Su Rong found Little Chengzi’s tales absolutely fascinating, and she ended up sitting in the Water Pavilion for half a day because of it.
It wasn’t until Little Quanzi came to inform them that his Highness had invited Miss Rong and Young Master Fen Ling to dine with him that Little Chengzi realized how carried away he’d gotten with his stories. His tales were so engrossing that they both had forgotten to go see his Highness.
He scratched his head, leaning closer to Little Quanzi, "Bro, did I mess up?"
Little Quanzi glared at him. Knowing martial artists had good hearing, he naturally couldn’t tell the truth. Instead, he praised him untruthfully, "No, you did well."
But you mustn’t do this again tomorrow.
His Highness had been waiting in his bookroom for half a day without seeing Miss Rong turn up. Believing that she hadn’t finished looking around, he enquired and found out she’d spent half the day in the Water Pavilion listening to Chengzi gossiping about the court officials. Little Chengzi sure was a good talker.
Relieved, Little Chengzi followed up with a smile, "Miss Rong loved hearing the tales. I should provide her with more."
Upon hearing this, Little Quanzi quickly responded with a tap on Little Chengzi’s shoulder, "That’s just how it is. From now on, you’ll serve by Miss Rong’s side. I’ll arrange someone else for his Highness."
Little Chengzi’s eyes widened. He had just managed to gain the position serving his Highness, was he about to be kicked out now? He grabbed Little Quanzi’s arm, "Bro, um..."
Before he could even utter his objection, Little Quanzi quickly covered his mouth, "Don’t shout, think about it. Why am I not assigning someone else?"
Blinking, Little Chengzi gasped as he understood Little Quanzi’s intentions. He immediately stopped resisting. Serving Miss Rong, who was his Highness’s esteemed guest, was a fortunate opportunity, one that others couldn’t obtain even if they begged.
Upon reaching Yan Huisheng’s courtyard and entering the Main Hall, they found Yan Huisheng already seated at the table waiting for Su Rong.
After bowing to Yan Huisheng, Su Rong took her seat and glanced at the dishes on the table. She laughed, "Thankfully, there are new dishes tonight. If they were the same as lunch, I’m afraid I’d be fighting Fen Ling for the braised meat in the future."
Fen Ling, sitting next to Su Rong, nodded repeatedly, "The braised meat was delicious, but I wouldn’t want three servings in one day."
Yan Huisheng smiled, "Rest assured, the palace chefs know their duties. If you want anything in particular, just send someone to inform the kitchen."
Su Rong nodded and openly praised, "Your Highness, your Eastern Palace is truly comfortable. You must secure your position."
Yan Huisheng understood her hidden meaning and replied, "You can stay here until you want to leave."
What he wanted to say was, you can stay forever. But that was not a statement he could make at the moment.
Su Rong blinked, "Since you’ve said that, Your Highness, I’ll take you up on your offer."
Yan Huisheng warmly responded, "Please, make yourself at home."
After dinner, Yan Huisheng was going to the bookroom and asked Su Rong, "I’m going to the bookroom. Would you like to rest or join me in the bookroom?"
"Do you mean I can have access to the books in your bookroom?" Su Rong didn’t really feel like reading, not at this hour. It’d be straining on the eyes.
"My bookroom contains many archives. The stories Little Chengzi tells are often hearsay, some true, some not. But the records in my bookroom are all genuine. If you wish to quickly understand the court officials, you can start by going through the archives." Yan Huisheng looked at Su Rong, "Of course, there’s no rush. You can visit my bookroom whenever you wish."
Su Rong understood. Such important documents couldn’t be taken out of Yan Huisheng’s bookroom, and this was also his way of showing his trust in her. Otherwise, ordinary people wouldn’t be allowed access to them.
She wasn’t sleepy and had nothing else to do so she simply nodded, "Then I will accompany you!"
After all, she had always been a night owl.
Yan Huisheng nodded, stood up and led Su Rong to his bookroom.
Halfway there, Fen Ling suddenly said to Su Rong, "Master, you’re very safe in the Eastern Palace. I’ll take a stroll outside."
"Okay, go ahead!" Su Rong gestured dismissively.
Fen Ling turned and left.
After he left, Yan Huisheng said to Su Rong, "Your guard is quite skilled, comparable to my Yun An."
Su Rong laughed, "I too have good martial skills. I wonder how good yours are, Your Highness?"
Yan Huisheng softly replied, "My skills are decent too."
As a Crown Prince, if he only learned the basics of strengthening his physique, horse riding, and archery, it wouldn’t have been enough to fend off the assassination attempts over the years.
"How about we have a match one day?" Su Rong was eager to put her skills to the test.
"Alright, when I have a day off, I’ll compete with you in the morning." Yan Huisheng laughed, "The sword you carry is quite good."
