The document is clear to the world

Chapter 62

Lu Li stopped smiling and looked away.

“Over the years, since Zhi’er was born, we have had no other children.” As she spoke, she let out another long sigh. “My son… As your mother, I naturally understand your heart. Zhao’er is a rare beauty, and what’s even rarer is that you two are a loving couple. But no matter how good a person is, once they’re gone, they can never come back… I won’t pressure you about women and children… but I also don’t want to make your later years miserable.”

“Mother, I understand what you mean.” Lu Li’s voice was calm. “I haven’t been paying enough attention to those around me, which must have drawn a lot of criticism. But I haven’t been feeling well lately, and I’m also busy with state affairs, so I can’t spare any attention…”

The gentle voice faded into the distance behind me as I walked along the long corridor, a dull ache in my heart.

"Princess...please slow down." The little palace maid behind me ran towards me.

I only felt a small body bump into me, and I stumbled backward, but I grabbed it with both hands.

Long eyelashes fluttered, bright eyes, cherry lips—what a pretty girl.

"Princess." The little maid took the little figure from my arms and looked it over nervously. "Are you alright?"

The little person shook their head, tugged at my sleeve, and pointed to the purse at my waist, "Flowers...flowers..."

I was startled, then suddenly realized what it meant, and took the pouch from my waist. It had a white begonia embroidered on it.

He crouched down and handed her the purse.

The child fiddled with a small purse in my arms, looking at me with a bright smile, "Haitang..."

"Do you know about crabapple blossoms?" I squeezed her small hand; it was very soft.

This child, who looks only two or three years old, was able to recognize the pattern of the crabapple blossom at a glance; he is indeed intelligent.

She nodded earnestly, her hand clutching the purse tightly, "Hai...tang...mother..."

An old woman moved lightly over, walked behind me, hugged the child, and gently called out, "My little darling, we've finally caught you."

"Aunt." The palace servant behind me bowed to the old woman, and I nodded and bowed slightly in return.

The young princess remained standing still, giving the nanny a fawning smile, "Auntie—"

The old woman walked up with a smile and took her hand. "You've been running around again, haven't you? Are you trying to make your royal grandparents sick with worry?"

Before he finished speaking, a small group of people followed behind him, with Lu Li walking at the front, his steps hurried.

The young princess suddenly broke free and rushed forward, crying out, "Father—"

His dormant eyes suddenly lit up, and he scooped up the little princess in his arms.

My heart skipped a beat. Was that child... Zhi'er?

Everyone hurriedly knelt down. I secretly glanced at the noble face not far away. This time... he actually laughed out loud, which was rare for him.

Lu Li looked down at the child in his arms and smiled affectionately, "I heard you secretly ran away again, which made your father rush out to look for you. Even your grandmother is worried about you now."

The young princess blinked innocently as she leaned against him, then suddenly reached out and showed him her purse, causing Lu Li's gaze to pause.

"Where did this come from?" The voice remained gentle.

I replied softly, "Your Highness, my work is too clumsy to meet your approval."

"Since the princess likes it, may we grant the child's wish?" Those eyes swept over me indifferently.

"That would be my honor."

He stopped looking at me, turned around while holding the princess, and said in a loving voice, "Zhi'er... go with your father to pay respects to your imperial grandmother, and your imperial grandfather has also come."

Chapter Seventeen of the Main Text: Holding a Child

Yonghe Palace.

The Emperor was already waiting there. After exchanging greetings with each of them, tea was served to the Emperor.

Consort Ding and the Emperor doted on Zhi'er, surrounding her with affection.

"My little darling, you gave your imperial grandmother quite a fright." It was Consort Ding who spoke, "I was afraid something might have happened to you."

The Emperor simply smiled and gently stroked the little face, each stroke filled with boundless love.

Consort Ding sighed, "Fortunately, we found them in time..." Then she looked at me, "Thank you so much this time."

I quickly lowered my head, not daring to look at the villain in the hall any longer.

The Emperor waved to Eunuch Chang, and palace servants filed out, carrying one novel item after another, such as emerald green and rouge red.

