Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince-Chapter 412: Can None of These People Catch the Crown Princess Consort’s Eye?
Chapter 412: Chapter 412: Can None of These People Catch the Crown Princess Consort’s Eye?
Yin Wanning’s expression remained unchanged as she countered calmly, "Why should I care?"
Having grown up in the Imperial Palace, she was accustomed to such matters.
Her father, the Emperor, and mother, the Empress, were not in harmony, and every year, several beauties were added to the palace.
There were few powerful men who did not have multiple wives and concubines.
Besides, as a princess of the nation, she was above being upset over such trivialities, despite being subject to others.
Seeing her unaffected demeanor, which did not seem feigned, Cang Ming moved his lips but said nothing, his face darkening as he walked away.
Watching him leave abruptly, Qi Yu, hiding in the rockery, thought to herself how bizarre he was, "What is he pretending for? He’s still scheming to seize Luoyue Country in secret, yet he expects her to love him deeply. He must be delusional."
Li Mingjue laughed in agreement, "The Princess is right."
They came out of the rockery, planning to gather more news in the city.
On the way, Qi Yu continued to grumble discontentedly, "The Empress really is too much,"
As she spoke, she casually stirred the wind chimes hanging at a stall, producing a series of crisp sounds.
The noise instantly woke up the drowsy young woman tending the stall, who looked in surprise at the vibrating wind chimes, glanced around noting no trace of wind, and muttered, "Could it be a ghost?"
Qi Yu thought to herself, indeed it could be a ghost.
After all, to these people, she was a ghost.
And to her, they were the same.
They reached a teahouse near the edge of the Imperial City. As soon as they entered, they heard someone loudly say, "I heard that the Empress is already preparing this year’s flower-viewing feast."
Immediately, someone asked with confusion, "Flower-viewing feast? It’s already October, what flowers are there to appreciate?"
The man who had spoken first chuckled twice and then, lowering his voice mysteriously, told those around him, "It’s called a flower-viewing feast, but it’s actually to select concubines for the Crown Prince. Well, admiring beauties can also be considered flower-viewing."
On hearing this, everyone else suddenly understood and nodded their heads in agreement, "That’s very true."
Qi Yu and Li Mingjue chose a secluded spot as usual, sat down and listened to these people discussing fervently.
It had to be said, the customs of Tulan were much more open than those of Dazhao.
At the very least, she had never heard anyone dare to discuss palace matters so recklessly back in the capital city.
The people spoke so enthusiastically that she found it very interesting.
Qi Yu poured another cup of tea, still captivated by the thought that if it weren’t for the time and place being inappropriate, she would have liked to join them.
In just one afternoon, they had gathered plenty of news from these unrestrained talkers.
This included which nobles were in the capital city and whether their daughters were favored by the Empress; they understood all this clearly.
As evening approached, the crowd gradually dispersed.
Qi Yu placed down her teacup, looked at the sky, and said to Li Mingjue, "Tomorrow, there will be a good show to watch."
Li Mingjue saw her excited expression, curved his lips, and asked teasingly, "Haven’t you had enough in the capital city?"
Qi Yu glanced at him, "Is watching others in trouble the same as being in trouble oneself?"
In the capital city, she was a living target, constantly living in dire straits.
Here it was different; she could openly watch the drama without worrying about being discovered.
At her words, Li Mingjue’s brow furrowed slightly, "In the future, when we return to the capital city, you can ignore those people."
Hearing this, Qi Yu felt a warmth in her heart, reached out, and gently caressed the back of his hand, smiling, "That wouldn’t do, Prince; you can’t deprive me of the pleasure of watching the excitement."
Li Mingjue, knowing she said this to reassure him, expressed his reluctant agreement, "Alright."
The two exited the teahouse and strolled around the city a bit more before returning to their space.
These days, both of them stayed in that space.
Firstly, it was safer this way.
Secondly...
