The commotion was earth-shattering.
Zhen Bao Ge’s second floor had several elegant rooms, each designed to entertain wealthy and distinguished guests.
With such a disturbance, people immediately rushed out from two nearby rooms to investigate.
“Heavens! Someone is… is having an illicit affair at Zhen Bao Ge—” an old woman began to shout, her voice suddenly catching as if her throat was blocked by a stone. Her lips quivered for a while before she continued, “Two men are sleeping together—”
How strange. The person who paid her had said a young master was having an affair with a married woman and told her to shout about it if she saw such a scene. How come it wasn’t a man and a woman on the bed, but two men?
Never mind, it was scandalous either way. Her job was just to shout about it.
“Everyone come and see! Two grown men are having an affair in broad daylight at Zhen Bao Ge—” the old woman shouted even louder.
Zhen Bao Ge was located on a busy street, and this commotion immediately drew countless people into the shop.
The female shopkeeper was nearly frantic, hurriedly calling out, “Your Highness, please wake up! Wake up!”
It seemed Prince Yu Jin’s secret guard had struck too hard. The Crown Prince and the eunuch, naked and embracing each other, continued to sleep soundly.
Many people had already gathered at the doorway, loudly discussing the situation.
“Tsk tsk, whose son is this? How shameful. If he were my son, I’d break his legs for sure.”
“Haha, you couldn’t have such a son. Look at the clothes on the floor—they’re made of fine material. Must be some young master from a wealthy family.”
“It’s strange indeed. Why come to Zhen Bao Ge to do such a filthy thing?”
“Where else? Two men doing this at home would be even easier to discover, right?”
“That makes sense—”
The female shopkeeper was nearly going mad, pushing at the people at the door. “Get out, everyone get out now!”
Someone who was pushed shoved back, causing the shopkeeper to stumble.
“Why should we leave? We just managed to squeeze in!”
“That’s right! You can harbor such filth in Zhen Bao Ge, but we can’t even take a look?”
As they spoke, the onlookers grew angry. Someone threw a roasted chicken, which hit the Crown Prince squarely in the face, waking him up.
Seeing the dense crowd, the Crown Prince was bewildered. He kicked away the eunuch whose arm was still draped over him and jumped up. “What’s going on?”
As he jumped, he realized he was completely exposed.
The Crown Prince looked down and nearly fainted. He hastily grabbed some clothes from the floor to cover himself and shouted angrily, “Everyone get out!”
He still thought he was in the Eastern Palace, where a single shout would scatter the eunuchs and palace maids in fear.
Not a single onlooker left. Someone shouted, “Look, that one doesn’t have a male organ!”
Frightened, the Crown Prince immediately lifted the clothes covering him to check, sighing in relief when he found everything intact.
The crowd, of course, wasn’t looking at the Crown Prince, but at the eunuch who had been kicked to the floor, fully exposed.
The fall had awakened the eunuch, who let out a shrill scream.
The high-pitched voice, the beardless face, and the lack of a certain body part…
Finally, someone belatedly realized, “He’s from the palace—”
The rest of the sentence went unspoken as the person turned and fled.
If this was a noble from the palace having an affair with a eunuch, wouldn’t they, the onlookers, be silenced?
Many shared this thought and rushed to leave, trying to distance themselves from this troublesome situation.
Unfortunately, while they had eagerly crowded in, the outside was now packed with people, making a quick escape difficult.
“Make way, make way—”
Those at the back, unaware of what had transpired, were still pushing forward to get a better view. Those in front desperately tried to leave, resulting in many people tumbling down the stairs in the chaos.
The scene became increasingly chaotic.
The Crown Prince hurriedly dressed, his hands shaking as he tied his belt.
“Your High— Master, what should we do?” The eunuch, holding up his trousers, was on the verge of tears.
“Get away!” The Crown Prince kicked the eunuch and rushed to the window, lifting one leg over the sill.
The eunuch, terrified out of his wits, clung desperately to the Crown Prince’s other leg. “Master, you can’t jump—”
The Crown Prince forcefully pushed the eunuch away.
Can’t jump? If they were trapped here, wouldn’t everyone know that the Crown Prince had been fooling around with a eunuch?
By now, the Crown Prince had completely forgotten about how Jiang Yi had escaped. His mind was focused on a single thought: run, just get away from this cursed place.
The Crown Prince jumped from the second floor of Zhen Bao Ge, landing right in front of the officials who had just arrived.
The lead official stepped back in shock. “Is this the criminal? Men, seize him!”
He had been patrolling the streets with his subordinates when a citizen reported that criminals at Zhen Bao Ge had committed murder.
In broad daylight, right under the Emperor’s nose, a murder? This couldn’t be allowed!
The lead official didn’t hesitate to rush over with his men.
Seeing the Crown Prince who had fallen before him, the lead official sneered coldly, “Trying to escape? Keep dreaming!”
Seeing the speechless Crown Prince about to be shackled and taken away, the eunuch shouted, “You can’t arrest him!”
He hastily jumped out of the window, let out a scream, and then fell silent.
In his panic, he had landed face-first…
Glancing at the unconscious man, the lead official waved his hand. “Take them both!”
With this level of skill, they dared to commit crimes.
Jumping from the second floor—if it were him, he wouldn’t even blink at such a height. What useless criminals.
The Crown Prince, being dragged away for about a hundred paces, finally came to his senses and gritted out, “Bastards, release me at once!”
“Huh, quite arrogant for a criminal.”
The entrance of Zhen Bao Ge was in chaos, and the lead official had already sent men to investigate, further confirming the citizen’s report in his mind.
“Let go! Do you know who I am?”
The Crown Prince had originally gone to observe at the Ministry of Revenue today. After slipping away, he had deliberately changed into clothes bought from a regular clothing store. While the fabric was decent, it was only considered good by commoner standards, far from luxurious.
The lead official glanced at him and sneered, “What, you’re some noble young master? Let me tell you, I don’t care whose son you are. You’ve committed a crime today, so you’re coming to the magistrate’s office with me.”
Hearing “magistrate’s office,” the Crown Prince’s face changed instantly. He hurriedly said, “I am the Crown Prince! Release me at once!”
The lead official laughed, “You’re the Crown Prince? Then I must be a prince! Stop talking nonsense, or you’ll bring destruction upon your entire clan!”
“I am the Crown Prince! Quickly release me!” The Crown Prince struggled but couldn’t break free. He didn’t dare shout too loudly, growing increasingly anxious.
The lead official frowned, took out a handkerchief, and stuffed it into the Crown Prince’s mouth. He said coldly, “We can’t let you shout and ruin the reputation of the real nobles!”
“Mmph mmph mmph—” The Crown Prince couldn’t speak and looked towards the eunuch.
The eunuch, who had landed face-first, was bruised and swollen, still unconscious.
The Crown Prince was utterly desperate, with only one thought in his mind: He was so foolish! He shouldn’t have left his secret guards at the Ministry of Revenue!