PaiPai-Romane

Kapitel 113

But this wasn't the coldest time yet, and Feng Feisheng was glad that he only had two more days before he could leave this place and return to his homeland.

So he began to order people to procure souvenirs and local specialties to bring back to Daning.

Meanwhile, in Shundu, after the court session, the emperor kept the Grand Councilor behind alone.

In the imperial study, Chu Zhen stood at the foot of the steps, watching Tang Shaoxuan remain silent. He couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty has summoned me to stay. What is the purpose of this summons?"

The Emperor of Shun sighed softly, "It's still about reciting poems about the moon."

Chu Zhen asked, "Could it be that Yin Yue still doesn't want to get married?"

“Yes, she has been pestering the Empress Dowager. She said that I am so heartless to send her to such a remote place as Danning, completely disregarding kinship. It’s really…” Tang Shaoxuan frowned.

Princess Yinyue has always had a bad temper, and Chu Zhen, who grew up with her, knew this all too well. Seeing the emperor so troubled, she couldn't help but feel a surge of sympathy.

However, marrying far away from home is a cruel thing for any princess. First, she doesn't know what kind of person she is going to marry. Second, she is far from home, and if the other party is not nice to her, her life will be ruined. No wonder Yinyue made a fuss.

But now, this matter has become related to the diplomatic relations between Daning and Shun.

After thinking for a moment, Chu Zhen smiled and advised, "These are really childish words, Your Majesty need not worry. Otherwise, let me go and persuade her."

Tang Shaoxuan looked up and agreed, "Yes, it would be best if you could persuade her to change her mind."

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will do my best."

"Ah Zhen, then I'll have to trouble you."

"As a subject, it is only natural to share Your Majesty's burdens," Chu Zhen said, bowing his head.

Tang Shaoxuan smiled slightly and changed the subject, asking, "Well, by the way, why haven't I seen Leyan around you? I heard she's been by your side a lot lately."

Chu Zhen's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm and said, "Yes, because she is no longer a court official, so I ordered her to wait outside."

"Don't be so formal. Hmm, just let him in. I haven't seen him for quite some time."

"Your Majesty doesn't blame me for keeping her by my side?" Chu Zhen suddenly asked.

Tang Shaoxuan stared at him for a moment, then smiled brightly and said, "How could that be? With you taking care of him, he won't cause any more trouble. But... Ah Zhen, if I want him to come back in the future, would you be willing to let him go?"

"All land under heaven belongs to the emperor. How dare I disobey Your Majesty's orders?" Chu Zhen replied in a deep voice.

"Ha, alright, then let him in." Tang Shaoxuan laughed heartily.

"Since Your Majesty says so, I will obey."

Chu Zhen bowed.

The emperor waved his hand and ordered, "Summon the music guards in."

Immediately, a young eunuch went out to deliver the imperial decree.

A short while later, a graceful figure appeared at the entrance of the Imperial Study. With a flash of light, she walked over from the doorway.

"Your Majesty, I have come to pay my respects." He bowed slightly in greeting.

Tang Shaoxuan nodded: "No need for formalities."

Le Yan stood up.

Tang Shaoxuan scrutinized her appearance.

After a few days apart, she hadn't changed at all; she was still as radiant and spirited as ever, her dark eyes seemingly capable of speaking a thousand words. Her dashing appearance in red was so eye-catching, and in her hand… Tang Shaoxuan's gaze shifted: "Leyan, where is the golden fan I bestowed upon you?" Tang Leyan was taken aback, then smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I carry it with me at all times. However, I don't want to flaunt it casually, lest it arouse jealousy."

"Hmm, why didn't I see you carrying it?"

Tang Leyan smiled, glanced at Chu Zhen, and with a flick of her wrist, pulled out the golden fan from her belt behind her back. She unfurled it in the air, its golden light dazzling, and said triumphantly, "Your Majesty, isn't this it?"

Tang Shaoxuan smiled happily when he saw that she was indeed telling the truth.

Chu Zhen felt relieved.

Only Xiao Di, standing at the bottom of the steps, still clutched his sword, his eyelids drooping, seemingly oblivious to everything.

