As the man's voice faded, Bai Zheng saw that all the people who had been standing in the main hall of the prefectural yamen, except Feng Jingye and Feng Jingxuan, knelt down before the man in the light purple robe.
Bai Zheng herself was yanked down by Bai Yinan the moment she reacted and prostrated on the ground with the others.
"Greetings to His Highness Prince Yi and His Lordship Marquis Dingyuan."
"Get up, get up. I just happened to pass by. Seeing there were so many people here, I came over out of curiosity to listen in. You don't need to stand on ceremony," said the man addressed as Prince Yi with a beaming smile. Then he strode up to Bai Zheng.
"Don't kneel any longer, girl. If you hurt yourself, A Yuan will feel heartache, and he'll surely blame me for it. A Yuan has finally fallen in love after all these years. You must take good care of yourself."
Bai Zheng, who was about to get up, couldn't help but pout upon hearing this. But she still replied obediently, "Thank you, Your Highness Prince Yi."
"Your Highness, Zheng'er is shy. If you keep teasing her like this, she might resent me later," Feng Linyuan reminded.
"Ouch."
Bai Zheng, who was halfway up, stumbled and knelt on the ground again.
"Oh, girl, why are you so careless!" Prince Yi's concerned voice came.
Bai Zheng: "..."
"Uncle Prince Yi, why did you happen to come here today?" Feng Jingye asked pointedly after watching Prince Yi's grand entrance with a cold eye.
Uncle Prince Yi?
Hearing this address, Bai Zheng's memory was finally jogged.
She suddenly remembered someone.
Prince Yi Feng Linhuai was born of the same mother as Feng Linche and was only seven or eight years older than Feng Jingye. When Feng Linche was vying for the throne, Feng Linhuai was not even ten years old. But he once blocked a sword for Feng Linche during an assassination attempt and lost two fingers on his right hand as a result.
After Feng Linche ascended the throne, he doted on this younger brother, enfeoffed him as a prince and granted him a fief. When all his other brothers were exiled to remote places, he kept Feng Linhuai in Yongding.
Under Feng Linche's protection, Feng Linhuai lived a carefree life as a prince. Apparently, he had been living a very comfortable life and had even put on some weight.
If there was anyone in Yongding who could rein in Feng Jingye, besides Feng Linche who sat on the throne in the imperial palace, it was none other than this seemingly carefree Prince Yi Feng Linhuai, who held great sway in front of Feng Linche.
No wonder Feng Jingye was so unhappy about his appearance.
Bai Zheng raised her eyes and exchanged a distant look with Feng Linyuan.
She naturally knew that Feng Linyuan had invited this person because he was worried about her. But how could she not be worried about his health?
Thinking of this, Bai Zheng frowned slightly.
This guy had just come back from the gates of hell yesterday, but he didn't know to stay at home and rest!
As if sensing Bai Zheng's thoughts, Feng Linyuan winked at her ingratiatingly, only to see Bai Zheng turn away with a straight face. He could only look at her helplessly.
At this time, Feng Linhuai, who had been questioned, stepped forward with a smile, patted Feng Jingye on the shoulder, and answered irrelevantly, "Ye'er, it's been more than half a month since I last saw you. Do you miss Uncle?"
By calling him "Ye'er", he was emphasizing their respective statuses. Even though the other was the crown prince, he was still an elder, and the prince should show due respect.
Feng Jingye's face changed slightly. He lowered his head and said, "Nephew misses Uncle very much."
Feng Jingxuan interjected with a smile, "Nephew also misses Uncle's peach blossom wine very much."
Feng Linhuai spat at him and said with a laugh, "You ungrateful little rascal. You only have your eyes on the things in Uncle's mansion."
During this light-hearted banter, his gaze fell on Chu Feng, who was in disheveled clothes.
By now, most of the water on Chu Feng's body had stopped dripping, and it was no longer flowing like before. But the cold had penetrated his bones, and he couldn't help but shiver slightly.
Feng Linhuai obviously didn't recognize this person at first. He looked at him carefully, then stepped forward and rubbed his eyes hard. Suddenly, he exclaimed in surprise, "Oh! Isn't this Young Master Chu? What's going on here?"
Without waiting for others to answer, he slapped his thigh and suddenly realized, "I know! I heard that Minister Bai is accusing Young Master Chu. I didn't expect Qin Mu to have the guts to ignore the face of the prime minister and the crown prince. He just started the punishment when the evidence was conclusive? He is really impartial, truly impartial!"
Qin Mu, who had just woken up groggily, was so frightened by Feng Linhuai's words that he immediately slipped off his chair and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your Highness has misunderstood. Your humble official doesn't have the guts. How dare I offend the crown prince... Oh no no no! Young Master Chu's case has not been investigated yet, and whether he is guilty or not has not been determined..."
Qin Mu explained incoherently.
"It was this crown prince who splashed the water," Feng Jingye said calmly.
As if granted amnesty, Qin Mu immediately shut his mouth.
"Ah? It was you, Ye'er, who splashed the water?" Feng Linhuai looked at Chu Feng and then at Feng Jingye, who had a gloomy face. He sighed and advised,
"Alas, Ye'er, Uncle has to say a few words to you. According to seniority, Young Master Chu is your uncle. Although what he did was a bit muddled, according to the laws of the Great Zhou, Qin Mu will sentence him. As a junior, you shouldn't act out of personal grudges..."
"Uncle, you've misunderstood," Feng Jingye interrupted him. His hand hidden in his sleeve tightened, but he showed a calm smile on his face.
"Nephew saw that he was unconscious after drinking too much wine. And he couldn't let Minister Bai and Miss Bai wait like this. So I had to splash some cold water on him to wake him up earlier so that he could prove his innocence."
"Has Young Master Chu proven his innocence?" Feng Linhuai asked curiously.
Feng Jingye paused and said reluctantly, "He couldn't prove it. But I remembered that since Miss Bai broke off and then got engaged again, Chu Feng's mind has been repeatedly stimulated, and he has become a bit delirious. If he really did something sorry to Miss Bai, it was really out of helplessness."
"Is Young Master Chu really delirious?" Hearing Feng Jingye's answer, Feng Linhuai was first shocked and then showed a look of regret. "Such a promising young man... A few days ago, the king asked me if I had any good candidates to recommend for a vacancy as a junior official in the Ministry of Justice. I was just about to introduce Young Master Chu. But now it seems that's not possible..."
"Thud."
Prime Minister Chu's leg kicked the chair.
Seeing this, Feng Linhuai walked up to Prime Minister Chu with a solemn face, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Prime Minister, be strong. Since your child is ill, take him home and treat him well. He will surely get better."
Prime Minister Chu's face changed several times, and finally he let out a low "um".
Feng Linhuai nodded in satisfaction. "Now that the matter between Miss Bai and Young Master Chu has been clarified, Lord Qin?"
Qin Mu, who was called out, shivered all over and replied in a trembling voice, "Your humble official is here."
"How will you sentence him?" Feng Linhuai asked with a beaming smile.