Chapter 62 If Childhood Sweetheart (1) Rude, but good at acting like a spoiled child...
Nie Xiangyi knew since she was a child that she had a childhood sweetheart, a fiancé.
"Asi meets the Crown Prince." She was only a few years old at that time and was brought into the palace by her mother to attend a palace banquet.
The little girl, a beautiful girl, spoke with a vague baby voice and saluted seriously as her mother had taught her.
The prince was clearly a child, yet he wore the composed expression of a young adult. He simply stared at her blankly, nodding gently, "Hello, Sister Ah Si."
Seeing this, the Queen chuckled and teased him, "Be careful not to scare your future Crown Princess by being so cold!"
Madam Wen'an also greeted her, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is dignified and reserved, having behaved like a grown-up since childhood. Ah Si should learn from him."
Little A Si looked bewildered and just nodded blankly.
"Boys always look so mature. What's there to learn?" The Queen said with a smile. "I was hoping that the quirky Ah Si could liven up Ruheng."
As she spoke, she pinched Ah Si's chubby cheeks, pointed her slender fingertips at Xie Zhi, and joked, "Ah Si, how about letting the Crown Prince be your husband from now on?"
Little A Si didn't understand and could only nod blankly.
The Queen pointed to the empty seat next to Xie Zhi and said, "How about Ah Si and Brother Ruheng sit together?"
Little A'si first looked at Xie Zhi with a stern face, as if he was a little afraid of his cold look, then looked up at his mother.
Madam Wen'an smiled encouragingly in response, "Go ahead, Ah Si."
Little A'si bravely sat next to Xie Zhi.
The wet nurses checked the food one by one and handed it to the two young masters. Little Ah Si had been sitting there for a long time and was getting a little bored, so he started looking around curiously.
Her shyness towards Xie Zhi was replaced by curiosity. She leaned over to look at him, "Brother Crown Prince, what are you eating?"
Xie Zhi didn't reply to her.
But little A'si seemed to be a very outgoing person, just shaking his head to himself.
"The jade cake in my bowl is delicious!"
"Do you like eating jade cake? I like it very much. My mother likes it too. My grandfather likes it too."
"What do you like to eat? Why don't you eat the jade cake in your bowl?"
…
Xie Zhi, who had been silent all this time, slowly turned his head and looked at her, his small face full of seriousness, just like a little teacher.
"Don't talk while eating, and don't talk while sleeping."
Little A'si suddenly stopped talking, his pair of black grape-like eyes were motionless, staring at him blankly like a frightened little animal.
After a quiet silence, only a "wow" was heard, and Xie Zhi was frightened by her loud crying.
"The prince is so fierce! I don't want to play with him anymore!"
Little Xie Zhi, who was trying hard to remain calm, showed a rare look of helplessness on his face.
He wasn't mean, was he? He was just telling her the rules.
The wet nurses and maids immediately gathered around her to comfort her. Xie Zhi leaned towards her slightly, as if he also wanted to comfort her, but seemed to be unsure how to do so.
The Queen suppressed her smile and said, "Ruheng! Don't bully Ah Si!"
"It's not His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's fault. It's clearly because Ah Si is too spoiled." Madam Wen'an was helpless.
"My dear mother, I didn't bully her." Xie Zhi stood up and saluted, saying seriously, "I didn't mean to be mean to my sister Ah Si. I was just telling her the rules."
"You little old-fashioned!" The Queen gave him a sidelong glance. "Be careful your Crown Princess might not like you in the future!"
Madam Wen An was about to step forward when the Queen stopped her. She raised her eyebrows slightly and said with a smile, "Ruheng caused this mess, let him deal with it himself."
Little A Si was still crying, "I don't want to play with the prince anymore! I don't want the prince to be my husband anymore!"
"Don't cry." Xie Zhi looked at her helplessly, then picked up the jade cake in his hand and said, "Can you have some of my jade cake too?"
The crying stopped abruptly.
There were still tears in the corners of little Ah Si's eyes, and his mouth was pursed, as if he wanted to eat the jade cake, but he still felt aggrieved.
