"But Princess Tianlin is in the imperial city now. If we don't seize this opportunity, we may not be able to get Tianlin's help in the future." Yuan Yuchuan heaved a heavy sigh.
The Empress Dowager frowned slightly, as if seriously pondering how to solve the problem. After a long while, she finally spoke, "Actually, it's not difficult. Ze'er hasn't taken a primary consort yet. Let Ze'er marry Princess Tianlin."
Hearing this, Yuan Yuze's eyes immediately lit up. If he could marry Princess Tianlin, he wouldn't have to be so cautious as he was now. He might even have a chance to become the crown prince!
Yuan Yuchuan stared wide - eyed. He never expected that the Empress Dowager would say such a thing. Logically, it was indeed a solution, but he was just being selfish and didn't want this opportunity to fall into someone else's hands, even if that someone was his own younger brother.
"Grand Empress Dowager, Princess Tianlin has always been very proud. Third Brother is just a prince. I'm afraid the princess won't take a fancy to him. If we propose this abruptly, we may alert the enemy and make Tianlin become on guard," Yuan Yuchuan said calmly.
Yuan Yuze was feeling elated. Since the Empress Dowager said that, he had been day - dreaming in his mind. But Yuan Yuchuan's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over his head.
He had long known that the crown prince never regarded him as one of his own. Now it seemed his hunch was right. In the past, he was just being sentimental and stupid enough to be willing to work for the crown prince.
The Empress pondered for a while, her eyes constantly turning. "Mother is right. Ze'er is the most suitable candidate to marry the princess. As a legitimate prince, Ze'er's status is much more noble than ordinary princes. So it's not an insult to Princess Tianlin."
The Empress's words made Yuan Yuze, who was already disappointed, happy again. At least his mother and the Grand Empress Dowager weren't so partial. Now they always considered Yuan Yuchuan because he was the crown prince.
Yuan Yuchuan was so angry that his teeth were itching, but he had no way to deal with it. If he had known this, he wouldn't have brought up this matter. He had just given the opportunity to the third brother for nothing.
"Your son thanks you, Mother. Your grandson thanks you, Grand Empress Dowager. I will surely live up to your expectations and do my best to assist Crown Prince Brother!" Yuan Yuze lowered his head and concealed the cunning in his eyes.
Yuan Yuchuan couldn't swallow this humiliation, but he had to let it go. After all, for him now, he really couldn't divorce Lou Yueying. Although A Ru was also very beautiful, Lou Yueying was still a cut above the rest.
At this moment, A Ru knew nothing. She was naively waiting in the General's Mansion like a hungry baby for Mu Fengqie and Jing Xinche to return.
She was very bored alone and could only play with Zhu Fei. But Zhu Fei was far less fun than Xiao Qing. As a girl, she always had a straight face. A Ru didn't even dare to speak loudly in front of her, for fear of making Zhu Fei unhappy. After all, A Ru had experienced Zhu Fei's martial arts personally.
Finally, she heard some sounds. A Ru quickly ran out and sure enough saw Mu Fengqie and Jing Xinche. There were also three people behind them. One was Yuan Yuhan, and the other two were women she had never seen before.
"Sister, you're finally back. I'm so bored! Can you arrange two people to accompany me for a stroll? This General's Mansion is almost the same as the palace..." A Ru pouted and acted coquettishly to Mu Fengqie.
She couldn't leave the palace casually in the past, and now in the imperial city, she couldn't leave the General's Mansion at will either. She was almost suffocated...
Seeing A Ru's appearance, Yuan Yuhan couldn't help laughing out loud. "You're really a childish ghost. Still like a child who never grows up."
A Ru glared at Yuan Yuhan fiercely and wasn't willing to be outdone in words. "It's none of your business! Do you want to accompany me?"
"I can accompany you, but only if you call me elder brother. Otherwise, no way!" Yuan Yuhan said while laughing.
A Ru stamped her feet angrily. It was absolutely impossible for her to call this stinky man elder brother!
Li Wantong had been paying attention to the interaction between Yuan Yuhan and A Ru. She could also tell that the relationship between them seemed unusual, because she could clearly feel Yuan Yuhan's special feelings for A Ru.
Yuan Yuhan had never laughed at Li Wantong so unrestrainedly. In his heart, he always regarded Li Wantong as his younger sister. They always observed the rules and never joked like this before.
Thinking of this, Li Wantong envied A Ru. She wondered who this little girl was that could make Yuan Yuhan change his attitude so completely.
"Fengqie, who is this younger sister?" Li Wantong asked curiously.
Mu Fengqie smiled gently. "I almost forgot to introduce. This is my cousin A Ru. This is Sister Yiru, and this is Sister Wantong. They are all your elder sisters."
A Ru smiled playfully. "Hello, Sister Yiru. Hello, Sister Wantong. I'm A Ru. Please take care of me in the future!"
She smiled so brightly that she looked like a care - free child. Mu Fengqie was also infected and felt happy.
"Let's go into the house quickly. Xiao Qing, go and tell the kitchen to prepare some food. We'll talk while eating." Mu Fengqie gave an order and then turned into the house. The others followed behind her.
Since they got this General's Mansion, they often held small meetings here. A Ru quickly integrated into them.
"I called you here today because there's an important matter. We've got a clue about the imperial jade seal," Mu Fengqie said slowly.
Hearing this, everyone held their breaths and waited in surprise for Mu Fengqie to continue. They had already known about the imperial jade seal, so they weren't that shocked.
Shen Yiru exclaimed and couldn't wait to ask, "Have you found out who did it?"
Mu Fengqie shook her head. "Although we're not sure yet, we have a suspect. It should be Lou Mingkou."
"Why do you say so?"
"A letter with the seal of the imperial jade seal fell from Lou Fan. So I guess the imperial jade seal should be in General Lou's Mansion, but I don't know exactly where."
Mu Fengqie also found it very strange. Lou Fan was highly skilled in martial arts. Although he was no match for Jing Xinche, he shouldn't have been defeated so embarrassingly. She didn't know if it was just a hunch, but she felt that Lou Fan had deliberately dropped the letter.
Otherwise, how could it be so coincidental that the letter with the imperial jade seal fell out? Moreover, it was also Lou Fan who let Zhu Fei go last time. So Mu Fengqie was very interested in Lou Fan.
If they could turn Lou Fan, wouldn't all the secrets he knew about Lou Mingkou belong to them?
Yuan Yuhan snorted coldly. A cold and icy light shot out from his blood - thirsty eyes. He had long known that Lou Mingkou was highly suspected. Sure enough, it was this insidious and cunning villain! It seemed that he had to do something...