Proud Feather

Chapter 118 Third Meeting
With the emperor's approval, the case of the crown prince's murder was quickly brought to a close.

Not long after the notice was posted, the people involved were dealt with one by one.

Lin Wenyu was the first to be affected. Needless to say, he was stripped of his post and exiled, and his academic achievements were also revoked. If it weren't for the sake of Grand Tutor Lin, his past rewards would probably have been taken back as well.

The Lin family fell into a deep abyss, and it would be impossible for them to recover unless their descendants studied hard and made a name for themselves.

The officials of the Water Conservancy Bureau, including the former judge Shi Hao, were sentenced to immediate execution because he was the principal offender. His written records from his birth were destroyed. Others were dismissed or exiled. At the same time, the embezzled funds were recovered, thus completing what the Crown Prince had not finished before his death.

After a period of rectification, the court and the public appeared much more enlightened, drawing praise from scholars who lauded the emperor's wisdom.

……

Before she knew it, Chu Ling had been staying at the Duke of Anguo's mansion for more than half a month. She didn't mention going back, and the emperor didn't urge her either. Instead, he sent her a lot of things in the name of the Virtuous Consort.

Everyone thought that the emperor knew the princess was heartbroken over her brother's death, which was why he allowed her to go out and have fun to cheer herself up, and he still doted on her.

Chu Ling also seemed carefree, sometimes riding horses and practicing martial arts with her eldest cousin Feng Lingzhen, sometimes attending poetry gatherings with her second cousin Feng Lingyi, and sometimes going out to eat, drink, and have fun with her third cousin Feng Lingwei. She seemed to be enjoying herself, as if she had returned to her former life of a playboy.

That day, after listening to music at Xiao Lianxiang's place, she suddenly stopped by the bridge.

"Ah Ling, what's wrong?" Feng Lingwei, who was traveling with them, asked.

Chu Ling stared at the tavern across the river and said, "I suddenly remembered something. Weiwei, you should go back first!"

"Oh? Where are you going? Are you coming home tonight?"

"Of course, I'll be back in a bit."

"All right……"

Chu Ling had palace servants and guards with her, so there was no need to worry about her safety. The two then parted ways, with Feng Lingwei returning to the Duke's mansion first.

Watching the carriage depart, Chu Ling turned and walked towards the tavern.

The small tavern was closed, deserted and quiet, with only a soft, veil-like light shining through.

She left the guards outside and brought in green tea.

The curtains were drawn back, and a blast of warm air rushed in. Inside, several people were lounging around, each doing their own thing.

Seeing them come in, Gongsun Hong, who was at the counter doing accounts, laughed: "I told you, those who are willing will take the bait, and here they are."

The servant immediately ran over, glanced at the seat opposite Xiao Yu, and said solicitously, "Princess, please. The wine has just been warmed, and the sparrows have just been fried!"

Chu Ling glanced at Xiao Yu, who was sitting upright, and said with a hint of provocation, "Who said I was going to sit here? It's cold today, I don't want to be in the wind!"

"Uh!" The servant chuckled dryly, glancing at his master.

Xiao Yu, still blindfolded, said calmly, "Princess, please choose wherever you like to sit."

Chu Ling found it boring that Xiao Yu didn't fight back or talk back, so she sat down in the seat closest to the stove and watched Xiao Yu rustling around as she changed seats.

Good-looking people look good no matter what they do. Even though he bumped into the table and chair, Junior Uncle still maintained his elegant posture and composed demeanor.

Chu Ling rested her chin on her hand and looked at it for a while, then asked, "Are your eyes still not better?"

Xiao Yu replied, "It's been a bit long, it needs time to recover slowly."

Chu Ling remembered that in her previous life, Xiao Yu had been treating her for about half a year, which was quite a long time.

"There's only a little over a month until Chinese New Year, aren't you going home?"

