ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 132

“Stone Frozen Spring?”

Li Zhizhi carefully flipped through the booklet, frowning slightly as she said, “I have never heard that the Prince of Ning has a drinking habit.”

After finishing her words, she looked at Xiao Yan, feeling that something was off with his mood, and couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Crown Prince, what’s wrong with you?”

Xiao Yan seemed to suddenly snap back to reality and said, “It’s nothing.”

He recalled what the Grand Princess had said before: as long as Zhizhi was willing and truly liked him, she would no longer oppose, otherwise, he should stay far away from her and not bully her.

Li Zhizhi, oblivious to the undercurrents, glanced at him again, her expression revealing some confusion. However, she couldn’t read much into it, so she lowered her head and continued to flip through the booklet. As she casually turned to a page, she read aloud: “In the summer of the twenty-first year of Jing Ming, on the fifth day of the seventh month, I heard that the Seventh Princess misses the Master greatly, and Princess Zhao Hua also misses…”

Li Zhizhi’s expression turned peculiar, and she looked up at Xiao Yan, pointing to the booklet and asking, “What is this?”

Xiao Yan felt a pang of regret internally, coughed lightly, and pretended not to know. He merely said, “What is it? Let me take a look.”

As he spoke, he took the booklet, flipped through a few pages casually, and looked at the densely packed notes. His sword-like brows furrowed as he said, “What is Xu Tingfeng writing all this for?”

“You don’t know?” Li Zhizhi’s eyes were filled with disbelief as she questioned, “He is your subordinate; would he dare to write this without your orders?”

“Perhaps it’s because his memory is too poor,” Xiao Yan replied. “This booklet is what he uses to report matters.”

Hearing this, Li Zhizhi did recall that when Xu Tingfeng was writing in the booklet, he had mentioned that it was for official business. Since this was used for work, she thought it inappropriate to pry further, so she handed the booklet back to Xiao Yan and said, “He usually seems reliable when handling affairs, and his mind is quite agile; I didn’t expect his memory to be this poor.”

Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief internally as he put away the booklet. If Li Zhizhi had flipped a few more pages, she would have discovered that the booklet contained detailed records of all her activities, including where she had eaten, who she had spoken to, and how many sneezes she had during the windy days, noting every trivial detail.

Returning to the topic of Liu Man and Xiao Wen, Li Zhizhi pondered for a moment and said, “I still find this matter rather suspicious; we should send someone to inquire at the Prince of Ning’s residence.”

Xiao Yan replied, “I have already arranged for it. Tomorrow, I will have Xu Tingfeng send someone to investigate and see if there are any leads.”

As he spoke, he frowned slightly and added, “Even though she has been demoted to a commoner, this woman still refuses to behave.”

Li Zhizhi scoffed, “She wants me dead, just as I want her dead.”

Xiao Yan’s brows furrowed even tighter; he felt that there seemed to be a deeper meaning in her words, yet it was elusive, so he said, “I won’t let her succeed.”

As it was getting late, even though Xiao Yan was reluctant, he should bid farewell and leave the Princess’s residence.

Halfway through their carriage ride, Xu Tingfeng suddenly looked back and whispered, “Your Highness, someone is following us.”

Moments later, Xiao Yan’s voice came from inside the carriage: “Catch him.”

“Yes.”

The speed of the carriage suddenly increased. Just as they were about to disappear at the end of the long street, the person in the distance seemed a bit anxious, giving a low shout as the hooves of the horse echoed sharply in the night. Once they turned the corner, he abruptly reined in the horse and saw that the carriage was quietly stopped in the middle of the road, as if waiting for someone.

“Pei Yanchuan?”

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from the shadows, filled with confusion. The person on horseback immediately turned around, following the sound, and saw a tall figure walking out of the night—none other than Crown Prince Xiao Yan.

Caught off guard, Pei Yanchuan felt a bit frustrated. He swiftly dismounted and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, “Greetings, Your Highness.”

Xiao Yan frowned, using the dim moonlight to scrutinize him, and asked, “What are you doing here so late?”

Pei Yanchuan showed a playful smile and replied, “I was feeling bored in the manor, so I came out for a ride.”

Xiao Yan nodded, “You ran from Zhuque Street to Chang’an Street? Your horse can certainly run far.”

Pei Yanchuan: …

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back to the manor. You can continue your ride.”

“Your Highness,” Pei Yanchuan suddenly tightened his grip on the reins and looked him straight in the eye, asking, “Don’t you have anything to say?”

The air fell silent, and the distant sound of insects chirping filled the night. Xiao Yan remained silent, holding his gaze, neither of them backing down. After a moment, he said, “If you’re asking this now, don’t you already know?”

Pei Yanchuan gripped the reins so tightly that the veins on his hand became prominent. He tensed his jaw and questioned, “When did it happen?”

Xiao Yan placed his hands behind his back, thought for a moment, and then replied, “In any case, it wasn’t when you told me you liked her.”

Compared to Pei Yanchuan’s anger, Xiao Yan’s tone was very calm as he continued, “When I sent her gifts on your behalf, I genuinely wanted to help you, with no ulterior motives, let alone to toy with you. Later, when I liked her, it was sincere as well; these two things do not conflict. Pei Yanchuan, I have never wronged you.”

At this point, he paused and countered, “Or do you think that liking someone has to be in order? You liked her first, so no one else is allowed to like her? Is there such logic in the world?”

With each of his words, Pei Yanchuan found himself momentarily at a loss for words, his throat tightening as he tried to explain, “I’m not…”

“You can continue to like her, just like Su Qingshang,” Xiao Yan observed him steadily and calmly said, “As long as she’s not married, you can pursue her, and I will not stand in your way.”

