Changsun Yanheng maintained his indifferent and unambitious demeanor, but his next words were the complete opposite:
"Therefore, I need the Crown Prince's help to first help me ascend to a high position."
Shang Changge: "?"
Shang Changge could hardly believe her ears; her beautiful face made no attempt to hide the word "absurd."
Changsun Yanheng acted as if he hadn't seen it, and took out a bright red token from his wide sleeve and pushed it in front of Shang Changge:
"To be honest, I also have informants in your capital city. This is a token."
"As long as you take this token to the pawnshop called Changsheng and see the manager, you can communicate with me."
Shang Changge took the token, looked at it, and then played with it in his hand.
Looking again at Changsun Yanheng, the smile disappeared from his eyes, and he praised her with a slight lift of his lips:
"Your country is truly full of hidden talents and should not be underestimated."
Changsun Yanheng certainly didn't take this as a compliment, and explained:
"Princess, rest assured, these people have no ill intentions and neither do I."
Shang Changge put away the token and was surprisingly easy to talk to: "I believe you."
Changsun Yanheng was taken aback, then smiled calmly and didn't delve into it further, but instead brought it up again:
"I hope the princess will tell the crown prince that as long as he is willing to help me ascend to the throne, I will use the power of the whole country to help him get on the throne."
Shang Changge thought this was a really big pie, but she quickly realized something else from Changsun Yanheng's words.
As long as the Crown Prince is willing...
If you're willing...
In other words, as long as the beauty's younger brother wanted to, he was fully capable of helping Changsun Yanheng ascend to the throne of the Southern Liang Dynasty.
This discovery caused Shang Changge's eyes to bulge deeply, then she smiled, looked at Changsun Yanheng, and readily agreed:
"OK."
"I can relay a message for the Second Prince, but since I'm doing so..."
Shouldn't the Second Prince give me a gift of thanks? That would be more polite.
Changsun Yanheng: ...
This was something Changsun Yanheng had never expected. However, seeing that Shang Changge didn't seem to be joking, he had no choice but to agree after careful consideration.
Changsun Yanheng: "Please speak, Princess."
Shang Changge: "I hope you will stay in the capital for the last few days. The Second Prince, please keep a close eye on your princess."
Prevent her from having any unnecessary contact or entanglement with my third brother. I'm sure the Second Prince understands this as well.
My third brother is not a worthy man for a woman to entrust her life to, and also…
Shang Changge paused here, her beautiful eyes fixed on Changsun Yanheng as she spoke each word clearly:
"I suppose my father sent the Second Prince back to Southern Liang with many messages. We both know what those messages were."
I know there are other people in the envoy delegation, and it would be unreasonable to ask the Second Prince not to convey these words.
But the Second Prince should still be able to intervene.
Without giving anyone a chance to answer whether it was possible, Shang Changge seemingly casually toyed with the crimson token in his hand:
"If he can't even do this much, I think that even if the Second Prince rises to a high position in the future, he probably won't be able to hold onto that position."
This is blatant coercion and enticement.
If you want your handsome younger brother to help you, sure, but first show some sincerity.
Changsun Yanheng paused in his teacup, his calm eyes fixed on Shang Changge with surprise, astonishment, and admiration.
I thought that the fact that she could decipher the riddle I was playing that day already showed her exceptional intelligence.
But unexpectedly, she could even foresee these things, and not only that,
They turned the tables on him today, and now he's the one on the defensive.
Changsun Yanheng: "Forgive my impertinence, but were these words spoken by the Crown Prince to you and me before you came here?"
From what he knew, Qingyan's eldest daughter, the Crown Prince's biological daughter, was merely a woman with a volatile temper, arrogant and rude, and not particularly intelligent.
He hadn't witnessed his volatile temper these past few days, but he had seen his arrogance and rudeness.
This proves that the information he received was correct. Since the information was correct,
Those words just now shouldn't have been uttered by the woman in front of me.
Shang Changge: ...
What's the meaning?
Shang Changge wasn't stupid; she understood after a little thought.
She gave a slight twitch of her lips, seemingly unconcerned about her image in front of others.
But she didn't want to cause any more trouble for her handsome younger brother, so she also kept silent.
Shang Changge remained silent, simply watching Changsun Yanheng's enigmatic smile.
Guess! You know it's presumptuous of you to ask, how presumptuous!
Changsun Yanheng received no answer and had to give up.
He put down his teacup and gave the answer to Shang Changge's long speech:
"I understand what Your Highness means. I will give Your Highness a satisfactory result. Please wait patiently for good news."
The capital city has been experiencing continuous rain; the weather turned cooler after the Mid-Autumn Festival and is now even colder.
Princess's Residence, Rain-Viewing Pavilion.
Seeing the princess looking preoccupied after returning from Xiangzai Restaurant, Qingyao couldn't help but step forward to ask her:
"Princess, is something troubling you? If it's inconvenient for you to tell me, please do."
Should I send someone to the Crown Prince's residence to see if His Highness is free? If so, please invite him over.
"If you have something to say, please speak to His Highness the Crown Prince. Don't keep it to yourself. I've heard from the physician that excessive worry is bad for your health."
There were still people around, but Qingyao didn't dare to ask directly, so she could only beat around the bush like this.
After all, it was no small matter for the princess to meet with the prince of Southern Liang in private, and the things the princess and the prince talked about could not be known to others.
How could Shang Changge not understand the little girl's good intentions? He found it somewhat amusing.
"No need."
"I was just thinking that it was a pity that such a big table of food was wasted."
I should have known better than to order so much; it's such a waste.
Before leaving, she did consider packing up and bringing it back, but at the time, she was dressed like a wealthy young master...
Packing it up would definitely seem strange, and it wouldn't be good if it were exposed later.
Oh, what a wonderful meal!
In the apocalypse, countless people would fight tooth and nail for this one meal. She's only been here for a short time.
They've gradually gotten used to a life of luxury, indulging in fine clothes and sumptuous meals, and started to get carried away. Wasting food is shameful! Utterly shameful!!
Shang Changge was lost in his own thoughts, completely oblivious to how disheveled Qingyao looked in the autumn wind.
What did the princess just say? Food, meals?
Why would the princess be troubled by the food? Shouldn't she be concerned about the Southern Liang prince's desire to join forces with the Crown Prince?
No, that's not right.
The princess must have said that to avoid making me worry; she must be in a very difficult position right now...
Poor Qingyao, unaware of the truth, was already deceiving herself.
"Miss Qingyao."
A servant hurried over, but seeing that the princess was resting with her eyes closed, he dared not disturb her and whispered to Qingyao.
Qingyao immediately snapped out of her reverie and asked seriously:
"What is it?"
Shang Changge opened her eyes at some point and looked over as well.
The servant hurriedly lowered his head. Although the princess hadn't lost her temper lately, he was still instinctively afraid and spoke even more cautiously.
"The newly arrived physician, Jing, requests an audience with the princess."
Qingyao frowned, displeased: "Didn't you say what it was about?"
The servant shook his head.
Qingyao told the servant to step aside and looked at Shang Changge, waiting for his instructions.
Shang Changge lay on a wisteria rocking chair, covered with a thin blanket.
He gazed at the fine, dense rain for a while before casually speaking:
"I'm busy, I can't see you."
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