The princess was ordained by Heaven.

Chapter 328 Obtained

Zheng Xun set aside the matter of the system and explained the existence of Qingyu.

Tao Heng stroked his chin, pondering for a long time.

Stealing things is easy, but getting people to willingly give up something is difficult.

In particular, Zheng Xun did not know what the trigger conditions were for the thing they provided.

"There are two options, one normal and one complicated. Which one would the princess prefer?"

"Let's talk about the normal stuff."

"Since you want them to be willing, then the princess will exchange sincerity for sincerity. Of course, people's hearts are unpredictable, and whether she can get them back is unknown."

Zheng Xun looked him up and down several times.

Tao Heng felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze: "Why is the princess looking at me like this?"

"It's nothing, I just didn't expect you to come up with such a humane solution."

"I already said it's a normal method!"

Tao Heng felt wronged, but he didn't say anything.

He looked at her with a resentful gaze, his expression conveying a stronger sense of reproach than any accusation.

"Well..." Zheng Xun awkwardly moved the chess basket from his right to his left, frantically fiddling with it on the table, seemingly busy with something else.

Tao Heng gave a soft snort.

"By the way, what's this complicated method you mentioned?"

Tao Heng's expression turned serious: "Princess, please tell me first, what is the pattern of the appearance of the jade?"

Zheng Xun lowered his eyes, looking at the crisscrossing squares on the chessboard.

The black lines on the grid gradually enlarged, seemingly cracking into a deep chasm, pulling her in and sending her back to her past memories.

She didn't give the answer, but she knew in her heart that it was wholehearted love and trust, and the affection of truly treating her as family.

"If you want people to give you something willingly, besides taking the most normal path, the easiest way is to become their salvation in times of crisis."

Tao Heng didn't finish his sentence because he wasn't sure if Zheng Xun would be willing to scheme against his own family.

Although the princess often possesses the ruthlessness and decisiveness of a person in a position of power, her actions also reveal compassion and kindness.

She is different from him. He has no principles. The reason he does things that seem morally acceptable is because he needs the skin of a normal person. He knows that having the righteousness and emotions that everyone likes will make it easier for him to get by in the world.

Many times, he even fooled himself, and in a daze, he even felt that he was a good person.

However, if he can act for a lifetime, how can he not be considered a good person?

After all, he will always keep this facade intact and will never take it off.

Zheng Xun understood what he meant.

Calculating emotions is inevitably a sordid thing to do.

He didn't say it out loud because he didn't want to appear too heartless.

Zheng Xun leaned back in his chair, his gaze gradually becoming vacant.

Knowing she was deep in thought, Tao Hengsheng was afraid of disturbing her, so he sat still and didn't dare to make the slightest movement.

The princess must be struggling with her feelings right now.

It's impossible that she couldn't think of a solution, so she went to the trouble of asking him; it's simply that she couldn't make up her mind.

However, the person he vowed to follow for life would not be a coward who lacked even this much courage.

After a long pause, Zheng Xun stood up and said, "That's enough for today."

Tao Heng did not ask her about her choice, and knowingly took his leave.

After he had gone, Zheng Xun called out softly, "Zheng Shi."

Zheng Shi appeared like a ghost, landing behind Zheng Xun.

Zheng Xun whispered something to someone.

The next day, the person sitting in front of Zheng Xun became the Crown Prince's Consort.

"Tuantuan, come here to Auntie."

Tuantuan is the eldest prince's wife's child. She is over three years old this year, chubby and pink, and very cute.

Hearing Zheng Xun call her name, Tuantuan grinned and said, "Mom...Auntie..."

When children are young, the word they can say most easily is "Mom". Little Tuantuan has been used to calling her "Auntie" since she started learning to speak, and she still calls her that now.

Zheng Xun scooped the little boy into her arms and gave him a big kiss on the cheek: "Good boy, did you miss your aunt?"

"miss you!"

Zheng Xun smiled and dragged the soft cake on the table in front of him, taking a small piece and placing it in his hand.

Tuantuan is very well-behaved, never cries or fusses, and is very polite. She is also very pretty and has a delicate, delicate appearance. When she eats, she looks like a chick pecking at rice, serious and focused, which is very cute.

After watching him finish a piece of pastry, the Crown Princess smiled and took away the plate of pastries from in front of him: "Tuantuan, go play with Aunt Zhichun. Your mother will talk to your aunt."

Tuantuan pouted, broke free from Zheng Xun's embrace, and ran to the First Prince's Consort: "Mother! Gao Gao!"

