Yuan Yunzhong arrived promptly.
Song Jiyun was accompanying the Eldest Imperial Son at a meal.
Steamed lion’s head, dry braised shredded tofu, stir-fried mushrooms with greens, sweet and sour fish... a table full of Huaiyang Cuisine, predominantly vegetarian with fewer meat dishes.
The Eldest Imperial Son, engrossed in his meal, looked up, hesitated as he set down his chopsticks, stood up, and called out, "Lord Yuan," but his eyes seemed glued to the table, his gaze occasionally darting to the dishes. His expression was exactly like that of a little beggar who had gone hungry for days.
He must have been lacking food.
Even Yuan Yunzhong couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his eyes.
He asked, "Your Highness, do you recognize me?"
The Eldest Imperial Son nodded reservedly and said quietly, "I saw you talking to Father Emperor when I went to pay him my respects."
Yuan Yunzhong did not have any impression of it but still gently told the child, "Go on and eat your meal. The food won’t taste good once it gets cold."
The Eldest Imperial Son nodded and immediately climbed back onto the embroidered pier and started eating rapidly.
Even Xiang Zhan couldn’t help but say, "Eat slowly. The kitchen has also stewed black chicken and codonopsis soup for you, which invigorates and benefits your energy. Have some later; it’s good for your health."
The Eldest Imperial Son hummed affirmatively, but his eating pace did not slow down.
Song Jiyun and Yuan Yunzhong exchanged glances.
Yuan Yunzhong walked to the side, near a floor-standing flower screen. Song Jiyun saw that he seemed to have something to say to her and discreetly followed him. Yuan Yunzhong whispered, "I have already sent someone to the palace to deliver the message. Someone should be arriving from the palace soon. You might want to prepare the Eldest Imperial Son properly to avoid frightening him when they come."
Song Jiyun realized that Yuan Yunzhong felt quite sympathetic towards the child’s situation.
"I understand," Song Jiyun said softly. "This child is well-behaved and sensible. We might not be able to help much else, but it is within our means to explain things to him well, so as not to frighten him."
Yuan Yunzhong nodded.
After the Eldest Imperial Son had finished his meal, Song Jiyun accompanied him to a small garden for a stroll and told him, "Taking a walk after eating not only aids in digestion but also strengthens the body."
The Eldest Imperial Son obediently nodded.
Song Jiyun did not ask him how he had managed to escape, nor what his plans were. Since his coming and going were not within his control, it seemed better to offer him a moment’s peace.
So, she walked with him in the garden, telling him about the different flowers, their characteristics, in what season they bloomed, and also about her life in Jingde Town. She talked about the various plants and trees at her home, how she and her sisters made fragrant dew, and how they dyed their nails. Although these were all women’s chamber talks, the Eldest Imperial Son listened with fascination and gradually relaxed, smiling joyfully several times.
Song Jiyun felt deeply moved.
However, as it approached the time of lighting lamps, there was still no news from the palace.
Song Jiyun then had Xiang Zhan take him to sleep.
It wasn’t until the next afternoon that Qin Fang hurried over from the palace.
He brought along two Young Eunuchs and two Palace Maids. With a wry smile, he said to Song Jiyun, "The palace is in a bit of chaos. The Emperor has expressed for Lord Yuan and you to take the trouble to look after the Eldest Imperial Son for a few days. Once the Emperor is less busy, he will send someone to take the Eldest Imperial Son back to the palace."
What does this mean?!
Song Jiyun was dumbfounded.
Qin Fang, acting as if he hadn’t noticed, directly handed the eunuchs and Palace Maids he brought to her and said, "These are the ones who usually serve the Eldest Imperial Son. I’ve brought them to lend you a hand."
Was this preparation for a long stay?
Song Jiyun was confused but also felt that it wouldn’t be right to refuse—although the Eldest Imperial Son faced many inconveniences at her place, at least he could have enough to eat.
She smiled and nodded, bidding farewell to Qin Fang, and then led the Young Eunuchs and Palace Maids to pay respects to the Eldest Imperial Son.
The Eldest Imperial Son was playing shuttlecock with Xiang Ye and Xiang Cao.
