When the woman was swinging the whip, she deliberately raised it as if she was going to hit Zian, and a malicious smile appeared on her face.
But seeing that Zi'an remained calm and didn't even flinch, he couldn't help but say in a bored tone, "It's not fun at all."
When Prince An saw that it was Zi'an, he dismounted and asked, "You're here?"
Zi'an bowed, "Greetings, Your Majesty."
"What's the matter?" The doorman came forward to lead the horse. Prince An patted the horse's back and let him lead it away. He also said to the woman, "You go in first. I will be there in a moment."
The woman said coquettishly, "Hurry up, if you delay too long I will come and kill you."
Prince An gave her an indulgent look and said, "Alright, I'll be here in a minute. How dare you ignore our aunt?"
The woman snorted and turned to go in.
Prince An rubbed his head with his hand and said to Zi'an, "Lead the horse and come in."
Zi'an was always in awe of this kind of general-like figure. He tied the horse at the door as he was told and followed Prince An in.
Prince An's attendant came forward to greet him, "Your Majesty is back?"
"Dajin, tell someone to make a cup of Longjing tea for the young lady." Prince An strode in and gave the order.
"Yes!" the servant replied, but his face showed a little surprise.
Zi'an looked at the servant's face and was secretly confused. What was he surprised about
Zi'an naturally didn't know that Prince An's mansion had never entertained guests over the years, and even if someone came, they wouldn't serve tea. In Prince An's words, once tea was served, it meant that the person thought he was very popular and always came to disturb him.
Entering the main hall, Prince An sat on the armchair, took off the ring on his hand and wiped it slowly, without looking at Zi An, and asked: "What's the matter?"
Zi'an hesitated for a moment, still unsure whether he should speak or not, when Prince An spoke again, "Don't talk nonsense, pick out the key points."
When Zi'an heard this, he raised his head and looked directly at Prince An and said, "Your Majesty, I came here to ask for a favor."
"This is nonsense. Tell me your purpose." Prince An said calmly.
"… "
Zi'an looked at him and could only say, "My brother Xia Lin was murdered in the palace. His body is now in the palace, in the palace across from the Xiwei Palace. I wonder if His Majesty can enter the palace and bring back my brother's body?"
"What's the benefit of me helping you?" Prince An suddenly raised his head, his eyes piercing like swords. He had no interest in Xia Lin's death.
Zi'an was stunned for a moment, and spread his hands, "I have nothing."
In other words, there was nothing to give him.
Prince An hummed, "Why did he die?"
The servant served tea and then stood aside.
Zi'an said briefly, "He was killed by mistake by the palace guards."
Prince An sneered, "Can people be killed at will in the palace now? Once the emperor is sick, the harem will be in chaos."
Zi'an said nothing, but just looked at Prince An with longing eyes.
Prince An took a sip of tea and said, "Okay, I will help you this time, you can go back."
He raised his hand and called the attendant, "Dajin, prepare the carriage."
The attendant hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, this is the Prime Minister's business. It would be inappropriate for you to interfere."
Prince An stood up, stunned for a moment, and looked at the attendant, "It's really not my place to get involved in family affairs, right?"
The attendant said, "Yes, and the Prime Minister just had a quarrel with you. It would be bad if you intervene at this time. Logically speaking, it is better not to intervene in such matters."
Prince An nodded, "That's right. It's true that I shouldn't get involved in this matter. Besides, the other party's son has died. If I interfere, it will definitely arouse suspicion again."
"Yes!" The attendant breathed a sigh of relief. Although he was not afraid of Prime Minister Xia, there was no need to do so.
Zi'an was anxious and was about to speak when he heard Prince An say to his attendant, "Why don't you go and prepare the carriage?"
“Your Highness…” The servant looked at him in astonishment. Didn’t he already know this
Prince An strode out and said, "That's reasonable, but I never listen to reason."
The attendant chased after her, "But, this Xia Zian didn't give you anything, so why are you helping her for no reason?"
