ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 109

Li Zhizhi returned to the Grand Princess’s mansion. The Grand Princess was sitting by the couch looking at account books. She waved for Zhizhi to come over, and the mother and daughter sat down and exchanged a few words. The Grand Princess, with a smile, asked, “Did you have a good time today?”

Zhizhi replied, “Yes, I did.”

She then proceeded to recount where she had been, what she had done, whom she had met, and shared everything with her mother. Lowering her voice slightly, she added with a hint of mystery, “I noticed that Lord Yang Shen seems to have some interest in Tangyu.”

The Grand Princess couldn’t help but chuckle and said, “You can tell someone’s interest in another person just like that?”

As sharp as Li Zhizhi was, she immediately sensed the deeper meaning behind her mother’s words. For a moment, she hesitated, and knowing her daughter’s nature of not yet being experienced in matters of the heart, the Grand Princess straightforwardly asked, “What do you think of Young Master Pei?”

Li Zhizhi let out a soft sigh and quickly understood her mother’s implication. Her ears turned slightly red as she replied, “Young Master Pei is very nice.”

The Grand Princess continued, “Do you like him in your heart?”

After a moment of hesitation, Li Zhizhi asked, “I don’t know. Tangyu says liking someone is something you can’t see nor touch. Mother, how can I know if I like him or not?”

In her previous life, no one had ever liked Li Zhizhi, so she had no experience to draw from. In this life, she only knew that Su Tangyu had liked Song Lingyun. However, in Li Zhizhi’s eyes, Song Lingyun was a sc.u.mbag with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Liking a dog would be more worthwhile than liking him.

“Being fond of someone means wanting to be with them for a long time,” the Grand Princess said with a smile in her eyes, patting her head gently. “Seeing that person brings joy to your heart, you’ll be happy because of him, and you’ll also feel sad because of him.”

Li Zhizhi hesitated for a moment and shook her head gently. “I only want to live with you for a long time; I don’t have that kind of feeling for Lord Pei.”

The Grand Princess exclaimed with a sigh, appearing both amused and resigned. “You’re still young, there’s plenty of time ahead of us. No need to rush.”

Although the Grand Princess spoke like this, Li Zhizhi couldn’t help but bury her thoughts after that conversation. Was the Grand Princess hoping for her to marry Lord Pei by asking if she liked him?

Li Zhizhi respected her deeply and naturally wanted to do everything to please her. However, when it came to matters of love, she was clueless, like a child learning to walk, at a loss.

She wanted to confide in someone, and the first person who came to mind was Su Tangyu. However, Su Tangyu had just experienced emotional pain, and Li Zhizhi didn’t want to disturb her, fearing it would upset her further. Then she thought of another option, Consort Rong in the palace.

Although she hadn’t known Consort Rong for long, she had some understanding of her character. They got along quite well, so Li Zhizhi took the opportunity during a visit to the palace to seek her advice.

At that moment, Consort Rong was eating a snow pear. After listening, she burst into laughter, bending over with amus.e.m.e.nt. “I always thought you were so clever and quick-witted. Turns out, there are things you don’t understand either?”

Li Zhizhi humbly replied, “Your Highness, you overestimate me. I only have a bit of cleverness.”

Consort Rong thought for a moment and asked, “What about that Young Master Pei? What is his family background like, what kind of person is he, and what official position does he hold?”

Li Zhizhi replied, “He is the youngest son of Marquis Jianchang. He is very enthusiastic and righteous in character, but he hasn’t held any official position yet. Currently, he is studying at the National University.”

Upon hearing this, Consort Rong immediately shook her head and said, “I don’t think that would work.”

Li Zhizhi asked in confusion, “Why not?”

