Who says the prince is weak and can't take care of himself?

In the spring of the 37th year of Tianhua in the Great Chen Kingdom, Emperor Chen Xianzong passed away, and Crown Prince Qi Ting succeeded to the throne and changed the reign title to Taining.

In the same year, the new emperor named the thirteenth son of the previous emperor as King Heng, and granted him the land of Jiwei, the capital of Xizhou. This was the land of the former Qi State, thousands of miles away from the capital of Chen State. Many people secretly believed that the new emperor wanted to exile his brothers.

However, some held the opposite view. Princess Heng was Princess Xihe of the Zhou Kingdom. Jiyu was located west of the Liujiang River, and just across the river was his homeland. This was a goodwill gesture from the new emperor towards Princess Xihe.

Regardless of other people's speculations, Prince Heng and Princess Xihe set off on their journey just after Emperor Xianzong's death, personally escorted by General Lu Fangjin southward, passing through the Qin River and crossing the Taihua River to their fiefdom.

The royal ship crossed the Taihua River in a mighty manner and turned into the newly opened Nanjiang Canal of the Zhou State. After another five days of sailing, it finally arrived at the territory of Sanzhou. The royal ship stopped at the Sanzhou wharf which had long been under control.

The Huwei Army on the imperial ship disembarked first, greeted the soldiers of the Great Zhou Shenzhao Camp at the dock, and after inspecting the situation at the dock, they invited King Heng and Princess Xihe to disembark, and were guarded by the imperial guards.

The people from the Huwei Army and the Shenzhao Camp stood within three feet of each other, staring at each other, with extremely complicated feelings in their hearts. Ten years ago, the two armies often confronted each other on the Taihua River, using longbows and sharp arrows to attack each other. Who could have thought that there would be such a day when the Huwei Army and the Shenzhao Camp would be able to stand side by side? It was simply crazy.

"Commander Shen Lu of the Shenzhao Camp pays homage to Princess Xihe and His Royal Highness Prince Heng."

"General Shen, please don't be polite."

Shen Lu stood up and clasped his fists towards Lu Fangjin: "General Lu, we meet again."

Lu Fangjin smiled and said, "Hello, General Shen."

Shen Lu smiled faintly and nodded.

Ten years had passed since the last battle between Chen and Zhou.

Shen Lu said to Princess Xihe and Prince Heng, "Princess and Your Highness, you have had a hard journey. The young master has prepared a banquet to welcome you."

The official road leading out of Sanzhou Wharf was blocked by Shenzhao Camp a few days ago, and no one is allowed to enter within a radius of 20 miles.

The huge team walked for half an hour and arrived at a big house on the outskirts of Sanzhou. The plaque on the house read "Qi House".

Princess Xihe and Prince Heng were stunned when they got out of the carriage and looked at the tall gate and red walls. They glanced at each other, and Princess Xihe asked Shen Lu, "General Shen, where is this? Aren't we going to the posthouse?"

Shen Lu said: "Princess, this is the young master's private residence."

Princess Xihe was stunned for a moment and didn't ask any more questions.

The red door opened wide, and Tang Ling led people out and knelt to welcome Princess Xihe and Prince Heng.

"Your humble servant, Tang Ling, greets Her Royal Highness the Princess and His Royal Highness Prince Heng."

"Young Marquis, please get up quickly."

Prince Heng looked at Tang Ling and said with a smile, "This must be the young Marquis Xun An, right? Seeing is believing. He is truly as noble as jade and a peerless scholar."

"Your Highness Prince Heng is so kind."

Prince Heng and Tang Ling were being polite, but Lu Fangjin's gaze remained fixed on Tang Ling, fixed on Qi Xiao. "Good fellow, Qi's family, only you dare to be so brazen!"

Qi Xiao smiled at Lu Fangjin and moved his lips slightly, saying, "There will be wine later, plenty of it."

Tang Ling ushered them into the mansion and, standing beside Princess Xihe, said, "The palace has prepared a banquet to welcome the princess and His Royal Highness Prince Heng. They must have traveled so long, and I'm sorry to bother you. I hope you'll forgive me."

Prince Heng was bewildered upon hearing this. If it was a welcoming banquet, how could the host not be present? Although he and Princess Xihe had been sailing for over a month and were extremely tired and didn't really want to attend many social events, when the royal family passed through Sanzhou, the young Marquis Xun'an prepared a table of food for them and then left them alone. What kind of rules was this? What kind of etiquette was this?

