Peach Blossom.

This sentence immediately attracted all of Chen Ji's attention.

Chen Ji clearly remembered that it was because Tian Le, under the guidance of a "passerby" that he led the Chief Censor Wang Min to the foot of Guanyin Mountain that day, where they ran into Wang Min and Chen Xi agreeing to exchange hostages, and arrested him and put him in the prison of the Censorate.

He thought at the time that the "passerby" was most likely assigned by Chen Xi, because he only told Chen Xi the agreed time and place.

And now, Tian Le actually told him that this "passerby" was a maid who boiled medicine under Madam Han?

"Are you sure?" Chen Ji asked Tian Le with concern.

Tian Le shook his head: "It was only a brief encounter. It's been so long. How can I be completely sure? But I feel as if..."

Chen Ji couldn't let go of this clue. He felt that the secret hidden here was definitely not simple. He had no choice but to beg Tian Le in a low voice: "Can you help me confirm it? This matter is really important to me."

"I...how can I confirm it? I can't just run over and ask her directly, right?" Tian Le seemed a little embarrassed.

"You can't ask directly. Whether it's yes or no, she will say no." Chen Ji thought about it and gave Tian Le an idea: "You are the one who delivers the medicine, and she is the one who boils the medicine. You can talk to her along this line. For example, next time you deliver the medicine, you don't have to let Madam Han's personal maid handle it. You can give it directly to her. Listen to her voice and see if it sounds familiar to you."

Tian Le nodded.

"Also, you'd better make friends with other palace servants in Shiqian Palace, and then find out the background of this maid who boils medicine from them. The more detailed the better."

Tian Le nodded again and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Lord. As long as it is something you ask, I will do my best to complete it."

So the two of them said goodbye in a hurry, and Chen Ji hurried back to Zhongzhai.

Thanks to Empress Dowager Meng's efforts, the whole city soon became buzzing with discussions about Si Xiu and Wang Yu's engagement five years ago.

A large group of curious people are waiting to see the joke, to see whether the Crown Prince Regent, who is now the focus of everyone's attention, is going to break his engagement by betraying his promise, or is going to marry a Crown Princess with a tattoo on her face?

Caught in a dilemma, Si Xiu, who was always obedient, did not dare to make a decision on his own. However, Si Yuan asked him to handle the matter. After discussing with Xu Mu, he had to write a letter and send it to his mother, Madam Bai, as soon as possible.

Xu Muling's trusted men kept changing horses at various post stations along the way, so as to deliver Si Xiu's letter to Madam Bai as quickly as possible. After receiving Madam Bai's reply, they then rode back to the capital without stopping.

When the ten-day deadline set by Si Yuan was about to come, Si Xiu took the initiative to ask for a meeting with Si Yuan and informed Si Yuan that he wanted to abide by the old covenant and marry Wang Yu.

Mrs. Han was still serving Si Yuan and was not surprised at Si Xiu's decision.

Si Yuan looked at Si Xiu and smiled meaningfully: "Although Wang Yu has been disfigured, he is still of noble status. The Wang family has a large population, spread all over the country, and they are not easy to mess with.

If you marry her, she must be your principal wife. Today she is the Crown Princess, and tomorrow she will be the Queen. Do you really think she can be the Queen? Aren't you afraid that she will ruin your reputation? And the reputation of Da Qi?"

Si Xiu bowed and replied respectfully: "Father, I think that things have their priorities.

There is no way to have it both ways. The rumors outside point to the fact that it was the marriage contract that my father promised orally five years ago. My father is a king, and a king should not joke. His father's reputation is "heavy". I am only the crown prince at the moment. Although the crown prince is the heir to the throne, he is still a minister. My reputation is "light".

As for whether she will become the queen in the future and whether it will damage the prestige of the Great Qi, that is a matter of the future after all, so it is "slow". If the marriage contract is not fulfilled, my father's reputation will be damaged at this moment. My father's reputation is the prestige of the Great Qi, so it is "urgent". "

Si Yuan nodded, half smiling, as if to deliberately embarrass Si Xiu: "But I must plan for the future. Da Qi must not lose its reputation at any time."

After hearing this, Si Xiu immediately knelt down and said, "If my son's marriage will indeed damage the reputation of Da Qi in the future, please appoint another prince."

Mrs. Han was surprised to see Si Xiu's action.

Si Yuan still didn't care much, with a faint smile on his face: "You fought through many hardships to win the position of Crown Prince, how can you give up so easily?"

Si Xiu replied: "If I, your son, cannot take my father's reputation and the reputation of Great Qi into consideration, then I am a disloyal and unfilial person. I am not even worthy of being a prince, so how can I be worthy of the position of crown prince?"

Si Yuan stared at Si Xiu for a while in silence. Si Xiu's words and actions today were different from the last time he saw him, as if he was a completely different person.

He glanced at Xu Mu behind Si Xiu, and he had a rough idea in his mind. There is a difference between actively requesting a meeting and being summoned passively, so he must come prepared.

After a while, Si Yuan smiled faintly again and leaned forward a little bit: "Since you said it yourself, I will remember it. If Marquis Anfeng insists on canceling the engagement, or if Wang Yu is ridiculed after the marriage... then don't regret it."

"Your son...will remember this..." Although Si Xiu agreed, his voice lacked confidence.

After leaving the Shiqian Palace, Xu Mu sighed and shook his head: "That day, the emperor did not send reinforcements to save you, and you almost died. I didn't expect that as a father, he not only had no guilt, but also doubted you because of this."

