Everyone suddenly held their breath.
The inner room was utterly still. Wherever Xing Muzheng’s gaze fell, there was no one—only behind the “Guanyin Bringing a Child” screen, where faint white steam curled upward. Suddenly, there was a faint thunk. Xing Muzheng’s eyes sharpened; he crossed the space behind the screen in two long strides.
The Crown Princess stood with one foot inside the threshold and one out, clutching the doorframe, her eyes fixed on Xing Muzheng’s back—wanting to rush in but not daring to.
Xing Muzheng halted by the screen. Before him, Qian Jiaoniang stood beside a bath barrel; at her feet, sprawled on the floor, lay the Crown Prince, fast asleep.
Xing Muzheng and Qian Jiaoniang locked eyes. Neither spoke—you look at me, I look at you. The Crown Prince, feigning sleep, cracked his eyes open slightly, puzzled by whatever silent exchange was passing between them. Suddenly, Xing Muzheng slammed his palm forward. The folding “Guanyin Bringing a Child” screen shot to the side, smashing against the wall with a loud crash; the painted beauty on the wall shook twice, then fell right onto the screen.
Now everyone could clearly see the situation inside the inner room, but the Crown Princess stood blocking the doorway, not letting anyone in. Her eyes widened—first she saw Qian Jiaoniang, whose clothing was perfectly in order, and she instantly let out a breath of relief. But in the next moment, she caught sight of the Crown Prince lying on the floor, and her heart leapt back into her throat.
“Your Highness!”
The Crown Princess lifted her skirts and rushed in, running to Wu Hong’s side and lifting his head, shaking him hard twice. “Your Highness! Your Highness!”
Wu Hong feigned drunken unconsciousness, eyes closed, mumbling impatiently as he waved a hand. “Don’t—don’t make noise! I… I still want to drink!”
Wan Hong crouched outside the door, carefully craning her neck to peek inside.
“Your Highness? Crown Prince?” The Crown Princess was taken aback. She called to him twice more, but the Crown Prince only seemed to sleep more comfortably. Unable to help herself, she looked up and asked, “What happened to His Highness?”
Qian Jiaoniang’s brows immediately furrowed. She touched her face and said, troubled, “Your Highness, to be honest, I have no idea what happened. I had planned to bathe and change clothes here, but I couldn’t get my clothing undone. Just as I was fretting over it, someone suddenly came in. I thought it was my maid, so I was about to call them in to help me change—but it turned out to be the Crown Prince! I was so frightened I thought my heart would leap out of my mouth. But the Crown Prince was stumbling as he walked, eyes barely open, muttering under his breath. I knew at once he must be drunk. I wanted to call for someone to help him, but I called several times and no one answered. The Crown Prince wandered twice around the room on his own, then simply collapsed on the floor and fell asleep! Oh my heavens, I was terrified, thinking something had happened to him, so I tried calling again, but still no one came. I was also afraid something might happen if I left him, so I didn’t dare go out. I didn’t know what to do, and then Your Highness and the Marquis arrived.”
Her words sounded sincere, but no one present was a fool. The Crown Princess nearly ground her silver teeth to bits. So the Crown Prince had been drunk for a good while, wandering around in here before collapsing to sleep, and calling for help brought no one? Who would believe that? Not even a three-year-old child! Only this idiot pretending to be asleep would think it could fool anyone.
That idiot even smacked his lips twice, as though to make it more convincing.
Crown Princess: “…”
Qian Jiaoniang: “…” This performance is too much!
The Crown Princess almost rolled her eyes skyward in exasperation. But for now, even if they were treating her like a fool, she could only swallow the insult along with the blood in her mouth. She turned toward the door and snapped, “Nothing but a pack of filthy slaves who only care for their own pleasure! Where have you all died off to? The Crown Prince is drunk and not one of you thought to tend to him! If anything happens to His Highness, I’ll have your skins peeled! Hurry, come and help His Highness to bed to rest!”
Wan Hong quickly led in two young eunuchs, who carried the Crown Prince to her bed. She pulled the covers over him—whereupon he took the chance to pinch her. Wan Hong stiffened, turning to glance at Xing Muzheng, who had been standing in the room in complete calm since entering. Somehow, the air in the room felt weighed down with a heavy, deathly chill.
After Wan Hong let down the bed curtains, the Crown Princess stepped forward and warmly clasped Qian Jiaoniang’s hand. “Good sister, you must have been frightened! His Highness is like this—once he’s in high spirits, he loves to drink, and once drunk, he loves to wander about. More than once we’ve lost track of him entirely! Today it’s all the fault of lazy servants who couldn’t even keep up with him, nearly causing a grave mistake. Amitabha, I’ll make sure to punish those wretches severely to make amends to you! Today, for the sake of my birthday, please don’t take it to heart. I have some top-grade Dragon King ginseng—later I’ll have it sent to your marquisate to help settle your nerves!”
