Chapter 172: Dragon Turns into Phoenix Dragon Turns into Phoenix
Su Fengzhang walked until he was freezing cold all over, with even the last bit of heat about to be taken away by the cold wind, before he finally found the cave.
This was thanks to his excellent memory and sense of direction, and especially thanks to Liu Wei who, fearing such an accident, pointed out several places on the first day. However, no one in the delegation except Su Fengzhang could remember them all.
He stumbled into the cave and the first thing he saw was the extinguished fire inside.
Someone had been here before them. He reached out and touched the charcoal, which was now cold. Even if He Jun and others had been here alive, they would have already left by now.
Su Fengzhang sighed and carefully put Prince Cheng down. The latter had fallen into a deep sleep by now, and his forehead felt very hot to the touch.
Su Fengzhang frowned, poured a few more mouthfuls of spiritual spring water into his mouth, and then began to search in the cave. The cooking utensils and food were still there, and there were even some used white bandages in the corner. The blood-red bandages on them proved that some of those people were also injured.
Su Fengzhang quickly built a bonfire, and placed a pot on top of it that was full of snow with a few dry biscuits buried inside.
After doing all this, he turned around and touched Prince Cheng's forehead. It was still as hot as before. It was obvious that the spiritual spring had little effect on cooling down.
Su Fengzhang frowned. Even a healthy adult could not withstand the high fever. If it were in modern times, this temperature would probably have to be taken to the outpatient clinic for an IV drip.
Looking at Prince Cheng's clothes that were soaked by snow and his exposed hands and feet that also showed signs of frostbite, Su Fengzhang frowned and reached out to undress him.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he unfastened the first button of his collar, the man, who was already drowsy from the fever, grabbed his hand with all his might, shouting, "No."
"Prince, I have lit a fire. It won't be too cold in the cave. Wearing wet clothes will make you feel more uncomfortable, and it won't help reduce the fever." Su Fengzhang explained.
"Don't..." Prince Cheng, who was holding his hand, insisted on saying this.
Su Fengzhang frowned and said, "It's already late. Let's put etiquette aside for now. You don't want to burn yourself into a fool, do you?"
The breath Prince Cheng exhaled was scalding hot, but he still pressed his hand and said, "No."
Su Fengzhang sighed, but the next moment he pried his hand apart: "My Lord, I'm sorry!"
Prince Cheng held his hand again, and his eyes suddenly raised up. At this moment, Su Fengzhang saw a lot of complexity in them, and even felt that helping him take off his clothes was a heinous crime.
But the next moment, Prince Cheng let go of his hand.
Su Fengzhang was slightly stunned and quickly stripped off his clothes.
"Dumbfounded and pale with fear" is the most appropriate way to describe Su Fengzhang at this moment. His fingers were trembling, not because of the cold, but because of excessive shock.
This cannot be blamed on him. From the first time they met, Su Fengzhang knew that the Fifth Prince of Cheng County was too handsome, but this man has always been imposing and unruly, and there is not a trace of feminine charm in him.
Before this, Su Fengzhang always thought that it was impossible for a woman to dress as a man, especially in the ancient environment, where she would probably be recognized at a glance.
But now he began to doubt his own perception. How could Prince Cheng be a woman, and how could he have hidden it for so many years?
The strange attitude of the emperor and others flashed through Su Fengzhang's mind, and Su Fengzhang quickly realized that Prince Cheng's ability to hide his identity until now was definitely not something he could do alone.
He even began to think divergently that the emperor didn't like to grow a beard, so most people in the court had clean chins, and this might be related to this.
Compared to the frightened Su Fengzhang, Prince Cheng was calm as usual. Seeing Su Fengzhang's face, he even laughed at himself and said, "Master Su, you are afraid."
Su Fengzhang hesitated for a moment, but continued with his previous actions until he had stripped off all his soaked clothes and hung them up to dry. Then he said, "Rather than being afraid of this, I'm more afraid that you'll get a fever and die."
Prince Cheng suddenly burst into laughter and asked, "Now that you know my greatest secret, aren't you afraid that I will kill you to silence you? After all, if this gets out, I will be charged with deceiving the emperor."
"Then, Your Majesty, have you ever deceived the emperor?" Su Fengzhang looked up at him.
If it weren't for the white cloth on his chest, one would not believe that Prince Cheng was a woman just based on his stern look.
Now thinking back, the emperor's strange attitude towards Prince Cheng, not to mention the rumors in the capital, and his completely different attitude towards him and other princes, is not so strange, because which prince would not care about his reputation at all?
Su Fengzhang looked at Prince Cheng carefully. When he was a prince, people would praise him for his face that resembled a beautiful woman. But if he were a woman, his appearance would be a little too tough, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, more heroic than delicate.
Perhaps he had not expected Su Fengzhang's attitude to be so ordinary, so Prince Cheng raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Perhaps he is deceiving the emperor."
The two of them tacitly passed over the topic. Su Fengzhang found the only pill he had and fed it to him, then said, "Your Majesty, your hands and feet are all frostbitten. I need to rub your skin with snow to prevent necrosis."
Prince Cheng just nodded, and Su Fengzhang quickly took action. It would be hypocritical to talk about the differences between men and women at this time. Life comes first and everything else is unimportant.
