At noon, the Emperor sent for Sue Rong and Fen Ling in the Book Pavilion, from where they leisurely made their exit.
In the Nurturing Heart Hall, apart from the Emperor, the Empress and Crown Prince Yan Huisheng were also present.
Upon hearing that Su Rong had entered the palace, Yan Huisheng, curious, finished up the matters at hand and also made his way to the palace.
The Empress had recently been taking care of the Emperor’s meals, coming to the Nurturing Heart Hall three times per day.
Upon entering the Nurturing Heart Hall, Su Rong found the Emperor, Empress, and Crown Prince waiting for her, neatly sitting at the table. She hesitated for a second and flashed a smile, offering her courtesy.
The Empress stood up and clasped Su Rong’s hand, "No need for formalities. You look thin, did you not have a good rest?"
Su Rong let the Empress guide her to her seat, laughed, and said, "Winter in Jiangning County is warm and not as cold as the Capital City. Ever since I came to the Capital City, I’ve found the cold nights in winter quite uncomfortable, as I have not yet adjusted to them."
The Emperor laughed at this, "Then you should stay in the Capital City and adjust for a while. Winters in Nanchu are even colder, so cold that water turns to ice. How are you going to bear the cold if you fear it this much?"
Su Rong sighed, "Yes, how am I going to survive the cold in Nanchu?"
The Emperor glanced at the white fox fur cloak on her body and then at Yan Huisheng, "Nanchu is abundant in minks."
"Indeed, Nanchu is the only place where the rare purple mink can be found," the Empress added, looking at Yan Huisheng in agreement with the Emperor, "If a coat is made from mink fur, it’s bound to be warm and should be warmer than fox fur. However, a few years ago, the Nanchu King forbade anyone from hunting minks."
Su Rong was also aware of this, "I heard the Nanchu King has a pet purple mink, which is very cute. The king liked it so much that he forbade the hunting of minks, thus saving the lives of all minks."
The Empress nodded, "That’s right. White fox fur is rare, but not extremely rare. It’s because the Crown Prince has heard about the situation in Nanchu that he too has issued an order forbidding the hunting of white foxes."
She looked at Su Rong, laughing, "So, since then, the white fox coat you’re wearing has become incredibly precious."
The Emperor picked up where she left off, "Indeed, it’s precious; there’s only one such coat in all of Daliang. It’s surprising that your cousin gave it to you."
Su Rong realized the Emperor and Empress were reminding her of Yan Huisheng’s affection towards her using the coat as a symbol, hinting that she should remember this when she went to Nanchu. She played along, turning to Yan Huisheng and earnestly saying, "Cousin, rest assured. Even after I go to Nanchu, I will take good care of this coat you gave me. We are cousins, and we must keep in frequent contact through letters, even if miles apart."
Yan Huisheng hardly ever heard Su Rong call him ’cousin’. He knew that his parents, on encouraging this relationship, held that they should forever tie their fate with Daliang for their own best interests, hoping that their relationship with Su Rong should never break, for mutual benefit. He smiled and nodded, "Nanchu may be a small country, but its kings have always been wise. Although the current Nanchu King forbids hunting of the rare and lets them proliferate to avoid extinction, out of attachment to his pet mink, overall, it reflects the progressive realization of the co-existence and growth of all beings on the earth, and this is worth emulating for us in Daliang."
He smiled at Su Rong, "What cousin said is true. In the future, we should often write letters to each other, look out for each other, and jointly resist Dawei."
Su Rong nodded, "Of course."
The Emperor and Empress were pleased with the conversation, making the lunch comfortable for all.
After lunch, Su Rong excused herself from the Imperial Palace, accompanied by Yan Huisheng.
Yan Huisheng offered to see Su Rong home, but she declined, "I will accompany you back to the Eastern Palace, then I’ll go back home. The Eastern Palace is closer. There’s no need for you to accompany me all the way to Hutong."
Yan Huisheng laughed, "Now that we are out of the palace and away from father and mother, you seem distant again."
She was addressing him formally again.
Su Rong laughed, "Isn’t this just to remind myself not to overstep the boundaries in front of you? After all, in the future, I still need to rely on you as my pillar of support. While your claim to the throne is almost secure, my position as the crown princess is not certain. If I can’t secure the kingship of Nanchu, I will have to stay in Daliang under your rule, so I shouldn’t forget my place."
Yan Huisheng couldn’t help but laugh, "I believe in you."
He looked at Su Rong, "Today you visited the palace and went to the Book Pavilion, was it to get the notes of General Zhang Wu from three hundred years ago and the treatise by the eminent minister Wang Cheng from four hundred years ago that Zhou Gu has yearned for?"
Su Rong looked at him, "Did Your Highness guess that?"
Yan Huisheng grinned, "It would be hard for me not to guess it! Zhou Gu has been yearning for those for several years, and would give anything for an extra pair of eyes to help him borrow them. Zhang Wu’s notes and Wang Cheng’s treatise are both profound. He has wanted to memorize them several times, but cannot. So he came to me, and I promised him that once I ascended to the throne and had the power, I would allow him to transcribe a copy."
Su Rong blinked her eyes.
Yan Huisheng continued: "A few months ago, when he returned from Jiangning County, he maliciously boasted before me about the new clothes you made for him. Later, before the civil service examination, he was hoping you would come to the capital. When his tutor was instructing him and noticed him often slipping into daydreams, the tutor reprimanded him, saying if he didn’t pass the examination, he would not have the face to get married. But he said that if he had Zhang Wu’s notes and Wang Cheng’s treatise to cherish and study, he would definitely pass the examination. This made the tutor angry, and he scolded him for not having the photographic memory needed to master these works and for wasting so much time yearning for them."
Wrapping up his explanation, he laughed, "Then I learned about your photographic memory when I saw you today in the Book Pavilion, and I guessed you were probably there for him. Otherwise, you’re not much into studying. The Book Pavilion in the palace probably doesn’t entice you to visit as much as the snacks in my mother’s palace."
Su Rong laughed, "The Crown Prince guessed wrong."
"Huh? Did I guess wrong?" Yan Huisheng was taken aback, "Are you saying you weren’t looking at Zhang Wu’s notes and Wang Cheng’s treatise for him?"
Su Rong shook her head, "While it is true Zhou Gu yearns for Zhang Wu’s notes and Wang Cheng’s treatise, and even thought of asking me to borrow them after finding out about my quick reading and photographic memory when we were in Jiangning County, it’s an ancient treasure map that I’m most interested in. I went to the Book Pavilion to get it, not necessarily for Zhou Gu."
She didn’t mention that Zhou Gu has also been longing for that treasure map and secretly researching it for two years.
Yan Huisheng came to his senses, slapping his forehead, "That’s right! That’s right! The Book Pavilion does store an old treasure map." He laughed, "I was interested in it too when I was younger, but after finally getting a hold of it, I realized it was only half and of no use. So, I lost interest in it."
Su Rong looked at Yan Huisheng, "After looking at the half map, you didn’t investigate the whereabouts of the other half? Maybe if the two halves were combined, the map could indeed lead to a treasure."
Yan Huisheng nodded and shook his head at the same time, "I did investigate, but the other half was destroyed by Emperor Jingyuan long ago. It no longer exists."
Speechless, Su Rong paused for a moment.
Outside the carriage, Fen Ling, who had been preparing to vigorously find the other half of the treasure map, was at a loss for words.
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