Chapter 236
01
On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Cheng Zhao got up early to pay New Year's greetings to Cheng Yeran and Shen Yuntang, but found that the door was closed and could not be opened no matter how hard he knocked.
The two fathers would sometimes stay in bed, but they rarely did so on New Year's Day. And even if the father would get up late sometimes, when he heard the knock on the door, he would run over and lower his voice to tell him to keep his voice down and not disturb his sleep.
But today even Daddy was silent, which made him very uneasy.
He asked the palace maids and eunuchs beside him, and they said that the emperor and empress went to bed very late last night and even ordered water for a bath.
When Cheng Zhao heard them say this, he felt relieved and went back to his residence first, intending to come back later.
He told the palace maids and eunuchs to take a rest today, as it was New Year's Day and there was no need to work so hard.
When Cheng Yeran ascended the throne, he said that no more eunuchs would be recruited into the palace. The original eunuchs stayed. They were afraid that they would not be able to find a good job after leaving the palace, or would be laughed at, so they asked Cheng Yeran to let them stay. Cheng Yeran then let them stay.
They were also more loyal than the hired servants. Originally, Cheng Yeran asked them to rest during the New Year and left a few people to cook and clean, and paid those who stayed on duty several times more.
However, many people did not dare to neglect the emperor and empress at this time and took good care of them.
After Cheng Zhao returned, he wrote a few couplets. In previous years, he and his father wrote them together, and then the four of them gathered together to paste the couplets. But this year, he was the only one writing, and he felt a little lonely.
Ah Zhu also came over and said she wanted to write with him.
Cheng Zhao took a piece of red paper and asked her to write, "Azhu, your writing is great. The fathers will definitely praise you later."
Ah Zhu couldn't help but smile when she heard this. She counted the couplets on the table and asked, "Why is there one more couplet?"
"That's for your brother, the fifth prince. He's helpless now and very pitiful." Cheng Zhao thought about bringing him over to have New Year's Eve dinner together later.
After he finished speaking, he saw Ah Zhu covering her mouth and laughing, "What are you laughing at?"
Ah Zhu smiled and said, "I heard at school that you and the fifth prince are together and will get married in the future."
"Who told you? You don't study all day, but just gossip about these things." Cheng Zhao pretended to be angry with him. In fact, he had known about it for a long time. This rumor had not only spread to Azhu's school, but also to the whole capital. It was possible that the whole country knew about it.
However, he never clarified the matter, and even added fuel to the flames. In school, he could use this rumor to protect the Fifth Prince. Outside, the Second Prince's mother was still eyeing the Fifth Prince and wanted to get rid of him. But with this marriage, the Fifth Prince was protected both inside and outside the palace.
As they were talking, they heard a palace servant report that Yuanbao, Liuya and others had arrived, but the emperor and empress had not come out yet.
Cheng Zhao felt something was wrong, so he asked Ah Zhu to play with Uncle Yuanbao and the others for a while, and he went to wake up the fathers.
But he went to the door and knocked, still no response.
There were not so many rules in their family. Every time he went to see his fathers, he didn't need anyone to inform them. He would knock on the door himself. Every time he knocked, the door would be opened. At least he would get a response, but this time there was no response.
He couldn't hear any movement inside at the door. He practiced martial arts and his hearing was better than that of ordinary people. He couldn't hear any movement inside and felt uneasy. Could it be that his fathers were sick? Or did someone break into the palace and assassinate the fathers?
He tried to push the door open a crack and found it was quiet inside. When he walked in, he couldn't see a single person.
He asked the palace maids and eunuchs on duty, and they all said that the emperor and empress returned to their bedroom last night and never came out again.
Cheng Zhao realized that something was wrong. Cheng Yeran had told him before that he had traveled through time and space, and he had no choice when he traveled through time, as he was forcibly sent to ancient times. So if he traveled back through time, would he also have no choice and be forced to go back?
In addition to the possibility of traveling back in time, there is another possibility, that is, his fathers have been kidnapped, and he has to think of a solution quickly.
He immediately told some trusted palace servants to block the news and not allow anyone to come to the emperor and empress's bedroom. He did not have time to feel sad about the departure of his fathers, and immediately went to Yuanbao and others to discuss what to do next.
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