How can I bow my head and serve the powerful officials?

"I'm so envious." Xie Chengze muttered. He was about to ask Su Qinghe if he could go to the palace more often to bring him cakes in the future, but he found that Su Qinghe had become distracted without him knowing when.

He was staring with his dreamy moon-like eyes, staring straight at the cake crumbs on the tea table, and didn't even notice that Xie Chengze and Sheng Yiren were looking at him.

Until one moment, he finally seemed to be unable to bear it anymore, and took out his handkerchief to clean up the cake crumbs that had fallen on the tea table and the edge of the plate, and then he breathed a sigh of relief with an almost imperceptible degree of relief.

"Pfft." Xie Chengze couldn't help but laughed.

Hearing the laughter, Su Qinghe's body trembled, and he hurriedly took back his handkerchief. Realizing that his actions just now were seen by Xie Chengze, he quickly lowered his head and sat down, and his breath began to panic again.

Xie Chengze smiled so much that his eyebrows curved. The more he smiled, the lower Su Qinghe's head drooped. The grievances he had suffered in the past and the shock he was experiencing at this moment kept coming to him like the tide. The fear of the Second Prince almost made him mentally collapse, and he wished he could just faint.

Finally, at a certain moment, he couldn't hold back his tears any more, and two drops of tears "dropped" onto his clothes, leaving two noticeable marks of wetness.

Xie Chengze:!!!

No! Big brother! Why are you crying?

Su Qinghe didn't expect that she would be frightened and cry. She hurriedly raised her sleeves to wipe away her tears and wanted to explain something, but she didn't expect that she would sob as soon as she opened her mouth, as if she was acting coquettishly to others.

Su Qinghe suddenly felt a darkness in front of his eyes, and there was no end in sight for his life, which was already bleak.

I'm going to die! How could he show such an ugly appearance in front of the Second Prince!

Xie Chengze was also panicking. He really didn't understand. No matter how bad his reputation was, Su Qinghe shouldn't despise him to the point that even his seatmate would cry, right? !

Moreover, the character of Su Qinghe in the book doesn’t look like this!

Could it be that Su Qinghe was also reborn? Did he think he was the vicious and cruel second prince? This shouldn't be the case - if he was also reborn, he would have confronted Shen Yuan long ago. How could he still be in such an unknown state?

So what's wrong?

Xie Chengze racked his brains and suddenly remembered a key point.

Wait—can’t it be!

Eunuch Zhao?!

Xie Chengze explained in detail: At the very beginning, Su Qinghe was summoned into the palace with the invisible identity of "Prince's Consort". If Eunuch Zhao confessed this matter to Su Qinghe in private, then all of Su Qinghe's abnormal behaviors would make sense!

As a man of the Su family, he was afraid of being ridiculed for becoming the future consort of the Second Prince, so he was too scared to stand up when they first met. He was afraid that his beauty would be exposed and coveted by the Second Prince, and he was also afraid of showing his talent and satisfying the Second Prince. He was even more afraid that after being summoned into the palace, outsiders would think that it was a foregone conclusion that he would become the consort of the Prince...

So Su Qinghe didn't dislike herself, but was afraid of "marrying" herself!

Oh! Look at what has happened!

Xie Chengze quickly put his hand on Su Qinghe's shoulder and explained, "Mr. Su, don't get me wrong, I don't want to see you just to marry you!"

"Cough cough——" Sheng Yiren on the side almost choked on her saliva and looked at Xie Chengze in shock.

Is she hallucinating? What did the Second Prince just say? !

Marry?! Who? Su Qinghe? They had no connection at all before!

Su Qinghe also raised his head in confusion and astonishment. The tears that had just filled her eyes stopped at the corners of her eyes, reflecting Xie Chengze's helpless face as they crumbled.

"Did Eunuch Zhao tell you that you were the candidate for the prince's consort?" Xie Chengze said angrily, "He and the emperor are just worrying about nothing. I was just joking and said that I liked men, and they really sent me portraits of all the men of marriageable age in the capital. In order to deal with them, I just randomly pointed at you."

Su Qinghe: ...

Su Qinghe:? ? ?

He sat on the wooden chair in a daze for a long time, unable to come back to his senses. When he came to his senses, his fair, soft cheeks instantly turned red.

Thinking back carefully, the Second Prince had indeed never been angry with him. Whenever they met, the first thing he said was to ask him to stand up. He also asked the same polite questions as when they first met. Even when he knew that he was pretending to be sick and refused to enter the palace, he still sent him tonic medicine without forcing him. Instead, he came up with another plan to get him to meet...

And if she really looked down on him, she wouldn't have eaten the pastry he made just now.

and so……

Did he misunderstand the Second Prince before? He even felt wronged and panicked for a long time because of this?!

