Quick Wear: The Heirless Boss Wants to Get Close to Her Every Day

Chapter 598 The Mad Regent vs. the Fake Princess (17)

On the day she went to Jiucheng Palace, Shen Shuyi vaguely felt a coolness on her wrist. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Li Zhan was holding her hand and putting a white jade bracelet on her wrist.

"This is a sachet as a return gift." Li Zhan took her hand and kissed it.

Shen Shuyi nodded drowsily, and just as she was about to continue sleeping, Li Zhan pulled her into his arms and held her on his lap.

"Get up. Didn't you want to go to the imperial palace to try some delicious food?"

"It's all your fault for causing such a ruckus last night."

"It's all my fault. How about I carry you to the carriage and you can sleep there? Our carriages are spacious."

"All right."

It would take several days to travel from the imperial city to the Jiucheng Palace, but fortunately, Shen Shuyi had brought a lot of storybooks and snacks to pass the time in the carriage.

The carriage traveled along the official road. The Regent's Palace was very grand, with hundreds of guards protecting the carriage.

This pomp and circumstance further fueled the emperor's resentment.

In order to cultivate an image of simplicity and serving the people, Chen Junliu was extremely frugal in his travels, even with his carriages and entourage. Li Zhan's actions were far too arrogant.

The ministers dared not say anything when they saw this scene. After all, Li Zhan controlled the troops of Chen, and moreover, Qiang had already been conquered and had made great contributions. He had the right to be arrogant.

Shen Shuyi didn't think too much about it. She sat comfortably with Li Zhan in the spacious carriage, ate, lay down and slept next to Li Zhan. Li Zhan was still reading various books and memorials, even more diligent than the emperor.

On the fifth day at noon, the group arrived at Jiucheng Palace.

Jiucheng Palace is located in Tiantai Mountain, bordered by Tongshan Mountain to the east, Fenghuang Mountain to the west, Shijiu Mountain to the south, and Bicheng Mountain to the north. It enjoys a cool and pleasant climate with no sweltering heat in summer, surrounded by beautiful green mountains and clear waters.

The emperor's carriage was at the very front, and the regent's carriage was at the very back. So when everyone arrived, including the ministers and their families, they all dismounted and waited at the mountain gate for quite a while before the regent's carriage finally stopped.

Unlike his usual dark-colored clothes, Li Zhan wore a moon-white brocade robe today. If people didn't know his identity, they would think he was a tall, handsome, and gentle young man.

Also present at Jiucheng Palace were the families of ministers, and many young women's eyes were secretly fixed on the regent.

They had never met the Regent before, only knowing some rumors about him: ruthless, autocratic, and a ruthless killer—any one of which could scare away a delicate young lady.

But now that they've seen him, they doubt the truth of the rumors. Who would have thought that such a refined gentleman could be such a cruel person?

Moreover, they had heard that the Regent's Palace had not yet had a princess consort, only an unnamed and unranked princess of the State of Lu.

Who knows, the princess from Lu might actually be the prince's maid. If they could become the regent's wife, wouldn't they be able to order around a princess from another country?
Just then, they saw a hand reaching out from the Regent's carriage, as if to receive someone.

A moment later, a slender hand reached out and rested on the prince's hand.

In the blink of an eye, a beautiful figure stepped out.

The girl wore an exquisite pale yellow dress, her skin so white it seemed to glow, like a fairy descended from heaven, breathtakingly beautiful.

Everyone instinctively held their breath, assuming she was Princess Xuanhua from Lu, the most beautiful woman in the world, truly living up to her reputation.

Would the Regent really treat such a beauty as a maid?

The layout of Jiucheng Palace is similar to that of the imperial city. The main hall of the front palace was the government office where daily political affairs were carried out, while the inner palace was the residence of the emperor, the rooms of the concubines, and the area for handling confidential matters.

The outer palace was specially built to house the regent, as well as residential areas for ministers and their families.

