Seeing a frown form on Ye Xiang’s forehead, the Nanchu King couldn’t help but feel a little guilty toward his old friend, but he didn’t want to face his daughter’s disapproving gaze again. Furthermore, with Master Xie present, he couldn’t let himself appear unimportant and disgraceful.
Su Rong, his out-spoken daughter, didn’t give him any room to hide. "Father, you blame everything on Ye Xiang, how could you? You’re the King of Nanchu," she pointed out, seeing no need to spare her father’s dignity.
The Nanchu King: "..."
Alas, could they not leave him some dignity?
He cleared his throat and said in a low voice, "Well, it’s lunchtime now. Man cannot survive on iron alone. After lunch, I’ll discuss things with you all."
He had never been so proactive before, going through two days’ worth of reports in less than half a day, rushing over to join his daughter for lunch.
His daughter had just returned to the royal capital and started her courtly duties, and he had dumped a pile of troublesome matters on her. It was a bit too much and he deserved to be reprimanded. Who was to blame after all?
Su Rong snorted lightly and let her father off the hook, "Alright, let’s have lunch. I’m hungry too."
Upon hearing this, the Nanchu King immediately ordered, "Quick, bring in the food."
Li He complied, and the servants from outside filed in one after another. Knowing there would be many people in the Council Hall, the king had ordered the Imperial Kitchen to prepare extra meals.
The court officials watching the eunuchs set the meal began to think that the King had finally become more considerate. After all these years, there were many occasions when they couldn’t even find the King when they wanted to discuss matters. They could only turn to Ye Xiang, Nangong Yin, or the Liu’an Prince whenever the king himself was drunk and unconscious. Now they were almost moved to tears seeing the king personally ensuring their meals were served in the Council Hall. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
The return of his daughter did make a difference. The king was still the same person, but he was no longer the impersonal, uncaring man he had been.
After the food was set, everyone took their seats in turn.
The Nanchu King sat next to Master Xie, saying cheerfully, "Master Xie, thank you for your hard work."
Master Xie responded in his trademark calm demeanor, "You’ve already said that once."
"Ah? Have I?" the Nanchu King could not recall. "Anyway, I can’t thank you enough for getting involved in Xiaoqi’s matter. Wouldn’t it be better for you to live in the royal palace and save your daily commute? I’ll arrange a palace for you."
Master Xie declined, "No need."
"But living in the palace would save you a lot of travel time every day," the Nanchu King coaxed.
Still, Master Xie refused, "The Xie Residence is perfectly comfortable and affords me plenty of freedom."
"The royal palace will be just as comfortable, don’t worry. If you move in, I promise not to let anyone disturb you," the Nanchu King assured.
Master Xie bluntly replied, "I fear you will disturb me."
The Nanchu King: "..."
Such bluntness, not even leaving any face for him. So that’s who his daughter learned it from.
Su Rong wanted to laugh. Seeing the Nanchu King silenced, she coughed lightly, "Father, everyone is waiting for you to start eating, please stop talking now. We have a lot to discuss after lunch. Don’t waste our time."
The Nanchu King: "..."
Alright then!
Wasn’t he always the one who was admired wherever he went? The court officials always chased and flattered him, and it was he who despised them. But now, first the head of the Ministry of Rites found him annoying, and now Master Xie and Su Rong.
After everyone had eaten a peaceful and efficient lunch, they continued their discussion, feeling refreshed and re-energized.
The Nanchu King stayed put, but refrained from interrupting. He only spoke when Su Rong, after listening to other’s opinions, asked for his. But after he gave his opinion, he heard Su Rong ask Master Xie for his. Master Xie’s comments were straight to the point, assessing advantages and disadvantages, his perspective broader and more thorough, and more beneficial to their situation.
Through a series of discussions, after Master Xie made his comments, Su Rong made her decisions, firmly giving orders. Before long, officials were assigned to carry out the plans.
The Nanchu King didn’t think that he had lost face here. He never considered himself equal to Master Xie. For many years, he remained inside the royal palace, not even stepping foot outside the capital. If Zhou Gu hadn’t come to Nanchu and sneaked him out of the capital, having him chased from east to west and south to north, he wouldn’t have understood his own people and land.
But Master Xie was different. He had educated Su Rong since her youth and had been preparing for this all his life. He didn’t just understand southern Nanchu, he knew the majority of its affairs. If not, he wouldn’t have had the audacity to sneak into Nanchu and into the capital, much less break into the Nangong family’s residence, assassinate Nangong Yin, and succeed.
Master Xie never committed to anything without certainty. He had strategic foresight and firm plans, grand schemes, and profound thoughts.
By the time the sky turned dark, there was still one issue left to be discussed. Su Rong, who had been rubbing her forehead incessantly, was joined by Zhou Gu, who had just finished his duties and returned to the palace upon hearing that the king and his daughter were still in the Council Hall.
Like the Nanchu King, Zhou Gu entered quietly. Just as Fen Ling was about to announce his arrival, Zhou Gu quickly motioned for him to keep quiet.
Fen Ling closed his mouth, pointed to the pastries in front of him, and silently inquired, "Brother-in-law, are you hungry? Would you like to have a pastry first?"
Zhou Gu nodded, came over, took a piece of cake, and leaned against a wall with Fen Ling, listening to the relentless discussions inside.
In a whispers, Fen Ling said, "It’s about the spring cultivation. In a month, it will be time for spring sowing. However, the seeds in various places are insufficient, and half of the seeds reported are missing. This is a big issue for people’s livelihood. Even Master Xie can’t come up with a good solution. After all, Nanchu has been in internal turmoil this year. The war has depleted our reserves, including the seeds for cultivation next spring, some of which have been borrowed from the people. Now that the war is over, the issue of insufficient seeds remains."
Zhou Gu nodded, he heard about it during the morning court session. The problem indeed was tricky.
Fen Ling sighed, "My sister has a tough job. Today, she has discussed seven or eight issues. Aside from a brief lunch break, she didn’t even have time to take a sip of water. She has been rubbing her forehead incessantly. It seems like if it weren’t for her current position, she would have walked out in frustration."
Zhou Gu knew Su Rong’s temperament. Now that she had assumed this position, she had no choice but to find solutions.
Fen Ling continued, "Thanks to Master Xie, he has been paying attention to the affairs of the world and the people over the years from Jiangning County. He has proposed many suggestions. But despite Master Xie’s presence, the lack of talent is still a major issue. Once Su Rong comes up with a solution for the seed shortage, she will be troubled by the lack of personnel. After all, someone has to execute the plans. The Ye Xiang Residence has almost exhausted its people. Both Ye Xiang and the second son of Ye Xiang are having a hard time without resources."
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