As Song Zhan shouted, everyone looked towards Zhao Jingyu.
Princess Nanzhao was startled and took two steps back, frowning and looking at Zhao Jingyu: "Is it the one who killed Prince Dongshan?"
"Yes, mother, it's him!" Song Zhan said, waving to the guards to arrest him.
Princess Nanzhao immediately frowned and scolded Madam Ning: "What's wrong with you? I asked you to stay at home to guard the door, but you let anyone in. You are not even as good as Ah Huang."
Ah Huang is a dog in the mansion.
Madam Ning was humiliated in public by the princess. She dared not say a word and humbly bowed to admit her mistake.
The guards stepped forward to lock up Zhao Jingyu, but were dismissed by King Nanzhao with a wave of his hand.
"Alright, I asked him to come, and no one is allowed to say anything more!" King Nanzhao made the final decision, holding Zhao Jingyu's hand and walking straight into the hall, leaving behind a group of stunned wives, concubines, children, guards and servants.
"What does this mean?" Princess Nanzhao looked at her son in confusion.
Song Zhan, like her, looked bewildered.
Song Huai took his mother's arm, smiled and nodded at Xie Nanjia, motioning her to follow him in.
After entering, Madam Ning immediately busied herself with making tea and pouring water. Before Xie Nanjia sat down, Princess Nanzhao came in with other people.
Princess Nanzhao was surprised to find that King Nanzhao actually let the wanted criminal sit side by side with him in the main seat, and was very affectionate and caring about him, showing even more concern for him than his own son.
Princess Nanzhao was extremely unhappy about having her seat taken, but due to her husband's previous tough attitude, she could not say anything and could only temporarily sit in the seat to the lower left of the main seat.
As the hostess of the palace, this was her first time sitting down, and she was already very unhappy. Unexpectedly, when Prince Nanzhao was talking to Zhao Jingyu, he saw that Xie Nanjia had not taken a seat yet, and immediately asked her to sit next to the princess.
Princess Nanzhao looked Xie Nanjia up and down, and asked with a fake smile, "Who is this girl?"
"This is the daughter of the Duke Zhenguo, Princess Jinping," said King Nanzhao.
Although Xie Nanjia didn't care much about the title of Jinping County Princess because of the fake county princess incident, in the eyes of the outside world, since she was the real one, she was the well-deserved Jinping County Princess. Therefore, when introducing her in formal occasions, her title would naturally be introduced.
"County Princess Jinping? Could she be the girl with the Phoenix destiny named Xiu'er?" Before Prince Nanzhao finished his words, a girl's voice was heard from the audience. It was Prince Nanzhao's biological daughter, the eldest princess Song Meiwei.
In the Zhou Dynasty, the daughters of princes were nominally called princesses, but in fact it was just an empty title. If they were not granted a title by the court, they were no different from the ladies of wealthy families. Only the legitimate daughters of the princess were eligible to be granted a title. The daughters of illegitimate children could not be granted a title unless they had extraordinary achievements.
The King of Nanzhao has two princesses. The eldest princess, Song Meiwei, is Song Zhan's younger sister and is the biological daughter of the princess. The second princess, Song Meiying, is the older sister of the second prince, Song Ze. Their biological mother is Madam Wu. Song Huai is Madam Ning's only son and has no sisters.
Song Meiwei went to the capital this time originally to accept the title bestowed by the court. Unexpectedly, because a girl with the fate of a phoenix caused such a great turmoil in the capital, the title bestowal was naturally shelved.
Most girls don't care about state affairs, but only care about their appearance, marriage and reputation. Therefore, Song Meiwei felt that the girl with a phoenix destiny had delayed her own important events. All the way, she complained to her sister about the young lady named Xiu'er from the Duke of Zhenguo's family, believing that this girl was her nemesis.
At that time, she could never have imagined that she would meet the daughter of the Phoenix in her own palace.
Song Meiwei's words successfully drew everyone's attention to Xie Nanjia. The hall fell into a brief silence. For a moment, everyone's eyes were focused on Xie Nanjia.
Who wouldn't want to see the beauty of the Phoenix Girl who has caused so much commotion in the capital? Now that she suddenly appears in front of everyone, everyone feels like they are dreaming.
After looking at her for several times, everyone had to admit that the girl with the Phoenix destiny was indeed unparalleled in appearance and extraordinary in temperament. Even in Nanzhao, a place that produced many beauties, it was difficult to find a girl more beautiful than her.
Of course, not everyone agrees with this view. Any young girl who is pretty will not admit that she is not as pretty as others.