Shen Shuyi and Li Zhan lived in Shaoguang Hall, which was located in the western part of Jiucheng Palace. Outside Shaoguang Hall was Qingshui Lake, which was vast and surrounded by many pavilions and towers. Enjoying the lake and flowers was a delightful experience.

After traveling by carriage for several days, Shen Shuyi was exhausted, no matter how spacious it was. As soon as she arrived at the palace, she didn't bother to sightsee but took a shower and slept soundly.

When she woke up and went to have her meal, she saw a table full of delicious dishes, including the gourd chicken that Li Zhan had mentioned.

As Shen Shuyi picked up her chopsticks, she asked the servant, "Where is the Prince?" "Your Highness, the Prince has gone to the main hall to see His Majesty. He asked you to have your meal as soon as you wake up, and there is no need to wait."

"Hmm." Shen Shuyi responded softly and dismissed the servants, leaving only Cui'er and Zhu'er to attend to her in the hall.

While Shen Shuyi was enjoying her meal, Zhu'er couldn't hide the jealousy in her eyes.

"We're both bodyguards and assassins, so why do you get to enjoy yourself like this?"

Cui'er tugged at her, "Zhu'er, don't say anymore, this is all the master's arrangement."

Shen Shuyi didn't even look up. "You want to play a princess too?"

"Let's change your rough skin first. What princess has such rough hands and feet?"

"You!" Pearl was speechless with anger.

Cui'er was quite open-minded. She would rather be a maid than endure the pain of being skinned alive. Besides, was the Regent so easy to approach? One look from him made her tremble with fear. If she were to give herself away, she would be the first to die.

Moreover, the Regent's Palace provides the princess's maids with excellent food, clothing, and daily necessities, making it much safer and more comfortable than when they were assassins.

Pearl calmed down. "Did you give the Regent the medicine?"

Shen Shuyi ignored it and calmly continued eating her food.

Pearl frowned. "Finish your mission quickly, don't drag us down with you."

Shen Shuyi ate her meal and drank a small bowl of soup. "He has so many people serving him, and his food is tested with silver needles. I haven't had the chance yet."

"Hurry up, you're still playing tricks. Be careful I don't report everything to the master."

"Are you threatening me?" Shen Shuyi glanced at her indifferently. "It's normal for me to have Uncle Fu sell the servants around me because they didn't serve me well."

"You!" Zhu'er was so angry that her face turned ashen. Once this mission was completed, she was determined to kill Shen Shuyi to vent her anger!

She took out another bottle of medicine and threw it down, saying, "This medicine is colorless and odorless, and cannot be detected by silver needles. Give it to him in the next few days."

Shen Shuyi glanced at the medicine bottle. "What kind of medicine is it this time?"

"It's just a regular drug that makes people drowsy and lethargic."

Shen Shuyi would never believe Zhu'er's nonsense, nor did she believe that Chen Junliu had the opportunity to poison her.

"Alright, just leave it there, I'll handle it."

Now that Zhu'er is gone, staying by her side to serve her is just asking for trouble.

Cui'er stayed to the side, completely oblivious to the world around her, just like a maidservant.

After enjoying all the delicious food at the palace for a few days, Shen Shuyi started thinking about going out to play.

The scenery and weather here are fantastic. It's not stuffy at all, and there's a gentle breeze all the time, making it incredibly pleasant.

After Li Zhan finished his court duties, he took her hand and went to enjoy the flowers on a boat on West Lake.

Xihai Lake is very large, with many tour boats. Many princes and ministers brought their families to enjoy the lake. Even Emperor Chen Junliu took his beloved concubine Lu Zhen'er on a tour boat.

Shen Shuyi boarded the pleasure boat and drank comfortably. The boat was covered with light gauze curtains to block the view of outsiders. Moreover, the ministers did not approach the boat when they saw that it was the Regent Prince. No one wanted to cause trouble.

From afar, one can hear the sounds of traditional Chinese string and wind instruments coming from the luxurious pleasure boats, and see figures embracing each other.

……

(End of this chapter)