APSIL -Chapter 113 I Think You’re Perfect in Every Way

“Empress Dowager, look! This is it. It’s actually a cloisonné enamel porcelain box!”

Inside the main hall of Qingning Palace, Zhu Ying sat beside the Empress Dowager without the slightest hesitation. She even brought the blue cloisonné enamel porcelain box, which had already been broken into two pieces, before the Empress Dowager.

“That little eunuch bumped into A-Shou like that and secretly hid this on him without anyone noticing. If A-Shou hadn’t reacted quickly and immediately thrown it out with his amazing throwing skill, that guy would have successfully framed him!”

“This belongs to Qingning Palace, right?”

“Judging from how quickly that thief moved, he must have worked together with others many times before. He’s definitely a habitual thief!”

Ever since entering the palace and paying respects to the Empress Dowager, Zhang Shou had remained completely silent.

He simply sat there, seemingly deep in thought, watching Zhu Ying perform a one-woman show.

As for the other people present—the Princess Yongping whom he could barely be considered acquainted with, and the two princes—he had only greeted them together at the beginning. After that, he never looked at them again, as if they were irrelevant people.

Using the occasional moments when he raised his head to look at Zhu Ying, Zhang Shou quietly observed this Empress Dowager who had once ruled from behind the curtain.

After all, she was the first and only Empress Dowager since the founding of the dynasty to have conducted government affairs from behind the curtain.

And according to Zhu Ying, when she returned power to the emperor, she had done so decisively and without hesitation.

Based on the fact that Zhao State Duke Zhu Jing had already established his achievements and received his title during the reign of the previous Emperor Ruizong, as well as the current emperor’s age, Zhang Shou estimated that she should be more than ten years younger than the Zhao State Duke Manor’s Old Madam.

Yet her dark blue-black ordinary clothing made her appear older than the Old Madam.

Her jewelry was also chosen in deep colors, and her expression was stern and dignified.

She actually looked as though she was the same age as the Old Madam.

The biggest difference was that Zhu Ying’s grandmother usually looked at people with kindness and warmth, occasionally revealing sharpness and determination.

But the Empress Dowager had probably been accustomed to looking down from a high position for too long.

No matter the situation, she carried a proud and critical air, making first-time visitors feel uncomfortable and unable to adapt.

Therefore, Zhang Shou simply remained silent like a young man who had truly lived in the countryside his entire life.

Only after Zhu Ying, whose voice was as clear as a singing bird, finally finished her speech did Princess Yongping speak.

“Although Zhang Shou reacted quickly, he only needed to shout ‘catch the thief.’ Why did he have to throw the item away?”

“What if it wasn’t an enamel porcelain box that broke, but something more valuable, such as an imperial seal? Wouldn’t that have been disastrous?”

Zhang Shou glanced at Zhu Ying.

Seeing that she also looked toward him first, he actually felt he could understand her expression.

It was clearly saying:

If you want to speak, I’ll let you handle it first.

He found it amusing and simply responded with an expression that meant:

Do whatever you want.

Seeing that Zhang Shou had no intention of defending himself, Zhu Ying immediately took over the responsibility.

“In such a short amount of time, how could A-Shou know what that person secretly stuffed onto him?”

“What if it was a knife or some other weapon? Wouldn’t he have no way to explain himself even with a hundred mouths?”

“You should know that we weren’t searched when entering the palace!”

“Besides, what if that person escaped because of one moment of carelessness?”

“In any case, if it were me, I would definitely capture the person first and discuss everything afterward!”

The Empress Dowager seemed completely used to Zhu Ying arguing passionately.

She looked at Zhang Shou again.

Seeing him sitting upright, his posture slightly stiff, his expression solemn as if facing an honored guest, and realizing that he had maintained exactly the same posture since entering the hall and had not spoken a single word after Zhu Ying brought him in, she took the broken object from Zhu Ying’s hands and handed it to a middle-aged female official standing nearby.

“Yuquan, examine whether this porcelain box belongs to Qingning Palace.”

Zhang Shou had already noticed that this female official dressed in the same style as the Empress Dowager.

