Chapter 33
As the sedan curtain slowly fell, the county princess’s mood was no longer as bright as before.
Beside her, a young girl let out a giggle. She was dressed in a light yellow gauze robe, which made her appear delicate and gentle. This was Su Wan’ning, who had just entered the palace to recite scriptures for the Empress.
“Why does County Princess* look unhappy? Are you jealous?”
Note: County Prince/Princess title is for distant relatives of emperor, typically relatives besides his birth children.
Sitting across from her, County Princess Zhaoyun’s expression darkened slightly. “Wan’er, don’t talk nonsense. Why would I be jealous of him?”
The young woman sharing the sedan with County Princess Zhaoyun was indeed Su Wan’ning. The two were as close as sisters, something evident from their choice to ride together.
Su Wan’ning covered her lips and chuckled softly. “County Princess is getting shy. Others might not know, but don’t I? The last time you entered the palace, you insisted on paying respects to Imperial Concubine Rong. You knew full well that the Empress and Imperial Concubine Rong didn’t get along, yet you still insisted on getting involved in the mess. Wasn’t it just an excuse to see the Fourth Prince?”
Zhaoyun’s face flushed bright red. “I… I wasn’t! I clearly wanted to see my cousin! My elder brother and my cousin are close friends, and he asked me to inquire whether my cousin had the rare book he was looking for.”
Seeing that Zhaoyun refused to admit it, Su Wan’ning sighed. “Ah, well, that’s a shame. I had thought of bringing you along when I went to congratulate Cousin Hanzhi, so you could meet the future Prince An’s Wang Fei. But since you’re not interested, I suppose we’ll forget it.”
Hearing this, County Princess Zhaoyun panicked. “No, no… Ah, my dear sister, don’t be like this, alright? I… I was just… just…”
Su Wan’ning smiled. “I understand. Princess is just shy. What young lady would openly admit her feelings for someone?”
County Princess Zhaoyun sighed and fell silent. “They say your cousin, Lu Hanzhi, is the most beautiful person in the capital. Just… how good-looking is he to have captured Prince An’s favor?” Prince An had always been cold to everyone, even the Emperor, since childhood. He had never shown such interest in anyone before.
Su Wan’ning didn’t try to comfort Zhaoyun and simply said, “He is beautiful. I’ve traveled between the palace and the outside world, across the north and south, and I have never seen someone so stunning.”
Even though Su Wan’ning spoke as if it were an ordinary fact, her eyes could not hide the deep jealousy within them.
Zhaoyun stared off into the distance, her face full of disappointment. “They say he is both intelligent and sharp, and his beauty surpasses all in the capital. I suppose he truly is a match for Prince An?”
Su Wan’ning, however, shook her head. “In this world, no one is worthy of Prince An.”
Zhaoyun looked at her in confusion, as a faint light flickered in Su Wan’ning’s gaze. Then she heard Su Wan’ning say, “Except for you, Princess.”
Zhaoyun subconsciously nodded, her expression suddenly turning firm. “My father is the mighty Prince Bei, and my mother is Grand Princess Mingxi. Among all the noble ladies in the world, who could compare to me? The only person in this world worthy of Prince An is, of course, me!”
In the distance, the palace loomed ahead. Su Wan’ning and Zhaoyun were on their way to meet the Empress.
Lately, the Empress had been in a foul mood. She had thought that with the Eldest Prince imprisoned in Zhao Prison and General Wu Wei demoted, everything was finally set in stone.
Who would have expected that the Fourth Prince would return from thousands of miles away to break into the prison, flipping the situation entirely? Now, instead of the Eldest Prince, it was the Third Prince who had been thrown into jail.
That Third Prince—he was nothing but a fool who would never amount to anything.
Even with his uncle from the Wolf King Tribe backing him, how many troops could that bitterly cold land even provide?
No matter how she looked at it, Imperial Concubine Rong’s faction remained her biggest threat.
Imperial Concubine had two sons—besides Prince Chu, there was also Prince An.
