The three of them sat down in the study. Su Xingze was somewhat reserved in Yan Huisheng’s presence, while Su Rong was much more at ease.
As always, there were thoughtful tea pastries served in the study. Su Rong had only had porridge in the morning and was not full. Seeing the delicious pastries now, she felt hungry. After wiping her hands with a handkerchief, she started to eat piece by piece along with her tea.
Su Xingze looked at Su Rong, lost for words.
Yan Huisheng asked her with a warm smile, "Did you skip breakfast? Should I ask someone to bring you some more?"
"I did eat." Su Rong shook her head, "I just didn’t eat a lot."
She suggested to Yan Huisheng, "Have someone prepare lunch, Your Highness. My elder brother and I will accompany you for lunch in the Eastern Palace."
Yan Huisheng nodded with a smile, accepted her suggestion, and ordered it to be done.
Yan Huisheng congratulated Su Xingze, "Young Master Su, congratulations on your high achievement on the examination list. If you continue to excel in the Palace Examination, the emperor will surely name you as the Number One Scholar. This makes you a Triple Top Scholar, which is a rare honor. I remember, Master Xie Yuan was also a Triple Top Scholar, he was the first one in Daliang. You will be the second one, it is truly fitting for a student of his."
Su Xingze quickly replied, "Thank you, Your Highness. You flatter me, I am nowhere near as accomplished as Master Xie."
Yan Huisheng grinned, "There’s no need to be overly modest. Master Xie was of a similar age to you when he was highly placed. The two of you could be called equally achieved."
Su Xingze shook his head again, "If Lord Thursday had taken the Palace Examination, I might not have been chosen for the Number One Scholar."
Yan Huisheng laughed, "His absence does make a difference, but it’s not the primary factor. The main point is, if both of you were equally high ranking, the Emperor would definitely still pick you. He wouldn’t want to enhance the Duke’s Residence’s prestige even higher. Otherwise, with the Duke’s Residence already holding military power and having another scholarly protagonist, it would simply be too dazzling."
Su Xingze laughed out loud, "So it seems, I still have the advantage of my birth."
"Birth certainly can decide some things, but talent is the most important." Yan Huisheng motioned for Su Xingze to drink his tea, "Have you made up your mind which department to join? Hanlin Academy or the Six Ministries for training?"
Su Xingze lifted his teacup, took a sip, then said to Yan Huisheng, "I intend to join the Six Ministries."
Yan Huisheng, slightly surprised, "No desire for Hanlin? I assumed you wanted to join the Hanlin Academy."
"I initially wanted to join Hanlin to accumulate seniority, but..." he glanced at Su Rong and candidly said, "A few days ago, my sister mentioned that there could be trouble in the Pingxi General’s Residence in Jibei. Your Highness will surely dispatch someone to Jibei. I was thinking... could I request Your Highness to provide me an opportunity to go to Jibei?"
Yan Huisheng braced himself, "You mean... you wish to gain merit quickly through handling the situation in Jibei?"
"Yes."
Yan Huisheng became serious, "Jibei is extremely dangerous. I have been considering for two days and have yet to find a suitable candidate. You are the only heir of Inspector Su and his wife. If something happened to you, can your family bear the consequences?"
He finished, then turned to Su Rong, "Do you agree with him going?"
Su Rong nodded, "My elder brother has some martial arts skills. Although they are not as advanced as mine, ordinary people can’t approach him. I feel that he doesn’t need to waste three years in Hanlin Academy, as long as he enters the court, Your Highness can make immediate use of him. By the way, I also plan to go to Jibei. Why don’t we, the siblings, go together to Jibei after the Jeweled Grove Banquet and help Your Highness to pacify the threat in Jibei?"
Yan Huisheng frowned, "You also want to go to Jibei?"
He shook his head, "It is too dangerous. I don’t want you to go."
"Is Jibei even more dangerous than Nanchu? Your Highness, you should give me a chance to hone my abilities in Jibei. If I can’t manage in Jibei, then won’t I be minced into pieces in Nanchu?" Su Rong raised her eyebrows and chuckled, "I think my idea is excellent. After all, you can’t find a suitable candidate at the moment. Zhang Ping hasn’t met my elder brother or me. As siblings who grew up together, we understand each other the best and could cooperate effectively in battle."
Yan Huisheng was silent for a moment, then remarked, "Let me carefully think it over before deciding."
Su Rong nodded, "Alright. There’s no rush anyway."
She then picked up another pastry and continued to eat. After finishing one pastry, she suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the plate in front of her, "Has the Eastern Palace hired a new pastry chef? I’ve never had these when I was living here."
Yan Huisheng laughed, "Not at all. The Pastry Chef knew that you like pastries and recently developed new ones."
Su Rong nodded slowly, "Tasty."
Yan Huisheng kindly said, "Since you find them tasty, I could ask the Pastry Chef to make more. When you leave, just take two boxes."
Su Rong nodded repeatedly, "Alright." And after a pause, "Actually, make it ten boxes."
Yan Huisheng was puzzled, "That many? Are they that delicious?"
"They are indeed delicious, but the reason I want so many isn’t just because I can’t get enough. Don’t you remember? My mother and my six sisters are in the Capital City, and I want some for them." Su Rong continued: "And also for my elder brother and Fen Ling."
Yan Huisheng realized, "I actually forgot."
He immediately ordered Little Quanzi to go to the kitchen.
Su Xingze wanted to say he didn’t want the pastries, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. He was speechless. This was the Eastern Palace. But it was really typical of Su Rong to not hesitate to eat and take more. He also noticed that the crown prince was very relaxed in front of Su Rong, not a single trace of his usual ceremonial manners or pride. The image of Yan Huisheng in front of Su Rong was quite different from the day he first met the crown prince at the Cheng Duke’s Residence. In front of Su Rong, Yan Huisheng didn’t wear the mask of a crowned prince, he was easygoing and natural.
After Su Rong had eaten a piece from every plate of pastries, she wiped her hands and stopped eating, saving room for lunch.
Yan Huisheng noticed she stopped eating. He then asked Su Xingze, "Master Su, would you like to tour around my Eastern Palace? The scenery here isn’t bad. I can arrange someone to accompany you?"
Su Xingze understood that Yan Huisheng wanted some privacy to talk to Su Rong. He nodded and stood up and said, "This is my first time at the Eastern Palace. If it’s convenient for Your Highness, I would indeed like to."
Yan Huisheng replied, "It’s convenient, no bother at all." He then ordered Little Chengzi to show Su Xingze the palace’s scenery.
Little Chengzi was thrilled. This was a sign that the crown prince valued his services. Last time, he accompanied Lady Su Qi on a tour of the Eastern Palace. This time, he was accompanying her brother. Clearly, his performance was highly appreciated by the crown prince.
After Su Xingze left, Yan Huisheng looked at Su Rong and asked her, "I heard that yesterday you and the Second Young Master Ye went to Zhou Gu’s Meishan retreat to appreciate the plum blossoms?"
Su Rong nodded, "Your Highness is well-informed."
"It’s not that I’m well-informed, everyone in the Capital City is talking about it." Yan Huisheng shook his head, "You should know that every move you and Ye Guixue make attracts a lot of attention."
Su Rong got straight to the point, "What does Your Highness want to say? Just say it! I don’t feel like wasting brain power with roundabout talk."
Yan Huisheng chuckled, taken aback by her straightforwardness. He rubbed his forehead in resignation, "What I wanted to ask was, does your engagement to Ye Guixue still stand?"
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