After marrying the fierce god, her handsome young husband was pampered to the extreme.

"When did you come to the capital?" Pearl asked him.

Zhao Duo replied, "Yesterday."

It turned out that she came to find him as soon as she arrived in the capital. Pearl felt very happy and had a pleasant feeling of being cared for.

Zhao Duo handed the maltose he had prepared earlier to Pearl.

A lump of maltose was stirred on two small wooden sticks, its translucent golden color emitting a rich sweet aroma.

Pearl whispered, "There are too many people here, I feel embarrassed to eat."

Zhao Duo pulled Pearl's wrist and led her into a secluded garden. "There isn't any here."

Pearl laughed, "Brother, so you had already scouted the place, didn't you?"

Zhao Duo asked, somewhat puzzled, "What does 'scouting the location' mean?"

Pearl said, "So you're saying you secretly came to scout out the terrain beforehand."

"That's right." Zhao Duo didn't deny it. "I'm not familiar with the capital."

"I'm not familiar with this place either. I haven't been back for several years. Today is a good day to take a look around."

Pearl was eating malt candy when a man suddenly walked towards her. Startled, she immediately stuffed the candy in her hand into Zhao Duo's mouth.

After the man left, Pearl breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, she reacted quickly, otherwise Princess Zhaoren would have lost face.

He stared at the blushing boy and asked in confusion, "Brother, why are you blushing?"

Zhao Duo shook his head and asked, "They sell them over there. Would you like another one?"

"Let's go get something else to eat. I remember there's a place nearby that makes really delicious rice cakes."

Zhao Duo nodded, "Okay."

The two walked along the path in the garden and saw Zhao Duo throw the small wooden stick into the soil. Only then did they belatedly realize that he had already taken a bite of the malt candy...

I didn't think too much about it at the time, but now that I've realized it, Pearl feels quite embarrassed.

Pearl asked, "Brother, is the candy sweet?"

Zhao Duo nodded and answered the question directly, "Sweet."

Pearl's eyes crinkled into a smile. "I think it's sweet too. Brother, do you think it counts as a kiss if we share a piece of candy?"

"Cough cough." Zhao Duo choked on Pearl's words.

Pearl quickly patted his back: "Be careful, are you alright?"

Zhao Duo grasped his hand. "It's alright."

The boy's hands were slightly cool, and Pearl's cheeks were flushed. "Brother."

--"pearl?"

Pearl's sweet smile froze instantly.

He mechanically turned his head and saw Lin Siheng with a blade of grass in his mouth, looking at him nonchalantly.

"I thought I misheard, but it really is you," Lin Siheng said. "Why are you dressed so gaudy today?"

Pearl silently moved to Zhao Duo's side, and the two held hands without letting go first, maintaining their clasped hands.

"I...we young men all dress like this!" Pearl didn't want the boy to know that she had dressed up specially for the appointment.

So he took the initiative and asked, "Brother Siheng, what are you doing here?"

"I made plans with a friend," Lin Siheng asked. "Has Lin Xinyu caused you any trouble these past few days?"

Pearl shook her head. "No."

Lin Siheng looked Zhao Duo up and down. "And who is this?"

Pearl quickly introduced, "Brother Siheng, this is Zhao Duo."

Lin Siheng asked, "Your friend?"

Pearl nodded, her little face flushed, "Mmm!"

Lin Siheng's usually rough senses suddenly became strangely sensitive. He looked at the two holding hands, and his expression suddenly became very complicated.

"Just friends?" Lin Siheng asked.

Pearl replied hesitantly, "Um..."

After all, someone hasn't come to propose marriage yet!

Lin Siheng immediately stepped forward and pried their hands apart. "I thought it was your fiancé. Why are you holding hands with your friend? Don't do that."

Pearl pouted, "Just pull it once."

Lin Siheng flicked Pearl's head. "You little guy, aren't you ashamed?"

