Help! The innocent prince always tries to seduce me clumsily

Chu Shixuan's eyes changed, but his tone remained the same.

“This is the tree in East No. 1.”

"I was wondering why it looked so familiar." Chu Shitong walked around the tree curiously.

Chu Shixuan's body stiffened, and he subconsciously wanted to stand up, but he restrained himself.

Chu Shitong said: "I didn't expect that my brother would specially order people to move this tree to the palace. It seems that my brother has a deep affection for this tree."

Chu Shitong was staring at the tree intently and did not notice how stiffly Chu Shixuan was sitting behind him.

Chu Shitong continued his talk using the tree as an excuse.

"My brother has such deep feelings for a tree. I think my brother must be a man of long-lasting love."

She was steering the conversation towards the issue of urging marriage. It was Chu Shifeng who had given her such a task.

Chu Shixuan, for once, did not respond.

Chu Shitong looked at the tree casually. Actually, there was nothing good about the tree. The tree was bare in winter, with only a thin layer of snow on the trunk. Chu Shitong couldn't tell what species the tree was. He only remembered that it was quite lush in summer.

"If my brother marries my sister-in-law in the future, no matter which family the girl is from, anyone who can gain my brother's true love will definitely be blessed."

Chu Shixuan said: "I am just used to having this tree beside me. It's just a tree, how can I see so much?"

"You are wrong, my brother. There are many kinds of trees, but you just like this one. I see your yard is so big, it would be great if you could plant a pear tree. You can see the pear blossoms in the spring, and when the time is right, you can eat sweet pears."

Chu Shitong was just making up a story, but unexpectedly, Chu Shixuan suddenly said, "This is a pear tree."

Chu Shitong: “…”

The warm light of winter illuminated the entire yard, and the thick white snow reflected colorful glimmers. The cold wind blew across the corners of Chu Shitong's lips.

Chu Shitong was silent for a moment, then said, "So this tree is not the tree that my brother planted in East One. What my brother just said was about Kuang Xiaoqi's play, right?"

Chu Shitong almost felt that Chu Shixuan was sick.

She vaguely remembered that the tree in Chu Shixuan's yard was not a pear tree. She couldn't remember the variety, but it was definitely not a pear tree.

"Why do you say that?" Chu Shixuan looked at Chu Shitong in confusion, "Don't you know that the trees in my yard have changed species?"

Chu Shitong really didn't remember this, so he could only smile awkwardly and said, "Maybe it's been too long, I can't remember it clearly."

Chu Shixuan lowered his eyes and fell into deep thought.

Chu Shitong looked away awkwardly and inadvertently looked up at the tree trunk.

There were several ugly scratches on the tree trunk, as if they had been carved there randomly by someone.

It seems to be quite old. It was carved when the tree was not so big. As the tree grew, the carvings slowly merged into the tree. If you didn't pay attention, you couldn't see them.

There is such a custom among the people. It seems that when a newlywed moves into a new yard, they will plant a tree sapling and then engrave a love message or a mark on it. As the tree grows, the mark also represents the love between the couple in this family, which will remain unchanged over time.

Chu Shitong suddenly connected the strange inscriptions with the fact that Chu Shixuan inexplicably brought a tree from Dongyi here.

People like Chu Shixuan are least likely to do inexplicable things. As long as it has nothing to do with his own interests, he won't even take a second look. Moving trees is a time-consuming, laborious and useless task, which is obviously not something Chu Shixuan can do under normal circumstances.

Could it be that the characters on this tree were carved by Chu Shixuan and his sweetheart together, so after Chu Shixuan owned the mansion, he deliberately ordered people to move the tree here?

"Brother, I saw some words carved on the tree. What do they mean?"

Chu Shixuan pondered for a moment and said slowly: "This engraving..."

It seemed that when he mentioned this matter, every word he said was very difficult.

Chu Shitong waited for a long time but got no further response.

I thought, could it be that Chu Shixuan was too embarrassed to speak up when talking about his beloved?

Damn it, is there still a time to feel embarrassed?

Chu Shitong couldn't wait any longer, so he had to help him say it out, "Could it be that my brother and his sweetheart carved it together?"

Master Chu suddenly raised his head, his eyes clear.

"No."

Chu Shitong felt that even if it was true, he would not admit it.

After Chu Shixuan finished speaking, he fell into deep thought for a few seconds and then spoke.

"Yes."

Chu Shitong was delighted.

Chu Shixuan is finally willing to tell me the truth?

"Yes and no." Chu Shixuan seemed to have a hard time defining this question, "I guess so."

