Qingyang is Emperor Xingwu's most treasured little princess, but recently she's been a bit troubled:
Her three imperial brothers have angered Imperial Father again;
The Left Pri...
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"Why don't you do it? Are you going to disobey orders?"
The little princess, who rarely left the palace, was very interested in every scene she saw in Wuwei City. She would watch the strong woman walking briskly with a basket in her hand for a long distance, and for some reason she would watch a child crying with his parents until the child stopped crying. She even listened with great interest to the bargaining between stall owners and customers.
Whenever the little princess stayed in one place for a long time, Qin Ren would secretly wink at Zhang Su. Even though he loved his sister very much, he could not understand her interest in him.
Unfortunately, Zhang Su did not give him any response and just stayed silently beside the little princess.
As he watched, Qingyang suddenly looked at the two young men beside him.
Qin Ren: "What's wrong?"
Qingyang said to his third brother, "There's a girl in a green dress at the entrance of the tea shop in front of you. She's been peeking at you and Zhang Su."
Zhang Su remained motionless. Qin Ren casually glanced around, his gaze lingering for a moment on the girl his sister had mentioned. Seeing that she was indeed looking at him, Qin Ren hurriedly said, "Let's go find another place."
Qingyang: "...Third brother is afraid of being seen by girls?"
Qin Ren was not afraid, but he was not used to it.
Qingyang went to see Zhang Su again. Zhang Su said, "...I'm here to protect you. It's up to you to decide where to go."
Qingyang: "Then I'll stay here. Aren't you afraid of being seen by her?"
Zhang Su's gaze shifted to the back, following a burly man who had just passed by. He said, "I'm only responsible for keeping watch. I won't pay attention to irrelevant people."
Qin Ren couldn't stand it anymore and urged his sister: "Let's go, there is another girl next to her."
Qingyang was willing to take care of his third brother and walked forward with a smile.
After breakfast, the next step was to visit the stalls and shops. Qingyang also bought a set of unique letterheads to write down her experiences for her mother, and then give them to her mother after returning to the palace.
"It's a pity that I don't have any gifts worth bringing back to Beijing." After walking half the street, Qingyang said regretfully. She had been away for so long and missed her mother and the imperial concubine, so she wanted to find some suitable gifts to send back.
Qin Ren: "That's because everything at home is first-rate. Of course you look down on things outside."
My younger sister looks down on it, and my mother and the others look down on it. If it cannot please others, it cannot be used as a gift.
"Let's go sit in the teahouse for a while."
"Um."
There was a storyteller in the teahouse, initially recounting a strange tale. Perhaps because the three men from Qingyang had brought a few disguised guards, making the tea party seem larger, he suddenly switched to discussing recent events in Wuwei City. He might not have known much about the battlefield, but he was familiar with the former general, Yuan Zhaoxiong. He vividly recounted Yuan Zhaoxiong's private affairs, which the local people had long heard about but dared not discuss openly, such as how Yuan Zhaoxiong had abducted his sixth concubine and how Yuan Zhaoxiong had smuggled eight Ferghana horses.
The real people began to talk about it: "It's useless to be greedy. Now his life is gone, and the Ferghana horse has become the emperor's."
"The current emperor is truly mighty. Not only did he deal with Yuan Zhaoxiong in one trip, he also severely damaged the Western Hu. I think we'll have peace here for the next decade or so!"
Qingyang looked at his third brother, and Qin Ren showed the same smile as his sister. They were proud to have such a wise and powerful father.
After resting for two or three quarters of an hour, the three of them left the teahouse.
"Third brother?"
As he was walking, he suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him. Qingyang turned around and saw his cousin Qin Liang and the prince of Dingguo, Deng Kun, riding their horses side by side.
The Qin Liang Qingyang knew was the all-round talent in Chongwen Pavilion and the Martial Arts Hall, but because of the age difference, Qin Liang didn't spend much time with her, and the relationship between them couldn't be described as deep. As for Deng Kun, he looked like his father, Deng Chong, and spoke and acted like him, so Qingyang had never liked him.
