Zhao Fen, being tall and able to see far, glanced at her and said, "It looks like Princess Wu'an."
Princess Wu'an?
Fang Qing had never heard of it.
"Your Majesty's eldest princess, the younger sister of the third prince, has been favored by the emperor since childhood. Half a year ago, she stayed at the temple to pray for the emperor and the imperial concubine. Now she has returned, probably because of the matter between the imperial concubine and the third prince."
Oh, I see.
Fang Qing didn't seem to care much and took a step back with Zhao Fen.
The ceremonial guards passed in front of them.
Compared to other nobles in the capital, Princess Wu'an traveled in a simpler way, even her carriage was quite ordinary.
"He's different from the other princes and grandsons."
Fang Qing still remembers the day she went out with Zhao Shi'an. On the street, they encountered a prince's carriage, which was a hundred meters long. Fang Qing thought it was the emperor traveling, but when she asked, she found out it was a prince returning to the capital.
"This Princess Wu'an has always been frugal. I heard that she has a cloth business in Jiangnan and the Southwest, and most of the money from the business goes into the national treasury and to help the people. Therefore, Princess Wu'an is still highly regarded by the people."
Fang Qing looked at the people on both sides of the street and saw that they were all quiet and solemn, each with a respectful demeanor.
Even the Crown Prince doesn't receive such treatment when he travels.
"Look, the Imperial Guards are coming to greet Princess Wu'an."
The Imperial Guards are the Emperor's trusted confidants. Even though the Third Prince and the Consort are no longer trusted by the Emperor, it does not affect the Emperor's affection for Princess Wu'an.
The honor guard passed by quickly, and Fang Qing said goodbye to Zhao Fen.
Meanwhile, Princess Wu'an entered the palace, first going to the Emperor's bedroom to talk with him for half an hour, and then going to the Consort's Anxiang Palace.
Not long after, the sound of the imperial concubine cursing and things being smashed came from inside.
"What use is it for me to have you? Your brother and I are both imprisoned, and you can't help us at all."
"You think you're stupid, chanting Buddhist prayers and eating vegetarian food? Can't you even plead for me and your brother?"
When Princess Wu'an came out again, the palace servants noticed a handprint on her cheek.
Princess Wu'an's brilliance was so great that it overshadowed the Third Prince. The Imperial Concubine never liked her. Those who knew the inner workings of the palace knew that Princess Wu'an's long stay at the temple to pray for blessings was all arranged by the Imperial Concubine.
News of Princess Wu'an's beating soon reached the Emperor's ears. The Emperor was furious and issued another imperial edict stripping her of her title of Imperial Concubine. Now she was nothing more than a concubine without a title.
Princess Wu'an was on her way to the Hanlin Academy when she heard the news, and she scoffed.
"I imagine my mother's days will not be easy. Let's have someone give half of my palace allowance to her."
Those who didn't know better would think she was showing great respect to her mother, but the nanny who served her year-round knew that Princess Wu'an was simply trying to humiliate the imperial concubine.
It's because the Imperial Concubine has disliked this daughter all these years; she'll probably have to rely on this princess to make a living from now on.
We can no longer call her Imperial Concubine; she should be called Consort Qin.
The Hanlin Academy was just ahead, and as soon as Princess Wu'an arrived, many officials stood up to greet her.
Princess Wu'an declined the formalities, saying she wanted to go into the library of the Hanlin Academy to find books.
"I'm not very familiar with the library here, Hanlin Qu, please find someone to guide you."
Just as Qu Hanlin was about to assign his most outstanding student to Princess Wu'an, he saw Princess Wu'an pointing towards Zhao Shi'an, who was standing at the very back.
"This gentleman is the one I'll choose; he looks unfamiliar to me."
She smiled radiantly, showing no airs of royalty whatsoever.
"This is the top scholar of this year's imperial examination, Zhao Shi'an."
"My apologies, my apologies. So you're the top scholar. Lord Zhao, it's not too much trouble for you to take me to visit the library."
“I’m not upset, but Princess, please find someone else. I still have some matters to attend to, and if I delay, I’m afraid it will be difficult to explain to His Majesty.”
Qu Hanlin looked displeased.
"Shi'an, you can delegate your tasks to others. Why don't you accompany the princess to the library?"
Zhao Shi'an looked up and glanced at Qu Hanlin indifferently, then replied, "Yes."
Qu Hanlin didn't notice anything, but Princess Wu'an looked at Zhao Shi'an and slightly curled the corners of her mouth.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Lord Zhao."
The two of them went to the library at the back, one after the other.
Once everyone was alone, Princess Wu'an casually flipped through the books on the shelf while talking to Zhao Shi'an.
"Isn't Qu Hanlin annoying? It's obvious that Lord Zhao doesn't want to accompany this princess."
Zhao Shi'an glanced at her indifferently.
"That's not true."
"There's no one else here, so Lord Zhao doesn't need to hide."
Zhao Shi'an remained silent.
"I've heard you're quite close to the Crown Prince?"
"Rumors are unreliable. I am but a lowly writer; how could I possibly catch the eye of His Highness the Crown Prince?"
Princess Wu'an chuckled.
"You're too modest. I've heard a bit about your affairs, and I admire you greatly. Lord Zhao, how about becoming my son-in-law?"
Zhao Shi'an couldn't control his emotions and furrowed his brow.
"Your Highness is too kind; I am already engaged."
"I was just joking with you, but your rejection was so quick that it has made me lose face."
"I know I was wrong."
Princess Wu'an chuckled.
"Zhao Shi'an, you are a smart man."
Zhao Shi'an didn't say anything more.
Princess Wu'an didn't say anything more to Zhao Shi'an after that, and casually picked up two books before leaving.
Zhao Shi'an couldn't help but recall the deeds of this Princess Wu'an from his previous life.
She appears to be docile and harmless, but she is actually more difficult to deal with than the Third Prince. The Emperor seems to have realized this as well. Therefore, after drafting an imperial edict to be passed on to the Third Prince in the previous life, he ordered Princess Wu'an to return to her fiefdom and not to enter the capital without a summons.
In his previous life, the first thing he did after helping the crown prince ascend the throne was to give Princess Wu'an poisoned wine.
He never underestimated this woman.
However, in this life, Princess Wu'an returned to the capital almost a year earlier.
In her previous life, Wu An returned before the emperor fell critically ill. Because she was too eager, the emperor saw through her ambition to seize the throne, which led to her tragic end.
Returning to Beijing now would be very advantageous for this woman.
In the afternoon, Zhao Shi'an went to the East Palace.
"You mean I should be wary of Princess Wu'an?"
Zhao Shi'an nodded.
"Your Highness and Princess Wu'an studied together, so you naturally know that her talent is absolutely no less than that of the princes."
The prince frowned.
"She is a princess and poses no threat to me. Besides, my father has been paying a lot of attention to me lately."
The Crown Prince has been busy these past few days, and his face shows signs of fatigue.
"Recently, His Majesty has entrusted Your Highness with important responsibilities, but that's because His Majesty has no other choice. Over the years, Your Highness has never given up searching for the Eighth Prince and has also been investigating the Zhong family's affairs. Do you think His Majesty would feel at ease handing over the country to you and then, after his death, have you make public what he did to his subjects?"
The Crown Prince's gaze slowly fell on Zhao Shi'an.
"Your Highness, I have said so. Please consider it carefully."
The crown prince pondered for a moment.
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