Bottlenecks, will try my best to improve T0T

Dragon and Tiger Fight in the Capital Chapter 135 Visiting the Princess

Seeing that the emperor and his ministers were having a pleasant conversation, Chu Zhen remembered the matter of Yin Yue and felt uneasy. So he asked the emperor for permission to go to the inner palace to investigate.

Tang Shaoxuan granted her request, and Le Yan also resigned.

Tang Shaoxuan originally wanted to keep her a little longer, but seeing that she was determined to leave, he didn't want to force her. He just smiled and said, "Alright then, but remember, you don't need to wait outside anymore. If the Grand Secretary comes, just come along."

With a beaming smile, he readily accepted the compliment: "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

As she turned around, she gently winked at Xiao Di.

Although Xiao Di had his eyes lowered, he turned his head away without making a sound.

The two left the imperial study one after the other.

He strode towards the direction of the harem.

The wind was strong, whistling through the air and feeling like knives cutting into my face.

Chu Zhen stopped and stood in the wind to shield Le Yan from the wind, then said, "Why did you have to come along? Wouldn't it have been better to just stay inside the palace and spend time with His Majesty?"

Le Yan leaned closer to him without any hesitation, then covered her face with her hand before looking up at him and saying, "What, do you think this is good?"

Chu Zhen's heart skipped a beat. She sensed a hidden meaning in her words, and that smile held a different purpose. She wondered if this clever girl had already discovered the Emperor's... ulterior motives towards her. After a moment's thought, she tentatively asked, "Le Yan, don't you like being close to His Majesty?"

When Le Yan saw him ask, she took a step forward and almost nestled into his arms, feeling the warmth emanating from him. Then she said, "I like... I do like, but not in that way. If I had to say... I prefer being with Uncle Zhen."

Chu Zhen's body stiffened.

But he could hear her cheerful laughter beside him, her fists clenched at the corners of her mouth. She laughed and nestled into his arms, like a mischievous little devil.

Chu Zhen then realized she was deliberately teasing him, and he reached out to grab her shoulder, pulling her out of his arms: "Don't be silly, what if someone hears or sees us..."

"Then let them be." Her eyes darted around.

Chu Zhen looked at Le Yan and thought to himself, "This child is carefree and stubborn, seemingly indifferent to everything. Yet she always seems to sense things that others don't know, judging from her answer just now. She's clearly wary of the emperor, but it wouldn't be good for him to ask any further questions, so he stopped."

After thinking about it, he sighed again. He couldn't guess what she was thinking, nor could he try. As long as she was safe and sound by his side, that was enough.

Either way, let's seize the moment while he can take care of her.

As for her future life, someone will naturally take care of it.

After a moment of realization, he turned around and continued walking towards the harem.

Tang Leyan stopped talking and stepped forward to follow behind him.

A gust of wind blew, and his wide, dark blue sleeves flew backward, brushing against her.

She reached out and tried to grab it several times but failed.

She finally caught him one last time, but he had already noticed. He turned around slightly and scolded, "Don't be silly." This made her pout and let go of the sleeve she had just gotten her hands on.

When Chu Zhen and Tang Leyan arrived at Princess Yinyue's residence, they heard a furious roar from afar: "You scoundrel, have you come to see me make a fool of myself?" As he spoke, they heard the sound of things crashing to the ground, mixed with someone's low sobs: "Princess, this servant wouldn't dare, this servant didn't mean to, sob, Princess, have mercy!"

Chu Zhen and Tang Leyan exchanged a glance and quickened their pace forward.

As they reached the door, the palace maids standing by it were trembling. Upon seeing Chu Zhen, their faces showed a slight relief, and one of them announced, "Princess, the army..."

Before Chu Zhen could finish speaking, she quickened her pace and strode forward. Before she even entered the door, she heard someone shout, "Who goes there? This princess is not seeing anyone right now!"

Tang Leyan chuckled softly, "What a tigress..."

Chu Zhen glanced at her sideways, and she smiled and stopped talking.

The people inside seemed to have already heard it.

