Clapping her hands, the maid commanded three guards who immediately appeared to take Yang Mengchen to a side room not far away in the courtyard. Despite being unconscious, Hai Tang still clung stubbornly to Mengchen, inseparable, so the guards had to take them together to the room while another guard escorted Mo Mei to the adjacent side room.
"I’ll go notify the princess, you bring the person here, and you two stand guard here," the maid instructed the three guards.
It wasn’t long before Prince Jing arrived with his followers, who quickly killed the two guards outside the door and swiftly disappeared with their bodies.
Prince Jing then pushed the door open, entered and closed it, before slowly approaching the bed, where he gazed at the tightly closed eyes of Yang Mengchen with an unusual gentle expression, his pupils flickering with a fiery light.
After learning that Long Fengying and the Ma family intended to plot against Yang Mengchen, he decided to go along with the current, yet ultimately, Mengchen was the woman he had set his sights on and he couldn’t allow any other man to defile her.
He had arranged for people to secretly watch Long Fengying and the Ma family. Once he received the message that Madam Zhang’s maid had successfully lured Yang Mengchen to this place, he followed behind.
Thinking that after today, Yang Mengchen would belong solely to him, aiding him in ascending to the Emperor’s throne, Prince Jing’s heart surged with emotions. Sitting beside the bed, he reached out to touch her jade-like cheek, but just as he was about to touch it, his vision darkened and pain shot through the back of his neck, causing him to collapse.
The supposedly unconscious Yang Mengchen and Hai Tang simultaneously opened their clear eyes, and with a simple push, Hai Tang sent Prince Jing, who was about to fall toward them, tumbling backward. As for the ’thud’ that sounded, both of them, in tacit understanding, chose to ignore it.
Stepping down from the bed, Yang Mengchen straightened her slightly wrinkled dress, while Hai Tang moved Prince Jing onto the bed, stripping off his clothes before covering him with a quilt.
No sooner had they finished than footsteps approached from outside the room. The two exchanged glances and stood quietly three steps away from the door.
The moment the door opened, Yang Mengchen’s slender hand made a light toss, and the guard and a young man collapsed to the ground.
Hai Tang grabbed each man by the collar and flung them onto the bed next to Prince Jing. Princes are known to be extremely jealous; if any knew that his princess had touched other men, he would fly into a rage.
"Princess, I’ve brought them," Mo Mei suddenly entered, each arm carrying Ma Ruyin and Ma Rulin.
Without waiting for Mengchen’s command, Mo Mei threw the two sisters onto the bed. Seeing Prince Jing, rage blazed within her, but she maintained enough reason to restrain herself, lest she tear apart Prince Jing, who dared to covet the princess.
Glancing at the fragrant incense burner, Yang Mengchen’s lips curled into a devilishly cold sneer. Waving her hand, she then exited the room with Hai Tang and Mo Mei, carefully closing the door, before taking another path toward the inner courtyard.
Having not gone far, they saw a swish of cloth dart into another side room, a playful gleam in Mengchen’s dark eyes.
The flower-viewing banquet at Hou Mansion was truly a series of splendid dramas, utterly fascinating.
Both Hai Tang and Mo Mei also saw the flicker of cloth and couldn’t help frowning. "Princess, shall we take a look?"
"It has nothing to do with us, let’s go," said Yang Mengchen, shaking her head. She then whispered a few instructions to Mo Mei, who swiftly vanished from sight.
Yang Mengchen and Hai Tang arrived next to a rockery, where they saw a woman whispering to a maid. They faintly heard mention of ’that slut Chu Dieyi... General Shao... this miss... the general’s wife...’ among other phrases. The woman was one of the young ladies who had previously echoed Long Fengying, the common daughter, Guo Huan, of the Secretary of Honglu Temple. Clearly, Guo Huan intended to scheme against Chu Dieyi.
Yang Mengchen glanced sideways at Hai Tang.
With lightning speed, Hai Tang appeared behind the two women, knocking them out swiftly before taking the maid elsewhere to dispose of the body. She then returned, smashed Guo Huan’s head against the rockery, causing blood to flow, and finally waved a small porcelain bottle under Guo Huan’s nose before standing up, "Princess, she’ll be out for two hours."
Nodding, Yang Mengchen watched with an indifferent, frosty expression, and then left with Hai Tang.
Meanwhile, the maid returned to the inner courtyard and whispered the situation to Madam Zhang. A flicker of joy passed through Madam Zhang’s eyes, and using Princess Chen’s renowned medical skills as a pretext, she persuaded Madam Xu and the two nieces-in-law to head to the garden. Naturally, the maid did not follow.
Seeing Madam Xu and others arrive, Long Fengying eagerly looked to Madam Zhang, and seeing her nod, her heart blossomed with joy. Yet she maintained a surprised facade, asking, "Didn’t the third sister-in-law go to treat the elder lady? Why didn’t you come back together?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
