On their way home, Su Xingze did not share Su Rong’s immediate acceptance. Instead, he questioned whether Ye Guixue was truly a person of integrity. However, he understood that if Nanchu King had selected Ye Guixue at the age of thirteen and only summoned him five years later, it must have been after stringent tests, deeming him extremely trustworthy.
Su Rong nodded, "He has no sisters or childhood sweethearts to cause a distraction, he has always maintained a pure and upright life."
Su Xingze nodded, "That’s fine."
If Ye Guixue was beyond reproach, and his betrothal gifts were the control of a hundred thousand soldiers and tiger talisman, such a large outlay meant that no matter his social status, his origin, or his character, Su Rong could not feel aggrieved, leaving him nothing to say.
He glanced at Su Rong’s head, "Did you give him the hairpin as a token?"
He remembered. Before they left the house today, she had two hairpins in her hair. One of them was a plum blossom, neither a gift from Princess Qingping nor Duanhua Princess, but was something she had specifically asked her guards to fetch along with a pair of gold bracelets yesterday. It was now missing.
Su Rong nodded, "I had no other suitable token at hand, so I gave him the hairpin."
Su Xingze broke through her disguise, "You’ve been thinking about Ye Guixue for a while now, haven’t you? When you heard he was coming to the capital, after breaking off your engagement with Zhou Gu, is that when you planned this?"
Su Rong blinked her eyes.
"Otherwise, if you weren’t prepared, you wouldn’t have agreed so readily today. Precisely because you aimed to build a connection with the Ye family, hence, you accepted their olive branch," Su Xingze theorised. He felt that as her older brother who had seen her grow up, he knew her fairly well. Although her actions often seemed impulsive, each move was usually calculated with a goal in mind.
She did not lack better things to give to Ye Guixue. Rather, she did not plan to present a gift today. Still, she deliberately prepared a plum blossom hairpin unnoticeably to give offhand. This would make it seem like she hadn’t anticipated it, so came unprepared, still the gift is a personal item, not something borrowed from another.
He had to admit, his sister was cunning, far surpassing him in this matter.
Caught off guard by Su Xingze, Su Rong didn’t blush, "Hmm, big brother is right." She sighed, "My biological father, whom I haven’t even met yet, and I think alike. It’s amazing, this blood thing."
Seeing Su Xingze’s glance, she didn’t conceal, "The day I went to the Duke Residence to break off the engagement, Ye Guixue happened to arrive in the capital. I saw him from a distance and thought him unusual, so I asked Fen Ling to investigate. Turns out, he is the second son of the Ye Xiang Residence. I had some plans then. However, surprisingly, they coincided with my father’s and Ye Xiang Residence’s plans."
She hadn’t expected this. She was initially thinking of probing Ye Guixue and Ye Xiang Residence’s facts to see if they could be used.
Insight into Nanchu King’s past five years revealed that his patience hadn’t been wasted. In any case, her biological father wasn’t as useless as she had thought, which was good news for her.
Su Xingze was left speechless.
Upon her return to her own courtyard, a guard from the Eastern Palace swiftly entered the Shen Residence to convey the Crown Prince’s message.
As for the Crown Prince’s guards, Su Rong had naturally informed her own in advance to allow their entry. Therefore, reaching her was through an open gate.
Su Rong knew Yan Huisheng would come looking for her. She hadn’t anticipated that at today’s banquet, Crown Prince Yan Li would question Ye Guixue about any betrothal. Yan Huisheng was truly a quick thinker who’d immediately thought of her.
It’s been said Zhou Gu, upon overhearing this, immediately left. Some mentioned it was because of his disdain for the Crown Prince. So, she just took it as Zhou Gu detesting the Crown Prince as well.
She replied to the Eastern Palace’s guard, "I’ll visit the Eastern Palace after dark. No need for the Prince to come looking."
The guard agreed and left the Shen Residence.
By evening, Shen Xian returned home. Surprised to learn Su Rong had accepted Ye Guixue’s proposal, he quickly agreed with her decision. In a battle for the throne, a single misstep could lead to devastation. Particularly in Nanchu, where various powerful forces existed in chaos yet calculatedly. If she ventured into Nanchu without proper connections, it’d be like plunging oneself into a wolf’s den. Thus, having Ye Xiang Residence’s support was a real advantage. If she had refused, it would have been unreasonable.
