Chapter 125 Siege
Xu Rong could roughly guess what she was thinking. She had kidnapped someone, and Prince Qing did not blame her in his words, but rather seemed to protect her. Princess Shu'an straightened her back and her mood improved as a result.
This is a good thing. As for the actual context and other irrelevant issues, there's no need to dwell on them.
"I heard that that little slut is getting old and still hasn't found a husband?" Princess Shu'an, having learned from her previous experience, seized the opportunity to ask questions, "The eldest daughter of Marquis Xiao, her status isn't low, is it? What, is she very ugly?"
Xu Rong answered truthfully: "The eldest daughter resembles her mother and is quite beautiful."
Princess Shu'an gave a heavy, cold snort.
Xu Rong realized that compared to Xiao Shan, Aunt Ruan was more hated by her. As for Xiao Shan, it was a mixture of disgust and curiosity, but not such a deep emotion.
"Why is that? Are you setting your sights too high?"
Princess Shu'an curled her lips slightly. Her casual remark had guessed half of the truth. Xu Rong filled in the other half for her: "Madam Xiao deeply hates Aunt Ruan, and therefore makes things difficult for the eldest daughter."
Although Princess Shu'an was of high status, she was also experienced in the inner quarters of the household, and immediately understood: "That's only natural. What mistress wouldn't despise such a lowly person?"
Xu Rong remained silent for a moment, then left out the topic of Xiao Shan's engagement to the top scholar. If Princess Shu'an were to suddenly decide to sabotage the engagement, Xiao Shan's life would truly be ruined. Why let the entanglements of the previous generation continue into the next?
“That woman surnamed Ruan,” Princess Shu’an paused before saying, “I heard she later had another son? Shameless slut, she’s really lucky!”
Xu Rong nodded. She was now at a loss for words regarding Aunt Ruan. It wasn't that she sympathized with Aunt Ruan; she wasn't as kind and forgiving as Madam Wei. However, in that past affair involving three men, Aunt Ruan was only about ten years old. Were all those things truly from her own heart back then?
As Mr. Wei said, there must have been reasons why he had no choice in the matter.
Princess Shu'an took a sip of tea, clearly trying to calm her anger. Xu Rong advised her, "These are all old stories from many years ago. If the princess is free, she can just listen to the old tales. Why get upset over this? It's not worth ruining your health."
The old nanny beside her quickly chimed in, "Princess, that's absolutely right. Putting aside everything else, the household affairs still await your management. If you fall ill again, who will take over? The situation outside is already like that; the household must not be thrown into chaos."
Xu Rong's gaze sharpened—again?
Someone in the Prince's mansion is already sick? That's right, Princess Shu'an is a married woman, she will return to the mansion to manage the household affairs, so the only person who can be sick is Princess Qing.
Princess Qing fell ill at this critical juncture—
"Mother Consort fell ill because of that vile woman!" Princess Shu'an sneered. "Father is a liar too, always saying he has nothing more to do with that vile woman. If Chang Rong hadn't let it slip—"
The old woman cried out urgently, "Princess!"
But that was enough for Xu Rong to glean the key words: Chang Rongshi was Chang Shuyin's second brother, Chang Erye, who had previously been entrusted by Chang Shuyin to inquire about Xiao Shan's background.
This clue is now connected in this way. It seems that Chang Rongshi did not expect that Princess Qing would be unaware of this matter, and made a mistake in his actions, which led to some changes within the Prince Qing's mansion.
Without this unexpected turn of events, she wouldn't have been able to connect with Princess Shu'an so easily. It seems that every action has its own destiny.
Xu Rong blinked, and Princess Shu'an noticed, saying irritably, "What are you trying to say?"
"I have just a little regret," Xu Rong said slowly, "Madam Xiao only learned about the eldest daughter's background last year."
Princess Shu'an was taken aback for a moment: "Huh?" Then she realized what she was saying and gave a dry laugh.
The irony of the situation silenced everyone, both inside and outside.
Taking advantage of this lull, Xu Rong pondered how to steer the conversation toward Prefect Zheng. Before he could come up with a plan, he suddenly heard a commotion outside the wall.
Princess Shu'an frowned: "Who's making such a fuss?"
The old woman curtsied and said, "This old servant will go out and take a look."
Princess Shu'an's private residence is far from Prince Qing's mansion, in a quiet and elegant location. Xu Rong noticed this before entering and saw that the location was an attempt to keep a low profile. However, no matter how low-key a princess's private residence is, a few traces of wealth can't be prevented from escaping from the corners and walls.
In a place like Pingliang, where many people still live in cave dwellings, it's impossible not to exude an air of wealth.
As the old woman left, the noise outside the wall subsided for a moment, but it soon returned, reaching a point where it could be clearly heard in the hall.
