ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 62

The Grand Princess leaned against the window, watching the lively scene for a while, continuing her conversation with Xiao Yan. She said, “Speaking of which, when I entered the palace today to pay respects, the emperor actually mentioned Zhizhi.”

“Hmm?” Xiao Yan immediately shifted his gaze back to her, asking, “What did he say?”

The expression on the Grand Princess’s face seemed contemplative as she replied, “He didn’t say much. It’s just that from his words, it seems like he wants to meet Zhizhi. I’ve only adorned Zhizhi with a hairpin for a few days, and somehow, it reached his ears.”

“What does he want to see Zhizhi for?” Xiao Yan furrowed his brows, his tone somewhat serious, and asked, “As long as he wants to know, there are certainly ways.”

After a pause, he asked again, “Has Aunt agreed?”

The Grand Princess raised an eyebrow slightly and said, “Otherwise, what else can be done? He is the emperor, under the heavens, who would dare to go against his will?”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan fell silent. The slender fingertips tapped lightly on the armrest of the wheelchair. The Grand Princess continued, “I intend to have you go to the palace with Zhizhi to pay respects.”

“Me?” Xiao Yan’s movements came to a halt, and he expressed some surprise, “Aunt, aren’t you going to take her yourself?”

“Of course, I will go,” the Grand Princess changed the topic and asked, “Xiao Wu, how long has it been since you last paid respects?”

Xiao Yan: …

The eldest princess sighed and said, “You are the crown prince and his son. Although the royal family’s affection is thin, it hasn’t reached such a level. Since you injured your leg, you have even skipped paying respects. Now there are many rumors spreading, becoming more and more outrageous. Are you really indifferent to it all?”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan merely lifted the corners of his lips, giving a faint smile. The Grand Princess frowned, unpleased, and said, “You can still laugh at a time like this?”

Xiao Yan countered, “Aunt, isn’t this laughable? A son meeting his father, yet having ulterior motives.”

The Grand Princess fell silent, and Xiao Yan cast his gaze downstairs where the crowd buzzed with activity. He spoke in a calm tone, “The Emperor doesn’t want an outstanding heir. Isn’t the Crown Prince and the Second Prince exceptional enough? One possesses both courage and strategy, the other extraordinary intellect. Yet, both met such ends. Their graves are now three feet high with weeds. Aunt, what he wants is a useless heir who will never threaten the throne, someone content to be pa.s.sive and obedient.”

At this point, he chuckled again, his phoenix eyes narrowing slightly. Unperturbed, he continued, “Perhaps my broken legs are exactly what he desires.”

For a moment, the Grand Princess was rendered speechless. After a while, she sighed, “Why has it come to this?”

Her elder brother, the ruler of the land, wielded immense power. In the past, it was manageable, but lately, perhaps due to aging, his paranoia had intensified. It was rumored that he slept with concealed weapons under his pillow, never stayed overnight in the consorts’ chambers, and always had guards within ten paces wherever he went.

He treated his own sons with cruelty. Suspecting the Crown Prince of plotting rebellion, he deposed him and administered poison. Later, upon counsel from courtiers, he designated the Second Prince as the heir. Yet, only half a year later, the Ministry of Punishments discovered that the Crown Prince had been wrongfully accused. Emperor Jingming suspected that it was a plot by the Second Prince.

Coincidentally, during the Second Prince’s birthday celebration at the Crown Prince’s residence, courtiers privately entered to offer congratulations, violating a major taboo. Seizing the opportunity, Emperor Jingming imprisoned the Second Prince, ordered an interrogation by the Ministry of Punishments, and the Grand Princess felt uneasy about it. Despite her repeated pleas to the Emperor, she couldn’t change his mind. It was only later, when the Second Prince couldn’t bear the suspicion and hanged himself, that Emperor Jingming regretted his actions.

The most absurd of all was the third prince. He accidentally spoke a few wrong words, infuriating the emperor. The third prince, known for his timid nature, was frightened day and night. He fell ill and later personally entered the palace to beg Emperor Jingming. With tears streaming down his face, he claimed incompetence and stupidity, expressing his inability to bear the heavy responsibility of being the heir. He only wished for a life free from worries about clothing and food.

Emperor Jingming coldly responded, “Since that’s the case, the imperial mausoleum still lacks a guardian. It will ensure a worry-free life for you.” Subsequently, he demoted the third prince to a commoner and sent him to guard the imperial mausoleum in Zibei.

Out of five sons, three were gone, leaving only Prince Ning, Xiao Chao, and the youngest son, Xiao Yan. The courtiers suggested selecting an heir again. Initially, most favored the older Prince Ning, but Emperor Jingming ultimately chose Xiao Yan due to his sharp wit and resemblance to his eldest son. It was believed that he would achieve great things in the future.

The a.s.sembly fell silent, and no one dared to voice objections. Privately, they speculated that it was probably because Xiao Yan was still too young to partic.i.p.ate in political matters, making it easier for the emperor to control.

Thinking about this, the Grand Princess’s thoughts were chaotic. For a moment, she didn’t know whether to feel angry or sigh. She exclaimed, “What’s the point of this imperial throne, turning a person into such a state? He wasn’t like this before…”

Xiao Yan’s gaze fell on the crowd, and a young girl’s joyful smile caught his attention. Her features were as bright as the crescent moon, radiating happiness, and it seemed to improve his mood as well.

Xiao Yan’s fingers played with the Buddhist beads on his wrist, casually saying, “It’s probably because he earned his own throne through hardships and fears that others might imitate him.”

