At the moment, Grand Tutor Qin was unsure who to recommend for the role in Nanping.
Yan Huisheng suggested, "What about sending Qin Feng?"
"Your Highness, do you think my son is capable?" Grand Tutor Qin was taken aback, quickly shaking his head, "He’s impulsive, for something this important, I fear he might mess it up."
"I trust Qin Feng, Tutor Qin should trust him too." Yan Huisheng smiled, "Let’s settle it then!"
Grand Tutor Qin, unable to respond, could only agree, "Alright, ever since Zhou Gu left Capital City for Jiangning, he’s been restless. It might be a good idea to let him out, he would probably be excited."
He continued saying, "I’ll give him a stern warning before he leaves. After he arrives at the Eastern Palace, Your Highness, make sure you also give him a stern warning. Marquis Nanping is a major ally of Crown Prince. If we can take down Marquis Nanping through Ning Chi and gain the support of Marquis Nanping Residence, the Crown Prince will lose a significant advantage, and he would be less of a threat."
Yan Huisheng nodded.
After they had discussed for a while, someone came in to report, "Your Highness, the queen has arrived."
Grand Tutor Qin halted his words and looked at Yan Huisheng, who was also taken aback, he stepped out to greet her.
The queen was a virtuous beauty and with age, her imperial grace was becoming more pronounced. Seeing Grand Tutor Qin, she smiled and said, "Did I interrupt your discussion with the prince?"
"I pay my respects to the Queen, not at all, the prince and I have finished our discussion already, I will be leaving momentarily." Grand Tutor Qin hastily responded.
The Queen chuckled, "I have some matters need to discuss with the prince. Since Tutor Qin is finished, I won’t keep you any longer. Take care."
Upon receiving the Queen’s reassurance, Grand Tutor Qin nodded and took his leave, exiting the Eastern Palace.
After Grand Tutor Qin had left, the Queen withdrew her smile and stared at Yan Huisheng.
Yan Huisheng knew the Queen wouldn’t come to the Eastern Palace without reason. She usually brought up her matters during his visits to Fengyi Palace. He bowed to her, "Mother, please let’s talk in the study."
The Queen nodded and followed Yan Huisheng to the study.
Once the door was closed and with guards outside, mother and son were left to talk. The Queen then asked, "What happened to the dagger that Zhang Chengming made for you?"
Yan Huisheng was taken aback, "Why does Mother ask about this?"
"I’m just asking, where is that dagger right now?" The queen stared back at him.
Yan Huisheng responded, "I’ve given it away."
"Who did you give such an important item to?"
"It was given to the person who saved me from the assassination attempt in Jiangning." Yan Huisheng replied.
The queen was surprised, "Was it a woman?"
"Yes." Yan Huisheng was shocked, "How did Mother know?"
The queen sat down with a thud, "How do I know? I was fulfilling a promise to the Nanchu Queen - I was to assassinate someone for her, and in turn, she was to help you by persuading the Nanchu King. Turns out, the person I was supposed to kill had your dagger."
Upon hearing this, Yan Huisheng was shocked, his facial expression shifted, anxiously asking, "Mother, did you kill her?"
Seeing his reaction, the Queen shook her head ruefully, "Didn’t kill. The assassin I sent recognized your dagger and stopped the mission, then report to me for further order. Thinking that your dagger being one of Zhang Chengming’s signature works, a thing you cherish a lot, how could you let it fall into the hands of others? So, I decided to come and ask you."
She sighed resignedly, "Why was it her of all people who saved you?"
Yan Huisheng breathed a sigh of relief, "As long as she’s not dead. But did she get hurt?"
Now, it was the queen’s turn to look pensive, "Why are you so concerned about her?"
Yan Huisheng, realizing that he had revealed too much of his emotions, composed himself, "Mother, she saved my life. Otherwise, I would have been unable to avoid the two assassins that day. A life-saving grace is greater than anything, it’s justified for me to care about her to any extent."
The Queen was momentarily speechless. After a long pause, she spoke, "That’s true, but about the Queen of Nanchu..."
"Did Mother find out why the Queen of Nanchu wanted to kill her? What kind of grudge does the Queen of Nanchu have with her, a girl from Jiangning County, which is thousands of miles away?"
"Well...I don’t know. It was the Queen of Nanchu who took the initiative to contact me. She said she was aware of your current situation, that Emperor was controlling you and offered, if I could kill someone for her, she would persuade the King of Nanchu to support you. You should know the importance of Nanchu as a vassal state to us in Daliang. To have the support of a vassal state would be greatly beneficial to you. Even the Emperor wouldn’t dare to keep suppressing you anymore."
Yan Huisheng nodded. He appreciated his mother’s concern for him, "I have sent people to find her, but I don’t know her identity. I didn’t expect my mother to find her first. Can mother tell me her name, and where she lives? She saved me, I can’t let the Queen of Nanchu kill her. Once I find out her identity, I will also investigate why the Queen of Nanchu wanted to kill her."
"You don’t know her identity?" The queen looked surprised.
"I was in a hurry to escape at that time, I didn’t ask her name, I thought that she would be easy to find, but unexpectedly she’s not been found till now."
The queen nodded, "She is the seventh daughter of Su Xu, the governor of Jiangning County. Her name seems to be Su—" Suddenly, she stopped and exclaimed, "Isn’t the name of the humble girl that Zhou Gu is engaged to, Su Rong?"
Yan Huisheng’s face changed, he was silent for a while. After a long time, under the queen’s suspicious gaze, he nodded, "That’s the name."
Seeing Yan Huisheng nodding, the queen was silent for a moment as well.
Who could predict that such a coincidence would occur? That Nanchu queen wanted to kill Su Rong, that Su Rong saved Yan Huisheng’s life, and that Zhou Gu was engaged to Su Rong. It was all too coincidental.
There was silence in the study for a long time.
After a while, the queen spoke up, her voice filled with uncertainty, "You’re trying to find her to repay her? How do you intend to repay this life-saving debt?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
Yan Huisheng didn’t respond.
The queen certainly understood, her face hardened, she asked cautiously, "It was only a one-sided meeting, you surely didn’t..."
"Mother, I did." Yan Huisheng met her gaze, admitting candidly.
The queen’s face became significantly pale, "But it was just a fleeting meeting..."
Yan Huisheng remained silent for a moment, "After I returned to the capital, I consistently regretted that I hadn’t asked her name."
Just by hearing this one sentence, the queen’s heart sank.
Given his status as the crown prince, if he wanted to repay a life-saving grace, he wouldn’t need to be so persistent. However, his persistence indicated his intentions, that she had made her way into his heart. Out of all the people, why did it have to be Su Rong - the one that the Queen of Nanchu wanted to kill, and Zhou Gu’s fiancée?
The Queen looked at Yan Huisheng, "You’re the Crown Prince, even if she has reached your heart, it doesn’t mean you can’t let her go."
Yan Huisheng laughed, "Mother, do you think I’m the kind of person who can easily let go of someone once they’re in my heart?"
If it was so, he wouldn’t have remained alone all these years, showing no interest in the women bestowed to him in the palace, including Qin Luan. Everyone said that Qin Luan was good, but he didn’t think so.
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