Chapter 188 Forced relationships are never sweet
Upon seeing this, Princess Jinyang reached out and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes.
"You're such a grown-up, why are you still crying?"
Pei Yanchi laughed again upon hearing this.
"You're such a silly child, always crying and laughing."
Princess Jinyang punched him lightly and said.
Pei Yanchi couldn't help but step forward and hug Princess Jinyang.
The princess hesitated for a moment, then reached out and hugged him back. Seeing that he didn't let go, she said with a hint of disdain:
"You've smeared your tears and snot all over me, get off me."
Pei Yanchi released her only after hearing this.
The two chatted for a while longer before Pei Yanchi took his leave.
Princess Jinyang watched Pei Yanchi's departing figure, sighed, and remained silent.
There have been so many things going on lately, and watching the Empress Dowager grow older day by day has made me feel like I've aged quite a bit myself, as I'm a grandmother now.
The children have grown up and each has their own abilities to develop; eventually, this country will be handed over to them.
I hope they won't let themselves down.
Pei Yanchi composed himself and went to the East Palace.
The Crown Prince was delighted to see Pei Yanchi arrive, and he put down the memorial he was holding to speak with him.
The two talked about the situation in the Western Regions, as well as Ye Jing and the First Prince. After they finished talking, they noticed that it was almost morning.
The Crown Prince invited Pei Yanchi to have lunch at the Eastern Palace.
During the meal, the Crown Princess came out with her newborn son, Xiao Yuanji.
Pei Yanchi looked at the child in the stroller and smiled.
The crown prince then said, "If you like children, have one yourself."
Pei Yanchi laughed awkwardly upon hearing this.
Upon seeing this, the Crown Princess said, "Judging from your expression, do you have someone you like?"
Pei Yanchi nodded shyly.
The crown prince, intrigued, immediately asked:
Who is it?
The Crown Princess also perked up her ears to listen.
Pei Yanchi, remembering Princess Jinyang's instructions, said with a slight blush:
“Hmm…Cheng Jinyue from the Duke of Lu’s family.”
After listening, the Crown Princess thought for a moment and nodded: "They are a good match."
The Crown Prince then smiled and asked, "Is the young lady willing?"
Pei Yanchi scratched his head, his entire face and neck turning red.
"This...this is still unclear..."
After saying that, she looked up at the Crown Prince and said, "I was thinking of asking Aunt Jinyang to put in a good word for me, and see if it works."
The Crown Prince nodded in agreement: "My aunt is a good candidate."
After saying that, she happily poured Pei Yanchi a glass of wine:
"Among my brothers, we were all afraid that Ling'er would grow old alone, and the elders were extremely anxious."
But look at him now, he's doing well, and he even had twins, a boy and a girl.
"You're the only one missing. Hurry up and get married so that Father and Grandmother can rest assured."
Pei Yanchi raised his wine cup and clinked it against the Crown Prince's, saying:
"Then I'll take your kind words, Your Highness."
The crown prince laughed upon hearing this.
Soon, the Queen learned of the conversation taking place there.
After thinking about it, Cheng Jinyue, the granddaughter of the Duke of Lu, was a well-bred young lady with good character and appearance.
Then he thought about his own daughter. She was a bit spoiled, but fortunately she was good-looking and of noble birth.
Forget it, you can't force things.
There are plenty of fine men in Beijing; let's look at other places.
Before the Empress could even see any other family members, Princess Yongning pulled a fast one.
After being cooped up in the palace for almost two months, Yongning really wanted to go out and have some fun.
For the first two weeks, I could still see Du Zhengming a few times, but after he moved to the Empress's side hall, I never saw him again.
Once you start thinking about someone, you'll find yourself thinking about them day and night.
Sometimes, the less we see each other, the more I miss them.
This is the current situation in Yongning.
They sent people every day to inquire about Du Zhengming's situation, and even sent people to move over all the case files that Du Zhengming had solved.
Every day, he looked at those files, trying to find any clues about him.
