Led by the King and Queen of Wu, the group entered the palace. The first thing they did was naturally to see the place where the King of Wu had provided for imprisonment. After all, Zu'an was of great importance, and even though King Liu Yao of Liang had long wanted to drink and make merry, he dared not be careless about this matter.

The King of Wu provided a separate courtyard with an open view, making it difficult for enemies to approach without being seen by the defenders.

There are several separate rooms in the courtyard, all spaced apart from each other, making it easy to set up guards.

The key point is that this courtyard is not far from where the banquet is being held, so if any unexpected event occurs, Prince Liang and Liu Yao can arrive immediately.

Huang Huihong nodded repeatedly, clearly satisfied with this temporary prison.

King Liang stroked his beard and laughed, "King Wu has really gone to great lengths, preparing such a suitable courtyard."

The King of Wu laughed and said, "It wasn't anything special. I just renovated a villa in my mansion. It's wonderful that it meets your requirements."

"Not bad, not bad. Now it's up to Commander Huang to take care of things." King Liang said to Huang Huihong.

Huang Huihong cupped his hands in greeting: "It's my duty, it's not hard work."

The King of Wu smiled slightly: "The guards in the palace will be on guard outside. If the commander has any needs, just give them the order."

Huang Huihong said, "Thank you, Your Highness, but it would be best not to let them get close to the area around this courtyard, so as to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings."

The King of Wu replied, "Of course, unless Commander Huang gives the order, they will never set foot in this courtyard."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Huang Huihong bowed. His biggest worry was that some villains might infiltrate the guards of the Prince's Palace to approach this place and then launch a surprise attack. Now that he had received the other party's promise, if anyone dared to approach this place, he would just kill them. In any case, the Embroidered-Robe Envoy had the power to act on behalf of the Emperor. Not to mention a few guards of the Prince's Palace, even if it was an official of the Prince's Palace, they could act first and report later.

King Wu nodded to him, his face still bearing that gentle smile, clearly the kind of person who was easy to get along with. Then he said to the others, "King Liang, General Liu, this way please. I have prepared some songs, dances, and dishes with local characteristics of Jibei City to welcome you and wash away the dust of your journey."

Liu Yao laughed heartily: "Alright, let's experience the local customs and culture of Jibei City today."

King Liang smiled and stroked his beard. He was most interested in the unique songs and dances of Ji Beicheng. He wondered what the girls of Ji Beicheng were like.

Suddenly, his peripheral vision caught sight of Princess Wu beside him. A slight smile graced her pure face. As night fell, the soft moonlight bathed her, giving her already fair and beautiful face an extra layer of crystalline radiance, making her appear holy and ethereal.

King Liang quickly adopted a serious demeanor, fearing that even the slightest frivolous smile would tarnish this sense of sanctity.

This is truly bizarre! After all these years of indulging in romantic pursuits, why am I so hesitant and restrained in front of a junior today?

Just as he was beginning to have some doubts, the King of Wu asked him some questions about the capital, and he hurriedly answered them one by one, thus diverting his attention.

"Ah, it's been almost ten years since I left the capital. Many memories from back then have become hazy." The King of Wu chuckled self-deprecatingly. "By the way, how has Father been doing lately?"

"Your Majesty's cultivation is unparalleled, so your health is naturally good. However, you are getting old, and the old wounds from your early wars with foreign tribes mean that your current condition is not as good as when you were young," King Liang replied.

In fact, all the factions knew that the emperor was nearing the end of his life and that his days were numbered in the next few years, but they could not say such things out loud, so they could only rack their brains to find some suitable explanations.

The King of Wu was immediately moved to tears: "It is a great pity that I cannot serve by my father's side."

The Prince of Liang hurriedly said, "After returning to the capital, I will definitely convey your filial piety to the Emperor. If the Emperor knows that the Prince of Wu is so filial, he will surely be overjoyed."

The Great Zhou Dynasty governed the country with filial piety in mind, so from high-ranking officials to ordinary people, everyone would use various methods to show their filial piety to their parents, making it difficult for people to tell whether it was genuine or not.

But no matter what they think, no one will expose this rule; instead, they will try their best to cooperate, otherwise they will become the target of public criticism.

Liu Yao, standing to the side, immediately expressed his dissatisfaction: "The Great Zhou Dynasty has its own laws and regulations. After reaching adulthood, the princes of the vassal states must leave the capital to serve in their respective vassal states. The crown prince in the capital will serve the emperor. There is no need for the Prince of Wu to worry about this."

If the Emperor were to soften his heart and summon him back to the capital, what would become of him? Having Prince Qi is already a headache enough; if Prince Wu were added to the mix, the Crown Prince's situation would become even more difficult.

King Wu immediately apologized, saying, "It was my fault for speaking out of turn. I missed my father and mother so much that I forgot the rules of the court. I hope General Liu will not take offense."

King Liang quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "We were just chatting about everyday things, why are you all so serious? Today we'll only talk about romance, nothing else."

Seeing the King of Wu's humble attitude, Liu Yao felt a little embarrassed, after all, the other party was the host today, so he took the opportunity to say, "What the King of Liang said is very true, I was too pedantic."

Yun Yuqing glanced at her husband with concern, but only she noticed the fleeting resentment in his eyes.

Meanwhile, in the other courtyard, Huang Huihong was personally leading his men to inspect the entire place. He had previously refrained from doing so out of consideration for the King of Wu, but now he had to check it thoroughly, in case there were any hidden mechanisms or secret passages, which would cause trouble.

Zu'an and Zheng Dan were called out of the carriage and sat in the courtyard with the Sang family father and son. The group stared at each other.

“You surnamed Zu, did you do anything to Dan’er?” Sang Qian’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

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