In the study, Xia Houmo was checking the messages from the spies.
Zuowei strode to outside the gate of the study.
“Your Royal Highness, King Nanyang broke into the mansion.”
King Nanyang was making troubles outside the gate of the mansion, which certainly couldn’t be concealed from the people in the Jin Mansion.
Xia Houmo stopped and raised his head.
“He has already come in?”
“Yes, the guards couldn’t stop him.”
“Nephew, my dear nephew.”
As soon as Xia Houmo finished his words, he heard King Nanyang’s voice outside the door.
Zuowei looked at King Nanyang speechlessly and reached out to stop him when King Nanyang was about to rush into the study. “Your Royal Highness, His Royal Highness …”
“Is His Royal Highness inside?”
“Zuowei, let him in.” Xia Houmo’s voice came out of the study.
King Nanyang glanced at Zuowei and walked in.
“How could you be so coward and stay in the house so obediently?” As soon as King Nanyang entered the room, he sat on the chair and looked at Xia Houmo with a teasing smile.
Xia Houmo threw the stationery in his hand into the brazier aside, and the thin and light stationery instantly turned to ashes.
“Uncle, do you have any business to come to me?”
“Can’t I come to see my nephew if I have no business? At your wedding ceremony, I failed to come back to see your wife. So I want to meet her today.”
Xia Houmo certainly wouldn’t take his words seriously.
“Your Royal Highness, Her Royal Highness sent someone to ask where you want to have lunch?”
“In the front hall.”
The front hall was where the male guests were received.
“Eh, don’t … What I said is true. Bring in all the gifts.”
Xia Houmo glanced at him.
“You tell her that King Nanyang is here. If she wants to see him, she can go to the front hall.”
“Yes.”
King Nanyang looked depressed. “Alas, I can’t believe that after all these years, and I have no place in your heart now.”
Zuoqiu twitched his mouth. King Nanyang, when did His Royal Highness have you in his heart?!
The maid quickly sent the message to Su Muge.
Su Muge was originally to ask Xia Houmo about the situation in the injured barrack. Unexpectedly, King Nanyang had actually come.
She has heard about King Nanyang from Xia Houmo. The most interesting thing was related to the popular Fairy Jinghong.
It was said that King Nanyang had met Fairy Jinghong by chance, and he was shocked by her beauty and charm. And then he began to miss Fairy Jinghong without any appetite, just thinking about how to get Fairy Jinghong.
He was even willing to lose his title of King Nanyang for the sake of Fairy Jinghong. It seemed that he was quite spoony.
“His Royal Highness said so?”
“Yes.”
King Nanyang was the uncle of Xia Houmo after all. How could she refuse to meet him when he visited them for the first time?
“Help me dress up.” Su Muge went to the dresser and sat down.
“Yes.”
Yueru helped Su Muge change into a more dignified light-red silk dress with a moon-white cotton gown and put the cloak on her before she helped her out of the Bamboo Courtyard.
The front hall was a certain distance away from the Bamboo Courtyard. When Su Muge arrived there, Xia Houmo and King Nanyang had already sat down at the table.
Su Muge lowered her eyes when she entered the room, appearing to be clever and tranquil.
“Pay my respects to you, Your Royal Highness, King Nanyang.”
“Well, come over and sit down.”
“Well, the girl of the Nangong family is prettier …”
As soon as King Nanyang opened his mouth, he felt a cold sight on his body, making him tremble inexplicably.
“Well, but your temperament is very good.”
Su Muge twitched her eyes and walked to Xia Houmo and sat down beside him. “Thank you for your compliment, Uncle.”
King Nanyang waved his hand carelessly. “Don’t thank me. I like to be honest.”
“Your Royal Highness, can we have the lunch served?”
Xia Houmo nodded. “Okay.”
The maids entered with dishes in their hands.
“Well, the food in the capital is both delicious and good-looking.” King Nanyang ignored Xia Houmo and Su Muge and picked up his chopsticks to eat.
The maid on the side wanted to serve him but was refused by him.
Su Muge glanced at the maid and said: “Go to wait outside.”
“Yes.”
The meal was finished in a very strange atmosphere.
After the maids withdrew the dishes and the three people cleaned their hands, Xia Houmo looked at King Nanyang.
“When are you going back, Uncle?”
King Nanyang was leaning on the chair contentedly and sat up with a sad face after hearing his words.
“I have just come here and you want me to go back? I will tell my elder brother that I will not live in the broken place of Nanyang Mansion, and I will live here with you!”
Compared with King Dingxi, King Nanyang had much less chance to return to the capital, which led to the previous Nanyang Mansion being given to others by the Emperor. The current Nanyang Mansion was the house of a former Grade-3 official, and King Nanyang had never lived in it.
“I have a sin now.” Xia Houmo said in a low voice.
“What sin? I don’t care. Anyway, I will live here with you. I have nothing to take with me and I can directly move in.” While speaking, King Nanyang turned to Su Muge. “My nephew’s wife, it’s a deal. I can just live in the guest courtyard.”
Having finished speaking, King Nanyang yawned and stood up. “Well, I have been tired after such a long journey. You can leave me alone.”
