Yu Nanqing stared at this excuse for a long time. Although Emperor Yuanhe said he would consider it, Yu Nanqing knew in his heart that it was probably impossible to wait for Emperor Yuanhe to grant him a fief.
That's impossible, of course.
In Emperor Yuanhe's mind, once a prince is enfeoffed, he will have to leave the capital and go to the foreign land. The mountains are high and the emperor is far away, so he can't see or touch him. What if Yu Nanqing amasses troops and buys horses in the foreign land?
If he's kept under my nose, I can handle him. But if I let him out, he could launch a surprise attack anytime he wants and I wouldn't be able to defend against it. How could I possibly agree to grant him a fiefdom?
Without granting fiefdoms, he could not provide protection for Su Wanyan; without granting fiefdoms, he could not cultivate power to deal with Emperor Yuanhe.
Yu Nanqing knew that person wouldn't let him off easily. Was he going to take Su Wanyan and live a life on the run?
Yu Nanqing was agitated. He wished all his plans could succeed immediately and didn't want to wait a moment longer.
On the other side, Su Wanyan was counting the travel expenses she would need on the road and also picked out a lot of clothes that were easy to change into.
She didn't hide this from Yu Nanqing, thinking that if Yu Nanqing saw her packing her things, he should be able to guess that she wanted to leave the mansion.
However, since she wanted to make it clear, Su Wanyan wanted to find a suitable time to bring it up with Yu Nanqing.
However, these days, Yu Nanqing has been like a mouse seeing a cat whenever he sees her, unable to find her anywhere.
Before, I could see people all day long, but suddenly they said they were busy and I couldn't see them at all.
There were a few times when Su Wanyan caught him, but Wang Zhang hurriedly called him away. Seeing this, Su Wanyan could only continue to wait for an opportunity.
The first day of the fourth lunar month marks the beginning of early summer.
Su Wanyan got up very early, and as soon as she opened her eyes, she threw off the covers and went to the master bedroom.
As usual, Yu Nanqing was not there. Su Wanyan touched the bedding, which was still warm, indicating that he had just left.
Su Wanyan frowned, put her hands on her hips, and sighed helplessly.
Just then, Qiuye's voice rang out from outside the door: "Has Your Highness risen?"
"You're up." Su Wanyan composed herself. "Come in."
As usual, Qiuye brought in hot water for washing up, while Huangye brought in breakfast. On the tray with the breakfast, there was also a peach blossom in a celadon vase.
Su Wanyan casually remarked, "These peach blossoms are quite beautiful."
Huang Ye grinned: "This was picked by the prince himself. He said that the peach blossoms are white with a hint of pink, which is very beautiful. He broke off a branch and put it in a vase, and asked me to bring it in with breakfast."
"He just left?" Su Wanyan wasn't in the mood to appreciate it.
"Yes, I went out with Butler Wang."
Su Wanyan was speechless. She rinsed her mouth, washed her face, sat down at the table, looked at the breakfast in front of her, and asked again, "Did Yu Nanqing make this?"
"Yes." Huang Ye nodded repeatedly, "They're still warm."
If nothing else is going on, Su Wanyan's biological clock is always very accurate. Recently, because she wants to catch Yu Nanqing, she has been getting up earlier than usual.
Yu Nanqing had figured out her daily routine perfectly.
After having breakfast, Su Wanyan went to the small kitchen.
Su Wanyan now uses the small kitchen as a small pharmacy. Since she no longer has to worry about the affairs of the mansion, she spends her free time grinding medicine here these days.
She separated the herbs, washed them, dried them, and then ground them into powder.
When she has time, she will also make these medicines into pills, but it is time-consuming, so Su Wanyan will only do it when she has free time.
The small kitchen was always busy, so she only made enough for one day at a time, since it was medicine and she didn't want it to be accidentally ingested or tampered with.
But as soon as I entered the small kitchen today, Xiaobu rushed over and said, "Your Majesty."
Su Wanyan had just picked up a small earthenware jar when she heard Xiaobu's voice. She looked up and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived," Xiao Bu reported. "She is currently in the front hall."
Su Wanyan was stunned: "Your Majesty the Empress?"
The Prince Gong's Mansion has been bustling with visitors these past few days; I never expected even the Empress would come.
However, the empress could not leave the palace without Emperor Yuanhe's permission.
Since she was allowed to leave the palace to visit, does this prove that it was Emperor Yuanhe's intention?
When meeting the Empress, should one dress up?
Su Wanyan had no choice but to put down the small earthenware jar in her hand: "Tell the Empress that I will be there immediately."
"yes."
Su Wanyan usually stayed at home and didn't dress up much, so she spent some time on her appearance before meeting the Empress and even changed her clothes.
When she arrived at the front hall, the Empress had already been waiting for some time.
Su Wanyan was not familiar with the Empress, and before she knew her character, she tried her best not to be impolite. As soon as she entered the front hall, she hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am Su Wanyan. I did not know that Your Majesty was coming. Please forgive me for not welcoming you properly."
"Get up quickly."
Empress Xia Yunshang is only twenty-six years old this year. She is beautiful and elegant. Her gorgeous clothes make her look graceful and noble, and the gold hairpin and phoenix ornaments on her head show her status and position.
With a kind and understanding smile on her fair and rosy face, she stepped forward, took Su Wanyan's hand, and pulled her to sit down beside her, saying with a smile, "What do you mean by guilty or innocent? It was I who came without prior notice and was afraid of disturbing the Princess's peace and quiet."
She smiled, her eyes crinkling: "Your Highness, please don't blame me."
"How could that be?" The Empress smiled, and Su Wanyan naturally had to smile in return. "I just wonder what brings Your Majesty here so suddenly?"
"You silly child, can't I come and visit you even if I have nothing to do?"
Su Wanyan smiled a professional, fake smile; that was impossible.
She had no relation to the Empress, so why would she come over to visit for no reason?
Moreover, Emperor Yuanhe and Yu Nanqing were of the same generation, and logically she and the Empress were sisters-in-law. Calling her "child" seems to mess up the generational hierarchy.
However, since the Empress insisted on saying this, she couldn't directly expose her. She smiled and said, "I heard that Your Majesty visited me when we were at the hunting grounds. However, I was frightened at the time and was somewhat negligent. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
"It's nothing, it's nothing, it's just a small matter."
The Empress smiled, and then Qiu Ye brought Su Wanyan a cup of tea.
After she withdrew, the Empress asked again, "Where is the Prince?"
"The prince has left the manor."
"Oh." The Empress feigned realization, then smiled and said, "Never mind, this matter should have been decided by the Princess Consort. Whether the Prince is present or not is not important."
They even said they were just bored.
Su Wanyan found it amusing; people in the palace always loved to speak in roundabout ways.
Her impression of the Empress was neither good nor bad; it was just that because of Emperor Yuanhe, she couldn't feel any fondness for her due to preconceived notions.
He smiled and asked, "What is it that Your Majesty speaks of?"
The Empress smiled and reached out to the nanny beside her, who then handed her a red booklet.
The Empress took the red book and pushed it in front of Su Wanyan: "Take a look at this first."
Su Wanyan picked up the red booklet, opened it, and was slightly taken aback.
The document records the birth dates, origins, and ages of the young ladies from various wealthy families in the capital, even detailing their heights and hobbies.
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