Xiao Yu paused for a moment and then said, "It's nice to spend the New Year away from home once in a while."

"What about your family? Aren't they pressuring you?"

Xiao Yu lowered her eyes and fumbled for the wine glass on the table: "There's only my mother at home. She's a bit confused and doesn't remember me." Chu Ling softly said, "Ah, I'm sorry."

Xiao Yu shook her head: "It's nothing."

The fried sparrows were served. Chu Ling took a bite and then drank two cups of wine by herself before Qing Cha stopped her, saying, "Princess, be careful not to overeat."

"..." Chu Ling had no choice but to stop and ask, "You went to all this trouble to lure me here, just to treat me to a late-night snack, right?"

Xiao Yu countered, "Doesn't the princess like it?"

Chu Ling said, "I like it, but I don't feel safe eating things I don't know the purpose of."

Xiao Yu smiled: "Princess, please don't overthink it. Today, firstly, I want to thank you for your leniency last time, and secondly, I guessed that the princess was not in a good mood, so I wanted to express my gratitude."

"I'm in a bad mood?" Chu Ling repeated without a smile, "Why would I be in a bad mood? My brother's revenge has been taken, I'm in a great mood!"

Xiao Yu didn't argue with her, but simply nodded: "It's good that the princess thinks that way."

The more he complied, the more the fire in Chu Ling's heart burned, as if a bottle of wine had been poured on it, and it suddenly ignited.

She slammed down her chopsticks and said coldly, "Don't think that just because I, the princess, give you a friendly look, you can presume to know anything about me. The affairs of the emperor's family are also affairs of state, and you foreign officials have no right to pry into them!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu smiled and said, "It's good that the princess can still get angry."

"You—" Chu Ling roared in fury, her eyes blazing with fury, as if she were about to smash the cup at him at any moment.

The three people at the counter tensed up. What if the princess made a move? Should they help or not? Not helping would seem like dereliction of duty, but helping would appear like bullying a young girl…

No, there's also Qingcha watching them closely. The three of them might not be able to beat her!
Fortunately, Chu Ling didn't make a move. She stared at Xiao Yu for a while, then suddenly said, "You wouldn't be trying to get my attention on purpose, would you?"

Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow.

Then Chu Ling said something that scared the crap out of people: "Want to be the prince consort?"

"Boom!"

"Dangdang!"

"Cough-cough-"

Three sounds rang out simultaneously: the first was Gongsun Hong smashing his abacus, the second was Wu Zhiyong knocking over his teacup, and the third was the servant choking on his saliva.

The only one who remained calm was Xiao Yu, who was sitting opposite her. He asked, "Why does the princess say such a thing?"

Chu Ling said, "Do you even need to ask? As a princess of noble birth, I am naturally the best marriage partner in the world. Don't you think so?"

“...Yes.” Xiao Yu replied with difficulty; he couldn’t say no either.

"The first time we met, you were meddling in other people's business; the second time, you invited me; and today is the third time, and you've brought me here again. Things don't happen more than three times. Who would believe you don't have some ulterior motive?"

Chu Ling stared intently at his face and slowly continued, "Surely, your intention isn't to find out about the royal family's secrets, but rather to discover what's going on with me, the princess?"

Gongsun Hong gripped the abacus tightly, Wu Zhiyong held the teacup firmly, and the servant covered his mouth, not daring to make a sound.

—This is terrible! Who can deny that?

Xiao Yu was speechless, and in the end could only smile and say, "I heard that Minister Lin was exiled to Lingnan and just set off this morning."

Chu Ling pursed his lips. What an awkward change of topic, but at least he finally revealed his true purpose.

"so what?"

Xiao Yu looked at her and said softly, "This man is two-faced, treacherous and despicable. He caused the Crown Prince's untimely death. Exile is too lenient for him. Does the princess want to go and vent her anger?"

I've been sick for several days, and the anti-inflammatory injections have made me feel like I'm floating.