Chapter 18 Peaking
Shen Wen was already familiar with Wanhua House as if it was in her own mansion. She left Hou's mansion as soon as it got dark. When she arrived at Wanhua House, there were lanterns everywhere inside. Shen Wen found a large tree near the song and dance stage in the front yard and stealthily moved between it.
From the canopy, the largest hall was filled with tables and chairs, and the doors to the front hall were removed. and the seats are facing a bluestone-paved countertop. The tabletop extends into the pool in front of the hall, flat on the water like a pontoon bridge, with various colored lights floating on the water, adding a dreamlike background to the stone platform.
There are also orchestral lutes being played outside the hall. There were long corridors on either side of the pool, adorned with long sarongs, and lighted inside as well and one could faintly see the slender figures flickering in the corridor, those are dancers who were preparing themselves for the stage.
The hall was already full. There are also occasionally a few women accompanying the guests, but most of them are maids who come and go delivering tea and water, and serving paper and ink.
Shen Wen knows that this kind of occasion is attached mainly to elegance and art. The idea is to write a poem and fill in the lyrics, and order someone to hit the board to sing. Getting people to applaud is the best, and soliciting prostitutes and lewdness is the bottom of the list.
Shen Wen took a good look at the people inside from the tree, but she didn't see the Third Prince, and felt relieved. Now that she didn't have to bother delivering a letter. Perhaps she should just find another opportunity later, as Su Waniang had said. She was prepared to watch one or two songs and dances here before returning to her home.
The sound of the orchestral instrumental music gradually intensified, signaling that the dance was about to begin.People had stopped talking, and while waiting, Shen Wen saw three people walking along the path illuminated by lamps towards this side of the courtyard, and one of the teenagers was none other than the Third Prince.
The Third prince was wearing light green casual clothes, which were embroidered from a distance, and looked like a playboy.The two people walking next to him, one was in his thirties, with a white face, should be a eunuch. The other appeared to be slightly older than the Third Prince, and judging from his attire, looked like a son of a powerful nobleman.
Shen Wen closed her eyes and looked at these two people through consciousness , the blood veins in their bodies were abundant and muscular, both of them should be people who practiced martial arts. Especially for that Eunuch, the meridian is as clear as a picture, which shows that the qi and blood are extremely accessible.She can't rashly go down to get close to the Third prince, these two people will definitely stop her, and she can't reveal her identity yet.
As they got closer and closer, Shen Wen held the note written by Su Wanniang in his hand, and became more and more worried: If the Third prince arrives in the hall, where the lights are bright and people come and go, she will have no chance. Do you have to wait for the Third Prince to leave again?
Suddenly, Shen Wen was taken aback: Did she become a muddle head? Why must others not know that the Third Prince received this note? If the people around him are his confidants, they will naturally help him. If the people around him were someone else's, he could still spread the news, so that the First Prince could take action immediately. If it was a member of the First Prince's inner circle, this note could also make the First Prince think that someone on his side had leaked the news, so why not?
Thinking of this, Shen Wen lightly folded down a small branch, passed through the paper strip folded into a square, and rushed towards the three people walking over and threw it out. The branch was too light, Shen Wen had to use his consciousness power to strengthen the frequency of the throw, letting it fly farther.
The eunuch-like middle-aged figure first looked this way, and then the young man also looked up, and the piece of paper fell lightly a few steps away from them. The middle-aged man's hand rose to his chest, Shen Wen turned around and jumped out from the other side of the tree in a few jumps and then ran a long way through the roof and the wall. Hearing there was no sound behind her, she turned her head and looked into the distance.
That middle-aged man guarded the Third Prince's side, and the young man took a few steps back and forth, looking around before picking up the branch from the ground and plucking off the paper block and handing it to the Third Prince.
The Third Prince opened it and immediately had to turn around and walk out the door, but was pulled back by the young man and whispered something in his ear, and dragged him to continue walking towards the singing stage. The middle-aged man looked around and took a few steps away, off the path illuminated by the lamps and stealthily into the darkness.
