When Su Wen woke up, Fu An was standing by the side.
There was also a woman beside him. She was the person the emperor mentioned, Shen Qiu.
The depression on Su Wen’s head had already been healed and the bruises on his face had mostly disappeared.
Shen Qiu looked at Su Wen before nodding, “Alright, your injuries are almost healed. Go back and recuperate for a few days. So long as you don’t go around using your head to hit anything, you should be fine.”
Su Wen looked at Fu An before asking, “This is?”
“Royal Physician, Shen Qiu.” Without needing Fu An to speak, Shen Qiu introduced herself..
Su Wen smiled. “Thank you, Sister Shen.”
Shen Qiu was not considered pretty, and she was not young anymore. She looked to be in her forties.
However, women were all similar. When they met someone who was sweet-tongued and knew how to flatter them, they would always feel happy inside.
Shen Qiu took out a small bottle and passed it to Su Wen. “When you go back, apply some ointment on your wounds every two hours. Tomorrow morning, the residual Qi inside your wounds should be gone and the swelling should go down.”
Su Wen quickly kept it and smiled. “Thank you, Sister Shen. I will treat you to a meal when you leave the palace.”
By his side, Fu An raised his eyebrows when he saw this, “Physician Shen, give me some too. My brothers will laugh at me if I return with a swollen face.”
Shen Qiu glanced at him, smirking as she replied, “What kind of place do you think I am working in? A charity? His Majesty asked you to bring him here, but he didn’t ask me to treat you.”
Fu An was helpless. He pondered for a moment and felt that maybe there was a problem with how he addressed her.
Thus, he tried again, “Sister Shen, please be kind. It’s just a matter of convenience anyway.”
Shen Qiu was furious: “Who are you calling your big sister? Your old face looks like it’s 60 years old, you still dare to call me big sister? Scram!”
Of course Fu An wasn’t that old. Shen Qiu was just mocking him.
Su Wen and Fu An were chased out together.
Su Wen glanced at Fu An and grumbled, “You’re really a piece of work. I can call her Big Sister, but you actually tried to call her Big Sister too? Are you a fool? I was thinking of getting a prescription to recuperate my stamina, but I guess it’s all gone up in smoke. Alright, I’m going home now. I told you to hold back just now, but you didn’t. You can dream about getting a higher position in this life.” With that said, he stretched his back and mumbled, “I’m gonna have a good rest today.”
Fu An hurriedly pulled him back, “His Majesty has commanded that you have to see him after you wake up. He wants you to stay in the palace for dinner.”
As the sky gradually darkened, Su Wen arrived once again before the Zhou Emperor.
As the latter passed the elixir and secret manual to Su Wen, he smiled. “You brat, you played quite the game just now. Come, accompany this Emperor and Wanrou for dinner before going back.”
“Wanrou? Seventh Princess?”
Emperor Zhou nodded and said, “That’s right. Don’t you guys know each other? That day when we were fighting in wealth, you even dared to bring my daughter to boost your reputation. You’re quite bold. I haven’t settled the score with you yet!”
…
On the other side, Zhao Wanrou also received a message from a eunuch.
“Your Highness, His Majesty would like you to come over for dinner tonight.”
Zhao Wanrou was a little flattered. It had to be known that Emperor Zhou had never asked her to attend the dinner banquet alone.
“Only myself?” Zhao Wanrou could not help but ask.
The eunuch replied, “Lord Su Wen will also be present. His Majesty said that you should dress up well.”
“I understand. You can go back now.” Zhao Wanrou sent the eunuch away, full of doubts.
‘Father, why do you want me to have a meal with Su Wen?’ As the daughter of Emperor Zhou, she was clear on how he behaved and did things.
Emperor Zhou was a very busy person. He was so busy that he rarely had time to manage his family relationships. There was a give-and-take relationship for everything.
Suddenly, she thought of a possibility. ‘Could it be that father wants me and Su Wen to…’
At the thought of this, she blushed and her eyes flashed with excitement.