The hesitation on his face was something Chu Shitong had never seen before.

Chu Shitong was quite happy. He didn't expect that Chu Shixuan still had such a pure man in his heart.

I guess he had kept his sweetheart in his heart for a long time and he never dared to tell anyone, so when he mentioned her, he was so hesitant and entangled.

Seeing that Chu Shixuan was still struggling, Chu Shitong stopped.

"Whether it is true or not, my brother knows it in his heart. It's getting late. Can my brother finish his breakfast?"

Chu Shixuan came back to his senses and saw the breakfast on the table, which he had just taken a few bites of. He took a deep breath and stood up and said, "Since it's getting late, let's go directly."

......

On the carriage to Kaiyuan Temple.

Kaiyuan Temple is located in the Dingzhou Tower at the foot of the northwest mountain. It takes at least an hour to get there from Prince Yuan's Mansion, which is the most prosperous area of ​​the capital.

Chu Shixuan's carriage was not as luxurious as Chu Shifeng's, but it was also comfortable and generous, and there was nothing wrong with it.

Chu Shixuan was reading a book at a low wooden table, while Chu Shitong was lying in front of a window looking at the scenery.

Bishui gave Chu Shitong a look, then handed him a thick stack of papers. After Chu Shitong received them, she left.

Chu Shitong took the opportunity to carry a thick stack of papers to the low wooden table.

Chu Shixuan, who was reading a history book, heard the noise and looked up. Chu Shitong was standing opposite him, holding a thick stack of portraits and flipping through them one by one.

Chu Shixuan closed the history book and asked, "What is Xiaoqi reading?"

Chu Shitong took the opportunity to divide the portraits in his hand into two piles, and stuffed one pile into Chu Shixuan's arms without any explanation.

"Brother, let's take a look together. These are portraits of the noble ladies in the capital. They also have their names, nicknames, dates of birth, and notes on their hobbies and talents."

Chu Shixuan seemed very puzzled. After looking at two pictures, he couldn't continue reading.

"What are you looking at, Xiao Qi?"

"Get a wife."

Chu Shitong's words were very natural, but they made Chu Shixuan stunned.

Chu Shitong seemed very excited, looking at them one by one, and he did not forget to say: "My royal brother is unwilling to get married, but I still want to get married. Although I will only look at a concubine first, I still have to be cautious."

Chu Shixuan's expression was a little subtle, and he didn't even know which word started to frown.

"Xiao Qi is only seventeen years old, why would he marry a concubine?"

"Why not?" Chu Shitong asked, "My fifth brother has a principal wife, and my sixth brother has two concubines. I can't control whether my eldest and third brothers marry. Anyway, I have no ambitions, and my heart is not in building achievements. Can't I marry a few concubines to keep my bed warm?"

Chu Shixuan looked at the portrait in his hand and was silent for a long time before putting it on the table.

He asked with a slightly cold look: "If no one mentioned this matter, according to Xiao Qi's personality, he would definitely not think of it, but did anyone tell you about it?"

Chu Shitong shook his head. "Who can say anything to me? I just saw that my father wanted to give me a throne and fiefdom, so I married a few beautiful women to be by my side before I left the capital. There are not many beauties in Jingzhou, but there are more in the capital."

The excuse Chu Shitong found for himself seemed to make sense when he told others about it.

Even though Chu Shixuan was not in the capital at that time, he had heard about the fact that Chu Shiyu almost made Chu Shitong a king in public.

It was just that this matter had not been decided at that time, but in the eyes of many ministers, this matter was definitely a foregone conclusion, it was just a matter of time.

Chu Shitong took the opportunity to hand him some portraits of noble ladies that he had just selected and that he thought were more suitable for Chu Shixuan, hoping that one of them happened to be of Chu Shixuan's beloved, so that when Chu Shixuan was anxious, he would be able to roughly lock on the right person.

"Brother, take a look. Which of these women is suitable?"

Chu Shixuan took it, but put it aside without even looking at it.

Chu Shitong felt a sharp pain in his heart when he saw that the portrait he had carefully selected had been mixed up with the previous ones.

Half a day's effort was wasted.

She looked at Chu Shixuan unhappily, "What is your Royal Brother doing? I finally managed to escape, but you have mixed in with me."

Chu Shixuan's gaze didn't even linger on the portrait.

"No need to look at it, you are still young, don't worry about such things."

Chu Shitong said: "Sixth brother married two concubines when he was fifteen. I am already seventeen, can't I marry one?"

