Chapter 1041: Chapter 248: The Cuckoo Takes the Magpie’s Nest (Part 2)
"Yes, Eunuch Zhao."
"Yes, Eunuch Zhao."
No one had to teach him,
Eunuch Zhao directly transformed into the old procuress who facilitated meetings between Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian, and began to clear obstacles around him, creating conditions.
It’s truly challenging for Eunuch Zhao, who had only recently taken his post, to handle such important matters.
All the people in the royal chamber were sent out by Eunuch Zhao, leaving only Zheng Fan, the princess, and Eunuch Zhao inside.
Eunuch Zhao instinctively also wanted to leave,
but hesitated for a moment,
and still didn’t leave.
No matter what,
he had to stay here; otherwise, it would be inappropriate for the princess to be alone with a man here.
Anyway,
what should be seen or shouldn’t be seen, he had actually seen it all.
The princess stood there, looking at the man.
Then,
a scene unfolded that made Eunuch Zhao’s heart spasm again,
the man did not bow to the princess,
but leisurely pulled out a stool, sat on it, crossed his legs,
and said:
"Thirsty, pour tea."
This was clearly addressed to the princess.
Zhao Cheng hesitated for a moment, didn’t dare to step forward to help pour tea, he wouldn’t dare to compete with the princess for a man.
The princess gazed at the man with a semi-smile,
slowly walked over,
and said:
"I really didn’t expect that you would actually dare to come over here, aren’t you afraid..."
The man suddenly reached out, grabbed the princess’s wrist, and then dragged her entire body over to sit on his lap, pressing her body against his chest.
Eunuch Zhao’s breath immediately quickened!
The man buried his face into the princess’s hair,
took a breath,
and said:
"The Princess? Haha, you’re impudent again."
...
Actually,
Lord Zheng feels wronged,
with Lord Zheng’s character, he truly would not do such things as entering the royal villa ahead of time for a private meeting.
Right?
It’s not like a middle school romance, holding a guitar downstairs at a girl’s house, serenading and cautiously avoiding alarming the girl’s parents.
Exciting as it is,
sweet as it is,
beautiful as it is,
but if the girl’s parents would really come out with a knife to kill,
then probably no one would dare to run over and make such a scene, regardless of how pretty the girl is.
Similarly,
Lord Zheng really wasn’t planning to come, nor was he thinking of specifically "venturing into the tiger’s den" to exert some influence, thinking of himself as an incomparable hero daring the dragon’s lair.
Firstly, Lord Zheng actually didn’t have any feelings for this princess of Chu;
or rather, Lord Zheng has always been indifferent emotionally.
Secondly, why bother stirring things up repeatedly, at the risk of dragging himself down?
However,
plans never keep up with changes.
Originally, Lord Zheng and his group were riding a Fan family’s carriage, planning to stay in Zhou County and wait until Lantern Festival day to act, meanwhile letting Xue Three or other members of the Fan family try to send a message to the princess, and finally gauge her reaction to decide on which means to abduct the bride on the day of the grand wedding.
Who would have expected,
in the journey, Zheng Fan’s contingent from the Fan family encountered five thousand Blue Luan soldiers marching northward, seeking to recruit auxiliary soldiers and laborers, whose commander directly took most of the party away.
This is quite normal in the Chu State; after all, the Qu Clan is the master of the Fan family, and taking Fan family members for their purpose is both normal and reasonable.
Thus, in front of the five thousand Blue Luan soldiers, the original Fan Mansion contingent was singled out with seventy to eighty people to continue transporting exquisite wedding items, accompanied by a thousand Blue Luan soldiers to the royal villa, while the rest of the Fan family members were sent forward to help transport grains.
Because during the journey, Lord Zheng was lazily dozing off in the carriage loaded with jade cabbages, he poked his head out to look when trouble occurred, and ended up being assigned by the Blue Luan military commander to the batch that went to the royal villa to deliver goods.
And that’s how,
Zheng Fan got separated from A Ming, He Chunlai, and Chen Daole.
A Ming is probably at the front managing grain transport now, but they’re expected to escape within these two days.
As for Lord Zheng, he went into the royal villa.
Fortunately, the manager of this contingent from the Fan Mansion recognized Zheng Fan, though he wasn’t aware of Zheng Fan’s true identity, Zheng Fan had privileges in the presence of Fan Zhengwen’s trusted aides.
They just discussed that when another batch of the Fan Mansion people arrive for handover tomorrow, Zheng Fan could seize the chance to be arranged to leave for Zhou County.
After all, most of the grand wedding preparations require Fan family members busily running back and forth, offering great room for maneuver.
Lord Zheng felt that it wasn’t a big deal, just a matter of waiting a day.
At the same time, Lord Zheng didn’t plan to go see the girl he’s supposed to abduct on Lantern Festival day;
the reason was simple: fear.
Never mind that the princess, before leaving, treated Siniang like an elder sister and himself like a concubine; that was due to the pressing circumstances and hoping Lord Zheng would let her go;
now she is a princess, her status has changed.
A woman’s mind shouldn’t be guessed recklessly, especially when the woman can have your head in these times.
So,
Lord Zheng planned to quietly come and then quietly leave, without alarming a cloud of the Chu State.
But who knew,
he would run into Zhao Cheng!
Often, a great man may lack awareness, that a single word from them, or even a glance, can completely alter the world line of an ordinary person.
