That was a gorgeous carriage with beautiful patterns painted on its body. Blue brocade curtains covered the windows, swaying gently as the carriage moved forward.

Suddenly two slender, pale fingers pressed against the blue brocade curtain. The curtain lifted, revealing a face like a lotus flower.

Countless people were captivated by the radiance of the woman in the carriage and drew sharp breaths.

The curtain immediately fell again, but that fleeting glimpse of the beauty left people with a deep impression. Discussion surrounding the woman in the carriage continued endlessly.

Lin Hao tugged at Qi Shuo: “Did you see? That woman in the carriage is a rarely seen beauty.”

“I saw.” Qi Shuo’s tone was somewhat cold. “She’s the youngest daughter of the King of Yuliu, Princess Lingque.”

Lin Hao’s expression of watching excitement withdrew as she looked at Qi Shuo with questioning eyes.

“We’ve seen the excitement. Shall we go sit in the teahouse?”

“Alright.”

After entering the teahouse and drinking tea, Lin Hao said curiously: “When you mentioned the Yuliu Princess just now, your tone was somewhat off.”

She’d nearly forgotten—in the previous life at this time, she was no longer in the capital, but Qi Shuo was still living a normal life.

Which meant he’d already watched such excitement once before. The person in the carriage—he might have already dealt with her before.

The sounds of laughter and chatter from the street drifted in through the window facing the street, making the private room less quiet.

“Mm, I nearly became Princess Lingque’s husband.”

“Cough, cough, cough.” Lin Hao choked on her tea and began coughing.

Qi Shuo set down his teacup and gently patted her back: “Don’t get excited. It didn’t happen.”

Lin Hao coughed until tears came out. Looking at that breezy, handsome face, she inexplicably found it somewhat displeasing.

“Why didn’t it happen?” She pressed the corners of her eyes and asked coolly.

Qi Shuo looked at her and didn’t speak for a moment.

Lin Hao pushed his arm—it was a sensation completely different from feminine delicacy. As if possessed by a ghost, she changed to poking with her finger instead.

A hand reached over and caught her finger.

“I didn’t like her.” He spoke very simply, his tone also light, hiding the pain of losing his beloved in the previous life tightly and securely.

Yet Lin Hao still sensed it.

In both the previous and current life, the Heir of Prince Jing had actually always been someone especially capable of endurance.

“Then who became Princess Lingque’s husband?” She no longer asked about things that would evoke his pain.

Qi Shuo’s expression was somewhat strange: “It was Prince Wei.”

Lin Hao’s face showed surprise: “Prince Wei?”

Although in the previous life she’d returned to the capital, unfortunately the time was too short—she didn’t know much information.

“I suppose it temporarily stabilized the relationship between Great Zhou and Yuliu.” Qi Shuo offered a light comment.

As for the turmoil stirred up from refusing Princess Lingque, he didn’t plan to mention it to A’Hao.

In this life, he and A’Hao had smoothly become betrothed. The troubles he’d encountered previously naturally no longer existed.

“I wonder if Princess Lingque will marry Prince Wei this time.” Lin Hao’s mood was somewhat complicated bringing up Prince Wei.

Just a little more and Prince Wei would have become her brother-in-law.

In the previous life, Elder Sister had married the Heir of Marquis Pingjia according to plan, so naturally there was no betrothal with Prince Wei.

So Prince Wei’s destined wife was Princess Lingque?

Lin Hao felt a kind of lament and wariness toward fate.

Round and round—fate could easily return to its original trajectory, but through individual effort, some things could also be changed.

Qi Shuo reached out to ruffle Lin Hao’s hair. Though his facial lines were clearly cold and hard, they revealed softness: “That’s why I say, for matters that don’t concern us much, knowing too much actually has no benefits. Don’t think too much. In this life so much has changed—it’s already a completely new life.”

“I’m still a bit curious about who will become Princess Consort Wei.” Lin Hao used one hand to protect her hair bun while using the other to swat away that misbehaving hand.

