On Qingcheng Mountain.
Chen Tingfeng was hidden in a tree. Holding a bow in his left hand and an arrow on the string with his right, he suddenly pulled the bowstring taut. With a cold and solemn look in his eyes, he stared at the person moving quickly in front of him and abruptly shot an arrow.
There was a thud from in front. The person was hit by the arrow and fell to the ground.
Two men immediately sprang out from around. They turned the person over and tore off the mask on his face. The man had rough and deep - set features, clearly not a person from the Central Plains.
Chen Tingfeng walked over and looked down. Yuanbao handed him a clean handkerchief. He slowly wiped his hands and said, "Take him back to the Supreme Court of Justice and let Zhang Zheng handle it."
Zhang Zheng was in the service of the Second Prince. Chen Tingfeng didn't need to worry about the news leaking if he handed the man over to him.
This man was probably a spy.
Recently, there had been stirrings on the border. The old emperor was old and muddled, and he had not made a decision for a long time. In matters of war, it was always the case that the stronger side would gain the upper hand. Once the stronger side weakened, the weaker side would surely become stronger. These barbarians were inevitably becoming more and more arrogant. Now they even dared to send spies into the capital openly.
Chen Tingfeng's eyes were heavy. Clearly, he was not in a good mood.
This matter should have been handled by the Second Prince today. But the Second Prince's mother, Concubine Rou, had a high fever last night, and he had stayed up all night to take care of her. So he had to entrust this matter to Chen Tingfeng. Coincidentally, today was also the monthly holiday of the academy.
Chen Tingfeng had the best relationship with the Second Prince, so he naturally wouldn't refuse. But it didn't stop him from being in a bad mood because of this spy.
The servants quickly dragged the spy away, and Chen Tingfeng was left alone in this place.
He casually threw the handkerchief away. It seemed that he was about to take a step to leave. The person hiding in the dark suddenly let out a sigh of relief. But in the next second, a flash of sword light passed. Before they could see clearly, a sharp weapon was pressed against their neck, and a little blood oozed out.
If Fu Zhen were here, she would surely be very surprised.
The woman hiding in the grass was the one who had escaped from her courtyard.
"Ah!" She let out a scream, which startled the birds in the forest. They flapped their wings and flew over the treetops.
Chen Tingfeng looked down silently and just pressed the sword a little closer to her neck. After a moment, there was a dull thud.
The sky completely darkened.
In the capital.
Because of the recent unrest, the people in the capital smelled the danger. In the evening, the shops closed early and people went back home. Only the brothels were still lit up and bustling with noise.
Chen Tingfeng avoided the crowded people and walked around to the back courtyard of the brothel. The Second Prince was sitting on a stone bench, drinking wine gloomily.
"You're here," he said.
Chen Tingfeng kicked away the empty wine jars that had rolled on the ground and sat down beside him. "Drinking to drown your sorrows?"
The Second Prince tilted his head and took another gulp of wine. Some of the wine flowed down his robe because he couldn't swallow it in time. He was trying to get himself drunk.
But he had a very good drinking capacity. After drinking several jars, his eyes were still clear.
"It's getting more and more boring. I won't drink anymore!" He threw the wine jar away like a child in a fit of pique. Then he lay on the stone bench, looking at the brightly - lit building in front of him.
"The man has been captured," Chen Tingfeng said. He asked someone to make tea and took a sip.
"No matter how many spies I capture, it's no match for his beloved youngest son," the Second Prince sneered. He got up from the stone bench and tried to grab Chen Tingfeng's tea.
Chen Tingfeng leaned back with the teacup in his hand, letting the Second Prince pour his own tea.
He was too lazy to argue with a drunkard.
"The emperor is old. It's natural for him to dote on his youngest son," Chen Tingfeng glanced at him. "What are you competing with him for?"
The Second Prince just kept sneering. "If it weren't for his favoritism towards the youngest son and for spoiling the ambition of a noble concubine, my mother wouldn't have suffered such a disaster last night!"
"A mere daughter of a county magistrate actually dared to target my mother!" He angrily smashed the teacup on the ground. His eyes were red with hatred.
The mother of the youngest prince was the daughter of a small county magistrate. She was extremely beautiful and was lucky enough to give birth to a prince, so the emperor doted on her very much.
If she had been content, there would have been no problem. But she was not willing to be inferior. Seeing that the older princes had grown up and were old enough to establish their own mansions, and the old emperor was still greedy for power and reluctant to establish a crown prince, she naturally wanted to push her own son to the throne.
In her eyes, the eldest prince was good - for - nothing. He only knew how to travel around and didn't care about state affairs. His mother kept a low profile in the palace and was no threat to her. The third prince was born lame and had no chance of becoming the emperor.
The biggest threat was the Second Prince born to Concubine Rou.
Since she was in the deep palace and couldn't do anything to the Second Prince, she could only target Concubine Rou.
"She is so vicious. She smeared poison on the peony flowers that the emperor personally sent. No matter how cautious my mother was, how could she have expected that the emperor would dote on Concubine Li so much that he would let her reach so far!" he said hatefully.
"If it weren't for the emperor's determination to protect her, I would have skinned her alive!"
Chen Tingfeng quietly waited for him to vent his anger. After a long time, he slowly said, "You've suffered a great grievance. Just act pitiful. As for Concubine Li... In the whole palace, are you the only one who hates her?"
"You mean..." The Second Prince was stunned and suddenly looked up at him.
Concubine Li was arrogant and had done many evil things relying on the emperor's favor. She had countless enemies. There were many people who disliked her, not just him.
"Yes. Why should I do it myself? There are many people who want her life. For example..." He murmured and met Chen Tingfeng's deep eyes.
Chen Tingfeng looked down silently. After a moment, he slowly showed a smile.
It was late at night and the dew was heavy. The stars in the sky were sparse.
Since Chen Tingfeng and the Second Prince had been hanging out together all day, Lady Bai knew that they must be plotting something in private. Moreover, she knew that Chen Tingfeng was a precocious and shrewd person. The older he got, the more scheming he became. Ordinary people couldn't bully him. It was already good that he didn't bully others. So she didn't really interfere in Chen Tingfeng's private affairs.
When Chen Tingfeng returned home in the middle of the night, she just told the gatekeeper to open the door for him.
He walked slowly to the door of Baiqu Courtyard. Just as he was about to step in, he saw a maid running out in a hurry. When she saw him, she quickly bowed.
Chen Tingfeng took a closer look. It was Biyu, the head maid of Zhuqing Courtyard.
Yuanbao wondered, "Where are you going in such a hurry?"
"The Second Miss caught a cold during the day and fell ill at night. She had a nightmare and had a high fever. Maid Cuihuan and I couldn't wake her up no matter how hard we tried. That's why I'm in a hurry to invite a doctor," Biyu said anxiously.
This scene was so familiar. Chen Tingfeng raised his eyebrows and didn't ask any more questions. He just said, "Go ahead."
Last time she had a fever because of fear. This time it was because of a little cold?
Chen Tingfeng stepped into his own courtyard. While taking off his cloak, he murmured, "She's really delicate..."
As he said this, as if thinking of something, he suddenly sneered.
Yuanbao followed behind and caught the thrown cloak. He scratched his nose, thinking that the young master was getting more and more strange.
On weekdays, he had never seen him having a problem with anyone, but he just seemed to be at odds with this cousin who had only been here for a short time.
But in his opinion, the cousin didn't seem to have done anything...