"Crown Prince has a keen eye. This is the Broken Snow Sword. My Uncle Xie had someone fetch it especially for me." Su Rong ran her fingers along the sheath, "It’s of similar value to your dagger, both are treasures that can slice through iron like mud."
Yan Huisheng nodded, "I only have such a dagger, and I couldn’t let it go at first either. I didn’t expect you to set your eyes on it too."
Cradling the dagger, Su Rong said, "I will not return it to you."
Yan Huisheng laughed, "Once given, I certainly won’t ask for it back." He paused, "But..."
Su Rong tensed, "But what?"
"But if you come across another good sword or dagger, give one to me," Yan Huisheng said calmly, "I heard that the Nanchu King’s private treasury contains many divine weapons."
Su Rong understood. Since they belonged to her biological father, it should not be difficult to ask him for a weapon once she acknowledged him, she agreed without hesitation, "Alright, if you have set your sights on any of Nanchu King’s weapons, let me know."
"I don’t know what good weapons the Nanchu King has in his collection. If possible, could you help me pick a good one?" Yan Huisheng said.
"Alright!" Su Rong agreed.
The two walked and chatted, and soon arrived at Yan Huisheng’s study.
From a distance, Qin Luan saw the Crown Prince and a woman walking shoulder to shoulder, talking and laughing. She was surprised. In all the days she had been at the Eastern Palace, she had never seen the Crown Prince being so close to any woman, let alone seeing him laugh. When he was with Grand Tutor Qin or any palace officials he was close to, his joy was just a slight smile, fleeting, and very faint.
Who is this woman?
With a question mark in her mind, Qin Luan made sure to take this woman seriously and vowed not to offend her.
"Peace to the Crown Prince!" Upon the arrival of the people, Qin Luan bowed in greeting.
Yan Huisheng said lightly: "This is Miss Rong, her status in the Eastern Palace will be the same as mine."
Qin Luan was taken aback again. With a chill in her heart, she quickly bowed once more, this time to Su Rong, with her eyes lowered, "Peace to Miss Rong!"
Su Rong tilted her head to look at Qin Luan, then looked at Yan Huisheng.
Yan Huisheng said warmly, "This is Lady Official Qin, Qin Luan. Lord Zhou Gu has entrusted her to me, making her a female official in the Eastern Palace."
Su Rong then realized that this woman was Qin Luan, who had caused Zhou Gu and Xie Lin to fight, and both men’s reputations were damaged because of her. Zhou Gu couldn’t save her but he asked the crown prince to look after her later. She genuinely complimented, "Lady Official Qin is really beautiful."
Qin Luan looked up. The woman in front of her was full of smiles, with a charming and delightful appearance, her bright eyes full of genuine praise. She lowered her eyes and quickly said, "Not as beautiful as you, Miss."
"You flatter me too much." Su Rong modestly waved her hand.
Yan Huisheng walked into the study, Su Rong followed, and Qin Luan went in with the others to serve.
The crown prince’s study was naturally spacious, with books, scrolls, and memoranda piled high on the jade case.
Yan Huisheng untied a key from his waist and handed it to Su Rong, "The documents I told you about are in the back compartment, you can go choose yourself, and read them."
When he finished speaking, he pointed to the opposite side, "You can share a table with me later, or you can go to the soft couch over there."
Naturally, Su Rong chose the soft couch, took the keys, and said right away, "I prefer to lie down."
Yan Huisheng smiled slightly, "Alright, as you wish."
Su Rong took the keys and left.
The back compartment was obviously a place where important items were stored. There were two big locks on the door. The key Yan Huisheng gave Su Rong was a bunch of keys. She tried for a while before she could finally open the back compartment. What came into view was a bright room lighted by huge night pearls on the walls. The room was lined with hidden bookshelves, each marked with a name.
Su Rong looked around and saw the names of court officials, Jianghu gangs, and many well-known merchants.
She sighed to herself, being a crown prince really isn’t easy, one had to know everything about everyone in the world.
She spotted the file of her father Su Xu. She went over, opened the hidden cabinet directly, and pulled it out. The file was not thick. She didn’t listen to Yan Huisheng’s words and directly brought it out. Instead, she stood there and flipped through it.
To her surprise, this document recorded very detailed information, from when her father passed the imperial examinations, to how he was assigned to Jiangning County. Everything he had done during that time, what kind of wife he married, where the wife was from, what concubines he had taken, and information about her birth mother. However, it was only a few notes. As for the governance of Jiangning County, it was recorded in much more detail.
Su Rong put the papers back, then saw the hidden compartment of Xie Yuan. She went over, opened it, and was surprised to find that Xie Yuan’s file was two large volumes. She decided to take it and also found the files of the Crown Prince Yan Li and the second prince Yan Lin, both of which were two large volumes. She thought that reading these today should be about right, so she picked them all up and walked out.
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