CHAPTER 577: CHAPTER 577 SPY

Seeing the Prince walk over, Xingxing guiltily hid beside Su Jin.

Su Jin was just about to take Lady Chi’s pulse when she saw the Prince approaching, and she hurriedly stood up.

"Take Lady Chi’s pulse first," the Prince said.

Su Jin sat back down.

Lady Chi had been taking fetus-preserving medicine these days, but after being troubled by Princess Nanzhang, her pregnancy was disturbed.

"Lady Chi’s pregnancy is unstable, and she is also startled. She needs to rest in bed for half a month," Su Jin said.

"The anti-abortion pills are not enough. I will prepare more and send them over."

Having said what needed to be said, Su Jin took her leave.

Xingxing obediently followed, not daring to comment that the Prince was running too fast.

Once out of Qingqiu Garden, Xingxing looked at Su Jin and said, "Are you just going to let Mrs. Zhao off like that?"

"Why don’t you go back and report it to the Prince again?" Su Jin chuckled.

Xingxing shook her head vigorously.

Su Jin smiled and walked back to Agarwood Pavilion.

Yet, in less than half an hour, the news that Mrs. Zhao had been punished by the Prince to kneel in the courtyard for an hour reached Su Jin’s ears.

Su Jin just smiled it off.

Xingxing, however, was relieved, her spirits lifted with joy.

The words she said, not only did the Prince take them to heart, but he also severely punished Mrs. Zhao.

With such a blazing sun, making Mrs. Zhao kneel for an hour, that was enough for her to endure.

If she weren’t afraid of being beaten, Xingxing would have wanted to go to Peony Garden to watch.

Failing to get rid of Lady Chi as she wished, and having Mrs. Zhao punished by the Prince to vent for Lady Chi, there was no need to mention how angry Princess Nanzhang was.

Leaving Peony Garden, the Prince returned to the study.

The message delivered by the homing pigeon was almost torn apart by the Prince’s scrutinizing.

It was a letter personally written by the Hidden Guard, definitely not fake.

Prime Minister Zhao of Nanliang vouched with Xiang Shang’s head that Princess Hengyang was still alive and in the Capital City.

Yet the Prince was puzzled; since Hengyang was in the Capital, why didn’t she come to find him?

Was she afraid that her identity as the Nanliang Princess would harm Chenchen?

The Prince looked at the portrait, and her vibrant image flashed in his mind.

It’s been eighteen years since they parted in Nanliang.

He wanted to see her.

He was eager to find her.

The Prince rolled up the painting and handed it to the Hidden Guard, saying, "Be sure to find the person in the painting."

The Hidden Guard felt that the Prince’s action was somewhat impulsive.

But no one understood better than these Hidden Guards the Prince’s deep feelings for the Princely Heir’s biological mother.

For Princess Hengyang, the Prince firmly trampled on Princess Nanzhang and the Empress Dowager’s dignity.

This was the Prince’s determination.

"I will go find her right away," the Hidden Guard said.

The Old Prince came back from the military camp and heard about Lady Chi’s pregnancy.

The Old Prince didn’t say much.

The Old Madam wanted the Old Prince to advise the Prince, but the Old Prince looked at the Old Madam for a long time without speaking.

The Old Madam looked at him, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

The Old Prince sighed, "You’ve really changed."

The Old Madam’s heart skipped a beat.

"Even though Lady Chi is from Nanliang, the child in her womb is still the blood of our Prince Zhenbei Mansion. Are you truly heartless enough to take the life of an innocent child?" the Old Prince asked.

The Old Madam was silent for a moment, not uttering a word.

The Old Prince didn’t stay long and left.

The Old Madam looked at Mrs. Wang, "Has the Old Prince remembered something I’ve forgotten?"

Mrs. Wang knew what the Old Prince had remembered.

Because she remembered it too.

That year.

The Old Madam had just married the Old Prince, and the Old Prince was just a poor young man.

During their newlywed days, the Old Prince accompanied the Old Madam to the street, picking out a silver hairpin at a jewelry stall.

Just as the Old Prince was about to pay, a woman with a child knelt at the Old Madam’s feet, begging her to save her child.

Out of the goodness of her heart, the Old Madam took the money meant for the silver hairpin from the Old Prince and gave it to the woman.

"No more silver hairpin then," the Old Prince looked at her and said.

"Material possessions are not as valuable as a life," the Old Madam said.

"The silver hairpin you gifted is in my heart."

In the Old Madam’s eyes, life was the most precious.

But now, the Old Madam wanted to personally end the life of an innocent child.

That child was her grandchild.

No wonder the Old Prince felt the Old Madam had changed.

The Old Madam had indeed changed.

...

Early the next morning, Princess Nanzhang brought the qin with the broken strings into the palace.

After the court session, the Prince was summoned to Yongning Palace by the Empress Dowager.

The Prince was well aware of the reason for the Empress Dowager’s summons.

