good season

Princess Huixin took two steps back, her eyes filled with spring, her red lips slightly parted, as if she wanted to speak but was too shy.

Xiao Zhen's gaze fell on her, and he noticed that her hands were hidden behind her back.

"What are you holding in your hand?" Xiao Zhen stared intently at her, his eyes sharp.

Princess Huixin trembled, but boldly met Xiao Zhen's gaze: "Cousin, do you really want to see? You won't regret it?"

Xiao Zhen's gaze was firm: "No regrets."

Princess Huixin smiled slightly, stretched out her hands, and what she held in her hands was a scroll painting!
Xiao Zhen glanced at her, took the scroll, unfolded it, and after only one glance, looked at Princess Huixin in surprise.

The painting depicts two girls and a little boy, who are none other than Huixin, Huiming, and Zhao Yuan as children!
Xiao Zhen recognized him at a glance; Zhao Yuan, who had been brought into the mansion as a concubine, looked exactly like the man in the painting.

He also recognized the seal on the portrait; it was Emperor Xiaokang's personal seal.

This painting was created by Emperor Xiaokang!

Before Xiao Zhen could speak, Princess Huixin said softly, "When Father was painting, he already had an eye ailment and his eyes were constantly watering. But he insisted on finishing the painting. He said that only what he painted himself could be engraved in his heart. He wanted to engrave his three children in his heart before he went completely blind, so that he would never forget them."

Xiao Zhen asked in a deep voice, "When did you find out?"

He didn't say what he had discovered, but he knew that Princess Huixin understood what he wanted to ask.

Sure enough, Princess Huixin's lips curled up into a faint smile.

"Cousin may not remember, but back then you secretly ran away from the capital and fell ill after being found and brought back. When I learned that Prince Jing was going to visit the Princess at her residence, I begged him to take me with him."

Cousin, you know I've loved you since I was little.

Xiao Zhen remembered that when he was eight years old, he returned from Baifeng City. The journey was bumpy, and he fell ill after returning to the capital.

Prince Jing (the former crown prince) did visit the mansion at that time, but he couldn't remember whether Princess Huixin came with him.

"You're the one who saw Xiao Yue at the manor that time?" Xiao Zhen asked.

Xiao Yue had already entered the manor by then, and Xiao Zhen learned that he had a younger brother after returning from Bai Feng City.

Before this, he had dreamed that his younger brother shielded him from a knife. He always thought that the dream was not real, but unexpectedly, he actually had a younger brother.

Princess Huixin nodded: "Yes, when Prince Jing and I came out of your room, Prince Jing walked in front and I followed behind. Suddenly I saw a child peeking over from the wall. He didn't see me, but I saw him. I was startled because I saw Zhao Yuan!"

I was so scared that I covered my mouth to keep from screaming.

After returning to the palace, I heard about how Consort Xiao had brought back a concubine's child from outside. The Princess's residence only had a two- or three-year-old child, and that child must be that concubine's child.

Over the years, I have often thought about this.

I trust my eyes; I can't be mistaken. The child I saw that day was Zhao Yuan.

I thought and thought, for a very long time, and finally I figured it out.

The one who died was Zhao Ying, right?
The real Zhao Yuan was secretly entrusted to his aunt by Empress Meng.

Xiao Yue is Zhao Yuan!

Cousin, I've figured this out a long time ago, but for so many years, I've kept it to myself and never told anyone, not even Huiming.

I didn't even tell anyone that my mother died at the hands of Empress Meng.

I witnessed Empress Meng having my mother strangled to death.

I've never understood why Empress Meng would kill my mother when my father had already passed away. She no longer needed to compete for the emperor's favor, so why wouldn't she let my mother go?
Later, as I grew up, I gradually understood that Empress Meng wanted Zhao Ying to die in place of Zhao Yuan. Zhao Ying was my mother's godson, and she was worried that my mother would find out something was amiss, so she made my mother die first. How cruel she was!

But I didn't tell anyone about these things.

Cousin, do you know why I kept it a secret?
Because of you, cousin, I've done so much, all for you!

If the current emperor finds out that my aunt has hidden Zhao Yuan, he will definitely hold you responsible, cousin. I don't want you to be implicated, so I've buried this matter deep in my heart.

Even this painting, which my father created himself, I've hidden away.

Xiao Zhen looked at her, his expression growing colder and colder.

"Then why are you bringing this up today?"

Princess Huixin smiled bitterly: "Right now, everyone in the capital is saying that your eldest aunt intends to ask for a marriage between you and Princess Nanyang. Cousin, I know you have someone you love, and I don't care, but you absolutely cannot marry Princess Nanyang. She is from the Liang Prince's Mansion, and everyone in the world knows that the Emperor dislikes the Liang Prince's Mansion. Although Princess Nanyang is a princess, she is actually a jinx. She is not only unworthy of you, but she will also make the Emperor feel distant from you."