Taking advantage of her height, the eldest prince's wife held the pastry high and said, "Go find Aunt Zhichun, and I'll give it to you."

Tuantuan pouted, her eyes welling up with tears of grievance.

The Crown Princess reached out and gently pinched Tuan Tuan's mouth with her index finger and thumb.

They struggled for a moment, but to no avail.

Zheng Xun sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation: "You should talk to him nicely, otherwise he'll be hard to soothe if he starts crying."

"Princess, you don't understand. Children are only fun when they're young. They become very boring when they grow up. If you don't bully them while they're still young, you won't have the chance later."

At this point, the Crown Princess excitedly shoved the plate of pastries into Zheng Xun's hands: "Princess, hurry up, I'll teach you something fun."

Then, she took Zheng Xun's wrist and lowered the plate.

Tuantuan's eyes lit up, and she reached out to take it.

The Crown Princess quickly pulled Zheng Xun up to lift the plate.

Surprisingly, Tuantuan didn't cry; instead, she skipped and hopped to reach for it.

His gaze followed the plate left and right, circling and bouncing, never showing any anger, just stubbornly wanting to get the pastries on the plate.

After playing for a while, the eldest princess, bored, stuffed the plate into Tuantuan's arms, and then stuffed Tuantuan into Zhichun's arms.

After they left, the Crown Princess sighed, "It's pointless. Why doesn't he cry more often..."

Zheng Xun: ...

"If she really cries, won't you have to comfort her?"

"Oh right, his dad used to always coax him."

Zheng Xun: ...

It's one thing to coax him, but the key is that the eldest prince is actually enjoying it. How can these two not be a match made in heaven?

She said helplessly, "You, now you're not willing to pretend at all."

The former Crown Princess seemed so dignified and gentle, but now she's becoming more and more unrestrained.

"After spending a lot of time together, he'll eventually find out what kind of person I am, and he'll have to accept it."

It seems that the Crown Prince accepts her temperament well.

He's her husband now, and no matter what she's like, he'll never get rid of her in this lifetime.

Actually, she felt a little regretful. If she could, she would prefer him to fall completely into the dust, so that he would have no one else to rely on but her.

But she liked him, and that liking overcame her burgeoning possessiveness.

Let's leave him some glory; he looks very handsome with his high spirits.

Hearing her matter-of-fact tone, Zheng Xun silently mourned for his elder brother for a moment.

She stopped smiling, and her tone became somewhat inscrutable: "Sister-in-law, I have a worry on my mind. I wonder if you could help me solve it?"

"Just tell me, what do you want to do to my husband?"

What Zheng Xun needs her to do is most likely deal with the Crown Prince.

“You have more experience; if I need him to be willing…”

The Crown Princess's gaze suddenly sharpened: "He's mine!"

Zheng Xun: ?

Her carefully constructed aura dissipated almost entirely: "No, he's my older brother, what are you talking about?"

The Crown Princess relaxed her body, feeling embarrassed: "I'm sorry, you know, my husband is kind-hearted and very popular, so there are too many women surrounding him..."

Zheng Xun shook his head: "Why bother?"

"What can I do? I'm a loyal person. But he handled it very well, and I didn't have to worry about it. I just found it quite fun and always wanted to show off my power."

Zheng Xun didn't know what to say to her.

However, it was all the Crown Princess's own choice, and she, as an outsider, would not interfere.

She continued the previous topic and explained her purpose.

“Sister-in-law, I don’t want to scheme against him, nor do I want to hurt you, but this matter is very important to me, so I want to see if there’s any way…”

The Crown Princess suddenly realized: "This is easy. I can give you what you want."

"I need a crown prince..."

"I know."

Zheng Xun was suspicious.

Even if the Crown Prince listens to her, his mind won't change because of her, right?

"If the princess trusts me, she will wait for me for an hour."

"An hour?"

The Crown Princess did not explain, but simply sent a servant back to make the trip.

When the servant returned, he brought a box.

The Crown Princess opened the box in front of Zheng Xun: "Princess, take a look, is this what you wanted?"

Zheng Xun stared blankly at the familiar jade in the box: "It is..."

The Crown Princess laughed and said, "I found this in the storeroom. Tuan Tuan used to grind his teeth with it. I must say, this thing looks fragile, but it won't break no matter how many times you drop it. It's quite useful."

Zheng Xun's expression was subtle.

The Crown Princess closed the box and pushed it in front of Zheng Xun: "Princess, don't worry, it's been washed clean and even scented with incense."

Zheng Xun took the box.

She was incredibly grateful that those schemes only flashed through her mind and were never put into practice.

