General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

Gong Ting was so angry that her teeth itched, and she walked out cursing.

"Princess, where are you going?" The maid asked quickly when she saw her roll up her sleeves and prepare to leave.

Gong Ting narrowed her eyes: "Go settle accounts with your young master!"

……

At the hotel entrance, Lü Jicai, dressed smartly, was carrying a suitcase containing carefully selected gifts.

"How is it?" he asked.

The servant quickly put on a smiling face and praised, "Young Master is so handsome that there is no one else like him in the world. I think even the General of the State would feel ashamed in front of you."

Lu Jicai listened with satisfaction and a smile appeared on his face.

Shen Luo, what is he if he didn't steal my destiny!

However, he will soon be able to take it all back—his identity, his glory, everything that belongs to him!

Lu Jicai composed himself, put on a proper smile again, and looked quite respectable.

He entered the inn, but the guards at the door stopped him, saying, "This is the inn where the Crown Prince and the Princess are staying. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter."

Lu Jicai straightened up slightly and said confidently, "Gentlemen, I am Lu Jicai, son of Prime Minister Lu. I heard that the Crown Prince and the Princess have come to the capital, so I specially prepared some small gifts to visit you."

The two guards looked at each other, scratched their heads, and asked, "Who?"

Lü Jicai: "..."

Are all the country bumpkins flocking to Beijing these days?

Why don't so many people recognize him?

Just as Lü Ji was about to continue speaking, he heard a commotion coming from inside the inn.

"Your Highness, it's not safe for you to go out alone. Let me accompany you."

"What's wrong with me being a master of martial arts? Your mediocre skills are no match for mine. You should stay home and sweep the floor and cook."

Gong Ting finally managed to get rid of the maid and leaped downstairs to rush out.

"Your Highness!"

Gong Ting slammed on the brakes! Her hair became a little loose from the violent movement.

"Who?"

Lu Jicai was still stopped at the door, but he was not in a hurry and gave a leisurely bow:

“Your Highness, I am Lü Jicai, son of Prime Minister Lü, and I have come to pay my respects to Your Highness the Heir Apparent and Your Highness the Princess.”

Upon hearing this, Gong Ting stopped and looked at him seriously.

"Greetings, Young Master Lü." Gong Ting sometimes overheard her brother and father chatting, and the two they talked about most often were Prime Minister Lü and the General Who Protects the Nation.

Before I came, my father and mother repeatedly warned me: I must not offend these two powerful ministers, especially Prime Minister Lü, whom I am not familiar with.

Thinking of this, Gong Ting stopped and solemnly returned the greeting: "So you are the son of Prime Minister Lü. It's a pleasure to meet you."

When Lü Jicai saw that the dignified princess was actually bowing to him, he immediately felt smug: Sure enough, a person with discerning eyes can tell that he is no ordinary person even on the first meeting.

Thinking this way, he felt more confident about what he was going to do.

"Princess, I wonder if His Highness the Heir Apparent is in this inn? I heard my father say a long time ago that the Prince Zhong's son and daughter are both outstanding individuals, especially in martial arts, which are first-rate."

Lü Jicai also conducted some investigations.

He feigned admiration as he looked at Gong Ting:

"Now that I have the honor of meeting the Princess today, and since a martial arts tournament is being held at the training ground outside the capital, I wonder if I may have the honor of inviting the Princess and the Crown Prince to attend the event together?"

A martial arts tournament would normally be incredibly tempting for Gong Ting, but today…

"I'm not going!" she refused firmly.

There's nothing else to it, I have something important to do.

"Thank you for the invitation, Young Master Lü, but my brother is not at the inn, and I have more important matters to attend to today, so I will not be going."

Lu Jicai frowned, seemingly surprised to be rejected, but he still gave a considerate reply:

"It's alright, of course the princess's matter is more important."

He handed the box forward, saying, "This is a gift for Your Highness, and I hope you will accept it."

"Thank you." Gong Ting took the box and handed it to the back without even opening it, expressing her gratitude in a practiced manner.

As a princess, what hadn't she seen? She was the least interested in gifts like this.

Anyway, it's either porcelain or calligraphy and paintings.

“Princess, this gift is a tea set that I personally selected. It was used exclusively by the royal family of the previous dynasty, and I believe it is a fitting gift for your status.”

"Tea set?" Gong Ting, who had been uninterested, suddenly perked up her ears.

She took back the box she had just put down and quickly opened it.

The red sandalwood box was divided into seven compartments. The largest compartment in the middle contained a teapot, surrounded by six teacups.

Gong Ting carefully lifted the teapot out.

The purple glass pot with gold trim felt cool to the touch. The entire pot was purple, and there was a lucky cloud on each side of the spout. It shone brightly in the sunlight, so bright that it was hard to open one's eyes.

Gong Ting touched it from left to right, sighed, "What a treasure," and then put it back.

Lu Jicai had already taken out one of the teacups and began to introduce it.

“Your Highness, although there are only six teacups in this tea set, you will know upon closer inspection that each of the six teacups is different.”

"Look at the bowl I'm holding. It's light green with a crimson outline around the edge, making it elegant and refined."

Gong Ting didn't understand anything about outlining or elegance, but she really liked this tea set.