After I got into the drama, I led the plot astray

Yingchun rolled her eyes and said, "You should go out less in the future. You kissed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince today. I don't know what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will think of you."

When I talked about this, my face suddenly turned red again, and I stammered, "You, you shut up, don't mention this again, or I will quarrel with you."

Seeing my cowardly look, Ying said angrily and amusedly, "Anyway, you should stop talking nonsense in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Lord Gongsun in the future."

I felt like I had never said anything nonsense in front of them, so I couldn't help but say, "This palace is really too hard to endure. Let's think of a way to get out of the palace, right?"

Yingchun rolled her eyes at me again and said, "Your Majesty has forbidden you from leaving the palace. If you dare to leave the palace without permission, you will be disobeying his order. You can wait to be beheaded."

I was so angry that I said angrily, "If you dare to talk to me like this again, I will beat you up first."

Yingchun actually burst out laughing when she heard this and said, "My dear Second Young Master, didn't Lord Gongsun say that he would take you to live in the mountains for a while after the Spring Examination? Why are you in such a hurry?"

I thought about it and asked, "When is the Spring Examination?"

Yingchun said, "The Spring Examination will start on March 28th and will last for three days. After the examination, Lord Gongsun will have to correct the papers in the Hanlin Academy. Correcting the papers is time-consuming and laborious, and it will take many days. It is estimated that Lord Gongsun will not be free until the end of April."

Wouldn't that mean it would take more than a month before I could leave the palace?

I wailed and rolled around in the carriage, shouting, "I don't want to live anymore. I don't want to live anymore."

Yingchun was frightened by my behavior and quickly covered my mouth with her hands and said, "My little ancestor, please stop howling. We are in the palace and you could lose your head at any time."

I rolled to the corner of the carriage, banging my head against the wooden frame, making a loud banging sound. Yingchun was so scared that she almost lost her soul. She rolled and crawled to my side, held my head and whispered, "My little ancestor, can you please stop making trouble? We are about to arrive at the Hall of Supreme Harmony. If His Majesty sees you like this, won't he drag us all down and behead us?"

I looked up at Yingchun and asked, "We've reached the Hall of Supreme Harmony so soon? I haven't gotten enough of my madness yet."

Yingchun tapped my cheek with her finger in annoyance and said, "You haven't been normal since you came out of the East Palace. Tell me, do you mind kissing the prince?"

I held my head and said, "That was my first kiss, and it was taken away by a stud pig."

"A breeding pig?" Yingchun asked in confusion, "What is a breeding pig?"

I said quietly, "It's a boar specially used for breeding."

Yingchun was so frightened that she fell headfirst onto me, saying breathlessly, "Second Master, if I get beheaded, you must send a message to my parents. I don't want no one to collect my body after I die."

I pushed Yingchun and said, "You are pressing on my wound, get off quickly. Why are you dying? We still have a lot of life to live."

Yingchun got up and said angrily, "If you keep talking nonsense, our heads will be moved."

Yingchun and I played and joked while we soon arrived at the Hall of Supreme Harmony. As soon as we got off the carriage, Yingchun seemed like a different person. Her back was straight, and her speech and walking were as if measured with a ruler, without any mistakes.

I couldn't help but sigh as I looked at Yingchun who had become rigid and dull again. In the palace, except Zheng Xian, everyone was like a mass-produced robot. Their every word and action was debugged and no mistakes were allowed. Living in such a place for a long time would sooner or later lead to depression.

As soon as I entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony, a eunuch came forward to announce that His Majesty wanted to see me.

I sighed and walked towards the imperial study.

Zheng Xian did not sit behind the huge desk, but stood by the window with his hands behind his back, staring out in a daze.

I slowly walked behind him, and Zheng Xian's deep voice rang out: "A-Man is back?"

I hummed and said, "It's so late, Your Majesty, why don't you rest?"

Zheng Xian said: "I am worried that you haven't come back yet."

So you're waiting for me?

Having been in the palace for a long time, I also learned how to be hypocritical. I said with some trepidation: "Your Majesty, it was Ah Man who came back late because of ignorance, and made Your Majesty worried."

Zheng Xian turned his head and looked at him, with an unclear expression on his face, "When did Ah Man learn this trick?"

I coughed awkwardly and said, "Doesn't everyone like to hear nice words? Doesn't Your Majesty like it?"

Zheng Xian tapped my forehead in annoyance and said, "You haven't learned anything but how to flatter others."

I touched my forehead, which was red from being hit, curled my lips, and asked, "Your Majesty is still waiting for me so late, there must be something important, right?"

Zheng Xian sighed and said, "Nothing can be hidden from Ah Man."

Zheng Xian paused and said, "Something happened to your father."

"What?" I was shocked. No wonder Zhao Zhenyuan didn't show up for so many days. In the first few days when I was injured, he came to the palace to see me every day.

I asked hurriedly, "What happened?"

Zheng Xian's face was very ugly. He rubbed his forehead and said, "Chang Guang was sent by me to Beixiang State to gather information. It was agreed that no matter what the information was, he would return to our border meeting point the day before yesterday to evacuate. However, the person in charge of the meeting waited until yesterday and did not see Chang Guang. I just received a letter from a carrier pigeon. Until today, your father has not appeared at the meeting point."

I asked, "So Your Majesty thinks something has happened to my father?"

Zheng Xian nodded.

I didn't dare to ask why Zheng Xian sent Zhao Zhenyuan to Beixiang State to find out, so I had to ask: "Your Majesty summoned me here to ask me to save my father?"

Zheng Xian nodded, then shook his head and said, "Ah Man, do you have any sense of your father?"

It turned out that Zheng Xian wanted to ask me if I had predicted anything. I shook my head and said, "My ability to predict things sometimes comes and goes, and I don't know when it is triggered. As for my father, I didn't sense his current situation at all."

Zheng Xian sighed and said, "Now we are facing internal and external troubles. The smallpox plague has not yet passed. There have been floods in many places, and even cannibalism. Disasters are everywhere. I suspected that the old thief surnamed Gui was hiding in Beixiang State, so I sent your father to investigate. I didn't expect that he has lost contact now. I am afraid that he is in danger. I am really tired. The feeling of being powerless makes me exhausted. Although I know that your injury has not healed, your father must not get into trouble. With him around, I feel much more at ease. So, you won't blame me for sending you to Beixiang State, right?"

How could I blame him? Now that I have found a reason to leave the palace, I can't thank him enough.

Zheng Xian was secretly delighted when he continued, "Zi Yan once mentioned that he wanted to take you to Master Hui Jing to treat your injuries, but I felt that it was not safe outside, so I rejected his request. Now you are going to Beixiang State, and you will pass by Lishan. You can stay in Mingjue Temple for a few days before leaving."

It seems that Gongsun Wen also told Zheng Xian that my martial arts were ruined. He is really a loyal minister.