Therefore, during the evening meal, Shen Xian endorsed Su Rong’s decision. He added, "When you go to Nanchu, with the Nanchu King above and the Ye family in the imperial court, take Xie Yuan with you to assist. He holds no post, hence he can leave freely. He will make your journey smoother." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
Su Rong hadn’t considered bringing Xie Yuan along. She paused on hearing his name, "The journey is long and dangerous, would Mr. Xie... "
Shen Xian cut her off, "In my opinion, he’s seen you grow up and would be willing to accompany you to ease his worries. He has no children, so you’ll care for him in his old age, won’t you? It’s perfect. He can assist you, and you can look after him."
Su Rong grinned, "That makes sense. I won’t be going to Nanchu anytime soon. I’ll let them fight it out first. When the time comes, I’ll ask Mr. Xie."
Hearing this, Su Xingze turned to look at Su Rong.
Su Rong immediately shot a look back, boldly and decisively refusing, "Big brother, you should stay in Daliang as an official. You don’t need to go."
Su Xingze felt helpless. "Why?"
"Because you and our parents are all in Daliang. I’ll have a reason to visit in the future," Su Rong responded with a righteous indignation.
Su Xingze could only laugh at her stubbornness, deciding not to argue any further. He knew she simply didn’t want to be under his control. From his perspective, their parents had spoiled her too much over the years, and he was the only one in the family who could exert some form of control over her.
After dinner, they sat leisurely for a while. Only then did Su Rong leisurely take a stroll along with Su Xingze back home.
After complete darkness fell, Su Rong changed into stealthy night clothes, similar to those of a hidden guard, and secretly climbed over the high walls of the Shen Residence, heading for the Eastern Palace.
Because the case of Princess Qingping’s assassination was still unresolved and hanging in the balance, the city was no longer under martial law, but hardly anyone moved around the streets freely after dark.
Su Rong smoothly arrived at the Eastern Palace. This time she didn’t go through the back door, instead climbing over the tall eastern wall and jumping straight in.
She purposely hid her figure, planning to sneak into Crown Prince Yan Huisheng’s study. On the way, the palace guards did not notice her, allowing her to reach the outside of the prince’s study. However, the surveillance was so strict that she was discovered right outside the study by the Crown Prince’s dark guard.
The man shouted, "Who’s there?"
Following his words, countless shadows materialized from every direction in the tranquil courtyard, quickly surrounding Su Rong.
She pulled off the cloth covering her face, revealing herself. "It’s me."
It seems the security at the Eastern Palace was indeed stringent. She had managed, using her skills, to approach the study, but that was as far as she could go. It was clear that the Crown Prince’s safety was well ensured in his palace.
The palace’s dark guards recognized her and looked at her in surprise before retreating, their silent shock evident.
Yan Huisheng opened the door to his study and saw Su Rong standing at the entrance. He looked at her and sighed with amusement, "Come in!"
She stepped inside.
There were no female officials or maids in Yan Huisheng’s study today, only a single eunuch in close attendance. It seemed that everyone had been sent away early in anticipation of her visit.
Su Rong walked in and took a seat. Seeing Yan Huisheng observe her clothes, she smiled, "Things are different now and I attract a lot of attention. So, I came like this, making it less likely to be noticed."
Yan Huisheng nodded. "Indeed, you can’t be easily detected. You managed to sneak all the way to my study. That’s quite impressive."
Accepting his compliment, Su Rong casually began eating pastry from a plate, then made a contented noise. "Is this hibiscus cake fresh from the oven? It seems to be made exactly the same way as those at the Princess Residence."
Yan Huisheng grunted in acknowledgement, "Yeah, so you don’t have to be lured away by the absence of hibiscus cake here to run to the Princess Residence."
Su Rong: "..."
His remark implied that she might visit merely for the sake of food.
After letting her eat for a while, Yan Huisheng spoke again once she had finished more than half of the plate and was wiping her hands, "I must ask, about Ye Guixue’s arranged marriage..."
"It was me."
The smile on Yan Huisheng’s face faded as he looked at her.
After folding the handkerchief and stowing it inside her sleeve, Su Rong noticed Yan Huisheng’s silence. She blinked at him and asked, "What’s wrong? Is this not okay?"
Yan Huisheng felt a helpless sense of resignation, not because it was unacceptable, but because he didn’t expect her to move on so quickly, agreeing to marry Ye Guixue right after rejecting Zhou Gu’s proposal.
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