☆, Chapter 145 I Want to Be a Princess!
Zhou Mujiao frowned: "He left the examination hall so early? Even if the Emperor took him back to the capital, he should have sent someone home to let them know."
"Are you so sure that Zhao Yunjing was brought back to the capital by the Emperor, and not that he was arrested?" Young Master Chen asked, puzzled.
"His Majesty originally came for the two of you. As for why he took him away first and left you behind—I heard that Miss Chen recently went back to her parents' home for a short stay. There are rumors that Miss Chen is not in good health. I suppose Young Master Chen used this as an excuse to refuse His Majesty's offer."
“You are indeed very clever. But being too clever is not always a good thing. Ajiao, besides myself and the Sixteenth Prince, more and more people are noticing you.” Young Master Chen lowered his voice, “I hope I misheard. The Sixteenth Prince intends to have the Emperor bestow a marriage upon Zhao Yunjing, and at the same time, betroth you to him.”
Zhou Mujiao's face darkened, and she turned to leave the city, but Young Master Chen stopped her again, advising her to calm down and not to act impulsively.
“Miss Zhou, if the Sixteenth Prince is adamant that he can’t live without you, given how much the Emperor values him, the decree would probably have already been issued by now. Even if you and Zhao Yunjing were already married, let alone if you and Zhao Yunjing weren’t engaged, if the Sixteenth Prince wanted you, you and Zhao Yunjing would have no power to resist and would only have to obediently submit.”
"Where is the Sixteenth Prince?"
"He left a quarter of an hour earlier than us. If he hadn't lingered, he would probably be out of town by now."
Zhou Mujiao turned and ran, with her two bodyguards following closely behind. Just as they reached the city gate, someone brought a horse: "Miss, the Sixteenth Prince left the city half an hour ago. If you ride fast, you can catch up quickly."
There is a very beautiful mountain ten miles outside Yuzhou City. The word "beautiful" means that the mountain is small.
A pavilion was built on the hilltop. Standing on the hilltop, one could see very far along the official road. If a carriage or horse came, it could be seen immediately from the hilltop. Therefore, this hilltop became the best place for the people of Yuzhou to bid farewell to their relatives and friends.
Zhou Mujiao spurred her horse and saw the octagonal pavilion from afar. Only when she got closer could she see the large group of people below the mountain.
Someone came up and stopped the horse, saying that the Sixteenth Prince had invited her to the pavilion and that he was not allowing his bodyguards to follow. The bodyguards naturally disagreed. Everyone knew the Sixteenth Prince's intentions. If they were not allowed to accompany him, what if the Sixteenth Prince suddenly became a beast and took liberties with Miss Zhou?
“Miss, let’s go back to the city. Young Master Zhao hasn’t sent a message back, so he must be alright.”
The bodyguard had one more thing he didn't say.
Over the past two years, thanks to the joint efforts of Jiang Wuyu and Du Zhusheng, Zhou Mujiao's intelligence network has not only covered the entire Daliang, but also knows exactly how many mosquitoes flew through the checkpoints a quarter of an hour ago, all the way from Yuzhou Prefecture to the capital.
The intelligence station naturally took notice of the Emperor's grand return to the capital. They knew exactly who was in the entourage, their backgrounds, weaknesses, and character.
Therefore, if Young Master Chen was not lying, and Zhao Yunjing was indeed in the group returning to the capital and had already encountered trouble, then the intelligence station should have sent back news by now.
Zhou Mujiao thought so too.
She glanced around, her gaze lingering for a split second on the horse-leading servant not far away before shifting it away, saying, "Since His Highness has come all this way to wait here, I, a humble woman, cannot be ungrateful. Lead the way!"
It was mid-August, and the weather was still a bit hot. It was midday, and Zhou Mujiao was already covered in sweat when she arrived at the pavilion, but the Sixteenth Prince was completely refreshed and unaffected. In the blink of an eye, Zhou Mujiao noticed a familiar basin at the feet of the Sixteenth Prince – an ice basin.
