That was a noble prince!
And the Emperor's most favored prince at that!
Though the Emperor had not yet announced the prince's identity to the world, soon, the entire Western Xia Kingdom would know of his status!
Among all the Emperor's princes, none could compare. The prince's peerless handsome face was enough to inspire awe!
Princess Ningde's exquisite features showed little change in expression, not even joy.
Seeing Princess Ningde's indifference, Lü Qiao felt a twinge of curiosity. "Doesn't the Princess wish to marry the Prince?"
In her heart, ordinary men were simply not worthy of the Princess!
Few in this world were worthy of the Princess!
Compared to Lü Qiao's excitement, Princess Ningde's calm demeanor was particularly intriguing.
Currently, all the young ladies in the capital were eagerly anticipating being chosen, yet the Princess seemed uncharacteristically unenthusiastic.
Noticing Lü Qiao's curiosity, Princess Ningde merely chuckled, a thoughtful expression on her face. "If all unfavorable factors could be eliminated, then things would be perfect."
Lü Qiao was immediately bewildered. What did the Princess mean?
Eliminate unfavorable factors?
Seeing Lü Qiao's confused look, Princess Ningde smiled. "There are some things you don't understand, and naturally, you don't need to."
Lü Qiao gave a silly smile. "The Princess is right. Your servant only needs to serve the Princess well; she doesn't need to understand anything else! However, your servant simply wishes the Princess peace and happiness, to be happier than anyone else, because the Princess deserves it!"
Princess Ningde chuckled. "You foolish girl."
Not too clever, perhaps even a bit foolish, was the best.
Those who followed her did not need to be too intelligent.
...
Two hours later.
Yun Shu was practicing calligraphy with the three little ones.
They were unusually quiet.
Because they couldn't practice calligraphy while traveling, their handwriting had deteriorated somewhat due to lack of practice.
Yun Shu first read them a poem, explained its meaning, and then had them write it down.
Every character was to be practiced with utmost care.
Yun Xiao Jing, the most mischievous, grew restless after writing a few characters. "Mother, we haven't been out since we arrived here. I've heard that the capital of Western Xia is full of delicious food. Can Mother take us out to eat and play!"
Only by going out to eat and play would they have a chance to find Father!
He winked at Zhan Xiao Li and Zhan Xiao Feng.
Zhan Xiao Li, always sensible, was not particularly interested in the capital of Western Xia. If Mother wanted him to stay home, he would stay home and wouldn't think of going out.
However, seeing Yun Xiao Jing wink, he guessed Yun Xiao Jing's intention.
They were going out to find Father!
So, he said to his mother, "Mother, I want to go out too."
"Me too. Can Mother take us out to play?" Zhan Xiao Feng also stepped forward.
Yun Shu looked at the three little ones who had made their request and smiled. "Alright, I'll take you out these next two days."
Disguising them, bringing Jing Heng and A Cha along, and concealing their identities should not arouse suspicion.
"Hooray!"
The three little ones exclaimed in unison, almost jumping for joy.
They were so happy!
The three of them were sure they would find Father!
Yun Shu looked at them, her eyes filled with tenderness.
A knock sounded at the door. "Miss."
Upon hearing the knock, Yun Shu rose and said to them, "Write the poem three times each. Mother will be out for a moment."
"Okay!"
Yun Shu went out. Qiu Lu saw Yun Shu emerge and immediately said, "Miss, the carriage we encountered on the road two hours ago was Princess Ningde's carriage! The noble families of the Western Xia capital like to mark their carriages with symbols. The secret guards investigated and found it to be Princess Ningde's carriage."
"Princess Ningde?"
"Yes! It was her!"
Yun Shu chuckled. "We learned of Princess Ningde in the teahouse, and then ran into her as we left. What a coincidence."
"Oh, right, Miss. The spies in the palace say that the prince who just returned to the palace will likely appear in public in a few days. The palace will hold a grand banquet, and the spies will be able to identify this prince then!" Qiu Lu added.
Yun Shu's eyes deepened slightly, and she said sternly, "Indeed, we must find out who he is."
"The assassins have been confirmed to be from the Sha Palace of Western Xia. This Sha Palace cultivates countless assassins and accepts any mission. Aunt Xiao and Yun Ying both came from the Sha Palace; they weren't trained as assassins, but as spies," Qiu Lu reported.
Speaking of this, Qiu Lu recalled Yun Ying's flirtatious glances at Miss in the teahouse earlier.
Just thinking about it sent a shiver down his spine.
When he was in the capital of Dongning Kingdom, he had encountered Yun Ying a few times. Yun Ying had been more restrained then, although she still liked to show herself before the young masters of noble families, and even princes.
But never as brazen as she was today.
Yun Shu pursed her lips slightly. "It seems the Sha Palace is involved in a wide range of matters. Have you investigated the pleasure house that Aunt Xiao and Yun Ying went to that night?"
Qiu Lu shook his head. "We haven't found any information yet. There are people surrounding the pleasure house, and even disguised as customers, we can't get close. The women inside all have martial arts skills, so the spies can't infiltrate."
"This pleasure house is likely a place for them to communicate. We'll take it slow, no need to rush. As long as we follow the clues, we'll eventually get to the biggest one," Yun Shu said calmly.
Since they had already arrived in the capital of Western Xia, there was no need to rush.
They could take their time.
"Yes!" Qiu Lu suddenly realized that his own state of mind had been a bit too eager.
It was indeed important to find the Prince quickly, but not necessarily within a short period. This was the capital of Western Xia, not the capital of Dongning Kingdom, and things would not be as smooth sailing here.
Rushing too much could easily lead to the opposite effect.
Qiu Lu immediately became vigilant, realizing that he shouldn't have been so ostentatious when encountering Princess Ningde's carriage today!
...
Western Xia Kingdom, Imperial Palace.
Before a palace hall.
Princess Shengyue looked at the palace attendants blocking her way and angrily exclaimed, "How dare you block this princess? Go in and report! He is my brother, after all. I, as his sister, come to see him, and he refuses to see me? Does he want me to become a laughingstock in front of his palace staff?"
She was about to explode with anger. Ever since the matter in Dongning Kingdom had returned to Western Xia, while people in the palace dared not say anything openly, they were all laughing at her behind her back!
Even the daughters of noble families in the capital were mocking her in their hearts! And now, her brother, who had just returned to the palace, was repeatedly barring her from his presence!