The princess was ordained by Heaven.

Chapter 279: Is there really no reason whatsoever?

Zheng Shi shouted, "I've come to save you!"

But by then it was too late.

The monkey was startled.

Don't expect a frightened animal to remain rational; it picked up the jar and nimbly climbed up the tree.

Zheng Shi let out a "whoosh" and climbed up the tree.

Zheng Jin, supporting the carriage, watched the man and the monkey run further and further away, and painfully patted his forehead.

"What kind of mess is this..."

Empress: My daughter's life away from home is indeed dangerous and exciting.

However, these monkeys are rather annoying, so I'll reduce Xiao Jiu's food intake by 10% later.

Xiao Jiu, who was diligently brewing wine, had no idea that he was about to be implicated by a group of distant relatives thousands of miles away.

Zheng Xun adjusted the view of the sky screen to Zheng Shi's side.

Zheng Shi had caught up with the monkey and seized control of its fate by the scruff of its neck.

She jumped steadily down from the tree, picked up the monkey triumphantly, and shook it: "Little brat, trying to escape?"

The monkey squawked and cried out, reaching out to grab Zheng Shi.

As soon as it stretched out its arm, the jar it was holding fell to the ground.

Zheng Shi reacted quickly, catching the jar and gently placing it on the ground before slapping the monkey across the face.

[This monkey isn't clever enough. If it had thrown the jar further away, or even to one of its own kind, it would have been much more difficult for Zheng Shi to retrieve it.]

Empress: There's no need to be so mean.

Zheng Shi flipped the monkey over and gave it a good spanking: "Didn't your mother teach you that you can't pick up other people's things?"

You threw it out yourself.

"You'll pick it up if I throw it?"

What else?

"You're still being stubborn! Today I'm going to teach you a lesson on behalf of your elders!"

Can she hear me?

Empress: Pfft!

Zheng Shi, of course, couldn't hear Zheng Xun speaking. She started spanking him in a rhythmic fashion, as if she couldn't stop.

The monkey screamed and cried as she hit it. Instead of coming to its rescue, its budding companions were frightened by the commotion and scattered.

Zheng Shi stopped and picked up the monkey again: "Poor little thing."

The monkey had tears in its eyes, its hands clenched tightly, and it obediently placed them in front of it.

Zheng Shi's face darkened again: "Playing the victim won't work. You deserve it."

However, she eventually took pity on her and let go.

The second princess was still waiting for her; she didn't have time to get entangled with a monkey.

There's still a bit of a regret.

If it weren't for the fact that this place is so far from the capital, she would definitely catch the monkey and take it back to help Xiao Jiu'er with her work.

The monkey was unaware that it had escaped death, but instinctively, it ran even faster.

Zheng Shi carried the jar back to the carriage.

Zheng Jin breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her return: "Why did it take you so long to come back?"

"After catching the monkey, we beat it up."

"Where did you get hit?"

"Butt..." Zheng Shi started to say, but then remembered that he was in front of a princess and quickly changed his words to "buttocks".

Zheng Jin looked at her hands, his face gradually wrinkling: "So, you held Zheng Jiu's urn with the hands that had touched a monkey's butt?"

Zheng Jiu's world has collapsed.

Zheng Xun laughed inwardly a few times and then closed the curtain.

Poor Zheng Jiu, but after this ordeal, Zheng Shi's mood has finally cleared up, and he's no longer as lifeless as before, which is a good thing.

She glanced at the empress, whose expression was strange.

Therefore, Zheng Jin's birthday is associated with traveling, a startled horse, and chasing a monkey.

[That makes sense. Her memory of her birthday is the date her adoptive parents found her, so she probably doesn't realize today is her birthday.]

The Empress looked stunned.

That's it...

She paused for a moment, then looked at Zheng Xun: "Was today's food to your liking?"

Zheng Xun was surprised by how quickly she recovered. After savoring the moment, he exclaimed, "It couldn't be better!"

The Empress smiled and said, "Then I'm relieved."

Having achieved her goal, she stopped bothering Zheng Xun.

After she left, Zheng Xun suddenly smiled.

Like the old Grand Tutor, she had few family ties; her parents died early, and her only remaining relative did not survive the turmoil of the end times.

Therefore, she rarely experiences the feeling of being cared for by her loved ones.

When she came into this world, she originally thought she had taken over Sweet Fruit's body.

But the system says no.

She actually has no connection with these people.

Thinking about it this way, I was struck by a mix of complex emotions.

She patted her head, trying to stop thinking about these trivial matters.

"Zhicheng, have Guangxingchen come to the Imperial Study to see me."

"Yes!" Zhicheng's expression turned slightly serious, because the person Zheng Xun was referring to was the Right Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review who had not been summoned by her.

"Zhicheng, you haven't yet learned your godfather's ability to keep his emotions hidden!"

Zhicheng adjusted his expression and said naturally, "Godfather is a cunning old fox, how could a greenhorn like me compare? It's just that I'm lucky to have met such a good master as the princess, who doesn't like to argue with servants."

Zheng Xun laughed loudly: "You've certainly learned a good way to speak."

Seeing that he had pleased his master, Zhicheng withdrew.

Zheng Xun rode in a sedan chair to the Imperial Study.

She walked to the spot where the emperor used to work and sat down.

The emperor imposed no restrictions on her, and everything here was open to her.

Therefore, although she has no real power as an emperor, she has the title of one.

The chair was too hard and cold, but luckily she didn't like to treat herself poorly, so she prepared a few soft cushions for herself.

She closed her eyes, dozed off contentedly for a while, and then opened them to begin processing the memorials.

The emperor disliked overly flamboyant and complicated writing styles, so apart from greetings, the other memorials were relatively concise and to the point.

As a result, Zheng Xun's efficiency in handling political affairs improved significantly.

About half an hour later, Zhicheng brought Guangxingchen to the place.

Guang Xingchen was a man of few words and had a low profile in the court.

But his position was that of a true confidant of the emperor, and no one dared to neglect him.

This was Zheng Xun's first time meeting Guang Xingchen alone.

He lowered his head and looked down, silent and respectful.

"Guang Xingchen, do you know why I sought to see you alone?"

Guang Xingchen hesitated for a long time before finally stammering, "This humble subject does not know..."

"Go and bring your second daughter back."

"Wei Chen obeys your orders."

Zheng Xun raised an eyebrow: "Aren't you going to ask why?"

“The princess brought this up specifically, so there must be a reason for it.”

His words and actions were almost too honest; he didn't seem like an official at all.

The emperor valued this quality in him, which is why he groomed him to be a trusted confidant.

Zheng Xun's private meeting with him was not, as others might think, to make things difficult for him; it was simply because he was a member of the power left behind by the late emperor.

“Your daughter is not doing well and is preparing to divorce her current husband. Bring her back; I need her to do things for me.”

Zheng Xun opened the jade Pixiu hanging from his waist, revealing the token inside.

Guang Xingchen's eyes flickered slightly.

Having lived as an ordinary person for so long, he almost forgot that he had another identity.

Zheng Xun raised an eyebrow: "Unwilling?"

"Wei Chen dare not."

"Are you afraid...or unwilling?"

"Don't dare..."

"It's not up to you."

Guang Xingchen, who was not yet used to Zheng Xun's style of doing things: Does he really not make any sense at all?