CHAPTER 120: CHAPTER 120: SLEEPLESS

The last sentence, Zheng Chen almost gritted his teeth to pieces and roared out.

A face of extreme handsomeness suddenly twisted, nearly ferocious.

Peng Sihai had never seen the master so lost in composure; he was momentarily frightened and, fearing the sound would reach beyond the study, had to remind, "Young Master, calm down! If you alarm the Duke and Duchess, it won’t be good."

Zheng Chen’s eyes turned red, and a chest full of anger and unwillingness was about to gush out. At the last moment, reason prevailed, and he forcefully held back.

He sent Peng Sihai and his group to Nanyang County on a secret mission that must not be known to his father and mother.

He couldn’t explain his current anger and pain to anyone, including the confidant in front of him.

Zheng Chen took a deep breath, turned his back to Peng Sihai: "You may leave first, I want to be alone for a while."

Peng Sihai answered yes and, before retreating, softly said, "The words Young Master said just now, I will certainly keep my mouth shut."

Zheng Chen did not move, the sound of the door opening was heard behind him, and then the door was gently closed.

Silence returned to the study.

He maintained that rigid standing posture for a long time without moving.

Third watch, fourth watch, until the sound of the fifth watch’s clapper was heard.

Peng Sihai, who had guarded outside the door for the whole night, gently knocked the door to remind the sleepless master: "Does Young Master want to take a day off from the palace today?"

"No need." After a moment, the familiar voice came from inside, and then, Zheng Chen opened the door and stepped out.

Peng Sihai quickly glanced at the master, secretly relieved.

After a night, Zheng Chen’s surging anger subsided like a receding tide, returning to his usual calm composure: "Prepare hot water, I want to bathe and change clothes."

...

An hour later.

In the palace, Upper Study Room.

The Crown Prince held a book, flipped a few pages carelessly without interest, then put it down and turned his head to ask: "Huh? Why hasn’t Zixian come today?"

Jiang Yi was tossing a jade pendant in his hand, up and down for amusement, momentarily unable to respond.

Li Boyuan laughed and said: "He went back to his residence after leaving the palace last night."

Several of the Crown Prince’s companions had accommodations in the palace, yet they often went out of the palace and back to their residences. Especially Wang Jin, who went back to the Wang Mansion every two or three days, often joked about being the most filial son in the world.

During the chat, Zheng Chen had already stepped into the Upper Study Room.

The Crown Prince glanced and smiled, "Where did Zixian go last night? Why do your eyes look a bit red?"

The traces of a sleepless night had been washed away with hot water. Only the bloodshot eyes couldn’t fade for a while. Zheng Chen had already thought of an excuse: "I had a nightmare last night, woke up in the middle of the night, and couldn’t fall back asleep."

Li Boyuan was the first to open his mouth to mock, "Turns out the accomplished and spirited Young Master Zheng can also have times of fear."

Young boys gathered together often loved competing over everything.

In terms of academics, Wang Jin was undoubtedly second, followed by Zheng Chen. On the martial arts field, Zheng Chen even more was the center of attention. Horseback riding, archery, and martial arts, Li Boyuan was no match for Zheng Chen, which indeed was infuriating.

Zheng Chen was in a bad mood, not interested in engaging in verbal sparring with Li Boyuan, just curled his lips without saying anything.

Instead, Wang Jin, rather curiously asked: "What nightmare did you have?"

Zheng Chen replied indifferently, "Forgot."

Wang Jin didn’t ask further.

Bang!

Everyone turned their heads at once.

It turned out Jiang Yi was distracted and didn’t catch the jade pendant. A fine Mutton Fat Jade Pendant fell and shattered. Jiang Yi giggled, not taking it seriously: "Someone come and clean this up."

Soon, the Grand Tutor arrived.

The young ones sat upright, starting the day’s lessons.

Zheng Chen’s mind was in disarray, unable to listen, though he wore the semblance of listening, his thoughts were elsewhere. The Grand Tutor’s gaze was sharp and suddenly called on Zheng Chen to answer a question.

There were three Grand Tutors in the Upper Study Room, this Grand Tutor Huang was a Hanlin Scholar with profound knowledge, but with a slightly rigid personality.

Zheng Chen hadn’t been listening at all and couldn’t answer, so he had to admit with shame, "I was distracted just now, thank you, Grand Tutor, for your guidance."

Among the five youths, the Crown Prince’s noble status was beyond question, the other four were also the most outstanding young men in Da Liang. Grand Tutor Huang, though rigid, wasn’t foolish, and wouldn’t linger on such a minor issue. He rebuked and advised a few words, then let it go.

What else could he do?

The Crown Prince sometimes daydreamed, Li Boyuan with big eyes understood only a few phrases, Jiang Yi constantly changed postures and looked outside... it was like this every day. What could the Grand Tutor do? Could he sternly reprimand them every day, or put down the lessons and refuse to teach?

He could only endure it.

The morning’s incident was nothing. In the afternoon’s archery class, Zheng Chen missed three arrows in a row, and even one arrow completely missed the target.

This time, even the imperial guard military general instructing in archery frowned and gave Young Master Zheng a scolding, punishing him to shoot fifty more arrows.

The Crown Prince and others cast sympathetic glances.

Zheng Chen took a few deep breaths, adjusted and calmed down, drew his bow and shot again. Barely restored eighty percent of his usual standard.

So it went for several days, even alarming Empress Dowager Zheng.

"Empress Dowager has commanded me to deliver a verbal message, inviting Young Master to Jingyang Palace." Mr. Zhao, who had recently gained favor, had applied powder to his face, the scent of some floral essence wafting strongly.

Zheng Chen slightly nodded, following Mr. Zhao to Jingyang Palace.

Empress Dowager Zheng signaled Zheng Chen to approach, holding his hand to examine closely: "I’ve heard that you’ve not been eating and sleeping well these past few days and frequently zone out in the Upper Study Room. Upon seeing today, your complexion indeed seems a bit haggard. What’s the matter? Just tell me, and I’ll support you."

Looking at the affectionate Empress Dowager Zheng, what came to Zheng Chen’s mind was the despair from his previous life when forced to marry the eldest daughter of the Fan Family.

The Empress Dowager who had always pampered him had torn him apart from Jiang Shaohua without regard for his feelings.

That year, the Crown Prince, who had just ascended the Dragon Throne not long ago, died unexpectedly, and the eight-year-old Second Prince became the new emperor.

For the stability of the new emperor’s throne, Empress Dowager Zheng allied with Prime Minister Wang, marrying Jiang Shaohua into the Wang Family, and arranged the marriage between the Zheng Family and the Fan Family.

"The Zheng Family has its power and wealth today solely because of me, only by relying on imperial power can the Zheng Family be the most illustrious imperial family in Da Liang."

"The Emperor is young, still an unaware child; how can the ministers in the court be convinced? At this time, only political marriage can maintain court stability. The north has always been restless, if the court gets chaotic, with internal and external troubles, how many years can the Da Liang Dynasty last?"

"Even Shao Hua understands this truth, why don’t you?"

Empress Dowager Zheng harshly rebuked with a livid face: "Shao Hua, bearing the Jiang name, can sacrifice for the Jiang Family’s world. You, as the Young Master of Zheng, must wed the Fan Family for the future stability of Zheng Family. The Fan Family controls military power and is also the emperor’s maternal family. Marrying a girl from the Fan Family will ensure Zheng Family’s prosperity for at least two generations."

"You have no choice in this matter!"