His open-mindedness left Pei Yanchuan speechless. Eventually, he muttered, “I don’t need you to say that; I’ll do it anyway!”

“That’s good,” Xiao Yan nodded and added, “Since we were once friends, I can reveal something to you.”

Pei Yanchuan looked somewhat dejected, lacking interest as he asked, “What?”

“It’s about Zhizhi, something even Su Qingshang is unaware of.”

Pei Yanchuan instantly perked up, his eyes shining brightly as he focused on Xiao Yan: “What is it?”

Xiao Yan kept him in suspense, then leisurely said, “Zhizhi once told me she likes someone from a good family background, good-looking, and with an official position—at least a second-rank official in the court.”

Pei Yanchuan was instantly dumbfounded: “Second rank?!”

“It’s indeed a bit difficult,” Xiao Yan nodded, then comforted him, “But it’s fine; Su Qingshang can’t achieve that now either.”

Pei Yanchuan: …

Xiao Yan watched the young man riding away, feeling somewhat downcast, as if deeply affected. It seemed that Pei Yanchuan would probably have trouble sleeping for several days.

…

Meanwhile, Xu Tingfeng had sent someone to inquire about news from the Ning w.a.n.gfu, and soon he received results. The heir, Xiao Wen, had recently developed a sudden fondness for alcohol, often getting completely drunk, and his temperament had become much more violent after drinking, injuring several servants.

“Is it just drunkenness?” Li Zhizhi was somewhat skeptical. How could someone suddenly become obsessed with something? Moreover, Xiao Wen had not been a stranger to alcohol before; he was a distinguished heir…

Li Zhizhi suddenly said, “Shidongchun.”

She looked at Xiao Yan and asked, “Isn’t that wine unusual?”

Xiao Yan pondered for a moment and replied, “Though Shidongchun is good wine, it shouldn’t cause such a reaction.”

Xu Tingfeng, who was nearby, spoke up: “I also had someone buy Shidongchun from that wine shop, and it didn’t seem particularly special.”

Li Zhizhi furrowed her brows and muttered, “Could it be that we guessed wrong?”

But Xiao Yan thought for a moment and said, “Perhaps there is another possibility.”

“What is it?”

Xiao Yan looked at her and slowly said, “The Shidongchun we bought is different from the several jars Xiao Wen took.”

The Xinfeng Wine Shop was located in the Eastern Market, and its business was not particularly bustling. Li Zhizhi and Xiao Yan sat by the window of a teahouse, looking down. The shop a.s.sistant sat by the door, munching on seeds. Occasionally, a customer would come in, and he would lazily greet them.

Li Zhizhi softly asked, “Is Xiao Man not at the wine shop today?”

She lowered her voice, as if worried about being overheard, slightly tilting her body. A small strand of hair fell down, fluttering in the wind, looking very soft and tempting, as if one wanted to catch it and play with it in the palm of their hand.

“You don’t have to worry,” Xiao Yan also whispered, “Xu Tingfeng mentioned that she rarely comes to this wine shop.”

Li Zhizhi nodded and a.n.a.lyzed, “So her sudden appearance yesterday, shortly followed by Xiao Wen, is indeed suspicious.”

Just as she finished speaking, she felt something lightly brush against her hair. Li Zhizhi instinctively turned her head and saw Xiao Yan playing with that strand of hair, which had already wrapped around his fingertip.

As soon as he realized she noticed, Xiao Yan froze momentarily, quickly letting go. The strand of hair fluttered back up, but it ended up curling playfully in a few places.

Li Zhizhi: …

Perhaps feeling that something was off, Xiao Yan reached out to smooth her hair again. Still unable to restore it to normal, he simply tucked the strand behind her ear, his fingertip gently touching her earlobe, sending a slight coolness through her.

Soon, that coolness turned to warmth.

This gesture was somewhat too intimate, but Xiao Yan did it so naturally, as if it were just a casual act. This made it difficult for Li Zhizhi to respond, leaving her feeling strange. Her earlobes gradually flushed with a light red, resembling the peach blossoms of spring, making one unable to help but gaze in admiration.

Li Zhizhi did not dare to turn her head, afraid to meet those familiar phoenix eyes. Instead, she focused intently on the scene below until a figure appeared in front of the wine shop. It was someone arranged by Xu Tingfeng. The person walked toward the shop, and the shop a.s.sistant immediately stood up, smiling as he asked, “What wine would the guest like to buy?”

The man gruffly replied, “The master instructed me to buy a jar of Shidongchun.”

“Alright!”

The shop a.s.sistant led him into the shop, took an empty wine jar, and was about to measure the wine when the guest suddenly said, “The master said not to get the ordinary Shidongchun.”

The shop a.s.sistant was taken aback for a moment, then carefully scrutinized him and asked tentatively, “May I ask your master’s name?”

The guest replied impatiently, “Of course, it’s the son of the Ning w.a.n.g. You don’t know?”

Upon hearing this, the shop a.s.sistant quickly put down the wine jar and said, “Please wait a moment; I will go consult the manager.”

After saying that, he went into the inner room. Shortly after, he came out with a middle-aged manager behind him. The manager smiled and said, “Did your residence not take two jars of Shidongchun yesterday? Why do you need more today?”

The guest replied irritably, “How would I, a servant, know? My master wants it; why don’t you go ask him?”

Moments later, Li Zhizhi, sitting upright in the tea house, looked at the person coming out of the wine shop with some excitement and whispered, “He’s here.”

Xiao Yan replied, just watching the soft strand of hair by her ear, suddenly feeling a bit of an itch in his hands, wanting to touch it.

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