"Was this osmanthus cake prepared for me?" Ying Yuan didn't take it immediately, but first asked the people from the small kitchen.
"Yes, Seventh Prince."
The servants from the small kitchen hurriedly nodded in affirmation.
Gu Rushuang didn't particularly enjoy eating sweet pastries, so the desserts from the small kitchen were basically all prepared for Ying Yuan.
"I'll take it then." Having received a positive response, Ying Yuan immediately took the plate of osmanthus cake in his hand, and then led Li Jin to sit down in a pavilion within the palace grounds.
Perhaps the servants were afraid the original shape of the osmanthus cake was too large and inconvenient for Ying Yuan to hold, so they specially made them smaller. Thus, they appeared smaller and more exquisite than ordinary osmanthus cakes.
"Li Jin, here, have one."
Ying Yuan, his face full of anticipation, handed the entire plate of osmanthus cakes to Li Jin.
He wanted to share his favorite osmanthus cake with Li Jin.
"Thank you for the reward, Seventh Prince." Li Jin then picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and began to eat it.. The texture of this osmanthus cake was indeed very good, with a moderate sweetness. Even someone like Li Jin, who didn't particularly love sweets, found it quite good.
"Actually, you don't need to be so formal."
To be honest, Ying Yuan disliked this attitude of Li Jin's very much, it always felt like there was an invisible distance placed between them.
"Propriety cannot be abandoned." Li Jin smiled and shook his head. Although it seemed like only the two of them here, it was entirely possible someone was watching their every move from the shadows. It was only natural to be cautious.
"I know, but..."
Li Jin subtly changed the subject. "Seventh Prince, this morning I heard from the Fifth Prince that you were reprimanded by Grand Tutor Li?"
"Uh..."
Mentioning the scolding, Ying Yuan became embarrassed.
"Seventh Prince?"
"Well... yes... that did happen..." Ying Yuan nodded sheepishly, "There are some things Grand Tutor Li taught that I still don't quite understand. Last time Grand Tutor Li tested me, he happened to test me on the parts I didn't know."
"What parts?"
"It was..."
As Li Jin asked, Ying Yuan went ahead and told him directly.
"Seventh Prince, this is from the 'Thousand Character Classic'..." Li Jin very patiently explained the parts Ying Yuan didn't understand to him, simultaneously using a different method to question Ying Yuan, which suddenly made everything clear to him.
"Li Jin, you really know a lot."
Ying Yuan couldn't help but look at Li Jin with admiration.
"If Seventh Prince reads as much as I do, you will gradually understand too." Li Jin never thought Ying Yuan was stupid; on the contrary, he felt that for someone who hadn't been studying for long, Ying Yuan's understanding was already quite good.
Not far away.
Gu Rushuang was watching the two with deep meaning.
Zhiqiu, who was attending to him, said with a smile, "Your Majesty, the Heir Apparent and the Seventh Prince get along very well."
"Mm." Gu Rushuang nodded, "I hope they can continue like this."
The longer one lived in the palace, the clearer it became that the palace was filled with deceit and intrigue everywhere. Even biological sisters could become enemies under the influence of power and the machinations of scheming people, let alone two people like Li Jin and Ying Yuan who weren't even related by blood.
"Your Majesty, you seem preoccupied?"
Zhiqiu looked at Gu Rushuang with concern.
Gu Rushuang turned to look at a withered tree, "Tomorrow, Ying Zihui will return to the court in triumph. The Emperor will certainly hold a grand banquet for the entire court and the inner palace. At that time, the struggle for the Crown Prince position will likely become even more intense."
Although Gu Rushuang didn't know Shen Qianxue's specific schemes, based on his understanding of Shen Qianxue, he could guess that Shen Qianxue would never willingly hand over the Crown Prince position to Helian Yuxi's son. Similarly, Helian Yuxi wouldn't sit idly by and allow Shen Qianxue, this major threat, to continue developing.
____
"Noble Lady Jin, His Majesty hopes that you will properly instruct the Fifth Prince from now on, and ensure that such an incident doesn't happen again." After delivering Ying Zhengjing's decree, Yang Shaochuan turned and left on his own.
"How could this be?"
Lan Yingying trembled, unable to believe it.
A palace maid nearby, seeing this, hurried forward to support Lan Yingying, preventing her from falling.
"Get away!" Lan Yingying was in no state to maintain her surface composure anymore, she pushed the palace maid away. "Where is Jun'er? Where is Jun'er? Quickly, go find Jun'er and bring him here. I want to ask him clearly what exactly happened."
"Mother..."
Ying Zijun crept over timidly, not daring to meet Lan Yingying's gaze.
Lan Yingying, her eyes red, stared intently at Ying Zijun. "Jun'er, quickly tell me what happened?"
"It was Ying Yuan, and that Li Jin, they joined forces to frame me..." Ying Zijun bitterly resented Li Jin and Ying Yuan. As soon as Lan Yingying asked, Ying Zijun immediately shifted all the blame onto the two of them.
"You mention Ying Yuan, I'm not surprised, but Heir Li..."
"Mother, don't forget that he was born from the Empress's sister. Would the Empress do nothing? It's entirely possible that their scheme against me was plotted by the Empress from behind the scenes."
"Jun'er, you are right."
Lan Yingying was already wary of Gu Rushuang, Ying Zijun's words undoubtedly made her even more convinced that Gu Rushuang wanted to suppress her.
"Mother, can we only endure it like this?"
"How is that possible?" Lan Yingying's smile was cold and did not reach her eyes. "Jun'er, your father is still angry with you now. For the next few days, keep a low profile temporarily. Wait until your father's anger subsides, then find an opportunity to deal with them."
But Ying Zijun didn't want to wait, he wanted to deal with Li Jin and the others now. "Mother, can't we ask Consort Qi for help? Consort Qi adopted Ying Yuan before, if she knew what Ying Yuan has done, she would certainly be willing to help me."
"No." Lan Yingying's face darkened immediately, and she said decisively without a second thought, "And don't mention this matter in front of me again in the future."
Lan Xiwei had wolfish ambitions, how could she possibly be willing to help me?
Lan Yingying had not forgotten that her failure to be promoted to Consort rank until now was thanks to Lan Xiwei. How could she possibly want to cooperate with her?
"Mother, I simply cannot swallow this anger."
Ying Zijun slammed the table hard, ultimately finding it difficult to accept.
Lan Yingying looked at Ying Zijun and said unhurriedly, "Jun'er, the Prince of Dingbei has more than one legitimate son. Since that Heir Apparent has no intention of allying with us, why don't you win over his brothers and pull him down from the position of Heir Apparent? Wouldn't that work?"
Ying Zijun gasped. "Mother, you mean to have his younger brother become the Heir Apparent of the Prince of Dingbei?"
"Precisely."
Lan Yingying slowly curled her lips into a smile, her eyes filled with malice.
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