The Grand Princess slightly furrowed her brow, cautioning, “Youngest nephew, be careful with your words.”

After speaking, she sighed deeply and looked down at the scene below. She happened to see the young master of the Pei family receiving something from a vendor and handing it with a smile to Li Zhizhi, saying something to her.

Li Zhizhi shook her head, refusing to accept it. The young man seemed a bit anxious and said a few more words. The onlookers chuckled in good humor.

“This is clearly a specially chosen gift for you. With such good intentions, Miss, please accept it.”

“If you don’t take it, wouldn’t you be letting him down?”

The crowd urged and persuaded, and Pei Yanchuan was initially nervous. Seeing Li Zhizhi looking hesitant, he quickly explained, “No, I just wanted to have some fun. I had a similar telescope before, and I got bored of it. It’s useless to keep it.”

The stall owner still lamented, wearing a deeply distressed expression. Upon hearing this, he quickly smiled and said, “Since that’s the case, young master, this old man is willing to return your money in full. Can I have the telescope back?”

People nearby hissed, “You old man, you’re really clueless. He’s trying to give it to a lady, what are you b.u.t.ting in for?”

Seeing Pei Yanchuan’s face turning slightly red and looking awkward, Li Zhizhi was afraid he would feel embarra.s.sed. In front of the crowd, she smiled and said, “Then I’ll thank Mr. Pei first. I’ll play with it for a few days and return it to you later.”

Seeing her take the telescope, Pei Yanchuan finally breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, “You can keep it. There’s no need to return it. If you… if you like it.”

Li Zhizhi did like this novel gadget and looked around through the telescope. In the next moment, her gaze unintentionally collided with a pair of deep eyes. She paused, thinking, why do these eyes look somewhat familiar?

Thinking this way, Li Zhizhi subconsciously lowered the telescope a bit, and then saw the face of that person. With sharp sideburns, sword-like eyebrows, slanting phoenix eyes, and a handsome and unparalleled appearance, anyone who saw him would praise him as a charming young man, refined and polished. It was none other than the Crown Prince, Xiao Yan.

Li Zhizhi: …

Looking to the side, the person waving and smiling at her was none other than the Grand Princess.

Before long, Li Zhizhi, Su Tangyu, and Pei Yanchuan ascended the small building. It was also a teahouse, quite lively. Downstairs, there were storytellers and singing maidens. Tea drinkers chatted and laughed, applauding and cheering at the exciting parts of the storytelling. Compared to the delicately arranged literary teahouses in the East Market, this place obviously had more lively atmosphere and was more casual.

Li Zhizhi didn’t expect that the Grand Princess and Xiao Yan would come to such a place for tea. She was somewhat surprised. The Grand Princess seemed to sense her confusion and smiled, “I just came out of the palace and happened to pa.s.s by. But this teahouse has been around for quite some time, the tea is good, and it’s free.”

Li Zhizhi was surprised, “There’s a teahouse that’s free?”

The Grand Princess explained, “This teahouse is managed by Xiao Wu. In the future, when you come for tea, you don’t need to pay.”

Li Zhizhi glanced at Xiao Yan and whispered, “Isn’t that causing the Crown Prince to do a losing business? It might not be good.”

Xiao Yan smirked, “If you come here every day to drink tea from morning till night, it won’t be much of a loss.”

Li Zhizhi smiled, “Really? The Crown Prince is so kind. Then I’ll gladly accept the offer.”

Taking advantage of others, she always felt a bit embarra.s.sed, but when it came to taking advantage of Xiao Yan, Li Zhizhi felt justified, and as for why? Well, in the eyes of the other party, she should be that kind of person. Since that’s the case, she won’t refuse, so as not to make the Crown Prince think she’s hypocritical.

The Grand Princess ordered another pot of tea and chatted with everyone, but for some reason, she paid extra attention to Pei Yanchuan. She asked him many questions, such as how many years he had been in the National Academy and what achievements he hoped to make. She also inquired about his future plans.

Pei Yanchuan was quite nervous, stumbling over his words several times. He had heard from Xiao Yan before that the Grand Princess wanted to meet him, but he hadn’t expected it to happen so soon. He was not prepared at all.

Normally carefree and effortlessly witty, the dandy son now sat in front of the Grand Princess like a seven or eight-year-old child just learning to speak, wracking his brains to answer her questions.

The Grand Princess smiled and said, “From what you’re saying, you also want to become a military officer like your father and brother in the future?”

Pei Yanchuan nodded hurriedly, and Xiao Yan, sitting beside him, smirked slightly. He hadn’t exposed him, but he felt somewhat displeased. The last time Pei Yanchuan had told him he had no big ambitions and only wanted to live an easy life until death. Now, in front of the Crown Princess, he presented a completely different story.

Su Tangyu, who was listening on the side, pondered silently. Why did it seem like a mother-in-law looking at a son-in-law?

She quickly pulled Li Zhizhi aside and whispered, “What do you think of this Mr. Pei?”

Li Zhizhi was a bit puzzled and replied in a low voice, “Mr. Pei is very nice and enthusiastic. What’s the matter?”

Su Tangyu inwardly exclaimed, “Oh no.” It seemed like this Mr. Pei had already been noticed by the Grand Princess. Did her second brother still have a chance?

But she was unaware that, due to her question, Li Zhizhi interpreted it differently. Indeed, Pei Yanchuan was quite good; he had a handsome appearance, a warm heart, and a prominent family background. The temperament of Marquis Hou was also good. Isn’t he a hundred times better than that sc.u.m Song Lingyun?

For a moment, the several people in the room each began to calculate in their own way.