The only difference was that her embroidery was much simpler and more elegant.

Now, he watched as the official carefully examined the broken porcelain box for quite some time.

Finally, she smiled and nodded toward him before shaking her head.

“Empress Dowager, this should not belong to Qingning Palace.”

“Looking at the design, it seems more like something that was previously distributed as a gift.”

The official Yuquan did not mention who it had been given to.

But Zhu Ying immediately turned an unfriendly gaze toward the three people sitting opposite Zhang Shou—the two men and one woman seated on the lower left.

Princess Yongping felt anger rising in her heart from being stared at.

She almost retorted immediately.

But after thinking about it, she realized doing so would only make her look guilty.

So she forcibly endured it.

Meanwhile, the Second Prince sitting above her, with phoenix-like eyes, smiled.

“Yingying, why are you glaring at us?”

“Since childhood, you have always liked beautiful people. Men and women, old and young—you never spared anyone. Even children couldn’t escape your attention.”

“Now that you finally found a handsome and talented fiancé, you’ve thrown all of us aside?”

“You’re really heartless.”

“What do you mean they couldn’t escape my attention?”

Zhu Ying snorted.

“Did I swallow them? Did I do anything to them?”

“You men also like looking at beautiful women whenever you see them.”

“I merely looked a little longer and spoke a few more words. What’s wrong with that?”

“Besides, those people who looked like adorable jade dolls when they were young, but grew up into useless parasites and became disgusting—that’s not just one or two people!”

Princess Yongping finally couldn’t endure it anymore.

She suddenly stood up.

“Zhu Ying, who are you talking about?”

“I didn’t name anyone.”

“Could it be that as a princess, you think you are one of those useless parasites?”

Seeing Zhu Ying’s aggressive expression with her words flying everywhere, Zhang Shou finally couldn’t help laughing.

Then he noticed two completely different gazes coming from across the room.

The First Prince had a square face, and his expression looked as if someone owed him three million silver taels.

His gaze was cold and hard as iron.

The Second Prince, however, had a feminine appearance, phoenix eyes, and long brows. His expression seemed warm and friendly toward everyone.

Yet his smile toward Zhang Shou carried deep meaning.

Zhang Shou pretended not to notice anything strange about the two princes.

Almost instinctively, he called out: “Yingying!”

Zhu Ying immediately shut her mouth.

Then she glanced at the furious Princess Yongping and said unwillingly: “For A-Shou’s sake, I won’t argue with you.”

The Empress Dowager seemed to have great tolerance toward these younger people’s quarrels.

She had remained silent until now.

After the argument ended, she finally spoke calmly.

“Second son, if you still want to remain confined in the palace and be forbidden from stepping outside, then continue speaking sarcastically.”

“Mingyue, you are usually calm and composed. Why do you turn into a firecracker whenever you meet Yingying?”

The Second Prince’s expression changed slightly.

He immediately stood up and apologized.

Princess Yongping was even more embarrassed and angry.

Especially when she lowered her head and saw Zhu Ying secretly laughing.

She nearly gritted her teeth to pieces.

At this moment, the First Prince, who had not spoken a single word until now, suddenly stood up.

“Empress Dowager, my younger brother and Mingyue have always had these personalities. Please do not be angry.”

“As for Doctor Zhang, he only helped Prefect Wang solve the mystery of the secret letters at Shuntian Prefecture last night. He must be exhausted.”

“After entering Qingning Palace, he barely spoke a few words because he was tired.”

“Only because of Yingying did he finally speak.”

“Please allow them to leave the palace earlier, so Yingying does not worry about her fiancé.”

Zhang Shou was already immune to such double-meaning remarks.

Therefore, once the First Prince finished speaking, he naturally stood up.

“Empress Dowager, this subject has been in the capital for three days and has only slept well once.”

“I am indeed somewhat absent-minded, but saying that I am too exhausted to answer would be exaggerating.”

“I never expected to have the honor of meeting Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, so just like when I met His Majesty at Guozijian, my entire mind went blank.”

He confidently brought up the previous example.