As the legitimate princess of the Nanzhao Palace, Song Meiwei has heard countless compliments since she was a child. Everyone says that she is the most beautiful woman in Nanzhao, and she thinks so too.
Therefore, when everyone was amazed at Xie Nanjia, she just rolled her eyes in disdain.
"So you are the girl with the Phoenix destiny." Princess Nanzhao couldn't help but look at Xie Nanjia a few more times. To be fair, this girl was really outstanding, but she didn't know why the emperor would marry her to the illegitimate son of Marquis Dingyuan.
At this time, the news from the capital had not yet reached Nan Zhaolai. She did not know that Song Jingxing and Zhao Jingyu's life stories had been exposed, and she did not know that the situation in the court had changed.
"What do you mean by 'daughter of phoenix'? I think it's just nonsense from those fortune tellers. If she was really the daughter of phoenix, why would she follow a wanted criminal to flee to our place?" Song Meiwei said sarcastically. In order to attract an ally, she even patted Song Meiying who was sitting next to her. "Don't you think so, second sister?"
Song Meiying, a concubine's daughter, naturally had to follow her elder sister's lead. She bowed and smiled, "That's right. It's not easy for a man and a woman to come to Nanzhao alone."
Xie Nanjia smiled indifferently. She never liked to argue with girls. She would tolerate a few innocuous remarks, as long as the girls didn't provoke her.
But Zhao Jingyu refused to do that and slammed the teacup on the table, splashing most of the water out.
"How dare you!" When the King of Nanzhao saw that he was about to get angry, he quickly scolded his daughter with a dark face, "It is not your turn to interrupt when the adults are talking. Why don't you shut up now!"
"Father!" The two princesses had never been scolded so harshly by their father, and they pouted in grievance.
"If you talk too much, everyone will be punished by copying the women's rules a hundred times!" King Nanzhao said in a deep voice.
The two sisters dared not say another word and shut up angrily.
Princess Nanzhao felt sorry for her daughter. She smoothed her hair and said with obvious dissatisfaction: "What are you doing, Your Majesty? You took a kid's joke seriously. Princess Jinping wasn't even angry!"
Then he looked at Xie Nanjia with a smile: "Is that right, County Lady?"
"Princess, just call me Xiu'er." Xie Nanjia also smiled back and said slowly, "I'm not angry or trying to prove that the two princesses were right. I'm just naturally tolerant and generous."
Princess Nanzhao: “…”
The two princesses: “…”
Everyone: “…”
Zhao Jingyu was still angry, but was suddenly amused by her.
Song Huai also turned his head and put his fist against his mouth, grinning.
When King Nanzhao saw Zhao Jingyu smile, his expression softened. But he was afraid that some ignorant person behind him might cause trouble again, so he briefly explained Zhao Jingyu's situation to him.
“The fact that the Second Young Master is wanted is a misunderstanding. The truth will be revealed in a few days. The Second Young Master’s father and I are good brothers, so I let him stay at our house for a few days. During this period, I don’t want to hear anyone joking about this matter, otherwise I will punish them severely!
"Second Young Master and Miss Xiu'er have just arrived and are not familiar with the environment. Because they know Song Huai, I let them stay with Song Huai temporarily so that they can be taken care of. None of you are allowed to make random guesses. What you have to do is to be a good host and entertain the guests for me so that Second Young Master can live happily in Nanzhao. Do you understand?"
"I understand." Everyone answered in unison, but they were all wondering in their hearts that things were not as simple as King Nanzhao said.
But since the King of Nanzhao had spoken, they did not dare to say much. Only the Princess of Nanzhao said, "Song Huai is a boy. It's fine for the Second Young Master Zhao to live with him. But it might be inconvenient for Miss Xiu'er. It would be better for her to live with Meiwei and Meiying."
The two sisters were not happy to hear this and immediately frowned. Fortunately, King Nanzhao did not agree. After careful consideration, he said, "It's not that there are no empty rooms in the mansion. Just live here for now. When Miss Xiu'er gets familiar with the environment, we will arrange another place for her to live."
The two sisters were relieved. Seeing that her husband was determined to do so, Princess Nanzhao didn't say anything more.
The King of Nanzhao was very tired after the long journey. After explaining the matter to Zhao Jingyu, he asked everyone to go back and wash up and rest, and then come to attend the welcoming banquet hosted by the Second Young Master and Miss Xiu'er in the evening.
Everyone took the order and left. Madam Ning and Madam Wu helped the prince and princess bathe and change clothes, while Song Huai took Zhao Jingyu and Xie Nanjia back to his Fengming Palace.
