Yu Nanqing noticed Su Wanyan's expression, his heart tightened, and he waved his hand at Wang Zhang.
Seeing this, Wang Zhang had no choice but to put the matter aside for the time being and respectfully withdrew.
"Aren't you going?" Su Wanyan asked curiously.
"It's nothing serious," Yu Nanqing quickly replied.
Su Wanyan chuckled: "Are you afraid I'll be unhappy?"
Yu Nanqing choked, his thoughts hit the mark, and he pursed his lips nervously: "I... I didn't mean to hide it from you."
"Oh, it doesn't really matter." Su Wanyan smiled, resting her chin on her hand. "I think it's fine this way. I was just temporarily taking care of things anyway. We agreed before that you could take over once you were better. It's just that you were so busy before, and now that you're free, you feel a bit aimless."
Moreover, with so many things to do in the manor, Yu Nanqing didn't even ask her to hand them over.
On the other hand, now that Yu Nanqing is better and has taken over the affairs of the manor, she should consider leaving.
She couldn't just stay in someone else's house forever, especially given her awkward position.
Thinking this, Su Wanyan was still a little reluctant. She picked up the teacup and lowered her eyes.
For some inexplicable reason, Yu Nanqing understood the meaning in her eyes, his heart suddenly tightened, and he reached out and grabbed her wrist: "Wanyan!"
Tea was spilled unexpectedly on Su Wanyan's clothes, and she was startled by Yu Nanqing: "What are you doing?"
“I…” Yu Nanqing hurriedly grabbed his sleeve to wipe her clean.
Su Wanyan stood up and put down her teacup: "Alright, alright, I can do it myself. Don't be so dramatic."
She left the pavilion in a huff and went inside.
"Wanyan..." Yu Nanqing reached out his hand, but Su Wanyan ignored him, leaving him alone in the pavilion, feeling lonely.
He understood that Su Wanyan was going to leave; this was something they had agreed upon from the beginning.
However, he sometimes thought that as long as they spent enough time together and went through enough things, Su Wanyan would change her mind and stay by his side.
He didn't know what to do. Should he clip her wings and keep her by his side, or let her leave the palace to pursue the world she loved?
Yu Nanqing felt a dull ache in his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.
Why couldn't Su Wanyan see through the restless feelings that she had nowhere to express?
Was he not making it obvious enough?
"Your Highness?" Wang Zhang appeared at the opportune moment.
Yu Nanqing took a deep breath and composed himself: "What is it?"
"The people we captured never confessed a single word before they died. However, we were able to trace the origin of the siege crossbows we seized. They were privately manufactured by a temporary weapons workshop outside the city. The buyers of these siege crossbows were a group of foreigners. Our people followed the clues and found that all the foreigners were dead, and the weapons workshop was deserted."
Wang Zhang asked, "Your Highness, the trail has gone cold. Shall we continue the investigation?"
"Start with the generals in the North Korean army and continue the investigation."
A large number of siege crossbows not only require time to manufacture, but also consume a great deal of manpower and resources to transport. Yu Nanqing did not believe that there were no flaws at all.
"Yes, this old servant understands." This matter will likely be investigated thoroughly.
"Wang Zhang," Yu Nanqing suddenly called out.
Wang Zhang immediately straightened up: "Your Highness?"
This was the first time his master had addressed him so seriously.
"How about I ask for a fiefdom?"
Wang Zhang was slightly taken aback, not understanding what his lord meant by asking such a question, but after a moment of hesitation, he replied, "That would naturally be good."
Yu Nanqing is a prince; he should have been granted a fiefdom long ago.
However, he was young and away from home, and was still a minor, so the late emperor did not issue an edict. Later, Yu Nanqing achieved great success, but was paralyzed and bedridden with no one to care for him. Otherwise, he should have requested an imperial decree to be granted a fiefdom and made a vassal king on the day he returned to the capital.
"Hmm." Yu Nanqing seemed quite satisfied with this answer: "I think it's good too."
Once the fiefdom is granted, he can leave with Su Wanyan, and go wherever Su Wanyan goes.
As the spring breeze of March fades, early summer is approaching in April.
Since the spring hunt came to an end, more and more people have come to visit Prince Gong's Mansion.
First, the stewards of two ducal mansions in the capital, which rarely appeared in public anymore, came to offer their greetings and present gifts.
Then, the Marquis of Ding'an also sent a servant to deliver an invitation, inviting Yu Nanqing to his residence at the end of March to attend the full moon celebration of his grandchildren.
Perhaps because of these three families taking the lead, the powerful families in the capital and the officials in the court also began to feel uneasy.
Because of their investigation into the hunting ground case, the Court of Judicial Review and the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs had to visit the Prince's residence, and in doing so, they expressed their goodwill.
After all, Yu Nanqing's leg ailment has now healed, and he is no longer the useless prince he once was. It's never wrong to cultivate good relations with him.
Moreover, Yu Nanqing is known as the God of War. Even Emperor Yuanhe and the Eldest Princess were injured in the assassination attempt at the hunting grounds, but Yu Nanqing, who was targeted, was unharmed. They wouldn't be foolish enough to still be his enemy now.
As for the past ridicule and mockery of Yu Nanqing, everyone tacitly ignored it, as if it had never happened.
Seeing that some people had already started, the remaining officials who had not yet come to visit began to send their visiting cards one after another.
It is said that Yu Nanqing gave Emperor Yuanhe a list of corrupt officials, and Emperor Yuanhe has been using that list to clean up the court. The Minister of Revenue is a good example.
Furthermore, some people say that this is just the tip of the iceberg, and that Yu Nanqing has more dirt on many people. Therefore, regardless of the purpose, it has become necessary to build a good relationship with Yu Nanqing.
So there's no need to worry about the people behind; they'll all rush over to curry favor with Prince Gong's Mansion.
For a time, Prince Gong's mansion was bustling with visitors, one after another, leaving Wang Zhang no time to do anything productive.
Emperor Yuanhe was also investigating the hunting grounds, but to call it an investigation was less accurate than saying he was cleaning up the last remaining clues.
It was precisely because of Emperor Yuanhe's actions that he realized Yu Nanqing had been relentlessly pursuing this matter, and the two were secretly vying for control.
Upon closer examination of the list, Emperor Yuanhe discovered that many of the charges against the court officials were insignificant, or even exaggerated.
The problem is that there's a mix of truth and falsehood among them. There are serious crimes, but not many. Minor crimes are plentiful. If he were to punish them all, I'm afraid there would be no one left in the court to rely on.
Although they were all minor offenses, they were just the right thing to do to keep the officials in check. In this respect, Emperor Yuanhe had to admit that he found them very useful.
Yu Nanqing was determined not to pursue the matter with him.
The more composed Yu Nanqing was, the more dissatisfied he became; nothing that had happened recently had pleased him.
Just at this crucial moment, Yu Nanqing submitted a memorial to the throne, which concerned the matter of enfeoffing vassal states.
Emperor Yuanhe stared at the memorial for a long time with a cold face, then finally threw it aside and said nothing more.
There was no follow-up, so Yu Nanqing sent a memorial to the palace every day, requesting the granting of fiefdoms.
Finally, Emperor Yuanhe could no longer bear it and replied in his memorial that he had no mind to do anything else since the princess's injuries had not yet healed. He said that he would wait for the Valley Master of Baiyou Valley to come and heal the princess before considering the matter of granting her a fiefdom.
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