Chapter 37

"Simply can't swallow this bitter pill!"

In the Wenzhao Pavilion, Zongwei Mu Qing expressed his indignation with a face full of anger.

"It's not simply, it's completely!"

Zongwei Wei Jiao interjected.

Everything was going well; Shen Yu, Lu Mu, and Mu Qing were accompanying the Eighth Prince Zhao Hongrun to meet the lady Su at the Fangshuixie. They were responsible for distracting the eunuch supervisor's spies, and after that, they planned to find a place to have a drink. It was a perfect arrangement, but someone took advantage of their absence to frame their prince, leading to a scolding from Consort Shen, which left them seething with anger.

"A mere Department of Personnel Secretary, what audacity! Not only did he indulge his son, but he also devised such a cunning plan... If it weren't for the prince's current favor with His Majesty, we would have truly fallen into that scoundrel's trap!" Zongwei Gao Kuo said with a look of lingering fear.

Indeed, if it weren't for Zhao Hongrun's current favor with the Emperor of Dawei, would the Emperor have let him off lightly in the past? He would have been severely punished. And with Zhao Hongrun under the Emperor's heavy punishment, how could he have had the time to retaliate against the Department of Personnel Secretary Luo Wenzhong?

It cannot be denied that Luo Wenzhong's plan was a brilliant one, a classic case of using someone else's knife to kill. Unfortunately, he did not understand the current situation in the palace and still thought that Zhao Hongrun was just a wayward prince not favored by the Emperor of Dawei.

During the collective condemnation by the Zongwei, Shen Yu and Lu Mu remained silent. As the older members of the Zongwei, they felt deeply ashamed of their own misconduct.

They were supposed to protect their prince, but they ended up being tricked and getting drunk to the point of unconsciousness, and had to be rescued from a secluded alley in the city by the Zongwei. This was a disgrace that went beyond their wildest dreams.

Worse still, due to their drunken state, their testimonies were not accepted by the Zongwei, leading to Zhao Hongrun being unjustly accused of "lax discipline."

Noticing the self-reproach on Shen Yu and Lu Mu's faces, Zhao Hongrun waved his hand to signal the Zongwei to stop their discussion and said calmly, "Enough, what's done is done. What's the point of further condemning Luo Wenzhong? As the Emperor of Dawei, Father always acts with 'just cause.' Without evidence, we can't bring down Luo Wenzhong... Instead of wasting time here, we should gather information and find a way to restore our honor and avenge this humiliation!"

The Zongwei nodded in agreement.

Thus, Zhao Hongrun ordered them to leave the palace to investigate the Department of Personnel Secretary Luo Wenzhong, while he himself took Shen Yu and Lu Mu to the Fangshuixie. After all, resolving Luo Wenzhong's matter would not be a quick process, and Zhao Hongrun felt it necessary to give the lady Su an explanation.

Perhaps because the other Zongwei were not around, Shen Yu and Lu Mu finally couldn't hold back and said with shame, "Your Highness, we..."

"Enough," Zhao Hongrun raised his hand to interrupt them, looking at them seriously, "This matter started because of me, so how can it be your fault?... Rest assured, for both your sake and mine, I will definitely avenge this humiliation against the Luo family!" He patted their shoulders firmly.

Feeling the grip on their shoulders and looking into Zhao Hongrun's trusting eyes, Shen Yu and Lu Mu were deeply moved and nodded heavily.

"Alright!"

They finally regained their composure.

"By the way... How was the wine at the Dali Temple?"

"To be honest, the wine was good, but being forced to drink it... That was terrible."

"Ah, I didn't even get to taste it before getting drunk..."

"Ha ha ha—"

The master and his two servants laughed casually as they left the palace and headed toward the Fangshuixie.

Meanwhile, in the Fangshuixie, the young maid Lüer ran back to Cuixiao Pavilion, her face full of panic, to report a surprising discovery to her mistress, Lady Su.

"Oh no, oh no, Miss, oh no..."

At that moment, Lady Su was sitting in front of her dressing table, staring blankly at her reflection. Seeing Lüer rush in, she asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Lüer?"

Lüer put her hands on her hips and panted for a moment before saying urgently, "Miss, I don't know what happened, but your sign has been taken down..."

Lady Su's eyebrows furrowed instinctively.

To be honest, this was not good news. According to the rules of the brothel, every girl who worked there had a bamboo sign with her name or nickname hanging on the wall of the first floor, informing the guests who were available. If a sign was taken down, it meant that the girl could no longer receive guests. This usually only happened when a girl was chosen by a powerful official and the brothel agreed to remove her sign.

This was both a form of protection and a way to inform other guests that the girl was "taken." Now that Lady Su's sign had been taken down, it meant that someone powerful enough to make the Fangshuixie comply had taken an interest in her.

This made Lady Su feel uneasy.

'Could it be... him?'

The first thought that came to Lady Su's mind was Zhao Hongrun. After all, he was not only the first guest she had received at the Fangshuixie but also the first man in her life. However, after carefully analyzing this idea, she felt a bit disheartened.

