bookcurios Chapter 244: Your brother beat you up
Chapter 244: Your brother beat you up
The Crown Prince's wife pondered for a moment, looked around, and saw that there were only her, her personal maid, and the two servants guarding the door, so she said.
"You guys go guard the gate and don't worry about anything else. Don't alarm anyone else, especially the Duke. Also, no one is allowed to disturb the Crown Prince on duty without my permission!"
The two servants trembled with fear, not knowing what to do. How could they dare to agree? If they did not agree, they were afraid of being punished by the lady.
The Crown Prince's wife slowed her voice, "You will do as I say. If anything goes wrong, I will take responsibility. Otherwise, I will have someone report to the Duke and say that it was your poor guarding that allowed the Fourth Master to escape..."
When the two servants heard this, they felt like the sky had fallen. If the Duke and the Crown Prince were really angry and sold them out, that would be terrible.
One of the more clever ones quickly kowtowed and apologized: "It is all our fault. We made such a mistake. Thank you, Madam, for giving us a way out. We will obey you in everything."
After saying this, he held his companion down and made him kowtow as well.
After everyone left, the Crown Prince's wife looked grave and said to the maid, "Send someone to the capital's guard post to check the various gates of the capital to see if there's any trace of the Fourth Master. Then send someone to the palace gate to inquire..."
However, Feng Zizhou was worthy of being raised by his sister-in-law. Just as his sister-in-law expected, he sneaked out of the house and rode his horse directly to the palace.
The guards of the imperial city were very familiar with this young master of the Duke's Mansion. They knew that the emperor doted on him and had already ordered that he could enter and leave the palace at will. So they simply took away the dagger and whip he carried with him and let him into the palace.
As soon as I arrived at the Imperial Garden, I met the eldest princess and Zhao Ning coming from the North Palace. They must have gone to see the Queen Mother.
The eldest princess's face didn't look very good, and Zhao Ning pouted, as if she had been wronged.
However, when Zhao Ning saw Feng Zizhou limping and obviously injured, his eyes lit up, and he no longer felt aggrieved. He immediately went to meet him.
"Hey! Feng Zizhou, are you getting beaten? Hahahaha"
Zhao Ning put his hands on his hips and looked at Feng Zizhou triumphantly.
"What happened? Oh, did you commit a crime and get beaten up by Prince Feng?"
Everyone in Kyoto knew that the Fourth Master of the Feng Family was fearless, relying on his status as the Empress Dowager's nephew to walk all over the palace since he was a child. But his cousin, the Emperor, loved him more than his own son, so who would dare to mess with him?
It was said that when the old Duke was still alive, he finally got a rare treasure, but Feng Zizhou took it out to show off and broke it. The old Duke was so angry that he vomited blood on the spot, which caused Feng Zizhou to beat him up.
Feng Zizhou was only twelve years old at that time. After being beaten, he did not repent. Before his injuries healed, he sneaked out and caught a cold, almost losing his life.
The emperor had just ascended the throne. Despite being busy with state affairs, he left the palace and ran to the Duke's Mansion. He also ignored his health and hugged Feng Zizhou, who had a high fever, and cried loudly, talking as he cried.
"Such a wonderful thing, if the Duke's Mansion doesn't have it, is there no one in the palace? If it's not in the palace, can't someone go look for it? My uncle and cousin are so cruel. Zizhou was just a little naughty, was it worth beating him like this?"
Later, despite other people's opposition, he brought Feng Zizhou into the palace to be taken care of. He lived there for more than half a year. His food and accommodation were similar to those of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and the Emperor would summon him to ask questions every day.
From then on, Feng Zizhou didn't dare go home whenever he got into trouble, and would run to the palace to hide. Anyway, his cousin who was the emperor would definitely protect him.
But while the Emperor was easygoing, Feng Ziheng was different. He understood the difference between ruler and subject, but he had a major disagreement with the Emperor on how to raise his younger brother. Knowing the Emperor was protecting his younger brother, he could do nothing about it, but the next time he beat his younger brother, he hit him even harder.
After these two times, Feng Zizhou became much more restrained. The emperor felt sorry for Feng Zizhou and naturally did not dare to be too partial to him.
But the nobles in Kyoto also knew that Feng Zizhou was fearless except for his elder brother Feng Ziheng.
"Prince Feng is a sensible person. He knows that some people, if they don't resort to force, will be completely ignorant of their own limitations!"
Feng Zizhou rolled his eyes and said stubbornly, "Zhao Ning, is your leg healed? Aren't you afraid that if I move my fingers, you'll be unable to walk again?"
Zhao Ning sneered, "Oh, you're such a boaster? You can't even kill an ant with your current condition, and you still want to hurt me?"
"You... If I don't beat you to a pulp today, you won't know how powerful I am!"
Feng Zizhou was indeed beaten quite badly, and he had to grit his teeth in pain when speaking, but in front of outsiders, he wanted to save face and refused to admit defeat.
Fortunately, the eldest princess was present, and both of them restrained themselves a little.
The eldest princess coughed and scolded her daughter: "Ningning, you are a girl, how can you be so rude?"
He looked at Feng Zizhou again, and seeing that he was seriously injured, he felt a little distressed. His tone softened a little: "Zizhou, have you... made your brother angry again?"
No matter how thick-skinned Feng Zizhou was, he couldn't help but blush a little. He said with a stiff upper lip, "I... I came to the palace to... to visit the Emperor. Your Highness, did you just visit the Empress Dowager?"
"Yes." The eldest princess said, "We also need to go to see the emperor. Zizhou, would you like to go with us?"
Feng Zizhou was unhappy, but the princess was his elder, so he couldn't refuse. He only regretted not telling her he was there to see the prince, and now he couldn't refuse.
The eldest princess led the two of them towards the Qinzheng Palace.
Feng Zizhou noticed the gloom on the eldest princess's face and, remembering that she had just come out of the Empress Dowager's palace, he asked, "Your Highness, is the Empress Dowager unwell?"
"The Empress Dowager is ill and is still recuperating. Zhao Ning and I went to pay her a visit, but we were unable to speak to her for a few words," the eldest princess explained.
When Zhao Ning heard this, she pouted: "Mother, the Queen Mother asked me if I was okay. If I tell her, she will definitely..."
"Zhao Ning!" The eldest princess scolded lightly, blaming Zhao Ning for talking nonsense in front of outsiders.
She just looked at Feng Zizhou who also looked confused and sighed.
"The Empress Dowager is in poor health and needs careful rest. No other matters should disturb her."
Feng Zizhou had also been accustomed to playing with the Queen Mother since he was a child. The Queen Mother was his great-aunt, and he missed her too much, but it was a pity that he could not go to see her. Now, hearing what the Princess said, he agreed deeply and nodded.
"If Your Highness has something to ask, why not ask the Emperor directly?"
The princess nodded slightly, but didn't respond. It wasn't like she hadn't mentioned Zhao Ning's marriage to the emperor, but he only seemed gentle. How could anyone influence what he wanted to do?
Zhao Ning muttered, "Do you think I'm you? You got beaten up by your own brother and you ran to my uncle, the emperor, to complain!"