Cautiously opening the door, the maid quickly slipped out and then closed it from the outside.
The maid thought she had gone unnoticed, but she didn't know that Zheng Wei had been watching her shadow from inside the room.
Seeing the maid's shadow disappear, a hint of mockery curved Zheng Wei's lips.
Meanwhile, Zheng Fan and Zheng Caiying, who were fleeing in haste, ran directly towards the main courtyard.
Entering the main courtyard, before the maid could announce them, the two of them barged directly into the main house.
In the main house, Lian Qing was talking to her personal maid. Hearing a sudden commotion outside, they both fell silent in an instant.
When Lian Qing saw that the two panting figures before her were her own son and daughter, the anger on her face dissipated.
"What's wrong with you two? Who was chasing you?" Lian Qing asked with a frown.
After all, the two of them had been raised to observe various rules and etiquette. What kind of behavior was this?
Zheng Fan and Zheng Caiying, however, did not notice Lian Qing's frown. After catching their breath, Zheng Fan said, "Mother, is Father in the inner room?"
Upon hearing this, Lian Qing's brows furrowed even more.
Zheng Xiang had been slighted at the banquet today and had gone directly to the front courtyard study after the feast. Why would he come to her?
Even normally, Zheng Xiang spent more time with those little vixen consorts.
Although these things were not explicitly stated, Zheng Fan and Zheng Caiying should have known to some extent.
Why were they rushing to find Zheng Xiang like this today?
Feeling some displeasure, she asked in a calm tone, "What do you need your Father for? Your Father was already tired at the banquet today. If it's nothing urgent, and it's so late, don't disturb your Father. All of you should go back and rest early."
Although Lian Qing was suppressing her emotions, her tone of voice was not very pleasant.
However, the frightened Zheng Fan and Zheng Caiying did not notice this.
Upon hearing Lian Qing's voice, Zheng Caiying seemed to finally come to her senses. She ran to Lian Qing's side and, before Lian Qing could react, suddenly threw herself into Lian Qing's arms and cried in pain.
Lian Qing was startled by Zheng Caiying's actions. Looking at her daughter trembling in her arms and hearing her heart-wrenching sobs, Lian Qing also became flustered.
"My good daughter, what's wrong? Don't scare your mother. Tell me what's happening, don't scare me like this."
Lian Qing's voice trembled slightly as she spoke, afraid that what Zheng Caiying was about to say would be unacceptable to her.
Zheng Caiying looked up from Lian Qing's embrace, sobbing, tears falling one after another from her face.
"Mother, Zheng Wei, Zheng Wei, Zheng Wei wants to kill me and brother."
This sentence struck Lian Qing like a bolt of lightning, shattering her soul.
It took a long time for her to react, but she still looked incredulous.
"What… what did you just say? Zheng Wei wants to kill you and your brother? What is going on?"
After a bout of crying, Zheng Caiying's anxiety and fear had lessened considerably. She wiped the tears from her face and then vaguely recounted what had happened.
Originally, she thought her mother doted on her so much that after hearing this, she would surely seek revenge for her. Perhaps she would immediately take them to see their father and then have that Zheng Wei torn apart by five horses, which would be the only way to quell her hatred.
But who knew, after hearing these words, Lian Qing just frowned at her, and no one knew what she was thinking, but there was a hint of reproach on her face.
Zheng Caiying waited for a long time without hearing Lian Qing speak, then cautiously asked, "Mother..."
Lian Qing looked at Zheng Caiying. Seeing her daughter's worried face looking at her, her heart ached.
But then, remembering Zheng Xiang's previous warning, any further heartache was ruthlessly suppressed deep within Lian Qing.
A faint smile bloomed on Lian Qing's face, filled with indulgence. "My good daughter, today, you and your brother were being mischievous. How could you go and scare Zheng Wei? He was originally from the countryside, and your father feels very guilty towards him. Now you are deliberately going against him. Would your father like you?"
"Fortunately, your father is not here now, otherwise, you would definitely be punished, and perhaps even have to copy family rules and kneel in the ancestral hall."
As Lian Qing's words were spoken one by one, the faces of Zheng Caiying and Zheng Fan turned even paler.
Zheng Caiying opened her mouth and closed it, finally managing to ask dryly, "Clearly, we were the ones raised under Father's favor. Why does Father now favor this bastard who appeared out of nowhere the most?"
Zheng Caiying's question was also Lian Qing's question.
However, Zheng Caiying was a child, and she was of the same generation as Zheng Wei, so anything she said was permissible.
As the wife of Prince Duan, she, Zheng Wei's legitimate mother, could not say such things.
Not only could she not say it, but she also had to reprimand Zheng Caiying after hearing it.
Suppressing the jumbled emotions in her heart, Lian Qing put on a stern face and said to Zheng Caiying, "Caiying, what are you saying? No matter what, Zheng Wei is your elder brother. How can you speak about your elder brother like this? Your elder brother has been wandering outside for more than ten years. Now that he's finally back, your father naturally needs to care for him more. Isn't this what he should do? If you don't go and care for your brother, you still have the face to complain to me."
