Chapter 2, unparalleled in the world

The queen's expression changed slightly; in order to conceal her displeasure, a forced smile appeared at the corners of her mouth

The eunuchs and palace maids responsible for watching the trees trembled like sifted chaff, tears streaming down like rain, frequently bowing in reverence. Why have these ancestors suddenly decided to come here to play today? The Empress has already issued a decree inviting the noble ladies to enjoy the flowers and willows, and this corner is a must-visit spot. If this continues, the noble ladies will likely only be able to admire some withered trees and bare branches today! The Empress has always loved willows, and this row of willows was specially tended to by a gardener with great care. Now, having been ruined to this state, the Crown Prince will at most face some reprimands, but the servants might end up suffering severe punishment!

The Emperor naturally understood the implication, smiled faintly, and gazed intently at Yuezheng for a moment

Feng Xun, whose character developed late, is straightforward and outspoken. As a mother, she finds it inappropriate to directly express her fondness for the Du family's power, hoping that he will get closer to Si Yu, fearing that he might stubbornly blurt it out in a moment of anger, resulting in a small loss leading to a greater one

No one was in the mood to joke anymore, and the atmosphere felt extremely cold. Feng Lin looked at his father's expression, and his gaze gradually turned cold as well. His uncle had long advised him to be cautious with his words and actions in front of the Empress, and today he had truly spoken carelessly.

Miss Yuan rarely sighed elegantly while touching her forehead, saying, "What can I say about you? The water by the pool is shallow, and there is plenty of mud. If we dig some up and smear it on the brick wall, won't it be able to stick the petals on?"

How to decorate? The Crown Prince Fengxun has always been very obedient to Yuezheng, who is a few years younger than him

Yue Zheng furrowed her brows for a moment, silently reciting.

His Highness did not even glance, "If it dies, so be it; someone will take care of it. Yuezheng, what shall we use to dig the mud?"

Feng Lin and Du Si Yu also came to pay their respects. The Empress looked at the pair of charming children, whose features complemented each other beautifully, and then glanced at her son, who was covered in mud and was naive and mischievous. A sense of helpless urgency suddenly surged within her. As Feng Xun and Feng Lin grew older, both the background forces and the court's public opinion increasingly leaned towards a side that was unfavorable to Feng Xun. This accumulating anxiety felt like a heavy stone pressing down on her heart, making it difficult for her to eat or sleep.

The Emperor, still in good spirits, turned back and smiled at the Empress, signaling her not to be angry. "It is only natural for a man to desire his own home. When I was young, I also enjoyed building small houses and courtyards in the Imperial Garden. Jun'er is quite similar to me in this regard"

The Yuan siblings and Prince Fengxun were busy to the point of sweating profusely. The "Viewing Pavilion" had been roughly completed, and the bricks for repairing the walls of the Imperial Garden were tirelessly transported to the lakeside by the eunuchs. This makeshift "cottage," haphazardly constructed with bricks and merely possessing four walls, was quite an eyesore at the corner of Taiye Pool, thoroughly disrupting the picturesque scene of green willows brushing against the embankment and the coolness of lotus leaves.

Feng Lin did not expect the conversation to suddenly turn towards him. He was momentarily taken aback and wanted to say that he had not yet considered it, but upon seeing his father's earnest gaze, he felt it was unwise to respond hastily. "My son..." He paused, casting a calm glance at Si Yu, who was already blushing beside him, "I wish to marry a woman of both talent and beauty, unparalleled in the world."

Although the phrase "unparalleled in the world" made her feel that achieving it would be quite difficult, it was still much better than Feng Lin directly saying he wanted to marry Si Yu

"So ugly." She looked critically at the "cottage" that she had just been proud of, frowning and murmuring.

A gasp escaped her lips, and the head maid fainted. The surrounding palace attendants rushed over, crying out in sorrow.

