The fool has become a spirit, and she can speak

"Your Highness... this is not a good idea! Although this soup was sent by He Ye, it must have been ordered by the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess. And Your Highness, when you were asleep, the old butler came to pass on the order, asking you to eat the meal as soon as you woke up. I don't know if this is disobeying the order."

Qiao Rong tried hard to persuade him, hoping that some of his words would have some effect on Cheng Youning, but it didn't work at all. Cheng Youning, who was lying on the bed, opened his eyes wide and almost got up and sat on the bed with his injured buttocks.

"You still want to do this? You control everything, and even my meals? If you want to eat, then eat. Bring me the soup that Sister Wu made for me. This pig liver soup must be returned. They must be hosting a big banquet to entertain my grandmother's family. They're drinking wine and eating meat, and then using a bowl of pig liver soup to fool me. I won't drink it. Qiao Rong, go there in person and make my intentions clear to my parents."

As persuasion refused to listen, Qiao Rong had no choice but to carry the soup to Prince Pang's mansion.

The banquet had already started for a while at the palace, and everyone was bonding over the meal.

Glass cups were filled with the finest wines, and dishes were all famous dishes prepared for begging. People who had not seen each other for a long time always had endless words to say to each other, and after days of running around, everyone was pouring out their heartfelt feelings.

They talked about business and tariffs, and then about the passes from the huge tariffs, and then about the rise and fall of the passes to the current situation, and then about the turbulent situation to the impending coup in the Dalang court. They talked about everything, and there was nothing under the sun that these people could not talk about.

The men were toasting each other, while the women were chatting and laughing, in great spirits.

However, Qiao Rong came in an unregarded manner, followed by a servant holding a large soup bowl in his hand.

Shang Xi quickly got up from the table and asked Qiao Rong: "Why are you here?"

"The prince asked me to come."

As soon as these words were spoken, the room fell silent. If they were not related to the Wan family, the royal family like Prince Pang's Mansion would not be something a merchant family like the Han family could get close to, and the crown prince was even more unattainable. In the past, they never dared to hope to be related to the crown prince.

Qiao Rong didn't want to come either. Being stared at by a room full of women made him feel uncomfortable. He was just standing there to hold on.

Shang Xi glanced at the soup bowl in the servant's hand and asked Qiao Rong, "Has Youning had lunch yet?"

"The prince only ate a little of his lunch."

Shang Xi secretly pointed at the soup bowl in the hand of the person behind Qiao Rong and whispered, "What does this mean? Didn't you drink it?"

Qiao Rong was following orders, so he was inevitably very methodical. "The Crown Prince asked me to send this soup back to the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess. The Crown Prince said he didn't like this soup. What about the Crown Prince?"

Cheng Youning asked Qiao Rong to convey his meaning in front of the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess. If one person was missing, he would not complete his mission today.

"I'm here!" Cheng Feng, who has excellent hearing, came out when he heard Qiao Rong's voice. "This soup was specially cooked for him. Didn't he drink it often in the past? Why doesn't he like it today?"

"The prince said the soup was too fishy."

"Who made this soup?" Cheng Feng looked at Shang Xi.

Shang Xi lowered her voice to the lowest possible level, "He Ye asked the imperial chef to make this, so it shouldn't smell fishy."

Cheng Feng opened it and took a sip. It was already cold, but still not fishy. "It tastes good. What's wrong with this kid again?"

Madam Wan, who was sitting in the main seat, was in particularly good spirits today. She was constantly laughing at the younger generations. She hadn't drunk alcohol for half a year, but today she drank several glasses. She asked Qiao Rong, who was standing there with a stern face, "What has the prince been busy with these days? Isn't he coming back for dinner today?"

Qiao Rong said, "Madam, the prince is concentrating on learning the six arts and will be here in a few days."

"No matter what you learn, you still have to eat. His grandfather was still nagging about him this morning." On normal days, the child would not have come, but today was different. All her family members were here, and she wanted to show off her eldest grandson with outstanding looks and noble status in front of everyone.

It was nothing more than showing off, but what she didn't know was that the most popular news on the streets, apart from the ever-changing war situation at the border, was the misdeeds of her eldest grandson. After the Han family entered Fengqi, they had heard about the affairs of the Fengqi prince in the past two days, but no one dared to mention it and everyone pretended not to know.

However, Shang Xi and Cheng Feng were good at playing dumb. With their current status, no one would be so blind as to bring up irrelevant issues. As long as no one talked about Cheng Youning's misdeeds in front of them, the couple would tacitly pretend that nothing had happened. Qiao Rong said that the prince was learning the six arts, so he was learning the six arts. It was better than saying that Cheng Youning was punished in the prince's mansion.

Shang Xi said to Madam Wan with a thick face and a smile: "Mother, the prince should focus on his studies. This child is ambitious, so let him be!"

Shang Xi seldom praised Cheng Youning in public. In the room, except for Cheng Youning's grandmother who didn't know that Cheng Youning was punished in the Prince's Mansion, everyone else knew about it. Yet, she could still say such pretentious words as if nothing had happened. She almost felt sick to her stomach.

However, Madam Wan was perked up by Shang Xi's words and started talking. "Hahahaha, my grandson is so sensible and filial. He studies well, but he studies too hard. I'm worried that his body can't handle it! Qiao Rong, did you make soup for Youning with the old mountain ginseng I asked you to bring back yesterday?"

Shang Xi blushed and didn't look at anyone sitting there. Everyone knew what Cheng Youning was like.

At this time, Qiao Rong said, "Madam, the prince drank the old ginseng soup yesterday and praised it highly."

In fact, Cheng Youning only drank two sips and didn't say it tasted good.

“Hahahaha!” Madam Wan laughed so hard that she couldn’t stop. She instructed her maid Xing’er, “My grandson likes to drink it. Go find two more ginsengs and ask Qiao Rong to take them back.”

Cheng Feng stopped her and said, "Mom, Youning is only nine years old. She doesn't need any tonic. You can keep the old mountain ginseng for yourself."

As he said that, Cheng Feng pulled Qiao Rong out, and Shang Xi followed closely behind.

When they got to the yard, Cheng Feng asked Qiao Rong in a low voice, "What is this kid doing? And you, what's wrong? There are so many people at home, including the old lady, why did you bring the soup bowl into the house? If you don't drink it and think it's fishy, you just pour it out. What's the matter with sending it back?"

Shang Xi echoed, "Yes, Qiao Rong, he almost got caught just now. If the old lady knew that her grandson was punished with house arrest and spanking, and had to write a confession, where would she put her face!"

Qiao Rong had a bitter face, and he was in great pain. He didn't want to be so reckless and unruly, but as the prince's follower, he had no choice but to listen to his master. "The prince forced me to do this, and I haven't finished yet."