Previously, she gave Boss Tang a secret recipe for making ice. After repeated experiments by Boss Tang, he developed an ice basin with heat preservation function. On summer nights, all you need is an ice basin to sleep soundly all night. Therefore, since the ice basin was invented, it has quickly become popular throughout Daliang.
Although ice basins are not expensive, they are fast-moving consumer goods. Ordinary people would only use them on extremely hot nights, while the Sixteenth Prince, as a member of the royal family, would naturally have them wherever he went.
Shifting her gaze, Zhou Mujiao sat down at the table and asked directly, "I heard that Your Highness wants to bring me into the manor? May I ask what rank Your Highness will bestow upon me?"
The Sixteenth Prince was drinking tea with a rather elegant air when Zhou Mujiao's direct question made him choke and cough.
"Princess, concubine, noble concubine, minor concubine, or maidservant?" Zhou Mujiao asked again.
The Sixteenth Prince originally intended to bring her into his mansion as a concubine, because in his eyes, Zhou Mujiao was just a village woman. Although she was quite knowledgeable, she had become tainted by money through business. Not only did she show her face in public every day, but she also dealt with different men. If it weren't for her good looks and alluring personality, he wouldn't have wanted to get involved with her.
Now that he was being stared at and questioned, he was caught off guard and stammered out a question about what rank she wanted.
“Everyone has a dream of becoming a phoenix, and I, being an ordinary person, am no exception.” Zhou Mujiao smiled confidently. “Your Highness, I want to be the Sixteenth Princess Consort.”
The Sixteenth Prince looked at her as if she were a fool: "Did you say something wrong, or did I mishear you? What do you want to do?"
"The sixteenth princess consort. The principal wife, not a concubine."
"You really dare to think that way."
"I have always been bold and decisive, but I don't know if the Sixteenth Prince has the determination and courage to challenge the ancestral rules."
"A mere merchant's daughter wants to be the principal wife? You're insane."
"So the prince refuses?"
"Ancestral rules cannot be violated. My principal wife must be a lady from a high-ranking family. Miss Zhou, you should save your breath."
"So Your Highness just wants to play with me? I won't allow it." Zhou Mujiao smiled. "Your Highness took me back and enjoyed me for two days, then turned around and threw me into the backyard. Your Highness thought this was an honor for me, but he didn't know how much effort I would have to put in to survive in your backyard."
"The Sixteenth Prince's Mansion is not a dragon's den or a tiger's lair. There is no principal wife or secondary wife in the mansion, only two concubines. With your intelligence and wisdom, are you afraid that you can't control those two concubines?"
"What if we can't subdue it?"
The Sixteenth Prince's face darkened: "I've said it before, the Prince's residence is not a den of dragons or tigers—"
"Of course, because the Prince's Palace is—hell."
"presumptuous!"
The Sixteenth Prince slammed his fist on the table: "Zhou Mujiao, don't think that just because I like you now, you can be so disrespectful and talkative! If you piss me off, I'll chop off your head!"
"So, Your Highness likes me so that you can cut off my head? Then Your Highness might as well cut off my head now, so that I won't be so unsatisfied with the power struggles in the inner palace and find an opportunity to take Your Highness's life."
To take the prince's life...
The servants standing nearby were terrified, thinking to themselves that this girl was incredibly timid. They thought that even if she were a young lady from a noble family, the prince could kill her with just a word, and at most give her family a small benefit afterward.
Zhou Mujiao was just a village woman. Even if the prince killed her and threw her body on the ground, no one would dare to collect it for three months.
“I have only respect and fear for Your Highness, and I have no romantic feelings for you. If Your Highness insists on taking me back to your residence, then so be it. I have already made it clear beforehand that if Your Highness is not afraid, then I will go back to your residence with you now.”
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