Chapter 304 – Bewildered Crown Prince
“Your Highness, do you want to go for a walk?” the eunuch asked in a low voice as he walked over with Wen Tianyao’s cloak in his hands.
There was a pile of scrolls on the writing desk which were given to Wen Tianyao by the Emperor. The scrolls had been reviewed and verified. The Emperor wanted Wen Tianyao to write his thoughts after reading the scrolls and send them back to him.
Wen Tianyao really lived up to his reputation as the Crown Prince.
“A walk…” Wen Tianyao looked at the pile of scrolls on the desk, then looked at the sky. After hesitating for a moment, he blurted, “I won’t go today.”
Usually, at this time, he would go for a walk to put his mind at ease, but he was exceptionally tired today.
It wasn’t just about the issue of the scrolls. The most important thing was that he couldn’t figure out what Yan Huaijing had up his sleeve. Father Emperor intended to let him deal with the four heirs-apparent.
They were about the same age, and all of them were in the capital. Moreover, he was the Crown Prince of the country, so dealing with them was a piece of cake. However, Wen Tianyao couldn’t comprehend Yan Huaijing’s behavior today.
“Is Master Fenghe here yet?” Rubbing his sunken brows, Wen Tianyao thought for a moment and asked the eunuch. He had previously sent someone to invite Master Fenghe.
“He hasn’t come yet. Your Highness, do you want to take a rest first? You won’t be able to finish reading all these scrolls in a short time,” the eunuch advised in a gentle tone while looking at the pile of scrolls that he had not finished reading.
“Never mind. I’ll rest after Master Fenghe is here.” After shaking his head, Wen Tianyao took one of the scrolls, read it, and recorded his opinions from time to time.
There were a few octagon-shaped lanterns hanging high up the pillars, illuminating the quiet room so bright that it looked like it was daytime.
The eunuch put away Wen Tianyao’s cloak and retreated without a sound. Then, he stood behind the guards at the door with his head lowered, waiting for Wen Tianyao’s summons.
Not long after he stood still, the eunuch saw a light flashing over from afar. It was a eunuch who had led Master Fenghe over. Hence, he hurriedly went in to report, “Your Highness, Master Fenghe is here!”
“Take him to the side hall!” Wen Tianyao ordered with a nod and put down the scroll in his hand.
“Yes, I’ll take him there right away!” The eunuch retreated and led Master Fenghe, who was waiting at the door, to the side hall next to the main hall.
After that, the eunuch served the tea. Master Fenghe took his seat and closed his eyes, without moving a muscle.
Not long later, Wen Tianyao entered through another small door.
“Master, please have some tea,” Wen Tianyao sat opposite Master Fenghe and greeted him with a smile.
Hearing his voice, Master Fenghe opened his eyes, looked at him, and replied respectfully, “Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Master, what did Yan Huaijing want to do today?” Wen Tianyao cut to the chase and asked. He couldn’t figure out Yan Huaijing’s intention. No matter how he looked at it, it was a bit casual, but he didn’t know what on earth Yan Huaijing had up his sleeve.
“Your Highness, the Heir-apparent of Yan is extraordinary. You need to be careful.” Master Fenghe raised his gentle eyes and looked at Wen Tianyao gently.
“Frankly, I don’t know what he wanted to do, but he must have heard of the legend of the phoenix-fate woman.”
“He knew?” Wen Tianyao asked subconsciously.
It wasn’t that Yan Huaijing shouldn’t know, but Wen Tianyao was asking how Master Fenghe knew about it. According to Yan Huaijing’s character, even if he knew, he wouldn’t express it so obviously, not to mention the fact that Master Fenghe only had a brief encounter with him.
“Please forgive me, Your Highness. The Heir-apparent of Yan had known about it before the legend of the phoenix-fate woman was spread out. That day, he had brought a woman to the Plum Blossom Nunnery to show me her palm and let me read it.”
“How was it?” Wen Tianyao asked anxiously.
It was a piece of shocking news for Wen Tianyao that Yan Huaijing knew about the phoenix-fate woman even earlier than the rumors were spread. Did it mean that the forces of the Yan State were more powerful and influential in the capital than he had anticipated?
“It was ordinary and nothing special. Your Highness, please rest assured that the woman was not the phoenix-fate woman.” Master Fenghe smiled.
“Could that woman be the woman that Yan Huaijing brought over today?” Suddenly, a new idea flashed across Wen Tianyao’s mind, and it made him frown.
“It is very likely.” Master Fenghe thought for a moment and said, “At that time, the woman was wrapped tightly. The Heir-apparent of Yan said that he was there to play chess with me, but his true intention was to let me read her palm. However, he did not have the intention of letting me see her palm today.”
The remark made Wen Tianyao fall silent. Since Yan Huaijing knew about the phoenix-fate woman, he would definitely ask Master Fenghe to take a look at the woman’s palm. If he didn’t, it would mean that he already knew that the woman was not the rumored phoenix-fate woman. In other words, the mysterious woman that Yan Huaijing had brought with him twice was the same person.
