Chapter 249 The Prince Falls into the Water

"Mom? Dad?"

Inside the house, Su Zhizhi looked at her frightened parents in surprise.

Hao Ren saw the rope hanging from the beam entangled in Su Zhizhi's hair, while Su Zhizhi was standing on a stool.

The ends of her loose hair were hung by a rope, and the roots drooped slightly, shaped like a soup dumpling.

Su Zhizhi: "Dad, Mom, why aren't you asleep yet?"

Su Zhizhi had already had a nap.

After washing up in the evening, she originally wanted to memorize her lessons, but she fell asleep while reciting.

I woke up in the middle of the night, feeling refreshed, and continued to recite.

In order to prevent herself from falling asleep again, Su Zhizhi also used the method of hanging her head on the beam and piercing her thighs with a needle.

She found a rope and tied it to the beam, but found that the rope was not long enough and could not reach her head.

So Su Zhizhi stood on the stool so that the rope could tie her hair.

After she tied herself up, she realized that she didn't have the book in her hands and she couldn't reach it by standing on the stool.

What a waste of time.

Su Zhizhi slapped his head in regret and exclaimed, "Ah!"

Then she heard a bang outside and her parents rushed into her room barefoot.

Without saying a word, Wu Yingniang took Su Zhizhi down from the beam and the stool, and then stuffed her into the quilt.

Wu Yingniang gritted her teeth and rolled up her sleeves: "Zhizhi, where did you get all these stupid ideas? Who did you learn them from?"

Su Zhizhi said confidently: "I read it in the book! I learned it from the book."

Hao Ren: ...

"Zhizhi, you can study hard, but don't rush it. You need to use a more appropriate method." Hao Ren calmed his heartbeat. "Go to bed tonight. Dad will teach you tomorrow."

Su Zhizhi nestled in the quilt and ruthlessly pointed out: "Dad, you haven't read the martial arts school books, you can't do it."

Hao Ren raised an eyebrow: "...if Dad says I can, I will."

Hao Ren glanced at Wu Yingniang and said, "Yingniang, you and Zhizhi should sleep tonight."

If no one was watching Zhizhi, she might come up with some weird ideas.

Wu Yingniang: "Then what are you going to do?"

Hao Ren picked up Su Zhizhi's book and walked back to the room.

He has to work late into the night.

Let my daughter know tomorrow that her father will not do it!

…

"Mother, don't you want to go spring hunting this year? It would be so nice to go out and relax."

In Yaohua Palace, Ning An was sitting in horse stance angrily.

Concubine Shu sat on a swing not far away, basking in the sun, and said lazily:

"My mother used to go there every year, but after going so many times, she felt it was just like that."

Even if she goes, she will just stay in the palace like a vase. Murong Yu doesn't allow his concubines to go hunting. What's the difference between going and not going?

She might as well take this opportunity to relax in the palace for a few days.

This year Murong Yu will definitely take Pei Shu to go spring hunting. If she says she is not feeling well and doesn't want to go, Murong Yu won't ask any more questions.

Shufei didn't want to go, but Ning An wanted to go.

The problem is that Ning An got into trouble two days ago.

Murong Zhen's temper became increasingly tough, and he often used his power to bully others; while Ning An had been stubborn since childhood and refused to give in easily.

She and Crown Prince Murong Zhen are now like water and fire.

Whenever the two meet, they quarrel.

The day before yesterday, the two of them had quarreled over a trivial matter in the pond beside the imperial garden. During the pushing and shoving, they both fell into the pond.

A group of eunuchs who were following nearby jumped in to rescue them and immediately pulled the soaked Murong Zhen and Ning An out.

Murong Zhen asked, "Why did the eldest princess push me?"

Ning An angrily said, "It was you who pulled me!"

Ning An has always been in good health. After falling into the water, he hurried back to the palace to take a bath, change clothes, and drink a bowl of ginger soup. He was full of energy again the next day.

However, after Murong Zhen returned to the Eastern Palace, he developed a fever.

The emperor and the empress dowager both knew about this and punished Ning An by confining him to Yaohua Palace.

He also asked, when Murong Zhen recovers from his illness, Ning An will be able to come out.

Ning An counted the days, but she didn't know when Murong Zhen would recover from her illness, and she didn't know if she could still catch up with the spring hunt.

Concubine Shu: "Madame You has already inquired about it. The prince's fever has subsided this morning and is not serious."

Ning An raised his eyebrows: "Then he——"

"But the prince has a headache and is still feeling unwell," Concubine Shu added.

Ning An's eyebrows drooped again in disappointment.

Concubine Shu: "You, I've told you so many times not to act rashly. This time you're really going to learn a lesson."

Ning An felt a little aggrieved: "But it was clearly him who pulled me. He was about to fall, but he was still holding me..."

Nanny You had already cleared out the servants in the courtyard.

