Chapter Sixteen: The Crown Prince of Guangping

  The little boy looked at Zhao with some curiosity, tilted his head and asked: "Who are you?" Then he went to watch the misty clouds.

  Yanxia smiled and placed Zhao on the soft cushion on the other side of the small table, saying: "This is the young granddaughter of Old Master Zhao, the king ordered me to bring her over to play with the crown prince."

  The little boy looked at Zhao seriously: "Is Zhao Lao Gonggong your grandfather? I've seen him before, he's an old man with a white beard, speaks very loudly, and is good at playing with long guns."

  Zhao thought to herself, "I've been here for a hundred days, but I still haven't seen the old man's face. There aren't even any portraits of him at my grandmother's or father's place. If someone asks me about it, I'll definitely be exposed." In the past, she had pretended to be a young child who couldn't speak, and no one had asked her anything. Now that she could talk fluently, she would inevitably run into this kind of trouble sooner or later. What would she do then? Zhao's original body was extremely spoiled, so logically speaking, she should have had a deep impression of her grandfather.

  Then she put on a curious expression: "Have you really seen my grandfather? I've never heard him mention you."

  "Of course it's true!" The little boy glared, "I am Gao Zhen, the crown prince of Guangping. I've met Old Duke Guo several times in the palace of my imperial grandfather. He was very kind to me. Last year on my birthday, he even gave me a small red horse! That little red horse can run really fast! Father promised me that when I'm two years older, he'll personally teach me how to ride a horse."

  Zhao? Gan smiled: "Really? You're really impressive, my grandfather even gave you a little red horse, he never gave me one." But in his heart, he was thinking that his family had unknowingly encountered some good fortune, and was actually saved by a prince, who was also the emperor's own son. Although it was unclear why the prince would bring his wife and children on a secret tour, at least this was a reliable backing. It was well-known that the current emperor was extremely grateful to that cheap grandfather of hers, and if not for him speaking up to the previous emperor, he might not have become emperor. So, including himself and his consorts and children, they were all natural backers of the Jian Nan Hou Fu. The problem was that now it was an internal struggle within the Jian Nan Hou Fu, and it was unclear which side they would support. Even if they were willing to help Zhang Shi and her son from the second house, they wouldn't be able to punish the eldest house's Bing Gong fairly.

  Thinking of this, Zhao felt somewhat depressed.

  Yanxia didn't know when she got off the carriage, and sent over a box of pastries and two bowls of freshly made hot almond tea: "Are you hungry, Young Master? This is freshly brewed almond tea, and the pastries were brought from home. There's nothing good to eat on the road, so please make do with these for now. Once we arrive in the big city and get settled, I'll have the kitchen cook something delicious for you."

  The young prince of Guangping, although still very young, was not spoiled at all: "This breakfast is already good enough, what else do you want to eat?" He also asked Zhao: "Let's eat together, Cao Mama's almond tea is fragrant and the pastries are delicious."

  Zhao also had an empty stomach, and immediately agreed. The two children started eating together. Zhao drank a mouthful of apricot kernel tea and suddenly thought of his grandmother and brother, and hurriedly asked Yanxia: "Sister, have my grandmother and brother woken up?"

  Yanxia smiled and said, "I've been busy attending to you all morning, how would I know anything else? You go ahead and have breakfast first, I'll go ask around for you. But be sure to get along well with our young master." Then she lifted the curtain and went out.

  The Crown Prince of Guangping asked Zhao: "Did your grandmother and brother come too? Aren't you living in the capital? How did you end up here?"

  Zhao didn't know whether he should tell him the truth or not, but if he really had to say something, it seemed like too much trouble. So he said vaguely: "We originally wanted to go back to our hometown, but we encountered some things on the way and that's why we met your father." He paused for a moment, "Where are you guys going? Don't you also live in the capital?"

  "I didn't expect the young prince of Guangping to be so tight-lipped: 'My father brought me out to play.' He also asked: 'What's your brother's name? How old is he? Does he practice martial arts? Can he ride a horse? Is he good with a spear?'"

