“It must take almost an hour to get from here to the inner city, right? Your Highness needs to change into your court robes before leaving, right? If we don’t hurry up with lunch, we won’t be able to come back for lunch until after the ‘Sealing Ceremony’ is over, which will be at least 7 p.m..” Chief Steward Chen said anxiously.
Yun Lie walked ahead of them, lost in thought as he headed towards the dining hall, unaware of the conversation between the two behind him.
Xiong Xiaoyi scratched the back of his head and chuckled at Steward Chen: "Our prince is no ordinary prince. He has been on high alert in Linchuan for many years and has trained himself so well that it doesn't take him long to eat or change his clothes."
The situation on the border is ever-changing. Although Yun Lie is a prince, he is only the commander-in-chief in the army. Like his soldiers, he is used to "speed is of the essence" and would never dawdle over things like eating or dressing.
After all, when the enemy decides to launch a surprise attack, they don't care whether you've finished eating or are properly dressed.
“How can they be the same…” Steward Chen was speechless for a moment after Xiong Xiaoyi’s words. Seeing that Yun Lie had entered the dining hall and the envoys had already prepared lunch, he quickly shut up.
"Uncle Chen, you go ahead with your work," Xiong Xiaoyi said with a smile as he followed him inside, turning back to Manager Chen and saying, "Leave the small matter of serving His Highness his meal to me!"
It's quite remarkable that this bear could describe "mooching a meal" so tactfully.
Uncle Chen chuckled and rolled his eyes at him, whispering, "Come on, you're serving His Highness his meals? Just don't steal all of His Highness's food, or you'll be doing a good deed for the day."
However, Steward Chen was truly too busy today to continue arguing with him, and hurriedly turned and left.
As the old man grew older, his memory was not as good as before. In addition, tomorrow was New Year's Eve, and he had a lot of trivial matters to attend to. He had also been distracted by Xiong Xiaoyi on the way here, and had forgotten to inform Yun Lie that Luo Fengming and Xiahou Ling had come.
****
Yun Lie was used to doing everything himself in the army. If there were no guests in his mansion, he was impatient to have many people serving him when he ate.
The servants of Prince Zhao's residence were well aware of his temperament, so after arranging the lunch, they filed out, leaving only Xiong Xiaoyi to dine with him.
With only the two of them left in the dining hall, Xiong Xiaoyi stopped being polite and began wolfing down his food while asking with a curious smile, "What did Huang Jingru say to you?"
Previously, Yun Lie and Huang Jingru had a private conversation in the main hall. Xiong Xiaoyi was just standing guard at the entrance of the hall and did not hear what the two were talking about.
Yun Lie swallowed the food in his mouth, gave a light hum, and replied nonchalantly, "Trying to trick me into revealing anything, wanting to know if I've made any deal with the Luo family."
Huang Jingru was clearly not impulsive; she understood the principle that "one should not rush things and it is easy to make mistakes if one speaks too frankly with someone you don't know well." Today, when she met Yun Lie for the first time, she only tried to find out the Luo family's intention to befriend the Prince Zhao's mansion without saying much else.
Yun Lie believed that Huang Jingru's visit today was probably just a "test the waters," and she would likely come again later. Only when the Huang family felt the time was right would she reveal her true intentions.
"If we have to talk about what kind of deal we made, wouldn't chasing after and beating up Zhang Wenping every day count?" Xiong Xiaoyi laughed and answered his own question, "Oh, that doesn't count as a deal, since we didn't receive any money."
****
When Yun Lie returned to his palace to change into his court robes and came out again, Xiong Xiaoyi's eyes were full of envy and dissatisfaction, and he kept clicking his tongue beside him.
"Back in Linchuan, you kept saying we were brothers because we'd been through life and death together," Xiong Xiaoyi said sourly, glancing at his dignified court robes. "Now we're both stuck in the capital, but you always have something to do, while I'm bored to death! I've seen through you! You can only share hardship, not happiness!"
He certainly understood that the "Sealing Ceremony" was not a game; it was just something he was bored about and looking for trouble to talk about.
Normally, Yun Lie would have kicked him against the wall long ago, but he was in a hurry to get to the inner city, and his court attire made it inappropriate to use force, so he had to choose a more submissive approach.
Roll your eyes at him.
"If you can stop yelling, I'll take you with me on the spring hunt."
"Okay, that's a good idea! Let's do it on a deal then!"
A hint of joy appeared on Xiong Xiaoyi's face, but he immediately realized what he meant: "Pah! What do you mean 'Stop barking nonsense, bring it with you when you go hunting in the spring'?! Do you think I'm your hunting dog?!"
“No,” Yun Lie corrected solemnly, “I’m treating you like a hunting bear.”
"You..."
Before the "Hunting Bear" went berserk, Yun Lie suddenly remembered something and solemnly instructed, "By the way, go to the guards and pick a few people to keep a close watch on the Luo family's gate."
He deduced from the clues in Huang Jingru's words today that the Huang family knew Luo Cuiwei's whereabouts almost perfectly well, and it seemed that this had been going on for more than just a day or two.
If there wasn't a traitor within the Luo family, it would mean that whenever Luo Cuiwei went out, the Huang family would be following her.
Thinking of this, Yun Lie immediately frowned again, thinking to himself, "How can Luo Cuiwei be so silly and not alert at all!"
On second thought, she realized that she was not a martial artist. Even if a merchant family encountered some opponents who tried to trip them up, it wouldn't cause much of a commotion. She had no experience in this area, so it was understandable that she was less cautious and vigilant.
Fine, considering the many favors he'd received from her recently, he'd reciprocate by secretly protecting her once again.
Xiong Xiaoyi is a very loyal person. Since Luo Cuiwei treated him to so many meals, he considered her a friend.
Upon hearing that Luo Cuiwei's whereabouts were being controlled, he immediately stopped his frivolous behavior, pondered seriously for a moment, and then couldn't help but become anxious.
"Wait a minute, if there's a traitor in the Luo family, what's the point of just having our people watching outside?"
"I'll remind her when she comes next time," Yun Lie said as he glanced at the time and hurried toward the bedchamber, "You just need to arrange for people to go."
Most of the guards in Prince Zhao's mansion were people who had returned from the war in Linchuan. They were all capable and needed to be used. All that was needed was to select a few young men who did not often show their faces and whose appearances were not likely to attract attention.
Seeing the hesitation on Xiong Xiaoyi's face, Yun Lie frowned: "Is there a problem?"
“If Luo Cuiwei discovers our people,” Xiong Xiaoyi scratched his head, looking at him with a troubled expression, “how do we explain it?”
Yun Lie's eyes narrowed, and he looked at him coldly with disdain: "She was being spied on for so long without realizing it. Are you even less capable than the third-rate spies sent out by ordinary merchants?"
"Then, what if we run into the tail of the Huang family?" Xiong Xiaoyi asked again.
"Can't you adapt to changing circumstances?" Yun Lie gritted his teeth, glaring at him impatiently. "When things come to a head, you assess the situation and do what needs to be done. What's the use of asking me now?"
"Oh. When will you start sending people?"
"immediately."
“Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, and it’s rare for the brothers to have a leisurely New Year. I feel bad sending anyone at this time,” Xiong Xiaoyi said with some difficulty. “Besides, no one will be going out and about during the holidays… Can we send someone a few days later?”