Concubine Shu listened to Ning An's words, slowly waving a silk fan in her hand, and said thoughtfully:

"From now on, stay away from him."

Ganyang Palace.

Murong Yu was in a bad mood and was about to go to the East Palace to visit the sick prince.

He felt really distressed when he saw the prince lying in bed sick yesterday.

Ning An became even more reckless after learning martial arts, and even caused two people to fall into the water.

Ning An was his first daughter, so he naturally liked her, but his love for her was not greater than that for the Crown Prince.

Murong Zhen said he was not feeling well and might not be able to join the spring hunt.

If the prince can't go, then Ning An can forget about going either.

Murong Yu shook his head.

Ning An is growing up slowly and should understand the hierarchy between her and the prince.

"Your Majesty, Prince Gong is here to bring the Crown Prince." Eunuch Wang stepped forward.

Murong Yu said in a deep voice: "Come in."

Murong Zhen fell into the water and became ill. He was in a bad mood. He said he wanted to see his old playmates and asked Murong Ming to come to the palace to keep him company.

Prince Gong Murong Xun personally brought Murong Ming here.

"Royal brother."

"Uncle Emperor."

Murong Xun and his son stepped into the hall.

Murong Yu: "I also want to go see Zhen'er, let's go together."

On the way from Ganyang Palace to the East Palace, Murong Ming didn't look around like before, but looked a little listless.

He's been having a hard time at home lately.

Last time, Murong Ming was captured from Xiaoyaofang by people from the palace. When he returned to the palace, he saw that Murong Xun and He Yan looked very scared.

Murong Ming said that all this was He Wenhan's idea, and it was all He Wenhan's fault for dragging him into the gambling house.

Murong Xun ordered his men to beat his son ten times with a stick, which hurt so much that Murong Ming's tears and snot were all over his face.

Afterwards, He Yan did not let Murong Ming rest.

He Wenhan was ordered by He Tingfang to be whipped in the He Mansion and was not allowed to gamble.

But He Yan used completely opposite methods.

He Yan asked someone to bring a few dice and set up a simple gambling table directly in front of Murong Ming.

He Yan said, "Don't you want to gamble? Then gamble to your heart's content. Don't eat or sleep. Just gamble here."

Murong Ming, whose butt and thighs were still burning, was lifted up and started betting on the size of the ball.

The first two hours were fine, but by the third hour, Murong Ming was tired, sleepy and hungry.

But the people around him would not let him rest and forced him to continue gambling.

By the next morning, Murong Ming, who had been forced to gamble all night, was exhausted and almost fainted.

Murong Ming said he wanted to eat and sleep and didn't want to gamble anymore.

But He Yan came over to take a look, and although she felt a little distressed, she still ordered:

"Continue to gamble with him. You can give him food, but he is not allowed to sleep."

Murong Ming was forced to gamble for a whole day, and the sound of dice rolling and colliding was all in his head.

The dice seemed to roll across the table into his eyes and then into his stomach, stirring it upside down.

He felt so nauseous that he wanted to vomit.

Murong Ming broke down and cried, saying that he would never gamble again.

After hearing this, He Yan only had two words in mind: "Continue."

Murong Ming's tears fell on the gambling table.

Where the tears fall, there the chips are placed.

On the morning of the third day, Murong Ming was so tired that he fainted and was carried to the bed.

When he fainted, he even dreamed that he had turned into a clumsy dice, and was bruised and battered in a cage that looked like a dice cup.

When he woke up, the first thing he did was to throw the dice out of the room.

During the following days, Murong Ming was punished to write every day at home. He had to write the word "gamble" hundreds of times every day.

He felt annoyed whenever he saw this word.

Today, Murong Ming was able to go out because he heard that Crown Prince Zhen was unwell and wanted to come to the palace to visit.

"I haven't seen you for a while. Ming'er seems to have become more mature."

Murong Yu's gaze swept from his silent nephew to Murong Xun, and he said with a hint of meaning:

"Now that I think about it, Seventh Brother is so lucky to have found a Yue family and have such a wonderful pair of children. He must be hoping that his children will become successful."

Murong Xun thought Murong Yu was unhappy because Murong Ming went to the gambling house, and hurriedly said:

"Royal brother, Ming'er went to Xiaoyaofang out of ignorance. I have already punished Ming'er in the palace. I believe Ming'er will remember the lesson."

After Murong Xun finished speaking, he thought of the burning of Xiaoyaofang and added:

"Although I was angry, I didn't take my anger out on others. I didn't attack Xiaoyaofang and I didn't know what was going on at Xiaoyaofang."

After hearing Murong Xun's words, Murong Yu suddenly laughed.

Murong Xun didn't know if it was his illusion, but he felt that his brother's smile was a little cold.

Murong Yu smiled with a cold look in his eyes:

"I didn't mention Xiaoyaofang a single word, why are you so anxious to distance yourself from it? It's just a private gambling house, why is it worth your concern?"