That night, Feng Yu Heng entered the palace before midnight and guarded Zirui's small palace courtyard. However, she didn't disturb Zirui. Instead, she secretly observed this child, wanting to see what this child would do when she wasn't by his side.
Zirui actually didn't have much to do. After last night's fright, he slept very late. He sat alone in his room and drank tea. He even went to the toilet a few times. There were servants in the palace courtyard monitoring him. She didn't know if the child had discovered it, but so what if they monitored him closely? Zirui didn't do anything. Everything was normal. He only asked for a few books from the servants and read under the light. He looked very much like a student of Yunlu Academy.
Gradually, Feng Yu Heng discovered that there was a palace maid who was very different from the others in the palace courtyard. Originally, she wasn't the one on night watch, but she gave the night watch a large piece of silver ingot and said a few good words. Then, she told the night watch to go rest and she would keep watch. After successfully changing the watch, the palace maid very cautiously stood guard outside the door. During this time, she even entered the room once and said to Zirui, "This servant will be outside the door. If Young Master Feng needs anything, just tell this servant." Then, when she saw Zirui nod without any strange reaction, the woman gave Zirui a meaningful look and quietly added, "This servant is one of His Highness Feiyu's people. Young Master Feng, please don't worry."
When Feng Yu Heng heard this, the corner of her mouth hooked up in a smile. She knew that this person was definitely not one of Xuan Feiyu's people. This was because Xuan Feiyu himself couldn't enter the palace, so how could he send a servant in? However, she also knew that the other party had good intentions towards Zirui, and guessed that the other party must be a subordinate of Tianfu Palace's Consort Shi De. Back then, she had sought the Second Prince for help, and the Second Prince had agreed to let Imperial Concubine Shi De think of a way to take care of her. Yesterday was the first day, so they definitely wouldn't be able to make arrangements so quickly. Today, they finally sent someone over, and the reason why they used Xuan Feiyu's name was because Zirui was the most familiar with Xuan Feiyu. If they wanted to mention Imperial Concubine Shi, that child probably wouldn't even know who it was.
As expected, Zirui's expression relaxed a little when he heard that she was someone from Feiyu's side. However, he was still very vigilant and did not express his stance. Only when the palace maid left did he let out a sigh of relief. He then closed the book and quietly climbed onto the bed to sleep.
Feng Yu Heng felt sorry for her younger brother. He had to suffer so much at such a young age. That year, because of Feng Jin Yuan's betrayal, Zirui lost one of his fingers. Now, because of her side, Zirui was forced into the palace and became a hostage. Although nobody explicitly said that he was a hostage, in reality, this was no different from being a hostage. The Eighth Prince and Consort Yuanshu were certain that Zirui was in the palace. She needed to think carefully before doing anything. Using this as a threat, however, she did not know what sort of trouble would occur.
But … Feng Yu Heng made up her mind. She would watch over Zirui every night. As for during the day, Xuan Tianming would make arrangements to ensure Zirui's safety. But this sort of hostage would not last too long. Sooner or later, there would come a day when she would steal Zirui out. Then, she would place the crime of losing a child on Xuantian Mo's head. When that time came, everyone would put pressure on him and see how he would explain himself.
In Zhao He Hall, Consort Yuanshu was still at Emperor Tianwu's side. The two tossed and turned throughout the night and were very fond of each other. Without Zhang Yuan watching over them, Consort Yuanshu had already brazenly asked the imperial physicians to give Emperor Tianwu some nourishing medicine. It was a yang medicine. Every day, his meals were prepared according to the ingredients needed to replenish his yang. This was to ensure that Tianwu would be full of energy every night.
While she was pleasuring him, in the inner palace, there was a rumor that Consort Yuanshu had lost the bracelet that Emperor Tianwu had given her when she entered the palace. Even the Empress's Jingtsu Temple was not spared.
The Empress was woken up in the middle of the night. Seeing a large group of Imperial Guards barging in, she immediately became angry. But no one listened to her. For these people, right now, Consort Yuanshu was far more important than the Empress.
The Empress had no other choice. She wanted to send someone to invite the Emperor, but she heard that the Emperor was currently favoring Consort Yuanshu. If she went to invite her now, it would be like running into a knife's edge. She was so angry that she gasped for breath, but she could only swallow this anger. What else could she do but swallow it? Who could she vent on? Who would listen to her in the inner palace? She even thought that even if she used the phoenix seal to pressure people, Emperor Tianwu would take it back because of how much he favoured Consort Yuanshu. It was possible that the phoenix seal would fall into Consort Yuanshu's hands. When that time came, her end would be even more miserable.
The people arrogantly searched Jingtsu Temple but did not find anything. They arrogantly left, not caring about the existence of the Empress in the slightest. Feng Zhao Lian coldly watched all of this, as a thought appeared in his mind: Consort Yuanshu is not looking for some bracelet at all. She is most likely looking for someone!
Finally, the people searching the inner palace had searched the entire inner palace. Aside from the rather frightening things they saw in Consort Li's place, they did not find anything else. But there was one place that they did not go, and that was Winter Moon Palace. Someone asked the granny in charge if they wanted to search Winter Moon Palace, but the granny shook her head. She still remembered Consort Yuanshu's words: "Aside from Winter Moon Palace, you can go anywhere." Although she did not know why Consort Yuanshu was still afraid of Winter Moon Palace, she let out a sigh of relief that she did not search that place. The Empress was easy to deal with, but the one in Winter Moon Palace was someone who did not fear anything. It was best not to offend her lightly.
