The Crown Prince walked out of the Empress Consort's palace in large strides, then abruptly stopped. He looked at Zhang Shi, who was burying her head, and impatiently said, "Look up."
Zhang Shi sniffled, her eyes were already swollen from crying.
The Crown Prince: "The Consort of the Crown Prince is from a prestigious family and pays great attention to etiquette. The next time, you don't need to go in front of her."
Zhang Shi's eyes flickered. At this point, does the male lead still have feelings for the female lead?
"Servant dares not, just... just... I feel wronged."
The Crown Prince listened more with heartache. He liked the agile and lively spirit of Zhang Shi, which was completely different from other women in the palace.
The Empress Consort follows the rules and regulations strictly, like a wooden carving or a clay statue. She is unlike Zhang Shi, who dares to boldly say she loves herself, wants to monopolize herself, and cares about herself completely, even when she is reprimanded by her. She will even persuade herself to rest. She has none of the narrow-mindedness of a small household, nor does she possess the timidity of a servant.
Zhang Shi loves herself very much. She disguised herself as a servant and accompanied herself here because she couldn't bear to leave herself.
The Crown Prince coaxed, "It's a pity for you. I'll promote your status when you go back."
Zhang Shi shook her head, "I don't want that."
The Crown Prince was surprised, "Why?"
Zhang Shi blinked her lashes and said, "I want to stay with you. If I get promoted, I can't see you all the time."
Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince felt even more at ease. This was Zhang Shi; she liked him so much.
She is indifferent to external things, only caring about her liking.
Completely different from other women.
Zhang Shi leaned closer to the Crown Prince, with a hint of discontent, "Is the Empress Consort beautiful? You stared at her so intently just now."
If someone else said that, the Crown Prince would certainly be displeased, but Zhang Shi...
"How come? You're jealous?"
Zhang Shi pouted, "I dare not."
"Don't worry, I love you the most." The Crown Prince held Zhang Shi's hand and said, "I only let you accompany her today because Prince Qi came to visit her. What else are you worried about?"
"But who knows if you will really, really... Prince, you promised me that there will only be one person."
The Crown Prince furrowed his brow. It was just some love talk, and after all, the Empress Consort was his wife; how could he not touch her at all?
But looking at Zhang Shi's sultry figure and the experience she has accumulated, it is far beyond the comparison of the Empress Consort.
Zhang Shi playfully hooked the Crown Prince's little finger. The Crown Prince's mind wandered, thinking of Zhang Shi's obsequious flattery from last night, and said immediately, "I only want you."
Zhang Shi's eyes had a look of triumph. How dare the Empress Consort compete with her?
A woman that no man would even want to touch. She doesn't know how to please men.
*
The convoy of vehicles was like a long dragon, winding its way without end. The vehicle at the front had already reached the next small town, while the last one was still leaving the hot springs palace.
Biji Wooden Root, an disgraced noble from a commoner family, traveled the world in his youth and thought he had seen the big world. Now witnessing the Crown Prince's procession, he couldn't help but sigh twice.
"Goodness me, this is a spectacle even bigger than the emperor's!"
Prince Qi sat on his horse, gazing at the chariot of the Crown Prince's Consort from a distance, and said indifferently, "The Emperor pitied the Crown Prince for losing his mother at a young age. The Crown Prince's palace is always selected from the best."
In his youth, he used to feel resentful, but now Prince Qi has long become accustomed to it.
During a severe drought in the southern region when he was young, the palace reduced its expenses. He ate boiled cabbage for a month with no oil or flavor. It was rare for there to be meat on the table, but when there was, it was cold and smelled terrible. It made people's stomachs turn.
He thought everyone lived like this until he saw the Crown Prince's spending. Every meal, dishes were laid out a foot in front of him. Flying in the sky, running on the ground, swimming in water… They were not rare or strange and couldn't be served on the table.
He made a fuss, and then he knew that there were also distinctions of status and differences between brothers, as vast as the difference between clouds and the mud.
Only until he accidentally met Su Jun, the leader of Xue Tuo's people, did he raise his eyebrows and say to the third prince, "How can you look even thinner than me? Are you really three years older than me?"
The third prince was very hungry, so he spoke slowly, "The palace is reducing its expenses."
"That can't be allowing you to thin down like this."
Su Jun's mother and Empress Dowager were handkerchief friends. At that time, Su Jun's father had just returned to power, so the Empress Dowager would indulge Su Jun a bit both publicly and privately.
So even though the Empress Dowager disliked sons born out of wedlock, she finally intervened and inquired about the third prince's affairs.
Then, the third prince realized that he was the only one eating so poorly.
Because he was young at that time, there was no mother concubine above him, and he was not of the age to enter school. Besides, he couldn't see the Emperor or Empress Dowager on holidays. So the servants collaborated to embezzle his expenses.
However, when the matter was made public, no one received any punishment.
The head of the Imperial Kitchen was a staff member left by the late Empress. The Emperor couldn't bear to dismiss him, so he was only entrusted with the Crown Prince's daily needs.
Since then, Prince Qi knew that if he wanted something, he had to go and fight for it, fight for it. Even if he banged his head against a wall, he would express his dissatisfaction. He could never just quietly accept someone else's arrangement.
With no elders above him, if he was too weak, he really would die in the palace.
By then, probably the servants would band together and say that the third prince disliked food or had caught a cold, and no one would bother to investigate it.
It's difficult to raise a child at this time.
Moreover, the Emperor has too many children. In his eyes, besides the Crown Prince, no one else is of any significance.
Oh, besides himself, because he was not well-behaved and always provoked the Crown Prince.
He's probably one of the ones the Emperor dislikes.
Qi Wang raised a mocking smile. Alas, the country's recent military failures in foreign affairs forced the Emperor to rely on him, and he was forced to award him titles and rewards he didn't deserve.
His title of king was never obtained through the Emperor's mercy.
*
Only when he returned to the capital did Qi Wang manage to catch sight of Su Jun, but each time he could only see the procession of the Crown Prince's Consort from a distance.
In the past, seeing such a grand scale of processions would bring him comfort, knowing that Su Jun was well taken care of. However, now Prince Qi was beginning to wonder.
He wanted to ask Su Jun personally.
He was afraid that she was not doing well, and that she was experiencing hardships in life.
He was also ashamedly afraid that she was doing well because the long-suppressed desire in his heart had begun to grow silently, eager to break through the shackles and get a chance to seize.
But no matter what he thought, he could no longer ask Su Jun personally.
When the Crown Prince returned to the palace in the late afternoon, the elders were considerate and had already sent someone to tell them that they could come to pay their respects tomorrow.
Both were spoiled by their elders. At this moment, naturally, they wouldn't waste the elders' concern and act courteous.
After several days of fatigue from traveling by boat and carriage, their bodies were exhausted to a great extent.
Su Jun coldly watched the Crown Prince give a few empty words before heading to the front yard to rest.
She entered the inner room, and before she could even sip her tea, she dispatched someone to summon Ding Shuang: "What background does Empress Consort Zhang come from?"
Dong Shuang, who was in charge of managing the palace's eunuchs and maids, said, "I remember she entered the palace in the twelfth year of Tianqi and was assigned to serve by the Crown Prince. In the fourth year of An Tai, the Crown Prince promoted her to a consortservant."
In the twelfth year of Tianqi, if we calculate it to now, she has been serving the Crown Prince since she was young.
"How old is she this year?"
Dong Shuang thought carefully and said uncertainly, "Perhaps twenty?"
Su Jun: "Go and investigate, when exactly did the Crown Prince favor Zhang Shu?"
They have never paid attention to this matter, thinking it was just a position given to Zhang Shi after the Crown Prince's favor.
"Here."
"Leave your matters aside. Find out as soon as possible. The quicker the better."
Dong Shuang's expression became even more solemn.