His movements were swift and gentle. Feeling the warmth of his hands and feet slowly returning to normal, his body seemed to feel a little better. Prince Cheng sighed and suddenly said, "Don't worry, Lord Su. If you can return alive, I will not repay you with evil."
Su Fengzhang kept moving his hands and said with a smile, "I believe in the prince."
Prince Cheng raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Now it's just you and me here. You can call me Qin Fang."
Not only does he look and have the temperament of a prince, but Prince Cheng's name is also very masculine. No one knows what exactly caused him to have to live as a prince.
Su Fengzhang was a little curious, but had no intention of prying into the matter. However, he did not expect Prince Cheng to take the initiative to speak.
"Are you wondering why I, a member of the royal family, can deceive people?" The palace is different from the common people. Even in the common people, it is difficult for a child to change his gender without being discovered.
Su Fengzhang simply said, "If Your Highness is willing to tell me, then I am willing to listen."
Prince Cheng laughed and looked at the burning bonfire: "Have you heard of the Liu family?"
Su Fengzhang said: "Among the generals of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the most famous was the Liu family army."
"Yes, the Liu Family Army, the He Family Army, and the Zhenbei Army were once the backbone of the Great Zhou."
"It's a pity that after years of war, the Liu and He families have lost their talent. By the time of my mother's generation, only she and my uncle were left in the Liu family. Your Majesty has been so kind as to allow my mother to enter the palace as a companion, which can be regarded as a support for the Liu family."
As he said this, Prince Cheng's face was full of sarcasm. The royal family was wary of the Liu and He families, so they let Concubine De enter the palace as a concubine and let Princess Ronghe marry into the He family. The meaning was obvious.
"Feng Zhang, do you know that I have never seen my mother smile since I was a child? After I was born, she lived in the cold palace and chanted Buddha's name every day. Every time she saw me, she only said one sentence: Fang'er, do you still remember your uncle?"
"In her heart, the Liu family has always been the most important. Even though the Liu family has fallen and her uncle died in exile long ago, our Concubine De still cannot forget the Liu family."
"Back then, in order to plead for the Liu family, she deliberately gave birth prematurely and lied about giving birth to a prince, just to give the Liu family a glimmer of hope. She actually did it, leaving behind a bloodline for the Liu family."
"She has a lot of concerns about the Liu family, but she also has a lot of demands on me, her son."
Being in the palace, what could Concubine De ask for with her mother's family declining? Naturally, it was the comeback of the Liu family. At this moment, Su Fengzhang understood the sadness in Prince Cheng's heart. He was afraid that his mother had never expected him or loved him.
Prince Cheng laughed self-deprecatingly and continued, "My good father, the Emperor, knew all this but still condoned Mother's actions, just to make up for a sliver of guilt in his heart. To him, it made no difference whether I was his son or his daughter. As long as Mother stayed in the cold palace, didn't make a scene, and didn't go to him to cry, that was all that mattered."
"Whether I act recklessly or offend scholars, I am not the heir to the throne, so it is irrelevant."
"Or perhaps, the worse my reputation, the better. The more unbecoming I am, the more I can help his beloved son become more successful. As for what will happen to him in the future, why would His Majesty, who is so high and mighty, worry about it?"
At this moment, Prince Cheng seemed cold, with a sarcastic smile on his lips, but he also looked extremely fragile.
Su Fengzhang suddenly felt distressed, so much so that he impulsively reached out and pulled him into his arms: "If you don't want to mention it again, then don't mention it."
"Are you feeling sorry for me?" Prince Cheng's voice was cold, but his eyes looked fragile.
Su Fengzhang said, "It's not pity, it's heartache."
"I don't think you, Lord, need anyone's pity."
Prince Cheng pushed his hand away, stared at him and said, "I really don't need it."
"I just can't accept it."
"If I were a daughter, why wouldn't they love me? If I were a son, why couldn't I walk in the court?"
"Perhaps in their eyes, Qin Fang is nothing but a chess piece used in their competition."
Su Fengzhang wanted to say something but stopped himself, not knowing what to say for a moment.
After a long silence, he finally said, "There is no justice in this world. Compared to men, it is more difficult for women to survive. Your Majesty, it is better to think about the benefits of being a man."
"Just like my younger siblings, Ming □ □ Hui is more intelligent and talented than Lan Zhang, but she is a girl and cannot go to the academy. Even if she studies hard at home, her aunt will dissuade her. When she grows up, she will have to marry and have children, and she will be trapped in the backyard for the rest of her life."
"This is indeed unfair to the Prince, but Your Majesty, isn't this an opportunity?"
Prince Cheng burst into laughter for some reason, and laughed until tears came out of his eyes. Then he looked at Su Fengzhang and said, "Master Su, you are truly a remarkable person."
"Since you know I'm a woman, shouldn't you be telling me to stay home and act like a clay Buddha? Why does it sound like you're telling me to do something I can't do?"
Su Fengzhang said, "Men and women are born without any difference."
"What a great saying! There is no difference at all. Su Fengzhang, you must remember what you said!" said Prince Cheng.
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The author has something to say: I have modified the new text
The new name is "Milky Fierce Brother"
Is it better than before? Haha~
The fierce younger brother
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