Upon seeing the Prince, the Empress Dowager was furious, "Isn’t Prince Zhenbei still unable to forget the past feelings for the Princely Heir’s biological mother? How could he favor a Nanliang person and even have a child with her?!"

"You are Prince Zhenbei, holding a powerful military force, and yet a Nanliang person lies next to your pillow. Are you not afraid she might strike you with a knife in the middle of the night, severing Daqi’s arm?!"

"How did Nanliang treat Princess Jiuling, and yet you are so lenient with Nanliang!"

The Empress Dowager’s voice grew sharper with each word.

The Prince knew he was in for a reprimand from the Empress Dowager, and he replied, "Indeed, Lady Chi entered the Prince Mansion in a Nanliang carriage, but she was not a concubine sent to me by Nanliang."

"It is uncertain whether she is from Nanliang."

Princess Nanzhang coldly stated, "If she’s not from Nanliang, why was she in a Nanliang carriage?"

The Prince shook his head, "I will investigate this matter. The appearance of the concubines Nanliang sent to me is known very well by Duke Chong."

"If the Empress Dowager doesn’t believe it, you can summon Duke Chong to inquire."

Princess Nanzhang’s chest surged with anger.

Since Lady Chi entered the Prince Mansion on the first day, she knew she was not the concubine originally intended to be sent by Nanliang to the Prince.

The singer that Nanliang wanted to send was unparalleled in dance, certainly not a disfigured mute.

Sending someone like that would really shame Nanliang.

However, the person was sent by Nanliang, and the Nanliang envoy had already set on the journey back to the Capital.

The Prince did not pay much attention to Lady Chi, leaving her in Qingqiu Garden unattended, so Princess Nanzhang ignored her.

And thus, fifteen years passed.

Little did she expect that fifteen years later, Lady Chi would strike a heavy blow against her.

The Prince even used this as an excuse to shield her.

However, the Prince was also right; Lady Chi was not the person Nanliang intended to send to him, so whether she was from Nanliang was uncertain.

There was no rule that Daqi people could not hide in a Nanliang soft sedan chair.

Nor was there a rule that Daqi people could not have Nanliang’s silver notes on them.

The Prince’s retort left both the Empress Dowager and Princess Nanzhang dumbfounded.

"What if she is from Nanliang?!" Princess Nanzhang coldly said.

"She carries the blood of my Prince Zhenbei Mansion as well!" the Prince replied with a powerful voice.

"If she is a spy, daring to do anything to harm Prince Zhenbei’s Mansion and the court, I will end her myself."

The Prince’s firm attitude left the Empress Dowager with no recourse.

Princess Nanzhang sought to punish Lady Chi on the grounds that she had damaged a qin string bestowed by the Empress Dowager.

Princess Nanzhang’s aggressive approach prompted the Prince to anger, "If the qin bestowed by the Empress Dowager is so precious, why did you let Lady Chi touch it?"

"Playing a qin inevitably leads to the breaking of strings. Haven’t you already punished Lady Chi by making her kneel for an hour, and yet your anger isn’t appeased?"

The matter of replacing a qin string should not be dragged on indefinitely.

How troubled must Lady Chi have been to break the qin string?

Moreover, the Prince knew well how the string broke.

Deliberately breaking the string, laying the blame on someone else, and then turning the tables, hadn’t she learned enough from the previous incident with the Purple Jade Bracelet?

The Prince did not wish to stay even a moment longer.

He had no time to waste half a day over a single qin string.

The Prince took his leave.

Princess Nanzhang’s face twisted with rage.

Her long nails broke as she vowed in her heart.

As he protected her, she became even more determined to take Lady Chi’s life!

Duke Chong’s Mansion.

Upon returning home from court, Duke Chong had just entered his study when Dark Guard Li Zhong arrived with a painting.

"Your Grace, please look at this painting," Li Zhong unfurled the painting for Duke Chong to see.

Duke Chong glanced at it twice.

At first, he was captivated by the beauty of the woman in the painting.

Soon after, he felt a sense of familiarity.

There were not many such beautiful women; he shouldn’t have forgotten.

"Who is the person in the painting?" Duke Chong asked.

"It’s Princess Hengyang of Nanliang," Li Zhong replied.

No wonder...

Duke Chong took another look at the painting.

Then his brows knitted tightly, "Where did this painting come from?"

Li Zhong quickly replied, "I went to pick up a restored painting and happened to see a Hidden Guard beside Prince Zhenbei coming out of the painting studio, so I asked a bit more."

He found the painting familiar, so he brought back a copied version.

It was just now that he realized it was Princess Hengyang of Nanliang.

After returning to the study, Duke Chong stared at the painting for a long time.

He could see that the painting was the Prince’s own work.

Could it be... Princess Hengyang of Nanliang is the biological mother of the Heir of Prince Zhenbei?

This became interesting.

"Summon Imperial Censor Liu for me."