Chu Zhen took a step forward, when suddenly he felt a strong wind rushing towards him. It came very fast and without warning. Chu Zhen was startled and had no time to dodge. He subconsciously closed his eyes, but felt something gently brush against his face, like silk. He opened his eyes and saw Tang Leyan with red sleeves blocking his way. In her delicate white hands, she tightly gripped a porcelain teacup.

The teacup was only a finger's width away from his forehead.

Princess Yinyue flew into a rage, displaying a destructive force, but she didn't expect the person who came to her to be Chu Zhen. If the teacup hit him, the consequences would be unimaginable. Startled, she actually stopped talking.

Chu Zhen nodded and smiled at Le Yan before stepping inside.

The kneeling palace maids took the opportunity to quietly retreat.

Princess Yinyue saw Chu Zhen enter with a smile, but her expression was still somewhat awkward, as if she had guessed his purpose.

Then I saw Tang Leyan appear at the door, peeking in and then following me in. She was still holding the teacup I had thrown out. The bright smile on her face was so irritating that my expression turned even worse.

After entering the room, Le Yan stood behind Chu Zhen, looking meek and obedient.

Yin Yue glanced at her every now and then.

Chu Zhen exchanged a few pleasantries with her, then asked, "Yin Yue, I heard you haven't been in a good mood lately and often go to the Empress Dowager to complain?"

Yin Yue curled her lip and said, "You've heard about this too? Was it the Empress Dowager who told you, or the Emperor? Oh, I know, you just came from the Emperor's side, so it must be him who told you. Humph."

Chu Zhen said, "Look at you, you don't even call him 'Brother Emperor'. How can you be so willful? I know you're unhappy, but this marriage was arranged a long time ago. If you go back on your word now, it might cause unpleasantness between Shun and Danning."

"So what if it's not fast? At worst, we'll fight a war. Do you think Shun can't defeat a mere Danning?" Yin Yue raised her voice and shouted.

"Yinyue, war is no child's play! Do you know how many people will be plunged into misery if a major war breaks out?"

"So you're just sending me into a living hell?"

"Yinyue! How can you speak like that?" Chu Zhen frowned. Although he felt that she was really willful and unreasonable, which made him angry, he also had to admit that she was right. How could the peace between countries be based on a mere marriage alliance?

But this has always been the case for royal princesses. How many of them can choose a suitable husband at will? Some are married off to distant lands, some are used to win over officials, and some even die of old age in the palace... Their fates are all similar, depending on their destiny. If they are lucky, they will meet a good person and live happily ever after. If they are unlucky... the sorrows they experience are hard to describe.

Seeing him frown, Yin Yue knew that Chu Zhen was also angry. The two of them usually had a good relationship, but in her current state of rage, with no one around to help her, she couldn't help but feel a sense of being surrounded and helpless. Without thinking twice, she shouted, "You all come to bully me! Even the Empress Dowager doesn't speak up for me. Instead, she advises me to think about the bigger picture. If I had known I would be used like a pawn, I would have followed Sister Minqing's example and become a nun long ago!" As she spoke, her eyes welled up with tears.

Upon hearing this, Chu Zhen wanted to speak but didn't know what to say, and seeing her like this, she could only remain silent.

The room fell silent for a moment, the atmosphere heavy and awkward. The palace maids serving her were so tense they dared not breathe, for fear that any noise would provoke the princess's anger. In the past two days, countless palace maids and eunuchs had been injured by teacups and other objects because of Yin Yue's tantrums.

In the silence, only the wind outside the window howled past, like the prelude to the rage of a raging giant.

After a long while, a soft cough broke the heavy atmosphere.

Dragon and Tiger Fight in the Capital Chapter 136: Persuading for a Peaceful Marriage

Princess Yinyue turned around.

The person standing behind her was Tang Leyan. At this moment, she held a fan to the corner of her mouth, smiled, and said, "Sorry, my throat was itchy and I couldn't help it."

Seeing her beaming smile, Yin Yue couldn't help but feel resentful: "It's alright, my hands are itching too."

Leyan said, "Actually, Princess, I have something to say."

"What do you want to say now? Trying to persuade me too?" Yin Yue snorted coldly.