Xiao Zhen nodded: "I see. You really went to great lengths."

Princess Huixin's voice grew even gentler: "Cousin, don't worry, as long as we get married, I will keep the fact that Zhao Yuan is Xiao Yue to myself and never mention it again."

Xiao Zhen smiled and shook his head. Suddenly, the big fat cat in his arms perked up its ears. Cats have a far superior sense of hearing and smell than humans, so the big fat cat had heard the sound.

Big Fatty had been playing in the bamboo forest for a long time and knew where the guards were hiding, so the person who came was not a guard.

If it's not a secret guard, then who could it be?

Xiao Zhen's voice was cold: "Wouldn't it be safer if I killed you?"

Princess Huixin was stunned. She was so moved that she almost ripped her heart out. She thought Xiao Zhen would be moved to some extent, but she never expected that Xiao Zhen would say such heartless words!

She bit her lip and made up her mind: "Cousin, there are many people at the banquet. We entered the woods retreat one after the other. Someone will definitely see us. If I die here or disappear here, they will definitely suspect you."

Cousin, you can't bear to kill me, can you?

Xiao Zhen's gaze passed over her and looked towards the door. The sounds outside the door grew clearer and clearer: hurried footsteps and the rustling of clothes against the bamboo leaves.

Xiao Zhen stopped talking and waited quietly.

The air in the room seemed to freeze, and Princess Huixin could hear her own heartbeat.

Before coming here, she thought Xiao Zhen was as hard as iron, but only now did she realize that she had underestimated Xiao Zhen. Xiao Zhen was even more cold-hearted than she had imagined!

But so what?
The people that Granny Ding brought have arrived!
"Princess, Princess, are you here?" With Ding Mama's voice, the half-closed door was pushed open from the outside. The people who came in were not only Ding Mama, but also a eunuch from the Princess's residence, along with several unfamiliar nannies and maids. Behind these people, looking into the room with a half-smile, were none other than the Third Prince's Consort Feng Jiahe and Zhao Da Nainai.

Feng Jiahe came on her own. She recognized that Ding Mama was Consort Qiao's person, and when she saw Princess Huixin leave suddenly, she wanted to see what was going on.

In the past, Feng Jiahe would not have gotten involved in such matters, but Fan Qiuyun's affair made her very dissatisfied with her mother-in-law, Consort Qiao.

Consort Qiao did not have a powerful maternal family, and the Third Prince could only rely on the Feng family. However, Consort Qiao not only showed no gratitude, but also wanted Fan Qiuyun to give birth to that bastard child. This showed that she did not take the Feng family seriously at all, nor did she take her, the princess consort, seriously.

So when she saw Granny Ding today, she wanted to see what Consort Qiao was up to.

Ding Mama came to Linzhong Yaju under the guise of searching for Princess Huixin, and she didn't intend to hide it from anyone. The more people who came, the better, especially since Feng Jiahe also had Granny Zhao by her side.

At this moment, several pairs of eyes turned to the two people inside the room.

Xiao Zhen and Princess Huixin, a lone man and a lonely woman, are alone in a room!
Granny Ding exclaimed in surprise, "Princess, what are you doing here? Good heavens, what am I to do?"

Grandma Zhao had no idea who Granny Ding was; she was genuinely surprised.

The last person caught in the act of having an affair with a man was Princess Huiming, wasn't she?

These two sisters are so alike. As princesses, what could they possibly do that led to them having secret rendezvous with someone?

"Oh no, I dropped my hairpin! I'll go find it!"

Grandma Zhao turned to leave, but Feng Jiahe grabbed her sleeve: "Where are you going? If we leave, who will support Sister Huixin? Someone, go and invite Princess Jiayi."

Having come this far, Feng Jiahe knew what was going on. Consort Qiao clearly didn't want Princess Nanyang to marry Xiao Zhen, so she brought up Princess Huixin instead.

As for why this happened, Feng Jiahe didn't know.

But she knew that no matter how dissatisfied she was with Consort Qiao, they were still a family who shared both honor and disgrace.

Their goal was the same: to ensure that the third prince would inherit the throne.

So now, Feng Jiahe and Granny Ding are standing together, united against outsiders, determined to lock Xiao Zhen and Princess Huixin up completely!
Upon hearing this, a maidservant ran quickly toward the entrance of the bamboo forest, but after only a few steps, she was stopped by two guards who appeared out of nowhere.

Feng Jiahe was taken aback. There were actually secret guards here?
Not only was Feng Jiahe surprised, but so was Granny Ding. She clearly hadn't seen anyone when she came in. What was going on?

Princess Huixin, unaware of the changes outside, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing so many people arrive.

