The Emperor knew his own sister best.
But he felt that his sister was already perfect in every way. Liking handsome young gentlemen wasn’t a big problem.
Moreover, she only admired them—a pure appreciation—and wouldn’t do anything improper. What was wrong with that?
Recently, he had heard some mention of Luo Li’s activities. Bringing it up now was his way of intentionally offering help.
As the Emperor, he naturally couldn’t resort to forceful seizure, but buying Breeze Pavilion with money and gifting it to his sister was no problem at all.
Once bought, it would belong to his sister, and she could do as she pleased.
“Mm.”
Hearing the Emperor mention Breeze Pavilion, Luo Li was momentarily stunned before nodding.
As if recalling something, she suddenly furrowed her brows, looking somewhat troubled.
Seeing her expression, the Emperor grew concerned and was about to ask what was wrong when she suddenly looked up again.
“Brother, do you have portraits of princes from various kingdoms?
The owner of Breeze Pavilion is indeed good-looking, but I always feel he looks familiar, as if I’ve seen him somewhere before.
But you know the people I’ve interacted with since childhood. If I knew someone from within the court, I wouldn’t have forgotten.”
The original host had always been fond of good looks since she was young. She remembered which young masters were handsome better than anyone else.
Hearing Luo Li’s words, the Emperor frowned slightly and immediately ordered someone to fetch the portraits of the royal families from neighboring kingdoms.
Then, Luo Li’s eyes lit up as soon as she glanced at them, and she pointed at one of the portraits, laughing.
“It’s him, Brother!
I told you he looked familiar. It’s the Dongyang Crown Prince.”
Seeing the portrait Luo Li pointed to, the Emperor was secretly startled and narrowed his eyes.
How could the fall of the Qian Kingdom be solely due to the original host’s infatuation offending someone? It couldn’t be that simple.
At most, it was just a small part of a minor trigger.
Putting everything else aside, Sikong Yao, as the Dongyang Crown Prince, abandoning his position to come to their Great Qian Imperial City and become a merchant was already filled with strangeness.
It was highly likely that Dongyang had long harbored intentions to conquer the Qian Kingdom.
And Sikong Yao’s arrival here was also part of a plot to coordinate from within and without.
Now, the new Emperor of Qian had just ascended the throne, and the previous royal struggle had just ended.
Both the Late Emperor and the Late Empress had passed away, leaving only a handful of the original dozen or so princes.
Apart from the Emperor, who was protected by the Late Emperor to succeed the throne, and the original host, there was only one sickly Prince left.
This vast Qian Kingdom was now internally unstable, with external threats looming, shaky and unsteady—indeed the best time for conquest.
Seeing the Emperor’s expression change after her words, Luo Li knew her purpose in coming to remind him had been achieved.
“Wait, why would a crown prince come here to be a pavilion owner?”
Thinking this, she also acted appropriately dazed, reacting slowly and murmuring in confusion, her beautiful eyes wide with a hint of surprise as she looked at her brother.
The original host was very simple-minded, usually only preoccupied with good-looking people, but she wasn’t completely ignorant.
After all, she had also experienced a royal struggle.
As the saying goes, the Emperor knew his own sister best.
Seeing her finally react, the Emperor reached out and gently patted her head.
“You don’t need to worry about this. Leave it to your brother to handle. As for Breeze Pavilion… continue as usual and don’t alert anyone.”
Luo Li understood—she was to keep going to Breeze Pavilion to pester people as she had before.However…
“But… I haven’t been going over there these past few days. There’s a young man in my manor who’s even more handsome than him. He won’t get suspicious because of that, will he?”
Luo Li confessed very honestly.
The Emperor was uncharacteristically silent: “……”
“Never mind, just do as you see fit. Act as if you know nothing about today’s visit here, and leave everything to your Imperial Brother.”
Hearing this, Luo Li nodded with exaggerated obedience, then seemed to remember something. She rummaged in her robe and pulled out a Tiger Tally.