Xu Rong had a bad feeling. At this time, even a small spark in the city could start a fire, so this commotion was definitely not a good thing.
She stood up: "Princess, how many guards did you bring? How many guards are left here? Does the residence have a back door for entry and exit? Or do you have any skilled guards who can climb over the wall to report the news without alerting outsiders?"
She bombarded Princess Shu'an with a series of questions: "Not much—I rarely come here. Even my father doesn't know about this place. I don't remember if there's a back door. Why are you asking these questions?"
She was terrified that Prince Qing would find out that she had found Xu Rong again, so she deliberately chose this rarely used private residence. Since it was rarely used, she naturally wouldn't leave many people behind. There were only a few servants to watch the door and clean. The guards and attendants were all brought by her, and to avoid being noticed, she had reduced the number by half, to just over ten people, with only six being proper guards.
Xu Rong did not answer, because she had already seen the old woman rushing back in a panic, her steps unsteady.
Princess Shu'an noticed something was wrong and stood up as well: "What happened?"
"Princess, you must leave quickly! You can't stay here any longer!" the old woman said breathlessly. "A group of refugees have surrounded this house!"
The maids standing in the room all changed color, and some couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
"How did they get here?" Princess Shu'an asked sharply after a moment of surprise. "What do they want?"
“This place is remote, and the owner looks quite well-off,” Xu Rong added, “They probably want to rob us.”
The old woman nodded anxiously in agreement: "Guard Zhou and his men are arguing with them up ahead. Judging from his tone, that's what they mean."
Princess Shu'an was both shocked and furious: "How dare you! Didn't you make our identities clear?"
“Guard Zhou told them, but those people are crazy and refuse to believe it. They think, they think this is some master’s mistress who is keeping his wife from his wife.” The old woman replied, her voice slightly stammering.
"Princess, let's hurry and leave while Guard Zhou can still hold them off," she urged again.
Princess Shu'an was furious, but she knew it wasn't the time to lose her temper, so she quickly gathered her limited manpower to discuss countermeasures.
The good news is that if you go around the main hall, through a small garden, there is a back door on the west corner.
The bad news was that, because they were blocked by Zhou and his men, some of the disaster victims had already circled around the wall to the outside of the small garden, and they ran right into them.
Hearing the rough noises outside the wall, Princess Shu'an finally showed a hint of panic: "What should we do now? Quickly call Guard Zhou and the others here."
The old woman hesitated and did not agree, because if she did, the front yard would fall again.
Ultimately, the problem is that there are too few people.
“Princess, Princess—” a maidservant called out tremblingly as she looked behind Princess Shu’an.
"What is it now?!"
Princess Shu'an snapped impatiently, instinctively turning her head to follow her gaze, then a scream caught in her throat: "—!"
A disheveled human head was rising from the other side of the wall. The man clinging to the top of the wall saw the women in the garden, his eyes gleaming strangely, and he almost drooled.
Then, Xu Rong pulled out a wooden stick used for support next to a small tree, carried it over, and mercilessly struck the man squarely on the forehead. The man fell off the wall, and two screams came from outside the wall—the other one should have been from the person he had stepped on as a stepping stone.
"What are you all standing there for?" Xu Rong glanced at the maids. "Go find sticks, or break off tree branches if you can't find any. Then spread out and each of you take charge of a section of the wall. If you see anyone, beat them to death. If one hit isn't enough, hit them twice!"
Her commands were clear and menacing. The maids, without realizing it, listened to this outsider and, in a very short time, actually took the various "weapons" they had found and arranged them tremblingly under the wall.
Princess Shu'an couldn't help but grab Xu Rong's arm, as if grasping at a lifeline: "Will this work?"
Xu Rong shook his head: "It's just a stopgap measure."
It's impossible to really hold back the disaster victims with just a few maids. They are the most suffering people, but they could also turn into the most evil and crazy people at any time.
Princess Shu'an asked anxiously, "Then what should we do?!"
“We can’t get out, but the guards can,” Xu Rong replied quickly. “Does the princess remember what I said before? Find someone agile to break out—”
"Go find my father!" Princess Shu'an finally came to her senses and was about to give the order when Xu Rong hesitated and shook his head at her: "No, go to the government office."
"Why?"
"Because the government office is closer."
They came from the inn, which was in the same neighborhood as the government office, while the Prince Qing's mansion was in the opposite direction, a half-hour walk away.
This was an irrefutable reason. Princess Shu'an didn't think much about it, nor did she have time to think much about it. She stamped her foot and said, "What are you all standing there for? Do as she says!"
The old woman nodded and hurried away. Xu Rong pulled Princess Shu'an to hide in the corner of the back corridor. Here, with the houses behind them, the view was open, and they could keep an eye on the situation in both the front and back courtyards. She never put down the stick she had used to hit people.