  Zhao didn't know either, so he just answered the young man's question about Zhao Wei's name and age. Then, he asked the Crown Prince of Guangping to describe his encounters with his own grandfather, Duke Jian of Nanan Commandery. The Crown Prince of Guangping had a deep impression of the old duke and was very fond of him. He immediately gave a detailed description of several encounters with him, including what clothes he wore, what weapons he liked to use, how he spoke to adults and children in different tones, and even his catchphrases. This allowed Zhao to gain a better understanding of his grandfather.

  Two children chatted while drinking almond tea and eating snacks, and they finished their breakfast. Yanxia slipped back into the carriage, this time she brought good news: "The Duchess has woken up, and the Princess asked me to take Zhao Niang over."

  The Crown Prince of Guangping was somewhat reluctant to part with him, and solemnly said to Zhao: "Come back and see me again in a while, we'll still be together chatting and playing, okay?"

  Zhao agreed and was lifted by Yunxia onto another horse-drawn carriage.

  This carriage was smaller than the two that the previous king and prince had sat in, but it looked slightly more comfortable than the one Yunxia had. The space inside wasn't small either. As soon as Zhao entered, he saw a young beauty sitting near the outer side, wearing light green clothes, with a white jade hairpin on her head, and a hint of fatigue between her eyebrows. Yunxia put down Zhao and respectfully addressed this beauty as "Wangfei", so Zhao knew she was the wife of King Guangping, indeed a perfect match.

  Zhao followed the smoke and mist, shouting "Wang Fei", and shifted her attention to her grandmother Zhang Shi, who was half-reclining inside. Beside her, her little brother Zhao Wei was still sleeping, seemingly not yet awake, with a pale complexion. Zhao anxiously crawled beside her grandmother, looking at her little brother: "Grandmother, what's wrong with Brother? Is he still ill?"

  Zhang's wife looked at her granddaughter in surprise, and in front of the Princess of Guangping, she didn't dare say much, so she replied: "Your brother has taken medicine and is a bit better now, but he was soaked in water for too long last night and caught a cold, so he still needs to rest for some time before he can recover."

  The gentle Princess Guangping smiled and said, "Madam, you have such clever and lovely grandchildren, it's really enviable. Don't worry, the royal highness and I have brought out Jiang Taishi this time, his medical skills are very impressive, he said it's nothing serious, and the young master will surely recover after taking the medicine."

  Mr. Zhang thanked her again politely: "Thank you, Princess Wang, for your auspicious words. This time, if it weren't for the noble deeds of Prince Wang and Princess Wang, I'm afraid my three generations would have suffered a terrible fate. The kindness of saving our lives will never be forgotten."

  "You're too polite. The Emperor often mentions the kindness of the Duke, and today your family is in trouble. If my husband and I hadn't met you, it would be fine, but since we have, there's no reason not to lend a hand. Please rest assured, the King has already sent his guards to search for news of your son, daughter-in-law, and other family members along the river, and I'm sure there will be news soon." The Princess of Guangping glanced at Zhao, "Your granddaughter was worried about you all night yesterday, and now your grandson must have a lot to say to you, so I won't disturb you."

  Zhang's family politely sent her away, and even Yunxia left. The only ones left in the car were Zhang's three generations, and Zhao Wei was still asleep.

  Zhao whispered to Zhang: "Just now, the king called me over and asked what happened last night. I told him everything."

  Zhang's expression turned stern as she pulled her granddaughter's hand: "Good child, tell me honestly, how did you suddenly become so clever overnight?"

  As for this, Zhao had already thought of a way to deal with it: "I don't know what's going on either. Yesterday when the wind and rain were strong, I was in the cabin with my wet nurse, and I was drowsy as if I had fallen asleep. Then I saw my grandfather."

  "Preposterous!" Zhang's brow furrowed: "How could you have seen him? Don't speak such absurd and supernatural nonsense!"

