Chapter 15
After school, Zhang Xihua, Chen Ang and others went to Mantingfang first. Zhu Mingji personally went to Prince Jing's Mansion to invite Zhu Mingqing to drink and have fun.
The two female assassins were taken by Deqing to a private room next to the one where Zhang Xihua and others were.
Before Zhang Xihua entered the private room, he happened to see the two female assassins following Deqing.
These two female assassins can convey affection in their eyes and eyebrows. They are tall and plump, and one look at them can make your bones melt. They are truly beauties in the world.
Chen Ang and others were also attracted by the two stunning beauties behind Deqing.
After entering the private room, Jiang Yang asked three girls he was familiar with to accompany him, and also asked a prostitute to play the pipa.
Xu Pingzhi and Chen Ang were discussing the beauty they had just seen.
Chen Ang: "It's really unfortunate today. We're here for a drink, and the prince is here too. Just now, when Jiang Yang was looking for the mother here to order a girl, I asked her a question. The prince, like Xihua, is a first-time guest here today."
Xu Pingzhi: "Every time we come here, we listen to music and chat with the girls. I wonder if the prince is here for some vegetarian or erotic fun?"
Zhang Xihua didn't understand Mantingfang's rules and asked, "What's vegetarian? What's meaty?"
Jiang Yang replied, "Those who enjoy vegetarian food simply drink and listen to music. Those who enjoy meat-eating food also stay here overnight."
Zhang Xihua understood, "Then I'll only play vegetarian dishes today."
Chen Ang and others smiled.
"What are you laughing at?" Zhang Xihua asked.
Xu Pingzhi: "If you want to do something naughty here, we're going to knock you out and send you home. You're not married yet, and if you get laid here and some girl gets you, you'll be in a lot of trouble."
Zhang Xihua: "It takes two to tango. Only customers force themselves on girls, could it be possible that a girl force herself on you?"
Jiang Yang, who was sitting to Zhang Xihua's right, put his arm around Zhang Xihua's shoulders and said, "Xihua, you're still young and inexperienced. They say that even heroes can't resist the temptation of beautiful women. The girls here use their beauty tricks. If you can't resist, you'll be lured into their trap. This place is not only a tomb for heroes, but also a den of vengeance. How many young men from aristocratic families like you and me have been dazzled by the flowers here, squandering our wealth like water."
Xu Pingzhi suddenly remembered, "This Mantingfang was originally called Mingcuifang. Xihua, your second uncle used to be a frequent visitor here."
If Xu Pingzhi hadn't said it, Zhang Xihua would have almost forgotten about his second uncle Zhang Jianren.
Over the years, Old Lady Zhang always sent a servant to Tianshui Lane to persuade Zhang Jianren to return home. Nine times out of ten, Zhang Jianren would not be seen. If he did, he would simply send the servant back to ask Old Lady Zhang for money. Zhang Jianren and his concubine Jiaohong had a pair of twins, a boy and a girl. The twins were not named according to the Zhang family's generation name. The older boy was named Xingchun and the younger girl was named Taochun. Old Lady Zhang cared about the twins and secretly sent hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to Tianshui Lane over the years.
The sound of boots outside the door and the voices of Zhu Mingji and Zhu Mingqing brought Zhang Xihua back to his senses.
While Zhang Xihua was listening to the pipa music played by the courtesan as usual, he was also paying attention to the movements in the private room next door.
The girl sitting next to Zhang Xihua tried her best to get him to drink glass after glass of wine, but Zhang Xihua only drank tea and hardly touched the delicacies on the table. However, he was generous with the tips, which made the girl even more attracted to such a handsome man like Zhang Xihua.
About an hour later, sounds of fighting were heard from the private room next door, and soon Zhu Mingqing's screams were heard.
Zhang Xihua, Chen Ang and others opened the door and stuck their heads out to see what was happening in the private room next door.
