Chapter 128

"The Gu Master Physician Zhang Jinghua?" Xue Jin'an confirmed with the Princess.

The eldest princess paused, almost immediately realizing that Xue Jin'an had to be careful about Zhang Jinghua. She narrowed her eyes, her smile revealing nothing. "It seems the Seventh Emperor is very interested in this divine physician."

Xue Jin'an did not deny it.

The eldest princess concealed the deep thought in her eyes, shook her head and said, "It's a pity that he disappeared without a trace after he volunteered to enter the palace to treat Consort Hui but failed. When Tai Le was frightened and her personality changed drastically, the prince consort consulted famous doctors all over the country, but no one knew where this Dr. Zhang had gone."

Xue Jin'an nodded, his face calm. The princess couldn't glean anything from his expression, and Xue Jin'an even caught her out, saying, "It seems that elder sister is not completely unaware of this person's whereabouts."

The eldest princess was not embarrassed at all when she was exposed. Instead, her smile became even gentler and more graceful. "Seventh brother has misunderstood me. I really don't know anything about this Physician Zhang. However—I know who you can ask him."

The eldest princess deliberately stopped talking and didn't continue, leaving Xue Jin'an in suspense.

Unexpectedly, Xue Jin'an only pondered for a moment before speaking with certainty, revealing her secret: "It's Princess Irina, I see."

Southern Xinjiang also shares a border with Tsarist Russia, and a considerable number of religious followers from Southern Xinjiang even spread to the border cities of Tsarist Russia.

Recently, Cui Zui has been investigating Zhang Jinghua's affairs through the Jianghu (martial arts world), but he hasn't found anything. The Princess's influence is deeply rooted in the capital, and she wouldn't casually send people into the Jianghu if she didn't want to clash with Prince An. Therefore, the information the Princess knows about Zhang Jinghua must be related to the Southern Frontier.

In this way, it won't be difficult to pinpoint the candidate mentioned by the eldest princess.

Xue Jin'an completed a series of data analyses in a single thought, which the Eldest Princess found excessively clever.

The princess picked up her teacup and drank half of the slightly cooled Mengding tea. The bitterness of the stale tea suppressed the surging emotions. She lowered her eyes to hide her momentary surprise and fear, and when she looked up again, she was once again the gentle and harmless noblewoman.

The eldest princess gently touched the gold-embossed invitation card and pushed it in front of Xue Jin'an, her smile seemingly tinged with helplessness: "It seems you have no choice but to attend this farewell banquet."

Xue Jin'an picked up the invitation in front of him and gave a soft "hmm" in agreement.

With the matter settled, the princess saw no need to stay any longer and quickly rose to take her leave. The moment she boarded the carriage, the smile on her face vanished, replaced by a cold and sharp gaze.

Little Tai Le, engrossed in playing with the nine-linked rings, keenly sensed the aura emanating from the Princess. She tilted her head and asked, "Mother?"

"Taile, come here, come to your mother." The princess did not pick her up immediately as usual, but instead stretched out a hand to her, looking at her quietly. Her unsmiling features revealed the sharpness that she should have.

Princess Chang's appearance was never gentle and graceful. Her features and temperament were very similar to her mother, Consort Min, Jiang Yi. Consort Min came from the Jiang family, which was a very prosperous lineage of the Marquis of An'nan. She was the one who stood out from her brothers and sisters and helped her own younger brother to be granted a title.

How could such a person be weak at heart? It's just that the Jiang family girl of yesteryear was blinded by love and wanted to become the kind of gentle, considerate, and understanding woman to win her husband's favor. Yet, she was too proud to bow her head or give up what she held in her hands. So, she could only turn her attention to her daughter and mold her into this gentle woman.

The eldest princess was very annoyed by the mask, but she had been wearing it for so long that it had become a habit, and changing it would only make her feel uneasy.

The princess's sincerity lasted for less than two breaths before she once again softened her brows and eyes, revealing that gentle and harmless smile, even her voice became softer, "Chaoyang, come here to your mother."

Seeing that Xiao Tai Le did not respond, she assumed that the name Tai Le was not commonly used in public—saying it was rarely used was an understatement; in reality, fewer than five people knew the name Xue Tai Le. Even the imperial son-in-law was kept in the dark, believing that his daughter's name was Xue Chao Yang. He had even suggested that since Chao Yang was to be given the title of princess, it would be better to choose another name, otherwise calling her Chao Yang would be too formal.

The eldest princess thought that Xiao Tai Le hadn't reacted yet, so she took the initiative to call her by her nickname.

Little Taile, however, lowered her head and stopped looking at her, going back to playing with the nine-linked rings in her hand. The princess was not angry. She took the initiative to hug her daughter, squeezed her fingers, and poked her cheek. In the swaying carriage, there was a rare moment of warmth between the mother and son.

"Is Chaoyang angry? Is it because Mother didn't take you to see your Seventh Imperial Uncle?" The Princess explained to her softly, "You like your Seventh Imperial Uncle, but he's too powerful. If Chaoyang gets too close to him, she'll easily suffer."

The princess originally thought that little Tai Le would ignore her words as before and be immersed in his own world, but to her surprise, little Tai Le looked up at her and asked, "Uncle is very powerful? How powerful? Did Mother lose?"

"...It seems that Tai Le really likes your Seventh Imperial Uncle." The Princess felt a pang of jealousy, but then she thought about how her daughter's taste had become strange ever since she was abducted, and she was very fickle. Before, her liking for Chu Wenjing was so intense that she even abandoned her parents, but when she actually met him, she still avoided him like the plague. It seemed that her liking for Xue Jin'an wouldn't last long either.

