Chapter 1038: Chapter 247: Eunuch Zhao’s Blade Strikes True, Lord Zheng Meets a Beauty Amidst the Snow (Part 2)
Then,
one day,
Zhao Cheng saw the eldest daughter of the Mi Family coming.
The eldest daughter had a crippled arm and walked with a limp. She entered the courtyard with red eyes.
At that time, the Princess was having a meal, and Zhao Cheng was serving beside her.
The Princess calmly took the napkin from his hand and gently wiped her mouth. She then stood up, picked up the plate on the table, and threw it directly towards the door.
The plate shattered on the floor,
The Princess began to scream very calmly:
"Get out, get out, get out!"
Yes,
very calmly.
After the shouting,
The Princess calmly sat down again, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and moistened her throat.
The eldest daughter of the Mi Family couldn’t enter the house due to this, and left disheartened.
Two days later, Zhao Cheng heard from people that the eldest daughter of the Mi family had hanged herself at home.
Zhao Cheng knew that when the Princess disappeared, she was with the eldest daughter of the Mi Family.
Smashing the plate, screaming, the Princess’s actions were enough to make people suspicious, and those Phoenix Nest agents who failed to uncover anything from the Princess might sense something unusual because of this.
Or, this might be seen as a hint.
But the Mi Family is a prominent family led by the Minister of Revenue, and the family head is a trusted confidant of the Regent; investigating further is not easy, and the death of the eldest daughter of the Mi Family can be seen as a sort of... compromise.
Zhao Cheng didn’t understand the political intricacies, but he knew that the truth of the matter was far from that.
That man, the one who made the Princess willingly embrace him, who was he?
At the end of the day,
it was this man who made him lose his job;
but Zhao Cheng didn’t dare to ask about this person in front of the Princess, nor did he dare harbor any hatred for him;
a man who could casually hold the Princess like a farm girl,
better not think about it, nor provoke.
...
The day before New Year’s, Qu Peiluo arrived.
This was Zhao Cheng’s first meeting with the young master of the Qu Clan, a refined and handsome young man.
Qu Peiluo brought many New Year’s gifts and generously distributed them around the private residence. Although the marriage was not yet complete, the servants originally serving the Princess in the residence had long started calling him Prince Consort Fukan already.
Ultimately, Qu Peiluo did not come to see the Princess, because according to tradition, the couple cannot meet before marriage.
The Chu people value rituals and respect ancient traditions, believing that not respecting ancient laws can bring bad luck.
It could be seen that Qu Peiluo was eager to see the Princess and even hinted at Zhao Cheng to report, to which Zhao Cheng returned and reported back to Qu Peiluo, conveying the Princess’s words:
If mutual love is to last, what is the point of morning and evening meetings?
A good poem indeed.
Enduring and flavorful, one to savor.
While there was regret, Qu Peiluo still left with a smile, even though he didn’t know the exact details of what happened when the Princess disappeared, he had confirmed that the Princess was unharmed and remained pure. These were sufficient;
and the Princess’s displayed talent could be considered an unexpected delight in this political marriage.
Qu Peiluo left,
but most of the troops he brought remained, and the royal private residence was surrounded inside and out, heavily guarded.
Zhao Cheng returned to the Princess to report that Qu Peiluo had left.
However, Zhao Cheng didn’t embellish anything further because he saw that the Princess was focused on the words she had written previously, the same lines he had conveyed to Qu Peiluo.
Written by the Princess, but Zhao Cheng felt it probably wasn’t composed by her.
...
New Year’s Day arrived;
On this day, terrible news arrived: Xue Rang’s troops at Town South Pass had mutinied, and if not for General Nian Yao’s quick and decisive action in allowing the Chu royal family’s imperial guards to take over the walls and quell the chaos, the Yan people might have seized the opportunity to invade Town South Pass.
On this day, Zhao Cheng noticed a large-scale defense swap outside the royal private residence. The previously uniform troops were being dispatched northward, followed by private military groups replacing the Blue Luan Army’s defense areas.
Eunuch Sun said that due to increasing pressure from the Yan people in the north waging war, the Blue Luan Army of the Qu Clan had to head north again; newly replaced were auxiliary local troops and private soldiers under the banner of the Qu Clan.
Simultaneously, a group of Qu Clan Imperial Censorate Officers moved into the courtyard’s periphery, emanating an aura of ’keep strangers away’. Zhao Cheng, having mingled in the street, knew these people to be formidable warriors.
In the street, they’d be characters with recognizable names.
Therefore, the defense of the royal private residence at this time should be tighter inside than outside compared to before.
Naturally, even if there were thieves, it’s unlikely to amass an army to attack this place. Small groups of thieves would find penetration incredibly difficult. Even if they did penetrate, the prowess of the Qu Clan Imperial Censorate Officers would prevent any harm to the Princess.
On New Year’s Day, the Princess distributed rewards, all the eunuchs and palace maids from the small courtyard were early assembled at the entrance to the Princess’s sleeping quarters, waiting for her to come out, each speaking an auspicious phrase, and receiving a red envelope from Zhao Cheng’s hand.
Afterward, the Princess returned to her quarters to continue resting, and Zhao Cheng stayed behind to receive additional personal tributes.
The red envelopes distributed publicly in front of the Princess had to be peeled off a little more, then handed over to him.
The group willingly contributed as this was customary within the palace, the master’s reward is given but you cannot have it all to yourself.