"Didn't you hear her say she had nothing?"
“But…” The servant really didn’t understand him. In the past, when someone came to ask for help, he wouldn’t even look at them. Even if they came carrying boxes of treasures, he wouldn’t even look at them.
"What are you talking about? Isn't this a good thing? I am always willing to help others." Prince An said proudly.
The attendant Da Jin chuckled, obviously disagreeing.
Zi'an was left in Prince An's mansion like this. She couldn't even say a word. She stared at Prince An's back in a daze. She went out and stood in front of the corridor, not knowing whether to leave or stay.
A figure walked out of the corridor, wearing a bright red dress, so red that it was blinding, like a bride. It was the woman I had just seen, and she had changed her clothes.
Such bright red and green colors made Zian feel that brightness was really good. At least, it was pleasing to the eyes.
"What's your name?" The woman looked at her unceremoniously and asked unceremoniously.
She seemed to be used to being bossy, and after asking Zi'an, she went straight in and sat down with an arrogant attitude.
"My name is Xia Zian." Zian didn't know who the person in front of him was, but from his demeanor and clothing, he could tell that he was either rich or noble.
She appeared in Prince An’s mansion. Could she be the person Prince An likes
It's not surprising. Prince An is already in his thirties, almost forty, and it's time for him to get married.
As for swearing to never marry, it is mostly the words of youthful recklessness. When you mature, you will feel that you are stupid.
Zi'an never believed in everlasting love.
"Xia Zian? The one who broke off the engagement?" The woman looked at her curiously and sighed, "I didn't expect you to be so beautiful."
Zi'an was both amused and confused. He thought she would despise him after she knew that he was the Xia Zi'an who broke off the engagement. But he didn't expect that she would look at him with admiration. If he was not mistaken, the look in her eyes was admiration.
"It's the Xia Zian who was despised by everyone because of breaking off an engagement." Zian said self-deprecatingly.
The woman raised her hand and said, "Those people have foul mouths. No matter what nonsense they say, just be happy."
Zi'an immediately fell in love with this woman, "Excuse me, who are you?"
The woman took her hand and went in. "My name is Murong Zhuangzhuang, you can call me Zhuangzhuang."
Zi'an exclaimed, looked at her in surprise, and then hurriedly bowed, "Your servant greets the Princess Zhenguo."
Although Zi'an was not very clear about the history of this era, he had some information about this princess in his mind.
When she heard Prince An calling her aunt just now, she thought he was joking, but she didn't expect it to be true.
Murong Zhuangzhuang, this name makes people want to laugh, but it is Huizu's greatest wish for his little daughter, he only hopes that she will grow up strong.
Huizu was Murong Jie's grandfather. This emperor, who had already passed away, gave birth to Murong Zhuangzhuang a year before his death at the age of over 70. It was like getting a treasure, and his illness was almost cured immediately.
The birth of the new life kept him going for more than half a year before he died.
Before Huizu died, in addition to handing over state affairs, he also specifically mentioned the little princess, his little cotton-padded jacket.
He left a will that no one was allowed to interfere with Murong Zhuangzhuang's life, and she could live the way she wanted when she grew up.
After Emperor Huizu passed away, Murong Zhuangzhuang's eldest brother, the late emperor, ascended the throne and named Murong Zhuangzhuang the Princess Zhenguo.
The previous emperor passed away later, and the current emperor ascended the throne. The current seriously ill emperor is Murong Zhuangzhuang's nephew. After he ascended the throne, he conferred the title of Princess Da Zhenguo on Murong Zhuangzhuang.
Zi'an was really confused about the chaos in the royal relations.
It is equivalent to that Murong Jie is actually only in his twenties, only a few years older than Prince Liang and the Crown Prince, but he is the emperor's uncle.
This eldest princess is Murong Jie's aunt, only two years older than Murong Jie. However, as an aunt, she is more than 20 years younger than the current emperor and more than ten years younger than Prince An.
(End of this chapter)