Prince Chu looked like a bookish scholar and had no desire to be emperor, which was understandable. But Prince An was a martial artist.
Every word from Imperial Concubine was filled with love and praise for him.
She always said that Prince An was more like her own son, inheriting the Rong family’s martial spirit.
That Prince An was a ruthless and brutal man who recognized no kin. If he ever clashed with the Crown Prince, the outcome would be uncertain.
It wasn’t until Su Wan’ning came over to massage her shoulders that the Empress finally felt a little better.
Her dignified and beautiful face softened as the frown eased from her brow. “My dear Wan’er, you’re always so obedient and sensible. If only the Crown Prince were half as filial as you, I wouldn’t have to worry so much about him.”
Su Wan’ning smiled and got up to brew tea for the Empress. “Your Majesty, what are you saying? His Highness is the most filial of all. I heard that he is currently searching everywhere for the perfect birthday gift for you. You know that every year on your birthday, His Highness always carefully selects a present just for you.”
These words hit right at the Empress’s heart, and she finally laughed. “Oh, you little thing, you know the Crown Prince better than I do! Tell me, has he been visiting you again lately? Speaking of which, it’s been a while since he took a concubine, yet nothing has come of it. Meanwhile, Prince An has already gotten ahead of him. I’m growing anxious as well and have been thinking about choosing another concubine for him. Wan’er, I know your background isn’t high, and making you a side consort would never pass His Majesty’s approval. But if you were to have a child, things would be different. Once you have a son, you will gain status as a mother. I would have the power to promote you to a side consort. What do you think, Wan’er? You and the Crown Prince have been deeply in love for years—it’s time you two took the next step.”
Su Wan’ning’s face immediately turned bright red. Flustered, she exclaimed, “Ah! Your Majesty, you’re teasing me! If you keep this up, I won’t come to the palace to talk with you anymore!”
The Empress laughed heartily, the gloom of the past few days dissipating considerably. The more she looked at the young girl, the more she found her to her liking.
Meanwhile, over at the estate, Lu Hanzhi’s business had reached a new peak in recent days.
When he first started selling fragrant soap, he would include a small sample with each purchase for the young ladies. Each sample came with a small instruction sheet, advising users to apply a pea-sized amount after cleansing their face with the fragrant soap.
The instructions also listed the ingredients of the balm, allowing customers to check for any potential allergies.
Because everyone’s skin type was different, while pig lard wouldn’t necessarily cause allergies, applying too much of this saturated fat could easily lead to breakouts for girls with oily skin.
To address this, Lu Hanzhi set up a beauty consultant position at each store.
If any young women had questions about skincare, they could ask the beauty consultant for advice.
Originally, he had only been concerned that the balm might cause acne, but the beauty consultant ended up being surrounded by customers every day, including attendants sent by noble families to inquire on behalf of their mistresses.
When faced with problems they couldn’t resolve, the beauty consultant would simply take notes and return to ask Lu Hanzhi for guidance.
The women’s concerns covered a wide range of topics—some wanted to know how to remove moles, dark circles, or even crow’s feet. It seemed that no matter the era, the desire for beauty remained the same among women.
This made things even simpler. Lu Hanzhi suddenly felt that skincare products were practically tailor-made to be his personal money-making scheme.
Before long, he had completed his first phase’s mission—ten exchange points were secured.
At the settlement for this period, his total exchange points reached thirty, his loyalty to the monarch increased by two, and he obtained two beginner-level treasure chests.
The first phase of the mission required fulfilling two conditions—the first had long been met, but the second would take a bit more time.
However, the rewards for completing it were also doubled.
The moment of receiving rewards for mission completion was always the happiest for Lu Hanzhi, and this time, with double the rewards, his joy was twice as great.
He couldn’t wait to open the two beginner treasure chests. Inside, he found another fifty-percent discount coupon, as well as a GDP-doubling buff coupon.
