Chapter 634 A Retreat in Fear!
“No, it’s good that your master is fine. Put it down. Be careful, or he’ll catch a cold!” Prince Cheng suddenly smiled and said softly. Then he stepped out of the room gently with joy.
Xiao Xuanzi hurriedly put down the gauze curtain and followed him out quietly.
When he reached the door and saw Prince Cheng standing there with his hands clasped behind his back in the corridor, he stepped forward with a smile and greeted him. “Prince Cheng!”
Prince Cheng did have something to ask Xiao Xuanzi. Hearing the sound of light and hurried footsteps behind him, he knew that Xiao Xuanzi had come out, so he asked, “How’s your master’s diet these days? Does he sleep well?”
“My master has been doing good these days. He’s much better now than he was before. He won’t faint if something goes wrong. Commandery Prince Qing has been here before!” Xiao Xuanzi said with an ingratiating smile as usual.
Prince Cheng’s expression remained unchanged, and he asked casually, “Commandery Prince Qing has been here? When?”
Xiao Xuanzi thought for a while and answered, “Yesterday. Commandery Prince Qing said he and my prince were brothers, so he should call on him. However, my master didn’t like Commandery Prince Qing, so he didn’t let him enter the courtyard. When they met outside the courtyard, he asked Commandery Prince Qing to go back. At that time, the First Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion was also present!”
“Was the First Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion also here to visit your master?” Prince Cheng asked.
“Of course not. First Miss Shao came with Commandery Prince Qing. Then she stayed outside because of her ident.i.ty. Commandery Prince Qing came here first. Later, after he was driven away by my master, he went down the mountain and left with her!” Xiao Xuanzi said cautiously.
This was indeed the case. First Miss Shao stayed in the pavilion outside, and Commandery Prince Qing came in to knock on Fifth Miss Shao’s door and was sent away by Xiao Xuanzi’s master. Then Commandery Prince Qing left with First Miss Shao. However, Xiao Xuanzi didn’t mention anything about Shao Wanru, which was the most important. Given his statement, it sounded as if Chu Qing and Shao Yanru had come and left together.
“When did Shao Yanru get so close to Chu Qing?”
Prince Cheng frowned without anyone noticing and was considerably dissatisfied with Duke Xing. He slightly raised the corners of his mouth and said, “In this case, you should serve your master well. If there’s anything wrong, just come and report it to me. I’ll also be living in Huaguang Temple these days, listening to the monks chanting sutras for a period of time!”
He had thought that First Miss Shao was a bright beauty who could be used by him in the future. Now, however, he found the woman way too fickle in relations.h.i.+ps. She seemed to want to hook up with anyone with a royal pedigree without regard to her capabilities. Did she really think that royal offspring were so easy to fool around?
“It seems that I have to give Duke Xing a warning lest his daughter should get too dizzy with success to ruin my plans.”
Prince Cheng knitted his brows all the time since he walked out of Chu Liuchen’s yard. He had a feeling that he had been set up by someone today. If he did lift the quilt or check around this time, feeling suspicious of Chu Liuchen, this matter was bound to be known by Empress Dowager.
Although what he did could be considered as his concern for Chu Liuchen, his nephew, he had been indifferent to secular affairs for many years and once said that he would become a monk. He seldom lived in Prince Cheng’s Mansion in the capital city and always kept himself aloof from people. Not only did he not have a good relations.h.i.+p with civil and military officials, but he also was not close to the royal family.
With his character, it was pretty good if he went to visit Chu Liuchen. How could he walk up to check Chu Liuchen’s health intimately even with the bright red peony sachet hanging on the head of the bed? His dislike of this sort of thing was unknown to others, except for Empress Dowager.
If he behaved differently, all his previous efforts would be for naught. Therefore, this trap was aimed at him. Who targeted him and tried to set such a trap?
Was it Chu Liuyue or Chu Liuzhou, or this thoughtless Chu Qing?
First, he was attracted here by a letter. Then, under the attentive guidance of Xiao Xuanzi, he checked Chu Liuchen. All these kept reminding him that somebody was keeping an eye out for him. Was it because of the thing that happened a few years ago? Was it Chu Liuchen who he met at that time? Chu Liuchen fainted because of this, so someone took advantage of this matter!
It was an accident back then. Prince Cheng hadn’t been able to find it out till now. He had a name in mind for the person behind it, but he couldn’t investigate it any further for some reason. If he dug too deep with the power at hand, there would be a risk of getting himself exposed.
Therefore, he stopped investigating it after he had a rough guess!
Nonetheless, if others connected what happened today with the past incident, they would inevitably think that he was up to something. The first thing he had to deal with was the sickly Chu Liuchen. Every time Chu Liuchen was a little out of sorts in the future, people would think of him. That was not a good thing!
Although it was said that Chu Liuchen’s health was a little better, this was based on the fact that he pa.s.sed out from time to time in the past. Chu Liuchen was different from ordinary people. If something happened to him due to his disturbance this time, he would surely incur the wrath of Empress Dowager. If someone else with evil intentions tried to stir up trouble, it wouldn’t be something hard to imagine what kind of trouble was lying in wait for him when others thought of what had happened before.
