After attending Emperor Ming of Jin's enthronement ceremony, the Crown Prince and his wife of the Western Rong stayed in Shangjing for a few more days before setting off back to the Western Rong.
On the carriage ride back, Chu Mingyao was sullen and didn't speak to Danma. She just rested her chin on her hand and looked at the scenery outside the carriage.
Seeing his wife's displeasure, Danma tried to cheer her up, saying with a smile, "Has Su Wan ignored you and hurt your feelings? Why are you ignoring me too?"
They represented King Danmoji of the Western Rong at Emperor Ming of Jin's enthronement ceremony. Danmoji, grateful to Su Wan for curing his heart ailment, specially prepared a generous gift for the two to take. The gift procession stretched for a mile, escorted by two hundred soldiers—a testament to their utmost sincerity.
Chu Mingyao was grateful to Su Wan for saving Nan Chu, and on the way there she said she wanted to formally thank Su Wan in person. Although she had already thanked Su Wan in Nan Chu, it was only verbal and without a gift, it seemed inadequate.
To put it bluntly, she always felt that she hadn't fulfilled her duty of courtesy.
The two arrived in the capital in high spirits, but Su Wan did not summon them. She simply let them stay according to the etiquette for foreign envoys, and all subsequent matters were handled by the officials of Emperor Jinming. From beginning to end of the enthronement ceremony, Chu Mingyao did not get to speak to Su Wan at all.
Chu Mingyao was unwilling to give up and made a request to the official in charge of receiving guests. The official replied that the Empress did not want to see anyone and thus declined the request.
The two did not meet again until they left.
Danma assumed that Chu Mingyao was unhappy because of Su Wan's coldness, so she asked about it.
Seeing that Chu Mingyao still ignored him, he had no choice but to change the subject, saying, "Don't you think we didn't do enough? But Southern Chu only sent the Eighth Princess, and she didn't bring any gifts."
He felt that the Western Rong had done a good job. In terms of personnel, the Crown Prince and his wife personally went to the capital. In terms of etiquette, it far exceeded the usual standards. Compared to Southern Chu, it was many times better.
When the mention of Southern Chu was mentioned, Chu Mingyao finally reacted, turned her head and glanced at him, and said, "Southern Chu has just experienced war and floods. The emperor of Southern Chu is busy restoring order in the country, so he can only send the Eighth Princess."
When Danma saw her answer, she smiled and intertwined her fingers with hers, saying, "Don't worry. Su Wan is now the Empress of the Great Jin Dynasty, not like before."
Chu Mingyao shook her head and said, "Your Highness, you know I am always very discerning. My sister would never treat us coldly just because she has become Empress, nor would she complain that the gifts we give her are not enough. She is not that kind of person."
"But people change."
“No, I always feel…” Chu Mingyao said, “that she seems to be avoiding me.”
"Hiding from you? Why?" Danma was a little confused.
“I think she just doesn’t want to see me,” Chu Mingyao said. “Maybe she’s afraid I’ll figure something out.”
Danma was even more confused. He scratched the back of his head and said, "Why is she avoiding you? Did she do something that is detrimental to our Western Rong?"
Chu Mingyao glared at him and said, "Don't wrong your sister, okay?"
"I was just saying, is it possible..."
As Danma was protesting, Chu Mingyao pointed out the car window and said, "Look at this potato field, my sister planted it last year."
The convoy passed through Suwan's fiefdom, where there were endless potato fields, neatly arranged like a chessboard, and people were working on the field ridges.
Beside the potato fields were clusters of white tents, and a convoy of vehicles with shouts of people and neighing of horses was parked there. People picked out the best potatoes from the mountains, packed them into bags, and loaded them onto the vehicles, which were then transported to the heart of the Western Rong and the direction of Youzhou.
Chu Mingyao pointed to the fields and said, "If it weren't for my sister's potato field, how would we Xirong people have survived the winter's lack of pasture? How could my sister do anything detrimental... She has done us Xirong a great favor."
Danma said, "I think so too... You said she's avoiding us, but why would she avoid us if she hasn't done anything wrong?"
"Your Highness, you are thinking too simply. People don't necessarily have to do something wrong to avoid others."
Chu Mingyao pondered for a moment, then asked Danma, "Your Highness, do you notice any changes in my sister?"
Danma said, "Like you, I only saw her on the day of her coronation. As for changes... she seemed quite tired and kept yawning. However, Emperor Ming seemed very lenient and did not restrain her."
As she spoke, Danma sighed, "The rumors circulating that Emperor Ming of Jin doted on his wife are indeed true."
Chu Mingyao said, "It's like you haven't had enough rest, right?"
"It's nothing," Danma replied dismissively. "She went through so many terrible things in Southern Chu, she was under too much stress. After returning to the capital, she relaxed and naturally felt tired and sleepy. That's normal. When I was on a campaign with my father, I didn't sleep for three days and three nights. I also needed to rest for half a month to fully recover."
Chu Mingyao said, "I feel that my sister is not as energetic as before."
"Hey, let's not think about it so much. She can be the Empress of Great Jin, and you can be the Crown Princess of Western Rong," Danma said, not wanting to dwell on it too much. "When we go back this time, how about we visit Father King first, and then go to the North Sea to see the scenery?"
Chu Mingyao said, "No, I want to go back to the capital."
Danma's eyes widened as she said, "Father is still waiting for us to go back. He can ride a horse now..."
Chu Mingyao said, "I'm worried. Your Highness, please go back and visit my father for me. I'm going to see my sister."
She leaned out the window and shouted, "Stop the car!"
As the carriage came to a stop, Chu Mingyao stood up to get out, but Danma stopped her and said, "Do you really think there's something wrong with her? Aren't you making a mountain out of a molehill?"
Chu Mingyao nodded and said, "My sister is clearly acting strangely, but she doesn't want to tell me. I'll go and investigate. If she refuses to see me, I'll go see her myself."
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