Indeed, in Lady Su's eyes, Zhao Hongrun was undoubtedly a talented and wealthy young man. Despite being six years younger than her, he was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, far surpassing her in skill. However, the problem was that this "Jiang Gongzi" did not seem to be from a powerful family. Even if his family was wealthy, it was far from the level of the nobility.

It was true that if Zhao Hongrun were from a noble family, he would not have tolerated Luo Rong. He would have used his family's influence to make Luo Rong back off. But Zhao Hongrun did not do that, which made Lady Su doubt that he was the one who had made the Fangshuixie send a friendly signal.

'If not him, then who?'

Lady Su's heart sank, feeling a heavy pressure.

At that moment, she heard Lüer's angry scolding from the outer room.

"Shameless scoundrel, you still have the nerve to come here?!"

'Who?'

Just as Lady Su was puzzled, she heard Zhao Hongrun's voice, both surprised and delighted.

"Shameless scoundrel?... How have I wronged you?"

'Why is he here? Is he alright?'

Without hesitation, Lady Su hurried from the inner room to the outer room, looking at Zhao Hongrun, who was being pushed out by Lüer, with a mix of excitement and concern.

"Lüer, be respectful!"

Perhaps fearing that Zhao Hongrun would be angry, Lady Su quickly stopped Lüer's rude behavior.

However, her voice caught Zhao Hongrun's attention, and their eyes met for a moment.

Instantly, Lady Su felt her cheeks flush, and Zhao Hongrun seemed a bit awkward, scratching his face.

"Miss, how can you still protect this bad boy?" Lüer asked, unable to understand.

"Don't talk nonsense... Go and make some tea."

"Okay..."

Following Lady Su's instructions, Lüer pouted and reluctantly went to make tea, but not before giving Zhao Hongrun a fierce glare.

Seeing Lüer's back disappear, Lady Su lowered her head and softly invited, "If Jiang Gongzi doesn't mind, please come to the inner room..."

Today, she seemed less composed than usual, with a subtle allure that made Zhao Hongrun feel restless and unable to calm down.

"Shen Yu, Lu Mu, wait for me outside for a moment."

"..." Facing their prince's order, Shen Yu and Lu Mu exchanged glances and frowned.

Logically, after such a major incident, they should not leave their prince alone, but seeing the look on the lady and their prince, they felt it was best to stay out of it.

"Yes." Shen Yu and Lu Mu tactfully left the room and stood guard outside the door.

At this moment, Zhao Hongrun slowly walked into the inner room at Lady Su's invitation.

It must be said that when they saw the bed, both of them felt a bit awkward, as just seven days ago, they had been naked and intimate on that very bed, doing everything that a man and a woman could do.

Sitting across from each other at the small table, neither Zhao Hongrun nor Lady Su spoke, as they didn't know how to start the conversation.

The awkward silence continued even when Lüer brought in the teapot.

"Please have some tea, Jiang Gongzi."

After sending Lüer out of the room, Lady Su finally broke the silence by inviting him to have tea.

"Thank you." Zhao Hongrun took a sip of tea. Although he had come to give Lady Su an explanation, he was at a loss for words when the moment arrived.

In the end, it was Lady Su who changed the subject.

"Who were the people who took you away that day? Did they harm you?"

"A cousin from my clan." Zhao Hongrun said vaguely.

"Huh?" Lady Su was taken aback and asked curiously, "How did he know you were... here?" Her cheeks flushed as she thought of something.

Zhao Hongrun wanted to say he was framed, but after some thought, he realized that the one who truly suffered was Lady Su, so he didn't want to say he was framed to avoid giving her any negative ideas.

"Because someone informed him..."

"Informed him... Is Jiang Gongzi from this area?"

"Ah, I am a local of this capital, Chen Du."

They chatted for a while, and as they avoided mentioning that night, the awkward atmosphere gradually eased.

"Miss Su, I came today to give you an explanation... But to be honest, I'm at a loss for what to say."

"..."

Lady Su's heart sank, and she lowered her head, saying softly, "Jiang Gongzi doesn't need to explain or make any promises to me..."

Zhao Hongrun realized she had misunderstood and quickly explained, "Miss Su, you misunderstood. I didn't mean that... In fact, my parents have already learned about your situation."

"Eh??" Lady Su gasped, her hands trembling and her face pale, "Your... your parents... they know? What do they know?"

"Everything." Zhao Hongrun sighed, looking at Lady Su awkwardly.

Lady Su's face turned red and then pale, clearly very nervous, "Then... then what did they say?"

"They scolded me... Ah, it's not your fault. My parents just said I usually think I'm smart, but I'm useless when it matters..."

Fortunately, Zhao Hongrun explained, otherwise Lady Su would have overthought it, "Then... did they say anything else?"

"Not yet."

"Phew..."

Lady Su breathed a sigh of relief. Being six years older than Zhao Hongrun, she feared being called a "shameless woman who seduced their son" by his parents. Now that she heard they hadn't said anything yet, she felt a bit relieved.

"I came today to report my safety and to give you an explanation... I won't avoid what I need to explain... Can you wait for me for a while?"

"Wait...?"

Lady Su's heart raced, biting her lip and asking softly, "As you wish, I... I will be here."

"Um!... Then, I'll go first."

"I'll see you off, sir..."

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