Chapter 17 Unable to Stand Up for Her "Does my cousin like me that much?"...

Banban pouted, trying to defend herself, "I didn't lie, I'm blushing... I'm blushing because..."

After struggling for a while, she couldn't find a suitable reason. Her cheeks flushed even more, and her round eyes looked flustered and helpless. Yet, she couldn't help but look at his face.

She talked for a long time but still didn't understand.

Ying Zheng straightened up and released her, glancing at his reflection in the water.

Then he bent two fingers and tapped her forehead loudly, saying, "If you don't have it, you don't have it. Why are you so guilty?"

He gave a soft hum, deftly bit into the fruit she had given him, and took the lead in walking away.

Banban covered his forehead, relieved but not understanding what he was doing. He felt wronged and angry, and chased after him, yelling, "My cousin is playing tricks on me again!"

"I am the Crown Prince. How could the Crown Prince play tricks on people at will?" Ying Zheng did not turn around, his righteous and righteous voice sounding quite relaxed.

"Lonely~lonely~lonely! I'm alone again, hehe." Banban said indignantly, putting on an affected tone.

"..." Ying Zheng grabbed her wrist in an annoyed tone, "Hurry up and walk, aren't you unable to walk? I'm not carrying you."

"I won't let you carry me."

"Is that so?"

The brother and sister bickered intermittently, but less than fifteen minutes later, the sound of her begging her cousin to carry her slapped her own face.

Ying Zheng mocked her, "Didn't you say you wouldn't let me carry you?"

He laughed at her, and she glared at him angrily.

"Those words were spoken by Ji Chengyin. What does that have to do with me, Banban?"

What a self-righteous child.

When it comes to being unreasonable and irrational, Ying Zheng couldn't compete with her and actually had to bend over and carry her on his back.

Banban stroked his chin and stood there watching his cousin's back.

"Aren't you coming up?" he urged.

"I don't want my cousin to carry me anymore." She waved her hand, looking inscrutable, which earned her a puzzled look from Ying Zheng. "It would damage His Highness's reputation to have the Crown Prince carry me in the street."

Ying Zheng: "?"

Are you someone who cares about other people's reputation?

"Why don't we all ride in His Highness the Crown Prince's palanquin? Isn't it golden? It must be so grand!"

Ying Zheng was speechless: "..."

Qian Yin was overjoyed but dared not laugh out loud, only hanging her head and shaking her shoulders.

Before long, the prince's palanquin appeared before them. Banban looked him over carefully before finally sitting down. "Wow, that was fast! Was the place where the palanquin was placed not far away?"

She speaks naively, and her understanding is naive; there's always a unique kind of endearing foolishness about her.

Ying Zheng explained helplessly, "They've been following us since early morning." They could have seen her if she had just turned around while walking. "Although we didn't have anyone bring a sedan chair, they still have to be ready at all times, just in case." After all, Xianyang Palace is large, and walking on foot for a long time would make her legs ache.

Banban suddenly realized what a foolish thing she had said. Turning her head, she saw the smile that her cousin hadn't yet suppressed on his lips. She pounced on him, trying to pinch his mouth, "Cousin, you've made fun of me enough today. Don't do it again."

Are there any more times within a day?

"When will that be?"

"At least tomorrow!"

"..."

"I misspoke, and I won't do it again!!"

He kept laughing at her, and she cried in distress at dinner.

Ying Zheng tried to coax her for a long time without success, so in the empty palace, he asked her softly why.

“My cousin said he would marry me in the future, so why does he always laugh at me? My father would never treat my mother like that. My cousin laughs at me for being stupid.”

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng quickly apologized, "It's my fault." He tried to wipe away her tears, but he couldn't wipe them all away, and he felt guilty. "I don't think you're stupid, I think you're very cute."

"Is it true?" Banban's eyes were blurry with tears, her cheeks as white and tender as peeled lychees, now tinged with red. She pouted, not quite believing it. "But you used to call people stupid."

That was just for fun, what a fool.

"Don't tell me you think he's a bit slow and not good enough for you." She believed her cousin's explanation from the very first sentence; it was just a persistent, coquettish pout.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Ying Zheng's concern faded, and his face darkened immediately. "Who has been gossiping about you? Tell me, and your cousin will surely stand up for you!"

Banban was startled by his sudden outburst. "There was no one there," she said in a low voice. "I just said it casually."

"Really?" Ying Zheng was filled with doubt and carefully examined her expression. If she showed any sign of guilt, he would be furious and kill those who had stirred up trouble.

"Really!" Banban took his arm, somewhat pleased. "Does my cousin like me that much?"

"Of course, don't doubt me." Seeing no sign of guilt from her, Ying Zheng leaned in and pinched her cheek. "And what about you?"

"Me?" Banban touched her head in confusion, tilted her head to think for a moment, and then naturally became certain, "Of course I like my cousin too, I like him the most!"

She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, affectionately nuzzling her cheek against his chin.

The word "like" is rather superficial, no matter how you look at it. It doesn't resemble the affection between people, but rather the fondness for a cat, a dog, or a toy.

It has lost the gravitas and shyness that 'Xin Yue' should have.

The two snuggled together for a while, reading through the notes of the Mountain and River Magazine, where Ying Zheng taught them how to distinguish between reality and illusion in the geographical anecdotes.

Banban suddenly said, "Cousin, you mentioned last time that you wanted to try papermaking, do you have any leads?"