Li Mingjue looked at the person who had scavenged a pile of exquisite dishes from the Crown Prince Residence’s kitchen and was now feasting joyously, smiling as he shook his head.
As Qi Yu ate, she commented, "Although it’s not as good as in the Prince Residence, it’s not bad. It has color, fragrance, and flavor; it’s just that the flavor is a bit too strong, do the people of Tulan have such a heavy taste?"
Li Mingjue grabbed a napkin and wiped around her greasy mouth, his eyes full of indulgence as he said, "Eat slower, no one is competing with you."
Just as Qi Yu tore off a piece of lamb leg, hearing this, she suddenly became a bit embarrassed.
It seemed that her aggressive eating had frightened her Prince.
She slowed down her pace, beginning to chew carefully and swallow slowly.
However, she was used to being unrestrained, and suddenly adopting this ladylike demeanor made Li Mingjue somewhat uneasy, "Is your stomach feeling uncomfortable?"
Qi Yu, who had struggled to maintain her composure, did not expect it to lead to such a big misunderstanding. Annoyed yet amused, she glared at Li Mingjue and viciously bit into a big chunk of meat, her mouth stuffed full as she exclaimed, "No, I’m fine!"
Seeing this, Li Mingjue finally felt relieved, completely unaware of the myriad thoughts swirling through Qi Yu’s mind.
The next day, Qi Yu eagerly followed Yin Wanning, planning to enter the Imperial Palace with her.
Since the flower viewing banquet was an all-female affair, Li Mingjue couldn’t attend, so he stayed behind in the Crown Prince Residence, keeping an eye on every move of Cang Ming.
Qi Yu was very satisfied with this arrangement, but Li Mingjue was a bit worried as he cautioned, "Be very careful in everything once you are in the palace."
Qi Yu waved her hand nonchalantly, "I know, they can’t see me now, nothing will go wrong!"
Saying that, she didn’t wait for him to continue nagging, followed Yin Wanning, and sneakily got into the palanquin.
Li Mingjue watched the palanquin enter the Imperial Palace, then withdrew his gaze.
He walked into the house, heading for the study.
At that time, Cang Ming was not in the house; he had entered the palace early in the morning.
Li Mingjue entered the study unobstructed, found no secret messages, and assumed they had probably been burned by Cang Ming.
He was not bothered, guessing the content of the letters, which were likely about his plans to use Noble Consort Jiang to bewilder the elderly Emperor of Luoyue Country, while simultaneously pulling down the Empress.
A two-birds-with-one-stone strategy, not clever, but sufficient to deceive people like Noble Consort Jiang.
However, to seize Luoyue Country, relying solely on this tactic was not enough.
Although Cang Ming was the Crown Prince, he didn’t have many capable men under him.
Therefore, he would inevitably use some means to seize military power first.
And that means was not too difficult to guess.
The throne.
Once he ascended the throne, he would have all the power, including command over the fifty thousand elite troops in Tulan City.
Li Mingjue calculated that Luoyue Country only had about a hundred thousand people, most of whom were unarmed and could not withstand well-trained soldiers.
However, even so, it wasn’t so simple for Cang Ming to take the city in one fell swoop.
Once he harbored intentions of murder, Luoyue Country would surely ally with the surrounding nations to resist Tulan together.
The cleverness of Cang Ming lay in knowing that psychological warfare was supreme.
By disintegrating the enemy from within, he could win without a fight.
Meanwhile, Qi Yu entered the Imperial Palace and was enjoying herself immensely in the Imperial Garden.
She watched the ladies from prominent families dressed up flamboyantly, vying for a concubine’s position, almost ready to break into a fight.
Yin Wanning simply observed coldly from the sidelines, not bothering to intervene at all.
The Empress quietly watched her every move, and seeing her so composed, her face darkened a bit as she asked sharply, "Don’t any of these women catch the Crown Princess Consort’s eye?"
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