Chapter 23

"Everyone, we... have won!"

"Ooh—!"

The next morning, a deafening cheer erupted from within the Wenzhao Pavilion, startling the imperial guards patrolling outside the hall, who looked at each other in confusion.

"What? What have they won?"

"Why bother? That's the Eighth Prince's Wenzhao Pavilion."

Murmuring among themselves, the guards ignored the commotion and continued their patrol.

Inside the Wenzhao Pavilion, Prince Zhao Hongrun, the Eighth Prince, clutched a bronze token in his left hand, his fist shaking with excitement.

In front of him, the ten palace guards—Mu Qing, Shen Yu, Wei Jiao, Chu Heng, Gao Kuo, Zhong Zhao, Lü Mu, Zhu Gui, He Miao, and Zhou Pu—were also visibly moved.

After more than twenty days of struggle against the current emperor, the Son of Heaven of the Great Wei, their monthly stipends had been cut off, and they were left with no resources. The noble prince had to beg for food, eating at the Ningxiang Palace, Tingfeng Pavilion, and the Imperial Academy. The palace guards, who held ranks equivalent to county magistrates, had to endure the humiliation of dining with the lowly eunuchs to save the few remaining coins.

However, they had persevered, and they had finally made it through!

"Father still hasn't allowed me to leave the palace, but that doesn't matter. Yesterday, Mother summoned me to the Ningxiang Palace and scolded me severely, and ordered me to apologize to the other concubines in a few days. That doesn't matter either. We haven't yet regained our monthly stipends, and our funds are almost depleted, but none of that matters! What matters is that we have won! We can finally leave the palace!"

"Ooh—!!"

The ten palace guards raised their arms in triumph, their faces filled with excitement.

"Change into civilian clothes, and let's leave the palace!"

"Ooh!"

The group hurriedly put on the commoner's clothes they had obtained from the inner palace, removing any items that might reveal their identities. Dressed as ordinary people, they marched out of the palace gate, leaving the Imperial City of Bianjing.

The main gate of the Imperial City of Bianjing faced the Zhengyang Street.

Zhengyang Street was the main route for court officials to enter the palace, and ordinary citizens were not allowed to walk there, so there were few pedestrians on the street.

The alleys and lanes on Zhengyang Street led to the residences of court officials, including the mansions of the five princes who had already left the palace.

It was no exaggeration to say that those who lived near Zhengyang Street were either wealthy or powerful, the true elite of the capital city of Daliang.

Further south along the street, the buildings were mostly government offices, such as the headquarters of the Six Ministries and the twenty-four subordinate departments. These government offices divided the capital city of Daliang into two distinct social circles: the northern city, where the wealthy and powerful lived, and the southern city, where ordinary citizens resided.

Turning onto Chaoyang Street, the atmosphere suddenly became lively. The street was lined with shops, and vendors and citizens filled the sidewalks.

"Chaoyang Street is the most bustling and prosperous street in the capital," Shen Yu, a native of the capital, enthusiastically introduced the street to his prince.

Although he had rarely visited the street since being recruited into the palace at a young age, compared to Zhao Hongrun, who had never left the palace, Shen Yu's knowledge of the street was enough to serve as a guide for the group.

"Amazing..."

Standing at the crossroads, Zhao Hongrun looked around at the bustling crowd.

He saw elderly people with gray hair, children with braids, burly men, and elegant young gentlemen. Most importantly, he finally saw young women.

"That one is good..."

"Mmm... Your Highness, no, sir, look at that one."

"Mmm, good eye, Zhong Zhao..."

"Sir, look at that one, that one is also good."

"Mmm... Damn, Chu Heng, what kind of taste do you have? Step aside, you almost blinded me."

"Uh, I think she's not bad..."

"Enough, sir, sir, look at that one."

"Okay, okay..."

The group squatted at the entrance of an alley, commenting on the young and beautiful women in the crowd.

It was no wonder, as both Zhao Hongrun and his palace guards had been confined in the palace and had never had the chance to go out. Although there were many beautiful young women in the palace, they could not look at them so freely.

The palace guards were constrained by the sensitive status of the palace maids, and as a prince, Zhao Hongrun was even more restricted. To avoid suspicion, the palace maids dared not show themselves in front of him, and if they were seen, they would be punished for attempting to seduce a prince.

"Feeling like I've been living a lifeless life for decades, today I finally feel alive again..."

Crouching at the entrance of the alley, Zhao Hongrun watched the young women on the street for over an hour, feeling satisfied.

Such a trivial matter gave him an immense sense of fulfillment. He found it incredible that his outlook on life had become so cheap.