Consort Rong took a sip of iced plum soup and explained carefully, “You see, since he is the Marquis’s youngest son, it means there’s an elder brother above him who will likely inherit the marquisate. Jianchang Marquis… I remember his eldest son was promoted to a military position last year, with a bright future ahead. Unless his brother makes a major mistake or something unfortunate happens, he won’t inherit the t.i.tle. Besides, he’s just a student without an official position. How good is he in academics?”

Li Zhizhi hesitated and said, “His family has a tradition of martial arts, and Young Master Pei also mentioned that he plans to take the military examinations in the future.”

“In other words, he’s completely ignorant in scholarly matters,” Consort Rong rested her chin on her hand, offering advice, “That’s even worse. You must understand, it’s not easy for military officers to get promoted. If he serves in the capital, it’s unlikely he’ll get promoted quickly. In the Imperial Guards, there are many rich young men like him waiting for promotions. Without three to five years, he won’t have a chance.”

Li Zhizhi nodded, seemingly understanding, and Consort Rong continued, “If he has ambition and wants to strive for military achievements, he’ll have to go to the frontier and fight on the battlefield. It’s dangerous with swords and guns, and whether he can survive is uncertain. If things go wrong, he could lose his life or end up maimed…”

She shrugged helplessly, with a tone of pity, “If you really marry him, wouldn’t it be like jumping into a fire pit?”

Li Zhizhi felt that what she said made sense, but there was something odd about it. She hesitated, and seeing this, Consort Rong asked, “Do you think I’m being too pragmatic? Am I being too calculating?”

Li Zhizhi hurriedly said, “That’s not what I meant…”

She really didn’t think that way, but Consort Rong just waved her hand and smiled, pointing to her forehead, saying, “You’re such a young girl. As women, we have to think for ourselves. It’s important to take care of ourselves. Those other trivial things are not worth worrying about. It’s like when I was a palace maid, and the Emperor asked what reward I wanted. I said I wanted to be a n.o.ble consort, and he agreed. Look at me now, living so well.”

That was true. Consort Rong indeed lived well, with Emperor Jingming treating her kindly, sending her delicious food and useful items to Cui Nong Palace and often visiting her. Her care seemed genuine.

Consort Rong smiled and said, “People talk about love and affection, but it’s the most unreliable. Sweet words and promises cost nothing but can easily deceive. What if he stops liking you tomorrow, changes his heart? Where will you go for justice?”

Hearing this, Li Zhizhi thought of Su Tangyu’s words and nodded in agreement, saying, “Indeed.”

Wasn’t Song Lingyun using this trick to deceive people?

“So, if you’re going to marry, marry the most n.o.ble,” Consort Rong touched her delicate chin and said surprisingly, “But the most n.o.ble person in the world is probably the Emperor.”

Li Zhizhi was startled by her words and said, “That’s probably not possible.”

Consort Rong glanced at her and chuckled, saying, “Then you should marry the second most n.o.ble in the world.”

Li Zhizhi didn’t react for a while and asked, “The second most n.o.ble?”

“The Crown Prince, of course,” Consort Rong used a silver fruit knife to pick up a piece of snow pear and smiled, “He has great prospects, and he will rise in rank sooner or later.”

Li Zhizhi: …

She had never thought about this before. Li Zhizhi still remembered what Xiao Yan said to her back then. Even if she really wanted to climb up, she could climb onto anyone, but the Crown Prince was absolutely off-limits.

But one thing Consort Rong said was true. After Xiao Yan returned from Louyang, he did rise in rank. Emperor Jingming appointed him to the Ministry of Justice, and the Crown Prince finally had a legitimate official position.

Now, let’s talk about the day when Xiao Yan returned to the capital.

This time, he was sent by the emperor to handle the Lan River levee breach case in Louyang. He dealt with many officials, including Governor Zheng Dechang. Xiao Yan even found a stack of account books in his residence, clearly detailing the embezzled money by those officials. Some had embezzled tens of thousands of silver taels, while others took only a few thousand. Almost half of the officials in Nanlong were listed, which was astonishing.

