Guo Sheng indeed had nothing urgent to do, so he nodded and withdrew upon hearing this.
He hadn't seen Cui Hao for a long time, so after they went out, he pulled him to go drinking. Cui Hao didn't refuse and took him to his courtyard, where he had two jars of wine brought up.
Guo Sheng broke the clay seal and took a sip directly from the wine jar, smacking his lips.
"The wine at the Prince's Mansion is indeed the best. The wine I've been drinking outside for the past six months tastes like water, and my mouth is practically tasteless."
Cui Hao smiled and shook his head, then used a wine ladle to pour the wine into a bowl and sipped it slowly.
He took a few sips and wanted to say something to Guo Sheng, but Guo Sheng burped and spoke first.
"How have you been doing your job at the Prince's mansion lately? Even if the front yard needs repairs, does it really mean the Prince has to move to the back yard?"
"Those craftsmen are almost finished with their work, but they dawdle and wander around, shirking their duties and getting paid for nothing. Aren't you going to do anything about it?"
"Luckily I came back today and saw it, and made sure they finished everything, otherwise the prince would have had to stay in the backyard for who knows how long."
He then downed several more mouthfuls of wine, the wine leaking from the corners of his mouth soaking his clothes.
Cui Hao frowned: "Slow down, don't spill the wine everywhere and make a mess of my house."
Guo Sheng pursed his lips, grabbed a few roasted beans, threw them into his mouth, and crunched them loudly.
Cui Hao spoke again amidst the sound of him chewing beans: "No one can wrong the Prince, and the Prince himself does not feel wronged."
Guo Sheng didn't quite understand this veiled meaning, but he knew Cui Hao and knew there was something more to it. He took a sip of wine, swallowed the beans whole, and asked, "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is... the prince doesn't feel wronged living in the backyard, and he himself wants to move to the backyard."
Guo Sheng was taken aback, then slammed the wine jar back onto the table with a thud: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
If he hadn't deliberately controlled the force he used, the wine jar would probably have been smashed to pieces.
"The prince said a long time ago that the backyard was for that woman to live in, but he moved to the front yard. So, according to you, he now wants to live with that woman?"
How is that possible!
The prince himself said that this woman was only brought back to be a decoration!
If I were to go back on my word and ask to live with her now, wouldn't that be contradicting myself?
Cui Hao picked up a few beans and chewed them slowly: "The woman you're talking about is a princess, the prince's wife. Isn't it normal for him to live with his wife?"
"Normal..."
Guo Sheng almost blurted out a curse, but then remembered that it was his master and swallowed it back.
"Your Highness and Grand Tutor Yao are sworn enemies! The reason you married his daughter was only because the late Emperor bestowed the marriage upon you! You didn't really intend to bring her back as your princess!"
Cui Hao nodded: "You said it yourself, that you have an irreconcilable hatred for Grand Tutor Yao."
"Although the princess is the daughter of Grand Tutor Yao, she is unaware of what happened back then. The prince married her to spite Grand Tutor Yao, which has already ruined her marriage prospects for life. Even if it is the son paying for the father's sins, that should be enough."
"Enough of what?"
Guo Sheng angrily retorted, "Does the Imperial Concubine come back to life just because the Prince married his daughter? Does the Prince find his mother because of this? The reason his daughter married the Prince is because he made a mistake first! He deserves it; it's the price he has to pay!"
Seeing the anger on his face, Cui Hao sighed.
“Ziyi, I know that the Imperial Concubine has been kind to you. You respect her more than any of us, and treat her like your own mother, just like a prince.”
"But you should know that from the day the Prince agreed to the late Emperor's bestowal of marriage, he only intended to leave the Princess in the backyard and ignore her. He never had any other intention to mistreat her. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been whipped for deceiving the Emperor and acting on your own initiative, and you wouldn't have been sent away for half a year without being able to serve the Prince."
"Now that you're finally back, do you want to be exiled again?"
Guo Sheng was supposedly dispatched on official business these days, but those close to Wei Hong knew that this was actually a form of punishment. They knew that he could have been sent out to do those things, and it wasn't necessary to use him. Usually, he stayed by Wei Hong's side and was only sent out in emergencies.
The reason he was sent was because the few lashes he had been punished with were nothing to him. The real punishment was to send him out of Hu City and prevent him from staying by Wei Hong's side.
He was gone for more than half a year, and was only recently transferred back because Wei Hong planned to go to Cangcheng.
Half a year is neither a long nor a short time. It's enough to teach him a lesson and let him know what he should and shouldn't do in the future. But if he makes such a serious mistake again, it won't be as simple as just half a year.
Upon hearing Cui Hao's words, Guo Sheng's anger vanished instantly, like a firecracker that had gone silent. He immediately deflated.
"But it was clearly the prince himself who said he wanted to be with that woman..."
"princess."
Cui Hao interrupted to remind him.
Guo Sheng frowned and reluctantly changed his story: "It was clearly the prince himself who said he wanted to live in a separate courtyard from the princess."
“At that time, the prince had not spent any time with the princess and did not know her well,” Cui Hao said. “Now that he knows her well and has found that they get along well, he wants to move in together. What’s wrong with that? They are husband and wife.”
Guo Sheng frowned even more: "How do you know the Prince wants this? Did you ask him?"
