Farewell Flower Festival

After jogging two laps, Taxue slowed down and stopped.

Chao Yan dismounted skillfully and touched the horse's nose affectionately as it stepped on the snow.

"Princess, are you used to living in the palace?" Han Lie walked over and asked.

Chao Yan said, "The food and accommodation are all good. When you have nothing to do, just chat with the imperial concubine to relieve her boredom." She paused and asked, "Is there a white-haired zither player in the palace?"

Han Lie smiled and said, "That should be Lord Yuchen, the priest of the Star Questioning Tower." He asked casually, "Did you see him?"

Chaoyan said, "I heard it from others." She remembered that Eunuch Wu had said before that Yin Lin was seriously ill when she was a child and was saved by this priest. After that, she lived with this priest in Heng Garden. So the garden she saw yesterday should be Heng Garden, and the towering pavilion in it should be Wenxing Tower.

As expected of a priest, he lived in a paradise and had an otherworldly aura.

"Lord Yuchen usually stays in Heng Garden and rarely goes out," Han Lie curled his lips, "Did you climb over the wall to peek at him?"

Chaogao: “……, no.”

Han Lie said: "That's good."

After Chaoyan trotted a few laps on the snow-covered scooter, she went to sit in the pavilion to rest for a while. Han Lie asked her if she wanted to learn archery. Chaoyan originally wanted to learn it, but then changed her mind, saying that she could not do two things at once and she wanted to concentrate on learning horse riding.

Han Lie asked someone to bring a bow and arrow, and practiced shooting for a while, and every arrow hit the bull's eye. A guard came to report to him, and he left the bow and arrow to Chao Yan, saying that he had something to do and left first.

After eating a plate of snacks, Chaoyan glanced at the bow and arrow on the table again, and looked around. No one was watching. She picked up the bow and arrow, took aim, and shot an arrow. The arrow fell to the ground before it flew two meters away.

She immediately ran over and picked up the arrow, pretending nothing had happened.

On this side, Han Lie came to the imperial study to meet Emperor Mu, and Shen He was also there.

Emperor Mu told Shen He about Chao Yan's horse riding, and asked Han Lie to talk about Chao Yan's progress. Han Lie praised Chao Yan for his extraordinary talent, and he learned to ride a horse in circles in just two days.

After coming out of the imperial study, Han Lie took Shen He to Baibuting, and on the way expressed his admiration for Chao Yan to Shen He.

Shen He did not express his attitude. He changed the subject and asked about Han Luo's recent situation and when he planned to invite him to a wedding banquet. The other party had learned archery from him when he was a child.

Han Lie said that his elder brother has been studying an ancient book recently and has no plans to get married.

When the two arrived at Baibuting, they happened to see Chaoyan holding a plate and feeding snacks to Taxue. She asked it if the food tasted good and also asked if it was thirsty and wanted some water.

"Go get a basin of water."

When Chaoyan heard Han Lie's voice, she knew he was back. Then she heard the second person's voice. She turned around and saw that her father had also come.

"How are your studies going?" Shen He asked with a smile.

Chao Yan immediately demonstrated how to mount and dismount a horse, with skillful movements and in one go.

The guard brought a basin of water and placed it in front of Taxue. Chaoyan asked Taxue to rest for a while. Han Lie said goodbye first, leaving the father and daughter to talk alone.

"Dad, why did you come to the palace? Did the emperor ask you to pick me up?" Chao Yan asked.

Shen He said: "I heard from the emperor that you said that dad looks older than the emperor."

Chao Yan: “…, not old, Dad is not old at all.” Why does the emperor say everything out loud…

Shen He smiled and said, "The emperor asked about your marriage with Cheng'er. Tell me what you think. As long as you like it, I won't object."

Chao Yan lowered his head and poked his hand, a suspicious red cloud covering his face, and asked in a low voice: "What does Dad think of the Fourth Prince?"

Shen He said: "I think the boy from the Han family is also interested in you."

Chao Yan asked back, "Dad, don't you like the Fourth Prince?" Then she said aggrievedly, "Didn't Dad say that if I like him, he won't object?"

Shen He said earnestly: "Dad doesn't want you to be involved in the fight for the throne. Dad just hopes that you can be safe and sound."

"Your Highness won't." Chao Yan felt a little uncertain when she said this. The two had never talked about this topic before. She didn't know what Mu Tianling really thought about the throne. She felt that he would not fight for it, or maybe that was what she hoped in her heart. She didn't want to be a queen or a concubine.

She just wanted the two of them to be together peacefully, to grow flowers and bask in the sun together in the palace, and to go traveling when they were bored, and maybe even write a travelogue and publish it as a book...

"Since the death of the previous queen, the emperor has not appointed another queen, in order to ensure that no one can shake the position of the prince. Now the prince is also making progress, and he will not disappoint the emperor in the future."

Shen He paused, then said in a relaxed tone, "The Fourth Prince is not bad looking, although not as good as when Dad was young. The boy from the Wen family is not bad, but unfortunately the girl from the Shang family got him first. After a while, Dad will find out what the Emperor has to say and try to settle the marriage before the New Year."

Chaoyan was happy, but she also had a little worry in her heart. When should she find a chance to talk to Mu Tianling about the throne? And should she talk about it at all?

At night, Chao Yan thought about this matter and felt a little upset.

She drew aside the curtain and peeked outside to see Liu'er sleeping on the couch. She coughed lightly, and seeing that she was not moving, she was about to get out of bed and go out for a walk. Just as she pulled back the quilt, she heard Liu'er getting up. She was about to come over to see what was wrong with her, but she said it was nothing and asked Liu'er to continue sleeping.

The next day, Concubine Yin asked Chaoyan to go to meet the Crown Princess after she finished learning horse riding, and she also prepared gifts for her.

Chaoyan always felt that there was something wrong. After sending Liu'er and Dong'er away, she opened the gift and saw that it was a pair of bracelets.

She felt that she was really lucky with bracelets recently. She received bracelets and gave bracelets to others. Could it be that she had some special physique that attracted bracelets? . . . .

She thought of some scenes in palace fighting dramas, where most of the gifts would be tampered with.

She picked up the bracelet with a handkerchief and examined it carefully for a while. It was a fine jade bracelet, with no traces of any mechanism. She smelled it again, but there was no odor. She then took out a small cloth bag from her bosom and took out a silver needle to test for poison. The silver needle did not change color.

As for why she carried a silver needle for testing poison with her, it was naturally to prevent Lin Rou from poisoning her.

She really wanted to bring Jade and Amber to her side, but the business of the store still needed two people to take care of it. Besides, she didn't want to put them in danger. Lin Rou didn't dare to touch her now, but the people around her might not be so sure.

Han Lie had something to do today, so he asked a guard to bring Taxue to Chaoyan. She rode Taxue for two laps and then went back.

After changing clothes, Aunt Hong took Chao Yan to visit the Crown Princess.