Ping Zhao Lu

Chapter 147 Mysterious Man

The night sky was torn into countless cracks by lightning, thunder roared like war drums, and heavy rain poured down.

In the dead of night when a violent storm was raging, faint lights flickered in the magnificent main courtyard of the Prince Huai's Mansion.

Chu Yunzheng was reclining on the couch, half drunk, his eyes fixed on a portrait hanging in front of the screen. In his hand, he tightly grasped a wine jar, occasionally tilting his head back to take a large gulp of the liquor.

Just then, a slight sound of footsteps broke the silence in the room.

A tall, hooded, mysterious man walked slowly into the room with his head lowered.

His steps were so light that they were almost inaudible, and his whole body exuded an elusive aura.

Chu Yunzheng glanced at the visitor casually with his indifferent eyes, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a slightly sarcastic smile, and said lazily: "Are you the one that Mother Fan mentioned... the peerless beauty who can make people's hearts beat fast at just one glance?" After saying that, he continued to raise the wine jar and swallowed it in big gulps.

Facing Chu Yunzheng's questioning, the man remained silent, just standing there quietly with his head down.

Seeing that the other party had no reaction, Chu Yunzheng put down the jar of wine in his hand impatiently, stood up shakily, and walked towards the man with a staggering gait.

When he reached the man, he stopped and commanded condescendingly, "Lift your head up for me!"

Hearing this, the man hesitated for a moment, but finally raised his head obediently.

At the same moment, he stretched out his right hand and gently took off the hood on his head, then raised his face and looked at Chu Yunzheng without fear.

In the dim candlelight, one could clearly see the man's handsome face. His black hair fell on his shoulders like a waterfall, half of which was cleverly tied up, adding a touch of elegance to his appearance.

Chu Yunzheng stared at the face of the man in front of him expressionlessly. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly raised his hand and pinched the man's jaw. His voice was icy and piercing, "Mother Fan's taste is really getting worse and worse."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly pulled his hand back as if he had touched something unclean.

Due to Chu Yunzheng's sudden action, the man involuntarily took a small step back, with a barely perceptible look of grievance on his face.

But soon, he regained his composure, lowered his eyes again, and no longer looked at Chu Yunzheng.

"I'm drunk, not blind." Chu Yunzheng's face was gloomy. He glared at the man in front of him, his eyes flashing with anger. "You think you can replace him?"

After saying this, he turned around abruptly, flicked his sleeves vigorously, and sat back in his seat angrily.

Seeing this, the man was so frightened that his face turned pale, his legs went limp, and he fell to his knees with a thud.

He raised his head, looked at Chu Yunzheng pitifully with tearful eyes, and pleaded in a trembling voice: "Prince, please spare my life. I really don't have such unreasonable thoughts... It's just... It's just that I am fortunate to have a slight resemblance to your beloved. How dare I compare myself to him?"

Chu Yunzheng seemed completely unmoved by the man's desperate pleas for mercy, not even bothering to glance at him. He waved his hand expressionlessly, squeezing out a single word through gritted teeth: "Get lost."

Hearing this, the man shuddered, a look of immense terror on his face. He stared at Chu Yunzheng with wide eyes, stammering, "Your Highness... it's only been a short while, and you're sending me away. If Madam Fan knew about this, she'd definitely think I was useless, and my life would be even harder in the future..."

Despite the man's pitiful words, Chu Yunzheng's expression remained unchanged, as cold as ice. He spoke again, his tone even colder: "Get out of here right now."

The man was completely panicked. He hurriedly knelt and moved forward, crying as he crawled, "Your Majesty, please have mercy! Please, Your Majesty, let me stay a little longer! Even if it's just for a short while..."

Chu Yunzheng finally lost his patience. His brows furrowed, veins popping out on his forehead. He suddenly slammed the table in front of him with all his might. There was a loud bang, and the cups on the table jumped up. "One moment? You actually think that this king's ability is only one moment?"

The man looked bewildered and stammered, "I...slave, I didn't mean...that..." Cold sweat covered his forehead, his hands unconsciously clenched the corners of his clothes, his eyes filled with fear and anxiety.

The anger in Chu Yunzheng's heart was instantly ignited, as if countless ants were gnawing at his self-esteem.

He stood up suddenly, and because he stood up too quickly, the chair fell to the ground with a loud "bang".

Chu Yunzheng didn't care. He straightened his body and glared down at the man in front of him. His sharp eyes were like two sharp swords, piercing straight at the other person.

"In that case, then you will stay here obediently for the entire night!"

Chu Yunzheng gritted his teeth and squeezed out these words word by word.

