Chapter 44 Male Princess
"Xiaoqian, come here quickly."
She first waved to Xiaoqian, then gestured for silence to Ambassador Liu.
Ambassador Liu said he understood and rushed over to greet Chu Yannuo.
Unable to find his cousin, Chu Yannuo planned a protracted war, which required a useful weapon.
After finishing my errands today, I happened to stop by the Ordnance Bureau.
Unexpectedly, Prince Duan was also there. After calling out to Ambassador Liu, he bowed to Prince Duan.
Xiaoqian suddenly saw Chu Yannuo and was so frightened that she quickly ran away and hid.
This is the Ordnance Bureau's test firing range. The weapons are scattered everywhere and haven't been put away yet. She accidentally stepped on one, making a clanging sound.
Chu Yannuo had no doubts at first.
My cousin is mentally challenged, and she's a girl, how could she possibly come to a place like this?
But when he looked in the direction the sound came from, he saw a very familiar figure and instinctively took a step to chase after it.
How could Prince Duan possibly let him chase after him? "Prince Chu," he stopped him, "you didn't even greet me when you saw me. Where are you going?"
Chu Yannuo had finally discovered a clue, so how could he let it go? He didn't care who the other party was and reached out to push them.
Prince Duan practiced martial arts from a young age. He was not particularly talented and could not be considered a top-notch master, but he was not afraid of Chu Yannuo.
"Your Highness, how dare you lay a hand on me!"
Chu Yannuo was annoyed by his persistence. "I've already been presumptuous, even if I didn't mean to. I'll come back and apologize later."
He was determined to catch that figure from behind.
"cousin--"
"cousin--"
"Cousin, come out quickly! It's your cousin, it's your cousin!"
Chu Yannuo led his men to search the capital city thoroughly several times; how could Ambassador Liu not have heard of it?
It'll be clear what's going on after a little thought.
That clever girl is the one the Crown Prince of Chu is looking for; no wonder he can't find her.
Tang Xinuan has been very happy these days, and she has gradually forgotten the unpleasant things of the past.
But her cousin's voice seemed like a curse, constantly entering her eardrums.
Those aggrieved, sad, and heartbreaking scenes kept flooding her mind.
At this moment, she held the newly forged weapon in her hand and aimed it at Chu Yannuo. For a moment, she wanted to press the mechanism.
He couldn't give her a proper title but still wanted her body. If he truly loved her, how could he do such a thing to her?
Tang Xinuan eventually put away her weapon.
She had never hit anyone before, especially with such a powerful weapon, and the other person was her cousin who had grown up with her since childhood.
It's fine to just never see each other again; there's no need to make it a life-or-death struggle.
As Chu Yannuo approached, she racked her brains for a way to escape. Prince Duan couldn't stop the madwoman Chu Yannuo, but fortunately Zhou Chuanxing appeared in time.
"Young Master Chu, what are you doing? This is the Ordnance Bureau, not a place for you to go crazy!"
Chu Yannuo was not afraid of Prince Duan. Firstly, Prince Duan was a kind-hearted man with a good temper who generally did not hold grudges.
Furthermore, Marquis Wu'an had saved the lives of Prince Duan and his brothers.
Most importantly, Prince Duan liked his younger sister.
Out of respect for his younger sister, he couldn't really do anything to her.
But the Regent was different; he had led troops for over a decade and had long since developed a heart of stone.
In a critical moment, he would kill even his closest relative, let alone a benefactor.
Therefore, as soon as the Regent appeared, Chu Yannuo immediately put away his wildness and respectfully went over to pay his respects.
"Your Highness, my cousin..."
Zhou Chuanxing said impatiently, "I don't care what kind of cousin you are. If you can't find out what's going on with the salt tax in Jiangnan, you go there yourself."
Chu Yannuo didn't want to go anywhere.
After finally finding a clue, he went to Jiangnan and came back. His cousin was trying to avoid him and didn't know where to look for clues again.
"Your Highness, I will go back and investigate immediately."
Zhou Chuanxing: "Then hurry up and go."
Chu Yannuo looked back with extreme reluctance. With the Regent present, it was impossible to conduct a large-scale search within the Armory.
Fortunately, there are clues. As long as he puts in a little more effort, he will eventually find it.
Chu Yannuo led his men out of the Ordnance Bureau, ordering two servants to stay behind and keep watch.
