"What's wrong?" King Heng asked casually.
His ninth brother, because of his marriage with the Ming family, took the opportunity to extort a lot of money from him. His wolfish ambitions were obvious. On the surface, they had not yet torn their faces apart, but in fact, they were almost there. However, they were brothers after all, and with his father's supervision above him, he had to take his time to deal with him.
"I don't know how Princess Cheng offended the young master..."
Young Master Fan's familiarity with the imperial palace was not much different from that of the princes, but it was far less so with the princesses. It was not so easy to plot against him in this place. For some things, even if you go around in circles, you are not a member of the imperial palace and have limited manpower. It is almost impossible to cover up perfectly.
Fan Wuguo, the number one bully in the imperial city, was lucky enough not to cause trouble. If someone took the initiative to provoke him, let alone wanted to use him, he would be dead or skinned alive. When he ran into Xiaocao and the others, he ordered people to investigate when he left the palace. The result was known before he entered the palace, but it was time to sit down, so he left it alone for the time being. After the banquet, it was time to settle the accounts.
The stage was set up in a scenic garden on the west side. Although one could leave the palace after the banquet, how could someone with a purpose leave so early? One must know that the "entire palace banquet" would last until midnight.
Prince Cheng and Princess Cheng were enjoying the show. The seats were divided into male and female seats, and there was a third seat mainly for families. There were not many seats, which could be said to be specially prepared for the princes and concubines who founded the palace. It was the greatest manifestation of the royal family's family affection. A palace servant came directly to the door and said in front of everyone, "The young master wants to see you."
Prince Cheng looked puzzled and a little uneasy. As a prince without favor and power, he was incomparable to Fan Wuguo. It was almost like the difference between grass and treasure. Naturally, he stayed away from the little bully. Naturally, their interactions were few and far between.
"May I ask if there is something wrong with my cousin?" He couldn't help but ask cautiously.
Ming Zhixin, who was standing beside him, unconsciously clenched her handkerchief tightly. Her heart was beating wildly. She had a bad feeling. She forced herself to stay calm. Looking at Prince Cheng, she cursed him inwardly, "He is such a waste. He is a prince, a noble prince, but he is so afraid of his subjects. He is such a coward, but he still wants to take the throne? He should just find a rope and hang himself."
The eunuch was very respectful and said, "Your Highness, this is putting me in a difficult position. How can I interfere in the young master's affairs? I am just responsible for passing on messages." It seemed that he did not take Prince Cheng seriously.
Prince Cheng's face did not look very good. Although the space of each seat in the third row was relatively large and there were some decorations around as "partitions", the eunuch did not lower his voice and people nearby could basically hear it.
Can Prince Cheng refuse? Obviously not. According to the temper of the little bully, if he refuses now, maybe he will not do anything for the sake of the Queen Mother, but by tomorrow, his palace will probably be overturned by the little bully.
When the little bully comes to the door, no one would ever think it is a good thing. Those who want to watch the fun will naturally follow him.
Because there were so many people moving, they were naturally noticed by more people, not to mention those who were slowly walking over.
Young Master Fan was not far away, on the corridor facing the water, feeding the fish with bait in his hand, in a very good mood.
Prince Cheng and Ming Zhixin came "slowly", but they finally walked in front of Young Master Fan. "My cousin is in a good mood."
Fan Wuguo pretended not to hear and continued to throw bait into the water. Prince Cheng's eyes were dim and he unconsciously clenched his fists. He was a prince after all. It was fine for him to be bullied and oppressed by his own brothers, but an outsider...
Ming Zhixin carefully looked at Fan Wuguo. Although most of his face was covered, his eyebrows and eyes were really good-looking. If you think about it carefully, this should be the first time she met Fan Wuguo. She stayed in the place for a long time. After returning, she was familiar with his reputation as a tyrant. She even learned about him specially. If she wanted to use him, wouldn't such a person be a good choice? But...
Ming Zhixin's uneasiness grew stronger.
The little bully lost interest in scattering the bait bit by bit, and simply picked up the tray held by the palace maid and threw it all into the water. He watched the fish rolling around and splashing water. With so much bait, he was afraid that a lot of them would die when the water was calm.