After saying this, he turned and left without hesitation, without even turning his head back.

As the door slammed shut with a bang, the room suddenly fell into dead silence.

*

After a night of rain, the incessant rain finally stopped.

In the early morning, the sky was still a little gloomy, but the air was filled with a fresh and moist scent.

Chu Heyuan got up early. He was wearing a simple and elegant casual suit and went out with Shi'an, intending to take a stroll around the residence and enjoy the scenery after the rain.

The two of them walked leisurely and soon arrived at the street.

However, the scene before them made them slightly stunned. They saw that all the shops on both sides of the road had their doors tightly closed. Not only that, the shop entrances were surrounded by heavy wooden boards, and even the windows were nailed tightly.

The streets were deserted at this time, with only a few pedestrians on the road.

Continue walking down the street and a porridge stall appears not far ahead.

At this time, several soldiers were busy making a fire and cooking, and wisps of smoke were slowly rising.

Seeing this, Chu Heyuan couldn't help but feel something in his heart, and he walked forward with Shi'an.

But just as they were about to reach the porridge shed, a soldier standing nearby suddenly reached out and stopped them, shouting, "It's not time yet! Get out of here!"

Hearing this, Shi'an was speechless, thinking: How could he be so tactless? We look like beggars?

But he didn't say anything, just stood aside silently.

Chu Heyuan, on the other hand, appeared quite calm. He took a step back and asked in a gentle voice, "Excuse me, is this place used to provide relief to the people in the city?"

The soldier's face remained expressionless upon hearing this. He simply nodded stiffly and replied, "That's right. You can come and collect it at noon every day."

Chu Heyuan nodded, saying nothing more, but frowned slightly and fell into deep thought. After a long while, he turned around and gently waved at Shi'an, signaling him to continue forward.

In this way, the two of them walked forward aimlessly for a long time. The scenes they saw along the way were almost the same as the places they had just passed by. There were shops with closed doors and windows and empty streets everywhere.

"It seems that the situation in this city is worse than I imagined..." Chu Heyuan murmured to himself softly.

After a moment's silence, he turned to Shi'an and said, "Go get a carriage. I'll wait for you here."

"This..." Shi'an looked around, his eyes revealing a hint of hesitation and worry, and he did not agree immediately.

"It's okay. There are government officials here. Go quickly and come back soon." Seeing Shi'an hesitant, Chu Heyuan stepped forward and comforted him softly.

After hearing Chu Heyuan's affirmative words, Shi'an was still a little uneasy, but he didn't say anything more. He just nodded and said, "Okay, then, Master...you must be careful." After that, he turned around and left in a hurry.

After Shi'an left, Chu Heyuan slowly walked to the eaves next to him and stood there quietly.

The soldier tending the fire jokingly said, "Young Master, you're from out of town? How bizarre! Everyone's eager to get out, but you're going the other way... This city is plagued by starving people. It's a rare sight to see no one out here looting food, yet you're actually thinking of taking a ride in a carriage."

Chu Heyuan turned to look at him, "But I see that every household has closed their doors and windows tightly, and no one is coming out."

"That's because the rain falls from time to time, making it difficult to go out. We're also afraid that our homes will be destroyed by floods like other places. Fortunately, the terrain here is relatively high, and the governor has ordered people to take precautions early on, so the losses are not that serious." The soldiers replied.

"So, this governor is still a good official." Chu Heyuan said tentatively.

The officers and soldiers were stunned for a moment. "The people in the city said the same thing. But the governor himself said that these are just the basic duties of a government official, and there's no question of whether they're good or bad."

"Is that so..." Chu Heyuan murmured in a low voice.

Just when he was distracted, the corner of his clothes was suddenly pulled lightly.

Feeling the movement under his feet, Chu Heyuan immediately came back to his senses and looked down.

He saw a woman with a haggard face, messy hair and ragged clothes kneeling at his feet, begging anxiously.

She opened her mouth slightly, but could not utter a word. She could only make "ah ah" sounds and make quick, confusing gestures with her hands.

Chu Heyuan frowned and asked, "Auntie, you...can't speak?"

The old lady nodded slowly, then shook her head vigorously, with a sad face.

Chu Heyuan was confused and at a loss by her appearance.

The officers and soldiers nearby kindly explained to him, "Young Master, don't pay any attention to her. She's a lunatic, mute and insane. She's a nervous wretch all the time, and she'll just run after anyone she sees. She even rushed to the Governor's mansion several times without caring about her life. If it weren't for the Governor's kindness, who took pity on her and offered her food and a place to stay, she wouldn't have gone anywhere else."