“Master, is that woman really the daughter of an aristocratic family in Yan State?” Wen Tianyao was puzzled again because the woman was too mysterious. Moreover, when Yan Huaijing left the palace, the woman was not by his side, but there was one more guard with him.
“I think so. When I read her palm the other day, her hand was delicate and smooth like someone who had never worked for a day. There were no calluses between her fingers. It was impossible that she was a well-trained guard who started training from a young age,” Master Fenghe explained in detail as he knew what Wen Tianyao was suspicious of.
“Why did he bring her in and out of the Palace by disguising her as a guard?” Wen Tianyao was extremely puzzled by Yan Huaijing’s actions. The latter could have brought her to the Palace stately.
“I think… he wants to protect the woman,” Master Fenghe answered, although he felt that it didn’t make sense.
“Your Highness, you saw how attentive and respectful he was toward the woman. Not only was she wrapped up tightly, but she also sat beside him, hinting that he would give her a title. If she really was a daughter of an aristocratic family in Yan State and also his childhood sweetheart, she would definitely be second only to the Heiress-apparent of Yan. You should know the purpose of him coming to the capital.”
Of course, Wen Tianyao knew the purpose of Yan Huaijing and the other heirs-apparent coming to the capital. Yan Huaijing was the best candidate as the princess’ groom, but Father Emperor could not decide which prince to marry him for the time being.
However, no matter who married him, if they knew that Yan Huaijing already had such a girlfriend, they would not let it slide away easily. Although Third Younger Sister was soft-spoken, she would not be able to tolerate this kind of thing.
Therefore, it was necessary for Yan Huaijing to protect this aristocratic young lady from the State of Yan by doing this.
However, was this something a person like Yan Huaijing would do? Was he so passionate? Wen Tianyao almost felt that this reasonable explanation was ridiculous. The corners of his lips could not help but curl up slightly.
“Master, perhaps this is what Yan Huaijing wants everyone to think,” he decisively denied what Master Fenghe said.
“Your Highness, why is that?” Master Fenghe asked in surprise.
“Do you think someone like Yan Huaijing is passionate? Will he really give up on marrying a princess for a woman? Although Father Emperor had his consideration, the marriage to a princess is an honor for Yan Huaijing. I don’t think Yan Huaijing would do such a thing because of affection.”
Wen Tianyao found it funny to link Yan Huaijing to passion.
He had sent his spy to investigate Yan Huaijing in Yan. From the result, it was clear that Yan Huaijing was a ruthless man. He might seem refined and elegant on the outside, but once his disguise was removed, he was as cold-blooded as the demon from hell.
Therefore, it was impossible that such a person was passionate about a woman.
Wen Tianyao refused to believe it.
Therefore, even if that woman was the daughter of an aristocratic family, she was not his childhood sweetheart. Wen Tianyao was told that Yan Huaijing sneaked her into the capital by hiding her in the horse carriage. He had another agenda of bringing the woman to the capital.
“Master, did he intend to refuse the marriage arrangement?” Wen Tianyao asked as a possibility popped up in his mind. Yan Huaijing’s behavior was too strange.
“This… might be possible.” Master Fenghe usually studied Buddhism the most, so he could not keep up with Wen Tianyao’s train of thought for a while.
“Third Younger Sister and Fourth Younger Sister both expressed their feelings for him, but Yan Huaijing ignored them. Could it be that he was unwilling to marry them?”
“I don’t think so…” Master Fenghe couldn’t give a clear answer either, and his brows furrowed even more tightly.
“Or could it be that this woman is extraordinarily beautiful, so he specially brought her to the capital to offer her to the Palace?” Wen Tianyao suddenly had another idea. The woman had successfully attracted the attention of everyone. Not only he, but those people were also investigating her.
Perhaps, Yan Huaijing’s goal was not to protect her, but to make her famous, or to stand out.
“Your Highness, please don’t think too much about it. No matter what the Heir-apparent of Yan thinks, you should always be calm and composed. You must not let him lead you by the nose. Please calm down and see how the others are going to act. Your Highness, this is the capital, not the land of a duke. No matter what the Heir-apparent of Yan is thinking, we can consider the woman as his true childhood sweetheart for the time being.”
Noticing that Wen Tianyao was starting to get annoyed, Master Fenghe reminded him in a gentle tone.
“Okay. I’ll have to trouble you to tell me everything about the phoenix-fate woman.” Master Fenghe’s gentle tone abruptly pulled Wen Tianyao back from his chaotic mind. Knowing that he was too impatient, he composed himself, and when he opened his eyes again, he calmed down.
“Yes, Your Highness!” Seeing that they had covered most of the topic, Master Fenghe stood up and excused himself. Wen Tianyao deliberately saw him to the door before returning to sit down. His handsome eyebrows were tightly furrowed.
What exactly did Yan Huaijing mean?
“What exactly does Wei Qiufu mean?” Wei Yuewu, who was sitting in the pavilion, had a similar doubt in her eyes as she looked at Wei Qiufu pacing around the garden.
Wei Qiufu’s behavior was too bizarre that it could not be ignored. Was she really here for a walk in the garden?
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