MFURCC -Chapter 22 Strangling Liuzheng

The inner chamber fell silent.

Even Prince Su had not expected that the matter would implicate the Grand Madam of the Ruan family.

After a long pause, Prince Su narrowed his eyes slightly and asked Liuzheng, “General Ruan, what do you think? Shall we release her, or kill her?”

Liuzheng kowtowed deeply. “Many thanks for Your Highness’s kindness. However, this insolent servant belongs to my grandmother. She should be dealt with by the mistress of the household.”

Liuzheng very much wanted to kill Nanny Qian on the spot.

But she still had use for her.

Killing her now would only vent anger—it would serve no real purpose.

Prince Su, however, did not know what she was thinking. He merely felt that she was too softhearted.

Excessive mercy could get a person killed.

Back at the frontier, he had already tried to hint to her more than once not to be overly kind.

She had never taken it to heart.

On the battlefield, she repeatedly risked her life to save others.

And today was the same.

“Very well. We’ll do as you say,” Prince Su said with a nearly imperceptible sigh.

“Thank you, Your Highness!”

Nanny Qian was taken away.

Liuzheng instructed the commandant to keep her under guard for the time being.

She was about to take her leave when Prince Su suddenly flipped his hand and tossed a longsword toward her.

Liuzheng instinctively caught it. With a single glance, she recognized it—it was her Cloud-Piercer.

She had seized the sword from an enemy general after her first victorious campaign.

Because it held great commemorative value—and because it could slice through iron like mud—she had kept it by her side ever since, naming it Cloud-Piercer.

Everyone in the General’s Manor recognized the sword.

Thus, before leaving the manor, she had given it to Yuliu to impersonate her.

Prince Su said, “Your man asked me to bring it to you.”

Liuzheng’s face lit up. “Thank you, Your Highness!”

She had hardly ever been separated from Cloud-Piercer—except this once.

Prince Su rotated the tourmaline thumb ring on his right hand.

A mere sword, and she was this grateful?

Her knees were far too soft.

He did not want to see her constantly thanking him.

Prince Su frowned lightly. “It was yours to begin with. There’s no need to thank me. I am not a stingy man. That servant woman and this sword do not count as gifts from me. Another day, I will find something you truly like.”

Liuzheng wanted to say: That’s really unnecessary!

She had not even decided whether to join Prince Su’s command.

But outwardly, she could only show gratitude.

She was about to kneel again when Prince Su added, “No need to rush to thank me. I may yet have to punish you.”

“…?”

“Regarding the mudslide—aside from your Ruan family, did you tell anyone else?”

Liuzheng was baffled.

Why was he asking that?

Did something like this need to be kept secret?

Her expression remained obedient. “In reply to Your Highness, on my way to fetch my grandmother, I saw a household halfway up the mountain and warned them to evacuate as well. May I ask… why Your Highness inquires?”

Prince Su countered, “Do you know whose household that was?”

“This subordinate does not.”

“The Duchess of Wei.”

Liuzheng’s eyes widened abruptly.

“The Duchess of Wei?”

In her previous life, she had learned on her sickbed that her grandmother had perished in the mudslide. Grief-stricken and struggling to survive herself, she had neither the energy nor the heart to ask who else had died.

Now, hearing that the Duchess of Wei had been that household halfway up the mountain, she immediately grew anxious for Wei Ranfeng.

Prince Su observed her reaction. “You know her?”

“At the frontier, I befriended someone named Wei Ranfeng…”

Though she had never met the Duchess of Wei, she knew she was Wei Ranfeng’s birth mother.

As expected, Prince Su said, “The Duchess is Ranfeng’s mother, and also the Empress Dowager’s cousin. I call her Aunt as well.”

Liuzheng quickly asked, “Did the Duchess make it down the mountain? Is she well?”

Her concern was not because of the Empress Dowager, but because she was her friend’s mother.

Prince Su gave a faint, ambiguous snort.

“She was quite well before. Now—not so much.”

Liuzheng frowned. “What does Your Highness mean?”

“Late last year, the Duchess conceived. She came to the mountain estate to escape the summer heat. Because of your claim about a mudslide, panic spread throughout the estate and at the foot of the mountain. Everyone hurried to evacuate. On the way down, one of the sedan bearers slipped. The Duchess was jolted and disturbed the fetus.”

Liuzheng’s face went pale. “How could this happen…?”

“How indeed?” Prince Su looked at her deeply.

Only then did Liuzheng finally understand why, up on the mountain, Prince Su had said that if no mudslide occurred, he would hold her accountable.

So that was the reason.

“Your Highness, there will indeed be a mudslide.”

“We have been off the mountain for half an hour. There has been no movement.”

“The time has not yet come.”

“And when will it come?”

“I… do not know.”

She did not know the exact moment. She only knew that in her previous life, her grandmother had died on this very day.

“Ruan Liuzheng, you are not being honest.”

“I truly am not lying.”