King Heng looked at Xihe, but Xihe didn't quite understand either. She had been confused since she got off the boat.

After Tang Ling led them into Nanhua Garden, Xihe understood.

The outer courtyard of the Qi residence was filled with the Shenzhao Camp, further inside were servants from the Xun'an Marquis Mansion, and in the Nanhua Garden were the Yulin Guards, the personal guards around the Emperor.

Xihe quickened her pace and pulled King Heng inside.

"Xihe? What happened?"

Tang Ling stood at the gate of Nanhua Garden and did not follow in. She turned around and said to Shen Lu, "Thank you."

Shen Lu nodded and stood guard outside Nanhua Garden.

Without having to greet the "distinguished guest", Tang Ling felt relaxed and her hand was naturally held by Qi Xiao.

"Tsk tsk tsk," Lu Fangjin couldn't help but shake his head, "I'm really going blind."

Qi Xiao laughed: "Didn't you say you would bring someone with you? Where is that person?"

Lu Fangjin also laughed: "He's lagging behind the team."

"Then please come quickly."

Tang Ling and Qi Xiao were standing in the corridor waiting. After a while, Lu Fangjin came back with someone, a handsome man who looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

"Your humble servant Yuan Xi greets the young marquis." The man knelt politely to Tang Ling.

Tang Ling was startled and quickly reached out to help Yuan Xi: "Stop being polite."

Yuan Xi didn't dare to ask Tang Ling to help him. He stood up politely, lowered his head, and asked, "What would the young marquis like to eat? My mother is from Zhou, and I can cook Zhou cuisine."

Tang Ling looked at Qi Xiao and blinked. Lu Fangjin said he was bringing someone with him. Did he mean he was bringing a cook?

Without waiting for Qi Xiao to ask anything, Lu Fangjin immediately hugged Yuan Xi to his side, but Yuan Xi slapped his hand away. Lu Fangjin only chuckled softly and said, "Look up. They are all my friends. There's no need to be polite. I didn't ask you to cook for them."

Yuan Xi looked up and frowned at Lu Fangjin, with an expression that showed that she didn't understand what he was saying.

Tang Ling chuckled, probably guessing that Lu Fang was playing a trick on her.

Qi Xiao also shook his head and asked, "So, should we call her sister-in-law?"

"Of course."

Yuan Xi glared at Lu Fangjin and whispered, "Get lost."

"Pfft!" Qi Xiao couldn't help laughing and slapped Lu Fangjin's shoulder. "Hahaha, let's go and have a drink."

Qi Xiao dragged Lu Fangjin away, and the two of them walked ahead. Tang Ling then walked beside Yuan Xi. Yuan Xi was a little dazed, and after looking around, she realized that there were fewer guards around them. Yuan Xi didn't know, but Lu Fangjin recognized them. The guards in the inner courtyard were all Qi Xiao's personal guards from the Prince of Chu's palace.

Yuan Xi looked at Tang Ling and asked weakly, "Young Marquis, where are we going? Could you please send someone to lead me to the kitchen?"

Tang Ling smiled and shook her head: "Yuan Xi, you are a guest, how can I let you into the kitchen?"

"what?!"

Yuan Xi pondered, but couldn't quite wrap his head around it. As far as he knew, Lu Fangjin and the young Marquis Xun'an of the Great Zhou Kingdom didn't have much in common. The two countries had fought a brutal war before, so how could they still be friends? Couldn't the only person who could be called a "guest" this time be His Royal Highness Prince Heng? Surely Yuan Xi, a cook, couldn't be the one to come?

Before Yuan Xi could figure it out, they had already walked into the inner courtyard of the main house, which was even quieter than outside. Even the servants were nowhere to be seen.

A banquet was set up in the inner courtyard, and two people were already sitting there. One of them had a white veil over his eyes. When he saw them coming, he stood up to greet them.

Lu Fang took a few quick steps, walked over and hugged one of them: "Why are you here? Aren't we supposed to arrive in two days?"

Bai Xiqiao laughed: "We arrived yesterday and have been waiting for you! Come and sit down."

Bai Xiqiao patted Lu Fangjin's shoulder, let him go, and moved aside. Only then could Lu Fangjin see the person behind him clearly.

"Master Imperial Master?!"

It was Yuan Xi's first time meeting Ning Wanxiao, and he was stunned by his stunning beauty. He had always heard people say that the Imperial Master, Ning Wanxiao, was an immortal, and now he knew it was true.

