“I told you to kneel, so you must kneel!” Li Zhaohua was unrelenting.
Pei Lian’s sharp gaze turned toward Li Zhaohua, and then he spoke slowly: “My woman kneeling to you?”
“Li Zhaohua, you truly dare to imagine such things.”
He knew the thoughts of the Marquis of Weiyuan’s household—they wanted to marry their niece to him. As long as he ascended the throne, the Marquis of Weiyuan’s family would not fall.
The Emperor currently intended to weaken the Marquis’s family, as they held several important positions in the imperial court. Previously, there had been the Chancellor and the Minister of the Ministry of War to balance them, but some time ago, due to corruption, the Minister of the Ministry of War was investigated and found to have embezzled 200,000 taels of silver in military funds.
The Emperor, in a great rage, had the entire family of the Minister of the Ministry of War beheaded. Now that the position was vacant, many in the court were eager to act. With one less person to suppress them, the Marquis of Weiyuan’s household had become active again. The position of Minister of the Ministry of War was simply too important; too many people in court were coveting it, including his second, third, and fourth brothers.
“This is the Eastern Palace; it is not your place to be arrogant here and order my woman around.” Pei Lian gave the other party no face at all; his tone was cold and icy.
Li Zhaohua was stunned by these words. Her “Cousin Prince” had actually scolded her for the sake of this orphan. Always pampered, Li Zhaohua could not bear this grievance. She pointed at Shen Zhi, who was standing to the side, and shouted, “Cousin Prince, she is just a wretch! Why do you protect her so much?”
“She clearly looked down on me just now. It’s bad enough that you don’t help me, but you even help this wretched woman.”
“I am your cousin; you should be partial to me!”
The more Li Zhaohua thought about it, the angrier she became. Looking at the two plates of pastries in front of Pei Lian, she rushed over, raised her hands, and threw them onto the ground. Not only did she throw them, but she also lifted her foot and stomped on them.
Shen Zhi watched this scene, her eyes darkening slightly. These were the pastries she had spent a long time making, and she had just trampled on them like that. Not only had her efforts been wasted, but it was also a trampling of the hard work of the farmers who grew the grain in the fields.
Pei Lian’s face turned even uglier. These were pastries Shen Zhi had personally made for him, and he had only just tasted them.
“Li Zhaohua—” Pei Lian was furious.
Li Zhaohua wore a triumphant expression. “With that fox-like face, it’s no wonder you could seduce Cousin Prince into favoring you so much.”
“But what does that matter? You are still a lowly plaything that cannot be presented in public. As long as I wish, I can crush you like an ant.”
“Shen Zhi, you had better honestly kneel down and apologize to me, or I will have my father finish you off!”
When Li Zhaohua said these words, she did not notice that Pei Lian’s face had turned so dark it was as if ink were dripping from it. If she had even an ounce of brains, she would never have said such things. Unfortunately, she had none.
Pei Lian had already thought of countless ways to kill her without leaving a trace in his mind, but in the end, he suppressed them all. He still needed the support of the Marquis of Weiyuan’s household, so it seemed he would have to make other plans.
Shen Zhi looked at the food on the ground, her face pale, and spoke softly to the two of them: “Your Highness, you are cousins; please do not quarrel because of this concubine.”
“If this concubine’s apology can appease Lady Li, then I am willing.”
Hearing this, Li Zhaohua was triumphant.
“Hurry up and kneel to apologize.”
She couldn’t stand any woman who appeared by the Crown Prince’s side. Because she would be the Crown Prince’s Empress, the Empress everyone praised in the future. Now, letting a lowly Consort apologize to her without taking her life was already the greatest benevolence.
How could Shen Zhi possibly kneel? This tactic of hers was “yielding to advance”—seemingly about to kneel, but actually waiting for Pei Lian to act himself.
“Shen Zhi, you are my person.” Pei Lian reminded her indifferently at this moment. “Are you sure you want to lose face for me?”
“But because of this concubine, you and Lady Li are arguing, and I truly feel uneasy.” Shen Zhi looked at him with an expression of worry and nervousness.
Pei Lian took in her appearance as she clutched her dress in anxiety, and he understood why Shen Zhi was afraid. It was because she was alone with no one to back her up. Seeing her pale face, he also understood that she had suffered this unprovoked disaster for no reason. She had merely come to bring him food, yet was put in such a difficult position by Li Zhaohua. Seeing them argue and thinking it was her fault, Shen Zhi was truly too obedient. Being too obedient in this back courtyard meant being eaten until not even a scrap remained.
But that didn’t matter; he would make sure she lived well.
“It’s fine; this is between her and me. It has nothing to do with you, so don’t be sad.” Pei Lian looked at her, his voice even gentler.
Li Zhaohua had been waiting for Shen Zhi to kneel and apologize, but instead of an apology, she got to witness them being lovey-dovey. Watching this glaring scene, Li Zhaohua gripped her hands tightly, wishing she could tear Shen Zhi into eight pieces to satisfy her hatred.
Shen Zhi twiddled her fingers and asked Pei Lian with great hesitation: “If this concubine does not kneel, will it affect you in any way?”
He was the Crown Prince; what could affect him?
“No, I am the Crown Prince,” Pei Lian comforted her.
“Very well, then this concubine will not kneel to her.” Shen Zhi finally revealed a smile. Watching her smile, Pei Lian felt as if his heart was acting up again; why was it beating so fast?
“Guards, escort Lady Li out. From now on, Lady Li is not allowed to enter the Eastern Palace at will,” Pei Lian shouted toward the door after pacifying her.
Soon, Wubai and his men came in. They walked up to Li Zhaohua, lowered their heads slightly, and said, “Lady Li, please this way.”
Li Zhaohua had not expected the Crown Prince to not only stop this woman from kneeling to apologize but also forbid her from entering the Eastern Palace at will. How could she accept this?
“Cousin Prince, you would actually treat me this way for the sake of this woman? Are you not afraid of my Aunt finding out?” Li Zhaohua was still indignant and questioned him.
Pei Lian was annoyed to death by her and waved his hand to signal them to remove her quickly. Given permission by the Crown Prince, the two maids behind them quickly stepped forward to drag her out of the study.
Soon the study became quiet again. Shen Zhi looked at the pastries on the floor with a pained expression.
“The pastries this concubine personally made for you have been ruined.”
“What a pity.”
As she spoke, she squatted down and began to pick up the fallen pastries bit by bit.
“You can make another batch for me tomorrow.” Pei Lian watched her like this, her fair hands picking up the broken porcelain shards. Fearing she would get hurt, he reached out and hurriedly pulled her up from the ground.
“All right.”
“The Qiqiao Festival is in a few days; Shen Zhi, would you like to go out and play with me?” Pei Lian asked, looking at her.
Leave the Eastern Palace!
Hearing this, Shen Zhi’s eyes lit up. “Is that possible?”
“Can this concubine truly go out with Your Highness?”
Seeing her happy, Pei Lian felt happy in his heart too. “Yes.”