Chapter 101 Like Strong Wine (Thirteen) Does the Prince have anything else to say? ...
Upon hearing Chang Huai mention the Song family, Lan Ye glanced at Wei Yuanzhan's expression and asked, "Master, shall we still go to Young Master Sheng's banquet?"
Wei Yuanzhan remained silent for a moment.
Sheng Xingyun hosted a banquet, and Jiang Yun was among the guests. He really didn't want to sit at the same table with this person, so he turned his head and looked towards the bedroom: "Take my white fox fur coat and send it to him. The gift will arrive, but the person won't."
Upon hearing this, Lan Ye immediately showed a surprised expression, then his eyebrows drooped, and his voice was filled with reluctance: "That was a wild fox that you personally hunted, and you're just giving it away like this..."
Looking at his face, Wei Yuanzhan suddenly remembered what Changhuai had said in Suyuan: Lan Ye had long coveted his brocade robe. He couldn't help but smile and say, "When we get back to Lancheng, I'll make you a few more and craft an even better one."
"Are we going back to the border?" Lan Ye's eyes widened. "Didn't we just get back to the capital and settle in? We haven't even been here a few days, and my bed is still freezing cold..."
Wei Yuanzhan ignored him and walked straight out. Chang Huai followed him, turned around, and stepped onto the corridor.
Lan Ye hurriedly chased after him, silently observing Wei Yuanzhan. That youthful face, unchanged over the years, had somehow gained a more composed demeanor. He didn't speak, and his expression was rather unreadable.
Thinking of the harsh conditions in the army, and how Chang Huai had almost lost his life, Lan Ye never wanted to go back to such a place in his life. After thinking for a moment, he thought to himself, "Even if we go back to the Northwest, Master, you still have to get married first, right?"
Moving to Wei Yuanzhan's side, she continued, "Your coming-of-age ceremony is in four months. Madam has sent a bunch of portraits here. If you leave in haste, Madam may have to arrange a marriage for you and send you to Lancheng to accompany her. At that time, Fourth Miss..."
Before he could finish speaking, the figure beside him suddenly stopped, glancing at him sideways: "My marriage is my decision." Then he asked, "Have you returned all the portraits Mother brought?"
Lan Ye was speechless for a moment: "It's still in your study..."
Chang Huai's heart tightened upon hearing this. He frowned and glared at him, cursing him inwardly for his incompetence.
Sure enough, the next moment, Wei Yuanzhan smiled nonchalantly, a smile tinged with mischief: "Speaking of which, you two are my elder brothers. You are still single at six years old, which is my oversight. I will go and inform my mother and ask her to take care of you two first."
After saying that, he continued walking, his words lingering, "If my elder brother does not marry, how dare I start a family?"
Lan Ye, realizing he had misspoke, was embarrassed by his teasing and hurriedly declared, "Lan Ye swears to follow Master to the death! Wherever Master is, that is my home, and there is no need for me to go elsewhere."
As she spoke, she followed Wei Yuanzhan on his right, only to see him curl his lips slightly without uttering a single word in response.
Chang Huai nudged Lan Ye with his shoulder to make him move aside, then took his place and cautiously asked Wei Yuanzhan, "Master, are we really going back to the army?"
This is the residence of the Marquis of Yining, so there is no need to be too reserved in speech. Wei Yuanzhan said, "If Beili launches another attack, I will naturally go to Lancheng to await Enhe."
He still harbored some resentment about the previous year-and-a-half-long battle, which was not a decisive one, in which he was twice ambushed by Enhe's troops.
The situation in Beili is still unclear, but General Gao mentioned it to him before leaving the capital. Although it was not explicitly stated, he understood that the enemy had long harbored ambitions and desired to take Lancheng. Moreover, their new king was a monarch who did not win the hearts of the people. Even if there was internal strife, it would not take long.
“The Northern Li Kingdom is not yet in good shape, and its recovery will not be achieved overnight. Even if it has the will to fight, it should not be this year,” Chang Huai judged.
Wei Yuanzhan neither agreed nor disagreed.
As you walk along the corridor, the chirping sounds, sometimes high and sometimes low, continue to reach your ears.
Wei Yuanzhan missed Zhirou and wondered if she had recovered. He had not received any news from her in the past two days and wanted to see her.
"You mean Su Du went to the Song residence?" Wei Yuanzhan raised an eyebrow.
“Yes,” Chang Huai added, “He went alone.”
Wei Yuanzhan's gaze darkened slightly.
Why did Su Du come here, and why did Song Zhirou trust him so much? Even while still in Lancheng, the relationship between Su Du and her seemed puzzling.
Wei Yuanzhan did not receive an answer, so he did not act rashly. However, Su Du's visit to the Song residence under the guise of Feng Shi forced him to investigate.
"Has my cousin already set off?"
Chang Huai paused for a moment before realizing that he was asking Song Qiyu, and replied, "He is not with the Lancheng army, and will probably stay in the capital for a few more days."
Song Qiyu was returning to the capital on leave and wouldn't stay long. He was two years older than Wei Yuanzhan, and his family was urging him to get married.
Song Qiyu wanted to avoid it, but if she left home, wouldn't she be hiding from her father and sister as well? Being alone would be better off not returning to the capital.
Therefore, neither brother nor sister abandoned the other, and the two of them listened to the instruction under Xu Yueyuan's tutelage.
The clear sky and sunlight streamed through the window. Song Qiyu lowered her eyelashes, the thick shadows obscuring her cool, clear eyes. She sat upright with her hands resting on her lap.
The servants in the room looked at him and thought to themselves that this must be what the rumors of a "scholar-general" were about. The older the young master got, the more he resembled his father.
Just then, a messenger came from outside the door: "Madam, the young master has arrived and says he wants to see the young master."