Ning Wanxiao laughed and said, "I'm no longer the Imperial Master. Now I'm just a wandering idler."

"Bai Xiqiao..." Lu Fangjin reached out and pinched Bai Xiqiao beside him, "Tell me the truth, what's going on?"

Qi Xiao had previously sent letters to Lu Fang, saying he was bringing his family, but Bai Xiqiao actually brought Ning Wanxiao?! What on earth had he missed out on these past few years?!

The most confused among them wasn't Lu Fangjin, but Yuan Xi. Bai Xiqiao's fame was known throughout the land. His Majesty had ordered Lu Fangjin to escort Princess Xihe and Prince Heng south, and General Bai of Bai Xiqiao to meet them at the banks of the Liujiang River. And both were now gathered here, at the Qi residence.

Qi's house?!

The private residence of Tang Ling, the young Marquis of Xun'an? !

Shouldn’t your surname be Tang?

Wait... who was the man next to young Marquis Xun An who just led them in?

The more Yuan Xi thought about it, the more frightened she became. She quietly approached Lu Fangjin and tugged at his sleeve: "Hey, explain to me clearly, what's going on?!"

Lu Fangjin shook his head: "I don't know either."

Tang Ling said, "Come sit down and talk."

Yuan Xi stood there, not daring to sit. Ning Wanxiao, the former Imperial Preceptor of the Great Chen Dynasty; Bai Xiqiao, the Great General; Tang Ling, the Junior Marquis of Xun'an, the Zhou Dynasty—all such powerful figures. There was no place for him at this table; he wasn't even qualified to squat at the table.

Tang Ling noticed Yuan Xi's discomfort, even panic, so she asked him, "I wonder if Yuan Xi can make a Chu snack called bean cake?"

When Qi Xiao heard the word "dou su gao", he was stunned for a moment. After more than ten years, he actually still remembered dou su gao. Back then, Qi Xiao designed to bring Tang Ling into the Prince of Chu's Mansion and trapped him in Yongcheng, and the first food he gave him was dou su gao.

Yuan Xi nodded: "Yes."

"Can you teach me?"

"Can I...now?"

Tang Ling nodded: "Is it okay?"

"……sure."

Tang Ling said something to the others and took Yuan Xi to the small kitchen in the inner courtyard.

The small kitchen was not far away, and there were several cooks and maids busy inside. When they saw Tang Ling coming in person, they all bowed their heads and saluted.

"It's okay, you are busy with your business."

Tang Ling turned to Yuan Xi and asked, "What do I need to prepare to make bean cake?" As she spoke, Tang Ling began to roll up her sleeves.

Yuan Xi was a little panicked: "Why bother the young marquis to do it himself? I can do it myself."

Tang Ling smiled and said, "No need to be so polite. Why don't you just call me Master like everyone else?"

"Sir?" Yuan Xi nodded, "Okay, sir."

"I know you must be confused. General Lu didn't know this before he came. Don't blame him."

Yuan Xi was stunned for a moment and nodded.

"Did you know that General Lu and General Bai have a close relationship?"

Yuan Xi nodded: "I know a little. On the way south, he kept saying that he was very happy to finally see his old friend." Yuan Xi didn't dare to ask the second half of the sentence. Are Tang Ling and Lu Fangjin also old friends?

Tang Ling patted Yuan Xi's shoulder gently, picked up a pot of tea from the stove, motioned Yuan Xi to follow, and took everyone to the small room next to the kitchenette to sit down and chat.

"This is where the cooks usually rest. It's a bit shabby, Yuan Xi, you don't mind, right?"

"No, of course not." Compared to the backyard of the inner house, the smell of smoke from the kitchen made Yuan Xi feel much more comfortable. He almost couldn't breathe in the inner yard just now.

Tang Ling poured Yuan Xi a cup of hot tea, which startled her again. "I dare not trouble the young marquis... I dare not trouble the young master."

"Don't be shy. If you have anything you want to ask, you can ask me."

"Sir..." Yuan Xi looked down at the teacup in her hand, feeling somewhat bewildered. "I'd better go make some bean curd cake for you."

Tang Ling reached out and gently placed her hand on Yuan Xi's wrist, stopping him. She smiled and said, "Don't worry, Dou Su Gao. I have something I want to say to you, Yuan Xi, but I'm afraid it's too presumptuous. I wonder if I can say it?"