She hesitated for a long time before reaching out to take the plate of jade cake. But she still snorted at Xie Zhi, "I still don't want to play with you!"
To show her determination, she moved her butt further away and pouted her mouth so that a two-liang oil bottle could be hung on it.
Someone sitting nearby seemed to cough loudly a few times. Little A Si was drawn to the sound and looked in the direction of the sound. He found that it was a man about the same age as Xie Zhi.
Just as she was about to speak to him, she heard Xie Zhi ask her, "Sister Ah Si, is the jade cake delicious?"
Nie Xiangyi's attention was drawn to him again. She puffed her cheeks, placed her hands on her hips, and glared at Xie Zhi fiercely, "Don't talk while eating! Don't talk while sleeping!"
After she finished speaking, she seemed to feel that her tone was a little too harsh, and she picked up a small piece of jade cake with the tip of her round thumb and placed it solemnly in Xie Zhi's palm.
"Forget it! I'll give you a piece! So you don't have to call me stingy!"
Xie Zhi looked at the jade cake in his hand and suddenly chuckled for a moment.
Rude, spoiled, and a little narrow-minded, this was probably Xie Zhi's first impression of little A Si, just like a kitten.
When Nie Xiangyi was about six or seven years old, her father brought back a concubine from outside the family home. The concubine was very gentle, and she was accompanied by a timid girl.
He said to his mother, "Qiu Rong, you must take good care of them from now on."
That was the first time Nie Xiangyi had seen such a gloomy expression on her mother's face. She was always bright and cheerful, but at this moment her gaze was like a cold arrow, almost piercing the chest of the person in front of her.
Nie Xiangyi knew that her mother was unhappy.
The little girl stood in front of her mother, looking up at her tall father, and said in a bad tone, "Who are they?"
Her father squatted down and looked at her with a forced smile, "A Si, she is your sister, Yuan Wei."
"How old are you?" The mother's voice came from nowhere, causing the father to stand up straight again. He answered her hesitantly, "Six years old..."
Nie Xiangyi felt disgusted when she saw Nie Yuanwei's timid and frightened look.
Without saying anything, she stepped forward and pushed the frail Nie Yuanwei hard, causing her to fall flat on her face. Then she said viciously, "I don't have a sister like that!"
That day, my mother and father seemed to have had a long argument.
She was taken to the yard by her wet nurses and maids to play, but she couldn't enjoy herself at all when she thought of her mother. She felt a little flustered, but she didn't know why.
Later, when her mother found her, her eyes were red, but she still smiled at her gently: "Ah Si, can we go to the palace to stay for a while? You can go and play with the prince."
She remembered that on the day Nie Yuanwei returned home, her mother did not even stay overnight at the house. She had already held her hand and boarded the departing carriage.
"How outrageous!" The Queen slammed the table. "The daughter Jiang gave birth to is already five years old! Could it be that Marquis Yongyi was already having an affair with that bitch when you were still giving birth?"
"If it were my usual temper, I would definitely kill these two bitches with one sword to vent my anger!" The mother's eyes were red, her teeth were clenched tightly, and she was also full of anger.
"What's the point of killing him?" The Queen quickly covered Nie Xiangyi's ears. "A-Si is still here."
She took Ah Si's hand and said, "Ah Si, can you let the prince go out and play with you?"
Nie Xiangyi glanced at her mother and nodded obediently, which was rare.
"Ruheng!" The Queen looked at Xie Zhi who was reading under the window, "Quickly take Sister A'si out to play for a while."
Xie Zhi had grown much taller by then, already possessing a somewhat handsome appearance. He put down his book with a look of resignation, then pulled Nie Xiangyi out of the palace.
Mrs. Wen An couldn't bear to see this, "His Highness is studying hard, so please don't disturb him."
"How can you be studying hard?" The Queen chuckled and pointed at the book under the window. "Since Ah Si came, you've only turned two pages of that book. Your mind has been flying, just waiting for me to speak!"
Nie Xiangyi was pulled out by Xie Zhi, but she refused to leave. She looked at Xie Zhi, her young face still full of worry, "Brother Crown Prince, I'm a little worried about Mother."