Shen Wen didn't dare to look any further, turned around and hurried outside. She was nearly eight years old, short and short-legged, and relied on a quick stride. She reached the fence just in time to see a dark shadow emerge from a section of the wall not far away.
Shen Wen didn't know if this was coming to stop her or if it had nothing to do with her, and at this point it didn't make a difference, because she heard a rapidly approaching noise behind her . Shen Wen grasped breathing and rushed up to the wall, and heard a voice from the wall over there: "Huh..."She had no time to turn her face, and drifted down the wall of the Wanhua House like the wind, flashing into the intricate alleys and streets of the people, and running wildly in the dark shadows.
There was a faint sound behind her for a moment, and then it was quiet, only the occasional sound of music coming from Wanhua House.
Shen Wen ran back to the mansion. This time, she was a bit out of breath. Su Wanniang changed her clothes in the darkness and asked in an anxious tone, "Are you tired? Are you injured?"
Shen Wen waved her hands: "It's just...it's too hot..."
Su Wanniang breathed a sigh of relief, and asked in a low voice, "Is there any trouble?"
Shen Wen said: "I threw the note to him, and then the eunuch beside him chased me for a long time..."
Su Wanniang let out an "ah", "Is that a martial arts expert? Did he catch up with you?"
Shen Wen laughed: ''Where are so many experts? Naturally, they didn't catch up. Moreover, I found out that there are other people going to the Wanhua House, they bumped into each other, and I don't know who beat whom."
Su Wanniang sighed again: "Thank God, it's fine as long as they don't catch up with you."
Shen Wen laughed again: "That's what you call nothing to do with yourself."
Su Wanniang nodded at Shen Wen's thought, "You've become a poor talker! How old are you?"
Shen Wen said in her heart that he was a thousand years old, but she coquettishly said to Su Wanniang: "I'm your younger sister at any age, don't be dissatisfied."
After this matter was done, both of them felt at ease, and they slept well without mentioning it.
This night, in the First Prince's Mansion and the courtyard of the Third Prince's palace, the lights were lit until late at night.
The staff informed the First Prince that the Third Prince accompanied the fifth princess to Zhenbeihou's mansion to celebrate Miss Shen's birthday, and then practiced boxing and kicking with Shen Yi and Shen Jian in the martial arts field for half an hour. Sweating profusely, he was still bathing in the Hou Mansion, changed his clothes, and treated the Hou Mansion as his own home.
Knowing that the Third Prince would accompany the fifth Princess, the Zhenbei Hou's Mansion did not refuse, and even set up a banquet to entertain her. Both Mrs. Old Zhenbeihou and Mrs. Zhenbeihou had a lot of complaints about the First Prince…
First prince slammed the case and said angrily: "How dare they!"
An aide quickly comforted the First Prince and said: "Those are just women who only look at the things in front of them and don't understand the depth. And the Third Prince may just be young at heart and like to fight with others."
The First Prince sneered: "Don't those women know what their husbands are thinking?! Consort Chen did not know what kind of magic soup to the Royal Father. Not only did the Royal Father not abstain from him and Hou Manson's children to socialize, but also said that if he won them, he would go to the Royal Father to collect the reward! How could this be a youthful heart? This is a good plan! Why do you excuse him? ! "
The staff member hurriedly bowed his head, not daring to speak again for a moment.
Another person came forward and reported: "The third prince returned to the palace after he came out of the Hou's residence. After dinner, he went to Wanhua House to watch the dance of Wanhua.Our people said that the third prince was still full of joy when he got off the carriage and entered the courtyard, But when he got to the dance floor, his expression was indifferent, he seemed absent-minded while watching the singing and dancing, and the people who followed him were not too attentive either.That Eunuch Gu, whom he usually took with him when he went outside, did not join him at the table, even though he got off the carriage with him.Eunuch Gu arrived after the two dancers had danced. Our people don't know where he went during this time at the Wanhua House. After Eunuch Gu arrived, the Third Prince watched two more songs and dances before getting up and leaving the table. The songs and dances were actually quite wonderful, and it seems like there should have been a change of heart in the courtyard."