Having received the jade from the eldest prince, Zheng Xun turned his attention to the second prince.

The second prince was the most difficult one to deal with.

He had some feelings for Zheng Xun and was grateful to him, but for a calculating person, opening up to others is an extremely difficult thing.

The Second Prince's loyalty and righteousness are reserved only for those he approves of, while Zheng Xun is not quite at that level.

If one tries to gain his approval through scheming, they will inevitably become enemies once he discovers the truth.

Zheng Xun did not intend to kill him.

She was initially worried about how to handle the situation, but the matter concerning the eldest prince gave her some inspiration.

She simply invited the second prince to the imperial study.

"Second Brother, are you managing well with your official duties lately?"

The second prince raised an eyebrow: "Adapt."

He had assumed Zheng Xun had business to discuss with him, but to his surprise, the first thing he said was just small talk.

However, he didn't speculate too much, and just chatted casually, "By the way, some good things were sent from the fiefdom. I'll send them to you later."

The emperor feared that his children might develop ambitions, so he was in no hurry to grant them fiefdoms. Therefore, neither the second nor the third prince was ever granted a title of king.

In the past few years, his power gradually passed to Zheng Xun. He began to worry that his other children would not be doing well, so he first demarcated their fiefdoms, and then issued an edict after Zheng Xun was made crown prince.

With the external threats to the Yong Dynasty still unresolved, the princes had no objections and continued to work diligently in the capital, holding their posts.

“Hmm,” Zheng Xun responded, then suddenly asked, “Second Brother, what do you think is the difference between me, Eldest Sister, and Second Sister?”

Why are you suddenly bringing this up?

"Second brother, just answer me."

“You are all my sisters, there is no difference between you.”

Zheng Xun tilted his head: "That's not how it is, Second Brother is lying to me."

The second prince looked up in surprise.

Knowing that Zheng Xun wasn't one to dwell on such matters, he simply asked, "Yuanjia, has something happened?"

Zheng Xun did not answer.

[What else happened? Of course, it's because I need the Azure Jade to upgrade the system! The system says that only those who truly acknowledge me and consider me family can condense Azure Jade. How do you explain this?]

The second prince blinked blankly, watching Zheng Xun pick up his teacup and sip tea as if to cover up his actions, and a slight smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

"Tell your second brother if you have any problems. Your second brother will always be on your side."

Zheng Xun pursed his lips: "Has Second Brother ever seen a type of jade?"

"Jade? Jade is easy to obtain. Second Brother may not have much else, but he has collected quite a few rare and precious stones from various places. What kind of jade do you want?"

"Green jade... is the kind of green jade that has never been carved and is of pure quality."

"No problem, I'll have someone bring it to you."

He kept his word and, like the Crown Princess, didn't keep her waiting long.

Not long after, a basket of green jade was delivered to them.

Zheng Xun didn't consider himself a person who resented the rich, but he couldn't help but feel envious and jealous when he saw the contents of the basket.

[My second brother is really rich! It's a pity he's my own brother, otherwise I would definitely kidnap him and make money for him for the rest of my life!]

Second Prince: ...

Should he be glad that Yuan Jia still has some feelings for him?

He coughed lightly: "These are all jade pieces that meet your requirements. I have already asked people to search for them in other places. You can have as much as you want."

Zheng Xun: !!!

Wasn't she expressing her true feelings clearly enough?

He knew perfectly well that all she wanted was that one piece.

Now, that piece of green jade lies quietly in the basket, mixed in with the other pieces of green jade.

She silently hugged the basket to her arms and said honestly, "Since Second Brother insists on giving it to me, I'll reluctantly accept it?"

The second prince shrugged indifferently: "If you want to subsidize the academy and the national treasury, no problem, your second brother will send you some. But once these things are given to you, they are yours and cannot be given away, okay?"

"Second brother, you really are my brother!"

“I am your own brother,” he bent down and gently hugged her. “I’m glad that Yuanjia didn’t guard against her second brother and chose to tell him directly when she wanted something.”

Zheng Xun froze for a moment, then gently rested her head on his shoulder.

She didn't know how to describe how she felt at that moment.

It was as if a hole had been pried open in her heart, and a warm current flowed out, spreading to every part of her body.

She had initially thought they were just using her.

But they proved their hearts time and time again.

Human emotions are truly complex.

They had disputes, disagreements, and even suspicions with each other.

But this doesn't stop them from seeing her as family.

Just as she wouldn't choose to scheme against or hurt them, neither would they.

Just like how they might have disagreements in the future, but they would still stand by her side in crucial moments.