Pearl stuck out her tongue. "Oops."

At this moment, Lin Siheng's friends arrived, and Pearl took the opportunity to pull Zhao Duo away.

Lin Siheng raised an eyebrow as he watched Pearl's retreating figure, which could almost be described as a hasty escape.

It seems Little Pearl is falling in love.

However, the man next to Pearl seemed somewhat familiar... Lin Siheng thought for a while but couldn't remember him, so she stopped worrying about it.

Pearl had no idea that she was about to become the center of attention in the whole family, because she was currently dragging Zhao Duo shopping.

Princess Zhaoren lived in the northern border region for many years, so not many people recognized her.

When she returned home in the evening, Pearl thought about bringing Zhao Duo home with her.

Although Zhao Duo now lives in a house opposite the Prince Cheng's Mansion, it is still inconvenient for him to live alone.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Duo refused.

Although he didn't tell Pearl the reason, Pearl could guess that the young man would be coming to propose marriage in the next day or two.

I hope Father won't scold Zhao Duo away when the time comes.

In order to prevent Zhao Duo from being scolded, or at least to reduce the amount of scolding he received, Zhenzhu specifically sought help from her stepfather.

The younger father assured him that he would definitely help him get rid of his father.

Pearl was relieved and happily waited for the young man to come and propose marriage.

Sure enough, Zhao Duo came to propose marriage a few days later.

On the day Zhao Duo visited, both Zhao Lang and Qian Yuan came.

It was not easy for the border commander to enter the capital, which is why it took some time.

Lin Nian, as the stepfather, naturally knew what Pearl was thinking and didn't make things difficult for Zhao Duo. He just asked a few trivial questions.

The two families chatted for an afternoon, and considering that Pearl was not yet of marriageable age, they set their wedding date for two years later.

Yin Cheng felt that two years was too short; he even thought that ten years would be acceptable.

Twenty years is not out of the question.

After setting the wedding date, Zhao Lang and Qian Yuan hurriedly returned to the southwest.

Zhao Duo also moved into the Prince Cheng's Mansion under the identity of Pearl's fiancé to cultivate their relationship.

The couple's marriage was not reported to the imperial court, but some people with ulterior motives still discovered the clues.

What was originally a mutual affection between two young people has become a point of contention in the cutthroat court, a result of collusion between the Northern Army and the Southwestern Army.

Those who disliked Yin Cheng spread many rumors, such as the fake coup turning into a real one, and the former brothers now being ruler and subject.

Even if it can't break the relationship between the emperor and Prince Cheng, it's still good to keep each other in check.

After all, who can guarantee that an emperor will never harbor suspicion throughout his life?

This matter did not cause much of a stir in Prince Cheng's residence. On the contrary, Yin Cheng reacted quite strongly to the fact that Zhao Duo had moved into Prince Cheng's residence.

He found over three hundred different kinds of weapons, large and small, and placed them specifically in Pearl's courtyard.

"Son, if he doesn't behave, just throw all these things at him, you hear me?"

Pearl suppressed a laugh while coaxing her father, "Mmm, don't worry, Daddy, if he misbehaves, I'll definitely beat him."

Yin Cheng was pleased.

As expected, my little darling knows how to make her dad happy.

Besides Pearl, Yuanbao was probably the second happiest person.

Yuanbao has been even more bored since Lin Xinyu went back.

I'm so bored I just sit there doing nothing all day.

There weren't many people her age near the Prince Cheng's residence, and although she and her only husband, Lin Xinyu, were both in the capital, they still had to take a carriage to meet.

Now that Zhao Duo has arrived, he finally has someone to keep him company.

Spring has passed and winter has arrived in the blink of an eye.

It's snowing in Beijing.

Zhao Duo also returned to the southwest, and it's estimated that he won't come back until next spring.

For the past few months, Pearl had been inseparable from Zhao Duo almost every day, and he was a little unaccustomed to the sudden emptiness beside him.