Chapter 25-Part 1

Jiang Xiurun also knew that her emotions were too exposed, so she quickly said, “In the great city of Luo’an, it would be good if my sisters could come here to experience the atmosphere of the capital. I was just momentarily lost in thought about which sister it might be, so I was distracted.”

Feng Liwu also received letters from various places delivered by messengers today, just learning about the matter of the Bo state offering a tribute of a maiden.

Such flattery from small countries usually didn’t require much of his attention. It was probably the foolish Bo state emperor who thought the Great Qi Emperor wasn’t fond of men, so he sent a daughter again.

But he wonders if this young master Jiang’s sister is as similar to her brother?

The journey from the Bo state was far, and after the letters were delivered, they had to wait for the Emperor of Qi to approve before they could proceed. So after exchanging greetings with Jiang Xiurun, he changed the subject.

Jiang Xiurun forced herself to focus, lest she reply absent-mindedly.

The atmosphere of the banquet was lively, and soon the dishes were served. If the host disappeared again, it would fall on the guests.

So Jiang Xiurun accompanied Feng Liwu to the banquet hall.

At this time, servants and maids shuttled around, presenting dishes and fine wines to the guests at each table. Jiang Xiurun arranged for the dancers hired by the steward in the music hall to sway gracefully, dancing to the accompaniment of the bell music.

Although the Crown Prince had never hosted a banquet in the mansion, occasionally officials from the court came to handle affairs, and they had lunch together with the Crown Prince, chatting as they ate.

Sometimes colleagues would chat leisurely, and the unanimous opinion was to try to avoid having meals at the Crown Prince’s mansion.

Not only were the meals bland, but the Crown Prince never liked to waste food and insisted on finishing every dish. Having to pretend to enjoy the meal was quite uncomfortable, you know?

But this time, they don’t know if they hired a chef from outside the mansion, but the food was flavorful and beautifully presented. When plated, the dishes were even arranged to resemble fish and birds, which was very elegant and something not seen in other mansions before.

Moreover, the observant ones noticed that the dishes on each table were slightly different. For example, Tian Ying from the state of Han preferred sticky and sweet food, so there was an extra plate of soft cakes dipped in soybean flour on her table.

And the wife of the Duke of Jing, who always broke out in hives whenever she ate fish, so there was no fish on her table, but instead, there was more of her favorite snake soup. There were many such details catering to individual tastes, too numerous to mention.

But everyone sitting at the tables could feel the thoughtfulness and goodwill of the hosts. Even the most capable wife secretly sighed at this, feeling that even if she managed a banquet herself, she might not be able to be so thoughtful!

But what was even more surprising was that this thoughtfulness was felt in the cold and indifferent Crown Prince’s mansion, without a female host… Although their highnesses were wise rulers, they definitely couldn’t be as considerate and hospitable… Who was in charge of the Crown Prince’s affairs? It turns out this steward was so capable!

And the noblewomen at the table looked at Feng Liwu with even more affectionate eyes, feeling that perhaps the kindness on their table was secretly favored by the Crown Prince and specially instructed by his subordinates.

Especially Tian Ying, who was even more pleased.

On that day, Cao Xi came out of the Crown Prince’s mansion with a tear-stained face, and Tian Ying knew about it early in the morning. This was the dream of being the Crown Prince’s consort, and it was shattered.

Following that, the Crown Prince held a banquet but did not invite Cao Xi, who was previously rumored to be favored by the empress. And at this banquet, her seat was obviously closer to the host’s seat.

Even the wine in the jug was filled with their Han state’s special fruit wine. All these details showed the Crown Prince’s high regard for her!

The day she became the Crown Prince’s consort seemed to be just around the corner!

Thinking like this, the gaze toward the Crown Prince became even more intense. Without even drinking the fruit wine, her eyes were already intoxicated.

However, none of the noblewomen present had expected that this seemingly perfect banquet would be meticulously arranged by the new tutor appointed by the Crown Prince.

For Jiang Xiurun, these itching details were familiar. After all, in her previous life, she had put in a lot of effort for this, not only recording the preferences and taboos of various families in notes but also learning carefully from the wives of various mansions at every banquet, big or small.

And now, most of the noble people at the banquet have had dealings with in her previous life. Moreover, in these days, the tidbits she acquired from talking with the servants of the Crown Prince’s mansion were enough for her to entertain everyone meticulously and thoughtfully, making them feel right at home.

Although Feng Liwu was not familiar with these methods, the steward of the Crown Prince’s mansion praised young master Jiang endlessly and did not take credit for himself, reporting all the details meticulously instructed by Jiang Xiurun to him.

So when the banquet began, he also carefully paid attention to the details praised by the steward.

It must be said that although this young tutor of his was usually arrogant, when it came to managing the etiquette of the mansion, he was surprisingly meticulous, even surpassing a woman’s attention to detail. He was indeed capable.

And the fact that he could attract Jiang Xiurun to the mansion was truly a treasure.

Thinking about this, his gaze bypassed the numerous noblewomen who were looking at him affectionately and landed on Young Master Jiang, sitting in the corner of the banquet hall.

At this moment, the young man was staring out of the banquet hall’s ornate window, slightly tilting his head, seemingly lost in thought. When the flickering candlelight in the banquet cast onto that corner, it was already dim, and the silhouette of the young man was half-hidden in the darkness, appearing even more slender, evoking a sense of pity…

Jiang Xiurun indeed had a lot on her mind. Finally enduring until the end of the banquet, when everyone dispersed, she returned to her own courtyard.

