Chapter 45
As dusk drifted through the window lattice, four small dishes were already set on the eight-immortals table. Zhao Yan'er held a white porcelain bowl, chopsticks holding a pickled radish, cheeks bulging, but her mouth was busy.
"Dad, you didn't see it. I met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the palace today. His Royal Highness's emotional intelligence is really worrying!" She chewed the food heavily, her brows twisted like a tangled mess.
She chattered on and on for a long time, and half of the food on the table was gone, but there was still no movement from the opposite side.
Zhao Yan'er swallowed the food in her mouth and looked up to see her father, Zhao Wanyong, holding chopsticks and hanging in the air. His eyes were fixed on the oil lamp on the corner of the table. His pupils were slightly dilated, as if his soul had left his body.
"Dad?" she called out tentatively.
Zhao Wanyong didn't even raise his eyelids.
"Dad!" Zhao Yan'er raised her voice and waved her hand in front of him.
Only then did Zhao Wanyong tremble suddenly, as if waking up from a dream, and his chopsticks fell on the table with a clang.
He blinked and looked at his daughter, his eyes still a little confused: "Hmm? Yan'er, what did you say just now?"
Zhao Yan'er placed the bowl on the table, and it made a crisp sound. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the edge, and looked at her father curiously. "Dad, what's wrong with you? You've been distracted since the dishes were served. I've been complaining about His Highness for a long time, but you haven't responded. Is something bothering you?"
The halo of the oil lamp flowed on the silver hair at Zhao Wanyong's temples. His Adam's apple moved, and he reached out to rub his brow. His voice was filled with a subtle fatigue: "Nothing, perhaps I've been too busy with court affairs recently, and I'm a little tired."
"Really?" Zhao Yan'er obviously didn't believe it. She rolled her eyes and reached out to touch her father's forehead, "But you don't look tired. Are you feeling unwell somewhere?
Zhao Wanyong slapped Zhao Yaner's hand, sighed, and said, "Oh, you're so outspoken and never admit defeat to men. What can I do with you?"
Zhao Yaner suddenly wilted and muttered, "Why are you suddenly saying something like that?"
Zhao Wanyong put down his chopsticks and said seriously, "Which parents-in-law would like such an unruly daughter-in-law?"
Zhao Yaner immediately grasped the pain point and asked, "Huh? What daughter-in-law?"
Zhao Wanyong saw that the matter could no longer be concealed, so he told her everything about the prime minister's proposal for his son's marriage, while observing her reaction as he spoke.
Zhao Wanyong knows his daughter best. Once something doesn't go her way, she will make a scene without caring about the consequences. Fortunately, during Zhao Wanyong's narration, his daughter remained relatively calm.
What Zhao Yan'er was thinking was that as early as when she was in Lingnan, she had heard that the son of the prime minister was a dissolute man who often frequented brothels. These things were no secret and she would know it with a little inquiry. If things did not go well, he would lose his father as an ally. Now he was seeking marriage for his son, so he must have other intentions.
However, Zhao Yaner did not tell these words to her father.
Zhao Yaner pretended to be surprised and said, "The Prime Minister's house?"
Zhao Wanyong said angrily: "What's so surprising? Do you think you are still a child?"
Zhao Yaner looked at her father, a bad feeling welling up in her heart. She asked tentatively, "The prime minister's son, wouldn't you agree so quickly?"
Zhao Wanyong asked, "Don't you like it?"
Zhao Yan'er didn't want her father to know that she had feelings for the prince, so she denied it, saying, "I haven't thought about it, so I was a little panicked."
Zhao Yaner paused and continued, "Father, if I must marry, I want to marry the person I like."
He looked at his daughter's graceful figure, and his throat suddenly tightened.
Seventeen years have passed. The little girl who always loved to chase after him and ask for candy has grown into this.
Memories came flooding back.
When Wan Niang was dying, her skinny hands tightly grasped his sleeves, and her tears fell on the back of his hand like broken jade beads, burning hot, "Wan Yong,"
She was barely breathing, but her eyes were fixed on Yan'er, who was sleeping soundly in her cradle. "Please... treat her well. In the future... in the future, find her a reliable family so that she can live a stable life..."
His eyes were red as he responded repeatedly, but Wan Niang was still worried. She didn't close her eyes until she took her last breath.
Later, as soon as the idea of remarrying came to his mind, he suppressed it.
He was always afraid that Yan'er would be wronged, after all, a stepmother's heart was unpredictable.
Unexpectedly, it was Yan'er who first noticed his loneliness. One snowy night, while bringing him ginger soup, she whispered, "Father, don't worry about me. If there's a suitable aunt, you can marry her. I just hope someone can take good care of you for me."
