The carriage arrived at the Eastern Palace. Unusually, the grand gate of the palace was wide open today.
The Crown Prince, Yan Huisheng, wrapped in a cloak, was standing at the gate. Despite the thickness of his cloak, his face gleaming with frosty paleness proved that he had been standing in the cold wind for quite a while.
As Fen Ling was about to get off the carriage after pulling aside the curtain, she spotted Yan Huisheng. Widening her eyes in surprise, she exclaimed, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince?"
Upon hearing this, Su Rong also peered out. Although the weather was fine today, the winter air was still bitterly cold. Seeing Yan Huisheng standing at the gateway, it was clear that he had been waiting for some time.
Yan Huisheng smiled at the two heads poking out of the carriage, "I’m free today."
Unspoken was the underlying message: he was waiting for them because he had nothing else to do.
Fen Ling immediately jumped out of the carriage and bowed with a wide grin, "Your Highness, you remind me of my sister in Longxi County. She had people sweep the snow from a ten li (Chinese mile) street and waited for Zhang Yun in the chill, impressing him so much that he felt everything he did was entirely worth it."
As for winning hearts, her sister was an expert at it. But the Crown Prince of Daliang was equally adept.
Yan Huisheng laughed, not the usual faint and reserved smile of the heir to the throne, but a carefree and joyous one. He said, "I didn’t order anyone to sweep the snow off the streets of the Capital City, as it hasn’t snowed in recent days. I also didn’t order anyone to clean the dust from the street in front of the Eastern Palace because the palace is cleaned every day."
At this point, Su Rong had also disembarked from the carriage. She laughed and said, "Cousin, don’t listen to his nonsense. You’ve been waiting in the cold without having lunch. I feel quite guilty, especially considering that I’ve already eaten."
Upon hearing her call him ’cousin,’ Yan Huisheng responded with a smile, "Cousin," and added rather helplessly: "I thought you would come to the Eastern Palace for lunch."
Su Rong responded, "I woke up late, but I can join you for another meal."
Yan Huisheng laughed heartily, "Good!"
The three of them walked into the palace, and the solid gate of the Eastern Palace was securely shut behind them.
When they entered the banquet hall, the housekeeper greeted them joyously and arranged a rich feast of one dish after another.
Fen Ling had been following behind the pair and tapped Su Rong, "Sister, should I stay for the meal?"
"Yes." Su Rong decided, even if she had to overfeed herself, she wouldn’t be the only one to enjoy this treat.
Fen Ling laughed, "All right, then."
The three of them took their seats, and Yan Huisheng personally handed each of the ladies a cup of tea. Su Rong received hers with a smile, while Fen Ling accepted hers in surprise. "Your Highness, you honor me," she said.
A cup of tea served personally by the Crown Prince; this privilege was rare even for the Emperor, Queen Mother, Princess Sheng An, and the old Duke of Protection. It probably wouldn’t have happened even for the Rui’an King.
Yan Huisheng laughed, "Master Feng is worthy of such honor. I heard you accompanied Zhou Gu in raiding the Military Camp twice, and you contributed a lot to his fame. While the world only knows him, I am aware that you also played a crucial role."
Fen Ling immediately responded very seriously: "Your Highness, you are half right. I can’t say I contributed significantly. I messed up once and nearly caused my sister to be killed by Nangong Yu. Thanks to Lord Thursday’s extraordinary strategies, my sister was saved in time. I truly admire his capabilities. The accolades bestowed on him are well-deserved."
Yan Huisheng nodded, "I was also startled when I learned of it."
Then, turning to Su Rong, he smiled and asked, "Is this the reason you agreed to hand over another marriage contract to Ye Guixue after you announced the end of your engagement with him?"
"A life-saving favor required me to pledge myself to him in return," Su Rong playfully winked at Yan Huisheng.
Yan Huisheng reminded her, "You’ve saved my life, and not just mine; many others owe you their lives."
