Chapter 58 - 1#
Helian Yuan was personally escorted back to Prince Jing’s Mansion by Chen Shaokang and the others.
The gatekeeper at the concierge, upon seeing the little commandery princess’s clothes, which had obviously been changed, immediately changed his expression.
When she went out in the morning, she was wearing a bright red dress, but when she came back, it had changed into a light green one, fit for a girl from a humble family. This was originally the color the little commandery princess hated the most.
The little commandery princess had always liked bright red and purple, flamboyant and vivid clothes.
Families like theirs tabooed private giving and receiving the most.
For a lady of a noble family to go out and come back with her entire outfit changed was an extremely shameful thing, not to mention that Helian Yuan’s hair was messy, and the obvious dampness could hardly be concealed.
Whether she had fallen into the water or had just bathed, she was weak as she was helped down from the carriage.
The horse that she rode out earlier, the little commandery princess’s favorite, was nowhere to be seen.
No matter which one of these things, counting them down made people’s hair stand on end, fearing that something big had happened.
Helping Helian Yuan was a young lady named Chang Xiu Xiang.
Her relationship with Helian Yuan was average. If it hadn’t been a coincidence today, she wouldn’t have gone out riding with a group of people, refusing to even bring an attendant.
The clothes on the little commandery princess were exactly what she had bought.
The heir’s wife hurried over. Seeing her daughter in such a wretched state, she, who was always graceful and calm, couldn’t help but look angry.
As soon as Helian Yuan saw her mother, her dull eyes finally reacted, and she started crying, pitifully.
The heir’s wife hugged Helian Yuan: “My darling, what’s wrong? Who bullied you? Tell mother…” As she spoke, she couldn’t help but shed tears too.
For a moment, this group of teenagers felt a little awkward.
Fortunately, the heir of Prince Jing arrived shortly after. Seeing this messy scene, he first asked the heir’s wife to take their daughter to rest, and then turned to look at the group of teenagers and invited them to sit in the flower hall.
Although the heir looked anxious, his tone was calm: “Shao Kang, what exactly happened today?” He was a middle-aged man, elegant, and spoke unhurriedly.
In the morning, Helian Yuan rode out on a horse, but came back in a carriage. This was already wrong. Not to mention, her clothes looked more like someone had touched them.
Chang Xiu Xiang pursed her lips and said softly: “Please rest assured, my lord. I changed the little commandery princess’s clothes for her.”
Following this trip, there were only these two young ladies. Chang Xiu Xiang was duty-bound.
The heir didn’t know the reason, but from the tone of this junior Chang Xiu Xiang, he vaguely knew that the matter was probably not what they guessed.
As the representative, Chen Shaokang naturally had to explain with a stiff upper lip: “Today we went to the Luyuan. Unexpectedly, unexpectedly, His Majesty was also there. Commandery Princess Yuan accidentally offended His Majesty, so…”
The heir’s face turned pale. Offended Emperor Jingyuan?
He tried hard to compose himself, and then asked: “Nephew, please tell me the details.”
Chen Shaokang spoke simply, omitting the cause and effect, which confused the heir.
Chen Shaokang complained secretly in his heart and had no choice but to tell the whole story. After speaking, the teenagers in the flower hall didn’t dare to breathe.
Running into Emperor Jingyuan today, from top to bottom, not a single one was not cowardly.
The coachman named Sixteen cut down the little commandery princess’s horse with a single knife, scaring these people who had never seen blood before, let alone the little commandery princess who was stunned by fear.
That hot blood poured all over her face. It was probably the most terrible scene she had seen in her life. Just thinking about it was unbearable, let alone being the person involved.
Even they were still in shock now.
If it weren’t for friendship, they would have scattered home long ago and wouldn’t have followed Chen Shaokang back here.
After listening to the words of the juniors, the heir took some effort to finally calm down. First, he thanked them politely, and then arranged for them one by one. After sending these juniors away, he hurried to the main courtyard to pay respects to the old Prince Jing.
“Father, is His Majesty’s move because he dislikes A-Yuan?”
The heir told the old Prince Jing what happened today, with a little helplessness on his face.
He knew his own child well. This little girl was spoiled a bit too much. She spoke without restraint when she was out, and he didn’t know when she developed that domineering character.
In the past, she didn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth. Because of her status as a commandery princess, others tolerated her. But now that she offended the emperor, how could Emperor Jingyuan tolerate it?
“A-Yuan is a junior. If His Majesty punished her, then he punished her. If he really wanted A-Yuan’s life, she wouldn’t be able to come back alive now.” The old Prince Jing said slowly, “Keep A-Yuan in the mansion and don’t let her go out again.”
Although the old prince liked this little granddaughter very much, it didn’t mean he was willing to let her continue to cause trouble like this.
Being a little lively usually was fine, but not being observant in front of serious matters was a bit too ignorant of propriety.
Some time ago, the emperor sent troops to crusade without the permission of the cabinet, which had already caused an uproar in the court. If it hadn’t been for the victory and the spontaneous congratulations from the people, it probably wouldn’t have been suppressed so easily.