Both coupons had no time limit. Lu Hanzhi glanced at Little Fatty Chan, who was giggling in the rocking ride beside him, and considered whether he should use the coupons now.
The current mission wasn’t particularly difficult to complete, so using them rashly would be a waste.
Who knew if the system’s difficulty would keep increasing? It might be better to save them for later when they could be of greater use.
So, he stored both coupons away.
There were also two talismans in his possession that he hadn’t found an opportunity to use yet.
Thinking back on the shifting attitudes of Old Madam Lu and Lu Siwei toward him, the difference was growing more apparent. Especially Lu Siwei—Lu Hanzhi felt that his indifference toward him was becoming more and more pronounced.
It seemed that the female lead’s mental attacks were applied gradually—not everyone adored her unconditionally.
For example, the servants around him, who used to be highly favorable toward Su Wan’ning, now treated her with only mild courtesy.
Once, he overheard Luan Feng and Qin Se gossiping about her: “The young lady from the Su family seems easygoing on the surface, but once when I greeted her, she barely acknowledged me. But she is still the master. A master is a master—even if she’s just staying here temporarily, she’s still far above us lowly servants.”
Judging from this, if her psychological influence couldn’t be sustained, people’s affection for her would gradually fade.
Lu Hanzhi pondered over how he could put the talisman to use on his “plastic father.”
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. His father liked to pose as a cultured gentleman and always carried a decorative sword at his waist.
A good sword was hard to come by. If he could acquire one, his father would surely keep it with him at all times.
And since the talisman’s effective range was ten meters, as long as the sword remained by his side, he wouldn’t be affected by mental attacks.
But where could he find such a sword?
Even if he had the sword, who should deliver it to ensure that his father valued it enough never to part with it?
He immediately thought of an imperial gift. But why would the emperor randomly bestow a short sword upon a minister in the business sector? That didn’t seem appropriate.
After some consideration, he thought of someone.
If Yuwen Min were to present the sword, wouldn’t that make his father cherish it even more?
Besides, Yuwen Min was naturally fond of swords. A warrior at heart, he even had his own private armory.
Would he agree if Lu Hanzhi asked him for a scholar’s ceremonial sword?
With that thought, he decided not to take on any new missions just yet.
The more teammates he had surviving, the better the odds of success—especially key teammates.
So, he got up and picked up Ah Chan, ignoring the child’s protests about wanting to keep playing on the rocking ride. Casually grabbing a mechanical wooden horse from the small bed, he shoved it into Ah Chan’s arms. Then, he instructed He Ming to prepare the carriage and set off for Prince An’s residence.
This was Lu Hanzhi’s first time visiting Prince An’s estate, and he felt a little shy about it.
The current Prince An’s residence was no longer the old Ling’an Prince’s manor. After the Eldest Prince had his name cleared, he had been granted a new grand mansion.
Located in the expensive western district of the capital, right next to the Eldest Prince’s estate, it was in an area where land was worth its weight in gold.
Perhaps to distinguish it from the Crown Prince’s quarters, which were situated on Qinglong Street in the eastern district closest to Zichen Palace, Prince An’s residence was positioned on Xuanwu Street.
The new estate was grand and imposing, even surpassing the specifications of Prince Chu’s residence across the street.
What was the emperor’s intention here? Was he deliberately making the younger brother’s residence grander than the older brother’s?
That emperor was such a schemer. On the surface, he was rewarding Yuwen Min, but in reality, he was sowing discord between the two brothers.
Luckily, the Eldest Prince didn’t care about such matters at all. Right now, his heart and soul were fully devoted to the Second Young Master of the Lu family—his only wish was to spend a lifetime with him.
When Lu Hanzhi’s carriage stopped in front of Prince An’s residence, he got out and sent He Ming ahead to notify the gatekeeper.
He had expected the gatekeeper to go inside and report before allowing them entry. But to his surprise, the gatekeeper respectfully stepped forward himself and said, “His Highness has instructed that Wang Fei may enter at any time.”
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