What is all this commotion about? The sharp and pointed inquiry, imbued with a different kind of authority, carried a hint of malice, immediately silencing the wailing and clamoring palace attendants. The palace maids and eunuchs, in the presence of the twelve or thirteen-year-old crown prince, expressed their sorrow and pleas with a degree of exaggeration that catered to the young child. However, in front of Chief Steward Qiu, their fear and trepidation were palpable, especially with the Emperor and Empress following closely behind him

The resourceful Miss Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "You have seen that thing too, right? A long stick with a scoop tied to the end, I find it quite useful"

Miss Yuan was in low spirits and casually pointed to a pond full of blooming lotus flowers, saying, "Other petals are too small, let's use the lotus petals, they are beautiful enough and convenient."

Your Highness was just about to give an order to find someone, when even Eunuch Xiang began to cry, "Your Highness, that... that is... used for cleaning the toilet"

Yuezheng stared blankly at the exceptionally handsome young man in brocade attire, who was gently scattering colorful petals from the gradually revealing beautiful girl’s head under the warm sunlight. A gentle breeze dispersed the petals, which fell onto the girl’s glossy hair and the edges of her exquisite dress. The girl looked up and smiled at the young man, who lowered his long eyelashes and smiled softly back at her, his bright eyes glimmering faintly beneath the dense wings of his lashes.

Young Master Yuan was quite surprised and nudged Feng Xun, "It seems that someone has died"

"Feng Lin has also reached the age to take up his post in the fief. Has he ever thought about what kind of princess he would like to marry?" The Empress's question was abrupt, and upon speaking it, she felt it was too revealing, leading to a rather awkward chuckle.

The Emperor slightly furrowed his brow, then smiled nonchalantly and said, "Very well." However, he secretly sighed, fearing that Lier's phrase "unparalleled in the world" would likely lead to unforeseen complications and stir up trouble.

A thick haze of sorrow envelops the banks of Taiye Pool, while the fallen leaves and withered branches on the ground further accentuate the atmosphere of blood and storm.

A twelve-year-old child casually mentioned wanting to marry a woman of unparalleled beauty, which could easily be dismissed as a jest. However, this remark struck a chord with her deep-seated insecurities. Feng Lin's spontaneous words might very well reflect the ambitions that the forces behind him have been tirelessly planning for years! He is not merely seeking to marry a woman of unmatched beauty; he is clearly aspiring to become an unparalleled individual himself!

Several palace attendants, their faces pale, knelt down and pleaded desperately, saying: "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, please show mercy, for Her Majesty the Empress still wishes to enjoy the lake and flowers today..."

May I ask! A small figure jumped out from behind the Crown Prince, and Yuezheng's expression was very serious, "What does it take to be considered both talented and beautiful, unparalleled in the world?" Her eyes sparkled, almost stubbornly fixed on Fenglin. Just now, the Empress had asked him what kind of woman he wished to marry, and she was truly afraid he would mention Siyu's name

The queen looked at the scattered broken willows, frowning in displeasure, "Xun'er, you are being naughty again!"

Good! His Royal Highness the Crown Prince readily agreed, striding forward and snapping off a branch with a crisp sound. Several eunuchs and palace maids immediately knelt down in tears, lamenting: "Your Highness, please show mercy."

"Let's build it quickly, and then invite Feng Lin and Si Yu over as guests," Yue Zheng said gloomily. She was short, and the brick wall was high, making it clear that she could not help with the task of covering it with willow branches. Yue Zheng frowned and looked unhappily at Feng Lin and Si Yu, who were down by the low embankment. Si Yu did not enjoy this "building" game; instead, she picked fallen petals by the flowerbed and used a small mortar to crush them into "perfume." Feng Lin had originally joined them in building the house, but after playing for a while, he ran down to help Si Yu collect petals. Once all the fragrant petals were picked, he simply broke off fresh flowers and tore them into pieces to put into the small mortar in Si Yu's hands.

Upon hearing his father speak kindly about having the same hobby in his childhood, Feng Xun immediately felt delighted. The Empress also calmed down somewhat due to the phrase "like me" and, with a wry smile, shot a glare at her son but ultimately refrained from further scolding.

The moon zither's bright, sparkling eyes blinked, and with a small, dirty hand raised, pointed at the row of the queen's beloved willows, "Let's use the willow branches; they are both breathable and translucent"

It turns out that to become the princess of Fenglin, one must transform into such a woman

Both the Emperor and the Empress were taken aback upon hearing this

Even when the wall is completed, it resembles a broken wall. Yueque rests her chin on her hand, deep in thought, "What should I use for the roof?"