Blinking his eyes slightly, the tear that was about to fall finally fell. Su Qinghe quickly raised his sleeve to wipe it, covering his blushing cheeks with shame, and said softly, "So that's it. I misunderstood."

Seeing that Su Qinghe's melancholy had completely dissipated, Xie Chengze finally felt much more relaxed. "Just explain it clearly. Every time you see me, I feel like I'm broken, which makes me feel a little uncomfortable."

Broken?

Su Qinghe, who understood the meaning, couldn't help but laugh, thinking that this description was very interesting and appropriate.

The atmosphere finally eased, and Xie Chengze looked at Sheng Yiren and talked about business. "I really have something to ask you this time. Merchants are always well-informed. Please find out for me whether there are any mountains in Yuzhou, Yunzhou, and Liaozhou that have experienced spontaneous combustion, or have black soil on the surface, and the temperature of the mountain surface is particularly high in summer."

When he returned to Beijing this time, he specially went to look at the Jian'an River and Mountain Map. Since Yizhou has the Minjiang River and Yuzhou has Wangwu and Taihang Mountains, then Yuzhou, Yunzhou and Liaozhou are likely to have coal mines...

Xie Chengze didn't know where the coal mines were in the Jian'an Dynasty. In his world, he only remembered Shanxi, Jiaozuo and Hegang as regions with abundant coal resources, which corresponded to Yunzhou, Yuzhou and Liaozhou. Whether he could find a coal mine depended on luck.

Although Sheng Yiren had doubts, she still took note carefully, "Yes, Your Highness."

"Besides..." Xie Chengze hesitated to speak.

Seeing him hesitate, Sheng Yiren couldn't help but smile and said, "Your Highness, just say it. If I can do it, I will definitely do my best."

This is what you said!

Xie Chengze immediately said, "I want to organize an expeditionary caravan to enter Tubo and head west to look for traces of people. While spreading the civilization of our Jian'an Dynasty, I also want to find some new grain varieties that are beneficial to the people's livelihood. However, the Minister of Rites seems very reluctant to take on this important task. How about you persuade your father to talk to the Minister of Rites? If that doesn't work, just kick him out and let your father take over!"

“Cough, cough, cough—” Sheng Yiren coughed again and looked at Xie Chengze in shock, “Your Highness, you, you—”

How did the Second Prince know that her father was the Minister of Rites?! When did he know that she was dressed as a man?! Only Su Qinghe knew about this!

Xie Chengze blinked, his raised face was full of innocence and simplicity, but for some reason it was also full of cunning, "What's wrong?"

Girl, do you want to continue hiding your identity and commit the crime of deceiving the king?

Sheng Yiren: ...

Seeing Sheng Yiren's reluctance, Xie Chengze imitated her just now and said in a sonorous tone, "Your Highness, just say it! If I can do it, I will definitely do my best!"

Sheng Yiren: ...

That was enough. Why was the Second Prince really such a person? This was completely different from what she had seen before!

Sheng Yiren wanted to cry but had no tears. She declined, "I am just a woman. How can I take care of the affairs of the court? I am afraid that if I open my mouth, my father will scold me for meddling in other people's affairs."

"No problem, aren't you a businessman? You should understand." Xie Chengze said that this was not a big deal, "What male and female flow, it has nothing to do with this. If you can't make sense, it only means that your chips are not enough."

He pointed out in a mean way, "Who will take the position of Minister of Rites is up to me. Since he doesn't want to, then let someone else take the position!"

Sheng Yiren:?

Are you sure this is a bargaining chip and not a threat???

"Let me give it a try!" Sheng Yiren had no choice but to respond. She was also very curious about what else was there to the west of Tubo. If this expedition caravan really happened, perhaps she could get involved, seize the business opportunity first and become famous in one fell swoop.

After discussing the details of the expedition caravan, it was already dark, and Xie Chengze stood up and said goodbye, "Let's stop here today, I'm going back to the palace."

Sheng Yiren remembered something and kindly reminded, "Your Highness, the palace gates are locked now. Can you still go back?"

Xie Chengze said, "Oh," "It's a small matter. My guards are very skilled in martial arts and can carry me over the wall back to the palace."

Sheng Yiren: ...

Second Prince, you are really not particular about small matters!

Sheng Yiren and Su Qinghe stood up to see him off. When Xie Chengze reached the door, he suddenly remembered something and quickly turned back to the tea table. He coughed twice and said, "Can I take this away?"

Sheng Yiren and Su Qinghe looked over and found that he was referring to the mahogany lunch box.

What do you want this food box for?

Although Su Qinghe was puzzled, he still nodded, "Your Highness, please do as you please."

Xie Chengze immediately grinned, quickly packed the plates of cakes into a mahogany food box, and then left humming a happy tune.

Sheng Yiren, Su Qinghe: ...

It seems that His Royal Highness the Second Prince really likes sweets!