Seeing him steadily keeping seven or eight shuttlecocks in the air with the tips of his toes, Song Jiyun felt she should encourage the boy and simply stood aside, clapping and cheering.
Startled, the Eldest Imperial Son let the shuttlecock fall to the ground.
Xiang Ye and the others all laughed.
Xiang Cao replied, "Owner, you should compensate the young master with two treats. He was just competing with us, and had you not suddenly interrupted, the young master wouldn’t have lost."
To avoid complications, except for Zheng Quan and Wang Hua, no one else knew the real identity of the Eldest Imperial Son.
This child was indeed very kind; upon hearing this, he bashfully said, "No, it was my poor performance."
Song Jiyun laughed, "Indeed, I did startle you. I’ll treat you all to some pastries."
Xiang Ye and Xiang Cao cheered together, adding, "We want pastries from Yao Ji. It’s said that Yao Ji’s pastries are the tastiest."
Song Jiyun, who usually had no airs about her, slowly became the target of jokes from Xiang Cao and Xiang Ye as they started to imitate Xiang Zhan.
"Sure!" she readily said, generously treating everyone in the house to pastries and even sent Zheng Quan to buy them.
The Eldest Imperial Son was a bit embarrassed at first, but seeing everyone smiling and thanking Song Jiyun, he too relaxed, stood aside, and smiled shyly, looking very adorable.
However, when Zheng Quan returned, he brought someone along. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
"Boss Song, we meet again!" he greeted Song Jiyun with a bow.
Song Jiyun focused and was surprised to see it was Xu Guangzeng.
Without changing his expression, Xu Guangzeng glanced at the Eldest Imperial Son and smiled, "I’ve been appointed as the Commander of the Prefectural Military Guard. Hearing that Boss Song was staying here, I came along with a few colleagues to greet you."
To Song Jiyun’s surprise, he had been reassigned back to the Capital City so quickly.
But, he must be here to protect the Eldest Imperial Son, right?
That’s more like it!
One couldn’t just leave him here and not care.
She secretly breathed a sigh of relief, gave him a half-smiling glance, and said, "Congratulations to Lord Xu on your promotion. I can’t receive such a visit, but there are a few empty rooms in the Rear Shading Courtyard—if you don’t mind their simplicity, I’ll have Zheng Quan show you there so you can rest your feet."
"Not at all, not at all!" Xu Guangzeng politely replied, "I will rely much on Lord Yuan and Boss Song in the future!"
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Zheng Quan led Xu Guangzeng to rest in the Rear Shading Courtyard.
The Eldest Imperial Son tugged at Song Jiyun’s sleeve and whispered, "You, you don’t get along with him?"
It took a moment for Song Jiyun to understand whom he was referring to.
This child really was sensitive.
"It’s okay," Song Jiyun didn’t want to burden the Eldest Imperial Son with negative emotions, smiled and said, "We just don’t communicate well."
Then she changed the topic and laughed, "The emperor still cares a lot about you. The Prefectural Military Guard, those are the emperor’s personal guards!"
The Eldest Imperial Son softly chuckled, revealing a half-dimple.
In the afternoon, Shao Qing also came over and said, "The emperor has appointed me as the Commander of the Jinwu Front Guard and asked me to serve here."
The Commander of the Jinwu Front Guard, one of the twelve personal guards of the emperor, is a Third Rank military official.
Shao Qing was formerly Fourth Rank. He moved up three levels at once.
He had already ascended to a much higher position by following this path.
She joked with Shao Qing, "You must serve well. Beware, your success and failure both hinge on this."
Shao Qing patted his chest, "Rest assured, as long as I am here, you are safe."
"That’s good!" Song Jiyun bantered with him for a while, then arranged for him to stay in the East Crossing Courtyard, while she, except for handling the shop’s affairs, spent most of her time playing with the Eldest Imperial Son.
Xu Guangzeng and Shao Qing, who were staying in the Rear Shading Courtyard, seemed to have vanished, and if it weren’t for having to cook for thirty or forty people every day, Song Jiyun would have thought they had left.
Meanwhile, Lord Yuan visited daily to check on the Eldest Imperial Son and chat with her.
Song Jiyun couldn’t help but ask him, "Why did the Eldest Imperial Son run out of the palace? What exactly is happening in there now?"
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