Holding It In Too Much Is Bad for the Body

Tantai Huang returned in bewilderment. She thought she must have misunderstood, and what Huangfu Ye said might not be the truth. This Retired Emperor of Dongling probably had some mental issues to do things that ordinary people could not comprehend!

After walking for a while, Tantai Huang heard a conversation in a familiar tone drifting over...

"Your Highness, the Emperor has sent a secret missive for the third time urging you to propose marriage to the Dongling Court. Please hurry up and propose. Why are you still... sigh," Tong Jian spoke with frustration.

Next, the voice of the romantic, playboy prince, Chu Changge, drifted over, "An alliance marriage? Why must it be this prince? Hasn't Seventh Imperial Sister not married yet? Just marry Seventh Imperial Sister off to Huangfu Xuan. Isn't it the same whether I or Seventh Imperial Sister enters the alliance?"

"Your Highness, the Seventh Princess is so pure and kind. How can you have the heart to send her for an alliance marriage?" Tong Jian spoke speechlessly! The Seventh Princess had been lost since childhood and grew up in the mountains, so she was incredibly kind compared to the other princesses. Yet the First Prince actually wanted to send her for an alliance. The Seventh Princess was truly unfortunate to have such an imperial brother!

Hearing this, Chu Changge's face fell, and he grumbled, "Is this prince not pure and kind? Do you have the heart to let me go for the alliance?"

Tong Jian's face went blank. "Your Highness, are you certain the words 'pure' and 'kind' are meant to describe you?"

Tantai Huang's lips twitched upon hearing this. *Chu Changge, you really think highly of yourself! Pure and kind...* Tantai Huang could only look up at the sky in speechlessness!

Tong Jian gave up trying to persuade him and resignedly shut his mouth. Chu Changge's ears finally found peace. Raising his head as he fanned himself, he happened to spot Tantai Huang not far away! His heart leaped. With a snap, he closed his jade fan and walked quickly toward her. "Princess Qinghuang, it has been a long time!"

Tantai Huang was currently in no mood to deal with this romantic, playboy, "pure and kind" Prince of Chu. Thus, she ignored him in a grand fashion, burying her head and walking straight ahead. After a few steps, she suddenly raised her head, her eyes scanning around until she saw a building with a plaque bearing the character "shang". A spark flashed in her mind! *Characters! Yes, that piece of paper might have a clue related to the character "shang"!*

But Cheng Ya was currently locked up in prison; how was she supposed to go and ask her?

As she was feeling frustrated, Chu Changge's noisy voice drifted into her ears again, "Princess, for us to meet in the palace tonight is truly fate!"

Tantai Huang finally lost her patience and turned around. "Prince Chu, do you not know that I am currently suspected of murdering you? If you don't want to be implicated, stay far away from me!"

Hearing this, Chu Changge's eyes curved, and his lips bloomed into a smile. "What does that matter? In the Imperial City of Chu, no matter what happens, my Imperial Father always thinks of this prince first. I am suspected all year round! Just the other day, the Heir of Duke Jin fell off his horse and broke his bones. Imperial Father immediately wrote to ask if I did it, simply because I had fought with him before!"

Tantai Huang had intended to ignore him, but hearing this, she turned her head in deep sympathy. "You are in Dongling, so far from Chu. How could that have anything to do with you? Your Imperial Father is truly..."

"Indeed! My Imperial Father is truly wise. This prince left for Dongling very early, but before I left, I arranged for someone in Prince Jin's Estate to make a move immediately!" Chu Changge raised his eyebrows and laughed, looking extremely proud.

"..." She had nothing to say.

Rolling her eyes, she left him behind and walked quickly ahead...

Chu Changge was like a piece of sticky candy, trailing closely behind her. "Where does the Princess want to go? Do you need this prince's help? No matter where you want to go, this prince can accompany you..."

Tantai Huang stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. "Anywhere?" *Even the Imperial Prison?*

"Anywhere!" Chu Changge rejoiced in his heart!

The Imperial Prison was surrounded by numerous Imperial Guards, radiating a chilly atmosphere.

Next to the prison stood a massive tree with dense branches. Several shadows leapt up and climbed into the tree—none other than Tantai Huang, Chu Changge, and Tong Jian...

At this moment, the Prince of Chu closed his fan in disgust. "Tong Jian, slow down, you're choking this prince to death..."

Tong Jian saw that he and the First Prince were in great danger, so he was vigorously scattering sleeping powder. Yet he was still being complained about. His heart was filled with pain, grief, and dissatisfaction that could not be expressed in words! "Your Highness, why is it that every time you try to please a beauty, I am the one who suffers?"

Tantai Huang watched silently. *Could this be his idea? With so many Imperial Guards, how long would they remain unconscious from sleeping powder?*

But a strange thing happened! A gust of wind blew past, dispersing the powder. Yet, with just a single bottle of sleeping powder, over two hundred Imperial Guards actually collapsed unconscious! Tantai Huang swallowed her saliva and quickly descended. Disregarding any boundaries between man and woman, she reached out and began searching Chu Changge's body...

"Princess, you are..." Looking at the hands fumbling across his chest, Chu Changge was stunned. Although he had always wanted to get close to the beauty, wasn't this progress a bit too fast!

Ah, Tantai Huang finally realized the other party was a man. She quickly withdrew her hands and asked embarrassedly, "Do you have any more of this sleeping powder? Quickly give me a few bottles..."

So she wanted sleeping powder! Realizing he had been self-indulgent, Chu Changge felt a pang of regret. He sighed, "Once we return, this prince will have someone deliver a few bottles to you! Let's go down quickly; more Imperial Guards will arrive shortly!" As soon as his words fell, he was the first to drop to the ground, almost slipping and falling.

Tong Jian silently patted his forehead. Having such a master was truly embarrassing! After sighing, he also jumped down, as did Tantai Huang...

All of them landed on the ground. The main gate of the Imperial Prison was locked. Tantai Huang glanced at the Imperial Guards on the ground. According to the plots in television dramas, the key should be on the leader of the guards!

With that thought, she crouched down and searched the guard closest to the door. Finding no key, she glanced at the other guards. If she searched them one by one, she would die of exhaustion! She raised her head to look at Chu Changge. "Where do you think the key is among them?"

Chu Changge closed his jade-ribbed fan, reached into his robes, and fished out a beautiful key. The key looked extremely exquisite, yet it had countless teeth, seemingly containing infinite mechanisms. He tossed it to Tantai Huang with a smug expression. "This is what this prince stole from Imperial Father's Treasure Pavilion. There is no lock in this world that it cannot open. Try it first!"

A master key? Tantai Huang half-believingly tried to unlock the gate... With a click, it actually opened!

Chu Changge held his fan and smiled faintly. "See? This prince did not lie to you, did I?"

Tantai Huang quickly clenched the key in her hand. Once such a good thing fell into her hands, she definitely wouldn't return it! Since she and Chu Changge were good brothers, she believed he surely wouldn't mind! She walked quickly into the prison. A terrifying sight met her eyes; the interior of the Imperial Prison was filled with the stench of blood, various torture instruments hung on the walls, and a pot of charcoal burned red-hot...

Such a scene made Tantai Huang frown slightly. She walked deeper into the prison, her steps very light. Because this was the Imperial Prison, those confined here were secret prisoners, so there weren't many people. Moreover, most of them were already asleep, so no one heard her footsteps.

Chu Changge followed behind her, still fanning himself and maintaining his casual, playboy demeanor. Having learned of the situation today, Chu Changge actually found it strange. She was merely a maid; was she really worth Tantai Huang risking her life like this?

Tantai Huang searched as she walked, finally spotting a familiar figure in the very last cell! She rushed over to open the door...

Cheng Ya was currently hugging her knees in a corner. Being in prison for the first time, she was terrified and couldn't sleep at all! Her prison clothes had lost their original white color, gradually turning black. Hearing footsteps, she raised her head slightly, her face showing a patch of blue and purple bruises. Seeing Tantai Huang at the door, Cheng Ya's eyes widened in shock. She quickly stood up and ran to her, not daring to speak loudly, whispering, "Princess! Why are you here?"

Seeing Cheng Ya covered in wounds, Tantai Huang frowned and asked, "What happened to you? Did they torture you?"

"Yes!" Cheng Ya nodded, her tears flowing. "They wanted this servant to admit that you ordered me to poison the Empress Dowager of Dongling. When I refused, they tortured me! But this servant... this servant said nothing. Rest assured, Princess, even if they beat me to death, this servant will never falsely accuse or frame you!"

Seeing Cheng Ya's resolve, Tantai Huang felt a pang of sorrow in her heart, and her eyes grew red. She reached out, hugged her tightly, bit her lip, and said, "My coming here was indeed right!"

Indeed! She wasn't wrong to come, nor had she saved the wrong person! Cheng Ya had been imprisoned, and Tantai Huang didn't even know if she could save her, yet Cheng Ya still stood by her side, refusing to falsely accuse her even under severe torture. Such loyalty—how could she not be worth saving?

In this world, if there was a bond that had nothing to do with interest, scheming, or even expecting anything in return, where someone was willing to risk their life for her, how could she not cherish it?

She held Cheng Ya in her arms. The immense grievance in Cheng Ya's heart was finally released. Resting her head on Tantai Huang's shoulder, she wept loudly, "Princess, Cheng Ya did not poison the Empress Dowager of Dongling! Cheng Ya truly didn't! Princess, you must believe this servant!"

"I believe you! If I didn't believe you, I wouldn't have come!" Tantai Huang patted her shoulder, soothing her emotions. A murderous intent flashed in her eyes. *Those who dared to torture Cheng Ya, hmph, they truly seek death!*

Hearing her words, Cheng Ya wiped her tearful eyes and smiled happily, grasping her hand. "Princess, Princess! It is enough that you believe Cheng Ya! As long as you believe in Cheng Ya's innocence, even if Cheng Ya dies, I will have no regrets!"

Hearing this, Chu Changge's heart suddenly shook. He hadn't expected this maid to be so loyal and righteous. No wonder Tantai Huang wanted to save her!

"Don't speak such foolish words! With me here, I will absolutely not let you die! I came to ask you, do you still have that piece of paper from the room today?" Tantai Huang tidied her messy clothes and asked.

Cheng Ya quickly pulled something from her sleeve. "It's here! This servant kept it on my person. The jailers were quite decent and didn't search me, so it's still with me!"

Tantai Huang took it, glanced at it, and slipped it into her sleeve...

Suddenly, a noise was heard outside the prison! "Ah! This prince forgot, the hour of Zi is when the Imperial Guards in charge of the prison change shifts!" Chu Changge grumbled, tapping his head with his fan.

Tantai Huang also felt a headache coming on. It seemed they wouldn't be able to escape in time...