After refusing marriage, she was pampered by the prince who acted as a shield.

Chapter 454: Her Past

Zhuang Lijuan immediately understood the Empress Dowager's meaning and nodded obediently, but she was worried that Lin Rusi would drive her away, so she carefully held onto that arm.

Sensing this, the Empress Dowager gently patted the other person to comfort them.

"Your Majesty, will Lin Rusi look down on me? After all, I have the Crown Prince's favor, so I'm afraid I won't have any problems no matter what I do."

"What are you afraid of? With me backing you up, how dare she make a move?"

Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's words, Zhuang Lijuan smiled again and nodded obediently.

But she did not leave immediately. Instead, she continued chatting with the Empress Dowager until the Empress Dowager started to yawn, at which point she sent her back to her room to rest.

"Miss Cousin."

"Go and prepare some things first, and then visit us in a few days."

The palace maid was filled with doubt as to why Zhuang Lijuan was not striking while the iron was hot, but instead was dragging things out like this.

But the other party was the master, and she was just a lowly palace maid who shouldn't speak carelessly, so she naturally didn't dare to ask any questions and instead began preparing gifts as requested.

Several days passed, but Zhuang Lijuan remained unperturbed, even doing needlework in her room.

After finishing making a purse, she leisurely went to the imperial kitchen to have someone prepare pastries for the next day.

Knowing that the other party was about to make a move, the palace maid finally smiled.

"Don't make it too obvious tomorrow, or I'll definitely tell the Empress Dowager to replace you."

"Yes, yes, this servant will certainly keep Miss Biao's words in mind."

Zhuang Lijuan gave a soft snort, ignoring the commotion behind her, and returned to the room to look at the finely stitched purse.

After a long while, she hung the purse on her waist. She felt the purse swaying slightly as she walked, and then threw the purse next to the jewelry box.

The next day.

As I walked towards the East Palace with the things I had prepared, I heard the clear laughter of children in the courtyard.

"Look at this, grab it with your little hands."

"Waaah!"

When Zhuang Lijuan entered, she saw Lin Rusi raise her hand to tease Changning, placing a small toy on the child's thick hair.

Her big, grape-like eyes were wide open, but she didn't cry out. Instead, she sat there obediently, playing games with Lin Rusi.

"Good boy, I won't tease you anymore, but you can't put it in your mouth."

“What’s the point of the Crown Princess talking to the child like that? He’s too young to understand.”

Hearing the voice behind her, Lin Rusi did not look away, but instead watched Changning fiddling with something with his hands.

Seemingly understanding Zhuang Lijuan's words, he refused to play anymore and threw the toy aside.

"You're just someone who only has a three-minute attention span; you can't stick with anything for long."

"what!"

Changning tried to defend herself, but her body froze on the spot as she opened her mouth.

After hesitating for a moment, she finally gave up the toy and chose her mother, whom she liked more.

He nestled comfortably in Lin Rusi's arms and stopped moving, staring intently at Zhuang Lijuan, who was being neglected to the side.

"Finally, things have calmed down. By the way, you came here to see me?"

“I heard that the Crown Princess is alone in the East Palace, and I was worried that you might find it boring, so I brought some pastries over to share with you.”

Lin Rusi glanced at the pastries, which were clearly made by the imperial chef, but did not point it out. Instead, she handed the child over to the wet nurse.

After all, Changning can't be eaten yet, and if it were put into someone's mouth, no one would know what to do.

"By the way, I have done some things for you these days, and they accepted them without hesitation as a token of their gratitude."

"So fast?"

Zhuang Lijuan couldn't help but let out a soft gasp, and then she saw the picture album that the servants took out of the room.

Ignoring the other party's surprise, Lin Rusi opened the inner garment, revealing a gentle portrait of a young master to everyone.

"This one is my top recommendation. He has a gentle personality and I've heard that he's extremely considerate towards women. He'll definitely take great care of Juan'er."

"But wouldn't such gentleness be a bit indecisive? I heard from the Empress Dowager that some men are like that."

Lin Rusi didn't mind her being so picky at all, and opened several more picture albums and corresponding notes for her to look at herself.

He casually picked up a piece of pastry and stuffed it into his mouth without any hesitation.

Hearing that people were eating so deliciously, Zhuang Lijuan felt even more dissatisfied and clearly wanted to say something, but her view was blocked by a portrait.

"This young master is also quite good; he is the second son of the Vice Minister's family."

"Although he is the second son, he is extremely hardworking and has already shown signs of surpassing his elder brother. Perhaps in a few years he will be able to enter the court and serve the emperor."

Zhuang Lijuan stared at the portrait of a man who could only be described as handsome, her hands, hidden in her sleeves, gripping them tightly.

To avoid looking awkward, she had to force a smile.

"Thank you for your concern, Crown Princess. However, with my elder brother, the Crown Prince, as an example, they are still far behind."

"That's true, but the other people's identities don't match yours. Otherwise, I can find you someone with a promising future."

future?

Zhuang Lijuan knew that these people were already the best candidates after Li Jingyang; if they were to be replaced, they would probably only be those poor, pedantic scholars.

The thought of marrying someone who would do her laundry and cook for her, and having to compromise her principles, made her resent the person who stole her good match even more.

"It's because I saw too many amazing people when I was young, so now I think everyone else is a bit lacking."

"A stunning person? You mean your Crown Prince brother?"

Unexpectedly, Lin Rusi took the initiative to suggest it, so Zhuang Lijuan naturally didn't stand on ceremony and nodded to her.

He cupped his chin in his hands, making a gesture as if reminiscing.

“At that time, my elder brother, the Crown Prince, and I were not very old, but he had already learned to argue right and wrong with a teacher who was several generations older than him while wearing a smile.”

"Back then, my elder brother, the Crown Prince, was exceptionally capable. He managed to leave the white-haired tutor speechless."

Lin Rusi nodded in agreement and then picked up a piece of pastry and put it in her mouth.

But it was so sweet that I couldn't resist taking a sip of tea.

Unexpectedly, he almost choked to death because of this sip of tea.

The key issue wasn't the pastry powder, but rather a single sentence from Zhuang Lijuan.

"Back then, my brother, the Crown Prince, said he would marry me and protect me, and would never let the other princes bully me."

"How could he say something like that?"

Noticing the surprise in Lin Rusi's words, she naturally wouldn't let this opportunity pass and continued to embellish the story.

"Of course my Crown Prince brother would say that, because at that time I was by the Empress Dowager's side, and sometimes I was bullied by other princes and princesses when I was all alone."

As if thinking of something sweet, Zhuang Lijuan's face lit up with a smile.

"Back then, it was my elder brother, the Crown Prince, who protected me. This promise was made after he rescued me from a damsel in distress."

He withdrew his wandering gaze and looked at Lin Rusi.

To Zhuang Lijuan's surprise, the face that should have been full of anger did not appear.