“Your hands are trembling; you were afraid too,” Princess Shu’an suddenly said.
Xu Rong smiled and said, "Of course."
She had never experienced being besieged by rioters.
The old woman who had gone to the front yard to deliver the message returned, wiping her sweat as she said, "Princess, Guard Zhou has already broken out following your orders."
Princess Shu'an breathed a slight sigh of relief: "Mm."
Xu Rong did some mental calculations: "It takes about half an hour to get to the government office from here by fast horse. We need to hold on a little longer."
Princess Shu'an became agitated again: "These rioters have truly gone too far! Once we return to the manor, I will make sure my father wipes them out!"
Xu Rong did not refute her, but said, "While rebels can certainly be killed, if there are seedlings in the fields and grain in the homes, how many people would be willing to rebel?"
Princess Shu'an was taken aback for a moment, but she understood and immediately identified the culprit: "That bastard Zheng Yuansheng, he kept his head down and made me suffer for him. I'll chop him up when we get back!"
"The princess doesn't know where he's hiding, so there's nothing she can do about it."
"How could I not know? He's right here—"
Princess Shu'an's pupils contracted as she realized her slip of the tongue. Xu Rong stared at her and sighed regretfully, "Does Your Highness intend to cover for such a sinner?"
This was a crisis, but within the crisis lay opportunities, so she had a flash of inspiration and changed the location for seeking help from the Prince Qing's mansion to the government office.
"Who would defend him for anything!" Princess Shu'an immediately denied. "Why do you keep bringing him up? Didn't I tell you before, he has no food, just a worthless life, finding him is useless—"
"Princess!"
Suddenly, a guard rushed over from the front yard, shouting, "The crowd in front is growing larger and larger, and we can't hold them off any longer! I've come to ask the Princess for instructions!"
Princess Shu'an was instantly filled with panic and anger, and said, "A bunch of good-for-nothings! You come to me with your duties? If there's anything you can't handle, tell those rioters that we've already sent people out to inform them that the government officials will be here soon. If they don't disperse, we'll throw them all in jail!"
The guard, drenched in sweat, reported, "Princess, I told you, but there's this kid claiming his third or fourth uncle's sister-in-law works as a maid in the kitchen of the government office. He says the prefect has already fled, and now everyone in the office is in a panic, with no one in charge. The imperial envoy is new here and doesn't have time to deal with such matters. They just barged in, grabbed what they wanted, and ran. Nobody can catch them—"
Princess Shu'an's face turned pale, and Xu Rong's heart sank slightly: the news of Prefect Zheng's disappearance had already been leaked. This was actually quite reasonable. If a living person was gone, the excuse of "being sick" could fool outsiders, but how could the people inside the prefectural government not know?
The guard gritted his teeth and tried to come up with an idea: "Otherwise, we will risk our lives to escort the princess out."
Princess Shu'an was somewhat tempted, but when she followed the guards back to the front courtyard, she only peeked out through the crack in the door and her legs went weak: "How can I get out of here? You want to kill me!"
The guards all wore grim expressions. The reinforcements had not yet arrived, but more and more refugees were wandering over after hearing the commotion. They brutally beat several people who tried to climb over the wall, crippling them. However, as more and more people gathered outside the house and their momentum grew stronger, the deterrent effect of their actions became shorter and shorter.
Within Pingliang Prefecture, Prince Qing was the most respected figure, and no one expected to suffer such a loss right at their own doorstep.
Xu Rong spoke up: "We can't wait any longer. The people outside are still scattered and acting on their own. But once someone raises their voice and they all rush in, none of us will escape. The disaster of our downfall is imminent."
Princess Shu'an couldn't even utter any harsh words anymore, and chased after her, asking, "You can't run away, and you can't wait any longer, so what else can you do?!"
Xu Rong squeezed the dampness in his palm, controlling his voice to remain steady: "Negotiation."
Princess Shu'an's eyes widened, but before she could voice her objections, Xu Rong continued, "Princess, Prefect Zheng is our only chance of survival. Are you still unwilling to reveal his whereabouts?"
Princess Shu'an: "..."
She understood what Xu Rong meant. She didn't want to answer and doubts arose in her heart. However, the door, which was already shaking from being pushed and shoved, told her that she had no other choice.
She gritted her teeth and spat out an address.
The guard was initially surprised: "Isn't that General Chang's house—"
Princess Shu'an glared at him: "Mind your own business!"
Xu Rong, unfazed by her expression, surprisingly confirmed: "Is Chang Rong General Chang?"
Princess Shu'an ignored her, but Xu Rong knew that this meant she had tacitly agreed.
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