She was only ten years old at that time.
Zhao Wanyong turned his back and wiped his face quietly. He owed Wan Niang, and he had to let his young daughter repay him.
"What are you thinking about?" Zhao Yaner asked, looking at her dazed father.
"Nothing!" Zhao Wanyong pulled his thoughts back. Looking at the face in front of him that looked exactly like Wan Niang's, Zhao Wanyong picked up a bite of food for Yan'er and said, "Okay, okay, don't worry, take your time to find it!"
Zhao Yaner smiled knowingly, took a bite of food for her father, and said to him coquettishly, "Dad, you are so nice!"
——
Ever since the argument with Li Yin after the library, Luo Sanrong always began to avoid Li Yin deliberately. He felt very uncomfortable. He didn't know whether he felt sad for the affairs of Sun Zhong and Yue Xi, or felt uncomfortable for the inexplicable thoughts in his heart. Unconsciously, he walked to that "secret base" again.
After arriving here, Luo Sanrong found an unexpected person, it was Ji Zeming. Luo Sanrong walked up to him, sat next to him, turned sideways and asked Ji Zeming: "Sir? Why are you here?"
Ji Zeming did not answer her question. He just stared at Luo Sanrong for a moment, then lowered his eyes and asked, "Who makes you so sad?"
Luo Sanrong was startled. Thinking of the man in front of her who often frequented brothels and was so favored by the women there, and who was good at reading people's expressions, she knew she couldn't hide her emotions from him. She said bluntly, "It's me. The person who makes me sad the most is me."
Luo Sanrong lowered his head and said somewhat disappointedly, "It seems that I will only trouble Your Highness, and this makes me very painful."
Seeing Luo Sanrong's sad expression, Ji Zeming asked, "You mean as a eunuch?"
Luo Sanrong looked at him with some confusion, not understanding why, but still replied, "Of course!"
Ji Zeming looked Luo Sanrong up and down with sharp eyes, his eyes full of scrutiny and profound meaning.
After a moment, he opened his thin lips and said in a low but clear voice, "Maybe this isn't the place for you! This eunuch's clothes may not suit you!"
Luo Sanrong's heart skipped a beat, but he pretended to be calm, lowered his head slightly, and let his long eyelashes tremble, trying to hide the panic that flashed in his eyes.
Fortunately, Ji Zeming did not pay too much attention to her emotions. He just opened a wooden box in his arms. Luo Sanrong had noticed this box as early as when she first came, but she didn't dare to ask too much. Now, Ji Zeming actually opened the box in front of her.
When she opened it, she found that it was the same set of clothes that Ji Zeming had bought when she and Ji Zeming went shopping together last time the envoy came. At that time, Ji Zeming said that he wanted to give this set of clothes to a precious person. Unexpectedly, Ji Zeming's precious person was actually in the palace.
Luo Sanrong asked doubtfully: "Sir, this dress, doesn't it mean..."
Ji Zeming looked down at the women's clothing and said, "Yes! I'm still waiting for the day when she will happily accept it!"
Luo Sanrong had never thought that the legendary playboy would actually be afraid of being rejected, but she didn't show it. She just said, "But why are you holding this dress today?"
Ji Zeming looked up at Luo Sanrong directly, with an unknown emotion in his eyes, "Today I want to ask that precious person,"
"Do you want to be a woman?"
Hearing Ji Zeming's question, she suddenly stopped moving, raised her eyes and looked at him, her eyes full of confusion.
After a while, she came back to her senses. Her expression gradually became solemn and her eyes became firm. After a while, she began to respond. Although her voice was soft, it revealed an unquestionable determination: "I still want to do this."
He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white from the exertion, and the veins on his forehead throbbed faintly. He asked anxiously, "It's too dangerous for you to be in the palace like this! Don't you know that?"
Luo Sanrong remained silent and did not answer.
Seeing this, Ji Zeming promised: "I will help you become a woman outside the palace!"
Seeing Luo Sanrong remain silent, Ji Zeming continued, "I've been wanting to say this since I bought this suit."
Luo Sanrong hesitated. She knew Ji Zeming was doing this for her own good, but she still felt a sense of loss. "Sir, I..."
Ji Zeming interrupted her and placed the wooden box containing women's clothing directly into Luo Sanrong's arms, saying, "I'll wait for you!"
Ji Zeming paused and said, "Until I know what you really want!"
Luo Sanrong stared at the clothes in her arms in a trance. When she wanted to return the clothes to Ji Zeming, she found that Ji Zeming had already walked away. Luo Sanrong looked at the clothes in her arms and smiled helplessly...
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