Fan Wuguo turned to look at Ming Zhixin, "Cousin, can you help me get the extra bait?"
How could others not know that it was Ming Zhixin who had offended this Bully? King Cheng turned his head to look at Ming Zhixin, his face was so dark. He hated the people of the Ming family to the core, and this woman dared to cause trouble for him. It would be fine for other people, but it had to be this Bully!
Even though Ming Zhixin knew that this little bully was always unscrupulous, she didn't expect him to be so bold. She endured the anger and humiliation, and looked at Fan Wuguo with a bit of stubbornness, "Since the young master calls me cousin, you should also show me some respect."
"Huh?" Fan Wuguo slapped the guardrail as if he had heard some great joke, and laughed so hard that he fell forward and backward, it was extremely exaggerated.
There were so many people around, just watching him perform like that. However, the one who was embarrassed was not Fan Wuguo, but Ming Zhixin. All the eyes of the people around were on her, as if they were looking at a fool.
Ming Zhixin is a cruel and ruthless person, but she is also a tolerant person. However, when she was in the local area, she was the one who was the center of attention. To put it bluntly, she has not seen enough.
Fan Wuguo suddenly stopped laughing and looked at Ming Zhixin grimly. Ming Zhixin subconsciously stepped back. Fan Wuguo stepped forward, pushed King Cheng aside, grabbed Ming Zhixin's arm, pushed her upper body out of the guardrail, then raised his foot to hook her legs, and she screamed and fell headfirst into the water.
This sudden attack was really beyond everyone's expectations. Most people had never seen such a scene. Some people were shocked and their eyes changed several times when they looked at Fan Wuguo. Although they had heard a lot of rumors about him, they had never seen him with their own eyes, so they were somewhat indifferent in their hearts. The scene before their eyes naturally brought them a huge shock.
Ming Zhixin is a princess after all. Is Fan Wuguo really so reckless?! I have never heard of him hitting women before. I just thought he was kind to women. But now... don't even think about it. If you see him in the future, avoid him immediately.
Ming Zhixin splashed around in the water, scaring away the fishes. A few of them were caught in her skirt. It was summer and she was wearing thin clothes, so she attracted a lot of strange looks, especially the obvious scars on her body.
Prince Cheng's face was so dark. He was dissatisfied with the Ming family and Prince Heng, and he vented all his anger on Ming Zhixin. However, these were all private matters, which did not mean that he wanted outsiders to see them, especially since the scars revealed a different kind of ambiguity. Moreover, Ming Zhixin was his wife, and she was humiliated and seen naked by so many people. Where would his face be
"Fan Wuguo—"
"Cousin, what advice do you have?"
King Cheng stammered, trembling with anger, staring at the little tyrant like an angry beast, but because of fear, he dared only scratch his hooves in place. He abruptly retracted his gaze, "You are all dead, why don't you rescue the princess quickly!"
However, these words were of no use. The palace servants nearby, whether eunuchs or palace maids, all pretended to be deaf and dumb and acted like wooden stakes.
Fan Wuguo spoke slowly, "Why rush? The water isn't deep, and it's summer, so people won't drown, and it's not easy to get sick. But if Prince Cheng really cares, just go and save him yourself. I won't stop you."
If he really went down, his face would be thrown to the ground and stepped on again and again. He took a deep breath and tried to suppress his anger, "Cousin, I don't know what your ninth cousin did wrong to make you so angry. Can you let her come up and apologize to you first?"
"What did you do wrong?" Fan Wuguo smacked his lips, then suddenly turned around, grabbed King Cheng and beat him up, then twisted his neck and flexed his wrists, "You're a grown man, but you can't even manage your own princess, and now you have the nerve to ask me what she did wrong."
Prince Cheng fell to the ground and couldn't get up for a while. He was still in a daze.
He was confused, and there were many more people with a lack of confidence in their eyes. Although they had heard that this little bully would beat up the prince at will, it was just hearsay after all. Prince Cheng did not provoke him, but he suffered such a hopeless disaster. The stimulation given to people was greater than Ming Zhixin being thrown into the water.
Mingzhi's heart in the water was so dazed that it stopped beating.
"Fan Wuguo, I have to go meet my father..."
