Wei Jun and Huangfu were both masters of excellent hearing. When they heard the emperor asking the second young master questions, they looked at each other and were secretly worried.
They had advised the Second Young Master many times to be more restrained and not to show off, but he wouldn't listen. It would be fine if he was ostentatious on weekdays, but he had to act in a unique way when accompanying the king.
In order to set a good example for his subordinates, the emperor himself did not bring any female relatives with him, and his entourage were all eunuchs and imperial guards. But the second young master was so different that he insisted on bringing Xiu'er with him, and was even mistaken for Lord Longyang.
Now, I don’t know who I have offended, but I have brought my gossip to the emperor. Due to Marquis Dingyuan’s face, the emperor may not do anything to the second young master. But what if he gets angry and has someone kill Xiu’er
It is said that a few years ago, the eldest prince of King Dongshan secretly brought a concubine and did something immoral in the enclosure. The emperor was furious and ordered the concubine to be executed on the spot. King Dongshan was terrified for several years and never dared to bring the eldest prince into the capital again.
The two people outside were worried to the point of sweating in their palms, but Zhao Jingyu didn't care. He picked up the wine poured by the eunuch and drank it all, smacking his lips and said, "Who is the one who has never seen the world and is gossiping in front of the emperor? The people around me are all so beautiful that they can make a fuss about a little servant. I just love beauty, so what? Does the Great Zhou law stipulate that you can't love beauty? Does it stipulate that servants must be ugly?"
"..." Song Wanji was stumped by his question. He stroked his beard and said helplessly, "I haven't seen you for a few days. You have become more eloquent. I just asked you one question, but you have a lot of things to say to me. If it weren't for your father's face, I would have to beat you with a stick today."
Zhao Jingyu cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for not hitting me. I'll toast you a glass."
As he said this, he took the wine jug from the young eunuch and poured a glass of wine for the emperor himself.
Song Wanji smiled helplessly, almost dotingly, and raised his wine glass, saying, "Come to think of it, we haven't had a drink together for a while. The last time was in your father's study. I still remember that your little cook is quite good at cooking."
“…” Zhao Jingyu smiled mysteriously.
"What are you laughing at?" Song Wanji asked.
Zhao Jingyu blinked: "There is something I don't know whether I should say it or not."
Song Wanji glared and acted dignified: "Hurry up and tell me, I hate keeping people in suspense. You should be thankful that you have a good father, otherwise I will punish you."
"Yes, I do have a good father." Zhao Jingyu smiled like a little fox and waved at him, "Your Majesty, come closer to my ear."
Hearing these words, the young eunuchs standing by were terrified, thinking that the Second Young Master Zhao was too arrogant because of his favor, and he even dared to ask the emperor to whisper in his ear.
Unexpectedly, the emperor actually listened to Zhao Jingyu's words and leaned over to listen.
Si Fangzheng seemed to be used to it. He stood calmly by the side, holding his whisk, with his head lowered, and looked unmoved.
Just as Zhao Jingyu was about to speak, he heard someone outside calling "Prince", and the next moment, Song Jingxing came in.
Song Jingxing was so stunned by the intimate actions between his father and Zhao Jingyu that he even forgot to greet them.
Si Fangzheng stepped forward and bowed: "This servant greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Why did His Royal Highness trespass into the Emperor's tent without permission?"
Song Jingxing's handsome face darkened as he said unhappily, "I came to see my father, do I need to ask for an imperial decree?"
Song Wanji sat up straight and said solemnly, "Come and sit down!"
Song Jingxing strode to the desk, and seeing that Zhao Jingyu had no intention of greeting him, his face darkened even more. He did not sit down, but stood there waiting for Zhao Jingyu.
Zhao Jingyu raised his head slowly, met his gaze and stared at him quietly. After a moment, he stood up with a smile and bowed: "I greet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Song Jingxing sneered: "Second Master Zhao is too modest."
Zhao Jingyu disagreed and said, "I am neither the eldest nor the legitimate son. I am of humble origin, have neither a title nor an official position. Am I not just a commoner?"
"Don't underestimate yourself." Song Wanji seemed dissatisfied with his words and said in a deep voice, "Sit down, both of you are not children anymore, don't fight as soon as you meet, it will make me upset!"
Zhao Jingyu said: "I won't sit down, let the prince talk to the emperor!"
After saying this, he turned around and strode out of the tent without waiting for the emperor's approval.
"Hey..." Song Wanji raised his hand, and seeing that he had already walked away without looking back, he shook his head and sighed, "This kid!"
Song Jingxing took the opportunity to say, "Father, you have seen how arrogant he is. If you continue to let him do whatever he wants, he will soon be able to bully us."
Song Wanji sighed again and motioned him to sit down. "This child, I feel so guilty towards him. When Qin quarreled with Marquis Dingyuan over him, I forced Marquis Dingyuan and Qin to make three rules. He was not allowed to inherit the family business or pursue a career in government. He was only allowed to be an idle young man. Now that Marquis Dingyuan is here, his brother and stepmother can still tolerate him. When Marquis Dingyuan is gone, he will be kicked out. Therefore, let's just turn a blind eye and let him enjoy himself for a few years!"
Song Jingxing fell silent. He had also heard the news that Zhao Jingyu had a male lover secretly and wanted to report it to his father. But now, imagining the miserable future of Zhao Jingyu, he felt a little better and did not mention the complaint.