Then she turned to Xing Muzheng and said, “Dingxi Marquis, a false alarm is a blessing amid misfortune. My sister here is entirely blameless—please don’t be too harsh. Blame only His Highness for drinking too much. When he wakes, he will surely reproach himself. Really, the fault lies with those blind servants, and with me for being lax in discipline. Sigh!” She gave a heavy sigh. “Rest assured, this matter will never leave the Crown Prince’s residence—I guarantee it in the name of the Crown Princess!”
Xing Muzheng, who had not spoken until now, lowered his eyes to the Crown Princess and asked calmly, “Your Highness, whose courtyard is this?”
The Crown Princess glanced at Wan Hong, who quickly stepped forward and saluted. “Dingxi Marquis, this courtyard is the humble one’s residence.”
“And who are you?”
“This humble one is Wan Hong, a concubine of the Crown Prince,” she replied, head lowered. “Because I carelessly soiled the Marchioness’s clothes at the banquet, I invited her here to bathe and change.”
Xing Muzheng asked, “Since my wife was in your room, why did no one stop the Crown Prince from entering?”
Although Xing Muzheng’s tone was utterly even, Wan Hong felt a chill run down her spine. She stammered, “Please forgive me, Marquis—it was all my fault. The Marchioness said she didn’t need anyone to attend her while bathing, so I waited outside. The Crown Princess came to bring new clothes, and the Marchioness’s personal maid and attendants went to the side room to choose from them. I was keeping watch outside with Dongsheng, but I suddenly had stomach pains, so Dongsheng carried me to the privy. It must have been then that the Crown Prince came in by chance, and no one noticed.”
“So you were in the privy the whole time until the Crown Princess arrived?”
“This…” Wan Hong faltered. “This humble one… not the whole time…”
“Since it wasn’t the whole time, then when my wife called out, why did no one respond?”
Of course, that was something the Marchioness had made up—how could Wan Hong have heard her? Besides, she was acting under the Crown Prince’s orders to lure the Marchioness here—how could she dare to go in and spoil his plans? But now she could only swallow the bitter truth like dumb Huanglian. “This, this…”
“Do you realize that because of your negligence, my wife’s chastity was nearly ruined, and the Crown Prince’s reputation as heir apparent would have been gravely damaged? You have placed Dingxi Marchioness under suspicion of infidelity, and dragged the Crown Prince into disloyalty. A servant as vile as you deserves death!”
Xing Muzheng’s sudden roar made everyone jump. Before anyone could react, he had drawn his sword and thrust it straight into Wan Hong’s chest.
It was only when the foul taste of blood filled her mouth that Wan Hong realized she’d been stabbed. Eyes wide, she stared at the cold, merciless face before her, then slowly lowered her gaze to the silver blade in her heart. So… the deathly chill filling the room had been hers…
Xing Muzheng cleanly withdrew the sword. Wan Hong crumpled to the ground, blood flowing endlessly from her body. She struggled to turn her head toward the pearwood bed behind the tightly closed curtains. “Your…”
The word “Highness” never left her lips—Wan Hong was already dead.
Qian Jiaoniang averted her gaze. How could she not know that all of this had been set up by Wan Hong? Even if she might have acted on the Crown Prince’s orders, her intentions were still deserving of death.
The Crown Princess clenched her fists inside her sleeves, her body trembling slightly. She had not expected that Xing Muzheng would truly dare to kill someone inside the Crown Prince’s residence. Though Wan Hong was only a concubine, she had been by the Crown Prince’s side for years. The Crown Princess might order her about, but she would never truly dare to harm her. Yet Xing Muzheng had just… Perhaps he, too, had realized that the matter was not as simple as it appeared, and killed Wan Hong just to vent his anger.
“Crown Princess, when the Crown Prince wakes, tell him that Xing Muzheng has cleaned the house for him.” Xing Muzheng wiped the blood from his sword with a black cloth. “I only hope he won’t blame me for overstepping my bounds.”
The Crown Princess forced a smile. “Marquis Xing overstates it. As you said, Wan Hong brought danger upon both His Highness and my younger sister. Her death a hundred times over would still not be enough! If the Crown Prince had woken, she would have died even more miserably. You killing her could even be considered a mercy.”
Wu Hong, lying in bed, heard every word clearly. His eyes went wide — Wan Hong had been killed by Xing Muzheng! His beloved concubine, his childhood sweetheart, the woman with whom he had first tasted intimacy — dead!
Wu Hong’s heart bled, and he wanted nothing more than to leap out of bed and rush out. But he restrained himself. If he went out now, all his earlier pretense would have been wasted. Xing Muzheng was so ruthless — even if he did not dare kill him, he would surely drag this matter before the Emperor. And Wu Hong knew well how much his father favored Xing Muzheng. From any angle, it was clearly his own fault. If his third brother seized the chance to kick him while he was down, his position as Crown Prince would be in jeopardy!
Wu Hong drew two deep breaths. He also understood that today’s affair must have a scapegoat — otherwise, it could not be smoothed over. As the Crown Princess had said, Wan Hong was doomed to die. But still, his heart ached! His Wan Hong, so obedient to him in all things! He would have to take Dingxi Marchioness as his own to offset the grievance of losing his beloved concubine to Xing Muzheng’s sword.