Lian Qing's words left Zheng Caiying and Zheng Fan dumbfounded, staring at Lian Qing in disbelief.
Lian Qing felt uncomfortable under their gaze, turned her face away, and continued, "What are you looking at me for? Hurry back and rest! All day long, you don't think about important matters, only about trivial things. If your Father found out, you would still be punished. I won't tell your Father about what happened just now, but this is the only time. There will be no next time."
Hearing this, Zheng Caiying, who had just stopped crying, burst into tears again.
If her previous crying was due to fear, then her current crying was entirely due to heartbreak.
"Mother, are you still our mother? Brother and I are about to be killed by that little bastard, and you still speak to us like this."
Listening to Zheng Caiying's accusation and her sobs, Lian Qing's heart also felt uneasy.
After all, she was her own daughter, whom she had cherished and doted on for so many years.
However, now that her daughter was wronged, not only could she not stand up for her daughter, but she also had to help an outsider discipline her daughter. How could this not make Lian Qing's heart ache?
Lian Qing remained silent for a long time, but Zheng Caiying's crying continued to echo in her ears.
Children were flesh and blood from their mothers. Hearing Zheng Caiying cry like this made Lian Qing's heart ache immensely.
Just as she was preparing to comfort Zheng Caiying properly and then secretly reveal some of Zheng Xiang's plans to Zheng Caiying and Zheng Fan, she suddenly heard Zheng Xiang's voice.
"Not sleeping in the middle of the night, why are you crying at your mother's place?"
The sudden reprimand startled all three of them. Zheng Caiying was so scared that she even forgot to cry.
Lian Qing's heart pounded wildly from Zheng Xiang's scare.
It was a close call.
If she had given in to her emotions just a moment ago and revealed that matter, then Zheng Xiang's reprimand now would not have been so simple.
She did not forget Zheng Xiang's stern warning to keep that matter a secret from everyone.
Clenching her fists, Lian Qing took a deep breath, calmed herself, then quickly stood up and bowed to Zheng Xiang in greeting.
Zheng Caiying and Zheng Fan also reacted and quickly bowed to Zheng Xiang.
Zheng Xiang, however, did not look at the three of them. He called out and walked directly to the table and sat down.
Lian Qing walked over and sat beside Zheng Xiang, poured him a cup of tea, and asked with a smile, "Didn't Your Highness say you were going to stay in the study tonight?"
Zheng Xiang took a sip of tea and said, "There was nothing else to do, so I came to see you. What were you talking about just now? Why was Caiying crying?"
As he spoke, Zheng Xiang turned his head to look at Zheng Caiying.
Zheng Caiying still remembered Lian Qing's reprimand. She knew that if she told Zheng Xiang about what had just happened, given Zheng Xiang's current favor towards Zheng Wei, this matter would definitely not be resolved with just a scolding. Therefore, she remained silent, resolutely not mentioning a single word about what had happened.
However, whether she wanted to remain silent or not depended on whether Zheng Xiang was willing.
Seeing that Zheng Caiying did not speak, Zheng Xiang ignored her and felt a hint of annoyance in his heart.
For some reason, he was becoming more and more displeased with this pampered daughter.
With her current spoiled and willful demeanor, could she really help him achieve great things in the future?
He suspected that it would be a blessing if she didn't become a burden to him in the end.
Frowning, Zheng Xiang looked past Zheng Caiying and directly at Zheng Fan. "If she won't say, you tell me. If you dare not tell the truth..."
Although the words were not finished, the slight snort at the end made Zheng Fan tremble.
"Reporting... Father, it's like this..."
"Your Highness, Caiying forgot her manners just now, so I reprimanded her a few times, and she started crying. It's not a big deal. Tomorrow, I'll hire a governess to educate her, and there will definitely be no next time," Lian Qing said urgently, interrupting Zheng Fan's unfinished words.
Zheng Fan and Zheng Caiying both secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Zheng Xiang listened and scanned the three people before him. The probing look in his eyes made all three of them tremble.
After a while, Zheng Xiang said, "Since that's the case, then you all should go back."
Hearing this, Zheng Fan and Zheng Caiying felt as if they had been pardoned. They quickly said goodnight to Zheng Xiang and Lian Qing and turned to leave.
Watching them leave, Lian Qing's smile deepened.
When she turned to look at Zheng Xiang, she saw that his face was full of mockery.
"Your Highness?"
Hearing her voice, Zheng Xiang glanced at Lian Qing coldly. "What? Do you really think I'm old and foolish? You can hide things in this manor from me?"
Lian Qing's face turned pale upon hearing this.
Since Zheng Xiang said so, did that mean Zheng Xiang already knew about what had happened just now?
Seeing the change in Lian Qing's expression, Zheng Xiang let out another burst of mockery.
Lian Qing finally understood. Zheng Xiang had done it deliberately.
He had deliberately come to see how she would handle this matter.
After realizing this, Lian Qing felt even more fortunate.
Fortunate that she had held back just now and hadn't impulsively revealed that matter.