yasinovel Chapter 1022 - 239: Threshold
Chapter 1022 - 239: Threshold
It’s late at night,
Time for a night snack.
The Fan Mansion’s kitchen is never empty, running two complete teams in rotation to ensure the esteemed guests in the mansion can eat whatever they desire at any time.
But tonight, Zheng Fan’s night snack is not from the Fan Mansion.
It was made by He Chunlai, the man who knows how to make sugar-coated haws, and he cooked up a good hodgepodge.
Indeed, it was a hodgepodge, and the ingredients were freshly taken.
Eight green-backed turtles, one tricolor osmanthus chicken, a handful of little koi fish, all stewed in a temporarily built earthen stove pit into a big pot.
These things were "pets" from the Fan Mansion’s garden, all very precious, but now, they turned into "gifts from nature."
After the dish was prepared, Zheng Fan was invited to join the feast, right in the gazebo, enjoying the picturesque lake and mountain scenery;
The lake was a small pond, the mountain an artificial rock mountain, and lanterns were hung all around, making it bright as day and truly dazzling.
Lord Zheng pointed at the big pot in front of him, and said:
"Is this dish called ’The Overlord and the Farewell My Concubine’?"
He Chunlai and Chen Daole looked at each other, apparently not understanding this reference.
Sitting nearby, drinking alone, A Ming chuckled, purely to lighten the mood and prevent awkwardness.
Zheng Fan lifted his glass, breaking the silent awkwardness, and said:
"Come on, let’s drink one."
"Thank you, Lord."
"Thank you, Lord."
After a sip of wine, everyone began to eat.
The meat was stewed to tenderness, delicious to the taste, making for an enjoyable meal.
Yet shortly after they started eating, the figure of Fan Zhengwen appeared at the entrance of the Qingfang Room.
Though this was Fan Zhengwen’s home, he was not one to visit without reason.
The last time he came was to explain his grandmother’s matter.
Fan Zhengwen, understanding the ways of handling affairs, naturally knew what Zheng Fan liked and disliked, so he wouldn’t join in blindly.
Zheng Fan got up and walked toward Fan Zhengwen.
"Lord."
Fan Zhengwen saluted Zheng Fan.
Zheng Fan noticed a rare fluctuation in Fan Zhengwen’s expression.
What could have happened to cause such a masterful head of a prestigious family to be so unnerved?
After all, controlling one’s expression is one of the essential skills of those in high positions.
Fan Zhengwen opened his mouth, hesitated to speak.
If this were at Snow Sea Pass, Lord Zheng would have quickly said: Speak your mind.
But since he was eating, living, and watching over the young lady of Fan Family,
And even went as far as stewing their pet turtles, pet chickens, and a group of small goldfish,
He had to leave them some dignity somehow.
Fan Zhengwen pursed his lips, seemingly organizing his words, feeling since receiving the news that the world suddenly seemed... absurd?
"Lord, my family’s contact in the city’s shops passed on a message from your subordinate who returned today, then left."
Siniang?
The only one who returned today and then left was Siniang.
"What news?" Zheng Fan asked immediately.
"The news is, she said that she seems to have captured the princess."
"..." Zheng Fan.
...
The carriage,
A legitimate carriage,
Left the Fan Mansion.
Zheng Fan and Fan Zhengwen sat opposite each other, now, their expressions were quite similar.
It wasn’t even the New Year yet,
The Lantern Festival was still far off,
They had various plans, calculations, preparations,
All to swiftly abduct the princess of Chu State during the Lantern Festival,
While everything was being diligently prepared here,
Siniang merely came back to visit family,
And casually captured the princess?
"Lord, my mansion has an elderly woman who once lived in the palace, who, due to her advanced age, left the palace and was invited by our Fan Mansion to teach the mansion’s young ladies etiquette.
She might recognize the princess and has already been brought along."
"Where?" Zheng Fan asked.
Fan Zhengwen pointed to the ground and said:
"There’s a hidden compartment under the carriage."
"Your mansion’s carriage is truly designed ingeniously."
Fan Zhengwen nodded.
"Is she bound?"
"Yes." Fan Zhengwen nodded again, saying, "Bound in the hidden compartment under the carriage, with her senses sealed.
No matter whether she recognizes the princess or not, this elderly woman will pass away due to old age tonight."
Hearing this, Zheng Fan sighed and said:
"It’s a happy funeral, then."
"Indeed, Lord."
The carriage arrived in the backyard of one of the wine shops owned by the Fan Mansion, which had many shops across Xiayong City, and wine shops needing cellars were more suitable for hiding people.
Zheng Fan and Fan Zhengwen disembarked from the carriage one after the other, surrounded by several guards of the Fan Mansion.
"If it’s a fake princess, it doesn’t matter, but if it’s real, there should be plenty of princess guards in Xiayong City searching for her. Lord, our time is very tight."
Zheng Fan licked his lips.
Then, along with Fan Zhengwen, they stepped back and hid behind a stack of tall wine jars.
Soon, two guards clad in black stepped forward, opened the carriage compartment, and carried out an old woman.
They walked in front, with Zheng Fan and Fan Zhengwen following behind.
For security reasons, they didn’t want to reveal their identities.
The guards carrying the old woman entered the cellar, reaching a room that looked no different from a regular wine cellar, but they had a latch on the door, pulling it open, resembling the visitor windows in modern prisons.
One guard reached into his pocket, took out a snuff bottle, opened it, and placed it under the nose of the old woman.
After a while, the old woman gradually awoke, initially startled by her predicament, but she was promptly held by two secret guards of the Fan Mansion, making her look into the small window.