"No."
Cui Hao shook his head.
"How did you know?"
Guo Sheng's eyes widened immediately.
Cui Hao smiled and said, "Because I am not you."
Guo Sheng: "..."
Although he wasn't as quick-witted as Cui Hao when it came to interpersonal relationships, he had probably figured it out by now.
"Those craftsmen who repaired the house...did you deliberately make them delay the work?"
The prince is concerned about his reputation, so even if he regrets it, he certainly won't say it out loud. It's probably just an excuse Cui Hao made up for him.
Cui Hao nodded: "Yes."
Guo Sheng cursed under his breath, "Nobody told me! If they had told me sooner..."
Why should he bother watching them work? He's not just killing time!
Cui Hao smiled and said, "I told them not to say anything, just to do the work as instructed."
This is something that can't be said out loud, otherwise it would be troublesome if the princess found out.
Guo Sheng frowned and slammed his fist on the table: "I've been wronged!"
He hadn't realized Wei Hong was angry when he left his courtyard, but now that he knew what had happened and thought back on it, he knew he was angry, which was why he didn't want to listen to him.
He did act on his own initiative on the way back from the capital, and he accepted the punishment, as it wasn't unjust.
This time, he had no idea what was going on. He really thought that the prince had moved to the backyard because of the front yard renovations, so he urged the craftsmen to finish the work. Who knew he would still make a mistake!
Cui Hao chuckled: "It was an unintentional mistake, Your Highness won't punish you. Just remember not to act on your own initiative like before."
Guo Sheng snorted and muttered, "The Prince certainly didn't tell you about delaying the project himself. Come to think of it, didn't you also act on your own initiative? How come you always get away with it, while I get punished..."
As he spoke, his voice grew softer and softer, and he knew he lacked confidence.
Cui Hao's smile remained unchanged as he said gently, "Because you are not me."
Guo Sheng: "..."
...
When the front yard was repaired and Guo Sheng sent people to move all of Wei Hong's belongings away, Yao Youqing breathed a deep sigh of relief and personally supervised the servants to pack up and move all of Wei Hong's things back without leaving a single one behind.
But before she could catch her breath, Wei Hong cornered her in the backyard garden the very next day.
She was playing with her little one in the garden when she was suddenly pulled into a cave made of Taihu stones after going around behind the artificial hill.
She was terrified and opened her mouth to scream, but her mouth was covered. The person behind her whispered, "It's me."
Yao Youqing recognized Wei Hong's voice, and her heart, which had been in her throat, finally settled down. He then pressed her shoulder and turned her around.
"Your Highness, what are you doing here?"
As they were talking, Zhou's mother, who was following behind, saw what was happening and quickly waved to the people behind her, telling everyone to step back. She then picked up the little cutie who was anxiously pacing around outside the cave.
Wei Hong pressed Yao Youqing down onto the Taihu rock and carefully examined her in the dim light of the cave, then gently touched her cheek.
"Did you sleep well last night? Were you especially happy that I wasn't around?"
Trapped between his arms and chest, Yao Youqing quickly shook her head: "No...no."
"No?"
Wei Hong nodded: "So you didn't sleep well. I'll keep you company tonight?"
Yao Youqing shook her head even more frantically, and began to stutter as she spoke.
"No, no, no... No need! I... I slept perfectly well."
Wei Hong: "..."
As soon as Yao Youqing finished speaking, she realized she had said the wrong thing, and looked distressed, not knowing what to do.
Wei Hong couldn't help but chuckle at her bewildered expression. He reached out to smooth her brow, then leaned in and nibbled at her neck for a while before finally lifting his head, slightly panting.
"We'll be setting off for Cangcheng in a couple of days. Pack your things carefully, bring everything you need, as you may be staying there for a long time."
Yao Youqing's almond-shaped eyes widened: "So fast?"
Wei Hong hummed in agreement and lightly pecked her lips: "I'm afraid you'll have trouble sleeping alone in the Prince's mansion, so I'll wait until we get to Cangcheng..."
As he spoke, he slid his hand down to her waist and gently caressed it. Although he didn't do anything else, his eyes were like a predator's, and he finished the sentence he hadn't finished saying earlier: "I'll be with you every night..."
Chapter 46 Departure
The Prince of Qin's mansion was Wei Hong's own place, but when he went to the backyard, he sneaked over when no one was paying attention, teased Yao Youqing for a while, and then slipped back.
He had actually been thinking about going to Cangcheng after returning to the front yard last night. If it were just him, he could leave today, but since he was taking Yao Youqing with him, he needed to give her some time to pack her luggage, so he decided to postpone it for two days.
It's only two days. Let's give her some time to prepare and rest before we hit the road...
Wei Hong curled his lips into a slight smile, picked up his teacup, took a sip to moisten his slightly dry throat, and became particularly looking forward to this trip to Cangcheng.
Compared to his expectations, Yao Youqing was quite disappointed.
It wasn't that she particularly disliked getting close to Wei Hong, but compared to the current situation, she preferred the previous life where no one bothered the other.
But since Wei Hong had already said he was going to Cangcheng, she couldn't stop him. She could only have someone pack their things and set off with him two days later.
The carriage was already harnessed, and Wei Hong was waiting for her by the carriage when she arrived.