At that time, the old Prince Jing knew that Emperor Jingyuan had his own calculations in his heart. Although he looked a bit reckless, he also had his own principles.
Now that Helian Yuan came back alive, it meant that this matter ended here. Otherwise, with the emperor’s temper at the time, there was no need to keep her.
After comforting the somewhat mild-mannered heir, the old Prince Jing sent him away.
The old princess gave birth to two children. The older child was more like the old Prince Jing. Although he didn’t talk much, he was very steady and sophisticated. Unfortunately, he died of illness before he was twenty.
The current heir was the second legitimate son. Compared to his elder brother, he was indeed a bit inferior. Although he was very gentle, being gentle didn’t mean he couldn’t control his subordinates.
However, this heir was gentle to the point of being a bit cowardly. He had no rules and was always indecisive, which was a bit disappointing.
The heir’s wife he chose also had a similar temper to him. He didn’t know how these two people would control this prince’s mansion in the future.
Thinking of these annoying things, the old prince couldn’t help shaking his head.
It’s just…
He didn’t know who was hidden in the emperor’s carriage today.
It actually made His Majesty travel lightly, bringing only a few people.
Interesting.
The two walnuts in the old prince’s hand were constantly rotating, making a light clicking sound, and a slight smile appeared on his old face.
Presumably, this news was exactly what the Empress Dowager in the deep palace needed urgently.
He didn’t want to oppose the emperor.
With Emperor Jingyuan’s iron-fisted methods, he would be crazy to do so. However, the emperor treated his little girl so harshly. If he just leaked a sentence or two, what could happen?
…
Rong Mansion, small courtyard.
Jingzhe lay on the bed, somewhat in pain.
When he went to see Wuti, because he was very happy in his heart, Jingzhe rode for a longer time. Even though Rong Jiu asked people to ask several times, he just put it off.
Later, it was Rong Jiu who came over personally and pulled him off.
Jingzhe hugged Wuti’s neck and chattered for a while before being dragged away.
As a result, as soon as he got on the carriage, the excitement passed, and he became drowsy.
Rong Jiu pressed Jingzhe’s head to lie on his lap and let him sleep all the way back.
Although on the way, Jingzhe vaguely heard some strange movements outside, he was too sleepy after all. He moved slightly and was pressed down by Rong Jiu. After listening to his comforting words, he fell asleep directly again.
He slept until he returned to the mansion before waking up.
When getting off the carriage, Jingzhe originally wanted to step on the stool and come down by himself, but his legs were as soft as cotton, and he almost fell.
…This is too useless.
Jingzhe lay on the bed, hugging the pillow tightly.
He usually did a lot of work and his body was considered strong. He originally thought that this time he could finally practice a little, but he didn’t expect that when he came down, he would still be this limp.
These bones were almost shaken apart.
“Ah!”
Jingzhe screamed miserably and said sadly: “Rong Jiu, these are bones, not gluten. It hurts so much.”
Rong Jiu said expressionlessly: “Didn’t you like it so much that you wished you could stay there?” While talking, he slowly massaged Jingzhe’s thigh. The soreness and pain made Jingzhe twitch uncontrollably.
The man’s hand strength was really too great. Although he was relaxing Jingzhe’s body, now it looked more like he was kneading him like dough.
Jingzhe was a bit in the wrong and whispered: “This time, I didn’t scrape my skin.”
“That’s because I had someone change your saddle specifically.” Rong Jiu said coldly, “If it were really a forced march, today’s saddle wouldn’t be enough at all.”
A normal saddle for riding would scrape a person’s skin raw in no time. This was an activity that required years of training until the body adapted to these reactions.
If Jingzhe wanted to practice, Rong Jiu naturally wouldn’t stop him.
It’s just that whenever he saw Jingzhe unwell, the man looked very unhappy.
Jingzhe: “I didn’t expect to practice any virtue. As long as I can ride a horse and run. Anyway, I have to go back to the palace in two days.”
He didn’t forget what price he paid for this day’s happiness.
Jingzhe turned his head and looked at Rong Jiu: “The wound on your body…”
“It’s fine.” Rong Jiu said coldly, “Compared to you, it’s definitely nothing.”
As soon as the voice fell, he cracked Jingzhe’s bones with a click. Jingzhe buried his face in the quilt and wailed, feeling that he wasn’t broken by Wuti’s bumps, but was going to be broken by Rong Jiu.
When Rong Jiu finished massaging Jingzhe, the person was already sleeping soundly on the bed in a disorderly manner.
Rong Jiu pulled up the quilt for Jingzhe, and then washed his hands slowly.
The trip to Rong Mansion was not a whim.
It was decided before Kangman’s matter.
If Jingzhe really took action, the panic of killing for the first time might cause his emotions to fluctuate too much. The man had already made sufficient preparations, and this Rong Mansion was just one of the means of comfort.
Alas, alas.
