zChapter 1013 - Chapter 1013 Hostage (1/2)
Intuition told Wang Chuan that this group of soldiers led by the eunuch was coming towards them. She very professionally stepped forward to shield Miao shi and Zirui. Even the servant, Ying Cao, was protected.
This movement was one that Feng Yuheng was very familiar with. The joy from Zirui’s return was quickly dampened. She turned around and followed Wang Chuan’s gaze. There, she saw a group of people arrive before her, as the eunuch at the front saluted her, saying: “This servant, Wu Ying, pays respects to Princess Yu.” His tone was very strange, and he deliberately made it sound even stranger. It was as though he was announcing his identity. His voice was quite loud, and it caused quite a few of the citizens in the streets to look over.
“Wu Ying?” Feng Yuheng looked at him and saw that this eunuch’s clothes were a little different from the usual brown clothes that other eunuchs in the palace wore. Instead, it was a dark red color. It was the same as the clothes that Zhang Yuan had worn previously. She finally understood. It was most likely that this Wu Ying was the one that had taken Zhang Yuan’s place at the Emperor’s side. She gently said: “Did eunuch Wu come looking for this princess for something?”
Eunuch Wu Ying smiled back at her; however, that smile was purely on the surface. No matter how one looked at it, it looked very fake. He then bowed to Feng Yuheng before saying: “Replying to princess, this servant did not come looking for princess. Instead, His Majesty wanted to see the Feng family’s young master.”
“Hm?” Feng Yuheng was stunned, “Father Emperor wishes to see Zirui?”
“That’s correct.” Wu Ying said: “His Majesty heard that the Feng family’s young master would be arriving in the capital today from Xiao Zhou, and His Majesty specifically instructed this servant to come out to pick him up. His Majesty said that the Feng family’s young master can be considered his junior disciple brother. His junior disciple brother has returned to the capital. As the senior disciple, he felt that he should meet him. Moreover, His Majesty has not seen his master, Ye Rong, in many years and really wants to ask the Feng family’s young master about their master’s condition. I hope that princess will not get in the way.”
Get in the way? She did want to stop it, but could she? It was the Emperor who wanted to see Zirui, and he had given a reason that left people with no room to refuse. No matter what, it seemed that Zirui would need to go into the Imperial Palace. There were even some people passing by who were unaware of the actual situation and felt envious of Zirui’s fortune. They praised him for being able to become the Emperor’s junior disciple brother at such a young age. His future would be boundless!
However, Feng Yuheng did not feel that this was a good thing. If this had happened in the past, the Emperor being fond of Zirui and inviting him into the palace was indeed a thing to rejoice over. Because the Emperor had a good personality, he took very good care of the people that he favored, especially Zirui. The old emperor really did dote on him as a junior disciple brother. Whenever something good happened, he would think of him. But could the Emperor, as he currently was, still be the same as he was in the past? Aside from the outer shell, she could not even say that he was truly the same person. His thoughts had been controlled by someone else, and his actions were controlled by someone else. It was all controlled by someone else. Then calling Zirui into the palace this time, what would it be for?
A chill filled Feng Yuheng’s heart, as she felt that there was something at play here. It was the eighth prince and Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu who were wanting to bring Zirui into the palace to act as a hostage to threaten her.
She understood all of this, but what of it? Could she openly oppose this? It was obvious that she could not.
The eunuch, Wu Ying, saw that she did not have much of a reaction, and he could not help but press her: “Princess, His Majesty is still waiting in the palace! The imperial kitchen also informed us that all of the Feng family’s young master’s favorite foods were made. It would not be good for them to get cold.”
Feng Zirui also felt that this was a little strange. After all, he was a young child. Even if word of the situation in the capital could spread to Xiao Zhou, it would not be told to him. It was because of this that he was a little unable to understand. The Emperor calling him into the palace was not some major thing, nor was it particularly novel. In the past, when he was in the capital, he would go into the Imperial Palace to see the Emperor. The Emperor was a rather casual person and was pretty good to him. He would also call Xuan Feiyu into the palace. One old and two young, the three of them would often mess around together, and it would be quite a joyous affair. But why was it that his elder sister had such a worried expression when the palace servant came to call him into the palace? Something was wrong!
The young boy frowned and was curious about it; however, he knew that he should not ask this question in front of so many people. He just reached out and tugged Feng Yuheng’s sleeve, quietly calling her: “Elder sister.”
Feng Yuheng regained her composure, but there was not much change to her complicated expression. She just said to Wu Ying: “Eunuch is right. It’s just that my younger brother only just returned to the capital. The journey would have been quite dirty, and I fear that going in just like this would be a problem. Please allow this princess to bring him back home to change his clothes first!”
“Oh!” Wu Ying immediately shook his head and said: “Apologies, princess. This servant really is unable to make that decision. His Majesty is waiting urgently and specifically sent this servant to come and meet him at the city’s gate. As soon as the Feng family’s young master was seen, he must be brought into the palace. You also know about His Majesty’s impatient personality. While this servant is not afraid of waiting nor being punished, if we are late, and His Majesty gets angry, his body could not handle it. I hope that princess will have some sympathy.”
He was wanting her to be sympathetic to the Emperor’s situation! Feng Yuheng snorted coldly to herself. Old eighth’s side really moved fast. Zirui managed to return to the capital safely, but who knew that this sort of skit would play out upon entering the capital. She knew that she would definitely be unable to stop Zirui from entering the palace today, thus she did not continue to speak with Wu Ying. She just turned around and said to Zirui: “Recently, His Majesty’s health has not been very good. You must pay close attention to manners and etiquette inside the palace. You must not mess around like you did in the past. Pay your respects to the noble people inside the palace. Regardless of what you see or hear in the palace, don’t think of it as strange. Don’t ask anything and don’t say anything unnecessary. You also must not ask others about it. Just accompany His Majesty well. Don’t worry, elder sister will go and visit you.”
Zirui nodded. He looked to be at a bit of a loss, but more than that, he was puzzled. Hearing his elder sister, it sounded as though something had happened to the Emperor that he did not know about, and this would make him afraid. But he could not understand. What exactly had happened inside the Imperial Palace would frighten him?