Yuan Ruo rolled her eyes at her and said, "You shouldn't go and cause trouble. It's an adult matter and has nothing to do with you."
"Huh? You!"
Yuan Ru snorted, then said with a grin, "Hey! But it's been a while since I've seen you bothering her. Have you been a little distant with her?"
Zhang Meier's lips twitched, and she glanced at him sideways, saying, "Hmph, mind your own business!" With that, she crossed her arms in front of her and left with an air of arrogance.
Yuan Ruo glanced at her with disdain, then quietly waited for Lord Zhang.
A short while later, Lord Zhang came over after changing his clothes and said, "Let's go, don't keep the prince waiting."
"Well then, sir, you can go ahead in the carriage. I came on horseback, which is faster."
"Okay." After saying that, the two left one after the other.
After taking them away, Zhang Meier complained to her mother, "Mother, look at Yuan Ruo. She doesn't treat me like a young lady at all and is always going against me."
The lady curled her lip in disdain and said, "It's good enough that people still treat you like a woman. Look at you..." After saying that, she turned and left, and then walked away with a sigh, "Whether I can get married or not is another matter."
Hearing this, Zhang Meier curled her lips speechlessly: "If you can't get married, then you can be an old maid for life."
Lin Ziwen arrived at the mansion first, and sat leisurely to the side drinking tea. Then he asked, "You must have something important to discuss with me, Lord Zhang, since you've summoned me and Lord Zhang together."
"When he arrives, you'll see. I have a brilliant plan."
Lin Ziwen raised an eyebrow: "But he's supposed to be neutral, are you sure he can be of help?"
Whether he can help or not depends on whether he cares about his daughter's reputation.
Lin Ziwen was puzzled, but didn't ask any further questions. He decided to wait until the man arrived to hear the details.
After waiting for quite a while, Lord Zhang finally arrived.
"Your Highness, I extend my greetings."
Yi Zexuan raised his hand and said, "No need for formalities, please sit down."
"Thank you, Your Highness." With that, Lord Zhang sat down opposite Lin Ziwen and nodded politely to him.
Lin Ziwen smiled and replied.
"I'm sure you've all heard that the Lord is going to hold a grand celebration for the Princess, and even the common people are having a great time."
Lord Zhang nodded and said, "It's not yet time for the princess to enter the palace, but the streets are already bustling with activity, just like a festival. It's incredibly lively."
"Yes, I didn't expect the lord to value it so much."
"After all, she is the eldest princess. Everyone knows that the Fifth Princess of the Central Plains is favored by the Emperor. Given her status and position, how could she not be valued? However, the people's reaction is quite good, and they all agree with the Emperor's idea." Lord Zhang said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Yi Zexuan glanced at him and said, "The princess is already feeling quite stifled living in my residence, but the princess's residence is currently under renovation, yet the princess says that it doesn't need renovation and just a simple cleaning will suffice. Does Lord Zhang know why?"
Lord Zhang frowned and chuckled in confusion, asking, "Could it be that you find it troublesome and time-consuming, and want to move in as soon as possible?"
"No, the princess means that the money for the renovation is enough to build another small house. Anyway, she will be staying in the palace after the wedding in a year, so the princess's residence will be idle again. It would be better to use the money to help the common people instead of renovating the palace. So she doesn't want me to renovate it. However, I still want to give the princess a better environment, so I will do some simple renovations."
Lord Zhang nodded: "Your Highness's compassion for the people is quite unexpected."
"And there's something even more surprising!"
"Oh?" Lord Zhang was very curious.
"After hearing that the lord would be holding such a grand event, he specifically mentioned it to me. He said that with the border war being so intense, it would be better to use this silver to forge better weapons for the soldiers and reward them properly, or to help the poor people. Otherwise, the princess would not have entered the palace, and she had no intention of doing so."
Lin Ziwen nodded and hummed in agreement: "The princess's idea is not bad, but the palace is already making preparations, isn't it?"
"Preparations are underway, but if the emperor dismisses the matter at tomorrow's morning court session, there will still be time."
Lord Zhang sighed and lamented, "On the way here, I saw the people were all happy and lively. I even said that the people were finally doing alright. I forgot that those common people on the border were still displaced. Fortunately, the princess was thoughtful, otherwise it would have been a real sin."
"Fortunately, it's not too late. The reason for summoning Lord Zhang is this: we hope that Lord Zhang will take the lead in opposing the lord's extravagant celebrations at tomorrow's morning court."
Lord Zhang hesitated for a moment, and even seemed somewhat troubled...
Yi Zexuan snorted lightly, having already anticipated that he wouldn't want to be the one to stick his neck out.
"How have you been these past few days, Miss Zhang? Your knee should be alright, right?"
Upon hearing this, Lord Zhang's heart skipped a beat, but he shook his head and said, "It's alright, it's alright. She's been like a boy since she was little, with thick skin and a tough body."
"What's wrong, Miss Zhang? Is there something I don't know?" Lin Ziwen asked curiously.
Lord Zhang smiled awkwardly. He knew his daughter cared for him deeply, and he couldn't let her know about this embarrassing matter.
"It's nothing," Yi Zexuan said.
"Yes, nothing's wrong. By the way, let's do it this way tomorrow. We'll do whatever the Prince says." Lord Zhang took the bait immediately.
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