"Don't move, young lady."
Pei Zhi heard the sound and was about to turn around.
The man then warned, "Young lady, there's a snake behind you on your left. Don't make any noise."
Upon hearing this, Pei Zhi looked to her left and indeed saw a dark snake with its head raised, looking as if it were about to pounce and bite her.
Pei Zhi reacted quickly, grabbing the snake's tail with one hand and giving it a slight shake, while grabbing the snake's vital spot with the other.
The man, holding a wooden stick and about to play the hero and save the damsel in distress, stared in disbelief at the scene unfolding before him.
Pei Zhi tapped the snake's head with her hand, picked it up with her bare hands, walked to the fence, and casually tossed it into the forest.
The hunt took place in the mountains, and snake and insect repellent was sprinkled around the tents.
Pei Zhi was fishing by the lake, surrounded by a large patch of grass, so it was normal for snakes to be seen.
"Young lady, you have great courage; I admire you."
Pei Zhi sized up the somewhat cynical man in front of her. "Who are you?"
"My name is Yuan Chengyu."
Seeing the confusion still lingering in Pei Zhi's eyes, Yuan Chengyu realized that the girl in front of him did not know his family.
"I am the son of King Cheng."
After Pei Zhi traveled through time, he tried his best to learn about some affairs of the court.
For example, King Cheng.
Those who could be granted the title of king were generally the sons of the previous emperor or the brothers of Emperor Pei.
But this Prince Cheng was Emperor Pei's study companion when he was young.
She has been by Emperor Pei's side since childhood, helping him seize the throne.
Pei Zhi only heard that King Cheng and Emperor Pei were besieged that day.
To protect Emperor Pei, King Cheng had his leg severed, but he survived.
After Emperor Pei ascended the throne, he enfeoffed Prince Cheng as the first non-royal prince of the dynasty.
Yuan Chengyu was the only son of King Cheng, and it was said that he was uneducated and incompetent.
Emperor Pei intended to promote Yuan Chengyu and assigned him many tasks, which Yuan Chengyu failed to complete.
Pei Zhi bowed and gave a greeting as a peer: "So you are Prince Cheng."
"May I ask your name, young lady?"
Yuan Chengyu had been in the capital for many years, and this was the first time he had ever seen such a courageous woman.
"Pei Zhi".
"Pei Zhi." Yuan Chengyu murmured Pei Zhi's name.
Yuan Chengyu bowed respectfully, "Greetings, Princess."
No need for formalities.
After Yuan Chengyu stood up, he immediately lost interest.
"Princess, please continue fishing. I have other matters to attend to and must take my leave."
Pei Zhi noticed that Yuan Chengyu had just seemed quite interested in her, but now he was avoiding her like the plague.
Pei Zhi responded, sat back down on the stone stool, and continued fishing with her fishing rod.
Yuan Chengyu thought for a moment, then came back and reminded her, "Now that it's springtime, there should be many snakes and insects around here. Princess, you should be careful."
Pei Zhi nodded slightly, acknowledging her gratitude, "Thank you."
This was the first time Yuan Chengyu had met such an interesting woman, but since she was a princess, he gave up on the idea.
He should stay as far away from the royal family as possible.
No royal family member is innocent; he didn't want to get himself into trouble.
As dusk fell, Pei Zhi put away her fishing rod.
I had bad luck today and only caught a few fish that looked less than a month old.
Chunhua was originally there to watch Pei Zhi fish, but she got bored and was sent away by Pei Zhi.
Chunhua returned from gossiping with several palace maids and, upon seeing Pei Zhi, immediately began excitedly telling him about what had happened that day.
It's simply that the young master and young lady have taken a liking to each other.
Spring has arrived, and being in the mountains again, people have become more unrestrained.
"The Fourth Prince and the Imperial Noble Consort's maids behaved improperly in public and were caught red-handed by the Empress."
"Is that so?"
"Right now, the Fourth Prince is being forced to kneel outside the tent by His Majesty."
Pei Zhi sighed, "Fourth brother is really something, he can't even control himself when he's out hunting."
Chunhua, however, felt that there was more to it than met the eye.
What a coincidence that the Fourth Prince was caught red-handed by the Empress while he was having an affair with a palace maid!
This is too much of a coincidence.
But Chunhua was just a palace maid, so naturally she dared not say anything more.
At the banquet, Consort Gao arrived in her finest attire, seemingly unaffected by the Fourth Prince's affair.
However, after the banquet ended, Consort Gao's smile completely vanished.
"Is everything arranged?"
"This servant has already had the Third Prince's wine replaced with deer blood wine. Your Highness will surely succeed tonight."
Deer blood wine is merely for entertainment; even if a royal physician were to examine the patient, they wouldn't be able to diagnose anything.
"Tonight, I will ensure that the Empress and her son suffer eternal damnation!"
Consort Gao instructed the people in the Third Prince's residence to pay extra attention to the Third Prince and his personal attendants.
Consort Gao did indeed discover something.
The Third Prince often spent the entire night in his study with his men, and wouldn't allow any maids to come in and serve him.
I used to think it was just because the Third Prince was studying hard, but now I realize there's more to it than meets the eye.
"Princess, let me help you with your washing and grooming."
Pei Zhi looked at the book and said, "Let's wait a little longer, I'm not sleepy right now."
"Then this servant will go and fetch some water to wait for you."
Pei Zhi reminded her, "Yes, be careful when you go out."
"Your Highness is joking. The hunting grounds are heavily guarded. What could possibly happen?"
Pei Zhi agreed, "Yes, you're right."
Pei Zhi flipped through the book, pondering how to make Consort Lin die after they returned from this hunt.
The Empress was heartbroken for a while after the Third Prince's ascension to the throne failed, but she quickly rallied.
All the princes in the palace had birth mothers, and even those who did not had birth mothers were raised by the other concubines.
Presumably, Consort Lin was thinking of Pei Yuance wholeheartedly.
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