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◎To find a legitimate response to her identity.◎
On May 18th, the palace held a coming-of-age ceremony for the Third Prince, Qin Ren. The next morning, during court, Emperor Xingwu issued a decree appointing the Third Prince as Prince Xian, appointing him to the Ministry of Rites.
No discussion was allowed in the court. After the court was dismissed, Qin Bing urged his third brother to take out the imperial edict and ask, "Is it the Xian from Qingxian, or the Xianfu Palace?"
Qin Ren knew that his second brother was teasing him, but he didn't care and took out the imperial edict openly.
Qin Bing took a quick look, patted his third brother on the shoulder and said, "No matter what the title is, once you're crowned king you're an adult. From now on, we brothers can see each other often in the palace again."
Qin Ren yawned loudly, blinking back tears as he corrected himself, "They are brother and sister."
Qin Bing: “…”
He looked at his sister who was walking in front of him beside his eldest brother. She was also wearing a dragon robe but had her hair in a bun.
Qingyang glanced back and said, "The Ministry of War is obviously closer to the Ministry of Personnel, but Second Brother only wants to see Third Brother more often. Doesn't he want to see me?"
Qin Bing said hurriedly, "No, no, I'm just being polite to your third brother. Actually, we're all busy with our own things. Unless we get together for lunch at noon, we don't have time to meet up."
Qin Hong heard his third brother yawn again and said helplessly, "There's no homework after this job. Go to bed early from now on, especially the night before a court meeting."
Qin Ren agreed with his mouth, but he was silently complaining in his heart. Why did his father insist on him serving? The court was full of talented people. Couldn't he just be a completely idle person?
Fortunately, there are only three court sessions in ten days, and the rest of the time I can sleep until noon. It is much more comfortable than when I was studying in the Eastern Palace!
.
At the end of May, the emperor moved to the Western Garden Palace to escape the summer heat, still bringing with him a group of royal relatives and civil and military ministers.
In the evening, when the royal family gathered for a family dinner, Qin Bing asked, "Father, are we still going to climb Feiying Peak tomorrow morning?"
Emperor Xingwu looked at the extra grandchildren sitting at the table and said with a smile, "You can go ahead. I have invited a group of old ministers to go boating on the lake."
The group of people who once followed him in their high spirits and dominance, Lü Guangzu passed away due to illness, Deng Chong became old and weak, and a group of civil officials such as Yan Xizheng gradually turned gray. Although Emperor Xingwu could still crawl, he did not want to see those meritorious officials panting and aging. Deng Chong, who did not want to be persuaded by him to enjoy himself, was sad to hear that the emperor did not ask him to accompany him on the mountain.
Since his father didn't want to go, Qin Bing asked his brothers and sisters.
Qin Hong first looked at his father.
Emperor Xingwu: "I don't need you to accompany me."
Qin Hong accepted his second brother's invitation. Since his eldest brother had already accepted and his father was watching, Qin Ren had no choice but to follow suit. However, just as he nodded, he heard his sister say, "My second sister-in-law, Zhenzhen and I have already made an appointment to go horse racing tomorrow, so I won't be joining you."
Qin Ren: “…”
The next morning, Qingyang arrived outside Xijing Gate to find Meng Yao and Yan Zhenzhen already waiting. Nineteen-year-old Meng Yao had become much plumper after giving birth to her daughter, her fair, plump cheeks looking as if they could be squeezed to produce water. Fifteen-year-old Yan Zhenzhen had grown up, but she was still the smallest of the group. Even her horse was smaller than Qingyang and Meng Yao's, making it look very docile.
Qingyang and Meng Yao are both good at equestrianism, but this morning they brought Yan Zhenzhen with them, so the three of them just jogged on the grass, stopping whenever they saw a scene they liked.
During the chat, Meng Yao mentioned Qin Ren and Yan Zhenzhen's marriage: "Sister, has the emperor told my third brother and his wife about their wedding date?"
Yan Zhenzhen blushed and said to her, "I'm not anxious at all, why are you anxious?"
Meng Yao: "They're anxious to let our Ying'er eat Uncle San and Aunt San's wedding candy."
