Chapter 152 Green Vines: Proceeding to Dingtao Province
"Come to Dingtao with me," Situ"s expression and tone were calm. He and Feng Luodi were at a pavilion that was built beside a lake, surrounded by evergreen monstera and periwinkles. Near the pavilion, coloured wine gla.s.ses and plates of exquisite snacks were placed on the stone table. There were also some plates of exquisite snacks prepared.
Situ was in casual clothes and had a purple-gold belt around his waist. He let down some of his hair and it made him looked more natural and suave. His gaze was not intense, looking calmly at Feng Luodi. Feng Luodi was wearing a light pink dress with some wreaths and pendants. The look was simple but elegant. She half-leaned against the pillar and smiled at Situ.
"Is that an order or a plea?"
Situ raised his eyebrows and held out his hand. "What do you think?"
Feng Luodi had a gentle smile on her face. She slowly walked over and held Situ"s hand before sitting down beside him. She shook her head. "I can"t tell."
Situ felt helpless. He couldn"t do anything to Feng Luodi when she decided to act blur.
"It"s a plea." He picked up a snack and held it near Feng Luodi"s mouth. Feng Luodi opened her mouth and chewed on the snack. After finis.h.i.+ng it, she gave a bright smile and said casually, "My mother and brother are in poor health now. Jianqiu is worried about Concubine Yao"s delivery. Do you think I should leave Chang"an now?"
Situ gritted his teeth and pulled Feng Luodi into his arms.
"There will be people taking care of them. You don"t have to worry."
"No," Feng Luodi shook her head lightly, her face indifferent, "I take care of them because I cared for them. Even if there are people already taking care of them, I will continue to do so."
Situ was unhappy. He looked at Feng Luodi intently. "You just want to disagree with me."
Feng Luodi continued smiling. "How smart of you."
Situ forcefully squeezed Feng Luodi"s hand and gave her a fierce look. "Are you agreeing?"
"You make me want to do it even more." Feng Luodi joked. When she saw Situ"s sour face, she smiled triumphantly and hugged him by his neck.
"Are you angry already? I am just joking."
Situ grabbed her hand. "You knew that I won"t do anything to you."
Feng Luodi smile got brighter. The troubles that had been bothering her for the past few days disappeared slightly.
Situ felt relieved. He always had a bad feeling. Feng Luodi kept saying that she would leave one day. What happened if he finished his business in Dingtao only to come back and realise that she was gone? He never had such an uneasy feeling before. The moment Feng Luodi appeared, his life started to change.
Feng Luodi noticed the emotions in Situ"s eyes and her smile faded a little. She reached out and swept his hair away, placing her hands on his eyebrows.
Both of them really treasured the time they had now. As for the future, no one knew what would happen.
The head steward Xiang Bo hurried over and bowed at them more than then ten feet away. "Master, there is an important guest."
Situ looked up and saw a person in hooded cloak right behind the head steward. When the person saw Situ and Feng Luodi, he took off his hood and smiled gently at them. However, the panic on his face was evident.
Situ was surprised and stood up immediately, "Your Highness?"
The person was none other than the First Prince who rarely visited any officials house. He came at such an interesting time. Even Feng Luodi knew that a lot of people were keeping an eye on the Duke of Anping. She was not afraid of any rumours but the First Prince was different. He was in the same situation as Situ.
"Your Highness," Feng Luodi paid her respect to the First Prince and nodded at Situ, "I will go take a walk."
The First Prince must have something to discuss with Situ. It would be inconvenient for her to stay here.
"Please stay, Miss Feng, it is nothing important," The First Prince gave a warm smile. He looked very elegant.
Feng Luodi had the illusion that she was looking at Jiang Moyin, a man full of talents and abilities, someone who could face his opponents with a smile. Situ nodded at Feng Luodi and Feng Luodi bowed. She found a place not far away and sat down without a word.
Situ turned towards the First Prince and signalled with his hand. "Please, your Highness. What brought you here?" Feng Luodi realised that Situ was more relaxed around the First Prince. However, it was different from his interactions with her and the rest of his friends like Gan Qingjia.
The First Prince sighed, "When my father asked us to go to Dingtao, I had no thoughts about it. However, I realised from my men this morning that it was the Eight Prince who told the Emperor about the governor of Dingtao."
"You feel that our a.s.signment happened because the Eight Prince told the Emperor something about us?"
"That is my exact thought," the First Prince admitted, "when I met the Minister of Imperial Clan Affairs, he mentioned to me that there was someone who impeached us for being too close. People are also saying that you have other intentions for keeping your army. My father might be suspicious of us."