After the princess calmed herself down, she hugged her daughter again with satisfaction and patted her head. Her voice was low and deep, as if she were making a promise or talking to herself.

She said, "Don't worry, Mother didn't lose."

"I will not lose."

The farewell banquet was held at Yongchun Palace, with the eldest princess in charge. All the famous and powerful young men in the capital were invited. Xue Jin'an arrived at the right time and blended into the crowd without drawing much attention.

Xue Jin'an's purpose was very clear. He had no interest in behaving insincerely with others and went directly to find Irina, avoiding the crowd.

A lotus pond was dug in the courtyard of Yongchun Palace. Spring has arrived, and many small flower buds have emerged in the pond, silently absorbing nutrients from the silt. When they bloom in full glory in the summer, it will be a magnificent sight. Consort Min probably loves the scenery of this lotus pond very much. She built many viewing pavilions around the pond and even built a three-story exquisite building in the middle of the lake.

Xue Jin'an was always sensitive to data, and he immediately discovered that Consort Shu's painting of withered lotus was painted on the top floor of the small building in the middle of the lake. Looking around, he saw Irina, the eldest princess and the second prince in the small building in the middle of the lake.

All three were dressed very formally today. The Second Prince wore a prince's robe, the Eldest Princess wore her special crown and jewelry, and Irina wore a princess dress with an exotic flair. Her waist was cinched very tightly, her chest was full, and her skin was dazzlingly white. The voluminous skirt clearly had a petticoat.

The second prince, perhaps caught sight of her attire, immediately fixed his eyes on Irina, chatting excitedly with her, his face flushed, displaying his youthful spirit.

Unfortunately, this joy probably belonged only to the Second Prince. Xue Jin'an's high-definition camera swept across the room and saw that Irina had a polite and courteous smile on her face. When she picked up her wine cup, her eyes met those of the Eldest Princess, and her eyes held a half-smile.

Although Irina showed nothing and said nothing, and even smiled and nodded to the Second Prince, Xue Jin'an inexplicably felt that Irina was mocking the Eldest Princess.

Yes, mockery. Those glances he occasionally exchanged with the princess seemed to say, "I never expected your family to have such a disgraceful fellow."

The eldest princess, who was sitting opposite her, still smiled gently, but Xue Jin'an noticed precisely that the curve of her lips was several pixels lower than usual, and her eyes, which were always glistening with moisture, were getting colder and colder. When they fell on the second prince, they almost turned into sharp arrows.

Only the Second Prince felt good, getting more and more engrossed in his conversation with Irina, and getting closer and closer to her, seemingly dazzled by her fair skin.

Xue Jin'an unconsciously slowed his footsteps, and faint sounds reached his ears. The Second Prince was boasting about his literary and martial prowess, carefully reciting his poems to Irina, and then offering his analysis, showing off his knowledge.

However, Xue Jin'an caught several mistakes in the Second Prince's self-admiration, including a basic error such as "Iron horse and icy river enter my dream, the iron horse is you, the icy river is also you," which even Shou Quan, who was following behind him, noticed and couldn't help but frown.

"Master—" Shouquan's first reaction was that his cultural level was limited and he had failed to understand the Second Prince's true meaning. He subconsciously wanted to ask Xue Jin'an for confirmation.

After Cui Pengfei became Xue Jin'an's teacher, the others in Zhaoyang Palace also consciously followed suit. However, unlike Xue Jin'an, who simply scanned the books into the database and considered them read, they all found learning very difficult. In particular, Shouquan, who came from outside the palace, did not recognize all the characters and his learning progress was the slowest.

Fortunately, Shouquan has always been bold. He dared to leave the Imperial Kitchen and join Xue Jin'an, who had nothing, on a whim. When he encountered difficulties in his studies, he was naturally willing to ask questions without hesitation. He would ask anyone around him, including Xuan Shiyi and Xia Xiazi. Xia Xiazi once thought that if he taught him, she could turn her life around. However, it turned out that Xia Xiazi was dreaming. Shouquan was just asking questions for free; he wouldn't even offer her a cup of water.

However, it was thanks to Shouquan taking the lead that the other students in Zhaoyang Palace would seek advice from Cui Zui or Xue Jin'an when they encountered difficulties in their studies.

Xue Jin'an put her finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, and Shou Quan immediately fell silent.

Just then, Irina's voice came from afar, her Mandarin with a foreign accent carrying a hint of ill intent, "I've heard that the Princess is also a famous talented woman in the capital. The Second Prince is already so talented, the Princess must be even more so."

“If the eldest princess were a boy, your Emperor Qi wouldn’t be so troubled by the position of heir, would he? But actually, being a girl isn’t so bad. We in Russia have an empress, and your Great Qi has a Grand Empress Dowager… Your ancestor was truly remarkable. I admire him greatly and look forward to seeing you grow up to be like him, Xue Mu. Then the Second Prince’s status will surely rise even higher. I truly envy you for having such a sister, Second Prince.” Irina’s tone sounded very sincere, and she added at the end, “My Great Qi dialect isn’t very good, and some words may not be used accurately. Please forgive me.”

The second prince, who had been making merry by himself, fell silent, and the atmosphere in the pavilion instantly turned cold.

Xue Jin'an stopped in his tracks. He was still about ten steps away from the small building in the middle of the lake. He began to think about whether to turn around and leave now, or wait to hear the Second Prince's speech before turning around and leaving.

Before Xue Jin'an could make a choice, the Second Prince had already spoken.

He seemed to sneer, saying in a contemptuous tone, "It's nothing more than a hen crowing at dawn."