Prince Cheng gasped and felt a chill go down his spine. He almost fell into someone else’s trap.
“Go back and send a generous gift to Prince Chen!” Prince Cheng ordered in a cold voice, with a trace of fierceness in his eyes. He must find out the person who had plotted against him in the dark. The letter could not end up in his man’s hands for no reason.
“Yes, Your Highness. I’ll go back and prepare it immediately!” Hearing his master’s words, Xiqi knew that he was furious, so he quickly responded carefully.
“Go back to the mansion at the foot of the mountain to prepare a generous gift. When everything is ready, send it up here. Take this opportunity to send a message to Duke Xing and ask him to keep his daughter in check. The top priority of the royal family choosing a girl is morality. If she has no virtue, or if she has dubious relations.h.i.+ps with other royal brothers, she won’t even be able to be a concubine, let alone the Princess Consort,” Prince Cheng ordered coldly.
“Got it!” Xiqi hurriedly lowered his head. He had heard what Xiao Xuanzi and Prince Cheng had said just now, and he also knew why Prince Cheng would say that…
It was quiet in the room. Although there was no sound, Shao Wanru still didn’t dare to move. She was afraid that Prince Cheng would come back. By then, what she had hidden with great difficulty would be exposed!
Her eyes were still closed, but her ears were raised high, and she was following everything outside.
She felt that the gauze curtain seemed to be lifted up, but she clearly didn’t hear any footsteps. She was so stupefied that her hair stood on end. Did she feel wrong?
Then the bed suddenly collapsed as someone sat down on it. Shao Wanru instantly opened her eyes. What greeted her was a pair of enchanting eyes.
When she saw the person in front of her clearly, she breathed a sigh of relief. She felt comfortable, as if she came to life, and her body no longer curled tightly together.
She took a deep breath and asked, “Why are you here?”
Chu Liuchen took off his shoes and lay down sidelong. He said lazily, “Why can’t I be here? This is my bed.”
After saying that, he nudged Shao Wanru inside and took up more places. Then he took a cus.h.i.+on and leaned on it.
He was wearing a light purple brocade robe with a slightly open neckline and white lapels, which made him look n.o.ble and elegant. In addition, he had a delicate face and glittering eyes. He was endowed with an ineffable charm.
He was still like someone walking out of a painting, unlike anyone in the secular world. Such a person could only appear in the painting. When he appeared in the real world, even Shao Wanru, who was confident about her composure, felt uneasy, so she simply sat up.
“Since Your Highness is back, I’ll go back now!”
“Why are you in such a hurry? I happen to have something to tell you!” Chu Liuchen reached out to hold her slender waist and pulled her into his arms. His voice was gentle, rendering her mentally tipsy!
The tug made her fall on him. She subconsciously reached out to push him away, but when she saw his lazy but threatening eyes, she relaxed sensibly. It was obviously impossible for her to let him be polite!
“Your Highness, what’s the matter? The matter of the golden bracelet or the matter of Prince Cheng?” Shao Wanru asked helplessly.
“Is there anything wrong with Prince Cheng?” Chu Liuchen suddenly smiled and seemed to be in a good mood.
“Initially, I thought it had nothing to do with you, but now I don’t think so!” Shao Wanru was truly helpless. She had sensed that there was something fishy about this matter before. She vaguely felt that Xiao Xuanzi was too organized, for he almost seized the initiative every time when dealing with Prince Cheng. He was intent on having Prince Cheng check whether the person in the bed was Chu Liuchen.
Prince Cheng didn’t even need to find an excuse himself. Xiao Xuanzi had already prepared all kinds of excuses, which made Shao Wanru, who was lying on the bed, think that he must be one of Prince Cheng’s men. Otherwise, how could he have thought of everything for Prince Cheng? Furthermore. these reasons were acceptable and reasonable!
However, Shao Wanru was sure that Xiao Xuanzi was not Prince Cheng’s man. He was Chu Liuchen’s man, and he was the most loyal one!
What did he mean? Even if he was loyal, why did he ask Prince Cheng to check it out even though he knew it was a fake on the bed? It seemed that he wanted Prince Cheng to expose his master’s plan. If it were not for Chu Liuchen’s order, how could he have done everything so flawlessly and fearlessly?
Moreover, Chu Liuchen’s return was too coincidental. Not only was it coincidental, but it was also at the right time. He came back without making any sound. If he had not been paying attention to this place, he would not have been able to control it so well.
“So, Your Highness, where were you just now?” Shao Wanru pushed Chu Liuchen and tried to stay away from him, looking at him with vigilance.
“Where do you think I would be?” Chu Liuchen slightly raised the corners of his mouth and smiled seductively. However, no matter how attractive he was, Shao Wanru glared at him with a pair of watery eyes and asked through gritted teeth, “Your Highness, weren’t you in my yard?”