Yan Zhenzhen pretended to be angry and turned away, but her eyes secretly glanced at the little princess who was most likely to know the news.
Qingyang smiled and said, "It should be next year. Father is worried that Prime Minister Zuo won't marry his granddaughter off too soon. Fifteen is still a little young."
The eldest sister was seventeen years old when she got married, the eldest sister-in-law was seventeen years old when she married the eldest brother, and the second sister-in-law was sixteen years old when she married the second brother. It was the end of the year and the new year was about to come.
Meng Yao: "There are many people who get married at the age of fifteen in the countryside. The main reason is that Zhenzhen looks young..."
"Say that again!" Yan Zhenzhen, who couldn't stand being called short, got angry and chased Meng Yao, but Meng Yao twisted her hand, pinched her armpits, and swung her in circles on the grass.
Qingyang watched the two of them jokingly. When they had enough fun, Meng Yao pointed to Feiying Peak ahead and said, "Shall we go to the exit down the mountain? Your second brother and the others should be here soon."
Yan Zhenzhen: "If you want to go, you guys go. I won't go."
Meng Yao: "There's no one here with us, why are you so shy?"
Yan Zhenzhen was about to hit her again, but Meng Yao quickly jumped onto the horse's back and took the lead in running towards Feiying Peak.
Yan Zhenzhen tried to coax the little princess again: "Let her go by herself. Your Highness, please accompany me to play somewhere else."
Qingyang: "That's fine. Third Brother is not good at climbing mountains. He probably doesn't want you to see him sweating profusely from exhaustion."
When Yan Zhenzhen heard this, she actually smiled wickedly: "He doesn't want me to see it, but I want to see him."
After saying this, the man mounted his horse and urged the little princess to go with her.
Qingyang: “…”
Three horses carried Princess Jing, Princess Junxian and the little princess to the exit of the mountain road below Feiying Peak.
The three of them walked around the nearby courtyard, and when they heard some noise outside, they came out and saw Qin Hong, Qin Bing, Qin Liang, Fu Kui, Deng Tai, and Fan Huaizhong, Fan Huaian, all of whom had slightly flushed faces. Although they were of different ages, they were all in relatively strong bodies. They were royal relatives or sons of nobles.
Fan Huaizhong was Fan Zhong's eldest son, only seventeen years old. His facial features resembled his father's, making him look like a young, burly bear. While others were surprised to see the little princess and her two children here, Fan Huaizhong had already taken a few steps forward with his fourteen-year-old brother, bowing loudly and saying, "Greetings, Princess, Greetings, Princess."
Qingyang smiled and told the two brothers not to be so polite.
Qin Liang poked Deng Tai from behind with his backhand.
Deng Tai glared at him but didn't move. He was almost thirty, a very old man. The emperor treated him like a nephew, and Qin Bing treated him like a brother. Why should he imitate the flattery of the Fan brothers?
Qin Hong explained to his sister, "My third brother and Zhang Su are still on the mountain. They'll be able to come down in about two quarters of an hour."
Qingyang: "I guessed it. Let's wait a little longer. Big brother, you guys go in and rest first."
Qin Hong took these people away, went inside to relieve himself, washed up, and then rode his horse to another place. Qin Bing looked at his wife twice, but finally didn't want to be laughed at by his brothers and followed them.
Meng Yao thought for a moment and said, "Hey, my stomach is suddenly feeling uncomfortable. You guys wait here. I'm going back to the South Station first."
Before leaving, Meng Yao gave the little princess a meaningful look.
Even the little princess, who could often guess her father's thoughts almost accurately, failed to immediately understand the deep meaning of her second sister-in-law.
Seeing Meng Yao riding away on her horse, Yan Zhenzhen became a little nervous, afraid that the Third Prince would notice that she had come all the way to wait for him. Just as she was about to pull the little princess away, she heard a familiar, panting voice coming from the tree-covered mountain path: "Zhang Su, you are becoming more and more unruly. I am the prince, and I asked you for help, and you dared to abandon me!"
No one paid any attention to him.
But the footsteps were getting closer and closer, and soon, a tall figure in a bamboo green brocade robe walked out of the shaded branches first and took a few steps down.
