Consort Rong secretly cursed Commander Zhu for being useless.

She regretted momentarily that during this visit to the traveling palace, she hadn’t anticipated encountering Commander Zhu.

Although Consort Rong had long hoped for the Second Prince’s death, asking Commander Zhu to assassinate the Second Prince was a spontaneous decision, inadequately prepared. If she had prepared poison in advance and applied it to the blade, even if the Second Prince was only wounded on the arm, he would likely have lost his life.

As Consort Rong sighed and lamented, a squad of the Forbidden Army approached, saying they needed to search the courtyard to prevent any assassins from hiding within it.

Consort Rong said nothing, graciously allowing the Forbidden Army to conduct their search.

Early the next morning, the palace maid sent to gather information returned and said, "I heard the assassin has been caught. It’s a deputy commander of the Forbidden Army, and now he’s in Eunuch Quan’s hands."

Consort Rong almost couldn’t believe it, "Caught?"

The palace maid nodded, "Yes, I heard the assassin was wounded in the shoulder by Young Master Xie, and it didn’t take much effort to uncover him."

Consort Rong couldn’t help but curse, "Useless fool!"

The palace maid, hearing Consort Rong’s words, remained expressionless outwardly but was inwardly shocked.

It seemed Consort Rong’s words were meant for the assassin.

She quickly lowered her head, pretending not to have heard anything.

Consort Rong impatiently waved her hand, and the palace maid retreated.

Consort Rong, worried, looked at her attendant palace maid, Aunt Xue, "What should I do now?"

"That old fellow Quan Dahai is a ruthless man. Commander Zhu has fallen into his hands. Will he... betray me?"

Aunt Xue said softly, "Don’t worry, madam. I believe Commander Zhu won’t betray you."

"After all, betraying you would worsen his punishment. Initially, he might only face execution. But involving a palace consort... risk angering His Majesty, which could lead to the Zhu family’s complete destruction. He surely understands this logic."

Consort Rong sighed, "He surely understands the logic, but I’m afraid he can’t resist Eunuch Quan’s methods."

Aunt Xue said, "Madam, please don’t worry excessively. The Empress is likely watching us closely. At times like this, you must remain calm."

Consort Rong gritted her teeth and nodded, "You’re right, I mustn’t lose my composure."

"Such a wonderful opportunity, yet we couldn’t eliminate that boy."

In the following days, the traveling palace quieted down.

Even the most mischievous children refrained from causing trouble during this time.

Commander Zhu was locked in a small room, always guarded closely by two eunuchs.

He initially thought he would be tortured, but they only kept him locked up without asking any questions.

Gradually, he went from believing he was doomed to feeling a sense of hope for survival.

Who wants to die when it’s possible to live?

Especially in these days, the food delivered to him was delicious and well-prepared, which he first assumed was his last meal, only to realize it wasn’t. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

This increasingly fueled his hope for life. He was still so young; there were so many delicious foods and fun things in the world. Dying like this would be such a waste.

Commander Zhu spent several anxious days.

That evening, the people sent by Eunuch Quan to Xiang City finally returned.

When they came back, Eunuch Quan held a thick stack of papers, which detailed nearly all of Commander Zhu’s life events.

Eunuch Quan carefully reviewed them but didn’t find any evidence of Commander Zhu having had a romantic relationship with any woman, which was understandable, as such matters are private and neighbors might not know.

However, Eunuch Quan discovered that the Zhu family’s previous residence was on the same street as Consort Rong’s former home.