After watching King Nanyang walk away, Su Muge turned to Xia Houmo and said: “Your Royal Highness, are we going to let King Nanyang live here?”
“His Majesty will not let him stay in the Jin Mansion.”
Hearing Xia Houmo’s words, Su Muge knew what to do. Anyway, she would treat him as a VIP with hospitality in the mansion.
“Your Royal Highness, is the situation in the injured barrack serious?”
Xia Houmo nodded.
“Dozens of people have died, and Xia Houkun blocked the news of the matter.”
Su Muge pursed her lips.
Those people could have been treated and cured, but now they had to be the innocent victims of power fights.
“Doctor Gui said that the poison they got was from Xiliang.”
Xia Houmo looked back at her and said gently with a low voice.
“Quanming…”
“Who?”
“Quanming, the Prince of Xiliang Kingdom, should be in the capital soon.”
“The Prince of Xiliang Kingdom.” Su Muge frowned slightly and didn’t know much about this country. She only knew that the Xiliang Kingdom’s comprehensive national strength was comparable to the Chu’s. After the war 30 years ago, the two countries signed a settlement agreement and had been living together peacefully for 30 years.
“Your Royal Highness.” Donglin came outside the door.
“Come in.”
Donglin walked into the room and glanced at Xia Houmo.
“Yes?”
“I have got news about the matter you have sent me to investigate.” Donglin took out a scroll and handed it over to Xia Houmo.
Su Muge glanced at it and was ready to get up to leave. “Your Royal Highness, I still have something…”
Xia Houmo took over the scroll and turned to look at her. “Don’t you want to know about Fairy Jinghong?”
Fairy Jinghong!
Su Muge was just about to leave. But after hearing this, she sat back on the stool.
Xia Houmo opened the scroll, and Su Muge came closer and looked at it curiously.
In the picture was a woman standing by the lotus pond. The woman was wearing a riding suit with a ponytail. She looked pretty heroic. The beauty in this picture was beautiful indeed, but it made people feel something missing.
“This is… Fairy Jinghong?”
Donglin said: “Yes, this was painted by a folk artist in those years.”
Looking at this picture, Su Muge still felt it too abstract.
“After Fairy Jinghong left the Chu, someone saw her appear in the Xiliang Kingdom. But she soon disappeared, and no one knew her trace again.”
In other words, Fairy Jinghong last appeared in front of people 16 years ago.
“But I have also found a strange thing.”
Xia Houmo raised his eyebrows slightly. “What is it?”
“When I was investigating Fairy Jinghong, I found that several forces were also investigating it at the same time.”
Su Muge was a little surprised. “It has been so many years. Why are there so many people investigating her?” Could it be that Fairy Jinghong had other children besides her?
Xia Houmo closed the scroll. “Check who these forces are.”
“Yes.” After Donglin finished speaking, he glanced at Xia Houmo before leaving.
Su Muge could see his eyes clearly.
“It’s a bit cold in the front hall, Your Royal Highness. I’ll go back to Bamboo Courtyard first.”
Xia Houmo didn’t stop her this time. “Well, let them hold you.”
Su Muge felt a little amused. “Yes, Your Royal Highness.”
Only after Su Muge left did Donglin say: “Your Royal Highness, I have investigated that there has never been a person with the surname Ye around Her Royal Highness.”
Xia Houmo narrowed his eyes slightly. “Have you investigated it thoroughly?”
“Yes, I have searched all over and found nothing. There is one more thing. The people we have found in the Manyun Villa before have come to the capital again.”
“Have they contacted anyone during this period?”
“No.”
“Continue to watch on them and find out what they are going to do in the capital.”
“Yes.”
…
The birthday of the Emperor’s mother was imminent, and the capital had gradually been recovered from the rebellion of King Dingxi.
The divine bell had also been repaired and hung back. And the Emperor had told the world that it was King Dingxi who made the divine bell fall instead of himself. As a result, the public mind was settled.
The winter snow was melting, and it was still slightly cold in the early spring.
Xia Houzhen, in a dark red robe, stood outside the city gate with a large group of people.
A person outside the city gate rushed over on a horse. He turned over and dismounted when he was ten steps away from Xia Houzhen. “Your Royal Highness, the team of the Xiliang Kingdom has been three miles away from here.”
Xia Houzhen stood there with his hands clasped behind his back. “You may retreat.”
“Yes.”
Xia Houzhen looked into the distance and saw a team of people walking towards them in the distance.
In a while, the team stopped in front of the city gate.
Xia Houzhen mounted his horse and moved forward.
“Are you the honor guards of the Prince of Xiliang Kingdom?”
In the middle of the queue, a scarlet wagon slowly moved to the front of the queue and came to Xia Houzhen.
The carriage curtain was lifted up by the slender fingers, but the people in the carriage didn’t show his face.
“Exactly.” A clear but cold voice came from the carriage.
“It’s really hard for the Prince of Xiliang Kingdom to cover such a long distance. His Majesty has been waiting in the imperial palace for a long time. This way, please.”
“Thank you.”
The carriage curtain was put down, and Xia Houzhen turned around and led the team into the capital city.
The person sitting in the carriage leaned casually on the golden silk cushion. As the carriage moved forward while shaking, his light-colored eyes were flickering…
