As the words fell, the top of the big tree swayed, and soon a white figure flew out like an immortal, finally landing and standing firmly in front of Xingxing and the other person.
My chubby little cousin, Xing, widened her eyes even more. She opened her mouth in amazement and praised him generously, "Immortal, what amazing skills! Is this a fairy brother?"
Upon hearing this, Xingxing's eyes darted around, and she secretly glared at Zhu Lin. He already has someone he's taken with, so why doesn't he know how to restrain himself and keep flirting with young girls?
Zhu Lin felt a bit tired. Wasn't it her who asked him to appear? Now she was blaming him for being too conspicuous. He hadn't done anything; he had just shown himself.
His looks are natural; if others think he's good-looking and insist on praising him, what can he do?
After thinking for a moment, Xingxing turned her cousin Qing's round face to face her, and then said to her word by word, "Although this white-robed gentleman is very handsome, he already belongs to someone else. That someone else is me. He is the future prince consort, understand? So you can't drool over him, or I'll get angry."
Chen Siqing was taken aback at first, then nodded obediently and replied, "So this is my cousin-in-law, the legendary Young Master Zhu who has the appearance of an immortal!"
Although she had never met Zhu Lin, her father had mentioned that a few years ago, during the eldest princess's marriage contest, the prince consort offended a large group of noble young men, humiliating them greatly. Whether it was the literary or martial arts competition, everyone was thoroughly defeated.
At that time, Zhu Lin really didn't give anyone any face and offended all the princes and nobles. However, those people couldn't do anything about him because he was neither an official in the court nor did his family live in the capital.
Immortal Mist Island is far removed from the secular world; ordinary people can't even find it, let alone cause trouble for the islanders. Moreover, it's said that everyone on Immortal Mist Island knows martial arts and is a reclusive master. These mysterious and unpredictable individuals are beyond anyone's control.
Chen Siqing was not one to lie. She had heard her cousins mention Zhu Lin a few times before. In their words, Zhu Lin was nothing but a fraud. He only won the marriage contest because the emperor and the eldest princess gave him special treatment. Otherwise, with his own abilities, he would never have been able to beat all those noble young men.
At that time, Chen Siqing was confused. Her father praised the future prince consort as a genius, saying that the Great Jin Dynasty was fortunate to have such an outstanding prince consort. However, her cousins and sisters had a hint of disdain in their words, which were derogatory. The girl, who was not particularly smart to begin with, was completely bewildered.
However, now that she has seen him in person, and seeing that he is skilled in martial arts and has a refined and elegant demeanor, she sees him as an exceptionally good man.
"So my cousins weren't telling the truth." Chen Siqing told Xingxing and Zhu Lin everything she had heard before.
Xingxing scoffed, "Those ordinary people are just envious and jealous. It must be hard to admit that others are better than you, so they talk about others behind their backs."
"Grandpa and Grandma scolded my cousins, and they haven't dared to say anything out of line since." Chen Siqing quickly explained, afraid that Xingxing would be angry.
Grand Tutor Chen, who was also the emperor's father-in-law, was wholeheartedly devoted to the emperor. The empress was his legitimate daughter, and Xingxing was his own granddaughter. Naturally, he would not allow outsiders to speak ill of them.
The younger generation in the family are ignorant and need to be disciplined. It's outrageous that even the son-in-law of one's own aunt dares to gossip behind people's backs.
Apart from the two legitimate sons of the eldest branch of the Chen family, who are steady and sensible, the younger generation of the Chen family are all somewhat spoiled, ungrateful, and unaware of right and wrong.
In fact, the younger generation of the Chen family didn't have any bad intentions. It's just that the young people were arrogant and proud. Some of them wanted to compete for the position of consort, but they were completely defeated in the marriage contest and had no chance at all. They couldn't accept this result and couldn't help but say some unpleasant things to belittle Zhu Lin after returning home.
Later, after being summoned by Grand Tutor Chen and given a lecture, and then forced to kneel in the ancestral hall for a day, he finally came to his senses and dared not talk nonsense anymore. The Chen family was naturally on the Empress's side, so they were all in the same boat, sharing both glory and loss.
Since Zhu Lin is the eldest princess's own choice and the empress also approves of her, the Chen family should fully support her instead of foolishly slandering her.
"Grand Tutor Chen is quite good," Zhu Lin commented.
“That’s my maternal grandfather. Of course he’s a good man. When my father was still the crown prince, my grandfather was his tutor. My father always respected him. I heard from my mother that my grandfather is very strict and a bit old-fashioned, so I don’t dare to go see him in private.” Xingxing stuck out her tongue. She was not in the palace for many years and was not particular about etiquette. She was afraid of being lectured by her maternal grandfather.
"Grandpa is a man who values rules. All the younger generation in the family are afraid of him, like mice in front of a cat," Chen Siqing said with a charmingly innocent expression.
Xingxing winked at her. Who said Cousin Qing was stupid and couldn't speak properly? She's very clever and knows everything perfectly well.
"Shh, you can't say that in front of outsiders, or you'll be punished if they tell Grandpa." Xingxing tapped her forehead to remind her.
Chen Siqing touched her forehead, shook her head slightly, and said, "I wouldn't tell anyone. The princess isn't an outsider."
Seeing that she always called her "princess" and refused to call her "cousin," Xingxing didn't correct her anymore. She let her do as she pleased. Her maternal grandparents' family had strict rules, so it was no wonder that her cousin Qing always acted respectfully in front of her.
As they spoke, Zhu Lin intentionally or unintentionally stood in front of Xingxing, preventing her from getting too close to Chen Siqing. His little scheme was quite obvious, and Xingxing couldn't help but see through it.
"Brother Lin, don't keep blocking Cousin Qing. I brought her out here, and I'll have to return her to Auntie later. What if she gets into an accident while she's alone?" Xingxing pushed the person away from her with a bit of helplessness.
Just then, a young eunuch came to deliver a message, "Princess, Her Majesty the Empress wants you to go to the Emerald Feather Palace immediately, the palace banquet is about to begin."
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