Chapter 31 Victory Feast

The man in grey raised his eyebrows and replied coldly, "Interesting! I haven't seen such an interesting person in a long time. Had it not been for you insisting that I was in danger and that we travel separately from the main troops, I wouldn't have seen such an interesting person. Look at how she calculated every step with almost no mistake. She even used me to accomplish her plan. I really wish I have the opportunity to meet her again. Wang Shunlai, do you have any idea where she comes from?"

Wang Shunlai shook his head and replied, "How would I know that?"

The man in grey smiled. "Although the carriage looks common, the nails on the horseshoes are made of gold. Horseshoe's nails of ordinary wealthy families are usually made of iron. As far as I know, such luxuries are granted to people living in the Imperial Palace."

"The imperial Palace?" Wang Shunlai was shocked. He looked at his Master in doubt. In his opinion, women in the Palace were like canaries. They had nothing to all day except compete over whose clothes and looks were better and who was more favored by the Emperor. He never expected that there would be such a cunning and calculating women amongst them.

Prince Jing narrowed his eyes as he continued to stare after the carriage. It had long since disappeared from his sight. Nevertheless, he looked in the direction. Perhaps he had been away from the Palace for too long. He had no idea who this girl was.

"Let's go. We should hurry on with our journey." Prince Jing brought his hand to his lips and whistled. At the loud sound, two horses ran out of the woods. The two men mounted the horses and rode on the path towards the Imperial City.

On returning to the Palace, Yun Shang saw Qin Meng look at her as if she were a ghost. Qin Meng seemed to be in shock for a long while. Eventually, she shook off her surprise and said, "Your Highness, you are back!"

Yun Shang reckoned that Hua Jing would never have expected her to return alive. She replied with a smile, "Yes. Is everything okay in the Palace? Hua Jing rushed backed to the Imperial City just as we had reached Ning'guo Temple. Have you seen her since? I wonder how her mother-in-law is now."

Qin Meng lowered her head, answered, "Everything is okay. Princess Hua Jing returned to the Palace yesterday. By the way, your Highness, Prince Jing managed a great victory, and returned to the Imperial City today. The Emperor will hold a victory feast for him later. The Empress sent someone in the morning to convey the message that you should attend the feast if you were feeling well enough."

Yun Shang stopped for a little and nodded. "Okay."

Hearing Yun Shang's reply, Qin Meng added, "The Shangyi Bureau

y feast is so boring."

Yun Shang smiled and replied, "Yes." She lifted her eyes slightly and looked at Prince Jing. She noticed that Prince Jing was a tall and well-built military officer. She hadn't expected him to be handsome. He did seem to be a little too cold, however. She thought about how she had used Prince Jing to thwart Hua Jing's plans, and felt a small pang of guilt.

After the first performance ended, the Emperor clapped his hands in appreciation. Then he proposed a toast, "Even though the State of Ning is a big state, our people on the frontier had no means to survive as they had been invaded by the State of Yan. Prince Jing drove the Yan soldiers out of our land, which is a great achievement. Let's drink a toast to Prince Jing. Ganbei*…"

(TN- Ancient Chinese word for Cheers.)

Everyone raised their glasses and finished their drink. As soon as the glasses were put down, Emperor Ning turned to where Hua Jing sat with Yun Shang. He pointed at his daughters and said to Prince Jing, "You haven't been in the Imperial City for a long time. Look, my two daughters have grown up."

Prince Jing glanced at Hua Jing and Yun Shang, and said with a smile, "Although I was on the frontier, I have heard of the Princesses. I heard that Princess Hua Jing's husband is also a general who protects our homes and defends our country, a real man."

Hua Jing heard and replied, "Thank you for your praise. Among all the princes in the Imperial City, you are regarded as the best in terms of martial virtues. However, as for literary grace, there is one man who is probably better. That man is Mo Jingran, son of the secretary of the Grand Secretariat. It is said that he is a man with great talents. Yun Shang will have her Coming-of-age Ceremony in a few days. I said I would introduce them."