Hongli's actions nearly startled the servant who had just struggled to climb the tree, causing him to fall again. Clinging to the tree trunk with one hand and pulling on Hongli's foot with the other, the servant cried out anxiously, "My ancestor, please don't be impulsive..."
The servant glanced at his feet, trembling with fear, and cried out dramatically with his eyes closed, "This is too high! Fourth Prince, please listen to me and go down. Let's go back and think of another way..."
Hongli was already nervous and focused on jumping, but the servant's commotion made him genuinely scared.
The servant grabbed Hongli's robe and wouldn't let go, no matter what Hongli did. Frustrated, Hongli kicked him. But the servant, fiercely protective of his master, refused to release his grip: "I won't let go! Even if you beat me to death, I won't give in! I'm going to die anyway, so go ahead and kick me to death. I absolutely won't let you jump..."
Hongli had no choice but to patiently explain, "Let go of me! Don't you know my skills? If you fall from this height, you'll at most break your leg, but you won't die. Stop being so indecisive..."
Upon hearing the news of a "broken leg," the servant clung even tighter to Hongli's leg, pleading with him through snot and tears, "Fourth Prince, please don't frighten me. I won't give up..."
Hongli swung his leg forcefully, and seeing the servant's cries growing louder, he hurriedly covered the servant's mouth with his hand. "Shh... keep your voice down, you're about to summon the guards..."
"Hey... who's doing that? What are you doing? This is the royal forbidden garden. If you don't come down, I'll call for help..." Sure enough, the commotion between Hongli and his servant attracted a eunuch from the courtyard. Hongli sighed in disappointment, turning around to prepare a whole bunch of kind words, but to his surprise, the eunuch knelt down with a thud upon seeing Hongli: "This servant didn't know it was the Fourth Prince. I was rude just now, please forgive me, Fourth Prince..."
Hongli breathed a sigh of relief, overjoyed to have encountered someone he knew at such a crucial moment: "You recognize me?"
The young eunuch respectfully answered Hongli from under the tree, "I am the cleaning eunuch of Changchun Garden. I often see His Majesty summoning the Fourth Prince, so I naturally recognize him... But what are you doing, Fourth Prince? The tree is too dangerous, and the branch you're standing on isn't sturdy. It's better to come down..."
Hongli squatted on a tree branch, unsure whether the sweeping eunuch knew what was going on in the courtyard. Unable to ask directly, he decided to take a gamble: "So that's how it is. I was just bored and came to see the scenery. Why are there so many people in the courtyard all of a sudden?"
The young eunuch looked around, feigning ignorance, and said, "I don't know either. This morning, the head eunuch told us not to wander around, and I happened to be here sweeping fallen leaves, which is how I ran into the Fourth Prince..."
Hongli was relieved. It seemed that this little eunuch really didn't know what was going on in the courtyard, and he just happened to know him. He smiled and discussed with him, "Go find something for me to get down here. I'll also go see my grandfather. I'll put in a good word for you with him. What do you think?"
The young eunuch was overjoyed upon hearing this, kowtowed several times, and got up to find a ladder for Hongli.
Hongli and his servant finally caught their breath on the tree branch, patted their chests, and exclaimed that it was a close call, but thankfully there was only a scare and no real danger...
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