"These are all gifts for the little princess," the Emperor said, picking up Zhi'er and letting her play with the dishes on the plate. Zhi'er's hands wandered among the many plates, finally stopping in front of the white marble ruyi scepter. She laboriously held it up to look at the Emperor. When the Emperor put her down, she handed the ruyi scepter to him. Before she could finish saying "To my grandfather," the Emperor, who had just realized what was happening, pulled her into his arms. After the grandfather and granddaughter spun around a few times with laughter, Zhi'er broke free and ran to the plate. The palace servants quickly knelt down and placed the plate in front of her. She picked out a string of agate prayer beads and put them on Consort Ding's wrist. Before I could even guess how she knew Consort Ding was a Buddhist, I saw her choose earrings and hand them to her fourth sister-in-law. Finally, she laboriously carried the Goryeo sheep-hair brush, which was as tall as her, to Lu Li, pried open Lu Li's hand, and presented the brush to him.

The whole room was filled with laughter. After a while, the Emperor finally calmed down and looked at Lu Li, saying, "When she gets a little older, we must find her a good teacher. This child is very talented and intelligent. She will have a bright future and will definitely be as extraordinary as her mother."

As soon as she finished speaking, the surroundings suddenly fell silent. Consort Ding smiled with difficulty, "This child... does indeed resemble her mother."

Fourth Sister-in-law quickly pulled Zhi'er back, trying to ease the tension. "Princess, go and choose a place you like to play."

Zhi'er hurried over, as if she had planned it all along. She picked out the silver-white begonia-inlaid hairpin from the jewelry tray and happily put it on her head. Fourth Sister-in-law, who had been smiling, suddenly stopped. Her eyes reddened. "So alike. Even her fondness for begonias is so similar..."

A silence fell over the hall. No one spoke. Until a graceful figure walked in from outside.

Consort Yao entered the hall with a smile. She bowed respectfully. The Emperor, without expression, told her to rise.

She walked over to Lu Li and slowly sat down next to him.

She is the daughter of the Grand Commander. She is currently the highest-ranking woman in the Prince's Palace.

On ordinary days, when entering and leaving the palace, she always acted as if she were the principal wife.

With the principal wife's position vacant for many years, she was essentially a figurehead, giving Yao Shuhuan reason to be arrogant.

As soon as that figure stepped out of the Hall of Diligent Governance, I followed behind him.

He takes a step, and I take a step.

When we reached the end of the corridor, he finally turned around and looked at me in silence.

I looked up and asked only, "Why?"

He looked at me, surprisingly calm. "What? Why?"

"What do you mean by asking Consort Ding for me?" I clenched my fist slightly. "Don't tell me, it's just because I stole your heart."

"I can't stand it."

"What is it that you can't stand, Fourth Master?" My eyes were already filled with anger. "We keep to ourselves and don't interfere with each other."

“As long as you’re by his side, I feel like I’m walking on thin ice.” The Fourth Prince looked at me with unusual determination. “The Eighth Prince may be confused, but I’m not. If you stay here, you’re gambling with your life. What you do will cost you your head. You must leave, for your own sake and for the sake of the Emperor.”

"Is this for my sake or for your noble father, the Emperor?" I smiled. "Lu Xiu isn't confused; he knows everything perfectly well. Unlike you, who pretend not to know, he craves clarity. And you? You probably don't even want a moment's clarity. Lu Xiu trusts me, which is why he lets me go this way. Have you ever trusted me?"

Fourth Master turned his head away from me, "Does trusting you mean letting you recklessly walk down the path to your death?"

“If I don’t take this path, living is the same as being dead.” I shook my head repeatedly. “I used to be like an ant, just trying to survive. I was so careful, but I was given the word ‘death’ in return. I’m not reconciled. Does Fourth Master really think he can protect me? If you can protect me and keep me alive, then no one will have fallen in front of you in the twenty-first year of Tianyou.”

Fourth Master frowned. "I never thought about that much, nor could I ask for anything else. I just want you to live."

"Fourth Master, you must believe that I want to live more than anyone else." I walked over his shoulder, paused, and said, "Fourth Master still hates me, right? Many people will hate me in the future, so I hope that Fourth Master will hate me less then."

