Zhou Xuance's fingers tightened slightly, the strange glint in his eyes now concealed. "Miss Chen, there's a deal. Shall we make it?"
"Your Highness, what exactly do you intend to do?"
"Don't you want to know why the Emperor bestowed owl soup upon the Duke's mansion?"
Chen Zhiyi's breath hitched.
There is still something he doesn't know.
What do you want from me?
"What I want is very simple, and you can definitely do it."
"Your Highness may speak frankly."
"Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you." Zhou Xuance looked at her with a low smile. "I heard that the young master is going to marry the Wen family's daughter?"
"Hmm." This is no secret in the capital.
"The young master is of such a young age, yet remains unmarried. As the eldest son of the Duke's family, His Majesty is deeply concerned about this, but is grateful for the Duke and his wife's dedication to the country, leaving them little time to concern themselves with their children's marriages..."
Zhou Xuance continued, "His Majesty is considerate and originally planned to bestow a marriage upon the young master during the Dragon Boat Festival."
Shen Zhi was greatly alarmed.
A marriage arranged by imperial decree?
“A few days ago, my brother asked me and the Empress Dowager to discuss choosing a suitable marriage partner for the young master. But then, news spread that your Shen family wanted to form a marriage alliance with the Wen family. What do you think His Majesty will think?”
Shen Zhiyi's face paled slightly. "This is just a coincidence. There is absolutely no one from the Shen family in the palace, and it's even more impossible for us to have found out about this."
"That may be true, but His Majesty does not think so."
No wonder they gave him owl soup as a warning.
His Majesty must believe that the Shen family has planted spies in the palace, which is why he was able to arrange a marriage for his elder brother ahead of him.
"That's only one aspect. His Majesty originally intended to choose a princess to marry the young master, but now that the plan has been disrupted, he is naturally unhappy."
Princess?
Should the eldest brother become the prince consort?
During the Great Campaign, in order to prevent the maternal relatives from interfering in politics, the imperial sons-in-law only had nominal titles and were not allowed to hold official positions, lead troops, or take the imperial examinations for life.
Your Majesty is ruining my elder brother's future.
But if one could marry a princess, it would be an immense blessing, one that would be impossible to refuse; it would only be outwardly glamorous.
Our Emperor...
That's really ruthless!
She had just divorced Song Yuxiu and planned to keep her elder brother trapped in the capital.
His Majesty has already considered bestowing a marriage upon him; will he spare his elder brother?
The second brother is brave but lacks strategy, and the youngest brother is still young. If anything happens to their father, the entire Duke's mansion will be easily manipulated.
Upon closer reflection, a chill crept over her.
"Now you know why my brother warned the Shen family?" Zhou Xuance asked in a low voice.
"I understand." Shen Zhiyi composed herself. "So, what does Your Highness want in this deal?"
Zhou Xuance remained silent, but took off the five-colored silk ribbon she was wearing and took out another braided five-colored bracelet from his pocket, and helped her put it on.
The woven pattern is unique, and it is adorned with a small ruyi lock made of lotus root pink jade.
"The previous one wasn't woven well, this one is better."
"Only children wear these; I don't need them."
“It has nothing to do with age. Tying colorful ropes on the Dragon Boat Festival is to ward off evil and welcome good fortune, and to pray for blessings and auspiciousness. It is my wish that everything goes smoothly for you.” Zhou Xuance bent down to help her tie the rope.
Chen Zhiyi's breathing tightened slightly.
At this moment, he seemed to still be Xiao Zhongxuan.
"It was my fault for concealing my identity and deceiving you, but when I approached you, I never imagined we would become so deeply connected. Now, I don't know how to explain it to you..."
"If I don't tell, I might still be able to play the role of Xiao Zhongxuan."
"If I tell you, I'm afraid you'll get angry and stop talking to me."
"The reason I invited you to Tingzhi Water Pavilion that day was to be honest with you, but I never expected that an assassin would come."
Shen Zhiyi listened silently, watching the hand rope being tied before speaking: "Your Highness, what else do you want?"
Zhou Xuance, however, seemed to ignore her words, and said as always, "Besides..."
"You're the one who wanted to provoke me."
"You were the one who asked me if I wanted to be with you;"
"You were the one who said you would take care of me;"
"That day you were drugged, and you were the one who kissed me first... um!"
Before Zhou Xuance could finish speaking, Shen Zhiyi covered his mouth. She frowned and said in a low voice, "I didn't know your identity at the time. These things are all in the past. Don't bring them up again. Aren't you ashamed?"
She had barely finished speaking when hurried footsteps came from outside, and Red Bud and Green Lotus couldn't stop them at all.
Because of what came...
It's Shen Muzhi!
"Little sister, Qi'an and I are going to the night market, want to come along?"
"I'm not going."
"You said you wanted to come over for dinner, do I really need to come in and invite you myself?" Shen Muzhi said, preparing to push the door open and enter.
Shen Zhiyi turned pale with fright. She looked around, but there was nowhere for anyone to hide in her room. In the end, she could only point to the space under the bed, signaling Zhou Xuance to crawl in.
Zhou Xuance's eyes widened in shock, as if to say:
I am the regent of the current dynasty.
You want me to crawl under the bed? Is that even possible?
Shen Zhiyi didn't care about much else. If her second brother saw this, the whole Duke's mansion would know, not even half an incense stick's time. Zhou Xuance was unwilling at all, and even more presumptuous. He stretched out his long arm and directly wrapped it around her.
Her pupils dilated instantly in fright.
Are you crazy?!
The next second, the second brother was already at the door, pushed it open, and frowned: "Why are you still locking the door?"
When was the door locked?
Shen Zhiyi finally breathed a sigh of relief, then glared angrily at Zhou Xuance. It was obvious that he was the one who did it. If she had known the door was locked, she wouldn't have panicked like this.
Was he deliberately trying to make her nervous and embarrassed?
How could this person be so wicked?
No wonder people say that the regent is a heartless man.
"Second brother, I'm changing my clothes," Shen Zhiyi said, raising her voice.
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