Chapter 57: Prince Han, Where Is My Son?

Inside the Prince of Han's Mansion, early in the morning, Princess Consort Wei had already finished washing up and having breakfast. She was now sitting gracefully on a soft, brightly colored couch, playing with a jade Ruyi scepter in her hands.

This jade Ruyi was a gift from her precious son and stood as one of the Princess Consort's absolute favorite possessions. She frequently took it out to admire and play with it on ordinary days, and today was no exception.

Early though it was, the Princess Consort had no desire to flip through the portrait albums meant for selecting a wife and noble maidens for her son. So much time had passed, yet not a single satisfactory candidate had been chosen. At this thought, the Princess Consort frowned slightly.

Suddenly, someone hurried anxiously through the doorway, causing Princess Consort Wei to frown further. She thought to herself: Early in the morning, who has nothing better to do than rush about in such a panic? How inauspicious!

Taking a closer look, she saw it was Xiuer walking in with an anxious expression.

"Xiuer, it is still early morning. Look at how flustered you are—what is the matter?" The Princess Consort was in a good mood and paid no mind to Xiuer's hurried demeanor. Toying with the Ruyi in her hand, she asked casually.

"Your Highness!..." Xiuer wore a worried look, yet seemed at a loss for where to begin. Turning her head, she noticed the other maidservants waiting close by.

"All of you, leave!" Xiuer said sternly to the waiting maidservants.

Upon hearing this, the maidservants cast surprised glances at Xiuer. Like a flock of quails, they lowered their heads and scurried away with quick, small steps.

"Xiuer, what is going on? To make you this nervous." Princess Consort Wei looked at Xiuer in astonishment, unconcerned that Xiuer had ordered the maids to withdraw.

After all, Xiuer was a senior female official who managed all the maidservants in the mansion. What surprised the Princess Consort was Xiuer's nervous state; what on earth could possibly cause her to be in such a panic?

"Your Highness, I have something to tell you, but please do not panic once you hear it." Xiuer looked troubled, struggling to find the right words, yet she tried her best to maintain her composure to comfort the Princess Consort.

"Not panic? What on earth has happened?!" Princess Consort Wei was momentarily stunned by Xiuer's words, but she recovered almost instantly, then looked at Xiuer with an eager and anxious expression.

"Is something wrong with someone? Is it Yanhe or the Prince?!" Before Xiuer could speak, the Princess Consort named the two people she cared about most, asking with palpable anxiety.

Xiuer opened her mouth, but hesitation held her back. Looking deeply aggrieved, her eyes turned red and tears welled up in them.

"Speak quickly! Do you mean to worry me to death?" Seeing Xiuer's appearance, the Princess Consort stood up abruptly, rushed over to Xiuer, and demanded anxiously.

"Your Highness, it is Yanhe... Yanhe has met with misfortune—sob, sob, sob!" Looking at the frantic Princess Consort, Xiuer could no longer keep it a secret and blurted it out. The moment she finished speaking, she burst into loud sobs. After all, she had watched him grow up since childhood and raised him as if he were her own son! How could her heart not break for him?

"Yanhe has met with misfortune? Yanhe has met with misfortune!" Hearing Xiuer's words, Princess Consort Wei felt her head spin in an instant. Standing unsteadily, she almost collapsed back onto the couch. Fortunately, Xiuer had quick eyes and fast hands, grabbing the Princess Consort just as she was about to fall.

"What has happened to Yanhe? How is he? Where is he? Tell me quickly!" Supported by Xiuer, the Princess Consort recovered her wits instantly and grabbed Xiuer's hands, asking frantically. Right now, the only thing the Princess Consort wanted was to see her son!

"The Heir Apparent is currently in the martial arts training hall, bound by heavy iron chains!" Xiuer managed to calm herself somewhat. Realizing she had used an improper form of address just moments before, she quickly corrected herself to call him the Heir Apparent.

"Bound by iron chains?!" Hearing this, Princess Consort Wei was utterly bewildered. Had her son committed some grave offense? Why would he be bound in iron chains? And inside the martial arts training hall, of all places?

"Let's go, let's go see Yanhe!" After a brief moment of thought without finding any answers, the Princess Consort simply stopped trying to puzzle it out and decided to go see her son with her own eyes!

...

"Roar—roar—roar—" At that moment, from inside the Prince of Han's usual training hall, a series of deafening roars rang out, accompanied by the clanking vibration of heavy iron chains.

Outside the training hall stood a group of people. At the forefront was the Prince of Han, followed by the elderly Daoist priest Zhang Zhengheng, with Little Xizi and Wei Lizhong standing on either side.

Outside the hall, everyone wore grim expressions. Listening to the sounds echoing from within, their hearts were filled with complex and heavy emotions.

"Immortal Master, Yanhe's condition fluctuates between better and worse—what are we to do?" Listening to the roars inside the room, the Prince of Han was consumed with anxiety. This was his precious son! And a juvenile flood dragon to boot!

"Roar—roar—roar—" Another series of roars echoed from within the chamber.

The old Daoist priest gripped the horsetail whisk in his hand, his expression equally grave. He had no idea what to do either; in his seventy-plus years of life, he had never encountered such a situation, nor had he ever even heard of one!

His previous assertion that a true dragon had entered the mortal body was something he had witnessed with his own eyes, but his theory that dragon Qi was entwining the heart was merely a guess—though he still believed his guess was correct! Otherwise, why would Yanhe alternate between moments of clarity and bouts of madness?

"Your Highness, our most pressing task is to thoroughly secure the interior of the mansion. As for Yanhe's condition, currently only the four of us and that female official outside know about it. If this news leaks, I fear it will spell disaster for Yanhe and the entire Prince's Mansion," the old Daoist said, glancing around to ensure no one else was present before speaking to the Prince of Han.

"Rest assured, I will handle the arrangements. When we entered, A-Zhong (Wei Lizhong) already cleared the estate in advance; no one else knows. The crucial question is how to cure Yanhe!" The Prince of Han wore a grim expression, deeply worried about what anomalies might be unfolding inside. Just then, a few more roars echoed from the room.

The sound of hurried footsteps—*da-da-da-da*—was approaching rapidly from a distance. Hearing this sound, the Prince of Han's expression shifted, and he visibly panicked, at a complete loss for what to do. Little Xizi immediately dropped to his knees far off to the side.

Even the stern and composed Wei Lizhong looked flustered. Gritting his teeth, he too dropped to his knees nearby. The old Daoist looked into the distance with a puzzled expression, wanting to see who on earth could strike such fear into these men.

As the footsteps drew closer, a woman in court attire strode quickly toward them. Ah, it was the Princess Consort of Han! No wonder everyone was so terrified. Upon seeing the newcomer, the old Daoist felt a wave of awkwardness wash over him, exactly as one might expect.

After all, among this group—a father, an uncle, a tutor, an imperial attendant, and a young heir who had gotten into trouble—they had somehow managed to let a member of the younger generation suffer such a mishap. And now, to top it all off, the boy's mother had come to check on her son! Those present would have to be ghosts not to feel utterly awkward.

"Prince of Han, where is my Yanhe?" The Princess Consort walked briskly from afar, accompanied only by Xiuer. Even from a distance, she had heard the deafening roars coming from the training hall!

She was desperate to see her son, only to be met by the Prince of Han standing right outside the door. Suddenly, it dawned on her that her son had gone out alongside the Prince of Han. Now her son had met with disaster, yet the Prince of Han was completely unharmed?!

Consumed by fierce agitation, Princess Consort Wei strode right up to the Prince of Han and began interrogating him directly.