Chapter 317 - Prelude

"Good news, my father is starting to warm up to us..." Zhao Chang announced as soon as he walked into Prince Yi's study. 

Prince Yi stopped what he was doing and looked at him with a curious eyebrow, glad and somewhat surprised that more good news was coming his way....this was until Zhao Chang explained, "This time he actually let me finish talking before telling to get out...It's progress!" He exclaimed when he saw Prince Yi's expression fall, "Anyway, at this point. He's at least thinking of you as a viable option...before he would send me out once I mentioned your name let alone actually listen. Anyway, why'd you send for me so urgently?" He asked, leaning back into his chair.

Prince Yi knit his brows and then averted his eyes, "I have decided on a princess consort."

Zhao Chang's eyes went wide, "You have?... And it's not my sister, is it?" He asked with a frown, "Is it because she was married before? That wasn't even a marriage, you know this. Everyone knows it, the Emperor's life is pretty open, he even admitted it himself, he never touched her, he's never even held her hand. Trust me I know, he never liked my sister or me. You can talk to her yourse -"

"It's not about that." Prince Yi cut in with a frown.

"Then what is it...Why not her?!" Zhao Chang barked.

Prince Yi let out a breath, then stood up and walked over to the window, keeping his back turned to his friend as he calmly said, "I cannot wait for your father to see reason...Time is short."

Zhao Chang also stood up and walked over to Prince Yi, facing him, "You cannot wait? Why can't you wait? This is unlike you, why the rush? There's no better no one better for you, my father will support you and with him, you can achieve what you want, what we want. The Emperor is obviously too busy with his family affairs to bother with you so why are in a hur-"

"By the time he does something, it will be too late!" Prince Yi bit out, "Why should I wait on his attention?!" He added, glaring at Zhao Chang.

Prince Yi faced forward, he did not intend to get angry. It was just that the mention of him rushing things hit a sore spot. He has been quite aware that he has been rushing into things a bit too much.

He knew it was unlike him, but this feeling of restlessness was also unlike him and it was driving him mad he could not sit still and remain sane, he tried and could not go one day without drinking himself to a stupor being plagued by incessant irritating thoughts. 

No one seemed to understand that he is silently being driven towards a cliff's edge right now. 

They stood there quietly for a while, each with their own thoughts until Zhao Chang sighed, massaging the back of his neck as he said, "Fine...It's not like it will make much of a difference anyway. My father will be fine as long as my sister becomes Empress later on, but my sister a side consort right now might be hard to swallow -"

"Understandably." Prince Yi flatly responded and then sincerely said, "You should know that this was not my intention. Had I known -" Prince Yi paused and let out an irritated breath, working through this mess the Emperor created was truly annoying. 

Prince Yi had called Zhao Chang here to inform him beforehand the news about Princess Nalan got out. He decided to do this, not only because Zhao Chang was a useful pawn but also because Prince Yi actually like this friend of his. As irritating and air-headed as Zhao Chang could sometimes be, he was still a good friend to him. It was sometimes nice to have someone to talk to...not that Prince Yi talked a lot anyway. After all, one could never be too careful with people.

So Prince Yi had to handle this with care. Regardless of the promise of becoming Empress, the prime minister's daughter being a side consort to anyone but the Emperor would be hard to swallow for anyone. But how could Prince have expected that the Emperor would suddenly toss such a good pawn his way at such a terribly inconvenient time too? 

Prince Yi closed his eyes and let out an irritated sigh, balancing was not an easy act at all. 

"So...who's the lucky girl?" Zhao Chang asked, not at all trying to hide the sarcasm in his tone. He was not happy, after all, he had been working for years to have his best friend as his in-law. They were supposed to be on the same page on this issue but now, Prince Yi had gone and chosen someone else. 

Who else could compare to his sister?!

Prince Yi opened his eyes and looked outside at the night and responded, "Princess Nalan..."

Zhao Chang's eyes widened, he opened his mouth but no words came out and then he knit his brows, "The Emperor will not allow it..."

Prince Yi scoffed, "I don't need his permission..." He said and walked back to sit at his desk with a smile on his face as he imagined the surprise and shock on the Emperor's face once he revealed his hand.

"I have a lot of things to prepare so you may leave now. I just wanted to inform you ahead of time...as a friend." Prince Yi said, flashing a smile at the confused-looking Zhao Chang, "Actually, you should stay the night...just in case."

It would not do for Zhao Chang to go running his mouth ahead of his plans. 

***

The next day, the Emperor and Lei Xing were having a quick little brunch before getting dressed to host the celebratory farewell banquet for the princesses when Eunuch Li entered the room with a worried expression. He did a quick bow to Lei Xing before bending over to whisper something into the Emperor's ear.

The Emperor immediately knit his brows in confusion, he glanced at the maids and ordered, "Leave." And as soon as the doors closed behind them, he turned back to Eunuch Li and ordered, "Explain..."

Eunuch Li furrowed his brows and glanced at Lei Xing, a bit skeptical about talking about this in front of her. But he knew the Emperor would not take kindly to him mentioning that this was better said in "private". i=It seems the Emperor noticed his apprehension because he sternly repeated, "Explain."

Eunuch Li let out a sigh and began, "I am not exactly sure what happened, I just read in yesterday's report from the men at Prince Yi's manor that she was there... It seems she was uninvited. The guards at the door did not seem to be aware of her arrival. They tried to stop her and it appears there was a bit of a scuffle before the one named Tian Ji arrived and took her into the manor...It seems they just ate a meal together and then she left..."

The Emperor frowned, he never knew Princess Nalan and Prince Yi to be close. It seemed a bit weird that she would barge into his manor just for a meal. It did not make sense to him so he looked over at Lei Xing and asked, "What sort of relationship does Princess Nalan have with my brother?"

Lei Xing blinked and then knit her brows in thought, "As far as I know, not much of a relationship...they were cordial I guess but Nalan never mentioned him particularly..."

"So this is strange to you as well?" The Emperor asked to confirm and Lei Xing nodded. When they met up as a group, Prince Yi barely spoke and save for that one time with the snake encounter, she never really saw Prince Yi and Princess Nalan "vibing" together. But then again, she was not always with them so she was not really a good source.

Asking the servants around them would be much better, but before Lei Xing could suggest that, Eunuch Li went on to say, "It also seems that she snuck out...According to the report, she showed up with only a maid. But I will have to confirm that with her guards on their return..."

Princess Nalan had sent over a message that she would be staying at the Zou representatives manor last night. And as per usual behavior when she did this, she would not return to the palace until this evening.

The Emperor sighed, "Investigate it then...And since she seems incapable of handling the simple responsibility of settling on a date, I will choose one for her. Send a message to the Zou representatives manor to inform them that their Prince is in a precarious situation at the border and so they are required to make a hasty departure. The day after tomorrow should suffice... You go yourself so they understand the gravity of the news and escort the Princess back to the palace. She is not to leave until her departure." 

Eunuch Li swiftly nodded, agreeing with the Emperor's choice to send off this loose cannon that was Princess Nalan. He bowed and swiftly went off to see to the arrangements. 

The Emperor let out an irritated breath, completely losing his appetite. He never liked this Princess Nalan and now it seemed that she was trying to start unnecessary trouble here for him. Honestly, he did not want to keep her around. And if not for Lei Xing asking him, he would never have permitted this unrestrained Princess to stay even a day more in his country, much less accepted her into his palace.