"The Emperor has a suspicious nature. There is nothing to worry about." Situ"s focus was different from that of the First Prince. "The Minister of Imperial Clan Affairs might have other intentions for telling you such things."
Feng Luodi listened to them quietly and tried to a.n.a.lyse the situation using the information the Shadow Agents gave her. If she was able to help Situ, both Jiang Moyin and her would not have any regrets.
"Oh yes, there is this other thing." The First Prince frowned. Feng Luodi listened attentively. This is probably the main reason why he is here today.
"I met Concubine Hui in the Imperial garden today. She told me that father wanted to let Eight Prince oversee the workings of the country."
Feng Luodi sighed in her heart. As expected, the First Prince had wild ambition. He just disguised himself as someone who was modest and had no ambition at all.
"However, the Emperor had no intention of choosing a new Heir." Situ"s expression didn"t change. His tone was calm.
The First Prince realised that he was overthinking things. He agreed softly, "You are right. The Emperor had taken a huge blow and would not want to see us fighting among ourselves."
Situ squinted. Feng Luodi noticed his expression and was slightly shocked. SItu would only give this look when he was angry or deep in thought. Is he angry at the First Prince? Or was he thinking of a plan for him? Feng Luodi couldn"t reach a conclusion.
"Have you thought about the reason why the Minister of Imperial Clan Affairs and Concubine Hui talked to you?" After a while, Situ spoke.
The First Prince frowned. He relaxed his eyebrows slowly, "They are both from the same family. Do they want to lend their support to me?"
Situ did not reply. He said, "I gave a letter to you earlier which mentioned about the relation between the Minister of Imperial Clan Affairs and the Chamberlain for the Palace Revenues. Now that the CHamberlain had fallen, the Minister of Imperial Clan Affairs is just behind the two Ministers and the Censor-in-chief in terms of power. You have to think carefully about the intention of the Emperor."
The First Prince sat in silence. He knew that he was over-reacting. However, the Emperor was treating him strangely these few days. He was his father and would definitely see through his disguise. The main question now was whether the Emperor would expose him.
Feng Luodi was enlightened by Situ"s words. She remembered that the Chamberlain was a family member of Concubine Lan, the mother of Princess Shangrong. The Emperor agreed to marry Princess Shang Rong to the Ai Lao kingdom because of the Chamberlain"s fall from power. At that time, she was trying to hide from Situ.
Thinking back, it had been half a year since it happened. Time flies. Feng Luodi felt slightly ashamed at her thoughts. The two men in front of her were talking about serious stuff but there she was, thinking about her relations.h.i.+p.
Feng Luodi was looking at Situ. Situ suddenly lifted his head and looked at her with worry and concern. He spoke to the First Prince, "What do you think about recognising Concubine Hui as your G.o.dmother?"
The First Prince and Feng Luodi both got a shock.
"Situ, what do you mean?" The First Prince was happy and worried at the same time.
Situ nodded at him seriously, "You know how the Emperor is treating you. Although you have no powerful background, your talents are obvious and you are the most suitable candidate for the Heir. The Emperor knew this and that"s why he likes you but continue to remain suspicious of you. Why don"t you prove to him that you are capable of taking the throne?"
The light in the First Prince"s eyes was obvious. He was delighted but still said, "Will it make the Emperor more suspicious of me?"
Situ shook his head. "There are always two sides to a coin. The Emperor is worried that you would be an obstacle to the other princes but at the same time, he wants to give you a chance. This was why he ordered you to go to Dingtao. If you manage to solve the issue, you would have achieved half of the success."
Feng Luodi watched as the light in the First Prince"s eyes became brighter. She tried to remain calm. This was the first time the First Prince showed his ambition. She had only seen him twice but he left her with different impressions each time. She looked at Situ worriedly. She was afraid that he"d made the wrong bet.
Situ"s face was still calm. He continued, "You have been out too long. Let me ask my men to send you back."
The FIrst Prince exhaled slowly and stood up. He nodded at Situ and Feng Luodi, "It is time for me to go. I will see you three days later."
Situ and Feng Luodi got up and saw the First Prince off.
There was silence in the pavilion. Suddenly, Situ asked, "What do you think of the First Prince?"
Feng Luodi looked at Situ and knew that he was serious. She said, "He is someone filled with ambition."
"That"s all?" Situ raised his eyebrow and looked at Feng Lodi while crossing his hands in front of his chest.
Feng Luodi smiled, "That is enough."
Only someone with ambition will succeed. She once thought that the First Prince had no choice but to fight for the throne. However, it seemed that he had laid low all these years to wait for this opportunity. Situ and the rest of his allies were most likely acting according to what the First Prince had planned.