Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Although my childhood betrothal to the Crown Prince was never finalized, he always stood firmly by my side whenever I clashed with Liang Shuxue or the Prince of Junnan’s Heir.

Snow on the eaves of the Imperial Study melted and fell, and plum blossoms on the branches bloomed and withered through several passing years.

In the blink of an eye, only half a year remained before my coming-of-age ceremony.

My close girlfriends had all begun discussing marriage prospects.

Yet, not a single matchmaker had visited my home.

At every banquet, they all flaunted titles like ‘The Greatest Beauty of Yangzhou’ or ‘The Top Talented Woman of the Capital’…

I wondered if they were doing it on purpose, just waiting for this day.

Should I get myself a title like that too?

I opened a map and looked around, only to find that the titles for the ‘Greatest Beauty’ or ‘Top Talented Woman’ of every region were already taken.

Marketing really needs to start early!

The Crown Prince, however, seemed unconcerned as he took a light sip of his tea.

“You don’t even have a sweetheart, so why are you in such a rush to discuss marriage?”

“Who says I don’t!” I retorted.

The teacup in his hand slipped and crashed to the floor.

It shattered into a dozen pieces instantly.

“When did you finally have your romantic awakening?” He paused, realizing that sounded wrong, and changed his tune. “What is he like?”

“Which one are you asking about?”

The Crown Prince’s composure nearly cracked.

“There’s more than one?”

“Then tell me about them one by one. I’ll evaluate them for you.”

Seeing his good intentions, I didn’t hold back.

I silently opened my little notebook, which contained several pages filled with names.

It covered almost every outstanding young man in the capital.

The Crown Prince glanced at the pile of names and snorted. “You have quite an appetite. Aren’t you afraid of choking?”

I ignored him and began reciting the list like a menu.

No, a list of men.

“The Second son of the Chief Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. He passed the imperial examinations at such a young age; his future is limitless.”

“His family is known for being upright and incorruptible, which means they definitely have no money.”

“The Only son of the Director of the Ministry of Works. His maternal grandfather runs a silk business in Suzhou and Hangzhou, so they’re considered quite wealthy.”

“Scholar, farmer, artisan, merchant – merchants are the lowest class.”

“The Heir of Marquis Cheng’an. He only returned to the capital to take up his post a few months ago. I heard he is as handsome as a piece of fine jade.”

“He’s just a useless idiot relying on his ancestors’ titles.”

For every one I mentioned, he found a reason to reject them.

I was so frustrated that I threw the notebook right in front of him.

“You’re intentionally contradicting me, aren’t you?”

The Crown Prince picked up the notebook and slowly flipped through it with an air of composure. “I’m contradicting you? For what purpose?”

“It’s clearly your taste that’s the problem.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Since Your Highness has such great taste, why don’t you pick one for me?”

The Crown Prince suddenly looked at me, his gaze calm yet sharp, like a wolf locking onto its prey.

“Why on earth should I pick one for you?”

Provoked by his words, I leaned in close to him.

There were barely a few inches between us.

“Given our relationship, how can you say something like that?”

A faint flush slowly crept up from the tips of the Crown Prince’s ears down to his neck.

His voice was lower and raspier than usual. “What is our relationship?”

I asked suspiciously, “Classmates? Brothers?”

As soon as the words left my mouth, his expression changed instantly.

He stood up abruptly, putting distance between us.

Two words were forced through his gritted teeth. “Brothers? What a ‘brother’ you are!”

“Do you even remember when we were young…”

He then added mockingly, “I doubt even Zhang Fei would have the resolve to give that thing to Liu Bei.”

Before I could react, he flicked his sleeves and stormed off.

Regarding that matter, I did feel a bit guilty.

Then again, he did it of his own free will back then. I didn’t force him!