"It’s not just , Xiao Shiqing also got injured trying to save the princess."
The man was undeniably perceptive at tis, and with just a pause, he imdiately sensed sothing amiss, so he dragged Xiao Shiqing down with him.
Qu Fulan’s expression indeed softened considerably.
It’s not that she was suspicious, but so many stories in novels about heroes saving beauties always ended with so unforeseeable event.
She absolutely did not want such things happening to her, like so clichéd plot of "a life-saving favor must be repaid with marriage," leading to a love rivalry. Not to ntion that she was certain she couldn’t compete with the princess; if such a thing occurred, she’d simply give up.
In her view, for things to escalate to the point of a "competition," it must an the man has indulged in sothing, otherwise, it wouldn’t have developed to such an extent. If that were the case, what reason would there be for her to persist?
Qu Fulan admitted that she was sowhat cold-hearted. Just like in the modern era, with that childhood friend, when he said the words "she’s my sister," she imdiately gave up and did not persist, even when he later turned back, she didn’t go back to him.
In her eyes, if the person she liked also liked her, and both were well-matched, there was no need to involve others. Why compete, then?
An occurrence of competition must an this man is hesitating, or enjoying the feeling of being fought over.
"Aren’t you two quite skilled in martial arts? How co you’re both injured?" Qu Fulan said annoyingly, applying more pressure during the bandaging.
Pei Ji’an inhaled sharply, "What use is our martial arts, when the civilian princess doesn’t know any? The enemy targeted her, and her protectors inevitably got caught up."
His voice carried a hint of grievance.
Qu Fulan eased her strength but laid down a stern warning, "Don’t cause any trouble, I won’t stick around for it."
Pei Ji’an laughed, "Do you take for a heartthrob? Besides, I’m married already; any trouble would be Shiqing’s problem."
Qu Fulan found that reasonable too, considering Xiao Shiqing was the original male lead; it’s normal for him to encounter trouble.
"What were you buying at the jewelry store this noon?" he asked.
Qu Fulan was startled for a mont; she had been standing in the crowd watching him, right in front of the jewelry store.
"You saw ?"
"A flower among the leaves, is it so surprising I spotted you?"
"But I didn’t realize you saw ?"
"Just a glance sufficed; in such settings, it’s inappropriate to keep staring."
Qu Fulan instantly felt a sense of fulfillnt, her lips slightly curled up, and she finally had the mood to pay attention to other matters.
"What’s the background of that civilian princess? How co there’s no information, suddenly she was brought back to the capital?"
Pei Ji’an didn’t hide anything and recounted all that had happened to her.
It turned out, the serious illness of King Jie was caused by Pei Ji’an, Xiao Shiqing, and the emperor, who obtained a drug that muddles one’s consciousness. In such a state, any question posed would likely lead to full confessions.
Then they learned from King Jie about the civilian princess.
The old lady’s earlier guesses were correct; the civilian princess was indeed related to the emperor’s first wife.
She was a woman the emperor married on the fief, but before she could be recorded in the Jade Scroll and recognized as a royal bride, the emperor returned to the capital and was crowned Crown Prince. He defended her position as his principal wife against all opposition and personally went to the fief to retrieve her. Unfortunately, during this ti, she disappeared when she was already diagnosed by the doctor as carrying a child, a girl.
For years, the emperor had been secretly searching, using Pei Ji’an and Xiao Shiqing ostensibly to combat the remnants of the forr dynasty, but in reality also to discreetly search for his beloved and the child.
He had no idea if the child survived after the mother’s disappearance.
This was why King Jie managed to survive all this ti; because of what happened back then, the emperor suspected that his beloved had fallen into King Jie’s hands.
"Now that the princess has been found, what about her mother?"
Pei Ji’an shook his head, that was King Jie’s brilliance; he likely left many contingencies.
The drug was ineffective after its first use, and its effects were limited, consuming all the ti available for a single question, so the whereabouts of the emperor’s beloved remained unknown.
Or perhaps King Jie himself did not know the exact location.
This is the brilliance of a strategist; if he wished, he could know a lot of information, yet he might not necessarily be involved in these matters. Thus, preventing any slip should he be captured and interrogated later.
Regarding the quest to find the princess, it took nurous verifications to finally confirm.
Qu Fulan remained silent; in ancient tis, without DNA testing, one could only estimate based on approximate tilines, witness testimonies, and evidence. If these elents matched, then it was affird.
The palace.
Tonight, the palace was bound to be extraordinary.
Though there was no ti to prepare a court banquet, the concubines in the palace dared not be negligent and all mobilized to congratulate the emperor on finding the princess.
The Emperor was in high spirits today, even more so after seeing her, as he couldn’t stop laughing heartily.
Everyone wanted to seize the opportunity to say a good word to the emperor and earn his goodwill.
Even the Empress Dowager sent gifts to the civilian princess, and the princess was eventually led by the emperor to pay respects to the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager had never seen the woman her son married on the fief but valued the royal lineage that had been adrift. She spoke so heartfelt words and then discussed the title for the princess with the emperor before resting.
That night, the civilian princess received a title: Zhuyu—Princess Zhuyu.
The bestowal of the na Zhuyu signified the emperor’s high regard.
"This Ronghua Palace shall be your abode, with these selected nannies, maids, and eunuchs to attend to you. Nanny Lai once served your mother; it would have been perfect for her to care for you, but now the Empress Dowager’s health isn’t good and she’s accustod to having Nanny Lai serve her. Thus, Father had to choose others for you. If anything is lacking, just tell Father, treat this place as your ho, and don’t conceal any difficulties."
The princess, freshly returned from the populace, was not yet familiar with many of the palace protocols and only expressed her gratitude as prompted by the nearby nannies.
"Tomorrow, I’ll have Nanny Gui co teach the princess etiquette, what does His Majesty think?" the Empress suggested warmly.
Nanny Gui was famously strict in the palace, but the rules and etiquette she taught were the best. Even when Qu Fulan entered the palace to asure the Empress for clothing, it was Nanny Gui who instructed her in the formalities.
"The Empress’s suggestion is excellent, let’s do that." The Emperor was fond of the Empress; although she had not borne him a prince, her character was virtuous and generous, possessing the deanor of an Empress, which satisfied the Emperor greatly.
Originally, when the Emperor was being appointed as Crown Prince, the Empress was the one recomnded by everyone, including the late emperor. However, the Emperor opposed the majority, insisting on giving the position of Crown Princess Consort to his wife from the fief.
But the current Empress petitioned before the late emperor, expressing her willingness to beco a concubine to support the Crown Prince’s wish, thus reducing the Crown Prince’s pressure.
This was also why, when the Emperor ascended the throne and the fief wife had completely disappeared, he ultimately appointed the current Empress in consideration of the greater good.
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