Free Web NovelChapter 1040: Chapter 248: A Cuckoo in the Magpie’s Nest
"Hush!"
Perhaps it was the sudden appearance of this nightmarish man that brought too much impact on me,
or perhaps this sound made Zhao Cheng startle.
Or maybe Zhao Cheng seemed to be overly sensitive;
In any case,
Zhao Cheng,
Little Cheng,
Eunuch Zhao,
suddenly felt wet in his trousers.
He was scared to the point of peeing.
That day,
the weather was sunny,
he was sipping mutton soup with his sister, savoring the little pleasures of winter,
and then encountered this man before him.
Since then, his life underwent a transformative change.
These nights, he tossed and turned, constantly picturing the man’s face in his mind, deepening the psychological shadow of this man further.
And when the shadow falls into reality, Zhao Cheng found himself utterly unable to bear it.
The Princess,
With these days of acquaintance, Zhao Cheng knew she was terrifying, she was noble, her will could decide the lives of many and the fates of many families;
Yet still, the Princess actively delivered herself before him.
However,
peeing aside,
fortunately, the amount was not much, it became sporadic and small in volume;
Furthermore,
Zhao Cheng truly did not call out,
and even though his facial expression underwent countless changes in a brief time, he surprisingly managed to switch into a fawning smile.
Clearly, this was a royal retreat, with tens of thousands of soldiers surrounding it, and several imperial censure officers inside, yet Zhao Cheng dared not call or shout.
Because once he shouted, the man before him might directly kill him,
the Princess might kill him,
the Qu Clan might kill him,
the Regent might kill him.
Because he was inconsequential, and when you discover that the outcome of "duty fulfillment" might be suffocation together, it becomes challenging to summon any thought of "duty-bound."
He arrived,
He arrived,
What did he come to do?
Zhao Cheng’s nearly crashing mind began to ponder, and then he pondered about one possibility that even a fool knowing arithmetic could think of.
He,
came to see the Princess.
He was not Qu Peiluo,
Zhao Cheng had seen Qu Peiluo,
He was not the future consort,
He was not the Princess’s husband,
Yet before the Princess’s wedding, he came to see the Princess.
He indeed dared to come, he truly came!
Previously, while wandering in the countryside, Zhao Cheng had seen many people climbing the walls for young wives, usually the widow was unfaithful, married women inviting men was also commonplace, though unmarried girls being coaxed by men were rare, but not unheard of.
But the Princess is about to be married,
You still come!
In a fit of insensible action,
Zhao Cheng called out:
"Get me some people, lift these two jade cabbages and deliver them to the inner courtyard. You, hurry with the hands."
Zhao Cheng got off the carriage,
Soon after,
He saw three more people getting on outside,
Then four people, two carrying one, they came down, the man among them included.
"Follow, keep up with me."
Zhao Cheng waved his duster, issuing orders.
Just like that,
Eunuch Zhao walked ahead, while behind him, four men carefully carried the jade cabbages.
As they were about to enter the outer courtyard, several imperial censure officers from the Qu Clan stepped forward to inspect.
Those who could enter and exit the inner courtyard were familiar faces, as the Princess had encountered issues before, so security details were not spared this time.
"Eunuch Zhao, summon people inside to receive them," suggested an armed Qu Clan officer.
Eunuch Zhao smiled slightly and said, "Sure."
Subsequently, Eunuch Zhao stood there, calling out four eunuchs from inside to help carry the cabbages.
Afterwards, Eunuch Zhao pointed at the man and said: "Him, I have to bring him inside, second shopkeeper from Fan Mansion’s Eastern Pearl shop. The Princess instructed, the pearl strings for the day of the wedding require redesign, so I summoned him inside, the Princess knows this man, so please do not delay the Princess’s matters."
The imperial censure officers from the Qu Clan exchanged glances; since the Princess knew him, they didn’t delay further inspections, after all, the Princess was indeed noble and would become their matron; they didn’t wish to upset the Princess.
Yet the armed officer followed Zhao Cheng inside the inner courtyard.
Human courtesy is one thing, rules are another; the armed officer stood aside, waiting.
Zhao Cheng took the hint, walked forward, and informed the chamber door:
"Your Highness, the two jade cabbages from Fan Mansion are carried over by this servant and, following your instructions, I brought over the second shopkeeper from Fan Mansion’s Eastern Pearl shop to discuss the matter of redesigning the pearl strings."
No response came from inside the chamber for a moment.
And at this time,
The armed Qu Clan officer silently placed his hand on the sword hilt, the nearby officers gradually stood at the entrance, interconnected in spirit, often understanding each other’s intentions without words.
The newly transitioned to jewelry design, Lord Zheng, stood there,
calm in demeanor.
Frankly speaking,
having overcome perilous times,
being cautious before was prudent,
at the moment of occurrence, absolute composure could still be maintained.
Finally, fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
The chamber echoed the Princess’s voice:
"Come in, the last pearl string was too ugly."
The armed censure officer relaxed the hand on the sword hilt and slowly exited the inner courtyard; the exterior officers also retreated their vigilance.
Zhao Cheng’s body slightly wavered, for he was the most tense before because regardless of which conflict outcome loomed ahead, Zhao Cheng foresaw no survival path.
The two jade cabbages were delivered inside, Zhao Cheng instructed:
"You, you, go replace a basin of charcoal again, the charcoal here burns incorrectly, easily fumigating the Princess. You, and you, go switch the incense, the Princess dislikes this scent."