Fengming Hall covers a vast area. In addition to the main hall and garden landscape, there is also a two-story building built with bamboo. It is surrounded by tall nanmu bamboos. It is where Song Huai lives for daily reading and entertainment. Xie Nanjia fell in love with the place as soon as she arrived, but the owner was not there, so she didn't dare to go there rashly. Now that Song Huai is back, she asked Song Huai's consent and went up to play with Zhao Jingyu.
The sunlight shines through the branches of the nanmu bamboo, casting mottled shadows on the small building. The breeze blows the white gauze curtains, bringing bursts of floral fragrance. In front of the window stand two bamboo rocking chairs, on which two people lie, rocking with a creaking sound. Outside the window is the extremely clear blue sky and white clouds, as if one is in a fairyland.
"They really know how to enjoy themselves!" Xie Nanjia said with emotion, "Everyone admires the prosperity of the capital, but I didn't expect that this place is a paradise on earth. I don't even want to go back."
"Why, you've only been here for one day and you're already so happy that you don't want to leave?" Zhao Jingyu squinted his eyes and tilted his head to look at her. "If someone like you were put on the battlefield, you would definitely be a traitor."
Xie Nanjia laughed loudly: "Traitors don't have to be tortured, and they can eat and drink delicious food, what's wrong with that? As far as I know, sometimes in order to persuade prisoners to surrender, they will be paired with a few beauties. A pervert like you will probably betray faster than me."
"Tsk!" Zhao Jingyu sneered, "If you want to use the beauty trap on me, the beauty must be at least more beautiful than you. Is there anyone more beautiful than you in the world? No, so I will never be a traitor."
Xie Nanjia: "… I don't know if there is anyone more beautiful than me in this world, but there is definitely no one who is better at flattering than you."
“Hahahaha…” Zhao Jingyu laughed heartily.
"What are you so happy about?" With the creaking sound of the stairs, Song Huai came up with a pile of books.
The young man washed off his dust and put on clean white clothes. He had a face as white as jade and an elegant demeanor, like a banished immortal from a painting.
Xie Nanjia sincerely praised: "The little prince is truly a man of heaven, rare in the world."
"Yeah, he almost beat me." Zhao Jingyu replied calmly.
Xie Nanjia: “…”
This guy is so shameless!
"So the second young master Zhao is slightly better." Song Huai laughed heartily, sat on the ground between the two of them, and put the book in his arms on the ground: "I was afraid that you would be bored, so I specially found a few interesting books to entertain you. Now it seems that you are not bored at all, and you are very lively!"
"We have just arrived, and everything we see is new. We won't be bored," said Xie Nanjia.
"Then let's just chat casually, have a good sleep tonight, and I'll take you to visit Nanzhao City tomorrow." Song Huai said.
In the evening, King Nanzhao held a banquet to welcome Zhao Jingyu and Xie Nanjia.
In addition to the masters and ladies of the Nanzhao Palace, the nephews and nieces of the Princess of Nanzhao also attended the banquet. Xie Nanfeng, as the son of General Wu'an, was also invited to attend the banquet.
In order to avoid suspicion, he and his guards did not stay in the palace, but stayed in an inn not far from the palace.
The people of Nanzhao are open-minded. Although men and women sit at separate tables, they do not need to be separated by screens. If men and women are familiar with each other, they will visit each other and toast to each other.
Princess Nanzhao’s niece is called Lu Yingying. She is about the same age as Song Meiwei. She is a beautiful woman with charming looks and a slim figure.
Before they sat down to eat, out of courtesy, Princess Nanzhao introduced them to each other. When Lu Yingying saw Zhao Jingyu, she was struck by her beauty. Her heart started pounding. She sat at the table without any appetite, and her scorching gaze almost burned a hole through Zhao Jingyu.
Song Meiwei saw what she was thinking, and took the opportunity to go change clothes to quietly ask her: "Are you attracted to the second young master Zhao?"
Lu Yingying did not hide it and admitted openly: "I used to think that my third cousin was the most handsome man in the world, but now I know that there is always someone better than you."
"You can't say that. They both have their own strengths, and Song Huai is no worse than him." Song Meiwei said, "But I have to remind you that he already has a fiancée. Don't get too involved or you'll end up hurting yourself."
"Isn't she the girl with the Phoenix Fate?" Lu Yingying curled her lips in disdain. "She is so skinny and has no flesh on her body. Which man would like a stick like that? Give me three days and I promise to make her lose."
"Ha!" Song Meiwei smiled meaningfully, "Good sister, don't be too confident, or you'll get slapped in the face."
"You think I can't beat her?" Lu Yingying was instantly inspired: "Tell my aunt to let me stay here for a few days, and I will prove it to you."
(End of this chapter)