Chapter 17 "How do you know it's my wish?"...
Pei Xuanlin said he would take Ling Zhenli to a side hall to rest for a while, and also asked the palace maids to come and redo her makeup. Ling Zhenli didn't notice anything wrong, so she followed him out of the bamboo forest and arrived at a side hall.
As I approached the hall, I heard some rustling sounds coming from inside. It was the voices of two people, a man and a woman, but I couldn't make out what they were saying.
Although you can't hear what the two are saying, it's hard to imagine the best when a man and a woman are alone in a room.
Ling Zhenli didn't want to get any closer, but seeing Pei Xuanlin continue forward as if he hadn't heard her, she sensed that this might be Pei Xuanlin's deliberate act, so she said nothing and continued to follow.
Once we reached the door, the conversation inside became clearer.
"I must keep this child. I might as well go and tell my father and mother the truth."
"Shang'er, you need to think this through. Once you give birth to this child, there's no going back. His Majesty and the Empress will be heartbroken."
"Do they only care about themselves and not about whether I'm hurt or not? They owe me so much, and they still won't agree to this little thing?"
"Marriage is not a game. One day you will get tired of me and regret your decision today. And there are the children. I don't want them to be implicated by me in the future, like Yang Chongzheng, who was ignored by the princess..."
“How could I be like that bitch Pei Shen’ai? Chengxiu, I love you. Don’t you love me? Don’t you want to marry me? You didn’t abandon me back then, so how could I abandon you and our child now? Touch him, he’s growing inside me. How can you bear to not want him?”
He is the grandson of Princess Jin'an.
Did the two secretly conceive a child?
Ling Zhenli was stunned as she listened, and the palace maids behind her also heard it and could hardly believe their ears.
Pei Xuanlin, however, acted as if he hadn't heard a thing and pushed the door open.
The two people inside were interrupted by Pei Xuanlin's sudden burst into the room.
Yang Chengxiu immediately realized something was wrong. Before everyone could see Pei Shang'er, he grabbed the cloak next to him and wrapped it around her, then stood up and stood in front of her to shield her.
The palace maids were sensible and did not follow them in; only Pei Xuanlin led Ling Zhenli into the side hall.
Behind the screen, Pei Shang'er, clutching her cloak to cover her face, peeked out from behind Yang Chengxiu with a pair of fox-like, piercing eyes, staring at the two of them.
She finally realized that Pei Xuanlin had plotted against her.
Yang Chengxiu looked coldly at Pei Xuanlin, warning him to leave with her eyes.
In the past, Yang Chengxiu, as the grandson of the crown prince, was outstanding and highly valued by Emperor Wen. Even when he held power, he never showed such disrespect to Pei Xuanlin.
Pei Xuanlin narrowed his phoenix eyes and raised the corners of his mouth: "I heard that you, my royal sister, were unwell and came to this side hall to rest, so I came to visit you. I did not expect that you were having a secret rendezvous with the Prince of Huainan here. What a refined taste you have."
"You filthy..."
Just as Pei Shang'er was about to curse, Yang Chengxiu pulled her back, stepped forward himself, and sneered at Pei Xuanlin.
"The princess is still as capricious as ever. I thank His Highness the Crown Prince for his concern on her behalf. I hope His Highness will give me face and not spread this matter."
Pei Xuanlin frowned as he looked at Yang Chengxiu's half-respectful, half-threatening expression. Ling Zhenli, standing to the side, rolled his eyes. He had only told the Crown Prince not to tell anyone about this...
"My husband, I'm a little tired and don't want to stay here."
Ling Zhenli tugged at Pei Xuanlin's hand. She was confident that Pei Xuanlin would take advantage of her spoiled nature and wouldn't refuse any of her requests, even now.
Pei Xuanlin looked down at her, then smiled gently: "Okay, I'll take you to another place."
After saying that, he glanced at Pei Shang'er and said, "Royal sister, take care of yourself."
After Ling Zhenli brought Pei Xuanlin out, she heard Princess Jin'an cursing and Yang Chengxiu comforting her from inside, which fueled her desire for revenge.
After she finished her makeup, Ling Zhenli summoned a maid and instructed Yingchun to socialize with the other noble ladies' maids. Taoxia then pretended to tell her the secret of the princess's pregnancy. This way, the maids, curious about what had happened, would inquire with Yingchun and then tell their mistresses. The mistresses would then tell their families, and the whole capital would know.
After finishing the plan, Ling Zhenli calmly followed Pei Xuanlin back to the banquet, appearing completely unconcerned about what she had just witnessed.
*
Pei Shen'ai was anxious to see her son ignoring his daughter-in-law Pei Chanlian like a wooden stake. Suddenly, she thought of a brilliant idea. She asked someone to bring out the gold hairpin with a pavilion and figure design that Emperor Wen had worn when he was empress, and made it the prize for the next competition. In order to give her son and daughter-in-law a chance to get along, she also specially instructed that they could only participate in the competition if they were a man and a woman.
As soon as the item was displayed, everyone eagerly gathered around to admire it. Such an exquisite object, which Emperor Wen had once worn and which was bestowed upon the eldest princess, made everyone secretly plot their victory.
“Chongheng, I originally intended to give this gold hairpin to Roujia. Why don’t you go and win it back for her?”
Pei Shen'ai was reminding Xiao Chongheng, which was also giving him an order.
Xiao Chongheng cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and said helplessly, "Your son understands."
Upon seeing this, Pei Chanlian's eyes involuntarily focused on the Crown Princess, who had just returned to the banquet.
