"What do you mean?" Su Yuting asked, her brows furrowing slightly in confusion.
“Yu’er is a princess of the Prince of Huai’s mansion, and Shen Lixue is the daughter of the Prime Minister’s family and the future Princess Consort of An County. They are considered members of the Eastern royal family, which should be why the Imperial Uncle received them. As for Miss Su, she is currently only the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Wen’s mansion, so…”
Dongfang Zhan looked at Su Yuting. He hadn't finished speaking, but Su Yuting already understood what he meant.
"Thank you for your guidance, Prince Zhan!" Su Yuting smiled and bowed. She had no relation to the royal family, so was it really true that Prince Zhan refused to see her?
“Miss Su, there’s no need to be too discouraged. There will be a banquet at the palace in a few days. At that time, you will be able to see your royal uncle at the palace…” Dongfang Zhan said with a smile, implying to Su Yuting that as long as she has no connection with the royal family, Prince Zhan will not see her, whether it is tomorrow or the day after.
"Thank you for the reminder, Prince Zhan. I have important matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now!" After bowing again, Su Yuting, with the help of her maid, boarded the carriage and quickly left the Prince Zhan's residence.
Dongfang Zhan watched Su Yuting's carriage drive away, his gentle smile instantly turning into boundless mockery. Su Yuting was overestimating herself by trying to trick him into revealing information. She wanted an answer, so he would give her one. He wondered if she would end up helping the Crown Prince win the heart of his beloved, or causing trouble for some man in the royal family.
Inside the War King's Mansion, Dongfang Yu'er, holding Shen Lixue's hand, walked briskly along the bluestone path, her beautiful face beaming with indescribable joy.
"Princess, you're in such a hurry to see Prince Zhan, is it not just to catch a glimpse of his charm?" Dongfang Yu'er first pleaded with Dongfang Heng, and then dragged Shen Lixue to Prince Zhan's residence. Upon hearing the news that Prince Zhan was willing to see her, she was almost overjoyed. She wouldn't have reacted this way if she didn't have a special purpose.
“You and your cousin Heng are both so clever, nothing can be hidden from you.” Dongfang Yu’er blinked, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and lowered her voice, saying, “It was my father who sent me to the palace to see my uncle!” This was a mission, and once she entered the palace and saw the Prince of War, she would have completed her mission, so of course she was happy.
Shen Lixue was taken aback: "Prince Huai? Why didn't he come in person?" Dongfang Yu'er is a junior. If the Prince of Zhan is busy, he will definitely send her away. But Prince Huai and the Prince of Zhan are brothers. If he comes to the palace, the Prince of Zhan will see him no matter how busy he is.
Dongfang Yu'er chuckled dryly a few times: "My father had a small argument with my uncle, so he couldn't come to see him and sent me instead!"
Shen Lixue frowned: The Prince of Huai cares about the Prince of Zhan, but is too embarrassed to come and see him. It seems that the conflict between them is definitely not small.
"Why did Su Yuting come to the Prince's Mansion?" Shen Lixue recalled Su Yuting's pale face when she was turned away. Her visit to the Prince's Mansion was not just a simple visit; she must have another purpose.
Dongfang Yu'er frowned: "Perhaps he came to visit the Imperial Uncle on his parents' orders!"
Shen Lixue frowned: "The Duke of Wen's status is not as noble as that of Prince Zhan. It is proper for him to come in person to pay his respects. It is not appropriate for him to send his daughter."
"Perhaps Duke Wen is too embarrassed to come see the Imperial Uncle, so like my father, he sent his daughter to probe the situation!" Dongfang Yu'er replied softly.
"Su Yuting is a woman. Will it cause gossip if she comes to the Prince's mansion to visit the Prince of War?" Shen Lixue raised her eyebrows: Dongfang Yu'er is the Prince of War's niece. It's fine for her to come to the Prince of War's mansion. As her companion, she can enter the mansion without others saying anything. But Su Yuting has absolutely no relation to the Prince of War's lineage.
Shen Lixue had only been in Qingyan for a short time, but she already knew that Qingyan Kingdom was a feudal society where men and women were treated differently. To visit a man, one had to send a boy, and to visit a woman, one had to send a girl. It wouldn't sound good if word got out that Su Yuting, a noble lady, came to the palace to visit the War King.
"I am my father's most beloved child. My father sent me here out of respect for my uncle. But the Duke of Wen has no sons, only a daughter named Su Yuting, so he had no choice but to send her!" Dongfang Yu'er's smug tone carried a hint of gloating.
"Duke Wen only married one principal wife?" Shen Lixue was somewhat surprised. If he had taken concubines or mistresses, his family would have many children...
"How could that be?" Dongfang Yu'er looked up at the sky and said proudly, "The Wen State Duke's mansion has a lot of wives and concubines, from middle-aged beauties to young girls who have just come of age. But apart from the Wen State Duke's wife giving birth to Su Yuting, none of the other concubines have given birth to a son or daughter!"
"How could this happen?" Shen Lixue frowned.
"I don't know!" Dongfang Yu'er shook her head.
"You dislike Duke Wen?" Shen Lixue keenly noticed Dongfang Yu'er's displeasure with Duke Wen.