Song Hanjin frowned and muttered coldly, "He's like a persistent ghost." She tugged at Song Qiyu's sleeve, making him turn his head, and said in a low voice, "Brother, don't go."
The servant outside the door said again, "It is the young master of the Wei family, the heir apparent of the Wei family."
This was quite surprising. Xu Yueyuan glanced up at Song Hanjin, whose family members avoided her like the plague for a month, which made Xu Yueyuan feel rather uneasy.
After a moment's thought, Xu Yueyuan told Song Hanjin to let go and said to Song Qiyu, "Yuan Zhan hasn't returned to the capital for a long time either. When he came back last year, he even visited us at his residence. You haven't been to the Marquis's residence yet, have you?"
With a wave of her hand, she said, "Quickly, don't keep Yuanzhan waiting. Jin'er, go too, let the siblings catch up."
Song Hanjin breathed a sigh of relief, but upon hearing her instructions, she immediately put on a new face: "Mother, I have no old acquaintance with my cousin. He wants to see my brother."
"Go when I tell you to, do I have to invite you?" Xu Yueyuan said without room for discussion, her eyes glancing at Liu Mama, who immediately understood and stared at Song Hanjin like a hawk.
Left with no other choice, Song Hanjin got up and took her leave with her brother.
The servants of the Song family led Wei Yuanzhan to the Zhiyu Pavilion. The sunlight was clear, and there was no fog in the pavilion, but the surrounding bamboo forest gave it a sense of tranquility.
Wei Yuanzhan lifted his robe and sat down on the stone bench, placing one hand on the table and tapping it idly with his fingers.
"Young Master Wei." A calm voice rang out from outside the pavilion. Wei Yuanzhan stood up and turned around. Seeing Song Qiyu approaching, he nodded in return.
Song Hanjin was forced to come here. Upon seeing Wei Yuanzhan, she feigned a curtsy and then stood to the side. A servant was watching the tea stove nearby. He didn't drink a cup, so he didn't think he had to wait long.
“I was foolish last time and offended you, cousin. I was too harsh. I have come today to beg your forgiveness.” Wei Yuanzhan bowed to Song Qiyu in front of the stone bench.
It was about that day in Yuyang, when the two fought over Wei Mingying. Two decades had passed, and at the time he hadn't expressed any remorse, but now he'd come to the Song residence asking for forgiveness. Song Qiyu looked at him and chuckled.
“I also injured the Crown Prince. We are even, so there is no need for forgiveness.”
Song Hanjin glanced at Wei Yuanzhan after hearing his words, her eyes filled with resentment. A short while later, upon hearing her brother's response, her expression remained unchanged, but a glint of light flickered in the depths of her eyes.
After standing there for half a day, Song Hanjin thought that she had completed the task her mother had assigned her. Wei Yuanzhan and her brother had not said anything bad to each other, so she said that she was going to find her fourth sister and took her leave.
Wei Yuanzhan's gaze finally lingered on her for a moment, watching her walk out of the pavilion and turn in the direction he wanted to go.
Song Qiyu raised her eyelashes to look at him for a moment, and tentatively asked, "Does Your Highness have anything else to say?"
Wei Yuanzhan came to see Zhirou and, incidentally, to get a glimpse of what Su Du was planning.
After spending half a quarter of an hour with Song Qiyu, he also grew impatient, but not wanting anyone to see it, he quickly thought for a moment and said, "I've heard that the peach blossoms in your mansion are different from those elsewhere. Cousin, would you be so kind as to show me?"
The peach blossoms in the Song family were only planted outside Longyue Pavilion and Jueyu. Song Qiyu had not returned to the capital for a long time, and it was only yesterday when he went to Song Hanjin Courtyard that he remembered it again. Where did Wei Yuanzhan "hear" it from?
After a moment's thought, it became clear that he must have gone to Longyuexuan and looked for Zhirou.
Song Qiyu lowered his eyebrows, his eyes showing a hint of criticism and mockery.
Since he had already gone there in private, why was he putting on an act with him here? Was it because he didn't dare to be open about it during the day? Thinking of this, Song Qiyu was startled and suddenly realized something, and his eyes turned cold.
"If Your Highness wishes to see peach blossoms, you can admire them all in the peach grove outside the city," he replied indifferently.
Wei Yuanzhan hadn't expected him to react this way. After a moment of silence, the sharp edge of their youthful rivalry slowly resurfaced in his eyes. Suddenly, he changed the subject again: "An old friend has come to your residence. Didn't you know?"
He no longer addressed him as "cousin," his tone carrying a hint of provocation.
Upon hearing this, Song Qiyu furrowed his brow slightly, met his gaze for a moment, and said, "Where did this old acquaintance come from? Is the young master sending someone to keep an eye on my residence?"
Wei Yuanzhan was too lazy to waste words with him, so he simply strode out of Zhiyu Pavilion. He didn't need anyone to lead the way; he had a good memory and could remember the place after just one visit. He was more like a long-time resident than the people of the Song family.
Song Qiyu did not stop him, but turned and followed, a slight worry rising in her heart.
He didn't know what his father and Zhirou had talked about yesterday; he had only seen her bowing as he passed by the study. It was also the first time he had seen a mixture of pity and joy on his father's face.
This morning, he saw Zhirou again in his father's study.
Perhaps it was a gut feeling, but Song Qiyu firmly believed that she and her father had an open and honest conversation about some old things.
Wei Yuanzhan and Song Qiyu remained silent the entire way. Although their thoughts differed, they cared about the same person.
Before they even reached Longyue Pavilion, two figures walked in from the front, landing one after the other on the veranda.
Wei Yuanzhan stopped and remained silent for a long time.
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