She looked at Xiao Zhen with tender eyes, her gaze filled with affection.

Xiao Zhen didn't bother to look at her; Fan Qiuyun should be arriving around this time.

Besides, if his mother came, it would definitely alert Zhao Shiqing, and he didn't want Zhao Shiqing to know that he and Princess Huixin had been "caught in the act"!
The fat guy with eyes full of gossip. Me, and me too, you forgot about me!

Zhao Shiqing came to the banquet without her cats, but the two cats were not satisfied and secretly followed her.

When the retired emperor entered the garden, he did so without anyone noticing, but he did not escape the eyes of the two cats.

Big Fatty quite liked the Emperor Emeritus, but Little Demon hated the old man. So the two cats had a falling out over the Emperor Emeritus. Little Demon went off to play by herself, while Big Fatty followed the Emperor Emeritus to this bamboo forest.

Big Fatty never dreamed that he would witness such a grand spectacle upon his arrival.

It's still Xiao Zhen's big show.

My cat life is complete. This is something I can brag about for half a year.

Little Demon didn't see it, Little Darling didn't see it, and neither did those two stinky dogs.

Xiao Zhen never expected that he was now holding a bombshell!

Xiao Zhen wanted a quick resolution, and was about to speak when Princess Huixin suddenly lowered her voice and said, "I didn't expect the Third Prince's Consort and Madam Zhao to be here too. Cousin, you probably don't want the Third Prince to know that Zhao Yuan has been living in the Eldest Princess's residence, do you? Although some people say that Xiao Yue ran away due to debts, I think that's just a smokescreen. How could Aunt Jiayi bear to do that? You must have hidden Zhao Yuan away, right? If the Third Prince finds out, it will soon reach the Emperor's ears. Cousin, Aunt Jiayi loves Zhao Yuan so much, she definitely doesn't want this, does she?"

Xiao Zhen looked at her with disgust, as if she were a venomous snake: "Zhao Yuan is your own brother, how can you bear to watch him die?"

Princess Huixin's cheek twitched, and she lowered her voice even further: "My own brother? My mother only gave birth to my sister and me. When we were little, my mother always scolded us, scolding us for not being sons. Zhao Yuan and my sister and I were both born to concubines, but Empress Meng treated him as her own son, as precious as a treasure. As for me, Empress Meng didn't even give me a second glance. How can I feel sorry for such a brother?"

Two streams of tears welled up in her eyes, and Princess Huixin wept bitterly.

Xiao Zhen remained unmoved: "Why doesn't Empress Meng like you? Have you forgotten that you pushed Consort Lu? At that time, Consort Lu was eight months pregnant, but because of your push, the child died after birth. Don't you remember?"

Having said that, he stopped looking at Princess Huixin's tear-streaked face, turned to look at the inner room, and shouted, "Have you seen enough? Come out now!"

Xiao Zhen's voice was loud, and Feng Jiahe heard it too. She couldn't help but crane her neck, wondering if there were other people here.

Granny Ding was also shocked. How could this be? This year, the place was clearly changed to Magnolia Pavilion, leaving it empty.

But soon, they saw two people: a handsome young man rubbing his nose and looking embarrassed, and an old man following behind with a displeased expression.

The handsome young man was dressed like a nobleman, while the old man was dressed in a coarse Taoist robe, and it was unclear which poor old Taoist priest he was from.

Feng Jiahe was taken aback. Who were these two people?
They look somewhat familiar, especially that boy!

Such a handsome young man.
She suddenly thought of someone!

Zhao Guanyue!
The day the Emperor Emeritus arrived in the capital, she followed the Third Prince to greet him outside the city. Although they only met once, Zhao Guanyue's appearance was so outstanding that it was hard not to remember her.

Now that they recognized Zhao Guanyue, the poor old Taoist priest following behind Zhao Guanyue...
Clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse. The retired emperor in his tattered Taoist robe is none other than Zhao Xingzhou!
But once Feng Jiahe recognized Zhao Guanyue, she also recognized the Emperor Emeritus.

She knelt down, lifting her robes: "Granddaughter-in-law greets Imperial Grandfather, may Imperial Grandfather enjoy ten thousand years of happiness and peace!"

Grandma Zhao didn't recognize Zhao Guanyue, much less the Emperor Emeritus. Her mind was a complete mess. When she saw Feng Jiahe kneel down, she instinctively knelt down as well.

Princess Huixin, however, remained frozen in place inside the room.

There were other people inside! It turned out that she and Xiao Zhen weren't the only ones in the house!
There were two grown men and women inside; how could this be considered a lonely man and woman?
Wasn't Granny Ding sent by Consort Qiao to help her?

How come you can't even handle something this simple?

If she had known there were other people in the room, she would never have come in, much less have said those words to Xiao Zhen! (End of Chapter)