“You are not the Imperial Astronomer. You cannot read celestial signs, nor foresee the future. Yet you are so certain there will be a mudslide. How do you expect me to believe you?”

“I…” Liuzheng bit her lip, at a loss for how to explain.

“Please, Your Highness—just trust me once more. Wait a little longer.”

Her eyes were bright and pure, like moonlight in a long night—cool, yet irresistibly captivating.

Prince Su’s throat moved.

He could not bear her looking at him like that.

Even less could he bear her looking at other men that way.

It unsettled him.

His expression darkened further.

Just as he was about to speak, Commandant He reported from outside, “Your Highness, the steward nanny from the Duchess’s side seeks an audience.”

Prince Su glanced at Liuzheng. “Let her in.”

The door opened. The managing nanny of the Duke of Wei’s estate entered, followed by two burly servants.

Liuzheng stood to one side. The nanny did not recognize her, assuming she was one of Prince Su’s people.

“This servant greets Your Highness!”

“Rise. How is my aunt?”

“Thank you for Your Highness’s concern. The Duchess has taken her medicine and is resting. The Duke is on his way. Fortunately, you brought Imperial Physician Li—otherwise the child would not have been safe. On behalf of the Duchess, I thank Your Highness for saving her life.”

“No need for courtesy. We are family.”

“However… this servant has heard that someone from the Ruan family has also arrived at the inn?”

Prince Su’s peripheral glance flicked toward Liuzheng. “Indeed.”

The nanny immediately said, “That person from the Ruan family nearly caused the Duchess to miscarry. I beg Your Highness to grant permission for this servant to seize that person and strangle them at once!”

Liuzheng’s back stiffened. She stepped forward.

“Nanny, may I ask what misunderstanding you have about me?”

The nanny looked at her, puzzled. “And you are?”

Prince Su, clearly enjoying the spectacle, said lightly, “The very person you are looking for.”

The nanny froze. “But the gatekeeper said it was a young man…”

“She was dressed as one at the time.”

Liuzheng’s back stiffened even more.

Prince Su was being far too talkative.

Hadn’t Pan Hong said he was a man of few words? She found him quite loquacious!

The nanny’s face darkened when she heard it was Liuzheng who had spread the warning.

“Seize her!”

The two servants immediately moved toward Liuzheng.

The commotion alerted Nanny Shu next door. Seeing Liuzheng about to be taken, she knew she could not help alone and hurried back to report to the Old Madam.

The second branch mother and daughter were still in the Old Madam’s room.

Hearing the news, their faces changed at once.

“She carelessly caused the Duchess to disturb her pregnancy? Mother, she’s trying to get our whole family killed!”

Ruan Baizheng trembled. “Grandmother, Mother—I don’t want to die…”

“Silence!” the Old Madam snapped. “You two stay here. I’ll go see for myself.”

Supported by Nanny Shu, she made her way to Prince Su’s chamber.

…

Inside, Liuzheng dodged aside as the two men lunged.

She clenched her fists, ready to fight—but then thought of Wei Ranfeng.

Wei Ranfeng was her comrade, someone she had trusted with her back on the battlefield.

She did not wish to draw blades against her own people.

As they lunged again, fearing she might accidentally injure them, she darted behind Prince Su.

Her mud-stained boots stepped squarely onto his tiger-skin rug.

Prince Su’s temple throbbed violently.

He had a severe obsession with cleanliness.

“Ruan Liuzheng. Move away.”

She did not.

Still hiding behind him, she said, “Your Highness, didn’t you say you would give me a gift? If you would explain on my behalf, that would be the best gift of all.”

“…Does the battlefield also teach glib tongues?”

“This subordinate is self-taught.”

Prince Su let out a cold snort. “Step away first. You’ve dirtied my tiger skin.”

“You’ll help me?”

“Move.”

Seeing he was truly about to lose his temper, Liuzheng promptly retreated.

The two servants immediately moved again.

“Stop.” Prince Su spoke expressionlessly.

They halted and looked to the nanny.

She stepped forward and bowed. “Your Highness, I mean no offense. I act under the Duchess’s orders…”

Of course, that was not entirely true.

The Duchess was too busy safeguarding her pregnancy to think of seizing Liuzheng.

The nanny merely wanted to claim merit before the Duchess recovered.

Prince Su said calmly, “Do you know who this person is?”

“This servant does not. I only know that without her, my mistress would not have disturbed her pregnancy.”

Prince Su suppressed his displeasure.

“In that case, grant me some face. Listen to how she defends herself.”

The nanny did not dare offend Prince Su. “Yes…”

At last, Liuzheng had a chance to speak.

“Nanny, I have heard about the Duchess. But the sedan bearer’s slip was not my fault. Moreover, I came to warn your estate out of goodwill.”

“Goodwill? You claimed there would be a mudslide. It has been so long—where is this mudslide? Disguised as a man, spreading false rumors in the estate—what exactly were you plotting? Are you not afraid of the Duke’s wrath?!”