Chapter 298: Chapter 298
He gave a rather indescribable look to Su Zizhan, who was currently brimming with enthusiasm and gazing at his good friend with pure curiosity.
Then he glanced again at his clan uncle nearby, whose face was clearly showing faint traces of darkening.
Not far away, Zhang Heng couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
So people could really be this obtuse, or should he say this thick-skinned?
Especially when it came to this famously talented Master Su of the world. It made Zhang Heng at a loss for words.
If it were anyone else, it might be understandable, but as his clan uncle's longtime close friend, his uncle had neither married nor taken any concubines all these years, and whenever anyone went to his residence, they could rarely find him there.
After all these years, hadn't this person noticed anything strange?
Recalling various incidents from when they both served as the official's study companions earlier, complexity surfaced in Zhang Heng's eyes:
This clan uncle was truly...
Sighing heavily in his heart, Zhang Heng immediately quickened his pace, hurrying past the two of them.
It was already this late, and the Ministry of Revenue still had a large pile of official duties waiting for him to handle! Not to mention the bunch of engineering data left over from earlier...
The crown prince's childhood quickly passed by.
Nowadays, the daily life of young Zhao Xi consisted of:
Studying, practicing martial arts, practicing calligraphy, occasionally learning about governance at her mother's side, and in her spare time, tormenting the various ministers.
In short, although as the future successor she bore heavy pressures, with her remarkably brilliant little mind and outstanding intelligence and emotional quotient, up to now the crown prince's daily life remained quite pleasant.
And sufficiently interesting!
Of course, after all matters had settled down, An Ning's daily life was also quite good, especially after her Xi'er turned ten and could clearly already take over part of the administrative affairs.
Indeed, her own treasure was so considerate...
It's just... there was one small drawback.
This little treasure was sometimes too clever, like right now:
At dusk, a clear and melodious young girl's voice suddenly came from outside the unusually quiet Zichen Palace.
An electric current surged through her entire body...
Recognizing it was her daughter's voice, An Ning took a deep breath, reacted immediately by pushing the person on top of her, disregarding the other's obviously heated and heavy breathing, quickly got up from the desk, straightened her somewhat disheveled collar...
A palace servant's slightly flustered report came from outside the door.
"Reporting to the official, the crown prince is outside requesting an audience!"
"It's Xi'er, come in!" After a moment, An Ning finally spoke.
At dusk, when the sky hadn't completely darkened yet, Zichen Palace was already brightly lit.
The fourteen-year-old crown prince was beginning to reveal stunning charm, especially now wearing a moonlight-colored robe, resembling the morning sun, radiant and dazzling, with an indescribable supreme nobility in every movement.
An Ning's eyes unconsciously gained a smile, casually setting down the long booklet in her hand, asking the newcomer:
"Why are you coming at this hour, Xi'er? Didn't you say recently you wanted to go out for a walk?"
Unlike the various hereditary ailments of the Zhao family, Zhao Xi this child had excellent physical constitution, naturally high talent in martial arts, with swordsmanship personally taught by An Ning. One could say except for cultivation, An Ning as a mother held nothing back.
Plus with the group of guards following her.
And plenty of the small medicinal pills prepared by the imperial physicians.
At least within this imperial city stronghold, self-protection was no concern, so An Ning didn't restrict her excessively. She even occasionally personally took people out for strolls.
"Your daughter just missed Mother!"
Different from the awe-inspiring dignity seen by outsiders, in front of her own mother, our crown prince's coquetry skills were truly maxed out.
Leaning on her mother's knees, lightly sniffing the particularly familiar and incredibly comfortable scent. After a moment, Zhao Xi couldn't help but let out a light hum:
"Mother, your daughter hasn't slept with you in so long..."
This little cotton-padded jacket was sometimes too clever, like right now:
Facing her daughter's eager gaze, An Ning rarely choked for a moment, just about to say something when she heard Zhao Xi suddenly sigh, burying her head deeper into her mother's embrace:
"Never mind, let's make it another day. Mother has been working hard with official duties these days and should properly rest!"
"But next time your daughter comes, Mother mustn't refuse..."
With a light laugh, An Ning immediately nodded cheerfully.
"Your daughter knew it, Mother loves me the most forever..."
Soon, the sound of mother and daughter chatting and laughing filled the somewhat empty room.
After a moment, Zhao Xi seemed to remember something:
"Oh right, Mother, when your daughter was young I often read history books, where emperors mostly had three wives and four concubines, enjoying the blessings of multiple partners. But you, as the official, have such an empty rear palace!"
"Why is that!" Wouldn't having a hundred flowers blooming together be better?
The crown prince was genuinely curious now.
"What's there to question about why? These matters simply depend on personal choice..."
With a light laugh, An Ning didn't mind, but the next moment she heard her daughter blinking her big eyes and suddenly saying:
"Isn't it because Minister Zhang is too narrow-minded?"
After a moment, a light cough suddenly came from the room, followed by a slightly authoritative voice:
"Xi'er, don't recklessly discuss elders!"
The fourteen-year-old crown prince was beginning to reveal breathtaking charm, especially now wearing a moonlight-colored robe, resembling the morning sun, radiant and dazzling, with an indescribable supreme nobility in every movement.
It was undoubtedly Zhang Zihou.
But compared to his previously disheveled clothing, this person was now much more proper. Just a neat official robe, yet on this person it somehow managed to convey a certain unruly quality!
As for his complexion though!
Gazing at the other's face for a moment, An Ning finally couldn't help but laugh aloud.
Pushing the gradually approaching person:
Unlike the various hereditary ailments of the Zhao family, Zhao Xi this child had excellent physical constitution, naturally high talent in martial arts, with swordsmanship personally taught by An Ning. One could say except for cultivation, An Ning as a mother held nothing back.
Hearing this, Zhang just snorted with a laugh, not saying anything, deftly picking the person up and placing her back on his lap, continuing the unfinished business from earlier.
Obviously, was this even worth asking?
With that little imp's cleverness, if she didn't know, if it wasn't intentional, ha!
He, Zhang Zihou, would write his name upside down.
"Xi'er has been intelligent since childhood, there's no principle she doesn't understand. Don't be too strict with her!"
After everything ended, lying on the familiar bed. In the darkness, An Ning suddenly spoke with a laugh.
Beside her, Zhang Dun didn't agree.
"Precisely because she's intelligent, she needs even more careful guidance. Throughout history, the wise often easily become self-conceited, moreover Her Highness bears heavy responsibilities, she cannot act recklessly..."
These words truly came from experience.
Different from the awe-inspiring dignity seen by outsiders, in front of her own mother, our crown prince's coquetry skills were truly maxed out.
Hearing these two phrases from this person's mouth felt so strange. Under the moonlight, looking at this person's rarely serious brows and eyes, An Ning's expression turned oddly peculiar for a moment.
Was he afraid the child would inherit his own traits?
"But to be honest, in certain aspects, our Xi'er is quite like you."
"Such as?" The person snorted lightly.
"Her heart really isn't that big..." The little one also holds grudges quite readily.
Remembering the scene from earlier, Zhang Zihou rarely choked for a moment.
After stifling laughter for quite a while, An Ning finally said seriously:
"The crown prince is still young after all, lacking sufficient prestige. After I leave, Xi'er will still need you to devote more attention..."
"Your Majesty is planning to personally lead the expedition?"