Chapter 301: Chapter 301 Sealed
Su Chong felt something was amiss.
First—
His father’s attitude toward the Jibei Marquis Mansion was unusual.
First, he brought Su Yang to the Jibei Marquis to be held.
Then he took Su Yang to the Jibei Marquis Mansion and even let him stay over for the night.
Su Yang said the Jibei Marquis looked at him kindly, making him want to call him grandfather.
The Jibei Marquis did not oppose the Su Family Army being called the Flying Tiger Army, and even spoke well of his father.
Now, there were some similarities between his father and the Second Master of Jibei Marquis Mansion who died on the battlefield.
Is this really just a coincidence?
Su Chong was lost in thought, and Prince NanAn patted him on the shoulder, saying, "What is Brother Su thinking about?"
"Nothing," Su Chong replied.
"Then let’s go raid Baihua Building, I can’t wait any longer," Prince NanAn said, looking excited.
The group left the palace in a grand procession.
Fengyang Pavilion.
Princess Shouning had received thirty lashes and lay on the bed crying.
Eunuch Fu’s trusted little eunuch supervised the punishment. The eunuchs hit loudly but not severely, yet Princess Shouning’s cries were heartrending.
Regardless of the pain, just lying on the bench was enough to make Princess Shouning feel humiliated and cry.
Having accepted a pair of jade bracelets given by Nanny Zhou, the little eunuch turned a blind eye.
Supervising a princess’s punishment is not a good job. If the Empress held a grudge, he could be killed in some corner of the vast Imperial Palace.
Those who mysteriously fell into the water or wells serve as warnings.
Eunuch Fu had pushed this unlucky job onto him; he was just going through the motions and had to give the jade bracelets to Eunuch Fu.
After the little eunuch withdrew.
Princess Shouning cried until her eyes were swollen.
The Empress was both angry and distressed.
Nanny Zhou applied medicine for Princess Shouning, causing her to cry out in pain.
The Empress, unable to bear it, scolded for being clumsy, then took the ointment and applied it herself for Princess Shouning.
Princess Shouning bit on an embroidered handkerchief.
The tears welled in her eyes from the pain.
There was something she dared not say—
It hurt much more when her mother applied the medicine than when Nanny Zhou did.
Involving the Empress losing the Phoenix Seal, although only temporarily, Princess Shouning did not dare to provoke the Empress further at this time.
The Empress, frustrated, said, "What happened exactly? How did sneaking out lead to falling into the hands of the Eldest Young Madam of Duke Zhen’s Mansion?"
Princess Shouning, gritting her teeth, said, "It’s all her fault!"
"I was strolling along just fine, then she stepped on my foot, didn’t apologize, and even robbed me of three thousand taels of silver."
"I was so angry that I asked Bibi to bribe some hooligans to sell her for some justice."
"In the end, the people Bibi found didn’t catch them; instead, they knocked me out and sold me!"
Thinking about it made Princess Shouning gnash her teeth with hatred.
She had received thirty lashes, Bibi got forty, with solid hits; who knows if she could survive it.
The Empress was equally furious.
Nanny Zhou, standing aside, said, "The Eldest Young Madam of Duke Zhen’s Mansion is despicable, but in the Emperor’s eyes, the princess plotted against her first; she bore no grudge and preserved the princess’s reputation and purity, thus deserving reward despite the anger."
Princess Shouning was indignant, "Didn’t she rob Mother of ten thousand taels of silver?!"
"I don’t believe she would hand over that ten thousand to Baihua Building!" Princess Shouning said.
"Baihua Building?" the Empress repeated.
"This Palace seems to have heard of this place somewhere?"
Nanny Zhou whispered, "It seems to be a property of Duke Chong’s Mansion."
Princess Shouning, "...!!!"
How could Baihua Building belong to Duke Chong’s Mansion?!
The Empress’s face changed.
"Quick, send someone to notify Duke Chong!" the Empress urged.
Baihua Building forcing the princess to entertain guests had already reached the Emperor’s ears, sealing its doomed fate.