After observing for a while, she actually managed to figure out a few things about it.
As can be seen from Du Zhengming's judgment, he was exceptionally intelligent, compassionate towards the weak, and dared to confront the powerful.
His views on the world are always brief, yet insightful and reasonable.
Even in cases where reason and emotion clashed, the handling was convincing.
The more Yongning studied him, the more he admired his character.
The affection in my heart, which started as a small spark, gradually grew into a raging fire.
I couldn't hold back any longer and wanted to see Du Zhengming.
I spoke to the Empress repeatedly, but she just wouldn't agree.
So she went to see the emperor, who, seeing that she had almost fully recovered, agreed to let her go out and play.
Yongning was very happy and got up early to have Baizhi and the others do her makeup.
Bai Zhi asked, "Princess, where are you heading?"
"Leave the palace."
Bai Zhi smiled and asked, "Is the princess going to the Dali Temple?"
"Hehe, it's all so I can go out and see him." Yongning was very happy.
Bai Zhi said, "If the princess wants to leave the palace smoothly today, I suggest you wear a round-necked robe and dress as a man."
Yongning frowned upon hearing this, and pouted as she asked:
"I'm going to see him, dressed as a man... is that alright?"
"Your Highness, if you were dressed as a lady today, I bet you wouldn't be able to leave the Empress's palace."
Besides, you've always seen Du Shaoqing dressed as a lady, so let's change our look today. Who knows, it might surprise him.
Besides, it's not appropriate for us to be going to the Dali Temple wearing a high-waisted ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress).
After listening to Bai Zhi's analysis, Yong Ning felt that it made a lot of sense.
So he said, "Okay, I'll do as you say. Give me a more heroic look."
Upon hearing this, Bai Zhi grinned and said, "Okay!"
Sure enough, just as Yongning was about to leave, the Empress called her back.
"Ning'er, where are you headed?"
Yongning said with a grin, "I'll go out of the palace for a stroll. My father promised me."
"Where do you plan to go?" the Queen asked.
"Let's go to Brother Ling's house to see the twins, and then I'll have my sister-in-law accompany me to Tianxing Tower."
Yongning said excitedly.
The Empress was quite suspicious, but since what she said wasn't too outrageous, she agreed.
Before leaving, he instructed Bai Zhi to take good care of Yong Ning.
Bai Zhi knew the Empress's meaning: to keep a close eye on the princess and report back in detail.
I couldn't help but sigh. I need to figure out a way to avoid offending either side.
It's true that Bai Zhi is the Empress's person, but the Crown Prince and the Emperor have both instructed that since she is the Princess's person, the Princess should naturally take precedence.
So after she came to Princess Yongning's side, she served as a master of impartiality for more than a year.
He always put Princess Yongning first, and he could also justify his actions in front of the Empress.
This really tests a person's psychological qualities and problem-solving skills.
Fortunately, she grew up in the palace and was very familiar with the situation, so she managed to get to where she is today without any major incidents.
Upon leaving the palace, Yongning, just as she had told the Empress, went to find Xie Yunyu first.
Xie Yunyu received the news yesterday that Yongning was coming today, and she was already waiting at the mansion.
Upon seeing her, he warmly pulled her into the mansion.
Yongning happily ran to see Yuanxi and Yuanzheng.
Wow, they've grown so much in just two months!
Before Xie Yunyu could speak, he asked again:
"Sister-in-law, why does Yuanxi look so much older than Yuanzheng?"
Xie Yunyu replied with a smile: "Yuanzheng is just like your brother Ling. He was born with a deficiency, so he grows slower than other children his age."
Yuan Xi, on the other hand, is growing up way too fast compared to other children her age.
This has led to the current disparity in their physical abilities.
Yongning laughed upon hearing this: "How is Yuanzheng's health?"
"The imperial physician said there's nothing wrong, it's just that it's growing slowly," Xie Yunyu replied from the side.
As they were talking, Yuanxi suddenly reached out and grabbed Yongning's sleeve.
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