The servants from Prince Jing's mansion were seen carrying out Zhu Mingqing, whose robe was completely stained with blood. Zhu Mingqing's face was as pale as paper, and he was still howling from time to time, but he was not very conscious.
Zhu Mingji then came out, covering the bleeding wound on his left arm. He said to Chen Ang and the others who were watching the excitement, "The prefect of Taiping Prefecture will be here soon. If you don't want to be questioned by the yamen runners, come with me."
Chen Ang and others wanted to know what had happened, but they didn't dare to ask Zhu Mingji directly. They turned their heads to Zhang Xihua and signaled Zhang Xihua with their eyes to ask.
Zhang Xihua: "We are all confused. I don't know how the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness Prince Jing got injured?"
Zhu Mingji: "There are two female assassins hiding in Mantingfang who want to kill my cousin. I don't know if he is lucky enough to have survived, but his masculinity was completely destroyed by a female assassin. I wanted to chase the two female assassins who escaped through the window, but I was injured as well."
Even though Zhu Mingji's words were euphemistic, Chen Ang and others who had seen the injured parts of Zhu Mingqing guessed that Zhu Mingqing was no different from a eunuch.
"Oh, right." Zhu Mingji pulled a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Zhang Xihua. "Just now, my cousin was persuaded to drink by those two female assassins, and they coaxed him into a good mood. He wrote a letter of divorce to your third sister and asked me to deliver it to your house. I happened to meet you here. Please take the letter back to your third sister. I was frightened tonight and need to go home to recuperate."
Zhang Xihua didn't expect things to go so smoothly, and looked at Zhu Mingji with gratitude.
Before the arrival of the Taiping Prefecture prefect, Zhang Xihua, Zhu Mingji, Chen Ang and others all left Mantingfang.
*
Zhang Mansion, Chonghua Courtyard, Main House.
When Mrs. Jiang and Zhang Shining saw the divorce agreement written, signed, and stamped by Zhu Mingqing, they cried with joy.
Zhang Xihua also talked about the assassination of Zhu Mingqing in Mantingfang.
Upon learning of Zhu Mingqing's injuries, Zhang Shining said with great relief, "He deserves it!"
Madam Jiang said, "Now the child in Baoyin's belly has become Prince Jing's only flesh and blood. Your aunt will be even more proud that Baoyin can become Prince Jing's consort. However, Baoyin will suffer in the future if she has a son-in-law like Prince Jing."
Mother Xue said, "Miss Baoyin committed such a foolish act that day, but she didn't care about you, her aunt, and Shi Jie'er, her cousin, at all. Grandma, please don't be so kind as to pity such an ungrateful person."
Mrs. Jiang stopped talking.
Zhang Shining asked Zhang Xihua to go with her to Prince Jing's Mansion to move the dowry back home.
Madam Jiang said, "Child, the Prince Jing's Mansion is in chaos right now. It's inappropriate for you to move the dowry."
Zhang Shining chose to go at this time.
Zhang Xihua naturally knew that Zhang Shining wanted to go to Prince Jing's mansion to watch the fun and make fun of Zhu Mingqing.
Zhang Xihua also had this idea. The more chaotic Prince Jing's mansion was, the more lively it would be.
*
After arriving at Prince Jing's Mansion, Zhang Shining ordered the maids and servants to go to the storeroom next to his bedroom to count the boxes according to the dowry list, and then went to Zhu Mingqing's bedroom to pretend to visit him.
Zhu Mingqing was conscious at this time, his wound had been bandaged and applied with medicine. He was lying in bed, feeling sad that he would no longer be able to live a romantic life in the future. When he saw Zhang Shining standing beside his bed, his tone became deliberately flattering.
"The princess has returned home. I have something to discuss with her. I would like to petition His Majesty to take the Xu family lady as a concubine. When Xu arrives at the palace, I would like to trouble you to take good care of her and ensure she gives birth safely."
