After the interstellar female general died in battle, she transmigrated into the body of a dashing p

"Fine, I'll have someone look again." Zheng Zhian pursed his lips.

Xiao Huachi carried her back to the top floor and began explaining other things to her.

As the shimmering afterglow of the setting sun gently bathed the cubicle, the three people inside went about their own business, the only sound the occasional rustling of pages turning...

This harmonious and peaceful scene was shattered by the sudden arrival of Masahiro.

When Zheng Hongyuan arrived, he saw the little guy engrossed in reading a book. Xiao Huachi nodded to him in acknowledgment.

When do you plan to return to the palace?

The sudden question interrupted Zheng Zhian's thoughts. She looked up at her father, who looked just like a child who had forgotten to come home while playing outside and had come to catch her.

She grinned and said, "I'll go back now." She put the books away and tucked them into her bosom, then raised her hand to him.

Zheng Hongyuan reluctantly picked the person up, looked at Xiao Huachi, and said softly, "Elder Xiao, then we'll take our leave."

"Hmm." Xiao Huachi nodded casually. As he turned to leave, the divination he had performed earlier that day flashed through his mind, and he asked in a raised voice, "Your Majesty, who did you appoint to be in charge of this year's imperial examination?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Hongyuan turned around, his eyes filled with doubt, "Duke Yun, is there something amiss?"

Why would Elder Xiao suddenly ask about this when he never discusses matters of the court?

“There is nothing wrong with it, but…” Xiao Huachi paused for a moment, “Your Majesty must not fill the ditch in the pursuit of benevolence.”

Zheng Hongyuan's calm eyes were now as deep as a cold pool. He nodded slightly and said, "Thank you, Elder Xiao."

Watching his departing figure, Xiao Huachi looked back at the Bagua table. The final outcome of that divination was still shrouded in mystery, suggesting that there were bound to be variables.

Zheng Zhian was bewildered. What exactly did his master mean just now? He tried to find the answer in his father's eyes, but he couldn't see anything.

Back at Zhongyang Palace, the father and daughter had dinner as usual. Zheng Zhian was so full that he slumped in the nanmu chair, patting his belly and letting out a satisfied sigh.

He took a sip of tea and, watching her movements, glanced at her sideways. "Have you been neglecting your studies lately?" Although he asked her, his tone was clearly affirmative.

The little hand that was patting her belly stopped, and she turned her head blankly to look at him, her eyes seeming to say: I didn't, don't talk nonsense.

"Starting tomorrow, you will go to the Imperial Study at dawn, and then go to Elder Xiao's place after lunch," Zheng Hongyuan said, leaving her no room to refuse.

He'd neglected the little one for a while, and she'd been engrossed in martial arts practice all day, not reading a single book. If this continued, wouldn't she grow up to be a illiterate brute?

Zheng Zhian, who was lying down, immediately stood up, grabbed her head with both hands, ruffled her hair into a bird's nest, and stared at him with wide eyes. "Mao Shi? You mean Mao Shi?" Making her study was one thing, but now she had to get up at Mao Shi? Was she really going to have to 'rise at the crack of dawn'?

"Which of your three elder brothers didn't go at dawn?"

Zheng Zhian immediately retorted, "But they're a few years older than me!"

"You chose this graduate school yourself," Zheng Hongyuan said calmly, shutting her down with a single sentence.

So it's all her fault? What's this called? Zheng Zhian slid off the chair in frustration and left in a huff.

Watching her leave with her arms crossed, Zheng Hongyuan's lips curled up slightly, and a smile flashed in his eyes.

Back in her bedchamber, Zheng Zhian was no longer the same person who had been arguing with her father. She climbed onto the soft couch and looked at Danqin with a serious expression. "What was the result?"

Not following her train of thought, Danqin looked at her and asked, "What?" She quickly realized what she meant and frowned. "There were indeed those two people, but they both died in accidents within three months of each other."

From this perspective, Shuangzhi's words are basically credible; otherwise, how could the reasons for their deaths be so coincidental?

Is it really Consort Li? Zheng Zhian lay sprawled on the tea table on the soft couch, his eyes vacant.

If it really is Consort Li, then the current outcome is that there is no way to prove it. Based solely on the testimonies of Consort Yuan and her servant, it is unlikely that anything can be done against her.

Danqin thought she was depressed because she hadn't found anything useful. Thinking back to the time when there was not only Consort Yuan, but also Consort Zhan and Consort Guan who had been sentenced to death, she said, "We still have a chance!"

"What?" Zheng Zhian looked up at her.

“Consort Guan from back then.” Danqin thought that she was too young to remember, so she explained, “She was also there back then. If it really has anything to do with Consort Li, she probably knows more than Consort Yuan.”

Her mention reminded Zheng Zhian of the woman who used to follow Consort Zhan. It seemed she was in the Cold Palace.

Based on the fact that Consort Zhan was forced to commit suicide back then, it's probably really related to them. Zheng Zhian had a thought, "Then let's go to the Cold Palace for a stroll tomorrow afternoon!" She didn't believe they couldn't find out.

Seeing that she had regained her spirits, Danqin turned and went out to have someone prepare her washing up. However, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly, hoping this matter would pass quickly. The princess was still so young; she mustn't let this incident with the Empress trap her for life...

It must be said that Danqin guessed very accurately. That night, Zheng Zhian lay on her exquisitely carved canopy bed, climbed to the inside, removed the pillow, opened the small compartment underneath, took out the hairpin inside, and placed two opened letters underneath.

She looked at the hairpin with a complicated expression.

I don't know what my mother really thinks of me. The two of them have never spoken a word to each other, and she has never even hugged me, but she prepared a lot for me during that month.

When she was one year old, Danqin took out a letter and read it to her, "Happy birthday to Zheng Zhian, who is one year old." She didn't know what she felt at the time, and there was also the longevity lock on her chest, which Danqin said she carved herself.

But even though I spend every day with her, I've never seen her carve anything.

On my second birthday, I unexpectedly received a letter that read, "Happy second birthday, Zheng Zhian." The gift that time was a rattle drum.

Zheng Zhian muttered, "Who plays with a rattle at two years old?"

Staring blankly at the object in her hand for a long while, Danqin came in to help her turn off the light. Seeing this scene, she was stunned, her eyes slightly red. As if she hadn't noticed, she coughed lightly, "Princess, please rest. You need to get up at dawn tomorrow." She blew out the candle.

Zheng Zhian put the hairpin back, lay down, and couldn't help but complain, "Getting up at 5 a.m. is killing me!"

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Danqin yanked her out of bed, and she couldn't help but let out a loud, cathartic scream, "Ah~!"

Danqin was startled. "What's wrong, Princess? Are you feeling unwell?"

"It's nothing." Zheng Zhian chuckled and took the dress she handed him, putting it on himself.

After breakfast, the two leisurely made their way to the study. Zheng Zhian looked up at the large characters hanging on the door frame, and there had never been a time when he hated those characters as much as he did at this moment.