News from the secluded garden behind Xingqing Hall had not yet spread when the Crown Prince's informants were the first to know. Eunuch Xu, who learned of this, was a prudent man and also one of the few who knew that the Crown Prince somewhat valued this Commandery Princess.
Eunuch Xu personally unlocked the side gate and headed straight to the nearby Qishun Building. A small and inconspicuous little eunuch sweeping the courtyard outside quickly approached without waiting for Eunuch Xu to come close and without alerting anyone else.
In moments, this little eunuch swiftly exited the Harem through the back and went directly to the side entrance of the Crown Prince's Mansion.
Qi Ling frowned. Had he offended the Fourth Prince? Without hesitation, Qi Ling turned around and headed straight for the West Lake Study Room, where he quickly explained the situation.
"The Commandery Princess is impulsive, and I fear she may not gain any benefits from this," Qi Ling said hesitantly, not daring to guess the Crown Prince's thoughts.
Zheng Congyuan set down the book in his hands, momentarily dazed, then recalled the last time he had seen her a few days ago. He felt it was necessary to calm down and collect himself properly.
"Let's go—" Zheng Congyuan stood up, but now an accident occurred.
...
"Fourth Prince, Fourth Prince, are you alright—"
"Fetch the Imperial Physician, quickly —"
In the midst of chaos, Zheng Nianru only felt her ears ache from the noise. If it had been earlier, she might have panicked upon seeing such a scene, but now, having witnessed more, this scene seemed like a child's play to her.
"Get up, you bunch of useless, grab all of them, seize them all and kill them." As the eunuch fell to the ground, the Fourth Prince, who was sitting atop the "mount," was not spared from the mayhem and angrily stood up, not minding the mud on him and prepared to whip someone with the whip in his hand.
Eunuchs knelt tremblingly on the ground; they dared not lay hands on the concubines from the Harem, as this was not merely about killing a few palace maids or eunuchs.
Nanny Yun felt as if her bones had aged, having bumped into several people, with her bones seemingly scattered. Luckily, her Commandery Princess was standing there rightfully, and the loyal Nian Xia stood in front to protect her, warily looking around with wide eyes.
Nanny Yun limped over and guarded Zheng Nianru on her other side.
The others were not so fortunate. Talented Lady Jing was pushed by Nanny Yun and crashed into her own female servant, who, in panic, grabbed onto the belt of a nearby eunuch. The place was too cramped, and a chain reaction of falls ensued, even Liang Chongrong could not avoid it.
At that moment, Talented Lady Jing's hairpins loosened, and a gold hairpin fell, Liang Qingyue's face turned pale, she tightly gripped her maid's hand, bewildered, listening to the Fourth Prince furiously shouting.
"Fourth Prince, please calm down—," Liang Chongrong tried to gather her thoughts slightly, they could not afford to offend Noble Consort Wen, the smaller they could make this issue, the better.
Zheng Nianru, seeing her own people had steadied, glanced at all the people kneeling, and felt it had nothing to do with her anymore. However, first with Yu Lihuai and now the Fourth Prince, it was difficult for her not to connect them, Empress Dowager Yan Ping was dead set on making her enemies with Noble Consort Wen, and the only one who would normally traverse this path was herself.
"Let's go—" Zheng Nianru took a step; it was too noisy, she couldn't find peace even by covering her ears.
Nanny Yun quickly nodded in agreement, very much in agreement.
"You, you stop right there, how preposterous, such audacity." The Fourth Prince's face flushed red, glaring at Zheng Nianru as she was about to leave, blaming her for bumping into him and ruining his plaything and wanting to just walk away.
"Fourth Prince, please calm your anger, Fourth Prince…" The eunuchs, one by one, anxiously kowtowed, while Eunuch Ho Sheng was as anxious as ants on a hot pan. Who was this concubine? Upon further observation, even Eunuch Ho Sheng was unsure, she did not seem like a concubine, her bearing was not that of one who seeks to avoid trouble.
Zheng Nianru turned her head and looked directly at the panicked Fourth Prince. The youth suddenly met Zheng Nianru's gaze, his eyes cold and clear as ice, beautiful yet like a dagger that could kill, shimmering with a cold light.
The youth's voice, unbeknownst to himself, dropped by half a tone.
"Who are you?"
"Prince Fu Gong, in terms of seniority, you should be calling me 'cousin'." Zheng Nianru began, though, this imperial blood and familial affections were quite diluted. One moment you could be sitting at a banquet together, and in the next, knives could be pulled to gouge out eyes to serve as an appetizer. Zheng Nianru suddenly smiled, raising her hand and gesturing to the young man in front of her.
Fourth Prince of Nanzheng State, Zheng Haoyuan, styled Fu Gong, his reputation could be discussed in the same breath as hers.
Fu Gong looked at the delicate jade hand waving at him, and the person in front of him shone like a deity or Buddha stepping out of a painting, no, even more beautiful than the deity Buddha his mother worshipped.
Instinctively, Fu Gong started walking towards Zheng Nianru, Eunuch Ho Sheng watched his own prince obeying in shock, his mind raced through all the princesses and nobility in the harem, only vaguely remembering the bloodline of Prince Duan he had once heard of.
This is the way to Xingqing Hall, the Commandery Princess imprisoned in Xingqing Hall? What was the princess called again?
"Your Highness, this is the Princess Royal, she is your cousin," Eunuch Ho Sheng, fearing that his own prince wouldn't believe him, quickly followed the Fourth Prince.
Chong Rong and Talented Lady Jing stared agape at everything unfolding before them, she, is, the Princess? Suddenly recalling Nanny's words from earlier, they were mortified to the point of wishing for the ground to swallow them.
"You're truly my cousin?" He did have a few sisters, all rather dull, who avoided him; this cousin seemed different.
"Indeed I am," Zheng Nianru spoke gently, glancing at the eunuchs on the ground, internally disapproving of such childish games. "Fourth Prince, this game of yours is truly uninteresting. Do you want to ride a real beast? You need to find a Savage from the North Meng Tribe, these savages grow in the forest, stand eight feet tall, and their arms are twice the length of a normal person's. Riding on such a savage, you can jump straight onto the city walls, and also…" Zheng Nianru suddenly bent down, grabbed the front of the young man's robe, and drew close, "also tear tigers and leopards apart with their bare hands, eating people without leaving even the bones behind, now that would be fun."
The youth trembled all over, his pupils shrinking with fear, but in the next moment, they dilated again, emitting a strange glow as he looked towards Zheng Nianru.
"Are there really such savages?" Eunuch Ho Sheng's back broke out in a cold sweat, by the ancestors, how could there be such savages.
"There are," Zheng Nianru spoke truthfully; she had once had one, no, to be exact, it was a person, she even tried to teach him to read and speak.
"Then I want one too, I will send people to North Meng to look for one," the youth said excitedly.
Zheng Nianru nodded in agreement, she also wanted to look for one, perhaps then she wouldn't be controlled by Ju Nanyi anymore.
"Speaking of which, do you know why your eunuchs aren't fun today?" Zheng Nianru smiled and continued, "I was just about to leave the garden and head back to my palace when those two insisted on talking to me, stopping me here. It was by chance that I blocked your path, and that's why we collided."
Liang Chongyu and Talented Lady Jing, hearing this conversation, instantly turned pale with shock, staring at the speaking Zheng Nianru, disbelieving that the girl could so casually speak words that could put them in such a dire situation.
Liang Chongyu instinctively wanted to shake her head, her face pale as she stepped back, the only thought in her mind was to flee from there.