But there was one thing he still couldn't understand. There was more than one Marquis Dingyuan in the Great Zhou Dynasty. There were so many dukes and marquises, countless illegitimate sons and daughters, and countless unfair things. Why did his father care so much about the affairs of the Marquis Dingyuan family
Is it because Marquis Dingyuan was his former good brother and had the merit of supporting him to the throne
General Xie was also his good brother, but in comparison he was much meaner to General Xie. He forced the latter's only daughter to marry Zhao Jingping, who died within three years. Up to now, he has never expressed any opinion towards General Xie, let alone looked at General Xie's son differently.
Compared with the favor Zhao Jingyu received, Xie Nanfeng had no sense of existence in front of him at all.
Isn't that strange
Song Jingxing was worried and talked to his father for a while, then stood up and left.
After leaving the tent, he looked around and saw that his tent and Zhao Jingyu's tent were sandwiched between his father's tent, like his father's left and right arms. He couldn't help but become suspicious again.
"If Zhao Jingyu wasn't a man, I would have suspected that my father had improper thoughts about him." Back in the tent, he whispered to his trusted adviser Feng Shao.
"Your Highness, please do not let your imagination run wild and blaspheme the Holy Name." Feng Shao stopped his ridiculous thoughts in time. "Although the Second Young Master Zhao is erratic and domineering, he has no influence on Your Highness. In my opinion, Your Highness should focus on your cousin."
Song Jingxing also knew that his idea was absurd. Even if Zhao Jingyu was really a girl, his father would not be so foolish as to covet the daughter of his good brother. He just couldn't understand why his father favored Zhao Jingyu and was just making random guesses.
As for his cousins that Feng Shao mentioned, he didn't really take them seriously. He was the only son of his father, so the throne was his without any fight. He didn't need to please or win over anyone. He would get close to whoever he liked and ignore those he didn't like. Anyway, one day all these people would submit to him.
…
When Zhao Jingyu returned to the tent, Xie Nanjia had already packed up his things, prepared the food, and was waiting for him to come back to eat.
Cheng Zhiye was like a nail on his butt, unable to sit still for a moment, and ran to talk to Zhao Jingyu again.
Zhao Jingyu took a few bites of food, threw down his chopsticks in disgust, and said to Xie Nanjia: "Starting tomorrow, you will cook for me alone. I don't want to eat this pig food anymore."
Because Zhao Jingyu had lost his temper earlier, Cheng Zhiye didn't dare to stare at Xie Nanjia this time. When he heard Zhao Jingyu asked her to cook, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "He can cook, too?"
"None of your business?" Zhao Jingyu rolled her eyes at him. "Can you please stop coming near me for no reason? It's so annoying."
Cheng Zhiye said aggrievedly: "You are annoyed with me now, have you forgotten that when you were first brought back from the border by the Marquis, no one paid any attention to you. It was my father who first sent me over to play with you."
Zhao Jingyu: “…”
"Alright, alright, do whatever you want. You're bringing up trivial matters. Is that interesting?"
Cheng Zhiye immediately stopped feeling wronged and stood up to pull him: "Come on, don't you want to compete with the youngest son of King Nanzhao? Anyway, you can't sleep now, let's go and take a look."
"Who said I want to compete with him in beauty?" Zhao Jingyu raised his hand and tucked his temples, saying narcissistically, "How can ordinary people compare to my beauty?"
Although he said this, his feet had already followed Cheng Zhiye.
Wei Jun and Huangfu followed.
Xie Nanjia ate something herself, cleaned up the dishes, said hello to the guards who stayed behind, and took the dishes to the temporary kitchen set up in the camp.
After coming out of the kitchen, she did not return to the tent immediately, but took advantage of the night to look for the residence of her father and brother in the camp.
She missed her father so much that even if the father and daughter could not recognize each other, it would be good to see each other from afar.
But she didn't know that there was a guard following her quietly.
In order to find out her relationship with the General's Mansion, Zhao Jingyu had arranged people to monitor her before leaving. Once they found that she had private contact with Xie Zhanting and his son, her identity could be confirmed.
The reason why Zhao Jingyu was so happy to follow Cheng Zhiye to see Prince Nanzhao was to give her a chance to act alone.
There were several groups of guards patrolling the camp, and no one was allowed to move around freely after nightfall. In order to avoid being caught and interrogated by the guards, Xie Nanjia could only hide from them. However, it was dark and he was not familiar with the road, and he accidentally tripped over something.
"Ouch!" Xie Nanjia let out a low cry subconsciously and fell to the ground.
At the critical moment, a big hand silently wrapped around her waist from behind and held her body in his arms.
"Who is it?" The guards heard the noise and came over here with torches in hand, followed by the sound of swords being unsheathed.
Xie Nanjia was shocked. On one side was a guard, and on the other side was an unidentified man. She didn't know how to respond for a moment.
But the man didn't seem to plan to leave. He let go of her, kept a step away from her, and said loudly, "It's me!"
The guards came closer and surrounded the two people. The flickering torches illuminated the surroundings. Xie Nanjia looked at the man in the light. When she saw his face clearly, she asked in surprise, "Is it you?"
The man also saw her face clearly, was slightly startled, and asked in surprise: "Is it you?"
(End of this chapter)