If her arranged consort was going to be Su Wen, it did not sound too bad an option. He seemed to be quite nice and she got along well with him.
However, she immediately furrowed her brows and muttered to herself, “That shouldn’t be the case. Father just bestowed a marriage between Su Wen and Yan Luoying. How could he allow me to form a relationship with Su Wen?”
In reality, she had quite the good impression of Su Wen.
However, she also knew that Su Wen and Yan Luoying were already betrothed by her father, so she talked to him only with the intention of befriending the other party. However, Emperor Zhou’s attitude now left Zhao Wanrou confused.
At the dinner banquet, Emperor Zhou was seated at the seat of honor, with Su Wen and Zhao Wanrou on both sides.
Emperor Zhou raised his cup and said with a smile, “Young people like you still need to get closer to each other. Wanrou, your personality is too gentle. If you remain cooped up in the palace all day, it will be easy for problems to arise. You should let Su Wen bring you out of the palace to play, at the same time save this brat from causing trouble everywhere.”
A smile appeared on Su Wen’s face as he glanced at the Seventh Princess. He couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
Why did Emperor Zhou sound like he wanted to matchmake her with the Seventh Princess?
Was the Emperor suffering from dementia? Or in general just forgetful?
He was being forced to marry Yan Luoying a few days ago!
Could it be that… this Emperor wants me to marry two at once? What a brother!
Was the Emperor doing so because Su Wen was his long-lost father? Wait a minute… then didn’t this make the Seventh Princess his biological granddaughter?
Su Wen was imagining all sorts of nonsensical stuff, but outwardly, he kept a straight face. He raised his glass and smiled before downing it.
The dinner banquet, contrary to what people thought, was not at all luxurious.
There were only two vegetable dishes and two meat dishes placed in front of everyone.
To the royal family, this was considered simple fare.
Emperor Zhou sampled the dishes a little before standing up and saying, “Alright, I’m already tired. You two enjoy your meal. Wanrou, send Su Wen out of the palace later!”
“Yes!”
Zhao Wanrou bowed.
After Emperor Zhou left, there were only the two of them, along with some eunuchs and palace maids in charge of serving the food.
Zhao Wanrou instructed, “The rest of you may leave.”
The palace maids and eunuchs all withdrew. Zhao Wanrou looked at Su Wen and said with a smile, “Brother Su, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon. I was still thinking of looking for you to play someday.”
With that, she got up and sat beside Su Wen.
Su Wen teased, “Why? Do you miss me?”
Zhao Wanrou blushed and lowered her head, not saying a word.
The atmosphere in the hall turned rather ambiguous.
“Say… why did father ask us to eat together?” Zhao Wanrou asked.
Su Wen smiled and said, “He must be worried that you’re bored out of your mind. Didn’t he already say that just now? Let me bring you out to play!”
Zhao Wanrou was a little angry. She whispered, “You really can’t tell?”
“Tell what? I just saw that His Majesty didn’t eat much!”
Seeing that Su Wen was feigning ignorance and deliberately changing the topic, Zhao Wanrou got a little angry. “Are you done eating? I’ll send you out of the palace!”
Su Wen smiled and said, “I’m not full yet. I had to do a lot of moving around this afternoon and I’m still hungry!”
After saying that, he started gobbling down the food in front of him.
He was really hungry. Soon, all the food in front of him was gone. Then, he turned to Zhao Wanrou to ask, “Are you full? I didn’t see you eat anything.”
Due to her anger with Su Wen, Zhao Wanrou had completely lost her appetite. When she heard Su Wen’s words, she thought that he was concerned about her. Her anger disappeared and she said gently, “I’m full, but you don’t have to rush. Since you have nothing to do, you can stay for a while.”
Only to see Su Wen get up and run over to Zhao Wanrou’s table. He started to also gobble down her meal in big mouthfuls. As he ate, he mumbled, “It’s good that you’re full. I’m not full yet. Your father is really petty. To think that the grand and stately Emperor only treated me to four dishes.”
“You!” Zhao Wanrou was speechless at how she should respond.
