The Second Prince and Xiao Licheng hid behind a big tree and watched from afar.
The Zhang brothers and sisters chatted with the man in gray for a while, and then the man in gray took out an exquisite gold-painted box from his arms and handed it to Zhang Dashan.
"Who do you think that man looks like?" Xiao Licheng asked.
The second prince shook his head in silence.
They were too far away to see the gray-clad figure clearly.
"We must find out who the man in gray is. He may very well be a minister in the court." Xiao Licheng murmured.
At this time, the Zhang brothers and sisters and the man in gray all walked back.
The Zhang siblings quickly disappeared into the dense forest, and the man in gray was getting farther and farther away. Seeing that they were about to lose their chance, the uncle and nephew were so anxious that their palms were sweating.
"Got it!" The second prince slapped his head.
He took the basket that had just been filled with incense and candles, poured the contents onto the ground, and then picked up a few weeds from the ground and put them into the basket.
He slung the bamboo basket over his arm and walked towards the pond.
When he was about to reach the edge of the pond, the second prince deliberately slipped and fell to the ground.
"Ouch!" he cried out exaggeratedly.
The wailing sound successfully attracted the attention of the man in gray.
The man in gray turned his head and looked at him quickly, then immediately ran towards him.
"Tell me! Who are you?" The man in gray took out a dagger and pointed it at the second prince, asking sternly.
The second prince looked up and trembled with shock.
That person was my third uncle’s boss, Wang Deguang, the Minister of Dali Temple.
"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!" The second prince said in a pinched voice, his face full of fear.
"The back mountain is the forbidden area of Yue Lao Temple. Tell me! Why did you come here?" Wang Deguang continued to interrogate.
The second prince squeezed out two tears and said, "My father is very ill, and we have no money to buy medicine. I heard that there are herbs in the back mountain of Yue Lao Temple, so I ran here secretly to try my luck!"
As the second prince spoke, he raised the bamboo basket for Wang Deguang to see.
"Forget it!" Wang Deguang glanced at the bamboo basket and said impatiently.
He pulled out a piece of silver from his sleeve pocket, threw it at the Second Prince's feet, and said coldly, "Little girl, use this to buy medicine. Get out of here now, and don't come to the back mountain again. Otherwise, I won't treat you well."
The second prince picked up the silver, cried and limped away.
In the elegant seats on the second floor of the teahouse, the prince and Rong Chuyue sat opposite each other.
"Brother Xia is really agile." Rong Chuyue glanced at the prince, with stars twinkling in her eyes.
"To be honest, I was completely stunned that day. Suddenly, a man in white flew down from above, which scared me."
The corners of the prince's mouth curled up wildly, and he couldn't suppress it.
"Miss Rong, you're too kind. It's just some ordinary boxing and kicking skills."
"However, next time there is a crowded occasion like this, Miss Rong should not go out with only a maid. It is too dangerous."
Rong Chuyue lowered her eyes and nodded slightly: "Brother Xia is right."
"Actually, I have no choice. My family is very strict and won't let me go out casually. Last time, when I executed the corrupt officials, I begged my parents several times, but they wouldn't let me. I really wanted to go, so..."
"You men are still the best." Rong Chuyue murmured.
Sympathy flashed in the prince's eyes: "This world is indeed unfair to women. There are too many restrictions."
"I overheard your nanny asking you to return home today. Could it be that your family won't even let you go out on Qixi Festival?"
"Of course." Rong Chuyue curled her lips.
"By the way, we've been chatting for so long, but I haven't introduced myself to Brother Xia yet."
"My name is Rong Chuyue, and I'm the granddaughter of Lord Rong, the Minister of the Imperial Household. My grandfather is quite conservative, so this is the tradition of my family."
After Rong Chuyue introduced her family background, she looked up at the prince, indicating that it was his turn to introduce himself.
"Actually, I..." The prince just opened his mouth and before he could finish his sentence, a charming female voice suddenly came.
"Oh, who was it I thought? It turns out to be Concubine Rong's niece, the eldest daughter of the Rong family!"
The prince and Rong Chuyue turned around and saw that it was Feng Panpan.
Feng Panpan walked up to the two of them and said in a sarcastic tone, "It is said that the Rong family in the capital has the strictest family traditions, and the women in the Rong family are all chaste and loyal."
Feng Panpan glanced at Rong Chuyue exaggeratedly: "I didn't expect that the eldest daughter of the Rong family would actually be with Tai..."
Feng Panpan was just about to say "having a secret meeting with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince", but before she could finish the second half of the sentence, the Crown Prince picked up the teacup and poured the tea out, soaking Feng Panpan's skirt.
"Ah! My skirt!" Feng Panpan didn't bother to ridicule Rong Chuyue, and fiddled with her skirt in a panic.
The prince originally wanted to tell Rong Chuyue his identity quietly, but Feng Panpan's voice was so loud just now that the prince was very reluctant to reveal his identity in public.
The prince didn't want all the tea drinkers around him to know.
"I'm sorry, Miss Feng." The prince said in a deep voice.
"We in Daxia have an open-minded society, and the separation between men and women isn't that strict, is it? We're just drinking tea and chatting, so what's wrong with that?"
"Please be careful with your words and don't destroy others' reputation out of thin air!"
Feng Panpan was so angry that her face turned pale and she bit her lips to try her luck.
"Big brother, why are you here? It's so hard for us to find you. Your sister is still waiting for you."
A clear young voice came.
It turned out that the third prince came looking for him.
The prince had to say goodbye to Rong Chuyue in a hurry.
The prince took his younger brothers and sisters and Wei Mingyuan to find a restaurant for dinner.
After dinner, we strolled around the street and bought a lot of interesting gadgets. Everyone was very happy.
Especially Xia Miaoyuan, who was so excited that he didn't even take a nap.
Everyone did not return to the palace until dinner time.
That night, in the Xiao Mansion, the Second Prince and Xiao Licheng changed into night clothes and lay on the roof, staring at the Zhang brothers and sisters.
The second prince really wanted to sneak into Zhang Dashan's house and check what was in the box.
But his third uncle was afraid that he would be discovered by Zhang Dashan, so he kept stopping him.
The two waited until late at night when Zhang Dashan suddenly came out of the house.
He looked around suspiciously, then came to Xiao Licheng's study.
"Damn it, what are you doing in my study?" Xiao Licheng said indignantly.
"Could it be that after drugging Ru'er, he wants to drug me again?"
The two men carefully lifted a tile and looked into the study.
Zhang Dashan picked the most inconspicuous drawer on the bookcase and put the box in it.
After doing all this, Zhang Dashan went back.
The second prince and Xiao Licheng rushed to the study, opened the drawer and took out the box.
Xiao Licheng couldn't wait to open the box, only to see a jade pendant with strange patterns lying inside.
"What is this? The pattern is so strange." The second prince picked up the jade pendant and examined it again and again.
Xiao Licheng's whole body stiffened and his lips trembled.
"What's the matter, uncle? Tell me, what does this jade pendant mean?"
"This... this is a token of the Dahua people." Xiao Licheng said with difficulty.
The Second Prince glanced at his uncle and muttered, "What's wrong with the token? What's the point of Wang Deguang having someone place this?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
