Chapter 16 The Hostage Pei Ji

"ah……"

Sheng Sheng lowered her head sadly. When Huang Ying saw the little dumpling's disappointed look, she almost softened.

But this was Xie Yunchuan's order, and Huang Ying couldn't be soft-hearted.

Pei Ji was, after all, a prince of an enemy state. Although Pei Ji and Xie Yunchuan had never interacted much, he ultimately did not want to cause any more trouble.

Huang Ying comforted her, saying, "Princess, it's alright. Once you've recovered, you can go wherever you want!"

"Okay." Sheng Sheng said with some regret, but didn't say anything more.

Huang Ying breathed a sigh of relief at the same time because of his usual obedience, but she also felt a little sorry for him: "Princess, I'll see Physician Li out first, and then I'll get you some snacks later, okay?"

"Okay, Sister Huang Ying, you go ahead. Don't worry about Sheng Sheng. Yan Hu is here with me."

Yan Hu chirped in response, and Huang Ying left reassured.

After everyone left, Sheng Sheng rested her chin on her hand and stared blankly into space. Yan Hu noticed that she seemed a little out of sorts and asked, "Sheng Sheng, what are you thinking about? Are you thinking of going to that bamboo forest to find that hostage prince?"

Sheng Sheng thought for a moment and said, "It's not that I want to hang out with him. I just feel that he must be homesick since he's come all this way alone."

“That’s true.” Yan Hu wagged his tail. “Since I’ve been in this palace, I’ve never seen him outside of the Wenhua Hall. This hostage seems to dislike socializing. Apart from studying with the royal children, he never befriends anyone.”

Sheng Sheng tilted her head to look at Yan Hu, listening very attentively: "Wow, Yan Hu, you know this? You're amazing!"

After being praised a couple of times, Yan Hu's tail was already wagging like a propeller, but he just raised his chin arrogantly and said, "Of course, I've been following the Second Prince for two years, so I'm not an ordinary dog."

Sheng Sheng chuckled, but she couldn't understand what Yan Hu meant by Pei Ji: "Brother Zhu Zi isn't that much older than Sheng Sheng. It's already lonely for him to come all this way alone. If he doesn't make friends, wouldn't he be even lonelier? Sheng Sheng loves making friends. If Yan Hu didn't play with her, if Sister Huang Ying didn't take walks with her, and if her brother didn't have dinner with her, she would be very bored."

"Sigh, he's a hostage after all. His status here is awkward. People might avoid him like the plague, but they'd all look down on him to some extent. So why would anyone want to be friends with him? I think that hostage must know that himself, which is why he wouldn't go looking for trouble."

"Look down on him?" Sheng Sheng expressed her incomprehension. "Brother Bamboo is so handsome, even more handsome than my brother. Why would you look down on him?"

"Well, well, it's because he's a proton. No matter how good-looking he is, he's still just a proton."

"Is there anything special about the proton? Brother Bamboo has two arms and two legs just like Sheng Sheng."

Sheng Sheng plopped down on the ground next to Yan Hu, looking determined to get to the bottom of things.

"Uh, this..." Yan Hu chased after the tail and circled around a few times. How was he supposed to explain this to a five-year-old kid?

Sheng Sheng is just a five-year-old child, innocent and kind, and knows nothing. How can you expect her to understand the things between the two countries?

Although Yan Hu is just a puppy, it is a smart puppy.

For the past two years, he had been by Xie Yunchuan's side. Through this exposure, he could understand basic principles, even if he wasn't as knowledgeable about state affairs as Xie Yunchuan.

When Pei Ji was seven years old, he went to the State of Yu as a hostage, accompanied only by a servant boy and without any guards.

The ruler of Song was incompetent and foolish; otherwise, he would not have suffered repeated defeats in war and had to send a hostage to sue for peace.

The meaning of the word "proton" needs no further explanation.

The ruler of Song had many sons. Pei Ji's mother, Lady Bai, was originally an ordinary palace maid of low status, which is why her son, Pei Ji, was chosen as the hostage.

To put it bluntly, Pei Ji was a pawn to be discarded.

He was abandoned by the State of Song the moment he stepped into the territory of the State of Yu.

Fortunately, Emperor Xie Yuxiao of Yu Kingdom was not a heartless person. He would not treat Pei Ji well, but he would not mistreat him. He even allowed him to study calligraphy in the Wenhua Hall with the royal children of Yu Kingdom.

Nevertheless, Pei Ji's status was awkward and he had little value, so naturally others wouldn't befriend him. Some arrogant playboys would even secretly cause trouble for him.

"Sigh, this is hard to explain to you." Yan Hu scratched his ear with his paw. "But that hostage is really pitiful. If I remember correctly, the Second Prince said that the agreement between Yu and Song is for ten years, during which the two countries will be at peace. That means he has to stay here for ten years!"

"Ten years?" Sheng Sheng frowned and started counting on her fingers. She broke off three of her ten fingers, leaving seven.

"Oh, that means Brother Bamboo will have to play alone for another seven years!" Sheng Sheng pouted, propping her head up in distress. "Oh my god, how can I stand this?"

With a sigh, he leaned back and collapsed to the ground.

Sheng Sheng couldn't imagine how miserable it would be for her to stay alone for ten years!

Outside Yuqing Palace, Huang Ying had just seen off Imperial Physician Li and was about to return to the palace when she heard a series of chaotic footsteps approaching Yuqing Palace.

Huang Ying was a little confused. She turned around and saw a group of palace maids and eunuchs surrounding a magnificent sedan chair that appeared around the corner.

The woman leaning against the armrest with her eyes closed, resting in the sedan chair, was none other than Consort Rong!

Huang Ying exclaimed in surprise, covering her mouth with her hand, somewhat flustered: "Oh no, the princess is still in the palace!"

Ever since Xie Yunchuan turned thirteen and moved into his own palace, Consort Rong has rarely come to Yuqing Palace. If she were to come, she would send someone to let her know in advance. Why did she suddenly come without a word today?

"The Imperial Concubine has arrived!"

As Huang Ying pondered, the sedan chair arrived at the gate of Yuqing Palace. Huang Ying hurriedly went to greet it: "This servant greets Your Highness, the Noble Consort."

"Get up." Consort Rong rubbed her temples, looking somewhat tired. "Just now I saw Imperial Physician Li leaving Yuqing Palace. Is Chuan'er sick?"

Huang Ying replied without changing her expression, "Your Highness, His Highness is not unwell. Rather, His Highness noticed that Your Highness was not feeling well yesterday, so he specially asked Physician Li to prepare some calming incense. Physician Li has come today to deliver that calming incense."

Physician Li was promoted by Consort Rong and was one of her trusted confidants. He would always report any news from the other palaces to Consort Rong.

However, because it was Xie Yunchuan, who was always easy to take care of and sensible, Consort Rong did not suspect anything and simply thought that her son was being filial, so she secretly ordered some calming incense for him.

Consort Rong smiled with satisfaction: "Chuan'er has always been like this, always caring for me."