To celebrate Consort Lin's birthday, the Emperor held a banquet in the Consort's Palace.

At the banquet, I stood behind the Emperor and Consort Lin, carefully serving them.

Several princes took turns offering their birthday wishes. I looked towards His Highness and saw Consort Rong and Yuan Xinnuo serving beside her in the crowd.

As we drank and got into the swing of things, the Emperor turned around and beckoned to me, so I quickly went over.

"It's a joyous occasion today, so don't just stand there like an idiot. Go downstairs and join in the fun with them."

I stopped refusing and walked down the steps from the hall. Not knowing where to go, I saw Consort Rong beckoning to me from not far away.

I walked over with a light laugh. She asked Xin Nuo to add a seat next to her, pulled me down to sit, and ordered someone to add another set of chopsticks and a bowl. Before I could even thank her, she took my hand and said, "You have done so much for us. Don't thank me for such a small thing."

As I picked up my wine cup, I saw Fourth Master staring in our direction, lost in thought. I stopped looking at him, drank a few cups at the table, and then, using the excuse of sobering up, pulled Xin Nuo outside to enjoy the cool breeze. Leaning against the veranda, I pulled up her sleeve, watching her put on the white jade bracelet I had given her, and smiled, "Do you like it?"

She nodded, her voice tinged with girlish shyness.

I pulled her in front of me and said, "I don't have a sister, so how about I adopt you as my sister? From now on, we'll share both glory and hardship."

Yuan Xinnuo was startled and nodded with tears in her eyes, "Xinnuo is willing to acknowledge her as her sister, Xinnuo is so lucky."

"It's such a blessing for me." I smiled again. "Sister Xin Nuo is so charming. She will surely marry into the royal family in the future. I'm even counting on her help."

"Sister is joking." Xin Nuo smiled slightly. "My beloved is just a minor official."

As she spoke, she pulled a lustrous white magnolia hairpin from her hair bun. "Sister, you have already given me a bracelet as a token of our sisterhood. This hairpin was given to me by my mother. If you don't mind, please keep it."

I smiled slightly, "Could you help me put it on?"

Yuan Xinnuo smiled and leaned closer, gently stroking my hair.

I said nothing more, but felt very sad. Looking at her innocent expression, I couldn't imagine what the rest of her life would be like, being manipulated like this.

"What are you thinking about, sister?" Xin Nuo whispered in my ear. I quickly snapped out of my thoughts and shook my head.

Xin Nuo glanced inside the hall. "I'm going to check on Master. Does Sister want to come in with me?"

"I'll go in later."

Watching Yuan Xinnuo turn around and return to the palace in high spirits, I sighed inwardly and looked up at the faint moonlight.

I heard footsteps behind me, and when I came to my senses, I saw that it was Yao, Lu Li's concubine, being helped out by a maid. When she saw me, she pouted with displeasure. I knew that she was up to no good, so I bowed and was about to leave when she called me back.

"May I ask what brings you here, Your Highness?"

She glanced at me. "You're Yan Zheng?!"

I replied, "Yes."

“I’ve only seen the Prince for a few hours in total, but you, on the other hand, have made him stay in your room for several hours under the pretense of illness. Are you really sick, or have you used your illness to do something improper?”

"The prince was merely delivering books to this servant."

“What a joke.” She pointed at me. “You can spend half a day delivering just a few books.”

"Your Highness, my relationship with the Prince is completely innocent."

"A clear assessment?" She gave a cold laugh. "How do you assess it? Do you want a physical examination or something?"

"Your Majesty's words are excessive. Although I am not a person of great importance—"

Before I could finish speaking, my face flushed, and I fell to one side.

As expected of a martial artist's daughter, she struck with incredible speed. I hadn't expected her to be serious. When her palm struck, I didn't have time to dodge, and my body fell to the ground. I felt my forehead hit the door hard. Xiaoyu, who was some distance away, was startled and cried out, about to run over, but Yao grabbed her, saying, "Don't worry about her."

Xiaoyu looked at me in a panic, then at Yao Shi, "But..."

I leaned against the door, my hand covering my forehead. As I loosened my grip slightly, I felt a heat on my forehead, and thick, scarlet blood began to flow down.