Duanhua spent another day playing in the East Fourth Hutong. When it was getting late and she estimated that her father should be finishing work, she headed back to the residence.
On the way home, the horse pulling the carriage suddenly collapsed, causing the carriage to tilt forward. Duanhua was nearly thrown out, but luckily, two maids on each side held her back. All the maids accompanying her were trained in martial arts, which helped to avoid any accident.
Still shaken, Duanhua was helped up and asked, "What happened?"
A maid, despite her scraped arm, lifted the curtain and asked loudly, "What happened?"
The coachman, pale with fright, had been thrown from his seat when the horse collapsed. He picked himself up, holding his head, and quickly replied, "My lady, the horse’s foot seems to have sprained and it cannot stand up."
The guard immediately approached and asked anxiously, "Has the lady been injured?"
Duanhua looked at her maid and shook her head, "I’m not injured, it’s Cai Ling who is."
The guard let out a sigh of relief, glad that she was not harmed. He inspected the collapsed horse with the coachman, then bowed to Duanhua and reported, "My lady, the horse has sprained its foot."
Duanhua muttered, "Why am I so unlucky these days? Last time the carriage broke down, it hasn’t been fixed yet, and now the horse has sprained its foot. What’s happening?"
She looked dejected and said, "What should we do? The horse can’t walk with a sprained foot, can it?"
The guard shook his head, "It can’t get up."
He wanted to suggest to her not to go out tomorrow.
Duanhua got out of the carriage with the help of her maids and looked at the sky, "What should we do?"
The guard suggested, "Let’s change the horse! Please wait a moment, my lady!"
Duanhua nodded and waited with her maids at the side.
The guards were all on horseback, so one of them quickly dismounted to provide a replacement. They swiftly unharnessed the collapsed horse and hitched up the new one to the carriage.
Amidst the hustle, her view was blocked by the carriage and the horses. The guards were busy and failed to notice another carriage coming from the side until a clear voice rang out: "Duanhua, what happened again?"
"Crown Prince Cousin?" Duanhua turned around in surprise. She didn’t see anyone, so she took a couple of steps forward and sure enough, past the carriage, she saw Yan Huisheng’s carriage parked on the side.
Yan Huisheng was lifting the curtain of his carriage, watching them change the horse.
Duanhua walked over quickly and stood in front of Yan Huisheng’s carriage with a frustrated and annoyed look, "Cousin, why am I so unlucky? A few days ago, my carriage broke, and today the horse sprained its foot..."
"You’re not that unlucky. It’s just a coincidence that both times you ran into me." Yan Huisheng didn’t know what to say. He had only returned home early twice recently, and on both occasions, he had run into her stranded by the roadside. If he didn’t know Duanhua’s character, he would almost suspect that she was intentionally waiting for him.
He helplessly said, "Get in the carriage. I’ll take you home."
Duanhua hesitated a bit, "I just need to change my horse. It will be alright soon."
Yan Huisheng looked at her, "Get in. I’ll take you home."
Duanhua had no choice but to nod and get into Yan Huisheng’s carriage.
Since she had been in his carriage before, she did not look around curiously as she did the first time. She sat down at a decent distance from Yan Huisheng.
Yan Huisheng looked at her obedient manner and found it somewhat amusing, "Want some water?"
Duanhua shook her head, "I’m not thirsty." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
Yan Huisheng asked again, "Where have you been today?"
"East Fourth Hutong."
Yan Huisheng was surprised, "You seem to like going to East Fourth Hutong."
Duanhua glanced at him, "I went to talk with Aunt Su."
Yan Huisheng nodded, not questioning why she frequently visited East Fourth Hutong to chat. He only asked, "Have you considered the matter I brought up?"
Duanhua nodded and then shook her head.
Yan Huisheng laughed, "What kind of answer is that?"
Duanhua blurted, "Cousin, you are the Crown Prince. Won’t it be difficult to be your Consort? And in the future, to be your Empress... What if I’m not able to do it?"
"There is some difficulty, but it should not be too hard. If you are willing to learn, you should be able to do it." Yan Huisheng knew that Duanhua was very clever.
Duanhua spoke softly, "Is it very tiring?"
"Perhaps!"
Duanhua made a bitter face, "Would I not be able to go out and play like I do now?"
"Not necessarily."
Duanhua looked at him, "Would it be the same as now?"
"Of course it will not be the same. However, if you can get the people in the Eastern Palace to do their jobs effectively and manage your internal affairs well, so you are not plagued by trivial matters, you can still take it easy." Yan Huisheng seriously answered, "As for the Imperial Palace, my mother is there, she will teach you."
"What if I cannot learn?" Duanhua asked cautiously.
Yan Huisheng countered, "Do you think you can’t?"
Duanhua pouted, "How should I know?" She grumbled, "I just wanted a good-looking husband. I didn’t expect to shoulder such a burden."
She felt like crying.
After a moment of silence, Yan Huisheng sighed, "If you can’t learn, you can’t. As long as you don’t bother me every day, I will arrange for people to help you, both when you enter the Eastern Palace and when you become the Empress in the future, I will let them assist you and make things as easy as possible for you."
Duanhua suddenly lost the urge to cry and broke into a smile, "Really?"
"Hmm."
Duanhua believed him. Crown Prince Cousin was a man of his word. He would uphold any promises made and would not make any promises that he couldn’t keep. Like the matter of posting imperial edicts to choose a husband. He would rather marry her than agree to it.
She looked at Yan Huisheng, "Cousin, you wouldn’t treat me coldly even if you don’t like me, would you?"
Yan Huisheng replied irritably, "Didn’t you just want someone good-looking? Why do you have so many questions all of a sudden?"
Duanhua went silent immediately.
Seeing her silenced, Yan Huisheng softened his tone, "As long as you don’t demand too much from me and don’t bother me constantly so that I can’t focus on governing, I won’t treat you coldly."
Duanhua promptly assured, "I won’t. I am not a child anymore. I know better now. For example, today, I dared not stay at home because I was afraid my mother would question me. After telling my father, I hid in East Fourth Hutong waiting for him to finish work. We will discuss this with my mother together tonight."
Upon hearing this, Yan Huisheng reluctantly believed her. After a while, he considered, "Should I also go to your residence to meet your mother and father and discuss this?"
"No! I’m afraid you’ll scare my mother." Duanhua shook her head, "Once my mother has accepted it, I will come to find you."
Yan Huisheng nodded, "Alright."
The carriage arrived at the Princess Residence. When Duanhua got out, she politely said goodbye to Yan Huisheng, "Cousin, I will come to the Eastern Palace to seek you tomorrow."
Yan Huisheng nodded, watching her behaving so obediently, and couldn’t help but smile. He waved and his carriage left the Princess Residence.
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