But if acted quickly, Duke Chong’s Mansion’s losses could be minimized.
Unfortunately, the Empress reacted too late.
Her message had not even left the palace.
Prince NanAn and his group were already on their way to Baihua Building.
Baihua Building.
Zhao Xu was left as collateral.
Handsome and graceful, even without money, the girls eagerly approached to flirt with him.
Zhao Xu was tireless in his avoidance.
With the girls pursuing and him dodging.
As a servant carrying tea passed by, Zhao Xu, distracted in his dodging, collided with him.
The servant’s tea cup flew out of his hand.
It happened to be outside a girl’s room door, and she was about to come out.
The tea cup flew toward her.
Worried about hurting the innocent, Zhao Xu was on edge, but the girl nimbly dodged, letting the tea cup smash into her room with a crash.
The Madam rushed over.
The girl patted her chest, looking terrified.
She wore a veil, her face obscured.
But the Madam was quite frightened and gave the young tea server a slap, "How do you carry tea?!"
The server looked aggrieved.
The Madam looked at Zhao Xu, coldly saying, "Injuring our Miss Xue isn’t something a mere ten thousand taels can fix!"
Zhao Xu furrowed his brows slightly.
This Miss Xue was clearly skilled; how could mere tea possibly hurt her?
Since it was he who was at fault first, Zhao Xu apologized to Miss Xue.
Just then, a maid rushed over saying, "Madam, it’s bad, Prince NanAn has surrounded our Baihua Building with a bunch of soldiers."
The Madam’s face changed color.
The girl furrowed her brows, turned around, and went back into the room, closing the door.
The Madam rushed downstairs, asking, "The Commandery Prince returned to fetch silver, why is he surrounding our Baihua Building with soldiers?"
"It’s not surrounding, it’s a raid," Prince NanAn corrected.
"What law have we of Baihua Building broken? On what basis is the Commandery Prince raiding us?" the Madam asked aggressively.
Prince NanAn waved his jade fan.
"I can’t give you a reason."
"If you need one, it could be purely because of my handsome face."
Chu Shun’s mouth twitched.
The Madam said coldly, "Does the Commandery Prince know who is behind our Baihua Building?"
Chu Shun chuckled, "I am indeed quite curious."
Curious?
Was she trying to intimidate them!
The Madam was so angry her rouge nearly fell off.
"Enough with the dawdling, if you have something to say, say it quickly, we still need to raid Baihua Building," Prince NanAn said impatiently.
"You!" the Madam fumed.
Prince NanAn pushed the Madam aside, ordering the raid of Baihua Building.
Duke Chong’s Mansion.
In the study.
Duke Chong was admiring a newly acquired painting, growing more pleased as he looked.
Chief Manager Wang entered through the door and said, "Duke, there’s trouble at Baihua Building."
Duke Chong’s face darkened.
The good mood from obtaining a genuine piece was instantly wiped away.
"What happened?" he asked coldly.
"Not sure yet, but Prince NanAn and his group have raided Baihua Building," Chief Manager Wang reported.
"Already raided and you’re still unsure what happened?!" Duke Chong’s expression was icy.
"Calm down, Duke, we’ve already sent someone to investigate," Chief Manager Wang quickly said.
Duke Chong felt his head throb with anger.
The man standing beside him said, "What authority does Prince NanAn have to raid Baihua Building?"
No sooner was the question posed when another little eunuch came rushing in, saying, "Duke, there’s news from the palace."
Duke Chong’s brows knitted into a ’川’, "What now in the palace?!"
"Princess Shouning sneaked out, was sold to Baihua Building, and was saved by the Eldest Young Madam of Duke Zhen’s Mansion and Prince NanAn. The Emperor blamed the Empress and took the Phoenix Seal away," the servant reported in one breath.
Duke Chong’s face turned green.
Chief Manager Wang was stunned.
So Baihua Building was raided because of Princess Shouning...
Princess Shouning was sold to Baihua Building, lashed there, and finally rescued by the Eldest Young Madam of Duke Zhen’s Mansion?
Who exactly is the enemy, and who is an ally here?