Su Rong laughed, "But none of them is Zhou Gu."
Yan Huisheng sighed, "Yes, none of them is Zhou Gu," He sipped some tea from the cup in front of him and added with a laugh, "I was also quite surprised. His wish was granted too quickly. To be honest, I felt a little envious. Although I didn’t want him to come back empty-handed, I still feel like you agreed to him too easily. Isn’t he getting too big for his boots?"
Su Rong gave a noncommittal, "Hmm, somewhat. I’m already starting to regret it."
During her recovery period, taking advantage of their betrothal, that scoundrel Ye Guixue had been bothering her every day. By the time her injury healed and she wanted to fight back, they were about to part ways.
In a helpless tone, she said, "But there’s nothing to be done about it now. Who can blame me for being too soft-hearted? Therefore, when he left the capital, did you give him control of all of Nanchu’s secret agents, cousin?"
"I did as you asked," Yan Huisheng responded with a wry laugh, "You surely are...
After they each had a cup of tea, Yan Huisheng, who had been famished, picked up his chopsticks, indicating to the others to help themselves.
The spread on the table contained many dishes that Su Rong and Fen Ling loved. They only needed to spear a few pieces from each dish with their chopsticks to fill their stomachs completely.
Dining until he was half full, Yan Huisheng stopped the two women. "Stop eating if you can’t eat anymore. You don’t have to keep me company until the end."
Su Rong put down her chopsticks immediately.
Fen Ling, still greedy for more, ate several more bites before clutching her belly and putting down her chopsticks.
Once Yan Huisheng felt satiated, he put down his chopsticks. After all the dishes and utensils were cleared away, only then did he say to Su Rong, "I thought you would head straight to Nanchu since the Nanchu King is genuinely ill. According to the news from Yun An, the situation inside Nanchu is quite unstable. The Nanchu King was targeted for assassination."
"But he didn’t die, did he?" Su Rong knew that if the Nanchu King had died, the news would have reported his death, not his illness.
"The Nanchu King isn’t so easy to kill," Yan Huisheng shook his head. "The situation is indeed not very good. The Nangong Family’s alliance with the Nanchu royal family is pitted against Ye Xiang Residence and the Royalist Party, and the latter is at a disadvantage. Ye Guixue was also the target of an assassination attempt on his way back to Nanchu. By the time he arrived in the Nanchu royal capital, he was injured. He was barely able to return. The internal situation in Nanchu must be quite dire."
Knowing that the political situation in Nanchu is worse than before, Su Rong didn’t expect it to be this terrible. "After Nangong Yu, there was no more assassination attempts on me. I thought that the Nangong Family and the Nanchu royal family were waiting for me to step into Nanchu to launch a focused attack, but it turned out they did concentrate their forces, only they were targeting my father, the Nanchu king, and Ye Guixue."
"I have to say, the Ye Xiang of Nanchu might be dissatisfied with you, but he is indeed a devoted monarchist, protecting the Nanchu King until his death. The marital alliance between the Nangong Family and Ye Xiang Residence has also been called off. It is said that on the day of the receipt of the dowry, the young lady of the Nangong family slashed the eldest son of the Ye Xiang Residence with her knife, and he reacted by hitting her with his sword. The Nangong family and Ye Xiang Residence have completely become enemies," Yan Huisheng informed Su Rong. "You didn’t choose Ye Guixue, but Ye Xiang Residence still made that choice. Although it was partly due to the loyalty between the Nanchu King and the Ye Xiang, it was also likely due to the mediation efforts of Ye Guixue."
Su Rong nodded, "Being what Guixue is like, he naturally wouldn’t let himself or Ye Xiang Residence be as corrupted as the Nangong family. If the Nangong family and Ye Xiang Residence could integrate, Nanchu would have undergone enormous changes long ago, and the person on the throne would no longer be the current Nanchu King, it wouldn’t be Chu Rong."
Yan Huisheng laughed, "Indeed."
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