"Okay, that's exactly what I want to say. I won't sort out what happened today. You guys still think I'm a soft persimmon and want to take advantage of me however you want."
There was a look of dullness in the eyes of the people around. Seriously, Little Bully, have some sense. If you are a soft persimmon, what are these people saying
But even though they knew that his words were exaggerated, everyone looked at Ming Zhixin with some curiosity. What on earth had she done to provoke the little bully to this extent? Was she really too bold this time? Or was it that ignorance is fearless
However, the empress dowager was seventy years old after all. The banquet lasted for a long time and she was somewhat tired after leaving the table. Emperor Xuanren stayed with her in her palace and talked to her about some intimate mother-son conversation. Because he wanted to rest for a while, Emperor Xuanren left.
Emperor Xuanren originally planned to go and check on the elderly people, but Eunuch Hong tactfully said that it would be better for them to have a quiet rest for a while. Emperor Xuanren was not one to disobey advice, so he turned around and headed for the "theater".
It was about this time that people arrived. When they saw so many people gathered together, they didn't show any emotion on their faces.
"The Emperor has arrived—" Eunuch Hong opened his shrill voice.
Everyone was startled and turned around. When they didn't see anyone, they looked in the direction of the voice and bowed, "Your Highness."
Emperor Xuanren strode over, and the others hurriedly made way. He took a quick glance and knew what was going on. "Pull the man up. His clothes are disheveled. How disgraceful!"
As soon as Emperor Xuanren gave the order, the palace servants acted quickly.
Emperor Xuanren cast his eyes on his nephew and son, "What's going on?"
"Father..."
Fan Wuguo was even more single. He lifted his robe and knelt down directly. "Your Majesty, you have to make the decision for me. Prince Cheng is a grown man, but he can't control his own princess. He would fight with me if I said something to him. His princess is even worse. She is so cruel and vicious."
What does it mean that the wicked are the first to file a complaint? This is it!
"Fan Wuguo, you are slandering me!" King Cheng was so angry that he almost jumped up.
Ming Zhixin hadn't recovered from her shock yet. When she heard Fan Wuguo's words, she shuddered and knelt down without saying a word, "Father..."
"Your Majesty, I'm a good girl who has never met this woman face to face, but I don't know how I offended her. This morning, I was resting in the garden next to the Beast Garden, and she led the girl to me. You know what kind of temper I have, not to mention that I wasn't wearing a mask at the time. Fortunately, it was the girl's alertness that prevented me from making any mistakes. Otherwise, today's banquet would have been in big trouble."
Emperor Xuanren thought for a moment and realized that his nephew was talking about the girl from the Wen family. Although he also knew that his nephew was a bit of a jerk and often exaggerated what he said, it would be enough to just listen to him for a while, but what he said now was true.
I heard that the girl was really going to be hurt or something. Without her, there was a 100% chance that something bad would happen at the banquet.
If Ming Zhixin had just used Fan Wuguo as a knife to deal with Xiaocao, in the eyes of Emperor Xuanren, it would have been a trivial matter and he would not have asked about it at all. However, when it came to the later events, the nature of the matter was completely different.
Emperor Xuanren cast a sharp gaze on Ming Zhixin. Ming Zhixin knelt on the ground, trembling, "Father, Father..."
"Ming, is what Wuguo said true?"
Ming Zhixin was lucky enough that she could bribe a few palace servants in the palace to help her lead Xiaocao to Fan Wuguo. She was not favored by the king, and the Ming family would not tell her anything specifically when she encountered any problems. Naturally, she didn't know what happened at the banquet, and she didn't know what position Xiaocao held in the hearts of the empress dowager and the emperor. Even if Fan Wuguo mentioned the banquet, she couldn't figure out the key.
"Father, no, my daughter-in-law has never done that, really..."
Fan Wuguo sneered.
Emperor Xuanren remained unmoved. "If you honestly admit what you did, I can still let you go. Otherwise, when I find out the truth, the royal wife will be sent to the clan house."
When this was said, everyone was shocked. Was it so serious? Was Emperor Xuanren really that good to his nephew? Obviously, these people didn't know the "real situation" yet.
Ming Zhixin almost felt dizzy and almost couldn't hold on.