I don't believe my cousin won't come out.
However, he did gain something from it.
The fact that my cousin and Prince Duan appeared together at the Armory indicates that my cousin's departure was inextricably linked to Prince Duan.
Then I remembered that when my cousin left the Marquis's mansion, Prince Duan had appeared near the Green Bamboo Garden.
Who else could have taken my cousin away besides him!
Chu Yannuo grew angrier the more she thought about it, and upon returning to the Marquis's residence in the evening, she immediately sent someone to deliver the message to the young master.
He was willing to marry his younger sister to the young master, and the sooner the wedding date was set, the better.
The young master had long coveted Chu Yanqing, and the very next day he brought betrothal gifts to her door, even setting a wedding date.
He plans to marry her within a month.
When Chu Yanqing heard about this, she was so angry that she cried for half the night.
The heir of the Duke of Liang was a notorious playboy who indulged in all vices, including drinking, gambling, whoring, and domestic violence. His ex-wife was beaten to death by him.
Chu Yanqing never expected her brother to be so cruel to her, actually making her marry such a person.
This will make her life miserable for the rest of her life.
Chu Yannuo didn't necessarily want to marry his sister off to such a piece of trash, but he had a condition: "Bring your cousin back, and I'll immediately cancel this engagement for you; otherwise, you'll have to marry her in a month."
...
Chu Yannuo left the Ordnance Bureau, and Tang Xinuan ran out from behind the big iron lump.
"Erlang," she said belatedly, patting her chest, "thank goodness you came, otherwise I would have been caught."
Zhou Chuanxing glanced at Prince Duan with a cool expression, "You can't even handle a Marquis's heir."
Prince Duan said helplessly, "What can I do? He is Miss Chu's brother."
Zhou Chuanxing chuckled and asked, "She agreed to marry you?"
Prince Duan: "..."
He was heartbroken himself, so naturally he wouldn't let his second brother have an easy time either.
While Tang Xinuan and Ambassador Liu went to discuss weapons, he said gloatingly, "Just now, Li Pixiu went to see Miss Tang. They didn't even tell me what they talked about. Be careful, or someone might steal your girlfriend away."
Zhou Chuanxing suddenly felt a little regretful.
He had promised Zheng Jian'an that he would formally marry Tang three years later after the Tang family was exonerated.
Why insist on being fixated on the period after rehabilitation?
What's wrong with marrying her now?
Ever since Prince Duan told Zhou Chuanxing that the little girl had a secret, he had been irritable all day.
But the girl showed no sign of wanting to be honest with him.
Did the girl not understand the significance of being honest with him, or was she just being childish and didn't take it seriously, forgetting about it as soon as she turned around?
But he was waiting for the girl to confess to him.
He hopes for a naked, honest, and undisguised relationship between two people.
The next morning, after breakfast, Tang Xinuan changed into men's clothing and went out with Xiaoqian.
She went out with Zisu and Lianqiao today.
The group of four soon arrived at Caiyue Tower.
Li Pixiu called Tang Xinuan to a private room alone. Xiaoqian and Tang Xinuan stayed close by and naturally followed her into the room.
Li Pixiu personally poured tea for Tang Xinuan, and then brought over a lot of snacks and fruits. He then said in a boastful tone, "This is truly a joyous occasion. Someone wants to hold another mathematics competition and has invited Young Master Han to participate."
Tang Xinuan asked curiously, "You can get ten thousand taels of silver just by participating?"
Of course, it's not that simple. Li Pixiu laughed and said, "All you need to do is hold on until the last round, and then lose to someone, and you can get one million taels of silver."
Tang Xinuan didn't understand the reasoning behind this. "Why do I have to lose? But I can't lose. What if he's not as smart as me?"
Li Pixiu explained, "So you need to deliberately lose, that is, deliberately answer the last question wrong, so that you can get one million taels."
Tang Xinuan still didn't understand, so she looked at Xiaoqian.
Xiaoqian seemed to understand, yet also seemed not to.
She would be very happy if she could get a million taels of silver for losing just once.
But Miss is not her.
"Young master, this is a very serious matter. You must think about it carefully."
Li Pixiu clapped his hands, and immediately someone pushed open the door and carried in a box of silver. "Young Master Han, as long as you agree, this is 100,000 taels. After this matter is over, the other 900,000 taels will be presented immediately."
