. “His Majesty is benevolent. He has instructed for them to be separated by gender.”

“Your Highness Chen Wang!” Zheng Zhen saw Chen Wang standing outside the cell and hurriedly crawled off the bed before rushing forward. “Your Highness, we have been wronged, please release us…”

Before she could finish speaking, Madam Zheng covered her mouth and pulled her daughter to kneel down. “Your Highness, my daughter is not sensible enough. Please forgive her for offending you.”

Chen Wang glanced at the mother and daughter before turning to face the cell where the men of the Zheng family were held. “Where is that little troublemaker of the Zheng family?”

“The elderly and children of the family are temporarily being held in the Zheng family’s separate residence. Until the case is resolved, the Forbidden Guards will watch over them.” Liu Zhongbao explained. “It is cold gloomy in the prison. Children and elderly will not be able to bear this atmosphere.”

Chen Wang nodded and stood in the passage, observing the Zheng family’s men through the prison bars.

A young man dressed in prison uniform, with filthy and disheveled hair, desperately hid in the corner upon seeing Chen Wang. He recalled this person’s name. “Zheng Wangnan?”

Zheng Wangnan trembled and crawled over, kneeling in front of him. “Your Highness, my father is seriously ill. I beg you to arrange a physician and give him some medicine.”

Master Zheng had been sick for a long time. Just as he was showing signs of improvement, the Zheng family was thrown into prison, totally worsening his condition.

Looking at Master Zheng lying motionless on the stone bed, Chen Wang chuckled softly. “Heard that when a sick person is about to die, they become reckless. Ben Wang has been standing here for so long but Master Zheng hasn’t responded yet. Is he already dead, or does he just not want to talk to Ben Wang?”

Zheng Wangnan’s complexion turned deathly pale. “Your Highness, my father is seriously ill and is unable to get up. Please forgive him.”

“Oh.” Chen Wang raised an eyebrow. “Since he’s so seriously ill, he must be beyond any treatment. Your Zheng family has committed such a grave offense, so we must not squander medicines on a useless person bound to die.”

The members of the Zheng family glared at Chen Wang with resentment but didn’t dare to retort.

“Cough, cough, cough.” Master Zheng, who had remained motionless on the bed, moved a little when the atmosphere worsened. He tried to climb off the stone bed while coughing violently.

“With such resonant and vigorous coughing, it seems that his illness isn’t that serious,” Chen Wang deduced as he saw Master Zheng struggle to get up from the stone bed for a long time without success. He turned to Liu Zhongbao and added, “There’s a saying ‘scourges live for a millennium’. Judging from Master Zheng’s condition, Ben Wang does not feel like he needs physicians or medicine. Perhaps after spending some time in prison, he’ll get much better.”

The members of the Zheng family almost burst into tears when they heard this. How could a normal person utter such fallacious reasoning?

The trembling Master Zheng finally fell to the ground. He bent his hands and feet, barely managing to prostrate himself. “This guilty official greets His Highness Chen Wang.”

“Liu gonggong, do you think Ben Wang himself is a miracle medicine?” Chen Wang clicked his tongue. “Look, Ben Wang only stood here for a short while, and the previously immobile Master Zheng is now able to kowtow to Ben Wang.”

Liu Zhongbao nodded with a smile. “Your Highness is right.”

Chen Wang clapped his hands a little and the smile on his face disappeared. “Now that you’re awake, tell clearly why you sent people to assassinate Ben Wang and Guifei niangniang back then. Who gave your Zheng family the courage to plot against an imperial descendant?”

“Your Highness,” Master Zheng replied feebly. “This guilty official truly doesn’t know who prompted that evil slave to dare to commit such a heinous crime. The evidence must have been deliberately planted by him. This guilty official suspects that the mastermind’s true intention was to imprison us.”

“Are you suggesting that the mastermind behind the scenes went through so much trouble, and created such a big conspiracy, just to make life difficult for your Zheng family?” Chen Wang seemed to have heard a joke. “Do you think your Zheng family has such an extraordinary status that warrants someone dealing with you like this?”

“Why would one go to such great lengths to deal with your Zheng family?” He raised his chin. “You’re all locked up in prison, and yet you’re so self-righteous?”

The humiliated Zheng family members: “……”

Really, if they weren’t in prison and if the other party wasn’t a prince, they would have pushed him into a mud pit and stomped on him without mercy.

How could someone be so obnoxious and speak so arrogantly?

“Ben Wang advises you to confess honestly,” Chen Wang said with a sigh, as if he were the most reasonable person in the world. “Each one of you knows Ben Wang’s temper. If you explain clearly, perhaps Ben Wang will take your honesty into account and give you some face.”

“But if you make Ben Wang unhappy,” Chen Wang extended his index finger and pointed to their heads. “You will die.”

“Your Highness, this guilty official truly doesn’t know…”

“Guards.” He raised his hand. “Take Zheng Wangnan to the purification chamber1T/N: It was usually the room where men turned into eunuchs. To purify one’s body (净身 / jìngshēn) means to get castrated. and find an experienced old eunuch to help him get rid of the root of his worries2T/N: In Buddhism, [worldly] worries (烦恼 / fánnǎo) comprise all negative emotions, including one’s desires. And the root of a man’s desire (lust) is his little brother so….”

“Your Highness!” Madam Zheng clutched the prison bars, her heart torn with anxiety. “Your Highness, Wangnan doesn’t know anything. Please spare him, Your Highness!”

“You are begging Ben Wang?” Chen Wang shook his head with a smile. “Unfortunately, Ben Wang is not in a good mood today, so pleading is useless.”

“Chen Wang, you cannot punish us as your please!” Zheng Zhen was unable to resist herself and screamed. “The world belongs to His Majesty; things aren’t decided only by your, Yun Duqing’s, will!”

Regret filled her as soon as the words left her mouth. Deathly stillness fell in the prison.

At this time, the sound of footsteps could be heard from behind. She looked toward the end of the corridor with anxiety, only to see the approaching figure of a man clad in a light-colored brocade robe and a white fox fur cloak.

Closer and closer.

Once she saw the person’s face clearly, she was overjoyed. “Your Highness Qi Wang!”

“Zheng guniang,” Liu Zhongbao reminded with a smile. “This is His Highness Qi Junwang. Do not make such a mistake.”

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