Bai Qian knew that her young mistress had been tired these days, so she had prepared the medicinal bath sent by the Crown Prince’s people a few days ago, boiled it, and added it to hot water, allowing Jiang Xiurun to soak and invigorate her blood circulation, relieving fatigue.

The medicinal bath wasn’t unpleasant; it emitted an herbal fragrance. When Jiang Xiurun soaked in it, she couldn’t help but sigh with relief, deciding to temporarily set aside worries about Bo State’s tribute maiden entering the capital.

Anyway, it would take over a month for Bo State’s envoy to arrive, which was enough time for her to plan how to discreetly leave Luo’an City with her brother.

During this time, she also needed to accumulate more wealth, as there were too many places where gold would be needed in the future…

Thinking of this, she casually picked up a scroll of letters from the shelf next to the bath and began to read aloud. After reading a passage, she asked Bai Qian, who was massaging her shoulders, “Did you understand the passage I just read?”

Bai Qian had been feeling frustrated by her young mistress’s tests these past few days and could only laugh and cry, saying, “Young Master, I can’t read big characters, and you’re reading military books. How could I understand?”

Jiang Xiurun lightly tapped her head with the bamboo scroll and said, “My clever Qian’er, didn’t I teach you some characters a few days ago? You already know more than ten characters. How can you say you can’t read big characters? These military books are invaluable, and you can’t buy them at the bookstore for a high price. If it weren’t for being in the Crown Prince’s mansion, where His Highness was willing to lend them to me for a look, where else could you see them? You must memorize these military books, and in the future, not only must you be able to read them, but you must also be able to recite them by heart. Do you understand?”

Bai Qian felt like she was being pushed beyond her limits by her mistress. She didn’t know if her mistress planned to train her to become a military strategist in the future or to arrange troops and formations in the courtyard. She just grunted in response and focused on giving her young mistress a back rub.

Bai Qian had a strong grip and rubbed her back very comfortably, so Jiang Xiurun couldn’t help but forget about teaching military books for the time being. She just rested her arms on the edge of the tub, humming happily.

After bathing, Jiang Xiurun wanted to sleep. However, she hadn’t eaten much at the banquet because she was worried about the Bo state offering the tribute maiden, so she ended up feeling hungry after the bath.

But she was too lazy to get up and thought about going to bed hungry.

Just then, Bai Qian found a piece of silk cloth in her mistress’s clothes pouch and saw that there were words written on it. She brought it over and asked Jiang Xiurun if it was important and whether she should tidy it up properly.

Jiang Xiurun took a look and felt a bit uneasy. It turned out that the handwriting on the silk cloth was from Qin Zhao.

It seemed that he had entrusted a trusted person in the mansion to slip it into her waist pouch while the banquet was in full swing, taking advantage of the chaos.

Jiang Xiurun furrowed her brows slightly as she unfolded the silk cloth to read it carefully. There were no excessive words on the letter; it was just politely reminding her of a previous agreement. Since they are all working in the mansion now, they shouldn’t forget to visit the sick.

After all, recovering from a leg injury is also quite fast. But if his leg heals accidentally without any attention and she doesn’t even bother to send a piece of pastry, it would seem like a cold-hearted move, and so on.

Jiang Xiurun couldn’t be bothered to look at it again and just tossed the silk cloth aside.

At this point, Qin Zhao probably wouldn’t dare to reveal her identity actively. After all, he didn’t inform the Crown Prince of this matter immediately, so he was guilty of deceiving the monarch.

But if she continued to ignore him, given Qin Zhao’s stubborn temperament, he would likely cause trouble for her. However, if she took the initiative to go to the Qin Mansion, wouldn’t she be walking into the lion’s den?

After wasting so much brainpower on this, her stomach was even more hungry.

Just then, the Crown Prince sent someone to find her again.

Although she had already fallen asleep, she remembered the lesson from before. If she didn’t go, she would once again offend His Highness. There was no choice but to dress herself, ensure everything was safe, and then head to the study.

However, upon arriving at the study, she found that there were wine and dishes placed on the Crown Prince’s desk.

“I noticed that you didn’t eat much at the banquet and that it was noisy. I didn’t eat well either, so I called you here to drink with me.”

Jiang Xiurun didn’t refuse and sat down to dine with the Crown Prince.

In fact, Feng Liwu wasn’t very hungry, he only ate a few bites, and most of the time, he was watching Jiang Xiurun eat.

His young tutor was a good eater, and even though he didn’t particularly enjoy gourmet food, every time he saw her eating so attentively, he couldn’t help but feel that the dishes on the plate must be exceptionally delicious.

And at this moment, there was a familiar herbal scent emanating from the young man, which was the same as the medicinal bath he had been using these days. But for some reason, when it came from young master Jiang, it carried a different, more pleasant aroma, far superior to his own.

For a moment, he ate somewhat absentmindedly.

While Jiang Xiurun appeared to be eating attentively, she was also pondering: Perhaps this late-night snack, besides showcasing the Crown Prince’s regard for her, was also to discuss other matters with her.

However, since the Crown Prince didn’t speak, Jiang Xiurun didn’t ask.