But his words were met with general agreement from the palace guards.

There was no way around it; the palace's regulations were too strict.

"Sir, what should we do next?"

After watching for over an hour, Gao Kuo, one of the palace guards, felt it was enough and asked.

"What should we do next?"

Hearing the question, Zhao Hongrun felt a bit lost.

He had often thought about what he would do once he left the palace, but now that he was actually out, he felt a bit at a loss.

The outside world was too unfamiliar to him.

"Should we go hunting?"

Zhao Hongrun hesitated.

He had always been eager to hunt. In the past, only the princes who had left the palace were allowed to participate in the imperial hunts, and young princes like Zhao Hongrun were not even allowed to watch, citing some ancestral rule that young princes should not see blood.

To hell with that!

"Hunting?" Shen Yu looked at the sky and smiled bitterly. "Sir, hunting requires leaving the city and preparing many things, such as horses and bows. We have no money, and it's also too late. The... um, your father made it clear that if we don't return to the palace by dusk, our tokens will be confiscated..."

"Then let's do it next time." Zhao Hongrun felt a bit disappointed.

Although he had won a small victory, forcing the emperor to grant him a token for free passage in and out of the palace, he was also ordered to return to the palace by dusk, or the token would be confiscated.

In short, it was a limited freedom.

"Sir, why don't we go to a tavern?"

"Yeah, yeah."

The palace guards Zhu Gui and He Miao suggested.

Although drinking was not restricted in the palace, the wine provided to the princes was light and slightly sweet, clearly fruit wine.

Zhao Hongrun's palace guards, all young men in their twenties, found the palace wine uninteresting, and even Zhao Hongrun didn't feel much from it.

Now that they were finally out of the palace, they naturally wanted to try real strong liquor.

At the mention of this, the other palace guards felt their throats dry, eager to drink a jug of strong liquor and savor the burning sensation.

Unfortunately, Zhao Hongrun had no interest in drinking. He preferred to stand quietly at the alley entrance, observing the young women on the street, which helped him maintain a normal outlook on life, free from the influence of the handsome eunuchs or his half-sisters in the palace.

Seeing their prince's indifference, the palace guards were a bit troubled. They couldn't leave him to go to a tavern on their own.

Suddenly, Mu Qing had an idea and whispered, "Sir, I know a place where you can drink and watch beautiful women, who are skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting..."

Hearing this, Shen Yu's face changed, and he whispered sternly, "Mu Qing!"

But it was too late. Mu Qing's words had already planted a seed in Zhao Hongrun's mind, which he couldn't shake off.

"Are you talking about... a brothel?"

At this, half of the ten palace guards' faces changed, especially the more serious ones like Lü Mu, Wei Jiao, and Shen Yu, who glared at Mu Qing as if silently condemning him: How dare you tempt the prince to such a place?!

Under their stern gazes, Mu Qing closed his mouth dejectedly.

However, Zhao Hongrun's mind became active: "A brothel... I've never been there..."

Shen Yu was startled and quickly said, "Sir, that's a disgraceful act. If the palace, or... your father or mother, finds out, the consequences will be unimaginable..."

"I won't say, and you won't say, who will know?"

"..." The palace guards looked at each other.

They knew their prince's character too well. Whenever he made a decision, they could never persuade him otherwise.

Worse still, his words, "Haven't you ever wanted to see it for yourself?" immediately stirred a hidden desire in their hearts.

"Die, so be it!"

The palace guards exchanged a glance and firmly stood by their prince.

"First, we need to solve the money problem, right?" Lü Mu, who managed the finances, pulled out a small money bag and took out a pitifully small amount of silver, looking at the expectant faces of the others.

"A few dozen taels of silver won't be enough..."

Wei Jiao's sigh further dampened their spirits.

At this moment, Zhao Hongrun chuckled and said to Mu Qing, "Mu Qing, take it out."

Mu Qing nodded and pulled out a scroll from his robe. When he unfolded it, it turned out to be a landscape painting by the Sixth Prince, Zhao Hongzhao, with his seal at the bottom.

"This..."

The palace guards' eyes lit up. Everyone knew that the Sixth Prince's calligraphy and paintings were highly valued by the literati and beauties of the capital, and were very rare and valuable.

"Where did you get this, sir?"

"Hehe, can't say, can't say."

Meanwhile.

The Sixth Prince, Zhao Hongzhao, stood in front of his residence, the Yafeng Pavilion, thoughtfully looking at the walls adorned with his own calligraphy and paintings.

"I feel like something is missing..."

He muttered in confusion.

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