Chapter 25.1 – Isn’t That a Good Thing? (1)

Qi Yang stayed in the courtyard for one night, then returned to the palace the next morning.

Recently, all her thoughts were preoccupied with Lu Qipei that Qi Yang forgot what date it was for a while. Only after Zhi Ting reminded her did she remember that today was the day of the palace examination1. She recalled that two of the top three scholars from this time’s Spring Exam were talents that came from humble backgrounds, and they both met her father’s criteria for her Prince Consort. It would also be a good tale if the number one scholar or number three scholar was bestowed the princess’s hand in marriage!

In the previous life, Lu Qipei’s shone brilliantly and overshadowed everyone else. But now, Qi Yang was afraid that her father might become hot-headed and look at someone else – how could this be a good thing? Although the possibility was extremely low, she didn’t dare to take any risk.

Thinking of this, Qi Yang hurried back to the palace, and brought along the blueprint drawings for the princess’s mansion that she and Lu Qipei planned last night.

After entering the palace, Qi Yang didn’t go to Xuande hall where the palace examination was being held. Actually, the palace examination would take almost the whole day, and the Emperor and his officials would not have the time to wait inside all the time. At most, the Emperor would just sit in for half an hour and show his face, then go back to Xuanshi hall. Rest when it was time to rest, and deal with government affairs when it was time to deal with government affairs.

Qi Yang went directly to Xuanshi hall. When she looked at the sky, the time didn’t seem to be too early, and the Emperor would usually already be free. Unexpectedly, she was stopped just outside the front hall by Zhang Jian, the eunuch in charge of Xuanshi hall.

Zhang Jian addressed Qi Yang respectfully. After stopping her, he said, “Your Highness, please stop. His Majesty is discussing matters with the court officials inside.”

There was no precedent for princesses of Liang state to meddle in politics. Most of them influence the court through their Prince Consort after marriage, because the princesses do not show up when the court officials are discussing governmental affairs. Of course Qi Yang understood the rules and would not force herself inside. She frowned and said, “Then I’ll go back first and come back later.”

Zhang Jian smiled in reply, then bowed down to see her off.

Qi Yang turned around, but did not step away yet. After thinking about it, she suddenly turned around and asked, “It has been almost two hours since the court’s morning session usually ends, but the discussions are still continuing. Is there something important happening in the court?”

Zhang Jian hesitated for a moment after listening to the question, but after thinking about it, he answered in a low voice, “A war report from the northern border came this morning. It seems that there’s another change in the northern barbarians’ movements. After the morning session, His Majesty held a meeting with the senior officials inside the hall. He didn’t even care about today’s palace examination.”

This wasn’t a secret. News about war report could never be concealed, and it usually took just half a day for it to spread to the public. Qi Yang thanked Zhang Jian after hearing this. But when she turned and left, she was left wondering if there was any war in the northern border around this time in the previous life. It didn’t seem like there was, but back then this was around the time she just started getting to know Lu Qipei. The two of them were either traveling or discussing all kinds of things from the past to the present, and did not really get involved with political matters.

Qi Yang had just started walking a few steps, her mind full of doubts, when she heard the door squeak open behind her. She looked back again and saw several important officials in red uniforms come out. Their faces did not look relaxed, but did not look dignified either.

Some officials were surprised to see Her Royal Highness The Princess, and saluted her one after the other before leaving together.

Seeing this, Qi Yang stood outside Xuanshi hall and waited for a bit. As expected, the Crown Prince came out a moment later.

The Crown Prince also didn’t expect to see her outside the hall. He took the initiative to greet her and asked, “Why is Royal Sister waiting here?” After asking that, he caught a glimpse of the blueprint drawings in her hand, and became a little surprised. “Has the princess’s mansion been chosen? Once it’s completed, tell Royal Brother if there’s anything missing. No need to be polite.”

Qi Yang smiled when she heard that, her eyes looking very cute. “Thank you, Royal Brother. I won’t be polite with you then.” After saying this, she straightened her face and said, “I came to tell Royal Father about the princess’s mansion, but Xuanshi hall was still discussing political affairs until just now. Zhang Jiang told me that there’s a war report from the northern border. Royal Brother, is there another fight in the north?”

Hearing that, the Crown Prince glanced at Zhang Jian who was next to him. Zhang Jian’s face became sullen and he smiled wryly inside – at least wait for him to go away before saying that! Princess Qi Yang sold him out so deftly!

Fortunately, it was not a big deal, and Zhang Jian certainly wouldn’t have told Qi Yang if it was really a confidential matter. The Crown Prince took back his gaze and didn’t hesitate to tell his sister, “It’s fine, Royal Sister does not need to worry. Right now, the barbarians only deployed their army on the northern border, there was no battle.”

But wasn’t deploying troops an omen for war? Qi Yang frowned and thought of her previous life again, and didn’t know what to say.

The Crown Prince misunderstood the meaning of Qi Yang’s gesture. Seeing her frown, he raised his hand and gently rubbed her head. He smiled, “Don’t worry, Royal Sister. Even if there’s a change in the northern border, there are soldiers who will fight to defeat the enemy. It doesn’t have anything to do with you, a princess.” Then, he winked at her again, “Royal Sister is in a hurry to build a mansion right now, just focus on it. We can talk about other things after the mansion is renovated.”

Qi Yang was so annoyed by his words that she couldn’t care less about the war in the north. She looked away and muttered, “Royal Brother is always teasing me.”

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