"Fifth Aunt's husband!"
"Young Master Qin!"
When Qin Chuan arrived at the palace gate, the little princess and Zhang Cheng were waiting outside. The little princess was holding a string of candied hawthorns and eating them with relish, her little mouth stained red.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Cheng was also there. Qin Chuan was somewhat curious about the eunuch who had just put on the python robe, because in the imperial study, apart from the imperial guards, the eunuchs around the empress also wore brocade python robes. So he asked Zhang Cheng if the eunuchs in the palace were also divided into ranks.
Zhang Cheng sighed and said, "Young Master Qin, those wearing brocade robes are all Grand Eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial, important officials who handle His Majesty's daily affairs. Their power is like that of the heavens, far beyond what a lowly eunuch like me can compare to."
Qin Chuan knew that Zhang Cheng was being modest. A eunuch who delivered imperial edicts was obviously not a low-ranking eunuch; he was at least a mid-to-high-ranking eunuch and was trusted by the emperor, even if he was just doing errands.
"Zhang Cheng, you can become a grand eunuch someday too."
Qin Chuan patted Zhang Cheng on the shoulder.
Zhang Cheng gave a bitter smile and said, "The roots are gone, this is all I have left."
Just then, the young princess tugged at Qin Chuan's sleeve: "Fifth Uncle! Come on, I'll take you to my house!"
Upon arriving in the capital, Qin Chuan hesitated for a while before deciding whether to stay at the post station or at his niece's house. Before he could make a choice, the young princess pulled him onto the carriage.
Zhang Cheng went back to the palace to carry out his duties.
Qin Chuan followed the young princess to the Jingbei Prince's Mansion.
The Prince Jingbei's Mansion is very large, covering half a street, magnificent and imposing!
However, it was extremely quiet. Apart from a few guards, it seemed that there were hardly any people in the entire palace.
The young princess led Qin Chuan into the palace. Qin Chuan found that the interior was lush and verdant, and it didn't look like a palace at all, but rather like a luxurious Taoist temple!
It was so quiet inside, a world apart from the bustling streets outside!
There weren't many servants in the Prince's mansion. Occasionally, one or two would trim the flowers and sweep the floor, but the rest of the servants were almost nowhere to be seen.
"Princess, why is your house so quiet?" Qin Chuan asked the princess in confusion.
The young princess smiled faintly and said, "My mother doesn't like commotion, so she didn't buy many servants."
"By the way, could you please stop calling me Little Princess?"
"Then what should I call you?"
"You can just call me Shan'er."
"This isn't quite right..."
"I think it's great. When you see my mother later, just call me Shan'er, and she'll know you're my fifth uncle!" the little princess said cheerfully as she walked ahead.
"Oh well."
The two walked towards the banquet hall of the Prince's mansion, unaware that a pair of eyes were already watching them through the window...
A maid quietly approached Su Rushi's side and bowed her head to report, "Your Highness, the young princess has returned."
Su Ru said without any inner turmoil, "I understand."
The maid added, "The young princess also brought someone back, a man..."
Su Ru remained unmoved: "I saw it."
The maid quietly withdrew.
"Mother! Mother! I'm back!"
The young princess shouted as soon as she entered the banquet hall.
Qin Chuan was somewhat embarrassed as he admired the layout of the hall when suddenly a person lifted the curtain and walked in from the entrance.
Qin Chuan took a closer look and saw a graceful and charming woman.
This must be Su Rushi, the eldest sister of the lady, who is also the princess consort of the Prince of Jingbei, Qin Chuan thought to himself.
Thinking of this, he hurriedly stepped forward and bowed respectfully: "Qin Chuan greets the Princess."
Su Ru glanced at Qin Chuan with a cold expression, then said weakly, "You're my fifth sister's husband? I've heard so much about you. Your poetry is quite good..."
Qin Chuan was quite surprised to find that Su Rushi had also read those poems.
But what surprised Qin Chuan even more was that this woman didn't seem to welcome him very much...
After a two-second pause, he finally heard Su Rushi's languid voice: "Please sit down... serve tea."
After they sat down, a maid brought tea, and the young princess sat down beside Qin Chuan, chatting about the Empress's summons that day.
"Fifth Uncle, has His Majesty said what official position you will be appointed to?"
"His Majesty said it will be announced at the meeting tomorrow."
"They're going to announce it at the court assembly? That must be a high-ranking official!"
After listening to the little princess's words, Qin Chuan fell into deep thought. He didn't know what kind of official position the empress wanted to bestow upon him, and he just hoped that she wouldn't assign him to a border region.
With frequent border conflicts, I might be captured by the enemy any day...
"I hope so."
Qin Chuan chatted casually with the young princess, but suddenly realized that Su Ru Shi hardly spoke. He didn't know why, but she was not only quite cold to him, the guest, but also barely said a word to the young princess, as if she were not his own daughter...
Suddenly realizing that something seemed to be missing from the Prince's residence, Qin Chuan asked, "Is the Prince not at home?"
Su Ru then spoke calmly: "He went to seek immortality and medicine."
"Seeking immortality and medicine..." Qin Chuan seemed to realize something was wrong. If he was sick, shouldn't he see a doctor? What was the point of seeking immortality and medicine?
Of course, he did not voice his doubts.
At this moment, the young princess suddenly said, "Fifth Uncle! Aren't you good at treating illnesses? You cured Grandma's illness! Can you help my father see what's wrong with him? Ever since I can remember, my father has been begging for medicine..."
Upon hearing this, Su Rushi looked at Qin Chuan, her eyes suddenly brightening. She said to the young princess, "Shan'er, go play outside first. I need to talk to your fifth uncle about something important..."
"Okay, Mother! I'll go out now."
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