Song Zhiyu chuckled and, as if by magic, pulled out an exquisitely embroidered sword tassel from her sleeve. "Here, you have one too."
Zhou Xingzhi's gaze froze for a moment, and he stiffly accepted the sword tassel. His well-defined knuckles gently caressed the intricate patterns on it, and his butterfly-like eyelashes trembled slightly. So this is what it feels like to be remembered by the one you love.
"This is the best birthday gift I've ever received." Zhou Xingzhi's gaze was so tender it could melt hearts, his eyes filled with Song Zhiyu's image.
Song Zhiyu felt that Zhou Xingzhi's gaze was so intense it was almost burning, as if it carried a strong sense of aggression. A blush involuntarily rose on her fair and beautiful face.
“It’s just an ordinary sword tassel…” Song Zhiyu said, looking away.
This sword tassel wasn't a birthday gift she gave to Zhou Xingzhi, but seeing how much he cherished it, Song Zhiyu couldn't help but smile, a faint curve appearing at the corner of her mouth.
“I like it very much.” Zhou Xingzhi stared straight at Song Zhiyu. The usually dignified and polite Crown Prince would only be so “rude” in front of her, engraving her figure firmly in his heart with an almost presumptuous gaze.
Looking at Zhou Xingzhi's reddened eyes, Song Zhiyu was somewhat bewitched. A sly smile curled at the corners of her lips. She slowly leaned closer to the man, her shimmering eyes still seeming to hold a hint of moisture. She breathed softly into his ear, "If you don't explain clearly, how am I supposed to know if you like gifts or the person who gives them?"
Zhou Xingzhi suddenly smiled, his large, warm hands tightly encircling Song Zhiyu's slender waist, trapping her in his arms. "I like them both, but I like the person who gave me the gift even more."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Xingzhi couldn't help but pick him up and hold him against the door. The next moment, a barrage of kisses swept over him, and the temperature inside the room continued to rise.
After a long while, Song Zhiyu finally recovered from the intense heat surrounding her. She straightened her slightly disheveled collar and said, "Let's get down to business first."
Zhou Xingzhi sat upright, his once impeccable clothes now showing slight wrinkles, but he didn't care. He tapped the rim of his cup lightly with his long fingers, looked at Song Zhiyu with a smile, and nodded slightly, "Okay."
Song Zhiyu cleared his throat and stopped looking at Zhou Xingzhi. "The imperial court will send troops to suppress the bandits in three days. With the current strength of the imperial court, it is only a matter of time before they take down Qingfeng Village."
However, if we want to resolve this matter with minimal losses and as quickly as possible, we must first find a way to safely evacuate the villagers of Mingyin Mountain.
Zhou Xingzhi listened attentively, his eyes thoughtful, clearly indicating that he had also considered this issue.
“I understand the terrain of Mingyin Mountain and have ways to solve the villagers’ problems, so I will go with them on this bandit suppression mission.”
Before Zhou Xingzhi could refuse, Song Zhiyu continued, "The Prince of Li has been colluding with Qingfeng Village for many years and has gained a lot of benefits from it. It can be said that most of the Prince of Li's money comes from Qingfeng Village. Your Highness, we both know the Prince of Li's intentions."
She looked down at Zhou Xingzhi, making no attempt to hide her disgust for Prince Li.
Li Wang desperately wanted to sit on the dragon throne. He had been scheming for many years, earning himself a reputation for being virtuous and not vying for power, in order to prepare for his future rebellion.
However, Zhou Xingzhi was no pushover either. He had fought on the battlefield since he was a young man and had never been defeated. He was known as the "God of War" in the eyes of the people and had a very high reputation and status among the common people, which was far beyond what the Prince of Li could compare to.
His appointment as crown prince was a popular choice.
However, Li Wang was too ambitious, coveting the supreme position. He secretly bribed court officials and raised his own private army.
Both publicly and privately, Song Zhiyu had no intention of allowing such a person to rise to a high position.
In his previous life, due to a war with the Northern Chu Kingdom, the Crown Prince went missing. Taking advantage of this, the Prince of Li seized power and quickly placed his own men into the palace when the palace was weak.
She died at the height of her power and prestige, and it is unknown whether Zhou Xingzhi ever returned to the capital safely.
Thinking of this, Song Zhiyu stared at Zhou Xingzhi, who was sitting to the side drinking tea, with a complicated expression.
Before long, the Northern Kingdom and the Chu Kingdom will instigate other smaller kingdoms to find a pretext to wage war against them, and the person hiding in the shadows will soon surface.
"You can do whatever you want." Zhou Xingzhi put down his teacup. He was aware of the Prince's underhanded tactics of winning over court officials, but he was too lazy to expose him and couldn't bring himself to do anything about it.
But now it seems he has gone too far in indulging him.
Zhou Xingzhi began to reflect, and even felt a little guilty.
"I'll make sure he can never recover." Qingfeng Village is just the first step; the real show is yet to come.
*
"Madam, we really don't have much silver left in the manor. We simply can't raise enough for the ransom." Qiu Yue looked disheartened, with only a few silver notes in her hand.
Every day they delay, the Fourth Prince faces greater danger.
There was no movement from the Marquis's side either; he simply told his wife to wait patiently and not to concern herself with anything else.
But how could Shen's mother really ignore it? Shen Yanxi was her own flesh and blood, and now he was in dire straits, facing vicious robbers all by himself. Her heart ached terribly, and she wished she could suffer in his place.
Mother Shen shook her head, her lips pale and dry, and she looked like she was about to collapse. "There's no time left. If Yan Xi's hands are really cut off, he'll be completely finished."
“Madam…” Qiu Yue looked worried as she carefully helped Chen’s mother.
They had just come from the lady's family home, and the amount of silver they could scrape together was pitifully small.
Mother Shen gritted her teeth and made up her mind, "If all else fails, I will have to go and beg Song Zhiyu myself. If she doesn't agree when I, as her mother, ask, then I am being unfilial."
If she hadn't been desperate, she wouldn't have resorted to such methods to deal with Song Zhiyu. After all, he was her own flesh and blood; how could she not love him?
"Madam..." Qiu Yue was helpless. Madam was trying to push the second young lady further and further away, but she still didn't say it.
"Let's go back to the manor." Madam Shen straightened up, but after taking only a couple of steps, her vision went black, and she collapsed to the ground.
"Madam!" Qiu Yue exclaimed, but she was too late to catch her and could only watch helplessly as Madam Shen collapsed to the ground and fainted.
Qiu Yue shook Chen's mother's body anxiously, "Madam, please wake up."
She certainly couldn't bring the person back to the manor by herself.
In a moment of quick thinking, Qiuyue ran to the middle of the road and stopped a carriage, pleading, "Please, sir, save my lady."
"What's going on?" An aged yet authoritative voice came from behind the carriage curtain. Qiuyue hurriedly stepped forward to explain the situation, her words full of pleading.
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