The inner room was completely silent.
Even Prince Su did not expect that Lady Ruan was involved in this matter.
After a long while, Prince Su squinted and asked Liuzheng, “General Ruan, what do you think? Should we release her, or kill her?”
Liuzheng bowed deeply: “Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness, but this scoundrel is my grandmother’s person and should be dealt with by the mistress.”
Liuzheng also wanted to kill this bastard slave directly.
But she still had Qian Mama to keep.
Killing her like this would only vent my anger, but it wouldn’t serve any real purpose.
However, Prince Su was unaware of Liuzheng’s true thoughts; he simply felt that she was being too soft-hearted.
A woman’s kindness can sometimes kill.
When they were on the frontier, he had subtly reminded her not to be too kind.
But she never listened.
He continues to risk his life time and time again on the battlefield to save people.
Today is no exception.
“Then I’ll listen to you,” Prince Su sighed almost inaudibly.
“Thank you, Your Highness!”
Granny Qian was taken away.
Liuzheng asked the captain to temporarily look after Granny Qian.
Just as she was about to take her leave from Prince Su, he suddenly flipped his hand and threw a long sword at her.
Liuzheng instinctively reached out and caught it, recognizing at a glance that what Prince Su had thrown at her was her “Cloud Piercing” skill.
This Cloud Piercing Sword was captured from an enemy general after she won the first battle.
Because it was very memorable and could cut iron like mud, Liuzheng has always kept it with her ever since, and even named it “Piercing Clouds”.
Everyone in the general’s mansion recognized this sword.
Therefore, before she left the general’s mansion, she gave Chuanyun to Yuliu and asked her to impersonate her.
All I heard was Prince Su saying, “I brought your men to you.”
Liuzheng exclaimed with delight, “Thank you, Your Highness!”
She and Chuan Yun had almost never been apart, except for this time.
Prince Su turned the tourmaline thumb ring on his right thumb.
Is a sword really worth such gratitude from her?
Her knees were too weak.
He didn’t want to see her constantly expressing her gratitude.
Prince Su frowned slightly and said, “This was originally yours, so there’s no need to thank me. I’m not a stingy person. The servant and this sword don’t count as my gifts. I’ll find you another gift you like another day.”
Liuzheng wanted to say: There’s absolutely no need for that!
She hasn’t decided yet whether or not to join Prince Su’s forces.
But on his face, he could only show gratitude.
Just as he was about to kowtow and express his gratitude, he heard Prince Su say, “Don’t rush to thank me. I might even punish you.”
“…?”
“Besides your Ruan family, have you told anyone else about the mudslide?”
Liuzheng was completely confused.
Why is he asking this?
Is there any need to hide this from people?
Her face remained obedient: “Your Highness, on my way to find my grandmother, Liuzheng saw a family on the mountain and warned them to evacuate quickly. I wonder… why Your Highness asks this?”
Instead of answering, Prince Su asked, “Do you know who that family is?”
“This humble general does not know.”
“Lady of the Duke of Wei.”
Liuzheng’s eyes widened suddenly.
“It’s actually the Duchess of Wei?”
In her past life, she heard from her bedside that her grandmother had perished in a mudslide. She was heartbroken and barely able to save herself, so she had no mind to inquire about who else had perished in the mudslide.
Now that he heard that the Duchess of Wei was from that family halfway up the mountain, he immediately became nervous for Wei Ranfeng.
Observing her reaction, Prince Su asked, “Do you know her?”
“When I was at the border, I made a good friend named Wei Ranfeng…”
Although Liuzheng had never met the Duchess of Wei, she knew that she was Wei Ranfeng’s biological mother.
Sure enough, Prince Su said, “The Duchess is Ranfeng’s birth mother and the Empress Dowager’s cousin. I must also call her aunt.”
Liuzheng hurriedly asked, “Have the Duchess and the others come down the mountain? Are they alright now?”
She cared not because she was the Empress Dowager’s cousin, but because she was her friend’s biological mother.
But then Prince Su gave a cryptic sneer.
“It was fine before, but now it’s not so good.”
Liuzheng asked, puzzled, “What does Your Highness mean by this?”
“Lady Duchess became pregnant at the end of last year and came to the mountain villa to escape the summer heat. Because of your mention of a mudslide, everyone at the foot of the mountain was frightened and rushed down the mountain. However, on the way down the mountain, the sedan chair bearers slipped and fell, and Lady Duchess was thus put through the womb.”
Liuzheng’s face suddenly turned pale: “How could this be…?”
“How could this happen?” Prince Su gave her a deep look.
Liuzheng finally understood why, when they were on the mountain, Prince Su had said that if the mudslide hadn’t occurred, he would have punished her.
So that’s how it is.
“Your Highness, mudslides do indeed occur on this mountain.”
“But we have been down the mountain for half an hour, and there has been no movement on the mountain.”
“That time is not yet ripe.”
When will the time come?
“This humble general does not know either…”
She didn’t know the exact time, only that her grandmother had died on this day in her previous life.
“Ruan Liuzheng, you’re not being honest.”
“…This humble general truly did not lie.”
“You are not the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, you cannot observe celestial phenomena, much less predict the future, yet you so confidently assert that there will be a mudslide. How can I believe you?”
“I…” Liuzheng bit her lip, unsure how to explain.
“In short, Your Highness, please trust me this once! Wait a little longer.”
