She is quite good-looking.
Princess Wu'an rested her chin on her hand and looked in the direction Fang Qing and Zhao Shi'an had left.
She looks seven or eight parts like the Third Prince, but in fact she looks more like the Emperor than the Third Prince, especially her eyes, which give people a sense of authority without anger.
Such a person would stand out even in a crowd.
It is an innate nobility.
"I am far inferior to Your Highness," Gao Jie said.
Princess Wu'an chuckled.
What good is being beautiful? As a woman, the highest honor she can attain until death is that of a princess, a position she will never have the chance to hold.
Thinking of this, the look in her eyes suddenly darkened.
"How's it going at the gold mine?" she asked.
"Our people have already gone there, and we're just waiting to start mining."
"Hurry up! My foolish third brother is under house arrest, and those opportunists in the court are unreliable. We must get things done before Father Emperor's health completely collapses, just in case."
"yes."
Gao Jie looked at Princess Wu'an's profile.
She is an exceptionally ambitious woman.
With the ruthlessness and shrewdness of an emperor, she believed this princess was superior to the third prince, which was why her uncle had chosen the third prince in the first place.
Even if the Third Prince can't compete with the Crown Prince, there's still Princess Wu'an.
Although there is no precedent for a princess to inherit the throne in this dynasty, there are precedents in history.
Princess Wu'an finished drinking the tea in her cup.
"Have you made contact with Fengyulou yet?"
"I've already spoken with their manager, and they seem to be saying they don't want to interfere in court affairs."
Princess Wu'an scoffed.
"Haven't we interfered enough already? Next time we talk to them, we don't need to exchange favors. People in the martial arts world value loyalty. The higher the price you offer, the more they might resent you. Didn't the people from Fengyulou have contact with Xiao Ba? We can start from his side."
Gao Jie thought for a moment, then hesitated and asked, "But the Eighth Prince and the Crown Prince have always been close. If they know that we want to win over Fengyulou, I'm afraid they won't help us."
“I don’t need his help. Just send someone to keep an eye on him. I want to find out who the mastermind behind Fengyu Tower is through him.”
"yes."
After discussing other matters, Gao Jie got up to take her leave, but Princess Wu'an suddenly called her back.
"Have you met this Zhao Shi'an? Does he really have the ability to help the Crown Prince?"
"Although we haven't had much contact, this man is indeed talented. The group of advisors in the Eastern Palace have failed to impress the Emperor for so many years, yet the Crown Prince has managed to cause the Third Prince to lose favor with His Majesty after only a few interactions with this Zhao Shi'an. This is enough to show that this man is not simple. Does Your Highness wish to win him over?"
Princess Wu'an was playing with a small teacup.
"A subject should not serve two masters; isn't that what scholars value most? Winning him over is probably impossible, but wouldn't it be better to destroy the Crown Prince, his right-hand man?"
Gao Jie instantly understood what Princess Wu'an meant.
"Is there anything I can do for you?"
Princess Wu'an waved her hand.
"You go about your business. I, the princess, will personally meet with this Zhao Shi'an."
"yes."
*
The news of Fang Qing and Zhao Shi'an going shopping outside reached the ears of those who were paying attention to Zhao Shi'an within half a day, and even the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace knew about it.
"Is that the girl Zhao Shi'an likes?"
“Yes, her name is Fang Qing,” Fan Li said.
"I would like to meet this girl if I have the chance."
Thinking of something, the Crown Prince asked again, "Has Zhao Fen entered the palace?"
"We've entered. By now, we should have arrived at His Majesty's palace."
The crown prince nodded.
"Have the imperial kitchen staff bring the soup over. I'm going to my father's palace."
"yes."
The Emperor's health has improved considerably in the past two days, but he still lacks energy. The imperial physician instructed the Emperor to rest, so the Emperor did not see any ministers. However, this morning, the Grand Eunuch of the Imperial Household Department suddenly went out of the palace to fetch Zhao Fen into the palace.
I have some impression of Prince Zhao Fen. He was a student of the Zhong family patriarch and later helped the Zhong family when they fell into trouble. He was later sent to a post outside the capital.
The Emperor's sudden request to meet someone connected to the Zhong family made him wonder if the Emperor regretted what happened back then.
Meanwhile, in the Emperor's bedchamber, Zhao Fen stood respectfully not far from the bed, and the Emperor could only catch a glimpse of the slightly swaying gauze curtains out of the corner of his eye.
A faint coughing sound came from inside the bed. After a while, the Grand Eunuch came out with a bowl of medicine, and the coughing gradually stopped.
"Has Zhao Fen arrived?"
The chief eunuch hurriedly stepped forward.
"Lord Zhao has been here for a while now."
"Help me up."
The Grand Eunuch stepped back into the gauze curtain, and palace servants followed. The curtain was opened, and the Emperor's voice reached Zhao Fen's ears more clearly.
"Zhao Fen, come forward."
"yes."
Fang Qing stepped forward and respectfully knelt before the Emperor.
"Your subject Zhao Fen greets Your Majesty. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings."
The Emperor leaned against the headboard and waved his hand.
"Get up."
"yes."
The Emperor gave the Grand Eunuch a wink, and the Grand Eunuch ordered all the palace servants to leave.
"I have read all the reports you submitted in previous years. You did a good job. What responsibilities do you hold now?"
"Your Majesty, I am now serving as the Prefect of Xichang Prefecture in Qingzhou."
"Xichang Prefecture, isn't that where the Qin family is located? Were you also involved in the Qin family's affairs this time?"
"Your Majesty, the Qin family's affairs fall right under my jurisdiction. His Highness the Eighth Prince handled them back then, and I was merely fulfilling my duty."
The emperor looked at Zhao Fen with his cloudy eyes and vaguely saw the spirited scholar who had once been the third-ranked scholar in the backyard of the Zhong family, passionately speaking about his ambitions.
What happened next?
Oh, later, he, the emperor, stole Zhao Fen's fiancée, and because of the Zhong family's affair, he sent this man to a remote area, and thus this once-proud man fell from grace.
"Zhao Fen, do you still hold a grudge against me for what happened to Consort Li back then?"
Zhao Fen quickly knelt down.
"Your Majesty, I am terrified. Back then, my teacher arranged my marriage with Consort Li. There was no romantic relationship between us. We were not married, so how could there be any resentment? I would never dare to do that."
"Is that so? But I've heard that you haven't started a family all these years."
"I have been busy traveling around these past few years, barely able to take care of myself, so how can I have the face to start a family? A girl from a good family would not follow me to suffer. Now that I am old, I have even less interest in that."
The emperor stared at the top of his head for a moment, then sighed softly.
"You've picked up those official jargon over the years. I remember you weren't like this when you were young."
"I was just young and ignorant."
"Back then, when the Zhong family plotted rebellion, I remember you risked your life to remonstrate and seek to exonerate them. Do you still think the same way now?"
Zhao Fen lowered his head even further.
"Your Majesty, I dare not deceive you. I am already so old and do not have the energy of my youth. The right and wrong of what happened back then have nothing to do with me. Over the years, I have suffered a lot while traveling around. It is only thanks to the mercy of Heaven that I have survived. Now I only wish to live out my life in peace."
The palace fell silent once more.
The Grand Eunuch glanced at the Emperor and noticed that the look in his eyes was indeed much gentler than before.
Zhao Fen's answer satisfied the emperor.
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