"This pregnancy of Xu is indeed very important. The prince has become a rootless person. If Xu cannot give birth to a child safely, then the prince will have no descendants, right?" Zhang Shining said with a smile.
Seeing Zhang Shining's gloating look, Zhu Mingqing grabbed the teacup on the small bedside table and smashed it on Zhang Shining's head, but Zhang Shining dodged it.
"You still dare to hide? Come, drag the princess away and lock her up in her bedroom. Don't give her any tea or food for three days."
He thought that this would intimidate Zhang Shining and make him surrender and beg for mercy.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Shining threw a piece of paper at his face.
Zhang Shining said, "This is the divorce letter written by the prince himself. I am no longer the Princess of Jing. The prince can make whomever he wants his princess consort."
Zhu Mingqing took the piece of paper and looked at it. It was indeed a divorce letter. He had some impression of it again. In a rage, he tore the divorce letter to pieces.
"It doesn't count! I won't divorce you, bitch! I'll torture you enough, then I'll divorce you!"
"Tear it up, tear it up." Zhang Shining still raised the corner of her lips. "The divorce letter written by the prince himself has long been sent to the palace to the imperial concubine. As for the scandalous things the prince has done, His Majesty and the imperial concubine will know about it. I, a lowly woman, can only wait and see how the prince will have the face to see the emperor."
Zhu Mingqing wanted to stand up and punish Zhang Shining, but the slightest movement would pull the wound, causing him to sweat profusely in pain.
Zhang Shining left the bedroom with a mocking smile. After the maids and servants loaded her dowry into the car, she went home with Zhang Xihua.
*
Two major events occurred at the end of the first month of the sixteenth year of Hongde.
One thing was that Emperor Hongde was seriously ill and had to stay in bed to recuperate.
Another incident was when Prince Xiang went to the palace to visit Emperor Hongde, he tasted the medicine for Emperor Hongde himself, but was poisoned and died.
Emperor Hongde saw his uncle die in front of him. From then on, he could not sleep well at night and dared not take medicine, and his illness became more serious.
In fact, the bowl of poisonous medicine should have been tasted by Queen Shen, who was pregnant and still taking care of her sick mother. Prince Xiang was just a scapegoat for Queen Shen.
After investigating the case over and over again, in the end only a palace maid who was decocting medicine surfaced.
Moreover, the palace maid believed that she had poisoned the bowl of medicine because she had been punished by Queen Shen, so she harbored resentment towards her.
The case was hastily closed with the palace maid biting her tongue to commit suicide, because the intricate connections behind the case could not be found out.
Empress Dowager Zhang even punished Empress Shen, who was about to give birth in a month, by forcing her to kneel in the courtyard of the Cining Palace and reflect on herself.
As a result of this ordeal, Queen Shen gave birth prematurely, and the prince died within half a day due to his weak body.
When Emperor Hongde learned that his only prince, whom he had been waiting for so long, had died young, he coughed up blood and fell into a coma that night.
Zhu Mingqing was afraid that the emperor's death would affect the marriage, and both the appointment of a princess and the concubine had a complicated process, so he simply took Xu Baoyin to the palace in a sedan chair to rest and have her live in the palace as a concubine.
*
On February 19, the 16th year of Hongde, Zhang Xihua went to Prince Xiang's mansion to attend Prince Xiang's funeral.
After entering the mourning hall, Zhang Xihua saw Zhu Mingji kneeling beside the coffin with blue stubble on his chin. Zhu Mingji looked haggard.
In fact, before Prince Xiang set out from Taiping Prefecture for the capital, Zhang Xihua had mentioned to Prince Xiang that he was worried that Prince Xiang would suffer from acclimatization after arriving in the capital and asked him to be careful about the food, soup and medicine taken in the palace, but this disaster could not be avoided.
Zhang Xihua felt very uncomfortable. She knew that these people would inevitably die, but she was powerless to change history.
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