  "This is true!" Zhao ? made an effort to open a pair of sincere eyes, "Isn't Grandpa on Uncle's boat ahead? He's not far from us, why can't he come and see us? Grandpa is still the same as before, with a long white beard, wearing a black robe with red embroidery, speaking in a loud voice."

  This was just heard from Wang Xiaoshizi, and it's still fresh in my mind. But as soon as Zhang heard it, her eyes turned red. That was exactly the typical image of Old Governor Wang when he was alive. She thought that her granddaughter must be missing him too much, so she would have thoughts during the day and dreams at night, and couldn't help but choke with sobs: "Really? You really saw your grandfather? What did he say to you?"

  Zhao said: "Grandfather told me to run quickly, he said the boat is taking on water."

  Zhang heard it just broke his heart, suddenly stopped: "Did your grandfather tell you that the boat is in the water?"

  Zhao nodded: "But I couldn't understand, and I missed my grandfather. I stretched out my hand to let him hug me, but when his hand touched mine, it passed through my body, and he couldn't pick me up at all. He sighed and said that only children could see him, and he had wanted to find my brother, who would have understood what he was saying, but my brother was awake, so there was no way. So he came to find me instead, but if I couldn't understand his words, then what use was it? If we didn't run away soon, we really wouldn't be able to escape. After he finished speaking, he patted my head hard and I woke up. When I woke up, I felt like there was something more in my mind, and I understood things much better."

  Zhang guessed vaguely what the county lord had done to his granddaughter and hurriedly asked: "What happened afterwards?"

  Later, the wet nurse heard that my grandmother was looking for Chun Cao, so she carried me to call for help, but saw a bad guy with a knife running out of the lower hold. We hid and watched him leave before going down to the bottom hold. Zhao looked down somewhat gloomily, "I saw that the bottom of the boat was flooded with water, and Chun Cao had died. Only then did I understand my grandfather's words, so I shouted loudly to tell my grandmother and parents to escape quickly."

  Zhang thought of the situation at that time, and tears came out again. She tightly hugged her granddaughter and cried: "Good child, this is your grandfather's spirit in heaven, who cannot bear to see Zhao Jiong murder his mother and kill his brother, so he came to warn us. Unfortunately, heaven did not follow human wishes, only we escaped safely, and now I don't know where your parents are or whether they are still alive."

  She wept bitterly, and Zhao could only use his small hands to gently pat her back in comfort. Thinking of her parents whose fate was unknown, she felt deeply grieved as well. Why did she have such a bitter fate, losing both parents and becoming an orphan for a year, then traveling through time to this unclear dynasty, thinking that she had gained new parents again, plus a grandmother and brother? Yet in the blink of an eye, her loved ones encountered disaster once more. Was it destined that she would never have parental ties?

  Zhao Wei moved slightly, as if he had awakened. Zhao Er hurriedly called out to Zhang Shi: "Grandmother, brother seems to have woken up!" Zhang Shi hastily wiped away her tears and turned around to look at her grandson, and indeed found that he had opened his eyes, but he only weakly called out "mother" before falling unconscious again. Zhang Shi anxiously called out to him repeatedly, and Zhao Er hurriedly lifted the curtain and shouted for Yanxia, asking her to invite the imperial physician over.

  Jiang Taiyi came over to take Zhao Wei's pulse and said, "It's good that he woke up. The young master has caught a cold, his body is weak, so he fainted again. I'll write another prescription, and after taking the medicine, he'll be fine."

  Mrs. Zhang repeatedly expressed her gratitude, and holding her little grandson, she secretly shed tears. If something were to happen to her son, Zhao Wei would be the only descendant of their second branch. What if something unexpected happened? How could she bear it?

  The surroundings of the camp suddenly became noisy, and before long, Yunxia, who had been following Jiang Taigong to decoct medicine, came back with joy: "We rescued a person, it's a woman, and she still has breath!"

  Zhang's family and Zhao's family are overjoyed. But who is this person they have rescued?