"Cousin." As the two handed their mounts to the accompanying guards and walked over, Qingyang called out with a smile.
Qin Liang: "Are you going out to play? Why didn't you bring a few more people?"
Qingyang glanced at Qin Liang, who immediately understood and asked where the brother and sister had visited.
Deng Kun couldn't get a word in from the royal family, so he glanced at Zhang Su. "I heard you killed eleven people outside the Great Wall? It doesn't look like it. Are you trying to get something for your own good?"
Although Zhang Su was only fifteen, he was not much taller than Deng Kun, who was already twenty-six. He looked Deng Kun in the eye and said, "Falsely claiming military achievements will result in dismissal or even death. If you don't have evidence, please be careful with your words."
Deng Kun sighed twice, pointed at Zhang Su and smiled at Qin Liang: "Listen, I was just teasing him, but this kid actually took me seriously. He can't take a joke just like his big brother."
Qin Liang frowned and said, "Your joke was inappropriate in the first place. Try not to make it again in the future."
He refused to cooperate, and Deng Kun was embarrassed. So Deng Kun disliked Zhang Su even more. He couldn't find any fault with Zhang Su's military achievements. Deng Kun suddenly smiled, staring at Zhang Su's face and said, "I understand. Those barbarians must have rushed after you because you looked like a weak scholar, but in the end, it became your military achievement."
Zhang Su lowered his eyes, disdainful of arguing with him.
Qin Ren didn't like to hear this, but facing Deng Kun, who looked as ferocious as a tiger or leopard, Qin Ren was a little scared, so he winked at Qin Liang, asking Qin Liang to take care of him.
Qin Liang was about to speak when the little princess, who was only as tall as their chests, suddenly said coldly, "Deng Kun."
The four tall men surrounding the little princess lowered their heads at the same time.
Qingyang looked directly at Deng Kun and said, "Zhang Su is my third brother's study partner and a guard personally appointed by our father to protect us. If you insult him, you are insulting us. Considering that you are a meritorious son and have made contributions in this campaign against the Hu people, I will only punish you with three slaps on the face today. If you dare to do it again, my third brother and I will not let you off lightly."
Deng Kun was stunned and looked at Qin Liang in disbelief.
Qin Liang knew the little princess' temper better than he did, so it was difficult to persuade her. He used his height to wink at Qin Ren. It was just a joke, not worth it. After all, Deng Kun was the heir apparent of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, while Zhang Su was merely the third son of the Duke of Weiguo's mansion, a non-hereditary son. In terms of status, Deng Kun was superior to Zhang Su.
Qin Ren didn't compare their status as nobles, but with Deng Kun's temper, could he be willing to slap himself in the face? Qin Liang had already expressed his disapproval, and when his sister insisted on punishing Deng Kun, Deng Kun left in a rage, leaving his sister embarrassed.
Qin Ren smiled subconsciously and lowered his head to act as a peacemaker with his sister.
Before he could even adjust his expression, his sister glared at him mercilessly: "Third brother, a gentleman can be killed but not humiliated. It's because you're usually too good-tempered that others dare to humiliate your confidant in front of you. If you keep this up, I'll be the one to be humiliated next time."
Qin Ren's expression changed.
Qingyang continued to look at Deng Kun: "Why don't you take action? Are you going to disobey orders?"
The nine-year-old princess was not tall, and her face was full of childishness, but she had a pair of eyes that were awe-inspiring without being angry. Now that her face was gloomy, she looked even more imposing.
But Deng Kun was not someone who was easily frightened. Ever since he could remember, he had been facing his father's fierce face. He was not afraid of the prince, let alone a little princess?
He pretended to smile and said, "Your Highness, your words are too harsh. I was just joking with Zhang Su. I absolutely did not..."