Noticing the little princess and her partner standing under a tree diagonally in front of him, Zhang Su's relatively calm expression immediately became a little more restrained. He stood at the foot of the stone steps and saluted the little princess from a distance.
He didn't dare to go forward, so Qingyang took Yan Zhenzhen and walked over. When Yan Zhenzhen turned her head to look up the mountain path, Qingyang quickly looked at Zhang Su's handsome face, and found that he was not even sweating. It was obvious that the 21-year-old third son of the Zhang family was stronger and more powerful than he was at the age of 15.
"Really?"
Just when Zhang Su couldn't keep his heartbeat steady because of the little princess's gaze, Qin Ren, who was slowly dragging his heavy and trembling legs down the mountain, also saw his fiancée waiting at the end of the mountain road. His legs were already weak, and the shock made Qin Ren fall back onto the stone steps, staring at his fiancée blankly.
Yan Zhenzhen was frightened by her fiancé's fall. She forgot everything else and ran upstairs, holding up her skirt. She rushed to Qin Ren and asked, "Is the prince okay?"
Qin Ren was fine, he just felt embarrassed. He opened the folding fan he no longer had the energy to use and held it over his head, covering most of his sweaty face, which must have been very ugly. He said, "No, it's okay. I'll be fine after a while."
Yan Zhenzhen saw that he was sweating and was trying to wipe his face with his sleeves. Yan Zhenzhen quickly took out her handkerchief, pushed Qin Ren's hand away, and bent down to help him wipe it.
His Royal Highness Prince Xian's face immediately turned red, and he whispered, "Sister, sister, they are watching..."
Yan Zhenzhen's face also turned red, but she said without much concern: "He's not an outsider."
The little princess is not an outsider, and Zhang Su, who has been the study companion of the Third Prince and the little princess for more than ten years, is also not an outsider.
Not only was Zhang Su not an outsider, he also knew not to look at anything inappropriate. As soon as Princess Junxian took out the handkerchief, he walked away with his back to this side.
Qingyang watched for a while as his future sister-in-law took care of his third brother, then looked at Zhang Su on the other side and finally understood the look in Meng Yao's eyes.
He couldn't keep staring at his third brother's future sister-in-law, so Qingyang also walked over to Zhang Su.
Zhang Su turned slightly and said to the hem of the little princess's skirt, "I have failed to take good care of the prince just now. I beg Your Highness to forgive me."
Qingyang guessed, "So when you're alone with Third Brother, you don't always observe the rules of respect and inferiority like you do with me."
Zhang Su couldn't refute it.
Qingyang once again looked at his face, which hadn't even turned red after climbing the mountain all morning, and asked out of pure curiosity, "Do you envy Third Brother? His fiancée is so gentle."
Zhang Su lowered his eyes and said, "I can take care of myself. I don't need my fiancée to work hard for me."
Qingyang smiled: "Then how do you want your fiancée to treat you? If you like someone, you always have a purpose."
Just like she chose Zhang Su as her husband because of his handsomeness, talent, character, and the fact that he had been obedient and attentive to her for more than ten years.
Zhang Su was silent for a moment, then said, "I hope my fiancée can always do what she likes, because I want to see her smile."
The two-year-old princess would cry because he and the third prince could no longer play with her. Zhang Su didn't want the little princess to cry, but he had no right to stay without permission.
The nine-year-old princess would smile because she saw him, an acquaintance, on the battlefield of Wuwei. Zhang Su also wanted to let the princess know that he was equally happy about the reunion, but he had to endure it for the sake of the princess's reputation.
The eleven-year-old princess would want to hug the Third Prince as a farewell before he opened his residence. Zhang Su was willing to let her hug him, but he couldn't.
The twelve-year-old princess could hold his hand and promise to wait for him. Zhang Su wanted to respond to her, but he shouldn't overstep his bounds.
Now, both of them have grown up and are about to be married by the emperor.
But Zhang Su still couldn't say it. He did have some plans for the little princess, and that was an identity that could legitimately respond to all her requests.
【Author’s words】
I'm here. I'm not feeling well today, so this is the last update. 100 red envelopes. See you tomorrow~
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