ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 95
If we say that these madams were intentionally discussing Li Zhizhi in the Grand Princess’s mansion, it’s not entirely accurate. Although they love gossip, they are aware of the appropriate occasions. The reason for the discussion arose when someone asked why there was no activity in the Li Mansion when the Grand Princess’s mansion was hosting a grand feast for Li Zhizhi’s Princess appointment.
In any case, adoptive parents should not be left behind, especially Madam Li. Considering her personality, when she held the coming-of-age ceremony in her mansion, she invited the Grand Princess to adorn the hairpin and eagerly spread invitations throughout the capital. However, now that her adopted daughter has been appointed as a Princess, there has been no sign of celebration. It’s truly strange.
Moreover, when the Grand Princess’s mansion hosted a banquet today, Madam Li did not show up either.
Among the idle talkers, there were those with close relations to Madam Li who had heard some exaggerated internal information. Unable to contain themselves, they shared the details with others. People were surprised and started discussing the matter like flies smelling something intriguing, each one adding their own comments.
Coincidentally, Pei Yanchuan happened to pass by and overheard the conversation. He became furious as he listened, but he knew he couldn’t confront these madams directly. Seeing a plum tree nearby, he hatched a plan. He kicked the tree vigorously, causing ripe plums to rain down, startling the gossiping madams who scattered, covering their heads.
While it felt satisfying to release his anger, Pei Yanchuan still felt indignant for Li Zhizhi when stating it in front of everyone. Why didn’t the people from the Li Mansion attend the banquet? Do they not have legs?
The air fell silent, and everyone noticed that the expression on the Grand Princess’s face was not pleasant. The affected madams, now without their previous arrogance, wished they could use their sleeves to cover their faces to avoid the sharp gaze of the Grand Princess. They regretted not checking the almanac before leaving home; it seemed they had encountered bad luck.
“As for the invitations from the Li Mansion, this palace has already sent people to deliver them,” the Grand Princess said, pausing for a moment. She glanced around at the others and raised her voice slightly, “As for why Madam Li didn’t attend the banquet, that is a matter for the Li Mansion. This palace also finds it strange. For such a big happy event, she didn’t even say congratulations, which is a bit unjust. Recently, Madam Li claimed to be unwell, and Zhizhi rushed back to the Li Mansion to attend to her illness. Accusing her of being disrespectful to her adoptive parents and unfilial is baseless!”
She said, staring at Madame Wang and others, saying, “There are always some people who are idle all day, unaware of the truth, and catch the wind and shadows, spreading rumors and stirring up trouble. Such people, forgive the Grand Princess’s residence for not being able to entertain.”
With these words, those ladies really had no face to stay any longer. They left in a hurry, one faster than the other.
The farce came to an end, and the Marchioness Jianchang looked at her son. Pei Yanchuan instinctively covered his ears, retreating cautiously, and the Marchioness scolded him without mercy, “If you dare to do this again next time, I’ll make sure to punish you.”
Pei Yanchuan defended himself confidently, “They were gossiping about Miss Li, and I couldn’t just stand by!”
The Marchioness couldn’t help but roll her eyes and didn’t say much, letting him go.
…
Although the Grand Princess ordered the servants to keep quiet, the news still reached Li Zhizhi’s ears. On the day she had a falling out with Li Cen, she was prepared for the fact that the Li family wouldn’t easily let it go, especially considering Madam Li was no easy opponent.
What surprised her even more was that Pei Yanchuan actually stood up for her. Li Zhizhi couldn’t help but feel a bit more favorable towards this usually impulsive and reckless young man.
When she thanked him, Pei Yanchuan’s handsome face suddenly turned red. He waved his hands repeatedly, stumbled a bit, and said, “It’s nothing, just a small favor. I just can’t stand people spreading baseless rumors…”
Hearing this, Li Zhizhi couldn’t help but laugh. With a charming smile and sparkling eyes, she deliberately said, “How do you know they’re baseless rumors? Maybe I just look down on the Li family and don’t want to associate with them.”
Pei Yanchuan’s eyes stared directly at her, appearing somewhat dumbfounded. After a moment, he said, “You… you’re not that kind of person.”
He still looked somewhat naive, and Li Zhizhi smiled faintly, saying, “Regardless, I still have to thank Young Master Pei for your protection.”
Suddenly, Pei Yanchuan remembered something and said, “Oh, right, I want to give you a gift.”
Li Zhizhi had initially wanted to decline, but Pei Yanchuan insisted. He said to her, “Extend your hand.”
Li Zhizhi could only do as instructed, opening her palm. Following that, Pei Yanchuan placed something on it—light in weight, but with a warm and smooth texture, like jade.
She took a closer look, and it was a thumb ring made of sheep-fat jade, the material glistening all over. There were no carved patterns on it, making it look ordinary, yet the edges refracted beautiful light under the sunlight.
Pei Yanchuan explained, “Last time at the Qian Mountain hunting ground, wasn’t your thumb ring not suitable?”
“This,” Li Zhizhi examined the jade thumb ring and hesitated. “It seems a bit too valuable.”
Worried that she might refuse, Pei Yanchuan hurriedly said, “It’s just a thumb ring, and it’s something unused in my family. Keeping it wouldn’t serve any purpose. Besides, last time, didn’t you give me a bow? Consider it a return gift.”
Upon hearing this, Li Zhizhi had to say, “Then, I thank Young Master Pei for his kind gesture.”
Pei Yanchuan breathed a sigh of relief and couldn’t help but urge, “Could you… try putting it on to see if it fits?”
Li Zhizhi then placed the jade thumb ring on her thumb. It fit perfectly, not too tight or too loose, precisely under the joint of her thumb. Pei Yanchuan finally felt relieved. He had thought his estimated size might be off and had dragged his sister-in-law, Liu Shi, to try it several times. Now seeing Li Zhizhi wearing it comfortably, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “It looks very nice.”
The girl’s fingers were fair and slender, contrasting beautifully with the sheep fat jade thumb ring.
Su Tangyu, not far away, turned to look at her second brother. She hesitated, then Su Qingshang, with slightly raised eyebrows like thick ink, asked, “Is there something?”
Su Tangyu couldn’t hold back her frustration and said, “Brother, just look at Master Pei.”
“Hmm?” Su Qingshang smiled faintly. “Master Pei is quite good. What’s the matter?”
Su Tangyu couldn’t help but glare at him and said, “Don’t you feel anything strange about Master Pei’s attentiveness? Aren’t you bothered by it at all?”
Su Qingshang thought for a moment and honestly replied, “I do have a good impression of Miss Li, but if she has feelings for Master Pei, there’s nothing I can do.”
Su Tangyu raised his eyebrows in disbelief and said, “So, you’re just giving up like this?”
Su Qingshang smiled slightly, saying, “She hasn’t developed feelings yet, right? Compared to Pei Yanchuan, I find another person more troublesome.”
Curious, Su Tangyu asked, “Who else?”
Su Qingshang glanced at her, raised his index finger, and made a hushing gesture near his lips, signaling, “Can’t say.”
…
On the other side, in the Jinshe Hall of the imperial palace, Emperor Jing Ming was in discussion with his ministers when a palace servant entered and reported, “The Crown Prince has arrived.”
The words of Prime Minister Zhao came to a halt, and everyone turned their attention to the Emperor. They expected him to continue the discussion as he did last time, keeping the Crown Prince waiting outside. However, to their surprise, the Emperor spoke, “Let him in.”
Several ministers exchanged glances, silently communicating with each other through their eyes. After a moment, the doors opened, and a tall and graceful figure confidently entered. Dressed in dark court attire with a handsome appearance, it was the current Crown Prince, Xiao Yan. As he approached, he respectfully greeted Emperor Jing Ming.
The ministers promptly stood up and bowed, saying, “Greetings to Crown Prince.”
After everyone had risen, Emperor Jing Ming spoke, “Continue with the discussion.”
“We obey your command.”
As they resumed their discussion, the ministers belatedly realized that the Crown Prince was still standing on the side. Emperor Jing Ming had not asked him to step aside, so he remained there, silently listening to their deliberations without interrupting.
This unexpected scene surprised everyone, and they couldn’t help but steal glances at Xiao Yan. Thoughts began to stir in each of their minds. The minister who was speaking even stumbled in his words, almost forgetting where he left off. This caught the attention of Emperor Jing Ming, who frowned and remarked, “I’ve already heard that sentence before.”
The official’s face slightly reddened, and he immediately knelt down, expressing remorse, “I deserve to die.”
“You always say you deserve to die, but when the time comes to die, you don’t stand up.” Emperor Jing Ming pushed the memorial forward and said coldly: “The Lan Chuan River is repaired every year, and its embankments burst every year. Now several more people have died. Now, tens of thousands of people have died, and the mastermind has not been identified. Those who usually get promoted, those who get rich, just push back when things happen. My patience is about to run out. I will give you ten more days. If you still can’t solve it, I’ll kill you one by one from beginning to end!”
He looked sternly at the officials kneeling on the ground, saying, “Even if the spring exam is advanced next year, I still have hundreds of Hanlin scholars. I’m worried that there won’t be enough official positions to go around.”
The officials hurriedly knelt down, shouting in unison, “Your Majesty, please calm your anger.”
“I’m not angry now,” Emperor Jing Ming stood up, his expression calm, even the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were composed. He said lightly, “When I’m angry, your heads won’t be enough to be chopped off.”
Everyone was filled with fear, even Prime Minister Zhao bowed his head, not daring to make a sound. They recalled the bloody past, and the Emperor in front of them was not a soft-hearted person, even though he had aged.
“As for the Crown Prince,” Emperor Jing Ming suddenly added, “since you’re idle with nothing to do, you can also join the investigation.”
Xiao Yan was slightly stunned when his name was called, and instinctively replied, “Your child obeys.”
“Now go down.”
The crowd left the hall, escorting Xiao Yan forward. The official who had been scolded earlier accompanied him and said with a cautious smile, “Congratulations, Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
“Magistrate Xu, your words are strange. Congratulations on what?” Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow, smiling ambiguously. “Congratulations on me finally getting a task and not idling around anymore?”
The official with the surname Xu’s smile froze for a moment. Xiao Yan gently patted his shoulder and spoke in a friendly tone, “Just a jest, Lord Xu. From now on, we are colleagues. I’ll rely on Lord Xu’s guidance in the future.”
“Oh, no need, no need.” The official surnamed Xu repeatedly waved his hands, flattering, “Your Highness is too kind. This subordinate is humble and inexperienced, relying on Crown Prince’s guidance.”
Xiao Yan chuckled and said, “No problem, no problem. But for now, Lord Xu, the immediate priority is to protect this official hat of yours. Otherwise, it might be difficult to wait for my guidance.”
Upon hearing this, the face of the official surnamed Xu immediately fell.