Dongfang Yu'er shook her head: "It's not that I hate it, it's just that I don't like it!"
A guard approached and respectfully reported, "Princess, Miss Shen, the Prince is currently handling matters in his study and is unavailable to see you at the moment. He has instructed me to inform you that you may move freely throughout the Prince's residence, except for the study!"
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow. Noble families usually have certain restrictions. Even when allowing guests to tour their mansion, they would have servants accompany them to show that they are the hosts and she is the guest. But Prince Zhan actually let her and Dongfang Yu'er move around freely in the Prince Zhan mansion. He is truly broad-minded and upright...
"Thank you for your trouble, young man. We'll just wander around the manor and look around. We'll go see Uncle after he's finished with his work!" Dongfang Yu'er agreed, pulling Shen Lixue along another path. "The scenery at the Prince Zhan's manor is beautiful. Let's look around!"
Shen Lixue and Dongfang Yu'er walked along the path for a short while before large swathes of green bamboo came into view. The bamboo was lush and green, and the wind carried the fragrance of bamboo, which was refreshing and delightful.
Dongfang Yu'er walked into the bamboo forest, closed her eyes, breathed in the fragrance of bamboo, and sighed softly with enjoyment, "I haven't been to the War King's Mansion for many years, and I didn't expect that the scenery inside the mansion hasn't changed at all!"
Shen Lixue stood in the bamboo forest, her light green clothes contrasting beautifully with the verdant bamboo, creating a dreamlike scene. The bamboo stalks rose from the ground, and bamboo shoots quietly emerged from the soil, making for a very interesting sight.
"Princess, does Prince Zhan like green bamboo very much?" Shen Lixue remembered that Prince Zhan's courtyard in Xiangguo Temple was called Green Bamboo Garden, where a large area of bamboo was planted and a two-story green bamboo building was built.
"Yes, a large area of the War King's mansion is planted with green bamboo. My father said that these bamboos have been planted for twenty years, and each one was planted by the royal uncle himself!"
As Dongfang Yu'er walked through the bamboo forest, she exclaimed with envy, "So many bamboos! The environment is so beautiful. When I get back to my residence, I'll plant bamboo all around my house..."
Shen Lixue's eyes flickered: "Does the War Prince's Mansion have no mistress?"
"Uh, the Emperor's father was the late Emperor, who has passed away, and his mother was Consort Xian, who has also passed away. The Emperor has never married and has no children. He has always been alone..." Dongfang Yu'er said with regret. The most handsome man in Qingyan, he has never married. I really don't know what the Emperor is thinking. Is it because his standards are too high and he has never found a woman he likes?
Shen Lixue's cool eyes narrowed slightly. The Azure Flame War King was unmarried, and there were so many green bamboos planted in his mansion. Could it be...?
"Li Xue, look ahead!" Dongfang Yu'er exclaimed in surprise, her eyes flashing with shock and joy.
Shen Lixue followed her gaze and saw a two-story bamboo building not far away. It was very similar in shape to the one at Xiangguo Temple, but two or three times larger.
"What a beautiful bamboo house!" Dongfang Yu'er exclaimed as she ran over. She hadn't been to the Green Bamboo Garden at Xiangguo Temple and had never seen that little bamboo house before. Now, seeing it for the first time, she was overjoyed.
Shen Lixue followed suit, thinking to herself, "Prince Zhan really likes Qingzhu."
The door to the bamboo house was half-open. Dongfang Yu'er pushed it open gently. The bamboo house was very clean. There was a small table and four chairs in front of the window. Shen Lixue recalled Lin Qingzhu's living room in Qingzhou. It was just as empty as this room. The difference was that the places where Lin Qingzhu's living room had ink paintings, figure paintings, and paintings of the Four Gentlemen were hung were empty here. There was nothing there.
Dongfang Yu'er smelled the faint scent of bamboo and quickly went up to the second floor along the bamboo staircase, while Shen Lixue followed slowly.
There are two rooms on the second floor: a bedroom and a study. The bedroom is empty except for a bamboo bed and two bamboo cabinets. The study, on the other hand, has a desk, a chair, and a bookcase with many books on it. A tea set is also placed on a small table for guests not far away.
Shen Lixue recalled Lin Qingzhu's simple study and bedroom, which overlapped with the scene before her. If it weren't for the fragrance of bamboo and the lush green bamboo, Shen Lixue would have thought this was Lin Qingzhu's former residence in Qingzhou.
"The tea is still warm. It seems that Uncle came here as soon as he returned to the palace!" Dongfang Yu'er took out a clean cup, filled it with tea, and took a sip. "Although it's a little cold, the tea tastes very good!"
Shen Lixue walked to the bookshelf to look at the books. They were mostly books on military strategy and the histories of various states. Some of the binding threads had come loose, indicating that the owner of the books often read them. Shen Lixue picked up a book and was about to take it out to flip through it when Dongfang Yu'er's exclamation rang out again: "Lixue, look over there!"
Shen Lixue raised her head and looked out through the wide-open window. Not far away, a sea of red surrounded most of the bamboo forest, which looked beautiful against the green bamboo.
"What are those red things?" With the green bamboo blocking the view, Shen Lixue couldn't make out the exact appearance of the red objects.