Feng Lin wore a cold expression and had no intention of answering her question. Remaining silent would only make the atmosphere more awkward, so she absentmindedly replied, "Of course, one must be proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, able to sing and dance, and possess extraordinary beauty"

The queen's sharp and stern words took Feng Xun by surprise, and stealing a glance at the chaos on the ground, she lowered her head to show her sense of guilt

"I am breaking willow branches, not your necks. Why are you howling?" Feng Xun disdainfully glanced at the kneeling palace servants and sternly reprimanded them. Meanwhile, her hands were not idle, as she snapped off several large branches. The young master Yuan eagerly ran over to assist, and soon the ground was littered with fallen flowers and broken willows.

The ever-kind Empress spoke in such a cold tone, and the Rong siblings wilted like frostbitten eggplants behind the Crown Prince, evidently having offended the Empress by breaking the willow branch

With her hands covered in willow sap, Feng Xun spread her hands and asked from the ground, "What do you suggest we do?"

Xun'er, as the crown prince, how can you spend your days idly without striving for progress? How old are you now? Engaging in such childish games! The queen's displeasure added a great deal of unspoken resentment, and her stern reprimand of her son seemed somewhat excessive.

Yuezheng was inspired by Siyu, and the way girls love flowers and grass seemed particularly unique... uniquely... She could not describe it, but she felt that girls, like Siyu, were very likable, at least Fenglin thought so. "Let's decorate with flower petals," she suggested, yet she was still unhappy, feeling that it was ultimately a copy of Siyu's idea.

The chaotic situation that was just like a pot of porridge suddenly transformed into a silence filled with terror, and the collective greetings were all tinged with tremors

The ever-quick-handed Young Master Yuan casually plucked a blooming white lotus nearby, roughly tearing off several petals and squeezing out the juice with force, sticking the sticky substance onto the crooked wall made of bricks. "It won't stick," Young Master Yuan said, troubled, while the Crown Prince furrowed his brows, unable to come up with a solution. The palace attendants responsible for guarding the lotus flowers suddenly felt a glimmer of hope, eagerly watching Miss Yuan, praying that this little ancestor would not cause any more trouble.

The Emperor and the Empress, accompanied only by their personal attendants, seem to have taken a spontaneous stroll along the lake for a leisurely chat.

Looking back with a sense of regret at the results of a busy afternoon—a crooked structure resembling a pigsty—she then glanced at the artistic ambiance on the other side and suddenly felt that compared to the delicate rain, she was like a phoenix while the other was... She would never admit that she resembled a wild sparrow.

Yuezheng merely felt that the scene of Si Yu beside Feng Lin was very harmonious, yet she had no intention of closely observing her appearance. Under Feng Lin's radiance, all beauty lost its color. From that day on, Yuezheng became infatuated with the sight of Feng Lin with her eyes slightly squinted and long eyelashes lowered. If one were to ask the ten-year-old how she would describe such beauty, the unlearned Miss Yuan would say: a monster

The queen was troubled by the emperor's scrutinizing gaze, which carried a hidden meaning. Throughout her life, her greatest resentment was that despite her status as queen, her maternal family was exceedingly ordinary. Over the past few years, she had painstakingly tried to elevate her family, but unfortunately, her brothers were of little use and could not amount to anything significant. The marriage of Feng Xun thus became particularly important; although the girls from the Rong family were exceptionally beautiful, their family background offered no assistance to Feng Xun, making them far from her ideal choice

Upon hearing this, the Emperor subtly raised the corner of his mouth without revealing any emotion. He was well aware of the Empress's concerns, and at this moment, he could only go along with the flow and look towards Feng Lin, with a hint of mockery, as if he anticipated that Feng Lin would say something amusing to the adults.

Feng Xun, having weathered a storm, was in high spirits, smiling as she looked at Yue Zheng and said: "Back in the day, Emperor Wu of Han wanted to build a golden house for A Jiao, but I am much simpler than that..."

Nonsense! The Empress quickly interrupted him before he could finish his sentence about building a house for Yuezheng to live in, glaring at him with a stern expression, which startled Fengxun.