The guard was kicked to the ground. He looked up at the sky, desperately trying to remember.
Where had that arrow come from?
Of course, it had come from the direction it was fired from!
Wait!
The guard’s eyes suddenly widened until they were as big as copper bells.
There hadn’t been a single archer among the guards who had gone into action last night!
If there were no archers, where had the arrow come from?
That could only mean that someone else had followed them to Prince Ling’s residence!
The guard kicked his legs once and breathed his last.
He died with his eyes open!
Little Lin shook his head. With a wave of his hand, he soon had two guards come out and drag away the body on the ground.
After cleaning everything up, Little Lin hurried off to find Prince Ling.
Prince Ling walked into the dining hall and waited for a long while, only to discover that breakfast still had not been served.
“Someone come here!”
Prince Ling shouted, forcing down his anger.
A guard entered, trembling with fear.
“What’s going on? Where is breakfast?” Prince Ling’s eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep.
With his current appearance, he looked terrifying.
The guard shuddered and hurriedly lowered his head.
“Your Highness, the kitchen didn’t prepare anything this morning!”
“Crash!”
Prince Ling casually picked up the teacup beside him and hurled it across the room.
The guard immediately dropped to his knees in fright.
“Have the steward brought here in chains!” Prince Ling spat out in a sinister tone.
The guard scrambled to his feet and ran off.
Before long, the steward was dragged in.
“Your Highness, please spare me! This wasn’t my fault!”
Before he could finish speaking, he was struck in the chest by a vicious kick.
The steward spat out a mouthful of blood. He struggled to kneel upright and defend himself.
“Your Highness, the purchasing token for the residence is in the hands of Secondary Consort Wei.”
“But Secondary Consort Wei… Your Highness, there’s no one managing the residence right now. I’m already at my wit’s end!”
The steward lay prostrate on the floor, trembling.
He really didn’t want to lose his life!
Prince Ling froze for a moment.
Only then did he remember that he had previously taken the household authority away from the Princess Consort and handed it to Secondary Consort Wei.
He had confined Secondary Consort Wei, but had forgotten to take the household authority back.
Prince Ling couldn’t help rubbing his brows.
Every day, he had to match wits with those old political vultures at court. Yet after returning to his residence, he still had to deal with these trivial household matters!
“Where is the Princess Consort?”
The steward answered cautiously, “Your Highness, the Princess Consort is still ill.”
Prince Ling frowned. He clearly remembered the physician saying that his wife was fine.
Little Lin entered with an anxious expression.
“Your Highness, if you don’t leave for court now, you’ll be late…”
Prince Ling immediately strode forward.
“Go to the outer court and withdraw some money. If this happens again when I return tonight, you won’t need to stay here anymore!”
After saying this, Prince Ling strode out.
A man should always put important matters first.
Prince Ling had a very clear sense of priorities.
Princess Consort Ling soon learned that Prince Ling had gone to court on an empty stomach.
She gave a cold laugh.
“Go on. What happened to that wretch in the woodshed?”
“Your Highness, Secondary Consort Wei took a pair of gold earrings yesterday and had one of the kitchen maids send word to the Second Young Master.”
“The Second Young Master secretly went there without telling anyone.”
“Then he slept with the window open last night.”
“Just now, the servants attending the Second Young Master said that he had fallen ill.”
The maid lowered her head as she finished speaking, then stood respectfully to one side with her hands folded.
The coldness at the corners of Princess Consort Ling’s lips deepened.
“What about An'er and Ning'er?” she asked.
“Your Highness, the Heir Apparent and the Princess haven’t gotten up yet,” the maid replied hurriedly.
“And that one?” Princess Consort Ling lifted her chin toward another direction.
The maid caught the gesture from the corner of her eye. “Commandery Princess Funing hasn’t gotten up either.”
Princess Consort Ling lowered her head and rubbed her fingers.
Because she was ill, she had not put on any of her fingernail guards.
Her ten bare fingers looked awkwardly naked.
“Have someone secretly take some food to An'er and Ning'er.”
“Tell them to eat quietly in their own rooms before going to the Imperial Academy,” Princess Consort Ling instructed.
“As for everyone else, don’t bother with them!” she added.
“Yes, Your Highness. I’ll go at once!”
The maid curtsied and withdrew.
“Princess, it’s time to get up and go to school,” Chunxiao called softly to Song Shuyu.
Song Shuyu irritably covered her ears with her hands.
“Are you annoying? You disturb my sleep every single day!”
In her dream, she had returned to the Song residence. Her mother had held her and wept endlessly, while her father’s eyes had also been reddened.
Her grandmother, however, had ordered her parents to kowtow to her because she had already become a princess!
Her parents’ faces were filled with shock and pride.
Her mother had prepared many of her favorite dishes. Her father and second uncle had even taken her to the ancestral hall.
The ancestral hall that, supposedly, only the men of the Song family were allowed to enter!
However, she didn’t like it.
The entire place was pitch-black!
She had walked around once and then left.
Her second uncle and father had emerged with faces full of pride.
The two of them had respectfully escorted her back to the dining hall. When she saw a table covered with all the dishes she had loved as a child, Chunxiao interrupted her dream.
It was true that she had eaten every kind of delicacy by now.
But the dishes she had loved in childhood still tugged at her heartstrings.
Chunxiao had always known that her mistress had a terrible temper when roused from sleep.
She cautiously apologized.
“I’m sorry, Princess. I was only worried about you.”
“It’s already late. If you delay any longer, there won’t be anything left for breakfast.”
Song Shuyu had been dreaming about a huge feast and was already hungry.
Her appetite was excellent now. It seemed as though her stomach could never be filled.
If she missed even one meal, she would go mad!
Thinking of this, Song Shuyu got out of bed with great reluctance.
After Chunxiao finally finished helping Song Shuyu wash and dress, they went to the dining hall—only to discover that it was eerily quiet.
There wasn’t even the slightest aroma of food.
“What happened? Have they already finished eating?” Song Shuyu asked, looking around in disbelief.
Chunxiao hadn’t expected this either. “Princess, please wait a moment. I’ll go find out what happened.”
Song Shuyu sat down in her chair, fuming.
The dining hall was spotlessly clean. There wasn’t even a single pastry.
Song Shuyu felt as though countless worms were gnawing at her intestines, twisting her stomach in agony from hunger.
Chunxiao soon came running back.
“Princess, this is bad!” she reported breathlessly.
“Bad? I think you’re the one who’s in trouble!”
Song Shuyu was so hungry that she had no strength left. Otherwise, she would definitely have shown Chunxiao what “being in trouble” meant!
Chunxiao took two small steps backward.
“Princess, I went to ask around just now.”
“The kitchen actually didn’t prepare breakfast today.”
“Even Your Highness went to court on an empty stomach!”
Worried that Song Shuyu wouldn’t believe her, Chunxiao brought up Prince Ling.
Song Shuyu froze and looked at Chunxiao suspiciously.
“Are the kitchen staff planning a rebellion? How dare they let Father go hungry?”
Chunxiao glanced around, then cautiously moved closer to Song Shuyu.
