Sigh, but even if Xie Yuancheng and I are together, things won't get chaotic. The children we have in the future will all be Ji family members.
"Your Majesty, I know that the Prince Consort is your nephew, but the inner palace is full of royal people." The Crown Prince's eyes were sharp and smug. There was no one in this palace who was easy to deal with.
Consort Ji stood in the snow, her blue dress particularly striking, as if a gentle smile could command the entire scene.
"Your Highness is quite right. I've been out for so long and I'm tired, so I won't talk to you young people anymore." I was still waiting for Consort Ji to make her big move, and she just left. However, in the harem, the Crown Prince is indeed more senior than the concubines, so it's understandable that she didn't want to cause trouble.
"My lord, my son-in-law, it's a rare treat to see you here today. The snow is getting heavy now, why don't we go to the East Palace for a while?" Since you've said that, it would be disrespectful not to go.
I'll just go check out the East Palace; I wonder how Li Ruowei faces the Crown Prince. I'm glad the siblings don't look alike; otherwise, given the intelligence of the people in the palace, they might have made contact.
It was cold outside, but once you entered the East Palace, it felt especially warm. They used pillars for heating, filled with silver charcoal and with a mechanism to allow air to circulate. They would replace them with new ones when the weather warmed up.
It truly lives up to its reputation as the residence of the Crown Prince, the future heir apparent, the chosen one. I thought Heqing Palace was already quite luxurious, but the Eastern Palace surpasses it in both its exterior and interior structure.
Even though the Emperor favored Li Zhaole, he still wouldn't let her go on a political marriage. She was still somewhat inferior to the Crown Prince, but that was for the best.
Xie Yuancheng didn't say a word the whole way. Luckily, I almost tripped when I entered the door, and he helped me up. Otherwise, I would have thought he was going to live a life of seclusion.
"Yuancheng, why did you suddenly come to the capital?" The Crown Prince sat up, took a sip of tea with his pearl-adorned hands. He seemed easygoing, but changed his address as soon as he entered.
However, after Li Ruowei came in, she went into the inner room, and I didn't have a chance to talk to her.
Xie Yuancheng and the Crown Prince are openly rivals in love. Would the Crown Prince take this opportunity to get back at him?
"Your Highness, the situation in Linyang is currently stable. I have received a letter from the Prime Minister regarding an emergency on the border. Although I am only a marquis, I hope to go to the battlefield."
“Yuancheng, it’s good that you have this intention, but you’ve only been married for half a year. If you just abandon everything and run to the battlefield, you may not be able to turn the tide.”
“I am already married, and my next step is to establish my career. Moreover, my going would be entirely beneficial to the Crown Prince.”
"That's true."
The two of them spoke with smiles, exchanging sharp words. What kind of fate allowed them to answer so fluently?
In comparison, Heqing Palace is more humane, even though it houses a princess with a bad temper.
The prince held his teacup, wondering whether he was trying to come up with a solution or preparing his explanation.
"Your Highness, this is our first meeting." Why is he bringing this up with me?
"yes."
"I heard that you and Consort Ji are very close, and she even assigned you a palace maid. At first, I was very curious as to why Le'er agreed, but seeing you today, it's not surprising."
Was the Crown Prince praising me or trying to trick me into revealing information? I thought for a while but couldn't find a good answer, so I decided to just laugh it off.
"Your Highness, this is a long story. Although I am unwilling, it is Her Majesty's kind intention. If I could refuse, I would never agree." Let Consort Ji take the blame; after all, it was her who caused this.
The prince put down his teacup, and his smile made my heart race.
"Your Highness, the Grand Tutor has been waiting for a long time. Are you setting off now?" Li Ruo, the little angel, finally appeared. I always feel that with her around, many things can be handled. Marrying this cunning and unfathomable Crown Prince is truly a huge loss.
"Look at me, I'm so happy to see Yuan Cheng and the Prince Consort that I forgot all about this." The Crown Prince summoned eunuchs and palace maids to help him get dressed. I thought to myself, he's finally leaving.
"Oh, by the way, I feel quite at ease seeing the Prince Consort today. I have many beautiful palace maids in my palace. If you take a fancy to any of them, just tell me and I'll give them to you. If Consort Ji can give them away, I can give them away too, or I can point you to one who is definitely better than Consort Ji."
Good heavens, is it common for the royal family of the Great Zhao Kingdom to send palace maids as gifts? I'm dizzy.
"Your Highness, the princess and her husband have only been married for a short time. Won't you cause them to quarrel by saying this? Go to the Grand Tutor first. The Lantern Festival is the day after tomorrow. We can discuss this matter later."
The Crown Prince left reluctantly. This person and Consort Ji are incompatible, and he even wants to drag me down with him.
After he disappeared, I rushed to see Xie Yuancheng. He really looked livid. If you put a crescent moon on him, he could play Bao Zheng (a famous judge in Chinese history).
Li Ruowei waved away the people next to her, "Yuan Cheng, you can't take this to heart. They just love to fight."
That's so true. Older sisters are always better to their younger siblings.
"He did it on purpose."
I quickly grabbed his hand; it was icy cold, like cold water.
"Yuancheng, I... I only like you." Saying anything more to him is pointless; expressing your feelings is the only true way.
“I told you I couldn’t let you come back. I’ll send you a woman from every other family. I can’t feel at ease when I’m out here.”
Seeing how aggrieved he sounded, I felt sad too: "So please take me with you, then you won't have to worry."
I wish we could go to the battlefield together. I used to go on missions all the time, but I've never seen a real battlefield.
"Ying'er, stop making a fuss. We can just pretend we don't know anything."
Xie Yuancheng always puts Ji Ying's safety first. He would rather suffer some losses and grievances himself than let Ji Ying be in danger.
"Alright, you two. This isn't the place to talk, so I'll get straight to the point. The Crown Prince recently wants to join forces with the Empress. If the Empress's relatives are all promoted, I'm afraid there will be no one in the court who can stand against them."
"Isn't the Crown Prince the Empress's son?" In TV dramas, aren't all the Crown Princes born to the Empress? It's normal for them to work together.
Xie Yuancheng patted my hand and finally smiled: "Ying'er, you've been here for so long and you still don't know that the Crown Prince's birth mother has passed away. Now I'm even more worried."
This was incredibly embarrassing. My face turned red. "I didn't know. Most of the time, I was in the Hanlin Academy and Heqing Hall. The people around me wouldn't tell me these things."
"These things are taboo in the palace, so it's normal that people don't know. The Crown Prince used to be at odds with the Empress and Consort Ji, but now the tide has suddenly turned. Yuan Cheng, you and the Prime Minister need to be extra careful." Li Ruowei's face was full of worry. The Prime Minister had been kind to them, and if the Empress's power grew, she would start suppressing ministers they didn't like. The Empress was also dissatisfied with Xie Yuan Cheng. Thinking about all this, she hoped they wouldn't succeed.
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