Rong Jiu wiped his hands and looked back at Jingzhe’s sleeping face.
Outside the house, someone was already waiting.
When the man came out, he reported quickly.
“Around Lady Liu and Cen Liang, many people have been arranged. They will absolutely not be allowed to approach here.”
The man’s voice was cold and gentle.
“There won’t be another accident, right?”
The person who came sweated on his forehead, knowing that today’s matter with the little commandery princess was enough to make Emperor Jingyuan unhappy, so he naturally lowered his head deeply.
“There won’t be another one.”
Such tolerance can only happen once, not again.
He still wanted to live!
…
Jingzhe lived a somewhat happy life in Rong Mansion.
He slept until he woke up naturally every day. When he was free, he wandered around the house, often making people unable to find him, and in the blink of an eye, he would crawl out of a strange corner.
He was far more familiar with this house than anyone else.
Every afternoon, Jingzhe would go to the study to read. Those books, naturally, were no longer Cen Xuanyin’s collection, but replaced by many precious ancient books.
Jingzhe didn’t know they were ancient books, so he naturally didn’t know their value.
But books were originally extremely rare things. Even if he knew nothing, every time he held them and read them, his movements were very light.
Rong Jiu was not always there.
Many times, he was not here either.
This didn’t look like something a person recuperating should do, but Jingzhe couldn’t catch him. Occasionally when he woke up, the person was no longer by his side.
Fortunately, he would still come back every night.
Jingzhe checked the wound on Rong Jiu’s waist and abdomen regularly until it finally healed and there was no danger of cracking again, and then he breathed a long sigh of relief.
This was the last night.
When Rong Jiu came back, he told Jingzhe that they would return to the palace tomorrow.
Jingzhe’s expression didn’t change much. This was something expected. He couldn’t possibly stay outside the palace all his life.
Even if Rong Jiu had great power, it was difficult to break certain established boundaries.
However, lying in Rong Jiu’s arms, Jingzhe was calculating things in his heart, so he seemed much quieter.
Rong Jiu hugged Jingzhe with one hand, but was reading documents with the other.
Jingzhe looked up and saw that they were all characters he couldn’t understand.
He even asked.
Rong Jiu said that this was the script of Gaonan.
Jingzhe was a little surprised. Could Rong Jiu even understand the script of foreign dynasties?
Rong Jiu said slowly and methodically: “When I was young, I was always bored. So I often read books, read everything, read a lot, and it became miscellaneous.”
Reading everything meant learning everything.
Jingzhe was a little envious: “Reading a lot, learning a lot.”
Rong Jiu shook his head and pinched Jingzhe’s cheek: “Biting off more than one can chew is useless at all.”
Jingzhe: “I think you are like this, quite good.”
Rong Jiu paused in his action of turning over the document, looked down at the nonchalant Jingzhe, who was buttoning Rong Jiu’s buttons, really having nothing to do.
He was talking, but his eyes were not looking at Rong Jiu.
“You can do a lot and know a lot. Even if you don’t reach the realm of perfection in everything, so what? People’s energy is limited. Not everyone is like you, able to get started easily with whatever they want to learn. More people can’t even get in.” Jingzhe said lazily, “Besides, those great masters, they know so much, indeed they are amazing, but people live a life, mostly muddling through. When that exquisite knowledge is used, it is always rare. It’s enough to muddle through.”
Muddling through and muddling through, this life passed just like that.
Jingzhe’s words sounded like twisted logic at first, and still twisted logic upon closer listening.
Although the logic was twisted, listening to it, there was still some truth.
Rong Jiu covered Jingzhe’s face with the document, so those tadpole-like characters also covered his head.
Rong Jiu said slowly: “Since this is the case, today this document, Jingzhe, help me muddle through.”
Jingzhe sat up with a swish, shaking this Gaonan document that he couldn’t understand a single character of, and looked at Rong Jiu suspiciously.
“What do you want me to muddle through for you? I can’t understand a single word.”
The threshold for this muddling through, at least one had to know a thing or two!
Rong Jiu: “But I’m tired of reading.”
If these words fell on others, it might really be a bit aggrieved, but on Rong Jiu, Jingzhe looked left and right, but just couldn’t see the word “aggrieved” on him, which was somewhat scary.
Jingzhe shook the document again and said decisively: “Rest if you are tired.” He closed the document and threw it aside, rolled up the quilt, and wrapped both of them up.
Rong Jiu lowered his head and looked at the person in his arms who fell asleep as soon as he said so.
He really fell asleep.
Slowly, he glanced at the Gaonan document that was casually thrown aside and left outside.
On it, there were densely packed names.
No matter which one Jingzhe chose, behind it was a vivid human life.
Rong Jiu had thought seriously about it. Since Jingzhe had such a temper and was unwilling to stain his hands with blood, how about changing the method?
For example, entrusting a choice weighing a thousand catties to his hands.
The man’s fingers measured Jingzhe’s back inch by inch.
Sighed, still a bit thin.