All attention was focused on the Seventh Prince. He was the Emperor's youngest son and was greatly favored. If he were to suffer any injury at the Duke's mansion, the Shen family would likely face severe reprimands.
"This...this prince is perfectly healthy." He stammered as he spoke.
"Are you really alright?" Shen Zhiyi frowned.
He shook his head.
Hongrui had already ordered people to clean up the ground and then had someone refill his bowl and chopsticks.
Xiao Zhongxuan stood by watching him, causing the Seventh Prince to feel a lump in his throat as if he had a fishbone stuck in his throat. His little face lost its smile, and he spoke haltingly, looking as if he had been too frightened.
After the meal, she even sought out the physician from the Zhai family to treat him.
"The Seventh Prince is physically fine, but his blood is churning and his heart is palpitating and disordered, as if he has been frightened. I will prescribe him a calming soup."
Chen Zhi frowned:
It was just a few dishes falling to the ground; the noise was a bit loud, but it shouldn't have been enough to scare someone like that.
This little guy is so timid.
Xiao Zhongxuan also needed to eat, so he didn't stay by his side the whole time. After he left, the Seventh Prince timidly asked, "Sister Chen, who was that person who cooked just now?"
"Hmm?" Shen Zhiyi didn't expect him to ask about Xiao Zhongxuan.
“I felt that he had an extraordinary bearing, unlike an ordinary servant.” The Seventh Prince’s eyes darted around.
“He is a guard in my household, named Xiao Zhongxuan.”
Zhongxuan?
The Imperial Uncle's birth mother's surname was Xiao, and his given name was Xuan Ce, courtesy name Zhong Xuan!
Very few people knew the name of the Imperial Uncle.
He only learned and saw his uncle's true appearance by chance; it was a secret between them.
"A guard who also cooks?"
Shen Zhi nodded.
The seventh prince smiled sullenly.
Xiao Zhongxuan personally brought the calming soup. Shen Zhiyi had just gone to change her clothes and was not in the room. He smiled at the little guy and said, "Drink the soup. I made it myself."
The little guy turned pale with fright and stood straight beside him.
Timid, afraid
I dare not speak.
Oh no, I hope my uncle won't kill me.
"Speak your mind." Xiao Zhongxuan sat down.
"Your Majesty..." Before he could finish the word, Xiao Zhongxuan's gaze fell lightly upon him, startling the child so much that he trembled and hurriedly bent down to pour him some water. "What are you doing at the Duke's mansion?"
"Do I need to report to you about what I do?"
"That's not what I meant. I was just curious. Are you perhaps a spy for the Duke's mansion?"
"..."
"It's getting late, hurry back to the palace and keep your mouth shut."
The seventh prince hurriedly nodded, drank the calming soup, and fled the Duke's mansion as if he were escaping.
**
After seeing off the Seventh Prince, Shen Zhiyi finally breathed a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, her elder brother had been invited by the Crown Prince to the Eastern Palace as a guest to consult on military affairs.
Thinking about the struggle for imperial power, Shen Zhiyi felt a headache coming on.
"Miss, His Highness the Third Prince has sent someone to deliver an invitation," Hongrui said hurriedly.
The Third Prince invited her to his residence in ten days to attend a lotus-viewing banquet.
The person who delivered the invitation was someone Shen Zhiyi recognized; he was a palace maid serving the Empress.
The meaning couldn't be clearer:
The Empress also wanted to invite her over.
It would be difficult to refuse this banquet.
Now that the Crown Prince holds military power, his influence is even greater, which naturally makes the Empress and the Third Prince anxious and eager to win over the Shen family.
I'm afraid they'll resort to some extreme measures.
The so-called lotus viewing is probably a trap.
She naturally didn't want to go, and had just sighed when Xiao Zhongxuan knocked on the door and entered, carrying a bowl of soup to cool her down and aid digestion. He glanced at the invitation in her hand and asked, "Don't want to go?"
"Of course, the Crown Prince and the Third Prince are fighting for power, and they're trying to drag our Shen family into it."
"Then I won't go."
Shen Zhiyi laughed out loud, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at him, "Guard Xiao, you really don't understand. Do you think I have the right to refuse this?"
You can dodge the first day of the month, but you can't dodge the fifteenth.
No matter how powerful the Shen family is, or how illustrious the military achievements of his father and brothers, they are still just subjects.
"Have some soup? It'll help cool you down and aid digestion," Xiao Zhongxuan changed the subject.
"You really know me. I ate a lot of desserts at the Regent's Palace today, and my stomach is indeed a bit full." Shen Zhiyi took a sip of soup, and could taste the sweet and sour taste of hawthorn, which was very delicious. "By the way, you took Chinese medicine and had a fever yesterday. Are you completely recovered now?"
“Probably…” Xiao Zhongxuan pursed his lips, “It’s not healed yet.”
"Hmm? Still not feeling well?"
"kind of."
As Xiao Zhongxuan spoke, he leaned closer, one hand resting on the desk, "Yiyi, give it a try."
Shen Zhiyi thought he still had a fever, so she subconsciously reached out and touched his forehead. It wasn't hot, and it was even a little cool. Noticing the smile on his lips, she frowned slightly.
Was he deliberately teasing her again?
She was about to pull her hand away when he held it tightly in his palm. His palm was still warm, rough and dry.
There's a strange sense of familiarity about it.
But his next words interrupted her thoughts: "I haven't had a chance to properly thank you for what happened last night. What kind of gift would you like?"
Shen Zhiyi chuckled softly: "What can you give me?"
Alone and with nothing.
How should I thank you?
"I can't afford expensive gifts, so what do you think of me as a person?"
deliver……
To give away?
“Since ancient times, a life-saving grace has been repaid with one’s body. I think it would be quite good to repay it with one’s body.” Xiao Zhongxuan half-tied his hair, with a few strands falling in front of his forehead, and he was acting like a courtesan again.
He was still holding her hand, and he placed it to his lips and gently pecked it.
His lips,
Thin, yet scalding hot.
The sensation of the burning sensation on the back of her hand felt like a falling spark, making Chen Zhiyi's body tense.
The heat spread from the back of her hand to her whole body, so much so that her face was covered with a blush.
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