After Su Rong and Yan Huisheng has reached an initial agreement, Su Rong decided to reside in the Eastern Palace.
On his way out from Yuzhen Pavilion, after dining, Yan Huisheng instructed his housekeeper "Keep her stay at the Eastern Palace a secret until after the examinations, no one should disclose this."
The housekeeper responded promptly, "Your Highness, be at ease."
"Especially Zhou Gu. If he intends to visit the Eastern Palace before exams, inform me in advance so I can prevent them from meeting," Yan Huisheng instructed again.
The housekeeper committed this to memory, "Your Highness, be at ease."
As he entered his study, Yan Huisheng, opening the door, instructed again, "From now on, address her as Miss Su Rong. Serve her carefully and ensure that she is comfortable living in Eastern Palace."
The housekeeper took this to heart, "Yes."
Yan Huisheng strode into his study and shut the door. The housekeeper, not daring to procrastinate, implemented the Crown Prince’s instruction immediately.
When Su Rong arrived at the Eastern Palace, it was already evening and she entered through the back door, thus her move to the Eastern Palace did not alert anyone. Plus, given Yan Huisheng’s particular instructions, Su Rong comfortably settled in the Eastern Palace.
On the first night, Su Rong slept soundly, only waking up late the next day.
After waking up and lazily leaving her room, she found Fen Ling also just awake, yawning and sitting in the drawing room, who greeted her, "Master, good morning."
Used to this, Su Rong responded nonchalantly, "Morning!"
During the days of her recovery, Fen Ling would compete with her for meals. This competition escalated to the point where they synced their routines so they could vie for meals.
The maid who served in Yuzhen Pavilion ordered the kitchen to prepare lunch as soon as she saw both of them awake.
Fen Ling said quietly, "Master, let’s get up earlier tomorrow. They say the Eastern Palace’s breakfast is delicious."
From her stay yesterday, he strongly felt that the master made the right decision. The Eastern Palace was luxurious with excellent food, drink, and accommodation. It was so comfortable that he didn’t even feel like getting up early for his martial arts practice.
"Hmm, alright" Su Rong nodded. She was not usually a late sleeper. Her delayed waking was due to her recovery and exhaustion from the journey, not a habitual tardiness.
The meal served was full of aroma and looked appetizing.
Fen Ling exclaimed, "Master, there are two plates of braised meat today! All our favorite dishes from yesterday are here – there’s not a single dish we left untouched."
Being the Eastern Palace, the hospitality was extremely delicate and thorough. The treatment of a distinguished guest was indeed top-tier.
Su Rong also noticed, "The Crown Prince sure is a good man."
Fen Ling nodded repeatedly and negotiated with Su Rong, "Even after the exams, after you have nullified the engagement with Young Master Zhou, when the Crown Prince has his own residence, can we just continue to stay at the Eastern Palace? What do you think?"
"Would that be alright?" Su Rong said, "I don’t want to live under the same roof as my brother, controlled by him every day. The Eastern Palace is so comfortable; it shouldn’t be a problem if we stayed for a while, I suppose?"
Fen Ling chuckled, looking forward to their comfortable days ahead, "The Crown Prince is a great man. He will not lack a meal to feed us."
Su Rong felt the same.
Being in a good mood and having skipped breakfast, they finished most of the lunch.
Zheng Xi, the housekeeper, had been keeping an eye on the Yuzhen Pavilion. Learning about the honored guests being awake and having lunch, he rushed to inform the Crown Prince.
Yan Huisheng was having lunch with Grand Tutor Qin. Since Grand Tutor Qin was strict about mealtime manners - not talking while eating, their meal was quite quiet.
After the meal, Grand Tutor Qin said, "Your Highness, the Emperor desires to hold a selection for a spouse after the examinations. Once the selection begins, the Crown Princess should be decided. It can no longer be postponed."
Yan Huisheng remained silent.
Grand Tutor Qin sighed, "Your Highness, I watched you grow up and taught you for many years. Don’t you even trust me? If you have someone in mind, I will not object. After all, the person you choose, even from a humble background, must definitely be extraordinary."
"You overthink, Grand Tutor," Yan Huisheng said. "I trust you unquestionably, but the one I have in mind..."
Yan Huisheng massaged his eyebrows, "There are complications related to her and her status is quite special. I should not speak about this now. Let’s wait and see!"
Grand Tutor Qin stopped pressing Yan Huisheng after hearing this, "Since the Emperor plans to start selecting a spouse, as early as next February, candidates will come from all over. If the girl you like is among those candidates, you must make up your mind as soon as possible. Don’t let it become an issue later. The Queen, does she know you have someone in mind?"
Yan Huisheng nodded, "I understand."
After a pause, he said, "Regarding the matter of marriage, I hope my mother will respect my wishes."
Grand Tutor Qin did not expect that the Empress mother was domineering, but she did not interfere too much in the matter of the Crown Prince’s marriage. "That’s good. I pondered over the words you said to me that day. I think you’re right. If you don’t choose noble in-laws, the Emperor will feel less threatened and less defensive against you. Thus, you can marry the one you prefer without fearing the rise of the in-laws. I think this is a good decision. You won’t have to worry about the issue of your in-laws wielding too much power in the future."
