Chapter 113

It's really not Ye Yan's fault; modern people have no idea about these strange and wonderful ancient techniques.

The rapid development of modern technology often leads to misunderstandings, with people believing that ancient people would have had a difficult life without these technologies. In fact, every era has its own wisdom.

Human creativity is boundless.

Qin Su, noticing Ye Yan's surprise, asked, "Why do you look like you've never done this before? Has the General of the State's mansion never done this before?"

Ye Yan, unaware of the situation, chose to use tact to avoid the question: "Right now, I mainly practice swordsmanship while riding a horse."

Qin Su said "Oh" and didn't ask any more questions.

Ye Yan wanted to speak with Qin Su alone, but Qin Su was of high status, and whether she was playing chess, eating, or going out to feed fish and catch butterflies, she was always surrounded by many people, so he couldn't find an opportunity or an excuse.

As the sun set in the afternoon, Ye Yan could only leave the palace with a bellyful of things to say.

But there's no rush, Ye Yan comforted himself, there's plenty of time, he'll definitely find an opportunity to talk to Qin Su.

After seeing Ye Yan off, Qin Su lay on the stone table, idly playing with the flower wreath in her hand.

This was woven by Ye Yan for her. His skills were clumsy, and the finished product was rather simple, far inferior to what the palace servants usually made. Qingmei wanted to help the princess throw it away, but the princess wouldn't allow it.

"What do you think of the second young master of the General of the State's mansion?" Qin Su asked lazily.

Qingmei hesitated for a moment, then said truthfully, "Something seems strange."

Qin Su lifted her eyelashes to look at her: "Oh?"

Despite her young age, the princess is very opinionated, and no one in the palace dares to fool her. If she is unhappy, the emperor will make sure that no one in the entire Zhaoning Palace is happy.

Qingmei stiffened and dared not hide anything. She told the whole story: "Although the Grand General is a military general, he comes from a military family. Before joining the army, he was a young master from a noble family. The General's wife is from a family of scholars. Therefore, the General's family is not as rough as the average military family. On the contrary, they are well-mannered."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "But when I met this young master Ye today, he seemed somewhat unfamiliar with these things."

Although Ye Yan was meticulous and had learned various ancient titles, etiquette and manners in advance, he was, after all, a modern person.

It is difficult for modern people to live like people from ancient times all the time when they first arrive in a new place.

Leaving aside distant examples, let's talk about clothing. In ancient times, people didn't wear underwear. The underwear here consisted of two trouser legs tied together with straps, which felt cool to the touch.

Ye Yan wore it for several days but still felt uncomfortable. Walking in it felt awkward, and he always suspected that it would fall off.

And his long hair—he'd never had hair this long in either of his lives. When the wind blew, his hair would fly up to his face when he turned his head.

Although he tried his best to adapt and restrain himself, the time was too short, and the palace was extremely strict with rules. The palace servants who followed Qin Su were all sharp-eyed and naturally saw through his scheme.

Of course, most people wouldn't have wild thoughts like "the soul has been replaced and he is no longer the same person." Qingmei said this simply because she found it strange and guessed that this young master hadn't learned proper etiquette.

After listening to her words, Qin Su held the flower wreath and pondered.

Qingmei was unaware that she had heard the chief eunuch Liang Danxin say in the imperial study that Ye Yan, as previously investigated, did not have this personality, and that his behavior today was too different from the rumored personality.

How could a young master who is obsessed with martial arts, likes to spar with his guards, and is usually the most impatient be so patient?

He can even make flower wreaths?

But Qin Su said nothing, only instructing Qingmei: "Don't mention these words to a second person, including my father."

Qingmei immediately agreed.

Qin Su put the flower wreath back on her head, clapped her hands, stood up, and asked, "Is Father still in the Imperial Study?"

Qingmei stepped forward and helped her put on a cloak to keep her from catching a chill in the evening: "Steward Liang just sent word that His Majesty is meeting with people from the grasslands and dinner has been postponed."

"People from the grasslands?" Qin Su remembered this because she had just met them a few days ago; they were a group of very strong and burly men.

Their leader was a talented singer and dancer, and perhaps to curry favor with Emperor Jingxi, he even performed a dance for Qin Su.

Qin Su didn't take it to heart and said, "In that case, let's not dine with Father today. Let's go to Changxi Palace to see Xiao San."

Changxi Palace is the palace of Consort Shu, and the third child is Prince Qin Yu, who was born to Consort Shu this year.

The princes and princesses in the palace are ranked separately. Qin Yu is the fourth in line according to the number of children who are currently alive, but he is the third among the princes. Therefore, Qin Su privately calls him "Little Third".

When Emperor Jingxi heard this once, his lips twitched, and he said, "Where did you get that title from?"

Qin Su argued vehemently: "How would I know how many children Father Emperor will have in the future? Our ancestors were all very prolific. Father Emperor has already given me three younger brothers, and there may be ten or eight more in the future. How can I remember them if I don't rank them one, two, three, four, five?"

What she said made perfect sense, and Emperor Jingxi was speechless.

But he didn't like being compared to his previous incompetent ancestors, so he pinched Qin Su's cheek.

Consort Shu, on the other hand, had no objection to the name and even felt it was quite nice.

Inspired by this, she gave Qin Yu another nickname, Sanmao, saying that a lowly life makes one easier to raise.

Poor Qin Yu, he can't even speak yet, so he has absolutely no right to protest.

Qin Su was not focused on her walk. Instead of taking the main road to Changxi Palace, she looked around and touched things here and there, taking all sorts of random side paths.

The palace servants followed behind, stumbling and struggling to keep up.

Just as she was about to cross a path and enter the Changxi Palace area, Qin Su suddenly heard a faint conversation, interspersed with words such as "Your Majesty...Princess..."

There is only one princess, Qin Su, in the palace right now, so the person being referred to here is no other than Qin Su.

Qin Su turned around and gestured for the palace servants following her to be quiet.

She gave Qingmei a look, and Qingmei followed her and slowly took a few steps forward.

As the distance closed, Qin Su was finally able to hear what was being said.

"...It's just a pity that the third prince is neither the eldest son nor the legitimate heir."

"What's there to fear now that she's neither the eldest son nor the heir? The position of Empress is currently vacant. Who else besides our Empress is worthy of this position? When the princess was young, she was raised by the Empress. No matter how busy His Majesty was, he would come to see her every day. Now that the princess has grown up, the Empress has given birth to a prince. Who can surpass her in the merit of raising a prince and princess?"

"If Your Highness takes another step forward, wouldn't the Third Prince then become the legitimate heir?"

"Shh, you mustn't say things like that."

"What's there to be afraid of? Isn't this obvious? Everyone in the palace envies those who work in Changxi Palace. Especially now that Her Majesty is in confinement, and His Majesty comes over often, how many lowly women want to show their faces in our palace?"

"His Majesty is so handsome and majestic, who wouldn't want that? Don't you? Who was it that poured His Majesty some tea last time and then went back to daydreaming?"

"Oh dear, you little hussy, don't talk nonsense."

The conversation grew quieter, occasionally interspersed with laughter.

Qingmei's face turned ashen, but she didn't leave because Qin Su was nearby.

Qin Su was somewhat taken aback.

The Third Prince, Qin Yu, the eldest son—why do these words sound familiar when put together?

Has she forgotten something?