Her eyes were bright and pure, like moonlight in the long night.
It was serene and aloof, yet indescribably moving.
Prince Su’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
He couldn’t stand the way she looked at him.
What I can’t stand even more is how she looks at other men.
I feel very uncomfortable.
His facial expression became even more displeased.
His face darkened, and just as he was about to speak, Captain He reported from outside: “Your Highness, the head maidservant of the Duchess requests an audience.”
Prince Su glanced at Liuzheng and said, “Let her in.”
The next moment, the door opened, and the head maid of the Duke’s mansion stepped in, followed by two burly servants.
Liuzheng stood to the side, but the old woman didn’t pay attention to her, assuming she was one of Prince Su’s people and not giving her a second glance.
“This servant greets Your Highness!”
“Please rise, Granny. How is my aunt now?”
“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. Madam has taken her medicine and is now asleep. The Duke is also on his way. Fortunately, you brought Physician Li with you, so the baby is safe. This servant thanks Your Highness on behalf of Madam for saving her life.”
“No need to be so polite, we’re all family.”
“But… I heard that people from the Ruan family have also arrived at the inn?”
Prince Su glanced at Liuzheng out of the corner of his eye, pursed his thin lips, and said, “Not bad.”
The old woman immediately said, “That man from the Ruan family almost caused Madam to miscarry. Please, Your Highness, give me your permission to arrest that man and have him strangled immediately!”
Liuzheng stiffened and took a few steps forward.
“Does this old woman have some misunderstanding about me?”
The old woman looked up at Liuzheng, her face full of confusion: “And who is this?”
Prince Su, always eager for drama, said, “This is the person you’ve been looking for.”
The old woman paused for a moment, then subconsciously said, “But the gatekeeper said it was a boy…”
“She was dressed as a man at the time.”
Liuzheng’s back became even stiffer.
Prince Su is so long-winded.
Pan Hongming clearly said he didn’t like to talk… but she seemed quite talkative!
When the old woman heard that it was Liuzheng who had delivered the message, her face immediately darkened.
“Come on! Seize her!”
Two servants immediately stepped forward and approached Liuzheng.
This commotion caught the attention of Granny Shu next door. She quickly came out and was surprised to see that Liuzheng was about to be captured. Knowing that she could not help on her own, she hurriedly turned back to report to the old lady.
The second wife and her daughter are still in the old lady’s room.
Upon hearing this, his expression immediately changed.
“She actually accidentally caused the Duchess to have a miscarriage? Mother, she’s trying to kill our whole family!”
Ruan Baizheng was so frightened that she trembled.
“Grandmother, Mother, I don’t want to die…”
“Shut up, both of you!” the old lady said with a stern face. “You two stay here. I’ll go and see for myself.”
She immediately asked Granny Shu to help her and headed towards Prince Su’s room.
…
Inside Prince Su’s house, Liuzheng dodged the two men’s hands with a quick movement.
He clenched his fists, ready to fight, but then he remembered Wei Ranfeng.
Wei Ranfeng was her good comrade-in-arms, someone she could trust to entrust her back on the battlefield.
She didn’t want to turn against her own people.
Seeing that the two men were about to pounce on her again, Liuzheng was afraid that she might accidentally hurt them, so in a moment of panic, she had no choice but to hide behind Prince Su.
Her muddy feet soiled Prince Su’s tiger-skin cushion.
Prince Su’s forehead twitched twice.
He has severe mysophobia.
“Ruan Shi Liuzheng, get down!”
Liuzheng did not go down.
She remained hidden behind Prince Su and said, “Your Highness, aren’t you going to return the gift? Please explain for me; that would be the best gift.”
“…How to be eloquent on the battlefield?”
“This is something I learned on my own.”
Prince Su let out a cold snort and finally spoke: “Get out of here first, you’ve dirtied my tiger skin.”
“You’re willing to help?”
“Get out of here.”
“…” Seeing that he was really about to get angry, Liuzheng quickly rolled away.
Upon seeing this, the two servants immediately tried to rush forward to arrest the person again.
“Stop.” Prince Su said expressionlessly.
The two servants stopped and turned to look at the old woman.
The old woman stepped forward, curtsied, and bowed before speaking: “Your Highness, I did not mean to offend you. I was only acting on the orders of the Duchess to arrest this person…”
Of course, this statement is not entirely true.
The Duchess was too busy protecting her pregnancy to think about capturing Liuzheng.
She simply wanted to make a good impression before the Duchess recovered from her shock.
Prince Su spoke calmly: “Does the old woman know who this person is?”
“This servant does not know. This servant only knows that if it were not for this person, my lady would not have had any miscarriage.”
Prince Su was very displeased, but he held back in the end.
“In that case, then let’s give this king some face and hear how she tries to argue her way out of this.”
The old woman dared not disrespect Prince Su; she wanted to make a contribution, but she dared not offend him.
“yes……”
Liuzheng finally had the opportunity to explain.
“This old woman, I have already heard about the Duchess’s matter. But the sedan bearers’ slipping was not Liuzheng’s fault. Besides, Liuzheng only came to your manor to remind you out of good intentions.”
“A warning? You said there would be a mudslide, young lady. How long has it been? May I ask, young lady, where is the mudslide? You disguised yourself as a man and spread false information in the manor. What exactly are you trying to achieve? Aren’t you afraid of the Duke’s wrath?!”