"I'm used to it..." Si Xiu smiled bitterly, lowered his head and walked forward slowly: "From childhood to adulthood, the only person he treated sincerely was my sister. Everyone else... was dispensable..."

"Everything else is easy to handle, but Marquis Anfeng may not agree to this marriage. Look at the attitude he adopted when talking to the emperor during the ceremony. He was really stubborn." Xu Mu followed behind Si Xiu with a worried look on his face.

"No, in this matter, the easiest thing is to get Marquis Anfeng to nod his head." Si Xiu smiled and continued moving forward.

Xu Mu was a little confused.

Before Si Xiu arrived, the news that he was about to propose to Wang Yu had spread throughout the capital. Because Si Xiu followed Xu Mu's advice, he sent people everywhere to search for rare treasures as a betrothal gift, which made quite a big fuss.

As a result, the rumors all over the city changed direction. They all said that the prince was not only trustworthy, but also grateful. Even though he held a high position, he never forgot his roots. He lived frugally, but spared no expense to search for treasures everywhere, just to prepare a unique betrothal gift. It can be seen how much he valued this marriage.

Wang Dun heard the news while on a business trip and hurried back to inform Wang Jing.

Wang Jing was furious when he heard this: "That one is acting, and this one is also acting. What do they think of our Yu'er? A tool for their internal struggle? A toy that can be summoned and dismissed at will?"

"That being said, people outside have already said so. If you don't agree to this marriage, everyone will say you don't know what's good for you."

Wang Jing was even more furious after hearing his brother's advice. He knocked his cane on the ground, shaking the tables and chairs. "Don't tell me to consider the overall situation. They were just instigated by the mother and daughter of the Meng family. For the sake of reputation, they had to cut the Gordian knot. If they were forced to marry, would Yu'er have a good life?"

Seeing that Wang Jing was angry, Wang Dun did not dare to continue persuading him. He just waited to see how Wang Jing would deal with the rejection of the marriage proposal.

Sure enough, two days later, Si Xiu brought Xu Mu and others to the Wang family to propose marriage, and the betrothal gifts filled the entire yard.

Wang Dun and Wang Jing went out to greet Si Xiu. After they greeted each other, Wang Jing spoke frankly.

"I appreciate your kindness, Your Highness. However, my daughter is uncouth and unworthy of you, Your Highness. Please take back all the gifts you brought. I will report to the emperor that it is I who want to cancel the engagement and it has nothing to do with the Crown Prince."

Si Xiu smiled innocently, walked up to Wang Jing, and bowed: "Father-in-law, your daughter and I have been engaged for five years. I have fulfilled my duties and never dated other women, let alone offended you, father-in-law. I don't know what has upset you, father-in-law, that you want to cancel the engagement?"

Wang Jing replied calmly: "The prince is very good, but my daughter is not worthy of him."

"Today, my father-in-law asked to cancel the engagement. I must have done something wrong, otherwise why would he do that? If my father-in-law can't give a reason, it would be unreasonable to cancel the engagement. I can't accept it and must marry you." Si Xiu lowered his head and pretended to be stubborn.

Wang Jing clenched his crutches tightly. He was of course very angry about the way Si Xiu spoke, but he was even more surprised. The Si Xiu he had heard of was always docile, or even cowardly, but the Si Xiu he met today did not seem to be like that.

Wang Jing barely suppressed his anger and asked, "Does the prince want to use his status to oppress me and force me into marriage?"

Si Xiu curled his lips and smiled. His voice was very light, but he was very confident: "My father-in-law has wronged me. Back in Yongchang, I was just an exile with my father. My grandfather did not abandon me and promised me a marriage. I am grateful. Now that I have entered the capital, I am fortunate to be the East Palace, but my father-in-law wants to cancel the engagement. How can I cancel the engagement without asking the reason?"

"At the beginning..." Wang Jing sneered. At the beginning, both families knew very well that this marriage was just a plot to give the people of Yongchang an excuse to enter Beijing.

Is he going to say directly in front of all the East Palace attendants and Wang family servants that it was a fake engagement?

"When we promised to get married, Yu'er almost died in the fire on the first day she was brought into Yongchang Palace. If I agree to let her marry there now, I'm afraid some "accident" will happen on the wedding day?" Wang Jing said in a cold tone, with no disguising his sarcasm.

Si Xiu remained calm and polite, smiling: "My father-in-law also said that we were "almost" caught in a fire, but we were not really in danger. Why do you think we will be in danger again now?"

"It was only by chance that someone tipped off me, so I had the opportunity to rush to the rescue. How can I be so lucky every time?" Wang Jing's face was still cold and ugly.

Si Xiu leaned close to Wang Jing's ear and lowered his voice to a very low level, and asked lightly, "Father-in-law, do you know who tipped off the person?"

These words shocked Wang Jing's heart instantly.

He remembered that it was his wedding night with Tao Ye. Qiong Ju hurried back from outside and told them that Wang Yu was betrothed to Si Xiu by Si Yao and taken back to Yongchang Palace by Si Yuan. The messenger also specifically revealed that Si Yuan was unwilling to this marriage, so Wang Yu was not safe in the palace.

At that time, Wang Yi asked who the person who brought the news was, and Qiongju replied, "I don't know him, he is a child who has just grown up."

The Si Xiu in front of him was only sixteen years old. Five years ago... wasn't he just a kid who had just grown up?