She recalled what Prince Huan said yesterday and asked the others, “What did the prince mention yesterday about trying to get information from the princess? What do you want me to do?”

“That’s not a big deal.” King Huan said, “Princess Wen Yichang went to the suburban villa at the beginning of the month and hasn’t come back yet. It’s a rare opportunity for you to come to Ling State, so it would be good for you to go out with Lord Ji for a few days and take a look at the local customs and practices first.

The purpose of their mission to Ling State this time was to rescue a person because Ling State now had other thoughts. It was already guilty of facing the Great Zhou, and it was afraid that things would go bad if they got too tense before the war broke out, so it said it was a misunderstanding and released the person directly.

For the Ling Kingdom today, the presence of the Great Zhou delegation in the royal city is a huge destabilizing factor.

After the release of the person was completed, the King of Ling hinted several times that the delegation could leave Ling and return to Great Zhou to report.

If it weren’t for the etiquette of diplomatic relations, they would probably just pack up and send King Huan and others away.

But King Huan said coldly that they had lived in the capital for a long time and had finally come out for a stroll, away from their wives and children and the gossips in the capital. They could also travel at public expense, eat, and drink, so they naturally could not just go back like this.

After Tao Sheng had been with Prince Huan for a few days, she gained some basic understanding of this prince.

Although he seems a little unreliable on the surface, he is actually meticulous. He is not vague about small matters and does not delay big matters. In some aspects of his character, he is similar to the King of Chu and is quite righteous.

King Huan also had his own intelligence network and soon heard about the attack on King Rui.

Considering what Tao Sheng had said before about the dispute between herself and King Rui, King Huan subconsciously thought that Tao Sheng was the one who did it.

Who would have thought that such a docile-looking young lady could be so fiery-tempered and could beat up Prince Rui when they quarreled? Whenever Prince Huan thought of this, there was a little more awe in his eyes when he looked at Tao Sheng.

Tao Sheng originally thought that she would not have much to say to someone of King Huan’s age, but that was not the case.

When Prince Huan was shopping with her and Ji Yanming, he said more than once that he didn’t like talking to old-fashioned people like Fu An and preferred communicating with good-looking young people.

Tao Sheng soon found a topic to talk about with King Huan—Xiao Feng.

King Huan is indeed the uncle who is most like King Chu. The two have very similar hobbies. From the first day Tao Sheng mentioned Xiao Feng, King Huan developed a strong interest in this legendary fighting chicken.

The Ling Kingdom also knew that its plans could not be shown to others, and it inevitably felt guilty about facing the Great Zhou delegation, so it acted better on the surface and truly treated them as foreign guests from the upper world.

Tao Sheng finally understood the meaning of being arrogant in the city. The Ling State general Ba who took them out on guard duty even hinted that as long as they did not bully men or women, riding horses on the streets, partying every night, or eating free meals were all within an acceptable range.

Tao Sheng: …

That’s not necessary.

_

After the King of Ling State gave some clear hints, he found that these people still showed no signs of leaving, and he felt a little uneasy.

This Lord Li had met Ji Yanming several times and felt that this young man seemed to be able to see into people’s hearts and easily find all kinds of hidden flaws. In addition, his own delegation had suffered losses from him in the capital of the Great Zhou before, so every time he met Ji Yanming’s eyes, Lord Li always felt a little uneasy.

During these days of getting along, he also realized that although Ji Yanming was nominally only a sixth-rank deputy envoy and not a heavyweight official in the Great Zhou, he was the backbone of the entire team.

Not only did the seemingly shrewd and capable older general listen to him, but even the powerful and burly King Huan listened to him.

It is said that it is easier to invite a god than to send him away, but as long as Ji Yanming is persuaded, there is hope of getting the delegation to return early.

Lord Li decided to come to Qingling Terrace in person to talk to Ji Yanming.

When Lord Li was led to Qiulan Garden, he saw Ji Yanming playing chess with a pretty young woman.

Once upon a time, there was a national Go player from the Central Plains who traveled here after retiring. He was invited to the palace to serve as a Go lecturer. Lord Li was one of the most important students, and his Go skills were considered top-notch in Ling State.

Li Guozhu believed that he was very good at judging chess moves and that the girl’s moves were beyond redemption. However, he did not know how the two of them operated, and since he could not see any flaws or obvious errors, in the end, the girl won the game with a slight lead of half a piece.

Lord Li shook his head. Ji Yanming was indeed still young and impatient. If he were to control Heizi ^[1]is the name of the chess piece., he would surely kill the girl without leaving a single piece of armor.

Lord Li had heard about Tao Sheng’s arrival a long time ago, and now that he had met her in person, he had to ask a few questions.

He cleared his throat, and his subordinates understood what he meant and immediately spread the word that the king had arrived.

Tao Sheng had noticed early in the morning that there seemed to be someone outside the gauze curtain, and she became a little more absent-minded while playing chess. Ji Yanming had no intention of getting up to check, so Tao Sheng cooperated with him and finished the game.

When they heard that Lord Li had arrived, they both stopped what they were doing, stood up, and saluted.

Lord Li waved his hand casually, motioning for the two to sit down, and then said to Tao Sheng, “Miss Luo, what business do you have in Ling State this time?”

Li Guozhu’s question reveals a lot about his understanding.

Normally, the first question would be who this girl is and what she does, then ask why she’s here. However, Lord Li skipped those questions and directly asked Tao Sheng what her purpose was.

This shows that he has almost figured out Tao Sheng’s background. The informants from Qinglingtai have clearly reported everything that has happened here to their king.

Tao Sheng had already discussed how to answer this question with Ji Yanming.

First, they agreed that she could not say she was on official business or sent by the emperor, as that would make the already tense Ling State even more anxious and suspicious.

Second, calling it a visit to relatives seemed odd; they are only cousins. Even if they were siblings, Ji Yanming was on a diplomatic mission to another country and would return soon. There was no reason for her to visit.

If a family member were seriously ill, sending a letter over 800 miles would be more reliable than having a girl travel all this way.

King Huan, who was nearby, found this amusing and suggested, “Let’s just say you are trapped by love.”

Although Tao Sheng and Ji Yanming didn’t look like people caught up in love, it’s a compelling reason, especially since they are both of marriageable age. People might be more accepting of this explanation and less defensive.

Perhaps they could win sympathy and make their plans easier.

The more King Huan thought about it, the more brilliant his idea seemed.

Given the situation, there was no objection, and both Tao Sheng and Ji Yanming agreed.

Facing Lord Li’s puzzled look, Tao Sheng took a deep breath and began to speak.