Yan Huisheng nodded.
After sitting for a moment, Grand Tutor Qin stood up to leave.
As he walked out of the palace gate, he noticed that the security of the Eastern Palace seemed to have tightened compared to usual. The number of guards at the main gate had even doubled. He found it odd and asked the Gatekeeper, "Why are there more guards? When did this happen?"
The Gatekeeper bowed and said, "Responding to Grand Tutor Qin, it happened yesterday evening."
"Were there assassins in the Eastern Palace?" Grand Tutor Qin had to suspect that someone was trying to harm the Crown Prince.
The Gatekeeper shook his head, "No sir, I didn’t hear about any disturbances caused by assassins."
"Then why the increase in guards?" Grand Tutor Qin felt puzzled.
The Gatekeeper did not know either and shook his head, "It was ordered personally by the Crown Prince."
Grand Tutor Qin wanted to go back and ask Yan Huisheng, but as he turned to go, he remembered that the Crown Prince was already an adult. He was just the prince’s teacher, and it wasn’t his place to interfere too much. As long as there were no assassins in the Eastern Palace, and the Crown Prince’s life was not in danger, he didn’t need to know everything in detail. The prince is also a lord, he is a teacher, but he is also a servant, so he needs to retain a sense of decorum.
Thus, Grand Tutor Qin did not ask further and left the Eastern Palace.
After Grand Tutor Qin left, Yan Huisheng prepared to inquire about Su Rong. That’s when someone came in to report that Miss Rong was awake and eating lunch.
Yan Huisheng nodded and instructed, "I will rest for a while. Pass on my message. If she does not plan to leave the residence, she can tour the Eastern Palace in the afternoon with someone or she can come to my study."
Little Quanzi agreed and went off immediately.
After Su Rong had her fill, she idly leaned back in her chair and drank tea. She discussed the quality of tea in the Eastern Palace with Fen Ling. They agreed that the newly supplied imperial tea from the Eastern Palace was indeed superb to drink. It was top-notch rain before spring tea, supplied only to the imperial court. This was not something one could get just by having money, it couldn’t be compared with the Yun Brocade from Lingnan, which had a chance of making its way out of the palace.
Fen Ling once again felt amazed at the fact that accompanying her master had given her the chance to taste rain before spring tea, which even her master could not procure normally.
Upon hearing Little Quanzi’s message, Su Rong nodded and said to him, "The Crown Prince is going to take a nap, isn’t he? In that case, let’s take a tour of the Eastern Palace first?"
Placing down her teacup, she chuckled, "Little Eunuch, can I tour the place freely? Are there any forbidden places in the Eastern Palace?"
Having served Yan Huisheng since he was little, Little Quanzi was well acquainted with his masters’ ideas. He was aware that this lady was regarded highly by the Crown Prince and might even become a permanent guest of the Eastern Palace in the future. Even the half-pound of rain before spring tea that the Prince had obtained was offered to her. Could there be any place in the Eastern Palace that she wouldn’t be allowed to visit?
With a smile on his face, he immediately replied, "You can tour anywhere. For you, there are no forbidden places. Feel free to explore."
After a thought, he asked, "Would you like me to accompany you?"
"No need," Su Rong, realizing that Little Quanzi was an aide to the Crown Prince, waved him off, "You can go about your duties. Just assign someone else to accompany me."
"You can’t just assign anyone to accompany you!" Little Quanzi promptly reacted, "I will arrange for Little Chengzi to accompany you. He also serves the Prince and is much more competent than ordinary servants."
"Alright then!" Su Rong accepted his suggestion smoothly.
Therefore, Little Quanzi left, and quickly, a young eunuch, younger than him, arrived at Yuzhen Pavilion.
The intense heat of summer had passed, and it was now autumn. The midday sun was still shining brightly, but it was not as fierce as before. Su Rong cared deeply about her complexion, especially since she was now in the Capital City. She would allow herself to be seen covered in dust, her face unrecognizable, but she would not allow anyone to see her face lacking beauty while dressed in fine silk. Thus, she decided to hold up a parasol, and was led around the Eastern Palace by Little Chengzi at a leisurely pace.
Since Fen Ling started serving openly, she had picked up many of Su Rong’s habits. Now, she had started to care about her complexion as well. Following Su Rong’s example, she also held up an umbrella.
It was the first time Little Chengzi had seen a guard afraid of getting a tan. After glancing at Fen Ling a couple of times, he decided that it seemed acceptable for an attractive man to dislike the sun.
With utmost dedication, he pointed out each location to Su Rong and provided explanations.
The Eastern Palace was indeed massive. After touring for more than half an hour, they had only covered a third of it. Tired of walking, Su Rong found a water pavilion and sat down.
Immediately, Little Chengzi ordered for fruits and refreshments to be brought over.
As she munched on a pear, Su Rong gestured for Little Chengzi to sit down and eat too.
Little Chengzi was quite relaxed, and gratefully took a pear to munch on. After spending over half an hour with her, he found Su Rong and her guard interesting and quite enjoyable to be around. As he chewed on the pear, he began to share some amusing anecdotes about the court officials with her.
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