Chapter 138 I Don’t Want to Act Anymore
"Father, are you looking for me?"
The servant helped open the door of the study, Su Cheng walked slowly into the room and spoke softly.
Zhao Hu was frantically running around. Finally, he waited for her to return. He immediately dismissed the servants in the room and called her forward. "Let me ask you, when you went to the palace for the banquet that day, did you see the Third Prince?"
"The Third Prince?" Su Cheng didn't remember this person at all and shook his head slowly, "I've never seen him."
"Never seen him?" Zhao Hu was stunned, and couldn't understand. "If he hadn't seen him, why would he come to your house in person and invite you to enjoy the lake?"
"I have definitely never met the Third Prince." Su Cheng was also puzzled and subconsciously denied it. Before she could think about it, the kitten that fell into the water appeared in her mind. "Could it be... because of that cat?"
"Cat?" Zhao Hu raised his eyes suddenly, then shuddered as he thought of something. "The Third Prince does have a cat, and he protects it like a treasure. Could it be that the cat you saved by diving into the water that day was the Third Prince's?"
Su Cheng pursed her lips and said nothing, as if she accepted what he said.
"How could such a coincidence happen?" Zhao Hu frowned, as if the Third Prince was some kind of man-eating monster. "He invited you out for an outing, perhaps just to repay your kindness."
"Is the Third Prince really that scary?" Su Cheng frowned and looked down at Zhao Hu, who was sitting at the table. "Does he make you so worried?"
"You don't understand. The Third Prince isn't scary. What's scary is that he actually invited you out of the palace at this critical moment, and to meet you alone." Zhao Hu shook his head and sighed, helplessly explaining, "After the palace banquet, I received news that Concubine Zhe had invited the families of several officials into the palace. The lowest rank was third grade."
"The last palace banquet was indeed a prelude to the Third Prince's selection of a concubine. The noble ladies of the imperial family who had private contact with Concubine Zhe were all eager to make a move, hoping to gain face in front of the noble man. However, the Third Prince ignored everyone and only came to our house to request a meeting with you."
Zhao Hu glanced at her meaningfully, "Isn't this just making you hate me?"
Su Cheng opened his eyes, his eyes were dark and his thoughts were hard to discern.
"I have no choice but to keep your appointment." Zhao Hu lowered his head and sighed softly, his tone calm, "Do you have any way to avoid this difficulty?"
Being targeted by someone in the palace is not a good sign.
Su Cheng pondered for a while, then said softly, "I understand. I'll see what happens."
Zhao Hu didn't suspect her and nodded slightly. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and asked in a deep voice, "I heard that your uncle is taking the provincial examination. This year's provincial examination has tens of thousands of people accepted in the Imperial Examination Hall in the capital alone, and the cabinet is in charge of the examination. It's really not easy. Today is the last day of the provincial examination. If he has nowhere to stay, you can bring him to your house."
"Thank you for your concern, Lord Zhao." Su Cheng smiled politely, "He has somewhere to go, there's no need to bother him."
"In that case, I won't bother with you youngsters anymore." Zhao Hu waved his hand, pinched his brow with his fingertips, and whispered, "Well, you should think carefully about how to avoid the Third Prince."
"What good solution is there now? I can only pretend to be sick." The smile on Su Cheng's lips faded, and his eyes darkened. "Let's just hide for a day."
Although she has never had contact with the Third Prince, Concubine Zhe is very scheming and one will fall into her trap if he is not careful. She should not be associated with anyone and should be avoided if possible.
"Faking illness?" Zhao Hu frowned and repeated her words in a low voice.
Early the next morning, the eldest daughter of the Zhao family fell ill. She was so ill that it was rumored that she couldn't even get out of bed.
"Your Highness, the Zhao family is simply shameless!" The servant sulked and shouted, "Your Highness just left, and his daughter fell ill. How could such a coincidence happen? Their acting is really poor!"
Yan Mu's lips curled up, and he gently tapped the white piece on the chessboard with his fingertips. His other hand was scratching the head of the tabby cat in his arms. "She's not even trying to act. She's showing her feelings so clearly, just to let me know how much she dislikes me."
"How dare you!" the servant was so angry that he almost bit his back teeth. "Your Highness is both talented and beautiful, why would you fall for an ugly and vulgar girl? I've heard that this young lady of the Zhao family is from the countryside, her background is unknown, and she is extremely ugly!"
"You know this is just hearsay." Yan Mu scratched the kitten's chin and said softly, "If you saw her true face, you probably wouldn't say that."
"But...but she's feigning illness and refusing to see you!" The servant was so anxious that he kept scratching his head, earnestly trying to persuade his master not to hang himself on a tree. "Your Highness is so handsome, what kind of woman can't he want?"
Yan Mu pursed his lips and smiled softly, his eyes flashing with interest. "It's recorded in the Three Kingdoms that Liu Bei visited Zhuge Liang three times to invite him out of seclusion."
The servant blinked slowly and muttered, "Your Highness...you wouldn't want to ask the Zhao family for help three times, would you? What have the Zhao family and that damn Miss Zhao done to deserve Your Highness to humble themselves so much?"
Yan Mu avoided answering, but just stretched out his finger to touch the kitten's head and smiled gently, "Yueyaer, do you miss her?"
-
Tinggu Lane
The door of the courtyard was opened from the outside. When the visitor looked up, he saw a woman standing in the corner with a kitchen knife in her hand and a defensive posture.
"What is this, Princess?" Su Cheng frowned and asked in confusion.
Seeing that it was her, Rong Qing immediately breathed a sigh of relief, threw the kitchen knife in his hand on the table, and sat down with lingering fear, "So it's you."
"Princess, don't worry, no one else can find it." Su Cheng put the food box on the table with a gentle tone.
Rong Qing looked up at her, confusion flashing in his eyes, "Why are you dressed like this?"
Su Cheng was wearing a brand new set of men's clothes, which seemed to be a servant's clothes. Her long hair was tied up high, and she looked neat and capable. If you didn't look closely at her Adam's apple, you would probably think she was a man with a feminine appearance.
"I've been having some trouble lately, so I have to be careful when I leave the house." Su Cheng curled her lips and smiled softly, her eyes soft. "The princess said yesterday that she had something to tell me and asked me to come here today. But what is it?"
Hearing this, Rong Qing shifted his attention from her clothes, thought for a moment, and lowered his voice, "There's a Baihuafang on East Market Street. It's an elegant place for drinking tea, tasting wine, and enjoying music. The owner behind it is Zhang Yuemei, the daughter of the current Prime Minister Zhang Pu. She's also an acquaintance of mine."
After she finished speaking, she pulled out a letter from her sleeve and handed it to Su Cheng. "Go there and secretly find out where Zhang Yuemei is. She's not under her family's control and spends most of her time hiding out in Baihuafang. You must hand this letter to her in a place where no one is around."
"I don't have anyone else to use right now. Otherwise, I wouldn't let a weak woman like you take such a risk."
Su Cheng shook his head, his expression calm. "Since I said I would help the princess, I should be responsible to her to the end. I will go to Baihuafang."
-
Baihuafang
Bright lights were hung high, the sound of pianos was melodious, the building was filled with the fragrance of cosmetics, mixed with the aroma of tea, and the sound of laughter and conversation continued.
There are mostly talented men and beautiful women here, and occasionally you can also run into a few low-ranking officials.
Baihuafang not only has the best tea and wine, but also has hundreds of actors and musicians, all of whom are top-notch in appearance.
"Brother Suzhou, I, Wang Zhen, am hosting you today, so you must drink to your heart's content!"
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