Although the Seventh Prince's mother was of humble birth, Consort Shao was shrewd and meticulously educated him, making him a very good person at winning people's hearts. At this grand court assembly, in front of Emperor Liang Cheng, the supporters of the Sixth Prince and the Seventh Prince argued fiercely over who should be the crown prince. Emperor Liang Cheng was already annoyed by the matter of the General of the Southwest, and for a moment he lost his temper. After a dizzy spell, he almost fell to the ground. It was only because Chen Wufu saw that the argument in the court was too intense and had been paying close attention to Emperor Liang Cheng's expression that he stepped forward in time to support him.
Emperor Liang Cheng was believed to be in poor health, so the supporters of the sixth and seventh princes began to aggressively garner more supporters.
Therefore, many families were harassed in various ways by the supporters of these two princes.
Zheng Yuanyuan had been feeling like someone was following her for the past few days. Before leaving, Xu Zhi left Honglian and Qinglian behind for her and also hired several guards. Xu Zhi was afraid that someone might target her because of Zheng Boyuan's identity. As a young woman, it would be bad for her reputation to encounter such a thing.
Qinglian was the first to notice. Several people had been appearing near the Zheng residence for several days in a row. When Zheng Yuanyuan went out, someone would follow her carriage. After Qinglian told Zheng Yuanyuan about it, Zheng Yuanyuan didn't pay attention at first. But after Qinglian told her that she could always see those people, Zheng Yuanyuan started to take it seriously. She remembered what her sister-in-law had told her before she left: don't go out if you can avoid it. Even the moon gate between the residence of the Marquis of Pingxi was heavily guarded day and night.
On this day, it was time for Zheng Yuanyuan to go to Shen Mingwan's estate. Zheng Yuanyuan originally didn't want to go, but then she thought that this was a good opportunity to talk to Shen Mingwan about something. It was almost the twelfth lunar month, and the situation in the capital was not good. Shen Mingwan's estate was close to the military camp on the outskirts of the capital. Because Shen Mingwan lived on the estate, Lord Feng had a good relationship with the person in charge of the military camp, so it was actually quite safe for her to live on the estate. Zheng Yuanyuan also thought that the weather had been good these past few days, and many people in the capital were taking advantage of the good weather to go to the Dafosi Temple in the suburbs to burn incense. The road was relatively safe, so she didn't pay any attention to anything else and still took a carriage to the outskirts of the capital.
The journey there went smoothly. After discussing matters with Shen Mingwan and having lunch, Zheng Yuanyuan quickly took a carriage to the capital while the weather was still warm.
Halfway there, for some unknown reason, the horse was startled, and the coachman was thrown off. Only Qinglian, Honglian, and Zheng Yuanyuan were left in the carriage. After Qinglian jumped off the carriage with Zheng Yuanyuan in her arms, Honglian tried to control the horse but failed. In the end, she could only let the crazed horse pull the carriage off the cliff. Honglian jumped off the carriage in a disheveled state and stood by the roadside covered in dust.
Qinglian, supporting Zheng Yuanyuan, said to Honglian, "Honglian, come here quickly and help the young lady change her clothes."
Without a word, Honglian quickly took off her dark blue cloak and took the bright red cloak with gold embroidery from Zheng Yuanyuan, which Qinglian had already taken off. Qinglian said to Zheng Yuanyuan, "Miss, they are about to make their move. I'll have Honglian wear your clothes and walk along this road to Miss Chen's manor. You can follow the small path to the capital. Don't be afraid. It's only three miles from here to the capital via this small path. Once you enter the city, just go directly to Madam's bamboo paper shop and find Manager Zhou."
This was the first time Zheng Yuanyuan had encountered something like this, and she was so frightened that she trembled all over. She grabbed Qinglian's hand and said, "Sister Qinglian, what about you?"
Qinglian glanced in the direction of the capital and said, "I'll stay with Honglian. Honglian is now disguised as you, so she can't be without servants by her side. Miss, if anyone stops you, just tell them you're a maid from the Zheng family, that your young lady is in trouble, and you're going back to the city to find someone to help. Remember that?"
Zheng Yuanyuan nodded, then casually took off a gold hairpin from her hair and put it in Qinglian's hand, saying, "Sister Qinglian, give this to Sister Honglian to put in her hair."
Qinglian took it, glanced at the sun which was already waning in the sky, estimated the time, and said, "Miss, just hurry up and go. Don't be nervous if you meet anyone. Just insist that you are a girl from the Zheng family."
Zheng Yuanyuan watched Qinglian and Honglian's retreating figures, gritted her teeth, and hurried towards the capital.
It was very cold. Zheng Yuanyuan was sweating from fear, making her clothes sticky and damp against her body. She shivered twice. Her legs were cramping from tension, and walking felt like walking on cotton. Zheng Yuanyuan felt that walking was very difficult. The road, which was usually bustling with people, was deserted at this time. Zheng Yuanyuan was also afraid of encountering strangers. As a single girl, if she were to be grabbed and dragged away in a carriage, she would be left with no one to turn to.
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