Chapter 60: Zhu Zhanhe: Did I misjudge him?

Little Xizi stood outside the room, listening as the intermittent roars of brutal rage from within gradually transformed into the cries and gasps of a woman. This immediately let him know that the deed was done.

"Uncle, why don't you go up and take a look, and then report to the Princess Consort?" Little Xizi's heart stirred. He glanced at Wei Jizhong beside him and could not help speaking up.

"Thank you!" Upon hearing Little Xizi's words, Wei Jizhong caught his meaning instantly. He gave Little Xizi a grateful look and walked toward the second-floor compartment of the martial arts training room.

...

On the other side, after stepping outside, Prince Han had Head Steward Hu drive him to a secluded room.

Stepping inside, he saw two people kneeling on the floor.

"I heard you possess the destiny of half an emperor?" Prince Han lowered his head, looked at the kneeling woman at his feet, and asked with a deadpan expression.

"Replying to Your Highness, those are merely wild fabrications uttered by wandering physiognomists from the pugilistic world, unworthy of any credence!" Hearing this, the kneeling woman felt as though her head might explode. When she had her physiognomy read, only two people went, plus the physiognomist monk—only three people in total knew about it! It was utterly impossible for anyone else to know!

"Your Highness jests. My humble daughter comes from the common folk, and now she is even a rebel party member. How could she possibly possess the destiny of half an emperor?" The other kneeling person hurriedly opened his mouth to offer an explanation.

"Your Highness, rest assured! That wandering physiognomist, I shall go and slay him this very day!" The kneeling woman's face revealed a flash of murderous intent as she spoke viciously.

"That Yao Guangxiao is the current Emperor's chief strategist. To be able to kill him would indeed be a great merit. If you fail this time as well, do not blame me for punishing you with a dual charge, settling accounts for your previous failure to accomplish the task!" Prince Han stared intently at the kneeling woman before him. Looking closely, she was not bad-looking, and possessing the destiny of half an emperor—at least it would be useful for warding off ill fortune for his son!

As for what to do after the warding off of ill fortune had served its purpose, that would be settled when the time came!

"We will strictly obey Your Highness's command!" The kneeling elderly man hurriedly pulled the woman down to kowtow and accept the order.

Prince Han departed in a deeply covert manner, leaving behind the father and daughter staring at each other—none other than Sun Ruowei and Sun Yu!

"Tonight, regardless of whether her assassination succeeds or fails, bring her back to the Prince's Mansion in secret and hand her over to the Princess Consort to deal with.

She must not be harmed, and what she ought not to know must remain unknown to her!" In the carriage returning to the Prince's Mansion, Prince Han spoke in a solemn tone to Head Steward Hu, who was personally driving.

"Yes," Head Steward Hu agreed without the slightest hesitation.

On the other side, the Princess Consort of Han had also received the news and immediately realized that her son had successfully consummated matters with the two maidservants, Yun'er and Jian'er. A slight sense of relief washed over her heart, and a trace of a smile surfaced on her face.

"Second Brother, I am a daughter married out into another family, and the Wei family is left with only your branch. Now you too have begun to branch out and spread your leaves, yet we remain bound together.

Regardless of whether the Prince becomes Emperor in the future, at the very least the princely title is secure. Even if we are enfeoffed to Yunnan in the future, you will have to follow.

You have watched Hegong grow up since he was a child. He is the future Prince of Han, and no matter how far the Prince goes in the future, he is the heir. Do you understand?

The Prince has no shortage of children!

Among the others, there is no one I trust. In the future, Second Brother, I must ask you to take extra care; Hegong must not come to any harm!" The Princess Consort looked at her brother, helped him to sit down, and spoke with utmost seriousness.

"Little Sister, this time it was your Second Brother who acted without thoroughness. Rest assured, as long as I draw breath, Hegong shall come to no harm whatsoever!" Looking at his sister's sincere expression before him, Wei Jizhong was instantly reminded of their childhood days, scene after scene welling up in his heart, leaving him filled with emotional sighs.

"Hegong possesses a robust physique; those two girls are likely unable to withstand it. Look..." Remembering the pitiful state of those two little girls when he glanced earlier, Wei Jizhong feared they could not withstand his eldest nephew's conquests, so he looked at his sister with hesitation.

"Bring them out shortly. They are loyal as well. Once Hegong is married in the future, I will grant them formal status! As for what follows, we must wait for the Prince to return; he is bringing back a woman with a peculiar destiny!" Princess Consort Wei also wore a look of satisfaction.

Through this incident, she had also tested the loyalty of those two little girls, and now finding that they were indeed very obedient, she decided to grant them formal status. Of course, the so-called formal status would likely be nothing more than the lowest-ranking concubines or serving maids.

"Very well, I shall go and make arrangements right now." Wei Jizhong was a straightforward man; he turned and left immediately.

Watching her brother stride away with high spirits, Princess Consort Wei looked entirely satisfied. Nothing mattered more than her son! Not even Prince Han!

Inside the martial arts training room, Zhu Zhanghe had already regained consciousness once more. Taking in his surroundings, he wore a bewildered expression, but he quickly snapped to it and directly extricated himself from between the two little girls.

Glancing down at the fallen unconscious and bruised little girls, he picked up their shattered garments from the floor with a pang of heartache and draped them over the two.

"Little Xizi, arrange for people to come in!" Zhu Zhanghe called out in a hoarse voice toward the outside of the room, preparing to have people enter and take the two little girls out for medical treatment.

"Yes." Sure enough, Little Xizi had not left at all. Hearing Zhu Zhanghe's roar-like voice, a look of joyful surprise instantly crossed his face. He pushed the door open directly and carefully closed it behind him.

He was seen staggering in, carrying several thick quilts. Upon entering, he caught sight of the two sleeping young ladies and the conscious Zhu Zhanghe.

" Heir Apparent, you have regained consciousness?" Little Xizi's face showed pleasant surprise, but keeping his distance, he immediately began setting up a bedding pallet not far away.

"What is this for?" Zhu Zhanghe asked, looking at Little Xizi's actions in puzzlement.

" Heir Apparent, the two young ladies are also going to live here and serve you alongside me," Little Xizi said softly.

Little Xizi did not know how long the Heir Apparent's current clarity of mind would last, so after rapidly laying out the pallet, he laboriously moved the two little girls onto it one by one. In the process, his heart was filled with astonishment as he beheld the swollen bodies and red bruises covering the two girls.

"Go fetch medicine and apply it to them." Upon seeing Little Xizi's actions, Zhu Zhanghe knew this was his mother's arrangement; otherwise, Little Xizi would never have dared to act thus. Sighing inwardly, he also knew that he currently possessed no right to raise objections; for the sake of his health, his mother would not mind a few sacrifices.

" Heir Apparent, Uncle Wei will be back shortly. He has also prepared a quilt for you so you can rest," Little Xizi told Zhu Zhanghe with a firm expression. He would not leave the Heir Apparent's side, so he could only trouble Uncle Wei to run a few extra errands.

"Very well!" Zhu Zhanghe nodded in agreement, for he felt that he was about to lose control once more. Instantly, his vision turned crimson and filled with rage...

"Roar—Roar—..."

In the dead of night, amidst his consuming rage, Zhu Zhanghe once again sensed someone approaching. Immediately following that, a wisp of faint fragrance drifted over, and Zhu Zhanghe lost control once more. In a daze, Zhu Zhanghe seemed to catch sight of the face of the female protagonist Wang Jiazhi from his past-life movie *Lust, Caution*...

Did I misread the person? Zhu Zhanghe thought uncontrollably, and then his mind was once again filled with raging fury...