The palace maid just stood there blankly, not answering Fourteen's question, but just standing there silently.
"Are you Zheng Chunhua?" Fourteen stepped forward and grabbed the arm of the woman who looked to be in her early thirties, asking.
The woman stared blankly at Fourteen with a hint of fear, but did not answer her question.
"Your Highness, you've mistaken her for someone else. She's been a palace maid in the flower room for over ten years." Suddenly, an old eunuch spoke up from behind to stop him.
"Where did she come from?" Fourteen turned around and glanced at the old eunuch. He naturally recognized him; this was a eunuch of the same generation as Liang Jiugong, who had always been in charge of things like flowers, tea sets, and other items under Liang Jiugong.
“It was assigned here more than ten years ago. Fourteenth Prince, you hadn’t even come of age yet back then!” the old eunuch said.
Fourteen had no choice but to release the palace maid's arm, looking at her face with confusion.
"Hurry up and get down there! The flowers in the flower room haven't been dealt with yet!" the old eunuch scolded sternly, startling the palace maid who quickly walked away.
Fourteen wanted to look again, but could only see her back. After he got into his own carriage, he was still recalling the scene of seeing the palace maid.
"No, if she was a palace maid who stood guard here more than ten years ago, how could she call me Fourteenth Prince so accurately?" Fourteenth Prince muttered to himself in the carriage. When Zheng Chunhua was still alive, she was often favored by Emperor Kangxi. Fourteenth Prince was only fifteen or sixteen years old at that time, and he had seen her a few times at palace banquets.
When the deposed crown prince was first deposed, Zheng Chunhua mysteriously disappeared. She was merely a minor concubine of Emperor Kangxi, so her disappearance naturally didn't cause any stir, and few people noticed.
When Fourteen suddenly saw her, he remembered that someone had secretly informed him that Zheng Chunhua had once had an affair with the deposed crown prince, which was then destroyed by the emperor.
Seeing this familiar yet unfamiliar face again, Fourteen suddenly felt that perhaps there was some secret hidden behind her.
After returning to his residence, Fourteenth Prince immediately summoned his advisors to discuss the woman he had seen at Changchun Garden that day.
“Fourteenth Prince, if she really is Zheng Chunhua, then she is of no value to us! The deposed Crown Prince has already been imprisoned. If we bring up his affair with Zheng Chunhua now, it will only be a slap in the face to the Emperor,” the advisor said.
“There must be a reason why Father Emperor would keep this woman alive. I think the rumors that Zheng Chunhua had an affair with the Crown Prince are very likely true. And the reason why Father Emperor would tolerate a woman who has lost her chastity must be for some reason that we don’t yet know,” said the Fourteenth Prince. “Now, we must uncover this secret.”
“Fourteenth Prince, if we do uncover any secrets, perhaps the Emperor doesn’t want to reveal them. If you insist on doing so, I’m afraid it will displease the Emperor,” the advisor said.
"We don't know what the secret is yet, let's wait and see," said Fourteen. "I suspect it's some earth-shattering secret."
Fourteenth Prince then dispatched his own men to investigate the palace maid in Changchun Garden who bore a striking resemblance to Zheng Chunhua. Within a few days, he actually uncovered some information.
"Excellent! The person I needed has finally appeared," Fourteen said after hearing the report.
"Fourteenth Prince, do you intend to capture this woman?" the advisor asked.
“That’s right. With her and her child, we can use him as a figurehead in the future,” Fourteen said.
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