Xu Yunci did not stay for long; he left the palace shortly after Xu Lingyu returned.
Having learned her lesson, Li Shiyue stayed in Chonghua Palace, waiting for Xu Yunci to come and take her out of the palace. However, she never expected to encounter someone she never anticipated at the palace gate: Prince Zhao.
He seemed not to see Xu Yunci, but his eyes lit up when he saw Li Shiyue, and he strode over: "Princess of Yichang County".
As they approached, it seemed as if they only then noticed Xu Yunci and called out, "Young Master Xu."
Li Shiyue looked up at Xu Yunci's face and saw that his gaze was indeed wary. She took a half step back without making a sound, letting Xu Yunci stand in front of her.
King Zhao seemed oblivious to the distance between the two, and walked over with a grin, appearing carefree and oblivious.
Upon closer inspection, however, there was no smile in his eyes; it seemed to be merely a superficial expression.
"I heard that the county princess has been staying in the palace these past few days. It turns out it's true. I wish I had also been to the palace these past few days."
Xu Yunci raised an eyebrow and said in a flat tone, "Two days ago, Consort An was promoted to a higher rank. Didn't Your Highness go to the palace to visit her?"
Since the Prince of Yan was deposed, Consort Shun, despite being newly promoted, was neglected, even worse off than when she was a Noble Consort. Furthermore, she lost the Emperor's favor and pleaded for the Prince of Yan, which resulted in the loss of even her meager imperial favor.
When Consort An was mentioned, Xu Yunci looked at Prince Zhao's expression. No matter how well he pretended, he couldn't miss the fleeting look of disgust in his eyes.
No wonder Li Shiyue said she was going to Consort An's place that day. When she asked, she found out that Prince Zhao had never actually appeared at Consort An's place. It was as if the mother and son, who should have been the closest people in the world, were now like strangers.
When this matter was brought up, King Zhao felt that the promotion at this time was a warning from the Emperor, who was taking the arrogance of Consort Shun and her son after their promotion as a cautionary tale, and that he should not covet the position of Crown Prince.
King Zhao sneered inwardly, and seeing Xu Yunci's scrutinizing gaze, he smiled and said, "Is that so? My mother and I have been separated since childhood, so we don't have much affection for each other."
"Are they leaving the palace?"
The King of Zhao was adept at changing the subject, and the transition was even quite natural, clearly indicating that he did not want to mention Consort An any further.
Xu Yunci had no intention of getting entangled with him here. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the little girl behind her, who was huddled up like a little quail, as if afraid that the King of Zhao would notice her.
Overjoyment gradually filled his heart, and Xu Yunci nodded: "Yes, then we won't keep Your Highness any longer. My grandmother is still waiting for me and my cousin at home."
Having said that, he turned around on the spot, gesturing for Li Shiyue to go up first. The latter understood, took Chunling's hand, and got into the carriage, no longer paying attention to the King of Zhao's expression.
However, judging from the probing gazes from behind, she could tell that the King of Zhao's attention was focused on her. She didn't quite understand; what benefits could a mere county princess, with no real power or influence in the hands of the nobles, possibly offer them?
Before long, the carriage gradually moved towards the Duke's Mansion. Upon seeing the familiar gates of the Duke's Mansion, Li Shiyue stepped down from the carriage, feeling a sense of peace and warmth enveloping her heart.
Inside Shousong Hall, Old Madam Xu seemed to have been waiting for her for a long time. When she saw her enter with Xu Yunci, the corners of her mouth curved into a deeper smile. As she approached, she quickly took her hand and looked her up and down before finally feeling relieved.
“Yan Yan only stayed with Yuan Niang for a few days, but you were thinking about her every day. Now it’s all right, she’s back.”
Madam Yang sat on the other side, smiling as she looked at Li Shiyue beside Old Madam Xu, but when she looked at her son, her eyes were filled with more helplessness.
Li Shiyue was unaware of what had happened during the days she had been away from the manor, but she noticed an unusual sense of relief in the Duke of Rong's gaze.
She pretended not to see anything, took a wooden box from Chunling's hand, and opened it to find a thousand-year-old ginseng.
"This ginseng was specially brought back by His Highness and my cousin. It was the Emperor's idea to make soup for you to nourish your body."
This is a fine item; it could fetch a good price anywhere else. Moreover, it's a token of the Crown Prince and Xu Lingyu's goodwill, so Old Madam Xu was naturally overjoyed.
The days back at the Duke's mansion were peaceful and comfortable, and before they knew it, it was time to set off for the imperial palace.
The imperial palace was not in the capital, and after a long day of travel, it was already evening by the time everything was settled. Li Shiyue followed Yang Shi through the shady grove and turned into the corridor, where they encountered Consort Fu coming out.
The moment Consort Fu saw Li Shiyue, she greeted Lady Yang and left without looking back.
The palace where the emperor resided was heavily guarded by the Imperial Guards. When they arrived at the palace, the Duke of Rong and Xu Yunci were already inside.
This palace was specifically used for banquets for officials. The Emperor sat at the head of the table, the Crown Prince and Xu Lingyu sat on the left, and Li Shiyue and Xu Yunci sat on the right with the Duke of Rong and his wife.
A long table, big enough for two people to sit down. Li Shiyue lifted her skirt and sat down, glancing at Xu Yunci beside her, then tucked the purse in her hand under Xu Yunci's sleeve.
When no one was looking and she was worried that Xu Yunci himself might not have noticed, she gently tugged at Xu Yunci's sleeve after she put it down.
Xu Yunci pursed his lips, suppressing the urge to smile. He had obviously seen it. He held the small purse in his hand; inside were two pills wrapped in oiled paper.
This was prepared by Madam Xu on her orders, in case the Duke of Rong and Xu Yunci were kept by the Emperor for drinking. She specifically asked Li Shiyue to bring extra of these before their trip.
"Let's treat this as a family dinner today, no need to be so formal."
The official raised his cup, and everyone else followed suit. After setting down his cup, the official immediately noticed Li Shiyue: "Speaking of which, the county princess is of marriageable age. I wonder if any of you have anyone in mind?"
As soon as the words were spoken, the Duke of Rong and Lady Yang exchanged a glance, pondering how to respond. After all, the Emperor had previously expressed his intention to make Li Shiyue his daughter-in-law back in the palace.
However, the Emperor only had three princes. Apart from the Crown Prince and the deposed Prince of Yan, there was only the Prince of Zhao, who was not yet married.
Although their birth mother, Consort An, came from a humble background, it would be fine if Prince Zhao held a sinecure, but that's not necessarily the case now. Besides, they respected their children's wishes, and now that the matter had been brought up again, the couple didn't know how to answer so as not to embarrass the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, when Yan Yan's grandmother, Madam Li, was alive, she and my grandmother arranged a marriage between Yan Yan and a young man from the Xu family."
Xu Yunci spoke first, bringing up the previously shelved matter again.
Prince Zhao, who was sitting second from the left alongside Consort An, suddenly chuckled and glanced between Xu Yunci and Li Shiyue: "Since the county princess is already engaged, Father Emperor shouldn't try to play matchmaker."
Consort An frowned slightly, glanced at Prince Zhao, and seeing that the Emperor did not mind, said softly to Prince Zhao, "Do not speak carelessly in front of the Emperor."
King Zhao remained indifferent, as if he hadn't heard anything. He didn't even look at Consort An, and instead picked up the cup in front of him and drank it all in one gulp.
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