“Back then, His Majesty bestowed a banquet and wine upon me. It was an enormous honor.”

“However, I became drunk halfway through.”

“Fortunately, His Majesty showed kindness and brought me to Teacher Ge’s residence to sober up.”

“Now, half of my thoughts are still occupied with the passwords and numbers I spent last night analyzing, while the other half are filled with nervousness from meeting the Empress Dowager.”

“Of course, I cannot think of anything to say.”

Seeing Zhang Shou glance toward her, Zhu Ying hesitated slightly.

Then she changed what she originally wanted to say into a quiet mutter.

“Exactly. If someone meeting the Empress Dowager for the first time could speak endlessly, that would actually be strange.”

“Yingying, you really haven’t changed at all.”

The Empress Dowager finally laughed helplessly.

Then she released Zhu Ying’s hand.

“Alright, take your ideal husband away.”

“Otherwise, he will feel uncomfortable staying here, and you will become anxious.”

“I have seen him already.”

“In the end, as long as your grandmother and father think he is good, that is enough…”

“Of course, what matters most is that you think he is good…”

When Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying left Qingning Palace through Qingning Gate on the northern side, Zhang Shou had just entered the horse-drawn sedan when he saw Zhu Ying open the door and climb inside as well.

He was slightly stunned.

Then he smiled.

“What? Are you angry?”

“Who has time to be angry at those three?”

“One looks proper on the surface, but actually has the smallest heart. Do you think his words were helping you? He was actually mocking you for disrespecting the Empress Dowager!”

“One looks like a woman and has a belly full of schemes, like some old auntie who loves plotting together with Princess Yongping to trick me!”

“As for Yongping, there’s no need to mention her. We’ve never gotten along since childhood!”

“Luckily, we had the Empress Dowager. I think she actually likes you quite a lot.”

Zhang Shou let Zhu Ying’s complaints enter one ear and leave the other.

But inwardly, he thought:

Does the Empress Dowager really like me? Not necessarily.

Compared with the Old Madam’s obvious goodwill, the Empress Dowager was much more distant and cold.

From beginning to end, she had not spoken a single sentence directly to him.

Moreover, inviting two princes and one princess to accompany them seemed like a sign that she valued him as an outsider.

But wasn’t it also a way of clearly showing the difference between insiders and outsiders?

Speaking of which, Princess Yongping, who had always been at odds with Zhu Ying, was not important.

The First Prince and Second Prince both seemed unreliable and did not look like wise rulers.

He could only hope that the current emperor—who appeared careless and unruly but was clearly someone with his own ideas—would live a long life.

As for the porcelain box incident…

Most likely, some dishonest little eunuch would lose his life, and the matter would end there.

Heh.

Right now, he could not do anything about the person behind it.

But that might not always be true in the future.

Zhang Shou was lost in thought when he suddenly noticed something strange.

Looking up, he found Zhu Ying staring at him thoughtfully.

That focused gaze made even him, who was already used to her attention, feel unable to endure it.

Before he could ask, Zhu Ying suddenly smiled.

“A-Shou, they were actually right.”

“I have liked good-looking people since I was little.”

“Men, women, young, old—if someone looks good, I naturally treat them a little better.”

“But aside from Grandpa Ge and a very small number of people, many people who amazed me when I first met them eventually showed all kinds of flaws after spending more time together.”

“But you are different.”

Her eyes shone brightly, and her face was filled with happiness and pride.

“You are not only good-looking.”

“You are kind-hearted, interesting when you speak, thoughtful when you do things, and it feels like you can do almost anything…”

“In short, everything about you is good!”

“This is the first time I have realized that there is actually someone perfect in this world!”

Zhang Shou stared at her in astonishment.

After a long while, he suddenly burst out laughing.

Only after laughing freely and seeing Zhu Ying’s slightly annoyed expression did he finally stop.

With great interest, he said: “Gold cannot be completely pure, and people cannot be completely perfect.”

“Since Yingying thinks everything about me is good, then I will definitely work hard and make sure I live up to these two words…”

“Perfect person.”