Xie Zhi was silent for a while, "Then I'll wait here with you."
Nie Xiangyi nodded, then leaned against the window and stretched her neck as hard as she could, as if she wanted to listen to what was being said inside.
"It's too high! I can't reach it!" Her feet were so weak that she couldn't hear any sound from inside.
She pursed her lips in frustration, but the moment her eyes met Xie Zhi, she seemed to suddenly think of something, and her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Brother Crown Prince!" She blinked her round eyes, full of anticipation, "Can you lift me up? I'll ride on your neck and then I can hear you!"
How could she be so self-righteous! Xie Zhi thought. As the crown prince, who would dare to ride a horse on his neck?
Little Nie Xiangyi clasped her hands together and looked at him pitifully, "Please, Prince Brother."
Xie Zhi's tone paused, and he squatted down as if possessed by a ghost.
From then on, Xie Zhi had another impression of her: rude, but very good at acting like a spoiled child.
"If he wants to take a concubine, it's fine, but Jiang is related to Prince Jin. Although things have been peaceful in recent years, the emperor still doesn't like this matter!"
The Queen said this, holding Madam Wen'an's hand with a worried look on her face, "Qiu Rong, I know you're impatient, but please don't make this a big deal, or it will become difficult to resolve."
"I know this truth, of course! I just can't vent my anger, so I just keep it bottled up inside!"
The Queen pondered for a moment and held her hand tightly. "The Jiang family has been hiding outside the palace for several years. I think they are not easy to fight. I am afraid that you will suffer."
"Why would I want to fight her? Nie Zhengqing betrayed me for years and kept secrets from me for years. Why would I want to fight her for such a worthless thing?"
Madam Wen'an's words made the Queen's expression darken for a moment. Suddenly, a light ignited in her eyes, as if she had made a resolution. "Qiu Rong! Then let's divorce!"
She has always been gentle, and such firmness surprised Mrs. Wen An.
"Now that I hold a high position, I can't avoid these struggles. But you are different!" The Queen looked at her steadily. "The title of Marquis Yongyi was preserved by the Emperor for the sake of the Zhong family. It's worthless, so just throw it away!"
"But if we want to divorce... firstly, I am always worried about where Ah Si will go, and secondly, I need my parents and the royal family to witness it.
"Mrs. Wen'an sighed deeply," My father is far away in the northwest and cannot return to the capital without a summons. If I ask the emperor for permission, won't that just make things worse? "
The Queen thought for a moment and said, "This is not difficult. I can think of a reason to help you persuade the Emperor to allow the general to return to the capital."
Mrs. Wen'an's eyes were filled with tears. "Wanyue, if it weren't for you, I really don't know what I would do."
The Queen was about to persuade her when she suddenly heard the panicked voice of the servant outside, "Oh, my two young masters! What are you doing?"
They both looked in the direction of the sound and saw a small figure rising from the hollow carved window in the distance, looking around curiously.
The Queen covered her lips and smiled softly, "Look, there's also Ah Si who's worried about you!"
Mrs. Wen'an also smiled with relief.
Nie Xiangyi, who was outside, was frightened by the sudden sound. She subconsciously leaned back and fell straight down.
"ah--"
The sudden feeling of weightlessness frightened her so much that she closed her eyes tightly.
Hmm? How come it doesn't hurt?
When the Queen and Madam Wen'an heard her scream and rushed out to see, they found that Nie Xiangyi had fallen face down on Xie Zhi.
"Your Highness, are you okay?" The maids hurriedly helped Xie Zhi up.
Mrs. Wen An rarely sternly scolded Nie Xiangyi, "Ah Si! You are too naughty!"
Nie Xiangyi was already frightened, and after being scolded by her mother, her mouth pursed and tears as big as beans welled up in her eyes.
"Don't blame her." Xie Zhi pursed his lips tightly, "I fell accidentally."
Nie Xiangyi forgot to cry for a moment and just stared at Xie Zhi blankly.
Later, when they were playing together again, she quietly asked Xie Zhi: "Brother Crown Prince, do you know what a divorce is?"
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