Her hair was cloud-like and beautiful! She opened her eyes and found herself back in the third year

Chapter 6 Princess Huizhen and Xie Zhan

Cheng Yan stayed in the Qin Palace for an hour before leaving. Halfway there, he happened to arrive at the entrance of the Princess's residence. He stopped and dismounted.

The steward of the princess's residence rushed over to greet him: "I was unaware of your arrival, Lord Marquis. Please forgive my lack of hospitality."

Cheng Yan asked him, "Is Huizhen in the mansion?"

"Yes, yes, the princess is at home..."

Cheng Yan nodded, then walked towards the princess's residence.

The steward's expression changed, and he hurriedly followed: "My lord, please wait. The princess is not feeling well right now... My lord... My lord, please wait. This old servant will send someone to inform the princess."

"What's inconvenient about it?" Cheng Yan said nonchalantly, continuing to stride inside.

"Is there anything about her that I can't ask? Or is she doing something shameful behind her mother's back? If so, I'd like to see what kind of outrageous things she's done without having to report it to her."

The butler's vision went black, and he nearly fainted.

"But my lord, the princess... the princess, she..."

"I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong. You lead the way."

Cheng Yan was adamant in his stance and was also Princess Huizhen's elder, so the steward couldn't stop him and dared not offend him. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and lead the way.

At this moment, he could only silently pray in his heart that his master would not go too far today and let Cheng Yan see it.

Cheng Yan strode into the princess's residence, passed through the outer courtyard, and arrived at a garden.

The garden was bustling with activity at that moment.

Princess Huizhen, dressed in a pomegranate-red palace gown with her shoulders partially exposed, was sitting crookedly behind a small table.

She was served by two young men in white robes on either side of her. One fed her wine, and the other massaged her back and shoulders, asking her from time to time, "Is this strength okay, Princess?" and "Is this wine good, Princess?"

Her fox-like eyes were slightly upturned, and a bright pink teardrop-shaped beauty mark was placed at the corner of her eye, making her look like a bewitching fox spirit.

In the open space in front of her, a young man sat at a piano and played the zither. His slender fingers plucked the strings, and the sound of the zither was as clear and melodious as a mountain stream breaking through the clouds and flowing forward.

Four scantily clad dancers twirled around the man playing the piano, their flowing sleeves billowing as they danced in the breeze.

What a scene of peace and prosperity!

What a princess, surrounded by beauties on both sides, indulging in a few moments of pleasure and intoxication.

Cheng Yan rubbed his slightly dry fingers, feeling a bit itchy.

Should we have two meals or three meals?

Just then, the music suddenly stopped.

Half-drunk, Princess Huizhen looked up, her fox-like eyes narrowed, and asked with a chuckle, "Why did you stop? Xie Lang, please continue."

The young man sitting upright in front of the zither looked up, his gentle, captivating eyes calm and unwavering: "I'm just worried that if we keep playing, the princess will inevitably get a beating."

Princess Huizhen scoffed: "Xie Lang is really joking. Anyone who dares to hit me, I have enough heads to chop off."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yan's forehead veins throbbed, and he immediately let out a cold laugh: "Is that so? So, if I beat you up, you'll cut off my head too?"

Suddenly, the world fell silent, and the warm March seemed to turn cold all at once.

Everyone turned to look and saw Cheng Yan and the others standing under a tree not far away, having been there for who knows how long.

The scantily clad dancers and the two pale-faced young men serving Princess Huizhen turned ashen-faced and knelt down in a panic.

"Little...Little Uncle..." Princess Huizhen's expression froze, then she jumped up with a shriek, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, "Little...Little Uncle, what are you doing here? What are you doing here?"

Princess Huizhen frantically reached out to straighten her clothes, her face a mixture of fear and embarrassment, a truly spectacular sight.

Cheng Yan glanced at her indifferently, his tone somewhat cold: "If I hadn't come, I wouldn't have known that you were acting like this behind my back, and that you would threaten to chop off people's heads at the drop of a hat. Huizhen, you're quite the big shot."

Princess Huizhen stammered awkwardly, "Hehe... I wouldn't dare..."

“Why be so strict, Marquis Cheng? The princess is just young and a little playful,” the young man sitting in front of the zither said with a smile.

His tone was calm and indifferent, seemingly cold and detached, yet also carrying a gentle and refined smile. Finally, he even plucked a string with his finger, as if admiring his own musical skill.

Princess Huizhen nodded repeatedly in agreement: "Yes, Uncle, Huizhen knows she was wrong. The Sage is right, it is a great virtue to admit one's mistakes and correct them. Please don't tell Mother..."

Cheng Yan narrowed his eyes slightly and turned his gaze over: "Xie Zhan, this is none of your business."

The words already contained a warning.

The young man named Xie Zhan smiled.

He wore a moon-white cross-collar robe and a jade crown. He was handsome and elegant, like a banished immortal who was surrounded by prosperity but remained untouched by worldly dust.

Xie Zhan, the eldest grandson of the Xie clan, a prominent family in Qindu, was known as the most talented scholar and the most handsome man in Qindu.

He was the dream lover of many young ladies and wives in Qin capital, and was known as "Master Xie".

Xie Zhan laughed and said, "I was just speaking the truth. What? Marquis Cheng can't stand it? Does it mean that only Marquis Cheng is allowed to deceive and mislead the young lady, but others can't expose him?"

As Xie Zhan finished speaking, he narrowed his eyes slightly at Cheng Yan, his smiling peach blossom eyes turning cold, and his slender fingers gripped the strings tightly, as if he were about to break them.

Their eyes met, and a flurry of swordplay ensued.

Cheng Yan suddenly remembered that year under the peach tree, Xie Zhan broke off a peach blossom and pinned it in Qin Yizhen's hair.

Recipe, Shining.

A talented man and a beautiful woman, a match made in heaven.

Anyone who sees them will have to say, "They are a perfect match, a golden couple."

At that time, Qin Yizhen was only twelve years old, still an innocent and naive girl who knew nothing about love between men and women. But Xie Zhan was already waiting for her to grow up so that he could marry her.

Taking advantage of his elder sister being the Empress Dowager, he preemptively married Qin Yizhen before she even understood the complexities of romantic love.

That budding romance came to an abrupt end.

He stole someone else's beloved girl.

Therefore, it is understandable that Xie Zhan resented and hated him.

Cheng Yan looked away and said, "Xie Qu has been escorted back to Qin Du and will arrive soon. This time, Prince Cheng and Prince Rui rebelled, and Xie Qu was Prince Cheng's strategist. He is guilty of an unforgivable crime. If I were you, I should be thinking about how to protect the Xie family from being implicated."

Upon hearing this, Xie Zhan raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly, saying casually, "Although Xie Qu is a member of the Xie clan, he committed a grave mistake years ago and was expelled from the Xie family, severing all ties. What does his behavior have to do with the Xie family?"

"What? Could it be that Marquis Cheng intends to settle a personal score under the guise of this and use it to eliminate the Xie family?"

"He still wants to take this opportunity to get rid of me, so that Marquis Cheng can rest easy from now on."