"Then see if your Sixth Brother likes any of the two concubines?" Chu Shixuan's expression also became serious, with a posture of teaching someone, "If you want to marry a wife just for the sake of marrying a wife, then you don't need to do that at all. If one day you have someone you like and you want to marry her because you like her, I will definitely not say a word of nonsense."

“Does it matter whether you like it or not?”

Chu Shitong pretended to be naive and didn't understand.

"It's normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines. I'm not someone as loyal as my brother. For me, marrying a beautiful wife is good enough."

Chu Shixuan seemed to be irritated by Chu Shitong's attitude. He could no longer bear it and said, "If you are worried about going to Jingzhou in the future, I can assure you that no matter who is the East Palace in the future, you will not be sent to a fiefdom. You can stay in the capital forever."

Chu Shixuan's words really left Chu Shitong speechless.

Which “留” is this?

Is the person still in the capital or is the body left in the imperial mausoleum in the capital?

She pondered for a while, and it seemed that Chu Shixuan's reaction to this matter did not develop as she expected.

"I don't have to marry a concubine, I just want to take a look ahead of time. My brother, don't say such things, it's scary."

After Chu Shitong finished speaking, the carriage fell into an eerie silence.

For some reason, Chu Shitong had met Chu Shixuan privately before. Chu Shixuan always gave her the impression of being calm and composed, able to remain calm even when faced with a crisis. But today, ever since Chu Shixuan's sweetheart was mentioned, Chu Shixuan's mentality seemed to have become a little unstable.

Very abnormal.

This reminded Chu Shitong of what the eldest princess had once said.

The eldest princess had talked to Chu Shitong about Chu Shixuan before. She said that Chu Shixuan seemed indestructible and flawless, but no one could be flawless, and Chu Shixuan had two weaknesses.

One is Chu Shixuan’s mother. With her status as the eldest princess and her intelligence network, she probably knows a lot about what happened in the past.

Chu Shixuan's mother did die when she gave birth to him. It was not the Queen who killed her, but she died of dystocia. It seemed that Chu Shixuan knew this, so for so many years, Chu Shixuan had been lukewarm towards the Queen. It seemed that he could not get close to her, but he did not have any resentment towards her.

Second, the princess did not say it clearly.

But Chu Shitong felt that when there was no trace of the first place, the second place was the key killer move.

The eldest princess refused to say anything, probably because she still didn't completely believe Chu Shitong.

Perhaps when the princess actually comes into battle with Chu Shixuan, she will naturally tell him.

Chu Shitong vaguely felt that Chu Shixuan's second weakness was this sweetheart, otherwise he wouldn't have been so impatient today.

The carriage was eerily quiet. Chu Shitong was flipping through the portraits out of boredom. After flipping through them all, he discovered that Xu Bingqing seemed to be the most outstanding among these noble ladies.

Be it appearance, background, talent or temperament, they are all excellent.

Chu Shitong looked at Xu Bingqing's portrait with mixed feelings. In her previous life, Xu Bingqing was devoted to Si Jingli and refused to marry anyone else even until she died of illness. And her eldest brother Xu Zhanqing went to the battlefield and never returned, so the Xu family was left without a descendant.

In this life, she would definitely find ways to keep Xu Zhanqing. If there was a chance, Chu Shitong also wanted to find a good family for Xu Bingqing so that her elder brother could rest assured.

In this life, because of my interference, the news of Xu Bingqing's love for Si Jingli has not been revealed until now. I think she will not repeat the same mistake as in her previous life.

"Why is Xiaoqi staring at the young lady of Xiaozhan Junhou's family?" Chu Shixuan's voice came out of nowhere.

Hearing this familiar tone, Chu Shitong knew that Chu Shixuan had returned to his original calm and composed self.

"Ms. Xu is beautiful, but I can't bear to see her in person. My royal brother doesn't allow me to look at her portrait more often?"

Chu Shixuan seemed unconvinced, "You like a woman like Xu Bingqing?"

"Well, Miss Xu is both talented and beautiful. I think any man would like her." Chu Shitong lied seriously, and did not forget to ask, "Does the emperor like her?"

Chu Shixuan laughed with an ambiguous meaning.

"I have no such intention towards Miss Xu."

Chu Shitong was already numb, "Yes, the woman that my brother likes must be the kind that I have never seen before."

"Why do you say that?"

"There are so many noble ladies in the capital, but I have never seen my brother get close to any of them. I think the woman my brother likes must be well protected by him. Maybe she is a fairy from heaven. Anyway, I don't know what she looks like. My brother refused to tell me, so I can only think so."

"She's not a fairy." Chu Shixuan's eyes suddenly fell on Chu Shitong, "I think Xiaoqi is already very good."