Transmigrated Leftover Woman in Rural Style

Chapter 296 An unexpected gain

What Xiao Gang said shocked Li Xiaonuan. Only after Li Xiaonuan questioned him in detail did she understand the whole story.

Li Xiaonuan, who learned of this by chance, did not take it lightly and immediately told Prince Jing.

That evening, Prince Jing, disregarding the fact that it was already dark, hurriedly went to the palace.

The next morning, news of the capture of the eldest prince and Chu Feng spread throughout the capital.

As for Chu Lin, he disappeared after that night.

The Prince Jing's men found only a dozen or so corpses of men in black in that grove of trees.

It is said that the eldest prince and Chu Feng were quite bold, actually disguising themselves as palace maids and eunuchs and hiding inside the palace.

As for why they were able to hide in the palace, they have to thank a palace concubine.

That concubine had always had a fondness for tall and robust eunuchs.

Therefore, when Chu Feng, disguised as a eunuch, first appeared before the palace concubine, she secretly kept him hidden away.

Of course, in order to survive, Chu Feng resorted to using his charms. He not only served the concubine perfectly, but also brought the eldest prince, disguised as a palace maid, into the concubine's palace.

Why was that concubine so bold, unafraid of being exposed?

That was all thanks to the former Empress Wang. That concubine was originally the daughter of a prefect, and when she entered the palace, she was as beautiful as a peach blossom.

At that time, the emperor only glanced at that concubine a few times, and he also frequently took that concubine to his bedchamber. That concubine was thus resented by Lady Wang.

And so, the Empress struck the concubine's face.

Therefore, the concubines who lost their beauty were forgotten by the emperor in a corner of the palace.

However, being a woman who had received great favor, her treatment was naturally quite good. Furthermore, the concubine was rather shrewd, allowing her to live a rather comfortable life under the Empress's watchful eye.

The only difference is that she can no longer serve the emperor.

And so, when the concubine was feeling lonely and restless, she inevitably developed some preferences that were not known to outsiders.

The eldest prince looked very much like Lady Wang, so he usually avoided that concubine.

But Chu Feng couldn't hide. He was a normal man, and even if he disguised himself as a eunuch, there would be a need for it.

Putting aside Chu Feng's homosexual tendencies, his bisexual nature, coupled with his circumstances, naturally made him willing to sacrifice his sexuality.

Chu Feng, who had sacrificed his virtue, was naturally resentful. If he hadn't returned to save the eldest prince, he wouldn't have ended up like this.

Therefore, Chu Feng, who had suffered psychological trauma from the concubine, vented his anger on the eldest prince.

The three of them lived together in that concubine's palace in a strange and unsettling way.

In the end, some clever people saw through the deception and rushed to report it with great fear.

So, on the night Xiao Gang and Yi Lou entered the palace, they happened to witness Chu Feng and another eunuch favorite of the concubine silencing someone.

According to Xiao Gang's recollection, they were being accompanied to the outhouse by a young eunuch. While they were there, the young eunuch was called away.

They waited there and walked around looking around.

Of course, they did not leave the area of ​​the garden where the latrine was located.

They witnessed this scene from a small corner of the garden.

At that moment, the palace maid was carrying a basin of water and was hurrying towards the side hall where Xiaogang and Yilou were.

The two eunuchs appeared from the side; one covered the maid's mouth and nose, while the other restrained her limbs.

Then, just as Xiao Gang had said, the palace maid was forced to drown in a basin of water.

In the dim light, Xiao Gang could make out the tall eunuch's appearance.

He felt the face looked familiar, but couldn't remember where he had seen it before.

Furthermore, Li Xiaonuan had previously instructed Xiaogang and Yilou not to be curious about or talk about anything they saw or heard in the palace.

Fortunately, the two children did not make any noise at the time; otherwise, Li Xiaonuan dared not imagine the consequences.

“Sister, Yilou is so clever. I was so scared that I accidentally broke a plum branch, and those two eunuchs heard it. Yilou then led me to hide, and we managed to keep them from finding us. In the end, it was the little eunuch who led us to the outhouse who called us, and only then did the two eunuchs run away.”

“I originally wanted to tell you as soon as I got back. But you said that I should not tell anyone what I saw and heard in the palace. So I held back. But today, as soon as I saw the Emperor, I remembered what I saw in the palace that day.”

“I was thinking, I really did see that eunuch. Later, when the emperor said he wanted to bestow the title of princess upon you, I remembered the person who came into the villa to arrest you. That person was that eunuch.”

When Xiao Gang heard that the bad guys had been caught, he felt like he had accomplished something big, so he happily told Li Xiaonuan.

"Weren't you scared at all back then?" Li Xiaonuan asked.

“I was terrified. But Yi Lou wasn’t scared at all,” Xiao Gang said, shifting his posture.

Li Xiaonuan looked at Yi Lou, who had fallen into a deep sleep as soon as he got on the bus, and felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

This child lived to be ten years old, always in a hole in the wall. He could only come out for some fresh air at night with his father, who was a stable boy.

Ten years is enough time to establish a child's habits.

Therefore, Yi Lou always slept during the day, but was full of energy at night.

And no matter how wide the bed was, or how thick and warm the blankets were, Yi Lou would always wrap herself in the blankets, curled up in a small ball, and huddle in the corner of the bed.

Yi Lou disliked daytime; he found the sunlight too bright. So, even when he woke up before nightfall each day, he wouldn't let anyone open the doors and windows, nor would he get out of bed.

At that moment, Yi Lou was curled up in a corner of the carriage, fast asleep. As the carriage swayed and bumped, Yi Lou would murmur and turn over.

"Sister, what should we do about Yilou always sleeping during the day? Let's help him adjust when we get back to the village. Otherwise, people will start talking about him." Xiaogang had been with Yilou for so long and was already quite annoyed by his reversed sleep schedule.

"Xiaogang, if you can really help him adjust, you'll be amazing." Li Xiaonuan could tell that Yilou didn't want to change his sleep habits.

Firstly, habits formed innately are impossible to change even after several years.

Secondly, Yi Lou had no intention of adjusting his lifestyle. His daily routine was closely related to his parents. Therefore, he wanted to commemorate his parents in this way.

"Sister, we've been gone for several days now, but I still feel like we haven't left the capital!" Xiao Gang was eager to return home and felt that the journey was too slow.

"Don't worry, once we leave this city, there won't be any more snow and wind along the way, and we'll be able to travel faster," Li Xiaonuan comforted Xiaogang with a wry smile.

In fact, if they had simply removed the princess's carriage and entourage, their progress would have been twice as fast as it is now.

But this ceremonial regalia was bestowed by the emperor; it wasn't something Li Xiaonuan could simply refuse.

Recalling the investiture ceremony three days prior, Li Xiaonuan felt even more distressed.

This matter could have been resolved simply by the emperor issuing an imperial edict; there was no need for her to enter the palace and receive an official title in front of all the officials.

Furthermore, the subsequent palace banquet left Li Xiaonuan completely bewildered.

Fortunately, with the young princess by her side throughout, Li Xiaonuan was spared a lot of embarrassment and humiliation.

And so, the family fled the capital the very next day, as if on the run.