The small courtyard that Zirui lived in had also been searched, and the search was even more thorough. Feng Yu Heng hid in the shadows and knew very well what they were searching for, which caused her to secretly laugh for a long time. She just thought that the Eighth Prince had not entered the palace for the entire day, so his mind was in a mess. It was to the point that he forgot to send a letter to Consort Yuanshu. Up until now, Consort Yuanshu still did not know that the person that she had searched the entire imperial palace for was currently in her son's palace. Moreover, she had already been left half-dead by her son.
She had no intention of watching the drama in the palace, and Zirui could be guaranteed to be safe tonight. Feng Yu Heng did not remain there for long, as she concealed herself and headed in the direction of Zhang Yuan.
Over at Consort Yuanshu's place, Emperor Tianwu finally could not resist his beloved concubine's passion. After exploding, he fell into a deep sleep. Consort Yuanshu got up from the bed and quietly walked out of the hall. Her personal palace maid Yue Xiu immediately came forward and told her about Consort Li's discovery in Zhang Ning Palace.
When she heard that Consort Li was secretly cursing Xuan Tianming in the palace, Consort Yuanshu immediately laughed. After laughing, she waved her hand and said, "Don't make things difficult for her. If she wants to cause trouble, then let her. The person cursing is the Ninth Prince. Do we have to worry about the Ninth Prince being cursed to death? Humph! It would be good if he really died. I'm just afraid that Consort Li doesn't have the ability to do that. However, she took the initiative to take the blame, so why should we not? The biggest taboo in the palace is witchcraft. She's still climbing up the ladder. Sooner or later, she'll block the disaster for us. "
Feng Yu Heng had been waiting at Zirui's place for too long. By the time she arrived at Zhang Yuan's place, the sky was already bright. This was the first time she had stayed in the palace for so long. She still hadn't left the palace by dawn. Calculating the time, Xuan Tianming should have already reached the palace gates and was about to enter the palace for morning court. However, when she passed by Zhao He Hall, she saw that Consort Yuanshu had just come out. The old Emperor had probably been squeezed dry again. It was hard to say if he would be able to attend morning court.
Zhang Yuan's injuries had healed a lot. She sat on a large tree and looked down. Two palace servants were helping him out of the woodshed. Although walking was still a bit awkward, it wasn't as bad as before. It looked like he was about to throw his life away. In addition, she had given him painkillers. When he really couldn't take it anymore, he could take two pills. His life wasn't in danger.
The palace servant that helped him into the courtyard said: "Eunuch Yuan, you're going to the Department of Guilty Servants today. Speaking of which, we've both served the Emperor in Zhao He Hall. After all these years, we have some friendship. This servant wants to help you. For example, pretending that we didn't see anything and let you take away the bundle in your hands. However, you also know that Eunuch Wu has the final say in this courtyard. If he knows that we let you take a bundle with a lot of silver in it, then our little lives will be lost here! "
The eunuch's voice was strange and his tone was even stranger. It was very uncomfortable to listen to.
When Zhang Yuan heard their words, he quickly pulled the bundle in his hands closer to his chest. He wouldn't give it up no matter what. However, the two eunuchs beside him were much stronger than him. In addition, he was injured. In a few moments, the bundle was snatched away by them.
That bundle really did contain a lot of silver. With this snatch, the silver fell all over the ground, causing even more eunuchs in the courtyard to come over and snatch it.
Zhang Yuan looked at those people snatching his silver and wanted to cry. He said with a hollow voice: "I've treated you all well in the past. Why won't you leave me this little bit of silver to live? It's not like you don't know the kind of place the Department of Guilty Servants is. If I go there without any silver, won't I be tortured to death in a few days? How can you all be so greedy? "
A palace servant replied: "The past is the past. The present is the present. In the past, you were a popular person by the Emperor's side. We naturally had to curry favour with you. But now, you're no different from a god of plague. If anyone gets close to you, they won't be able to keep their little life. It's not like you didn't know yesterday morning. The two people who helped you ask for medicine were all beaten to death. It's all thanks to you. "
Zhang Yuan looked in despair at the floor of silver being snatched clean. There were even two people who fought because they couldn't divide the spoils evenly. He sighed bitterly. Turning around to look at the large room he used to live in, his heart filled with sorrow. Thinking about the two little eunuchs who were beaten to death, his heart ached even more. He knelt down in the direction of Zhao He Hall and shouted: "Your Majesty!" Then he kowtowed three times. When he raised his head again, there was blood on his forehead.
Someone escorted him out of the courtyard and towards the Department of Guilty Servants. Feng Yu Heng stared at the large room, an idea forming in her mind.
Her figure flashed and she entered the room. This was where Zhang Yuan used to live. All the items were bestowed by the Emperor Tianwu. The Emperor Tianwu used to spoil Zhang Yuan like his own son. Whenever there was something good, he would never forget to give him a share. Sometimes, when Zhang Yuan saw something that looked good, he would ask for it from Tianwu. After all, he wouldn't be able to leave the palace in this lifetime. He didn't have any relatives outside. Even if the item was given to him, it would still remain in the palace. So much so that the room that the head eunuch lived in was almost as grand as Zhao He Hall.
But now, all these things had become Wu Ying's. Not to mention, there was definitely Zhang Yuan's private stash of silver in the room. Feng Yu Heng thought, she couldn't let that little eunuch work for nothing in the first half of his life. She would do a good deed and keep these things for him for the time being!
Thus, with a thought, all the good items in the room were quickly collected by her. Including the silver in the root, the silver notes under the pillow, and the gold, silver and jewels in the bed divider … …
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