Chapter 7

Seeing that Princess Huarong had started eating, Feng Yuanyuan also picked up her chopsticks and leisurely scanned the dishes. She first picked up a piece of braised pork ribs.

Pork ribs—she had rarely eaten them in her life. After Grandma Li passed away, she had even less exposure to meat.

Her stomach was genuinely hungry, so Feng Yuanyuan ate while glancing at the dishes. She finished one bowl of rice, and then asked Weiyun to help her with another.

Despite her delicate and pretty appearance, when she focused on eating, she resembled a famished little wolf cub. Occasionally, she would sneak a glance at the princess, feeling a bit uneasy.

Princess Huarong saw such a child for the first time.

The princes and princesses she grew up with, like herself, were taught various etiquettes by the palace maids since childhood. Just learning the proper way to hold chopsticks took quite a while.

The palace…

Suddenly, she lost her appetite. Princess Huarong put down her chopsticks, and Yingyue promptly brought tea for her, helping her rinse her mouth.

Feng Yuanyuan instinctively stopped eating.

Princess Huarong instructed Weiyun, “Take her to the guest room at Taoran Hall after she finishes eating.”

After speaking, Princess Huarong returned to the inner room.

Feng Yuanyuan looked at the full table of dishes. She had eaten a lot, and the princess hardly touched anything.

“The princess has never had a good appetite. It has nothing to do with you. Keep eating.” Weiyun comforted her gently.

Feng Yuanyuan continued to eat, but her thoughts were with the princess. Despite her beauty, the princess was thin, and prolonged thinness could lead to illness.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t her place to offer advice at the moment.

Finishing her own meal, Weiyun took her to Taoran Hall.

Taoran Hall was located behind the princess’s residence and was typically the place where the hosts would settle their children.

“The fact that the princess arranged for you to stay so close indicates that she really likes you. Don’t overthink it, just enjoy the comfort,” Weiyun whispered to Feng Yuanyuan while the seamstress took her measurements.

Feng Yuanyuan nodded.

After she crawled into the bed with the soft and clean new quilt, Weiyun returned to attend to the princess.

Hugging the cozy new quilt, Feng Yuanyuan listened to the fading footsteps outside her room. Taoran Hall, the residence of the Zhen Nan Prince, was now her new home.

Would the princess keep her here?

No one could give her the answer.

Amidst the conflicting thoughts, Feng Yuanyuan’s eyelids grew heavier.

　Outside the window, the summer night had just fallen.

At the gate of the mansion, Prince Zhen Nan, Zhou Wen, and the second son, Zhou Du, finally returned from the military camp, dismounting their spirited horses.

Chen Jing had been waiting on this side for a long time.

Zhou Du curled his lips; Chen Jing had been responsible for Princess Huarong’s affairs in recent years. Today, the princess must have done something again, and Chen Jing needed to report to the elder brother.

“Elder brother, rest early. I’ll go back first.”

“Mm.”

As his younger brother left, Zhou Wen also returned to his room.

Servants were preparing water in the west wing, while he sat in the east wing, sipping cold tea and listening as Chen Jing quietly reported on Princess Huarong’s journey to Cangshan today.

He was a martial prince, a military leader, yet his features were handsome, and he sat there with a calm demeanor, as refined as a literati.

“Master, do you want me to send someone to investigate that girl’s background?”

“No need. Since she said so, Old Li and Master Mei must have been real.”

“Do you believe that she can dream of predicting good or bad things?”

“Does the princess believe it?”

“The princess only said it doesn’t matter if it’s true or false. However, if this girl was sent by someone else and has ulterior motives against the princess or you…”

“The mighty Prince and Princess are afraid of a seven-year-old girl?”

Chen Jing: …

He felt that this phrase sounded somewhat familiar.

Right, back when the emperor agreed to the old lord’s proposal and sent Princess Huarong to Ningzhou. Before the wedding night, the old lord became more and more uneasy, thinking that Princess Huarong might be a carefully arranged beauty scheme by the old emperor. Either she was prepared to ambush his precious son in the bridal chamber, or she was planning to instigate his son to pledge allegiance to the court for an extended period.

What did the young prince, who was the heir at that time, say?

“As a martial prince, am I afraid of a delicate beauty?”

The words were spoken confidently and boldly. But what was the result?

The Zhen Nan Prince’s mansion commanded the entire Ningzhou Prefecture, with the formidable Zhou family army of two hundred thousand, and natural barriers capable of resisting foreign powers.

When Princess Huarong arrived in Ningzhou, she was supposed to be a chess piece to be manipulated. However, under the indulgence of the prince, she played the role of a royal princess to the fullest, and no one dared to bully her!

In the early morning, Zhou Wen rose early for sword practice, dressed in white training attire, his movements flowing like water.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor leading to the rear courtyard. Zhou Wen slowly sheathed his sword and turned to look.

It was a second-tier maid from Princess Huarong’s side, named Huapin. Seeing the prince, Huapin quickly bowed in respect.

Zhou Wen: “You’re in a hurry; what happened?”

Huaping respectfully said, “Yesterday, the princess brought back a Miss Feng and settled her in the Taoran Hall. The maid who was serving there just reported that Miss Feng’s forehead was burning, so the princess ordered this servant to inform the chief imperial physician.”

Princess Huarong was the most beloved daughter of the former emperor in the capital. When she was married off to Ningzhou, it was out of necessity. To ensure her daughter’s well-being in her distant marriage, the former emperor not only bestowed a generous dowry but also assigned two imperial physicians to accompany her. Among them, the chief imperial physician was highly skilled, while the other, Physician Liu, specialized in women’s health issues during her time in the palace.

Zhou Wen nodded, “Go then.”