Chapter 191: Chapter 190: Outsider Beyond the Wall

Zhu Yu suppressed a laugh as she took the piece of pastry from Lu Qing’s hand.

During her time living in the Prince Shuo Mansion, these things were something she often got to eat, neither liking nor disliking them, just finding them not unpleasant.

But now, perhaps because she hadn’t eaten well in the past few days, this pastry did seem to have become more delicious.

The pastries were tasty, the tea was fragrant, and the five of them finally smoothly entered the Prince Shuo Mansion. Now being able to sit calmly on a chair and rest for a while was quite enjoyable.

Initially, Zhu Yu’s mood was filled with a bit of apprehension, wondering what Zhu Cheng’s reaction would be when he saw her later.

In the past, among Zhu Cheng’s daughters, not to mention herself, who was a concubine’s daughter not given much attention, even the most favored sole legitimate daughter, Zhu Ning, wouldn’t have dared to quietly sneak back home in such a revised disguise after an imperial marriage command.

Zhu Cheng’s only requirement for his daughters was “don’t cause trouble.” Zhu Yu believed that this time they came not to cause trouble but to help Shuo Country avoid a yet-to-happen major disaster.

But she truly couldn’t guess if Zhu Cheng would share the same view.

Carrying such a secretly anxious mood, sitting under the eyes of the Prince Shuo Mansion’s servants, none of them felt it appropriate to say anything. Zhu Yu sat there waiting, and soon she felt a bit drowsy from sitting too long.

The pastries were mostly gone, the servants had replenished the tea several times already, and even someone as carefree as Yan Daoxin was feeling uneasy about his image, thinking that if he drank any more, he might have to rush to the latrine in the Prince Shuo Mansion before seeing the Prince!

The steward had settled them there, leaving servants to attend to them, thinking that, judging by the Prince’s attitude earlier, he estimated he would come to the drawing room shortly, and thus went on to attend to other affairs in the mansion.

After a long time, as he was instructing the accounting room about next month’s provisions and other trivial matters, a servant who should have been serving in the front hurriedly ran over.

“Steward, steward…” he called softly between breaths as he ran.

The steward frowned, waving a hand at him: “How many times have I told you not to run around frantically in the residence? This is what the Prince dislikes the most.

If you get punished for the Prince catching you, don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

“Steward, if the Prince were at home, I wouldn’t be in such a hurry!” The servant stood in front of the steward with a distressed face, “We were following your instructions, entertaining the guests in the drawing room, waiting for the Prince to come.

We waited and waited, but the Prince didn’t show up, so they asked me to sneak and see if something was holding the Prince up.

When I went and asked, I found out that the government soldiers had reported some issues with the Weapon Supervision to the Prince, and the Prince, anxious about it, had left with them to the Weapon Supervision and hasn’t returned yet!

We really don’t know what to do and came to ask you.

Steward, how should we settle these esteemed guests? Did the Prince leave you any instructions?

We can’t just keep serving them tea in the drawing room indefinitely, can we?”

The steward was also a bit dumbfounded. Having served as the steward for over a decade, he naturally understood the Prince’s character — Prince Shuo was always an enthusiast of weapons, his mind entirely focused on crafting exceptional weapons, without caring for other matters.

It was just that earlier, he had made an exception and had welcomed these Taoists with respect, but then quickly turned around and got absorbed in weapon forging, forgetting about them. This was truly unexpected.

Fortunately, the steward was accustomed to handling such matters and, seeing the time of day, it was already nearing noon. Shuo had a long-standing custom of two meals a day, and after one meal was past and the next wasn’t due yet, they definitely couldn’t leave the guests in the drawing room drinking tea like that.

The Prince had made an exception because the esteemed guest was a renowned Divine Doctor, and he respectfully invited Taoists, whom he usually disliked, indicating that the person had considerable abilities.

And often, those with great abilities also had significant temperaments. If they were offended due to neglect, and the Divine Doctor threw a tantrum, causing the Prince’s plans to fall through, they wouldn’t have the courage to rebuke the Prince for forgetting in the first place.

Hence, the steward hurriedly weighed the situation again.

The Prince Shuo Mansion named its courtyards according to Zhu Cheng’s preferences based on different metalsmith categories: Zhu, Yi, Fu, Li, Duan, and Tao gardens.

Zhu Garden was the Prince and Princess’s main courtyard, Yi Garden housed the young masters of the family, Fu Garden housed the young ladies, and the remaining three served as guest accommodations.

After brief hesitation, the steward, uncertain of the Prince’s intentions, erred on the side of caution, preferring to be too accommodating rather than offensive, even if he misinterpreted the situation.

So he told the servant, “Settle the Taoists in the Li Garden!”

Hearing this, the servant nodded quickly and ran back.

Among the three guest courtyards, Li Garden was the closest to the main family courtyards and also the most spacious and beautiful.

The steward arranging the Taoists in Li Garden definitely confirmed their significant stature, and they certainly couldn’t continue leaving them unattended!

Seeing him run off in haste, the steward, initially prepared to scold him, thought better of it, realizing that with the Prince absent, it was more important to appease the esteemed guests who had been neglected for quite some time.

The servant ran all the way back to the drawing room, catching his breath before courteously bowing to them. He addressed Yan Daoxin, the only one who had spoken to him, “Divine Doctor, our Prince had some urgent matters to attend to and was detained.

He instructed me to first escort you to the guest courtyard to rest, and he will come to see you as soon as he returns.”

Yan Daoxin didn’t really mind, as he never wanted to come to the Prince Zhu Mansion in the first place, but he glanced at Lu Qing first, and seeing him nod slightly, rose leisurely, and nodded to the servant, “Then I’ll trouble you to lead the way.”

The servant diligently guided the five of them toward Li Garden.

Due to Zhu Cheng’s disposition, the Prince Shuo Mansion didn’t have many pavilions, artificial mountains, or ponds. Even the trees were sparse, with neat and orderly courtyards. If not for such considerations, the courtyard walls would have been built even higher.

Today, Princess Shuo was not in the mansion; she had gone to visit a prominent family in the capital for a gathering with the lady of that household, leaving Zhu Garden quiet.

Yi Garden was the same; whether legitimate or not, Zhu Family’s sons were either out handling official matters or at school studying, and haven’t returned yet.

Passing by Fu Garden, voices could be heard beyond the courtyard wall, seemingly women playing inside.

Zhu Yu looked at the high courtyard wall not far away, beyond which lay the courtyard where she had lived for many years.

She realized she felt no affection, longing, or nostalgia, and instead considered it a happy thing that she now stood as an “outsider.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep