Chapter 375 – The Sweet Princess Was Here – Tang Tang’s Guilt (20)
The Emperor Jude’s guards surrounded the villa and seized Li Xiuming and the others.
Wu Chenyi, dressed in the crown prince’s usual attire, stood there in bright imperial yellow, the sunlight reflecting off it with a blinding glare.
Xiao Duzi seized the chance to complain, “Master, it was them. They disturbed the Crown Princess’s rest and almost barged into the side chamber.” If he didn’t avenge this, he might as well stop being a Du.
After Xiao Duzi finished speaking, Wu Chenyi’s face darkened. The gathering storm in his expression made everyone present nervous. They quietly edged backward; His Highness the Crown Prince might appear gentle, but his methods showed no mercy.
Under Xiao Duzi’s accusation, several of the burly men who had rushed into the back courtyard were named.
Those men couldn’t even speak. After being lashed by the vines for nearly half an hour, they had long since lost all strength.
“I recall the Imperial Infirmary is still short on people to test medicines. Waste should be put to use—let them serve one final purpose,” Wu Chenyi said lightly, determining a fate for them worse than death.
The imperial physicians were highly skilled; he believed they would certainly keep them alive—while also creating new medicines.
Wu Chenyi ordered the captain of the guards to handle the scene, then quickly strode toward the back courtyard.
The little squirrel sensed trouble and ran as fast as his four limbs could carry him, but his small body and short strides made it impossible to catch up to Wu Chenyi, who was anxiously rushing to see Bai Tang.
Wu Chenyi pushed open the side chamber door. Bai Tang, who should have been resting inside, did not come forward to greet him as usual.
The empty curtains and the cold bedding all told him unmistakably—Bai Tang had been gone for quite some time.
The front hall had been breached, and Bai Tang was missing.
Wu Chenyi didn’t dare imagine the worst. He summoned the hidden guards, but they reported that the Crown Princess had stayed inside the room the entire time, never leaving.
The carved window was wide open. Wu Chenyi said calmly, “Go back and receive your punishment.”
The hidden guard replied, “Yes.”
The Crown Princess had vanished right under their watch. The fact that His Highness the Crown Prince hadn’t killed anyone yet already counted as remarkable restraint. The hidden guards didn’t dare voice a single objection. At the same time, each of them was thinking back—when exactly had the Crown Princess disappeared?
Wu Chenyi struggled to control his trembling hands as he walked to the window to examine the traces outside.
If Tang Tang had been abducted, how did the kidnapper take him away? In which direction?
But Bai Tang had left in the form of a little squirrel—something Wu Chenyi could never imagine in even his wildest dreams. His beloved was simply not an ordinary person.
There were no traces at all, no footprints—nothing. It was as if Bai Tang had vanished into thin air.
With not a single clue to follow, Wu Chenyi slammed his fist onto the window ledge in frustration.
Just as his knuckles struck the wood, a head suddenly popped up from outside the window.
Bai Tang appeared from below the windowsill, clothes in disarray, breathing slightly heavily, his face flushed red.
Wu Chenyi’s pupils tightened. He braced himself on the window ledge and leapt outside.
He wrapped the boy tightly in his arms, murmuring, “It’s okay, it’s okay… as long as Tang Tang is safe, that’s all that matters…”
In this moment, the boy looked exactly like someone who had barely escaped some misfortune. Wu Chenyi didn’t dare ask—afraid of touching upon Tang Tang’s trauma.
Whatever had happened to Tang Tang, he would uncover the truth. But right now, comforting him was the priority.
Bai Tang leaned in Wu Chenyi’s embrace, being held tighter and tighter by his old husband. Hearing the soothing words his lover whispered, the more he listened, the stranger he felt.
Something wasn’t right.
“Ah Yi, don’t worry—I wasn’t kidnapped~” Bai Tang finally realized what felt off thanks to Xiao A’s reminder. So that was the source of the weirdness—Wu Chenyi had misunderstood everything.
Most people would lie in this situation. Wu Chenyi wouldn’t blame Bai Tang even if he had. He softly kissed the corner of the boy’s lips and said gently, “I know. Tang Tang would never leave me.”
“No, really… I just stayed in the room too long and felt stuffy, so I went out for some fresh air~” the boy explained in his soft milky voice. He certainly couldn’t admit that he had transformed into a little squirrel and gone out to take revenge.
Better to avoid unnecessary trouble. In this world, he wouldn’t be turning back into a squirrel often anymore.
“And where did Tang Tang go to play?” Wu Chenyi asked, fully playing along.
“I…” Bai Tang was momentarily at a loss for words. His eyes rolled once, and he pointed toward the pond not far away. “I went swimming~”
Everyone in the Crown Prince’s residence knew that the Crown Princess feared water the most—he even needed the Crown Prince to coax him just to take a bath.
Wu Chenyi didn’t expose Bai Tang’s clumsy lie. Instead, he looked completely convinced. “The weather is still a bit cold. Next time you go swimming, bring me along. I’ll warm Tangtang’s hands and feet.”
“A-Yi~” Realizing just how full of holes his own excuse was, Bai Tang buried himself deeply in Wu Chenyi’s arms.
Wu Chenyi pulled the boy’s outer robe around him and carried him back to their room.
Bai Tang then took out the jade pendant—freshly wiped clean, still carrying a faint lingering scent of alcohol. “A-Yi, this is really important. You should keep it.”
This jade pendant represented one of Wu Chenyi’s own forces. Bai Tang didn’t dare accept it. If something ever happened and Wu Chenyi couldn’t mobilize his men, it would be disastrous.
Wu Chenyi accepted it, but still tucked the jade pendant back into Bai Tang’s scented pouch.
The position of Crown Prince was not an easy one. He hoped that if anything ever happened in the future, Bai Tang would be able to escape safely—and that this elite group of soldiers could escort him all the way back to the Huan Kingdom.
Thus, the largest corruption case in the Wu Dynasty—where officials resold titles and embezzled disaster relief grain—finally came to an end.
Wu Chenyi uprooted the instigator, the former prefect of Ningcheng, Zhu Zhen, along with all the officials in that faction. The scale of the purge shocked the entire court. Anyone who had even a slight connection to Zhu Zhen hurried to profess loyalty to Emperor Jude and deny any involvement.
This case was one the Emperor had ordered to be dealt with ruthlessly. No one dared to plead for mercy.
Fang Xianglian begged Wu Chenyi to let her child see Li Xiuming one last time before his execution.
Wu Chenyi agreed.
Led by Xiao Duzi, Fang Xianglian entered the Ministry of Justice’s prison, holding her child tightly.
Terrifying howls came from the cells on both sides. Seeing the inmates who looked nearly insane, Fang Xianglian held her child even closer.
They finally reached the cell where Li Xiuming was held. The moment Li Xiuming saw them, he rushed forward, reaching out through the bars, calling Fang Xianglian’s name.
“Xianglian, you came to see me. I don’t want to die. It was all Zhu Lanxiao—she forced me into this. Prefect Zhu threatened me too. I don’t want to die. Aren’t you acquainted with His Highness the Crown Prince? Go beg him for help. Let him get me out. We can go home… we can return to the countryside and live a good life…”
In the cell across from Li Xiuming’s was Zhu Lanxiao. When she heard him push all the blame onto her and her father, she could no longer maintain even a shred of dignity and began cursing at him viciously.
The two of them hurled accusations at each other, each more unpleasant than the last.
The four-year-old child looked at the disheveled, deranged Li Xiuming and shrank fearfully into Fang Xianglian’s arms.
Xiao Duzi said, “Miss Fang, if you have anything to say, please say it quickly. This isn’t a good environment for a child.”
Fang Xianglian sighed and said to Li Xiuming, “Xiuming, this is our child. When you left, he was only one year old.”
“Xiao Ding, this is your father,” she coaxed gently. But Li Ding had no emotional attachment to Li Xiuming and was frightened by his current state. He hid behind Fang Xianglian, refusing to make a sound.
Li Xiuming froze. That was… his child.
He crouched down and said to Li Ding, “Xiao Ding, I’m your father. Come here and let me see you…”
Fang Xianglian nudged Li Ding forward a little, but the boy resisted and ran behind Xiao Duzi instead.
Li Xiuming couldn’t hide his disappointment, but what Fang Xianglian said next plunged him into despair.
“Xiuming, you can go in peace. I’ll take good care of Xiao Ding.”
From her words, it was clear she had no intention of saving him. Li Xiuming’s expression changed drastically, and he was practically on his knees.
“Xianglian, I wronged you before—I was a bastard. Please forgive me this once. Save me… save me. I don’t want to die…”
Given the crimes Li Xiuming committed, how could Fang Xianglian possibly save him?
When she shook her head, refusing to help, Li Xiuming revealed his true nature. He began to curse her, even accusing her of being unable to keep her virtue in the countryside and claiming she must have slept with another man to raise the child.
Fang Xianglian took Li Ding’s hand and turned to Xiao Duzi. “Eunuch Duzi, please trouble yourself to escort us out.”
Amid Li Xiuming and Zhu Lanxiao’s curses, Fang Xianglian left without looking back.
She later returned to the Crown Prince’s residence to thank Wu Chenyi and Bai Tang. Bai Tang asked what her plans were.
Fang Xianglian replied, “I’ll return to the countryside and raise Xiao Ding well. If I can do that, I’ll be content.”
Bai Tang took out the separation document issued by the authorities and handed it to Fang Xianglian.
“This was processed by someone A-Yi arranged. From now on, you have nothing to do with Li Xiuming. A man like him isn’t worth it. After you return home, if you meet a good man, don’t burden yourself with guilt.”
In this era, life was harsh for women. While Fang Xianglian could raise her child alone, it would be difficult. If she could meet someone compatible—someone she could talk to, someone who didn’t mind her past—marrying and spending the rest of their lives together would be ideal.
Before she left, Su Wen caught up to her and stuffed a bundle into Fang Xianglian’s hands.
“There are some gold and silver pieces inside. Keep them well.”
“How can I accept this? I’ve already caused so much trouble for His Highness and the Crown Princess. I can’t take it.” Fang Xianglian pushed the bundle back.
Su Wen said, “This is a small token from the Crown Princess. If you won’t think for yourself, at least think for your child. When he goes to school, he’ll need paper, ink, brushes—everything costs money. Don’t you want your child to learn, to understand the world, and to succeed?”
Su Wen then turned to Li Ding. “Xiao Ding, tell me—do you want to study?”
“I do!” the child replied crisply. In the countryside, Li Ding was often bullied by other children. Seeing them dressed neatly, sitting in bright classrooms reading books, he naturally longed for the same.
Tears fell from Fang Xianglian’s eyes. Holding Li Ding close, she thanked Su Wen, then carried the bundle, boarded the carriage, and left the capital.
After everything settled, despite threats, persuasion, and interrogations, Wu Chenyi still found no one who had “bullied” Bai Tang. Thinking back to when he examined Bai Tang and found no injuries, he became convinced that Tang Tang truly hadn’t been harmed. Nevertheless, he strictly ordered Xiao Duzi and Su Wen not to speak of what had happened at the Ningcheng residence.
Seeing Wu Chenyi treat him even better than before, Bai Tang felt increasingly guilty. Eventually, he couldn’t hold it in anymore and confessed that he wasn’t human—and even performed a “full transformation” right before him.
After the shock faded, Wu Chenyi was overjoyed, hugging and kissing the little squirrel over and over.
“This way, no matter where I go, I can take Tang Tang with me.”
Just thinking about being able to secretly bring the little squirrel with him even to court, never having to be separated, kept Wu Chenyi in an excellent mood.
Author’s Note :
Tomorrow there will be one more chapter to wrap up this world.
The next world will be ABO~
If you little cuties want to see another type of world, feel free to tell me.
Tang Tang doesn’t have many worlds left—you know what that means~ ( ?ˊ????)???