Hearing her say this, Qi Shuo’s expression grew more serious: “From whether Princess Lingque can become Princess Consort Wei, one can judge His Majesty’s attitude toward the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince has lost the use of his left hand and caused quite a bit of trouble. If His Majesty has wavered in his choice of heir apparent, he won’t let Princess Lingque become Princess Consort Wei.”

A foreign princess could become a favored consort of Great Zhou but could not become Empress of Great Zhou.

Lin Hao suddenly looked forward to it even more and said with a smile: “Then let’s watch and see.”

See whether her efforts had any use.

Qi Shuo remembered: “There will be a flower-viewing banquet, inviting noble ladies of suitable age to fulfill the host’s duty by accompanying Princess Lingque in outings. You should receive an invitation.”

Lin Hao smiled: “Then I’ll prepare my clothing in advance.”

Qi Shuo’s expression wasn’t so relaxed: “An accident occurred at this flower-viewing banquet.”

“What accident?” The smile at the corners of Lin Hao’s mouth disappeared.

“I didn’t pay much attention to this type of banquet.” Qi Shuo rubbed his brow, recalling: “It seems a rock from the artificial mountain suddenly slid down and injured a noble lady.”

“Do you still remember who?”

“I vaguely heard it was the Second Miss of the Marquis Weiwu’s Manor. When something happens to young ladies, it’s all handled discreetly and won’t be widely publicized, so I don’t know more specifics.”

“Was it serious?”

Qi Shuo shook his head: “Not very clear, but no one died. Moreover, it was precisely during the Yuliu envoys’ visit, so the matter wasn’t made public.”

Lin Hao looked thoughtful.

Second Miss Kou of the Marquis Weiwu’s Manor was Princess Yi’an’s younger sister, the Empress Dowager’s grand-niece. That the matter passed so calmly showed His Majesty’s emphasis on Yuliu, and from this one could also deduce that Great Zhou’s relationship with Great Qi was quite tense during this period.

“Be careful that day. Don’t go near the artificial mountain.”

“I know.”

The Yuliu procession headed straight for the Imperial City. The Yuliu Prince and Princess, along with an envoy, walked into the great hall led by ministers, while the rest waited in the plaza outside the hall.

Emperor Tai’an had long been seated on the dragon throne waiting, with civil and military officials holding their breath solemnly on both sides.

“This prince pays respects to Your Majesty.” The Yuliu Prince saluted Emperor Tai’an.

Emperor Tai’an, who was mostly stern before his ministers, showed a much gentler expression facing the Yuliu Prince: “No need for excessive courtesy. You’ve come from afar—it must have been arduous.”

The three people rose at his words.

First the Yuliu envoy eloquently expressed to Emperor Tai’an the King of Yuliu’s longing and well-wishes, then came the time to introduce Princess Lingque.

The Yuliu Prince said with a smile: “My younger sister is named Lingque. She has always admired Great Zhou’s elegance and refinement. Having this opportunity to pay respects to Your Majesty, I brought her to see.”

“I’ll have the noble ladies of our dynasty keep Princess Lingque company and show her around.” Emperor Tai’an’s face remained impassive, but in his heart he began to speculate.

Yuliu’s visit, bringing along a beautiful princess—what was the meaning?

Could they possibly want to offer beauty to form an alliance?

“Serve the banquet.”

Soon fine wine and delicacies flowed like water before each person, and pleasant sounds of strings and woodwinds began.

Emperor Tai’an’s lips touched the wine. From the corner of his eye he swept over the Crown Prince, whose eyes kept drifting toward Princess Lingque. In his anger his hand trembled, nearly spilling the wine.

This disgraceful thing—he’d never been so lacking in discretion before!

The Crown Prince truly was captivated by Princess Lingque’s beauty.

He’d seen quite a few stunning beauties before, but perhaps due to recent misfortunes, and because Princess Lingque appeared at just the right time, she inexplicably attracted him.

Emperor Tai’an coughed lightly as a reminder.

The Crown Prince’s heart jolted with alarm. He hastily raised his wine cup to drink and cover it up, but in his haste extended his left hand.