Emperor Jingming flipped through the account books with a solemn expression, his face like calm water. He quickly scanned the pages, but his hand touched a layer of black ash. He looked closely and realized that half of the account book had been burned.

“What’s going on here?”

Xiao Yan respectfully replied, “In response to Father Emperor’s words, when I sent someone to capture Zheng Dechang, he was attempting to burn these account books. Fortunately, I arrived in time and prevented him from succeeding, although a part of them was still destroyed.”

“These people are truly despicable!” Emperor Jingming’s expression turned cold as he closed the account books and then turned to Xiao Yan, saying, “You handled this matter well, and it can be considered as a merit.”

He paused for a moment before asking, “Is there anything you wish to be rewarded with?”

However, Xiao Yan replied, “I am grateful for Father Emperor’s appreciation. This is simply my duty, and being able to contribute a little to the court and the people is my fortune. I dare not claim credit or seek rewards.”

Despite his refusal, Emperor Jingming did not insist further. He suddenly noticed the bandage on Xiao Yange’s hand and asked, “What happened to your hand?”

Xiao Yange replied calmly, “During the capture of Zheng Dechang, he resisted arrest and I accidentally injured my hand.”

Although his tone was calm, one could imagine the extreme danger of the situation. Emperor Jingming frowned slightly and said, “Have a physician take a look at it.”

After Xiao Yan agreed, Emperor Jingming continued, “You have been running back and forth on this trip, it must have been exhausting. Go back and rest well.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan thanked him respectfully, bowed, and left. Just as he walked about ten steps past the palace gate, he saw someone approaching. The person stopped, waited for Xiao Yan to come closer, and then smiled, “Greetings, Crown Prince.”

Xiao Yan also stopped and looked at him. The summer sun was already intense, especially in the morning, making him squint slightly. The man was dressed in a python robe, appeared to be in his thirties, and had some slight resemblance to Emperor Jingming in his eyebrows and eyes. However, his demeanor seemed more gentle and harmless, or perhaps one could say, more ordinary.

Xiao Yan called out to him, “Fourth Brother.”

The person he was addressing was the fourth son of Emperor Jingming, Prince Ning, Xiao Chao. He smiled and said, “I heard that Crown Prince has achieved great success in handling the case in Louyang. Congratulations.”

Xiao Yan sneered, “What success could I achieve? It’s all thanks to Minister Xu.”

“Why so modest, Your Highness?” Prince Ning sincerely praised, “After this incident, His Majesty will surely look at you with new eyes.”

“Then I’ll take Your Highness’s kind words. Speaking of court matters, I’m not as good as Your Highness. I’ll have to ask Your Highness for guidance in the future.”

“I dare not.”

Prince Ning modestly declined, and the two exchanged pleasantries for a while before Xiao Yan left. Prince Ning watched his figure disappear around the corner, his eyes narrowed slightly, hiding his emotions. After a moment, he turned and continued on his way.

People from the Crown Prince’s residence were already waiting at the palace gate. Xiao Yan got into a carriage and said, “Go to the Grand Princess’s residence first.”

“Yes.”

The carriage rumbled along, crossing the Imperial Street. After about fifteen minutes, it arrived at the gate of the Grand Princess’s residence. The gatekeeper saw Xiao Yan and was about to inform someone, but Xiao Yan waved him off. He made his way through the front courtyard and corridors, and even before reaching the flower hall, he heard laughter and chatter inside. Among them, a clear and familiar voice of a young girl made his heart skip a beat.

“…It does sound interesting.”

“There are plenty of fun places in Southern Xinjiang, and it’s not very cold there in winter, never snows. If you have time, I can take you to have a look.”

Go to Southern Xinjiang? Xiao Yan furrowed his brow slightly at the mention, instinctively feeling a hint of displeasure towards the speaker. Southern Xinjiang, that tiny and remote place, would take months to travel to and from. What’s so fun about it?