The Emperor knew perfectly well how much truth and sincerity the Empress's words held.
He was too lazy to expose her, and simply said, "Li'er is not in good health, so let him be. There's no need to be too forceful about matters of state."
Now that the eldest prince is being suppressed and Yi Chenli is proving to be disappointing, the empress feels much more at ease.
However, Yi Chenli was indeed a man of hidden talents, and the Empress was still afraid that something might happen.
As she ground ink for the Emperor, she said, "Your Majesty, some time ago, Princess Yingning came to me and asked me to help her. She wants to go and serve the Sixth Prince."
Princess Yingning has a special status; she is the daughter of a Duke and was granted the title of Princess by the late Emperor as an exception. The Emperor dotes on this Princess and treats her with the same level of respect as a princess.
"Why would this girl want to go to Li'er's place? There has never been a princess serving a prince before."
The Empress smiled and said, "Your Majesty doesn't understand the mindset of young women. At the archery competition that day, the Sixth Prince shone brightly. Among all the princes, the Sixth Prince was the most handsome. After that day, I don't know how many young ladies fell in love with Li'er."
The Emperor was taken aback: "Li'er is disabled, what about that girl?"
"That girl is pestering me so much, saying that no matter what the Sixth Prince does, she only wants to stay by his side. I really can't stand her pestering me anymore, so I came to report to Your Majesty."
"What does the Empress think should be done?" the Emperor asked, throwing the question back to the Empress.
The Empress thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty is well aware of Yingning's temperament. If she truly likes the Sixth Prince, it wouldn't hurt to grant her wish. Their statuses are quite compatible."
The Emperor continued writing without even looking up, saying, "Let's do as the Empress says."
*
Three days later, Princess Yingning appeared at Chenyang Palace.
The princess had a grand entourage; she brought more than a dozen maids to serve her.
Li Gui went to greet her: "Princess, your room has been arranged in the west wing. You can go there with the eunuch."
"The west wing?" Ying Ning was somewhat dissatisfied.
“The side rooms are for guests to stay temporarily. Hasn’t the eunuch received the imperial decree? I am now the sixth prince’s study companion, and I will definitely be staying in Chenyang Palace for a long time. It is naturally inappropriate for me to stay in the side rooms.”
"Princess, please calm down. This is the Sixth Prince's intention."
The maid Zijing behind Yingning said arrogantly, "Eunuch, you've been serving the Sixth Prince for a while now, how can you be so tactless? My princess is ostensibly the Sixth Prince's study companion, but in the future, she might just become the mistress of Chenyang Palace. Doesn't Eunuch need to make any preparations in advance?"
Li Gui remained neither humble nor arrogant: "How could this old servant know what the future holds? This room is the master's wish. If the princess does not wish to stay here, Chenyang Palace may not be able to accommodate such a great person as the princess."
Enraged, Zijing blurted out, "You rootless thing..."
Yingning stopped Zijing, thinking that Li Gui had served Yi Chenli for a long time and there was no benefit in offending him.
Yingning said, "It was the chief steward of this county who taught his servants poorly, please don't be angry, sir. Since it was the Sixth Prince's idea, then I, the princess, will go and talk to him personally."
After Ying Ning finished speaking, she headed east towards where Yi Chenli lived.
Li Gui followed behind and stopped her: "Princess, the mistress gets up early to study and doesn't like to be disturbed. You'd better not go."
Ying Ning ignored him, found Yi Chenli's room, and shouted at the door.
"When they met at the archery range that day, Yingning fell in love with the prince at first sight and specially asked the emperor to let her be the prince's study companion."
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