Chapter 400: Chapter 400: Bonds

When his mother gave him the jade pendant, she said with a smile that it was meant for his future wife as a family heirloom. She used the word “wife” instead of “heir consort”!

He understood the weight of those two words.

An heir consort is just a title, but a wife is someone who accompanies you for life, someone you genuinely love!

In his lifetime, he will only have one wife. He is the princely heir, and his wife is the heir consort. Even if he were an ordinary person, his wife would still be the person he passionately loves!

He and his future wife will be like his father and mother, loving each other all their lives!

Now, he just wants to give the jade pendant to Xia Wenjin.

Even if Xia Wenjin doesn’t understand what it means, even if she doesn’t seem to take it seriously.

He said he would leave and left. He said he would leave the jade pendant and left the jade pendant. He spoke, turned around, and left without hesitation.

When Xia Wenjin was startled and came back to her senses, she hurriedly picked up the jade pendant, intending to return it, saying, “Hey, don’t leave it…”

But at this time, Huangfu Jingchen had already reached the staircase in a gust of wind. Perhaps he heard her words, or maybe because the matter was urgent, he walked even faster.

Looking at the jade pendant in front of her, warm and smooth, intricately carved, regardless of its significance, its very existence makes it invaluable.

In her past life, she played with it in her hand countless times, examined it closely. Unfortunately, the old monk gave it to her saying she was a destined one, without saying a single word about its origin.

She still remembers Huang Zheng’s anxiety upon discovering the jade pendant was missing, and his anger when knowing she had given away the pendant. Now, the jade pendant has been returned and placed before him, yet he nonchalantly says it’s a token of their acquaintance?

The youth’s silhouette has already disappeared.

Who knows what urgent matter made him leave in such a hurry.

Having prepared to say goodbye, Xia Wenjin silently put down the chopsticks. The delicious food that filled the table was now tasteless.

It turns out her heart wasn’t as carefree, that her clean and transparent-hearted young man, indeed, still left his mark on her heart.

She put away the jade pendant, remained in a daze for a while, then shook her head and laughed, picking up the chopsticks again.

Even if the sky were to fall, one must eat.

She has so many things to do, how could there be time for sentimental yearning?

Having exited the tavern and reunited with Jiang Ning, Huangfu Jingchen instinctively turned back to look towards the second floor.

The window there had the girl he held in his heart! Grandpa suddenly commanded the vassal king leaving the capital to send the princely heir to stay in the capital for a while.

According to rumors, this was the crown prince’s idea.

Vassal kings around the country were restless, sending their heirs to the capital under the guise of letting these imperial grandsons fulfill their filial duties before the emperor so he can enjoy the pleasures of having grandchildren around. But to put it bluntly, it’s to have them as hostages!

After all, nobody knows what they might encounter in the capital. This crown prince, unlike the previous one, is not a fool, inherently suspicious, and his suggestion to use princely heirs as hostages reveals his nature.

The heir apparent is naturally valued by the vassal kings, sending them to the capital as hostages ensures they won’t harbor any hidden thoughts.

Huangfu Jingchen wants to return to Yunzhou, but for now, he has no choice but to go to the capital.

This trip to the capital will probably take about a month. However, counting the time, Huangfu Jinxuan and Wen Hao, Shang Jingwang’s documents should almost have reached the capital.

They wonder what the situation in the capital is like now.

The matter of Bai Yi should also be close to being revealed, right?

Huangfu Jinxuan appears to be a wastrel, yet he knows the importance of this!

The capital city.

The Central Institute is where all documents from across the country are concentrated, then categorized. The Left and Right Ministers handle the selection before presenting them to the emperor.

The capital has six ministries; most documents have a place to go. Only a third end up on the emperor’s desk.

This is also the responsibility of the Left and Right Ministers.

Of course, relying solely on two people is not enough, so senior officials, grandmaster, imperial tutor, all have the power to assist.

The emperor values King Kang, his royal nephew, for his integrity and loyalty to the imperial family. Thus, he has given King Kang the authority to review documents. After all, there are multiple reviewers, at least two simultaneously, so there’s no worry about someone hiding important documents.

However, King Kang avoids this due to suspicion and doesn’t visit often.

This afternoon, another large batch of documents was sent to the capital.

According to the schedule, in 15 minutes, the Left and Right Ministers will arrive for their review session. The guards at the door have just changed shifts, and they see Grandmaster Bao walking over leisurely.

Grandmaster Bao, not as frequent a visitor to the place as the Left and Right Ministers, regularly assists them, so the guards recognize him. They salute and let him pass.

Grandmaster Bao enters and turns right; there, new documents just delivered are stored.

He walked in with a clear purpose, then casually glanced back.

The two guards are tasked with guarding the entrance, blocking irrelevant people from entering. However, the five designated reviewers – the Left and Right Ministers, grandmaster, imperial tutor, King Kang – have the emperor’s direct order to review documents and have passage rights.

Guarding the entrance, the guards stand with military precision.

Grandmaster Bao’s gaze swiftly scanned the room.

Though the documents sent from various places appear chaotic, there is actually a large-scale distinction. For example, Yunzhou’s is placed over here, Qinzhou’s over there, Liangzhou’s, Jiazhou’s, etc.

Grandmaster Bao directly walked towards the pile of documents from Jiazhou.

Roughly a dozen pieces.

Prince Bao opened and read them.

The first four were sent by the Jiazhou Governor’s Office, detailing job reports, presenting local trivialities, some are criminal cases…

After reviewing them, he placed them aside and turned to the fifth document. Grandmaster Bao paused slightly; this document had ugly handwriting but forceful strokes, not like writing but like wielding a knife or a sword.

The contents inside made Grandmaster Bao furrow his brows slightly. He picked out and set this document aside.

The sixth document had beautiful handwriting. After reading it through, Grandmaster Bao’s eyes flickered, then he put it back in its place.

From the remaining documents, he picked out a thick one, written with wildly variable-sized characters, extremely casual. However, the contents inside made Grandmaster Bao’s pupils widen, and as he flipped through the pages, he almost unconsciously added force, causing the veins on his hand to bulge.

With a somber expression as he read the content inside, a hint of contradiction appeared in his eyes. He seemed about to put the document back in place but stopped halfway. Eventually, seemingly making up his mind, he tucked it and the previously selected document into his sleeve.

However, just as the document was tucked into his sleeve, he heard a heavy cough.

Grandmaster Bao paused and turned around.

Only to see King Kang standing at the door, looking at him sharply.

Grandmaster Bao’s eyes flickered, then he smiled mildly, greeting courteously: “Prince Kang, you’ve come to the Central Institute today as well? Quite rare!”

After all, this is the emperor’s decree; he cannot avoid suspicion by not coming, so he only visits once or twice every ten days.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep