Upon hearing that the Crown Prince was requesting an audience, the Emperor Qi’s angry expression eased up slightly, and he did not confront the young eunuch again.
He touched the dragon eye bodhi bead on his wrist, then waved his hand and said in a deep voice, “Please let the Crown Prince in.”
The young eunuch was relieved and quickly kowtowed, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
In fact, Xiao Jin was curious about why the male lead came to the study room.
After all, with the male lead’s perfect character, he rarely revealed his true intentions to others, except for rejecting the Emperor’s offer of marriage at the beginning of the story.
On one hand, the male lead enjoyed the adoration of the people, even the original owner, who had a difficult personality, was willing to become his wingman. On the other hand, he secretly suppressed the power of the fourth prince and removed any obstacles without leaving any trace.
However, there was an unfortunate aspect to this.
Due to the melodramatic and outdated nature of this story, the author let loose and the male lead’s character collapsed, becoming doggedly persistent in pursuing his love interest and resorting to forceful methods.
Ignoring this, the male lead’s intelligence was still intact.
The room was filled with the aroma of incense and smoke from the brazier.
Xiao Jin leaned back on her wheelchair, quietly listening to the footsteps, her face expressionless.
In reality, she was using her peripheral vision to observe Chu Shao’s reaction.
Ever since Chu Shao had pushed Xiao Jin back into the original owner’s room last night, she had been suspicious that she knew something.
Based on years of experience reading online novels, it wasn’t strange to encounter a female lead who had been reborn in a novel world.
However, what was strange was that from the moment the male lead entered the study, bowed to Emperor Qi, and greeted him, Chu Shao’s expression remained unchanged, with a faint smile on her face.
By observing someone’s expression, you can often see their subconscious reaction, which is often difficult to control or conceal.
It seems that she really doesn’t care.
So Xiao Jin felt even more puzzled.
If the female lead hadn’t been reborn, how could her character have collapsed like this? But even if she had been reborn, wouldn’t she have some reaction when she saw the male lead and the second male lead?
While Xiao Jin was observing Chu Shao, the Crown Prince Xiao Yu had already paid his respects to the Emperor.
He then turned around in surprise and smiled at everyone present, saying, “What a coincidence. Today, I came here to help with the disaster relief in Xunzhou, and I didn’t expect my third and fourth brothers to be here too.”
“Your Highness cares about the common people, and I am ashamed,” said the Fourth Prince with a smiling face, but sneering inwardly.
Why did he have to come now of all times? And why pretend that it was a coincidence? Who was he trying to fool?
The Crown Prince was dressed in a python robe, with a jade belt tied around his waist, and exuded an air of refinement and elegance.
In response to the Fourth Prince’s insincere compliments, he merely smiled and said, “You’re just joking, Fourth Brother. I’m just doing my duty as a subject. Although you’re still young and haven’t yet entered the court as an official, it’s still good to frequently visit the palace to pay respects to our father, the Emperor, and show filial piety.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jin almost burst out laughing.
Still young? Paying respects and showing filial piety by bringing two pipa girls to the study? It was ridiculous!
The Fourth Prince looked at the trembling pipa players kneeling on the ground, his face turned cold, smiling but not really smiling, “Your Highness, the Crown Prince, is too kind.”
The Emperor Qi’s face also didn’t look good, after all, the Crown Prince’s words were aimed not only at the fourth prince.
However, the Crown Prince appeared calm, and even turned around and smiled slightly, looking towards Xiao Jin and Chu Shao.
But when he saw Chu Shao, his gaze seemed to pause for a moment.
Chu Shao, however, had no reaction, with a gentle smile on her lips, calmly facing the Crown Prince, and bowed, “Your Highness, the Princess, greets you.”
After regaining his senses, the Crown Prince smiled and said, “The princess is courteous.”
Seeing this scene, Xiao Jin wanted to roll her eyes: here it comes, the famous love-at-first-sight scene.
It was you who refused the marriage at first, and now you’re the one who’s lost in thought. You, the male lead, are truly a dog.
However, the Crown Prince was obviously a dog who loved his country more than beauty.
Soon he became immune to Chu Shao’s beauty attack and looked at Xiao Jin with concern, asking, “Is the third brother’s cough better?”
The real Xiao Jin had already coughed to death, but the Crown Prince’s words were obviously just a polite remark, after all, the original owner had also been a supporter of the Crown Prince before she died.
False concern for sick subordinates is more conducive to extracting remaining value.
Xiao Jin understood all this, so she coughed twice and said calmly, “Thank you, Your Highness, the Crown Prince, for your concern, your younger brother is much better now.”
I don’t know if it was Xiao Jin’s imagination, but when she said these words, she always felt that the Crown Prince seemed to furrow his brows imperceptibly.
Immediately she became alert: did she just mess up by saying only one sentence?
As it turned out, she didn’t, as the Crown Prince redirected his gaze and said with satisfaction, “Very well.”
Xiao Jin didn’t know what was so good about it.
She just sat in her wheelchair, watching the male lead casually dismiss the pipa players in the room and begin discussing state affairs with the Emperor.
This discussion went on for a long time.
It was so long that Chu Shao became bored and began examining Xiao Jin’s fingers.
The more she looked, the more interesting it became. Xiao Jin’s hands weren’t small, they were pale and slender, with distinct knuckles.
But compared to an average man, the bones in her fingers were too thin.
Chu Shao smiled, thinking joyfully, what else had she not considered?
But every time she reached a crucial point, she couldn’t remember what she had just been thinking about.
Strange, very strange.
Xiao Jin didn’t find it strange at all, as the system had long since revealed the truth to her:
“To maintain the normal development of the world in the novel, the system will reduce the intelligence of all characters regarding the issue of the original gender of the host, based on the logic of the novel’s author.”
“…”
It was impressive, really impressive.
In order to cover up logical gaps in an outdated melodramatic novel, the system had put in so much effort.
After discussing state affairs with the Crown Prince, he stooped to pick up the memorial that had fallen on the ground, respectfully handing it to the Emperor Qi with a smile, and asked, “May I ask what troubled the Emperor just now?”
It would have been better not to mention it, but when this matter was raised, Emperor Qi’s hand that was receiving the memorial paused.
After taking the memorial, he threw it on the table and said in a deep voice, “It’s all because of your third brother. It’s bad enough that he usually acts recklessly, but he even snatched your fourth brother’s bride yesterday, causing great shame to the imperial family in front of the common people!”
Xiao Jin remained noncommittal. Although you were set up as a foolish ruler, it seems quite shameful to listen to pipa music in the study, right?
She didn’t want to deal with Emperor Qi, but Chu Shao spoke up.
“Your Majesty, I don’t think this is right.”
Xiao Jin looked at Chu Shao’s shallow smile and suddenly had a bad feeling.
Emperor Qi was puzzled. How could a princess of a fallen kingdom dare to openly challenge him?
However, since his sons were still present, he only frowned and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Chu Shao’s smile remained gentle, and her voice was as clear as jade: “Although I was sitting in the bridal sedan yesterday, I could still hear the sound of swords outside. The people didn’t react, but instead applauded and cheered, even betting and toasting.”
After saying this, the study fell silent for the third time.
Xiao Jin maintained her composure, but inwardly she was somewhat suspicious. Was Chu Shao a spy sent by the other side?
Sure enough, Emperor Qi was angry, his fury rising.
At first, he thought Xiao Jin had only snatched away Xiao Yi’s bride, but he didn’t expect that his two good sons would even fight each other in front of everyone! As for who won or lost, the result was obvious.
It was a joke, a huge joke. The face of the Xiao family was almost lost by Xiao Jin.
However, it was hateful that Xiao Jin now had paralyzed legs and a serious illness, and he couldn’t drag this unfilial son out and give him a good beating.
In a fit of anger, the Emperor Qi could only point at Xiao Jin and curse, “Xiao Jin, if you don’t send back the Yao Kingdom princess to your fourth brother’s mansion today, I will treat you as if you were not my son anymore!”
Xiao Jin laughed. She was a daughter, and the Emperor Qi never had her as a son.
Moreover, it was easier to remove her from the jade dish. As the former Prince of Yan, even without the identity of the third prince, she could still act like a boss when she returned to her fief.
So Xiao Jin smiled and said, “Father, the princess has already performed the ceremony of bowing to the son-in-law and has entered the bridal chamber with me. How can we send her back to my fourth brother’s mansion?”
With the four previous times as a prelude, the silence of the fifth time was natural.
Even the Crown Prince frowned slightly, feeling that these words were too ridiculous.
Given Xiao Jin’s current state sitting in a wheelchair, how could they perform the wedding ceremony, let alone enter the bridal chamber?
No one knew, including Xiao Jin herself.
But no one dared to point at her and say, “You are disabled, what bridal chamber are you going to have?”
Thinking of this, Xiao Jin naturally began to talk nonsense: “Moreover, I fell in love with the princess at first sight. I will not marry anyone else in this life except her.”
Except for Chu Shao, who was not surprised and stood calmly beside Xiao Jin, all the officials in the study fell silent.
Because once they accepted Xiao Jin’s logic, they couldn’t find any big mistakes for a while.
At this moment, only the Crown Prince remained clear-headed and advised Xiao Jin in a solemn tone, “Third brother, don’t be foolish.”
Xiao Jin was a little surprised. She thought that as a supporter of the Crown Prince, the male lead must have come to support the original owner.
But now it seems that it’s not the case.
The Crown Prince glanced at Chu Shao and then back at Xiao Jin. He sighed and admonished her, “Third brother, taking someone else’s bride is not the behavior of a gentleman.”
But Xiao Jin was not a gentleman, she was just a woman.
If it were the original owner, she would probably have already bowed to the male lead, but unfortunately, the body had already been replaced.
The Crown Prince smiled slightly. He also thought that no matter how unruly Xiao Jin was, she would ultimately listen to him.
Xiao Jin coughed twice and met the Crown Prince’s gaze, returning a polite smile. “Your Highness, your younger brother has already taken someone else’s bride, so I don’t expect to be a gentleman. Besides, a gentleman is not someone like me.”
“Now that your younger brother is a useless person, I would rather be a petty person and seize the moment to win the beauty. Your Highness, do you think I’m right?”
The Crown Prince’s expression was inscrutable. It was unclear whether he was upset that Xiao Jin dared to defy him or because her words were sharp and suggestive, as if she were pointing fingers.
In any case, he remained silent for a while and didn’t say anything.
He didn’t speak, but the Emperor Qi was furious.
In the past, the Crown Prince was able to deal with Xiao Jin, but now she had completely turned against him and even ignored the advice of the heir to the throne.
Driven to the extreme, he became calm instead and ordered the trembling eunuch next to him, “Bring me the jade plate.”
However, before the eunuch could receive the order, a clear voice rang out from outside the study, “Wait!”
Everyone present, except for Xiao Jin and Chu Shao, was stunned when they heard the voice.
The newcomer walked into the study with billowing sleeves, and no one dared to stop her.
When she reached the center of the room, Xiao Jin finally saw her face clearly. The woman was dressed in a silk robe and looked to be only in her twenties, but her eyes and brows hinted at an unassailable majesty.
Xiao Jin instantly understood who she was.
Princess Zhao Hua glanced at the eunuch and coldly said, “You dog slaves don’t understand the emperor’s intentions. How could the emperor abolish his own son?”
The eunuch was at a loss and was frightened to the point of turning pale. He felt that no matter whose orders he followed today, he would probably not escape death.
The Emperor Qi looked at Princess Zhao Hua with a grim face, “Princess, it was I who sent Xiaofuzi to fetch the jade plate.”
“I know, Your Majesty.”
Princess Zhao Hua smiled, first bowed respectfully to Emperor Qi, “Brother Emperor, before Princess Zhao Yang went to the White Horse Temple to pray, she specially instructed me to take good care of Jin’er, so…”
Then she turned around and suppressed her smile.
Princess Zhao Hua looked at the kneeling eunuchs and palace maids on the ground and said coldly, “This palace is standing here today. Whoever wants to harm Jin’er must step over this palace’s dead body first!”
~~~~~~~~~
Translator’s note: My wife has come!. Hehe~~~
TO BE CONTINUE…
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