Since that woman returned, Xiao Chongheng's gaze had fallen on her several times. Pei Chanlian recalled the day she accompanied Xiao Chongheng into the palace; Xiao Chongheng's attitude towards the Crown Princess was unusual. He spoke to the Crown Princess as if flirting, which was incomparable to ordinary male-female relationships...
Moreover, he never went to the palace to pay his respects on ordinary days. But on that day, when everyone knew that the Crown Prince was going to bring the Crown Princess to the palace, he suddenly wanted to go to the palace, claiming that he hadn't paid his respects to the Emperor and Empress with her for a long time. In reality, he probably wanted to see the Crown Princess.
After meeting the Crown Princess in the Imperial Garden, Xiao Chongheng tricked her into returning to the Duke's Mansion first, saying he had important matters to discuss with His Majesty. Now it seems he's gone to see the Crown Princess...
Pei Chanlian felt increasingly uneasy and couldn't sit still any longer, so she got up and went to find the Crown Princess.
*
Ling Zhenli was originally planning to sit down with Pei Xuanlin to watch the upcoming polo match, but then she saw Xiao Yuzhen pestering Xie Daojian. She also wanted the hairpin that the princess would use as a prize, and she had asked Xue Haoting to partner with her, but he refused. Now she had no choice but to beg Xie Daojian to partner with her and win it back.
Xie Daojian glanced at her a few times, but he was helpless against Xiao Yuzhen. Seeing that Xie Daojian was about to agree after being pestered by her, Ling Zhenli couldn't sit still. A strange jealousy welled up in her heart. In order to prevent Xie Daojian from accompanying Xiao Yuzhen, she took the initiative to go to Xue Haoting.
...
Xue Haoting was drinking with his friends when Ling Zhenli arrived. The young men who were playing with him were very perceptive and quickly took their leave.
Xue Haoting was secretly pleased to see Ling Zhenli, but he pretended not to care.
"Oh, I thought you wouldn't come looking for me if I didn't."
After Xue Haoting finished speaking, he ignored Ling Zhenli and continued eating.
Ling Zhenli rolled her eyes, but remembering that she needed his help, she had no choice but to suppress her displeasure: "I need your help with something."
Xue Haoting softened his tone, a rare occurrence: "What kind of help?"
"Go and keep Princess Yongtai company. You can do anything with her."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xue Haoting's expression changed immediately. He looked up at Ling Zhenli, his eyes filled with annoyance.
“I’m not going,” he refused outright.
Ling Zhenli was still unwilling to give up after being rejected. She really didn't want to see another woman entangled with the man she loved. Her mind was completely occupied by this one thing, and she couldn't care about anything else.
"You promised me you would accompany Princess Yongtai, and I will do as you wish and return to the Prime Minister's residence alone to see you." Ling Zhenli's eyes were firm and her seriousness left no room for doubt.
How do you know it's what I want?
Ling Zhenli avoided answering, only saying, "I will satisfy you."
Seeing that she was willing to use him as a bargaining chip, Xue Haoting realized that she really wanted to push him towards Xiao Yuzhen...
Since she's willing to give it to me, why not accept it?
"Okay, it's a deal."
Although Xue Haoting was unwilling, he got up and went to find Xiao Yuzhen to show him around the princess's residence in order to make Ling Zhenli happy.
Although Xiao Yuzhen really wanted the hairpin, her beloved was still the most important person to her.
Seeing that Xie Daojian was finally free from the clutches of women, Ling Zhenli breathed a sigh of relief.
They succeeded.
After giving Xue Haoting instructions, Ling Zhenli felt much better and decided to go back to watch the polo match later.
That hairpin was indeed beautiful; she wanted to see just how many women would go crazy for it.
She had just returned to Pei Xuanlin's side and hadn't even had time to calm down when she saw Princess Roujia, the wife Xiao Chongheng had married, walking towards her.
Princess Roujia was probably the woman she least wanted to see, even more so than Princess Wuyang, but she had no choice but to deal with her.
Pei Chanlian bowed slightly upon arrival.
"I wonder if the Crown Princess still remembers me? I met you in the Imperial Garden that day. I am Princess Roujia."
Her voice was gentle and sweet, but her eyes were filled with scrutiny and arrogance.
Ling Zhenli sensed the malice emanating from Pei Chanlian, but she also disliked Pei Chanlian. She forced a polite smile and said, "Your Highness is so beautiful that I cannot forget you."
"I wonder if the Crown Princess is interested in polo?"
Pei Chanlian's gaze was provocative; it was clear she had ill intentions.
"I have no interest."
Ling Zhenli was not to be outdone, and returned the look with a disdainful gaze.
Without resorting to veiled sarcasm, Pei Chanlian, having reached this point, was no longer inclined to beat around the bush with the Crown Princess. She went straight to the point, saying, "All of my royal family members are skilled in horsemanship. Now that the Crown Princess is also a member of my royal family, I would like to take advantage of today's polo match to see how well the Crown Princess rides. I wonder if the Crown Princess would do me the honor?"
With such provocative words, Ling Zhenli was too lazy to give her any more face and said directly, "Not to mention that I am the Crown Princess, even among noble ladies outside the capital, there are very few who do not know how to ride horses. It seems that the princess is unaware that there are always people more capable than you."
“I just want to see how well the Crown Princess rides. I saw her in the Imperial Garden last time and felt a strong connection. The next competition will require a male-female pairing…” Pei Chanlian changed the subject and turned to Pei Xuanlin, “Why don’t you bring your sister-in-law to the competition and have a friendly match with us, Your Majesty? The prize for the next competition is the highlight of the banquet. If Your Majesty wins for your sister-in-law, it will surely bring a smile to her face.”
A note from the author:
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