Chapter 317 - Prelude (2/2)
Prince Yi opened his eyes and looked outside at the night and responded, ”Princess Nalan...”
Zhao Chang's eyes widened, he opened his mouth but no words came out and then he knit his brows, ”The Emperor will not allow it...”
Prince Yi scoffed, ”I don't need his permission...” He said and walked back to sit at his desk with a smile on his face as he imagined the surprise and shock on the Emperor's face once he revealed his hand.
”I have a lot of things to prepare so you may leave now. I just wanted to inform you ahead of time...as a friend.” Prince Yi said, flashing a smile at the confused-looking Zhao Chang, ”Actually, you should stay the night...just in case.”
It would not do for Zhao Chang to go running his mouth ahead of his plans.
***
The next day, the Emperor and Lei Xing were having a quick little brunch before getting dressed to host the celebratory farewell banquet for the princesses when Eunuch Li entered the room with a worried expression. He did a quick bow to Lei Xing before bending over to whisper something into the Emperor's ear.
The Emperor immediately knit his brows in confusion, he glanced at the maids and ordered, ”Leave.” And as soon as the doors closed behind them, he turned back to Eunuch Li and ordered, ”Explain...”
Eunuch Li furrowed his brows and glanced at Lei Xing, a bit skeptical about talking about this in front of her. But he knew the Emperor would not take kindly to him mentioning that this was better said in ”private”. i=It seems the Emperor noticed his apprehension because he sternly repeated, ”Explain.”
Eunuch Li let out a sigh and began, ”I am not exactly sure what happened, I just read in yesterday's report from the men at Prince Yi's manor that she was there... It seems she was uninvited. The guards at the door did not seem to be aware of her arrival. They tried to stop her and it appears there was a bit of a scuffle before the one named Tian Ji arrived and took her into the manor...It seems they just ate a meal together and then she left...”
The Emperor frowned, he never knew Princess Nalan and Prince Yi to be close. It seemed a bit weird that she would barge into his manor just for a meal. It did not make sense to him so he looked over at Lei Xing and asked, ”What sort of relationship does Princess Nalan have with my brother?”
Lei Xing blinked and then knit her brows in thought, ”As far as I know, not much of a relationship...they were cordial I guess but Nalan never mentioned him particularly...”
”So this is strange to you as well?” The Emperor asked to confirm and Lei Xing nodded. When they met up as a group, Prince Yi barely spoke and save for that one time with the snake encounter, she never really saw Prince Yi and Princess Nalan ”vibing” together. But then again, she was not always with them so she was not really a good source.
Asking the servants around them would be much better, but before Lei Xing could suggest that, Eunuch Li went on to say, ”It also seems that she snuck out...According to the report, she showed up with only a maid. But I will have to confirm that with her guards on their return...”
Princess Nalan had sent over a message that she would be staying at the Zou representatives manor last night. And as per usual behavior when she did this, she would not return to the palace until this evening.
The Emperor sighed, ”Investigate it then...And since she seems incapable of handling the simple responsibility of settling on a date, I will choose one for her. Send a message to the Zou representatives manor to inform them that their Prince is in a precarious situation at the border and so they are required to make a hasty departure. The day after tomorrow should suffice... You go yourself so they understand the gravity of the news and escort the Princess back to the palace. She is not to leave until her departure.”
Eunuch Li swiftly nodded, agreeing with the Emperor's choice to send off this loose cannon that was Princess Nalan. He bowed and swiftly went off to see to the arrangements.
The Emperor let out an irritated breath, completely losing his appetite. He never liked this Princess Nalan and now it seemed that she was trying to start unnecessary trouble here for him. Honestly, he did not want to keep her around. And if not for Lei Xing asking him, he would never have permitted this unrestrained Princess to stay even a day more in his country, much less accepted her into his palace.