The First prince was already angry, and when he heard this, he slapped the table again: ''Rubbish! Can't you just follow them all the way? Just pretend to be a guest and follow them all the way, why let them walk by themselves in the courtyard?"
The staff sighed: "Your Highness doesn't know that Eunuch Gu is a formidable person. He has practiced martial arts since childhood and is extremely vigilant. The Emperor asked him to follow Consort Chen for many years. Otherwise, how could Consort Chen give birth to the third prince and the fifth princess safely? Now that he's following the Third Prince again, the subordinates dare not approach."
The First Prince's face darkened, "If he was under Royal Father's command, why did Royal Father give him to Consort Chen?"
No one said anything, and the First Prince waved his hand impatiently, "Speak quickly!"
A staff member hesitantly whispered, "There are rumors that since the birth of His Highness, none of the children conceived by the concubines survived, and the Emperor is worried that the heir will not flourish. At that time, Consort Chen had just been favored, and it was the time when the fire was burning. Consort Chen was pregnant, so she cried to the emperor that she was timid, living alone in the palace, and was afraid of seeing shadows, which was not good for the child. The emperor told her that this Eunuch Gu under his command was so skilled that even gods and ghosts would be afraid of him. If he were to guard here, Consort Chen would not have to worry. "
The First Prince frowned: "Why didn't I know these things?"
The staff said carefully, "If Your Highness does not ascend to the throne of the Crown Prince, knowing these things would rather not be conducive to getting along with the other royal sons in normal times."
The First Prince grunted: this was to say that if he wasn't the crown prince, then he shouldn't know about these dark secrets of the harem, after all, these were the emperor's private matters.Moreover, once he understood, it was inevitable that he would be involved in it. If the Emperor knew that his son was involved in the fight between his wife and his concubines, he would certainly be displeased. And now, he will become the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince will have a harem later on, so knowing all this is considered a part of learning.
The First Prince asked again: "Does the Mother empress have no objections?"
The shogun replied, "The Empress has also troubled Eunuch Gu a few times, but every time she had an attack, even if she had the upper hand at the time, the people on the Empress's hand would soon fall ill inexplicably or die one by one. Over time, the Empress also knew about it, and the two divisions stopped fighting and didn't bother each other, and that's how so many years have passed."
The First Prince was so angry that he clenched his teeth, ''How dare he be so rampant! How can Father Emperor tolerate him? I will go see Father Emperor tomorrow!
A staff member immediately said, "Your Highness must not. Doesn't Your Highness see that? This Eunuch Gu was given to Consort Chen by the Emperor, as long as Consort Chen is in favor for one day, this Eunuch Gu will protect her and the Third Prince for one day.Eunuch Gu is not an officer for Consort Chen, Eunuch Gu is following the Emperor's will. If one day the Emperor dislikes Consort Chen, then the one who kills Consort Chen and the Third Prince will probably be Eunuch Gu."
The First Prince slowly nodded his head, "Then, let's wait and see what happens to Consort Chen."
The handlers were unaware of the conversation between the First Prince and the Empress, and one said worriedly, "Although the Emperor favors the other concubines, Consort Chen has been close to the Emperor for so many years. The Emperor must go to her for five or six days a month, and it will probably take some effort to move her."
The First Prince smiled coldly, "Using color to serve people, color fades so do enchants. People have their own misfortunes and blessings, and she can't always be in good health."
He probably knew the Empress's method. Concubine Jiang Shu died of illness a few years ago, and she obviously knew the reason before she died, and ordered someone to break the fourth prince's leg. One day Consort Chen will really go there like that, he has to let these people under him understand that this is his method, don't let them think it was a coincidence.
The people heard the meaning and were silenced and stopped talking about the subject.