Both the Emperor and Eunuch Li beside him were startled, while Luo Li wore an expression of pure innocence.
“This was left to me by my Maternal Grandfather. He said I could use it when necessary. Imperial Brother, you take it and see if it can be of use.”
The original host’s level of favor was actually far higher than imagined.
Not only within the imperial family, but also in her maternal grandfather’s household. The Late Empress came from a military family; their Maternal Grandfather was General Wei Wu, who had helped the imperial family conquer half the Realm.
It was rumored that under General Wei Wu’s command, there had always been an Elite Troop created for the imperial family, capable of fighting one against a hundred.
But this was only a rumor; no one had ever seen General Wei Wu use these troops.
No one knew that this force had already been gifted to the original host by General Wei Wu when she turned thirteen, received her title, fiefdom, and Princess Manor, as a congratulatory present.
But unfortunately, in her previous life, the original host was led astray by beauty, and this troop was never put to use.
Suddenly and unexpectedly, the nation fell and its people perished.
“If money is needed, I still have some in my treasury.
I’ve also kept all the things left by my Maternal Grandfather and Uncle, as well as Father Emperor, Mother Empress, Imperial Grandfather, and Imperial Grandmother.”
In addition, there were all the gifts received from various princes and court officials over the years for her birthdays, big and small.
The Emperor himself had also given many, many gifts in the past.
But now, having ascended the throne for less than a year, everything required funds, and expenses were truly substantial. When the national treasury fell short, he had to supplement from his own pocket.
To put it bluntly, the original host was probably a bit wealthier than her Imperial Brother.
After their deaths, the original host’s family assets were confiscated for public use, and that substantial fortune was even falsely labeled as embezzled gains.
Moreover, Luo Li herself had brought some gold along—not a lot, but enough to fill a small palace.
These kinds of particularly, particularly, particularly brain-taxing matters… well, I’m really not good at them. But when it comes to financial and military resources, what I have, I can certainly offer support.
The Emperor: “……..”
Eunuch Li: “……..”
But it must be said, the Emperor truly had an idea of the family assets his own younger sister possessed.
Indeed… more than his own.
However, he hadn’t reached the point of having to ask his younger sister for money.
“I will borrow this Tiger Tally for now, Imperial Brother, and return it to you after this matter is resolved. Additionally, I will dispatch a group of Shadow Guards to the Princess Manor to ensure your safety.”
“From now on, you must not keep running about outside recklessly.”
“As for money, Imperial Brother still has enough for now. If it truly becomes necessary, I will borrow from you.”
Yes, it’s all borrowing. These things belong to his younger sister; of course he cannot covet them.
On the contrary, he felt somewhat guilty in his heart.
Now he was twenty-one, and his Imperial Sister was five years younger. Not only had he failed to take good care of her, but now she even had to look out for him.
Truly shameful.Luo Li didn’t notice his little thoughts and had no objections when he said this.
“Alright, I’ll listen to everything my imperial brother says.”
Seeing her so obedient and well-behaved, the Emperor was genuinely moved, feeling like a gratified old father.
After Luo Li left, he looked down at the memorials criticizing Luo Li and instantly darkened his expression.
First, harassing an innocent man in broad daylight?
Who? That scheming Dongyang Crown Prince? Pah, mind your own business! Clearly too idle with nothing to do. I’ll give you some work to keep you occupied.
Second, Princess Baoyang’s outings are too extravagant and ostentatious? Her pomp rivals that of the Emperor himself?
Such flowery language, but isn’t that what it means? Daring to sow discord between our close siblings? This person is definitely problematic! Investigate!
Third, the princess neglects her duties and is obsessed with beauty?
My sister is just a young girl—what duties does she need to attend to? Isn’t her duty simply to enjoy life?
Such a well-behaved, obedient girl with no faults—so what if she appreciates beauty? It’s not like she’s appreciating you!
Problematic! Investigate this one too! Doing nothing but watching our siblings—definitely problematic!
Investigate! Investigate them all!