Qingyang smiled back and then looked around: "Someone come here!"
Sixteen guards who were not far away immediately approached from both sides. One team held the hilts of their swords to protect the two princes from behind, and the other team blocked Qin Liang and Deng Kun's retreat in the same posture.
Qin Liang's eyes twitched, and Deng Kun could no longer laugh.
Qingyang: "Slap me in the face, or let them take me away. It's your choice."
Deng Kun finally thought of Emperor Xingwu and his indulgence of the little princess. Not to mention that he really didn't give the third prince much face today, even if he did nothing wrong, as long as the little princess kept crying, Emperor Xingwu would punish him, right?
There was nothing he could do, so Deng Kun gritted his teeth, raised his hand, and hit the little princess lightly. When he noticed that the little princess frowned, Deng Kun quickly increased his strength and hit her twice more, so that the little princess would not be unhappy and would not punish him more.
At this time, a circle of people had gathered around to watch the fun. They could not guess the identities of Qin Liang and Deng Kun, but because of Deng Kun's "Your Highness", they guessed that the majestic little girl was actually Princess Qingyang, who was brought from the capital by Emperor Xingwu!
"Who is that person who actually angered the princess?"
"I don't know. He doesn't look like a good person."
Deng Kun, who was feeling frustrated: "..."
Qingyang felt relieved and was too lazy to waste time with such a disappointing person, so he went back with his third brother and Zhang Su.
Deng Kun glared at the little princess's back, which was mostly blocked by the guards. He waited until the group walked away before he spat on the ground.
Qin Liang, who calls himself the heir of the royal palace, secretly took a deep breath and tried to comfort him: "Qingyang is just like that. Why did you have to offend her when you could offend anyone else?"
Deng Kun: "Who offended her? I was clearly hurting Zhang Su!"
Qin Liang: "Don't you know that the three of them are almost inseparable? Besides, what good will you gain from insulting Zhang Su? Don't do such things that hurt others and do not benefit yourself in the future."
Deng Kun snorted, "You were in the palace for the past few years, and you haven't seen the behavior of that handsome young man Zhang Jian. Whenever he's in front of the emperor, he always complains about us being rough. That's why I dislike the three brothers."
Qin Liang: "Okay, stop talking now. Be careful what you say."
.
Because he was recognized by the people, Qingyang returned home disappointed. When he approached the general's mansion, there were no people around. Qingyang said to Zhang Su, "Next time he insults you, just fight him directly, unless you are not sure you can win."
It must be that Zhang Jian and Zhang Heng are too gentlemanly, which is why Deng Kun has become more and more arrogant.
Zhang Su looked at the little princess who was still unhappy about this matter and explained, "I don't care about these things, Your Highness, please don't take them to heart."
Qingyang: "No, you are ours. I will not allow others to humiliate you, nor will I allow you to be humiliated in vain."
Zhang Su: “…”
Qin Ren sighed and said, "It's all my fault. I should have stood up and supported you."
It would have been better if he didn't mention it. As soon as he said it, Qingyang glared at her third brother again, then went into the general's mansion alone and went straight to see her father who could understand her.
Coincidentally, several generals including Deng Chong, Meng Ji, and Hou Wanzhong were all there and had just walked out of the main hall with Emperor Xingwu.
Emperor Xingwu could tell at a glance that the little princess was unhappy and asked with concern, "What happened?"
Qingyang gave Deng Chong some face and said, "I met someone on the street who made me angry. Although I punished him, I am still unhappy. Father, please be busy now. I will talk to you later."
The little princess went to the back angrily.
Deng Chong saw that the emperor was looking at the little princess and snorted, "Whoever dares to mess with our little princess will be punished if I know him."
Emperor Xingwu warned: "It's possible that the common people accidentally bumped into Lin'er. Since Lin'er has already been punished, none of you are allowed to interfere again."
The generals obeyed the order.
【Author’s words】
Here I come, 100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~