The entire chest was covered with gleaming silver.
Tang Xinuan had never seen so much money before.
At this moment, her eyes turned into the shape of small gold ingots.
The Prince's mansion is short of money. This 100,000 taels can not only solve Erlang's big problem, but also allow him to rest a little.
During this period, she went out almost every day to look for talent.
But where would she find so many talented people?
Apart from Sun Qingzhao, they found nothing.
My desire to help Erlang is growing stronger.
She could earn a million taels of silver immediately if she staged just one fake match.
"I need time."
In the end, Tang Xinuan gave an answer after much hesitation.
On the way back, the thought of 100,000 taels of silver kept floating in her mind.
She desperately wanted the money, but she felt it was wrong to pretend to lose the game.
She faced the most difficult question of her life: how to decide what to choose.
Upon arriving at the Prince's residence, she did not return to her own courtyard but hesitated before heading to the Xiaoqinzheng Hall.
Seeing Zhou Chuanxing sitting in his study reviewing memorials, she couldn't help but disturb him, even though she really didn't want to.
"Erlang, would you like to talk to me for a bit?"
The little girl looked troubled, as if she had encountered some big trouble. Zhou Chuanxing put down his brush and reached out to pull her into his arms.
"What's wrong? Tell me."
Sun Qingzhao came over to report on his work.
The lists of students from each province who will participate in this year's autumn provincial examinations have been submitted.
He found many problems and came to report to the prince. On the way, he received another errand and went out to deal with it. When he returned, he saw a man sitting in the regent's arms.
This man was also his good friend, Hanxi.
I heard that the Regent was fond of men, but I never expected that his male favorite was Han Xi.
No wonder Han Xi doesn't care about official positions. With the prince as a powerful backer, what need is there for an official position?
It's better to be a man's pet than to become an official and do something truly beneficial for the people.
...
Tang Xinuan didn't know how to bring it up with Zhou Chuanxing.
She didn't know whether Zhou Chuanxing preferred a million taels of silver or her.
What if he wants money, but she doesn't want to sacrifice her reputation?
Seeing Sun Qingzhao come in, she jumped out of his arms with a smile.
"Erlang, after Brother Sun finishes his work, can I chat with him for a while?"
Zhou Chuanxing knew that the little girl had a secret.
But she's growing up so fast, and he doesn't want to be an obstacle for her.
Despite holding back her anger, she still generously said, "Okay."
However, her eyelids drooped, clearly indicating that she was somewhat sad.
Tang Xinuan wasn't good at reading people's expressions, but she always felt that Zhou Chuanxing's eyelids were drooping, and he seemed unhappy.
She understood that a raised corner of the mouth meant a smile.
Grief brings tears.
She can easily spot obvious expressions of anger and rage.
She couldn't understand Zhou Chuanxing's subtle change in expression at all.
"You really agree?"
Zhou Chuanxing nodded, forcing a smile.
Tang Xinuan was relieved. He smiled, which meant he was very happy and had indeed agreed.
Tang Xinu went to wait in the next room. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Sun Qingzhao entered the room.
"Brother Han..." Sun Qingzhao called out somewhat awkwardly, and then didn't know what to say next.
Tang Xinuan still had something to ask him for advice on, "Brother Sun, please sit down, I have something to ask you."
Sun Qingzhao also had something to ask Tang Xinuan.
I just have to get this off my chest, "Brother Han, you and the Regent..."
Tang Xinuan replied without hesitation, "I want to give him a title, and he wants to give me one too. What kind of relationship do you think that is?"
Sun Qingzhao broke out in a cold sweat.
The regent, wielding immense power, was not only unconventional but also sought to grant a man a formal title.
The Great Zhou Dynasty—no, it was an unprecedented and astonishing event since ancient times.
However, the Great Zhou Dynasty would not be forgotten in history, so what's wrong with marrying a male queen?
The regent then became the first to try something new.
As long as Han Xi is willing, he will find a way to silence the gossip of the world.
Help Hanxi achieve her wish.
"Brother Sun, Brother Sun," Tang Xinuan said, unaware of what he was thinking, "I need your help with something. Are you even listening to me?"
-----------------------
Author's Note: Sun Qingzhao: As long as Han Xi is willing, I will help him silence all the gossip in the world.
Zhou Chuanxing: Thank you so much!!!
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