Ying Zheng did indeed ponder these things in his spare time. "Not yet. I was thinking yesterday, how can wood or some other material be so thin yet produce a clear and melodious sound when plucked? Even if it is sliced ​​as thin as a cicada's wing, it is still not suitable for writing characters."

Banban didn't quite understand either, since she had never studied papermaking and only had a general idea: "What if you smash it, chop it up, mix it with water or something else to make a pulp, then shape it and dry it?"

Ying Zheng paused, pondering carefully, "Smash it into a paste..."

"Well, cousin, do you have a solution?" she asked expectantly.

"Not for now." He stroked her hair. "I'll go back and discuss this with the Grand Tutor."

"Oh well."

Seeing her longing look, he smiled, glanced at the time, and prepared to leave. "It's getting late, go to bed early. Tomorrow I'll have someone send some things for your studies, so you can choose carefully."

"Mmm-hmm-hmm!" Banban got up and saw him off, following him all the way to the outside of the palace before returning.

Ying Zheng returned and sent someone to fetch Qian Yin.

As soon as Qian Yin came out, she immediately knelt down and asked, "What are your orders, Your Highness?"

He glanced at the lamps burning inside the palace. "What reason did you come out with?"

Qian Yin explained, "I told her I was going out to close the palace gates and also to get a bowl of almond milk from the kitchen. The young lady was lying on the bed with her feet up, looking at a book of fabric paintings, and she didn't suspect anything."

Ying Zheng nodded slightly, then asked, "Has anyone said anything unpleasant to her recently?"

"Alone with her."

Qian Yinzai recalled carefully, then shook his head, "No, several princesses have indeed come to visit recently, but I wasn't very enthusiastic. I only chatted more with Princess Yangman. The two of them often ate together and even went to the lake to bet on which eunuch caught the most fish."

“The young lady lost more, and Princess Yangman noticed this, so she bailed on her later.”

"A eunuch catching fish?" Ying Zheng frowned slightly. How could such an improper act be allowed in the Xianyang Palace?

Qian Yin couldn't help but chuckle. "I heard from my maid that His Highness the Crown Prince loves to eat fish, but he doesn't know how to catch them, so Princess Yangman suggested this game."

However, not a single fish he caught was delivered to him.

She was just being playful, yet she used him as an excuse; she's always been bold.

Ying Zheng's expression softened slightly, a hint of a smile appearing on his face. "Why aren't you as friendly with the other princesses? Are you incompatible?"

Qian Yin hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "This servant dares not deceive His Highness the Crown Prince. On the night of His Highness's return to the palace, at the banquet, this servant served the young lady to her seat. The young lady tried to please those princesses, but they didn't appreciate it. They talked among themselves and made fun of the young lady, and..." Under the Crown Prince's suddenly expressionless face, she felt even more pressured and finished the rest in a low voice, "and they rolled their eyes at the young lady."

After he finished speaking, a deep silence fell over the surroundings.

Qian Yin's heart pounded like a drum, and she dared not look up.

In the month since the Crown Prince returned, many people have come to understand his temperament.

Although he was usually gentle and didn't like to make things difficult for others, he didn't talk much either. Occasionally, when he got angry, he would become gloomy and fierce, and his methods would be ruthless and decisive. The palace servants knew that his gentleness was just a facade.

When a superior is angry, the life or death of a subordinate becomes uncertain.

Whenever a master is humiliated, it is always attributed to the servants being incompetent and failing to protect him.

After a few seconds of silence, Qian Yin suddenly regretted revealing everything and wanted to slap herself for speaking so quickly.

The long and agonizing wait for her punishment was agonizing. A layer of cold sweat broke out on Qian Yin's forehead. His Highness the Crown Prince had been silent for far too long, so long that her legs were trembling, not because she was kneeling, but because she was terrified.

She didn't know how much time had passed; Qianyin couldn't tell the time.

Who's rolling their eyes?

Upon hearing this, Qian Yin breathed a sigh of relief and immediately replied as if to show her loyalty, "It was Princess Yang Jiang. That day, she came to visit my lady, but my lady did not want to see her, so I told her that my lady had already gone to sleep."

He didn't answer, but circled around her a few steps before stopping. "I'm not punishing you because she's so dependent on you, not because you're innocent."

Qian Yin immediately kowtowed, "Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Highness."

“In the future, she should write down all the people she meets and what she talks about, and then report to me when the opportunity arises.”

Qian Yin felt a pang of bitterness in her heart. Her first thought was that she would have to keep a record every now and then. There was no other reason than that her mother was very talkative and she loved talking to people.

“Especially things like Yang Jiang, must not be concealed.”

"promise."

Qian Yin waited patiently, and as expected, the Crown Prince did not punish her. She was immediately moved to tears and vowed to serve Consort Ji well, because perhaps she would become the Queen in the future.

Ying Zheng, however, was thinking:

Princess Yang Jiang is the eldest daughter of the new Prince Chu. She was born to the concubine Xia Ba Zi. Because she was from the same clan as Prince Chu's biological mother, Empress Dowager Xia, the new king doted on her.

At only seven years old, he's already so snobbish; it's despicable and hateful.

What does a mere child know? It's nothing more than his own mother, Xia Bazi, stirring things up.

Ultimately, it was his fault for not being able to support her at all times, which led to her being looked down upon by others.

Ying Zheng didn't say anything more, clenched his fists, and left.