“You an my third brother wants to marry Qingqing?”
Noble Consort shook his head: “Uncle, that’s impossible. The third prince is eight years older than cousin Qingqing, and with Qingqing’s personality, the third prince and her... it’s a stretch.”
The third prince simply couldn’t control Qingqing.
He didn’t think the third prince would like a girl with Qingqing’s temperant.
“It’s true!”
Jing Fengjie, though older than the crown prince, wasn’t much older. Despite being an uncle by relation, the two of them got along more like brothers.
He let out a heavy breath through his nose: “I saw it with my own eyes. The third prince was pulling Miss Yan through the woods.”
And there’s the Fifth Prince…
But there’s no need to ntion the Fifth Prince. His Majesty and the Empress wouldn’t allow soone who poses a threat to the crown prince to gain the support of the Yan family.
The third prince is different…
Although the Mansion of the Duke of Cheng has fallen and Consort De is already dealt with, the Empress still rembers the old bonds and refuses to hold Consort De’s mistakes against the third prince.
Moreover, when the third prince voluntarily entered the ancestral temple, both the Emperor and the Empress were moved by his sacrifice.
As the saying goes, ‘when a person dies, all grudges fade,’ and with Consort De’s death, any lingering hatred has vanished.
And according to my grandfather, the Empress never truly hated Consort De. She was rely tired of Consort De’s endless sches.
Such is the mindset of a strong individual.
Jing Fengjie admits, the third prince played a rather clever move.
But it’s a pity, he never believes the third or fifth prince has no interest in the throne.
Taking a step back, even if the Fifth Prince harbors no such ambition, what about the Zhu family?
If it weren’t for the Empress’s victory over the previous empress, the crown prince’s position would have belonged to the Fifth Prince.
Does the Zhu family truly accept their current subordinate status?
Noble Consort chuckled: “The third prince pulling Qingqing? It must be you who misinterpreted it. It’s more likely cousin Qingqing who was pulling the third prince.”
But…
Why would cousin Qingqing pull the third prince?
This was only their second eting!
Could it be that cousin Qingqing likes the third prince?
In just three sentences, Noble Consort hit the nail on the head.
Jing Fengjie was feeling quite depressed.
He had slightly exaggerated and twisted the facts, but whether it was Yan Qingqing pulling the third prince or the third prince pulling Yan Qingqing, his intention was to have the crown prince be a bit more cautious toward the third prince.
But how co the crown prince showed no reaction at all?
“Your Highness, you…”
“No need to say more.” Noble Consort smiled, revealing a small sharp canine: “I know Uncle is concerned for , but I grew up with my third and fourth brothers. Though the third prince spent the past decade in the ancestral temple, I’m confident in my own charm. The third prince would never harm .”
What kind of growing up together is that?
When the third prince volunteered to enter the ancestral temple, the crown prince wasn’t even old enough to rember anything!
What kind of bond could they have?
But these past years, it was the crown prince who had been sending the third prince’s necessities to the ancestral temple, instructing the servants within not to mistreat him.
Yet, the heart is difficult to predict, isn’t it?
The crown prince is simply too sunny and optimistic, raised in love, so he doesn’t understand the wickedness of the human heart.
But these words, he can’t say to the crown prince. Otherwise, if they reach the Emperor’s ears, it might seem as if he’s trying to sow discord between the brothers.
Oh well, the crown prince inherited the Empress’s benevolence. This villain role can only be played by him.
As the setting sun, accompanied by the colorful clouds of the evening, gradually descended, the princes and guards who had been hunting in the forest began to erge one by one.
The third and fifth princes had no ga in hand, but the third prince held a bunch of wildflowers, bound together with long leaves into a beautiful shape.
As he approached the crowd, countless young ladies blushed, thinking the third prince had a beloved girl and this bouquet was ant for her.
But the third prince did not pause and directly walked up to the Emperor and Empress, presenting the flowers to Princess Minglan, who was seated beside the Empress: “Here, the flowers you wanted.”
The girl had a delicate and charming face, her eyes like radiant grapes subrged in clear water, large and round, shining with a crystalline light.
She wore a flowing white gown that shimred with a dazzling array of colors, a garnt that would likely rob any ordinary person of all their luster.
Yet Princess Minglan, clad in this magnificent dress, appeared even more stunningly beautiful, incomparable and enchanting.
She and the Seventh Prince were twins, with faces similar to the point of nine-tenths, though the Seventh Prince’s beauty was androgynous, whereas the princess exuded more softness and charm.
The Seventh Prince resembled the Emperor more, possessing a beauty marred by cool detachnt, while the princess favored Empress Jiang Xinyue, embodying all the virtues humanity could aspire to.
When she cos of age, she’ll likely be as srizing as her mother, a beauty capable of stirring nations.
“Thank you, Third Brother.”
When she smiled, even the flowers in her hand paled in comparison, unable to match half of her beauty.
The third prince also smiled warmly at her, gently patting her small head: “You don’t need to thank , little sister.”
Even if she wanted stars from the sky, there’d always be soone willing to pluck them for Princess Minglan.
Shen Minglan blushed again with a smile, spotting Yan Qingqing approaching and imdiately waved to her.
Seeing the third prince again brought a slight uplift to Yan Qingqing’s downtrodden mood, though her worried gaze still kept flitting toward the Fifth Prince in the corner.
The Fifth Prince, however, was sharp-eyed. His piercing stare shot over upon her third glance, causing Yan Qingqing to quickly lower her head again.
“Cousin Qingqing, are you troubled by sothing?”
Princess Minglan looked at Yan Qingqing with concern: “You don’t seem very happy.”
Yan Qingqing’s face resembled a long face: “Princess, if you were saved by your enemy and owed them a life-saving grace, you wouldn’t be happy either.”
“How could that be?”
Shen Minglan smiled gently: “If he saved , I wouldn’t hold onto past grudges. I’d be thankful and turn enemies into friends. Besides, he must not dislike , otherwise, why would he save ?”
If soone truly hated you dead, how could they possibly save you?
Unless the person doesn’t really dislike you at all, or maybe… they didn’t want to see you hard.
“Really?”
The Fifth Prince not only doesn’t hate her but actually likes her?
She ant it as friendly affection, not romantic, but surely he sees her as a younger sister, right?
Shen Minglan nodded: “If my enemy fell into the water, I wouldn’t save them. In fact, if soone else tried to save them, I’d hit them.”
As her mother said, one’s kindness should have an edge, otherwise, it becos the obnoxious virtue of a saint.
“Turn enemies into friends?”
Yan Qingqing stroked her chin thoughtfully and nodded: “Perhaps we can try.”
After all, it’s awkward having to see the Fifth Prince every day, his constant hostility making her jumpy every ti she sees him.
“Your Highness, you’re injured?”
The eunuch beside the Fifth Prince was startled, noticing the blood on his master’s arm: “There’s blood flowing here.”
The Fifth Prince only glanced and frowned: “Don’t make a fuss. I’ll bandage it myself.”
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