Zhihuan was extremely frustrated. He had gotten his hopes up, only for them to be crushed. Changying notices the confused looks between the empress and the crown prince and smiles. "We are actually step-siblings. We share the same father but different mothers. That is why our looks are quite different." Changying says as she reaches for a sweet before popping it into her mouth.
"Ah is that so. For a second I thought maybe you had already gone and married. That is good news indeed." The Empress says gently, causing Zhihuan to suddenly freeze. Please don't mention any of that stupid marriage talk here. Changying's lips slightly raise into a tiny smirk.
"Good news, why is that?" Changying asks confused, as if she had no idea what his mother was suggesting. Zhihuan wanted nothing more than to tape her mouth shut. That girl always did talk too much.
"Ah well you see, I believe Zhihuan and yo-"
"Mother, we have not received the lotus flowers with water to wash our hands yet." Zhihuan says as he shows his sticky fingers from eating the sweets. Sure he had just interrupted when the empress was in the middle of speaking, but he did not care what punishment he got as long as he could avoid any marriage talk. The empresses eyes narrow as her smile disappears. Glancing around, she notices that the bowls of water with lotus petals were indeed missing from the tables.
"Maid." The empress commands. Yu Yan suddenly appears with a worried look on her face, her head bowed down.
"Where are the lotus flowers? I do not see any around." The empress's commanding voice calls out with slight agitation. Zen's eyebrows slightly narrow.
"Please forgive me your majesty but the maid we sent out has yet to return. I will send out a replacement quickly." Yu Yan says, dropping to her knees as she begs for forgiveness.
"Hmph. Get out of my sight. Make sure you do not repeat the same mistake again." She spits out before turning her gaze to a cold gazed Zhihuan and a smiling Princess Changying. Zen quietly sits there, staring at his tea.
"I am sorry for our maid's incompetence. Anyhow, I do not know much about you Zen. Please do tell us more." The Empress says, diverting her attention to the now startled Zen. Zhihuan inwardly breathes in a sigh of relief.
Zen cowers as all the eyes turn to look at him. "Ah well as dear sister said, Zen is the third prince of the Wei empire. Most of Zen's life has been up in the mountains in recuperation due to an illness. Zen has only been back for about 2 years so Zen is not that knowledgeable about things." Zen says, his eyes darting from side to side as he stares at his knees. The Empress looks at him, inwardly sighing. Such a shame that such looks bears the knowledge of a child. As Zen spoke, Changying looks at him with an expressionless face. If only they knew.
"As you can see, Zen is an extremely shy and nervous person. Zen hates to admit it but Zen is very bad around girls, not being able to sustain a conversation. So please forgive Zen's attitude towards you, dear empress." As soon as Zen said that, the Empress turned a slight shade of red in happiness. The empress was definitely not young, already in her 40's but to be called a girl and not a woman made her extremely happy. This 3rd Prince may not be smart or strong but in a strange way, is somewhat adorable. Zhihuan sighs. He may have not directly called his mother young but by saying those words, he was already in her good books.
"I see, you are a very interesting person indeed. Do not worry, I will not take any offense. Now on to more important matters, I really wish to discuss the topic of marriage." The Empress says, causing Zhihuan to almost spit the gulp of tea he had just taken back into his cup.
"Princess Changying, you are extremely strong-willed and beautiful. You are also the Princess of the Wei kingdom which we have good ties with. Furthermore, my son is not only extremely handsome but very smart and athletic. I believe it will be extremely beneficial for both kingdoms if both my son Zhihuan and Princess Changying were to mar-" The empress was saying when the doors suddenly slide open without any notice. Zhihuan wanted to bow then and there to whoever had interrupted the Empress in the most crucial moment.
YOU ARE READING
Look Under 'His' Skirt
Historical FictionKai Fanghua is a hot-headed yet sometimes idiotic boy. Graced with the looks of a stunning beauty, he spends his days dressing as a girl and catfishing corrupted officials by swindling them of their money. However, things start to backfire when he g...
