An Jin patted my back, comforting me that the Seventh Princess would soon stop troubling us, and the matter of the Eastern Palace would eventually be resolved. I listened, feeling somewhat puzzled. How could he be so certain? Not long after that day, the Western Liang country changed hands. The new ruler sent an envoy to Qi Kingdom seeking marriage and promised to consider releasing Prince Xia Zhichun, who was in Western Liang, to return home. The Qi Emperor was overjoyed, promising to marry the Seventh Princess to Western Liang to forge an alliance between the two countries. This news was unexpected to many, including myself. Although Western Liang’s gesture seemed like a goodwill initiative, the two countries had ongoing conflicts, and no one knew how long this superficial peace would last. The Qi Emperor had over a dozen princesses, and any could have been sent to Western Liang, but he chose the Seventh Princess, the empress’s legitimate daughter who was much beloved. I heard the empress desperately pleaded with the Qi Emperor not to marry the princess to Western Liang, and the Seventh Princess herself protested by going on a hunger strike, yet ultimately could not change the emperor’s decision. The Seventh Princess indeed would no longer be able to trouble us. This was good news for us, but I couldn’t understand how An Jin could be so prescient.
Did he already know that Western Liang would send someone to request a marriage alliance? What puzzled me most was how the Eastern Palace’s issue would be resolved if the Seventh Princess could be married off. Would they also be “married” to Nan Rui? An Jin smiled mysteriously, casually brushing off my questions. After this news spread, the Seventh Princess and the Eastern Palace never appeared again, seemingly caught off guard by these events. My younger sister quickly recovered from her second heartbreak and started hanging out with Song Sitian. The two girls became obsessed with playing the zither, spending their days in the music hall taking lessons. However, peace did not last long. My elder brother found me and stammered out a shocking piece of news. He might have been targeted by a cut-sleeve.
Chapter Eighteen: Xiao Wangzhi’s Confusion
