Du Haoqing ended his account there. The Eldest Princess was still relatively supportive of the war faction, so as the chief among the military officers, Du Haoqing also held her in considerable esteem. He was never stingy with his praise for the Eldest Princess.
Du Haoqing had talked until his mouth was dry, so he took the tea Zhao Ruan had poured and drank it.
After listening, Du Heng understood as well. He felt a bit of admiration for the Eldest Princess in his heart, and it was no wonder his father had told him to use the Eldest Princess to secure a position.
Her Highness the Eldest Princess was now so highly regarded in Great Luo. If she truly ascended the throne as Empress, and Du Heng really became Lord Consort, then even Marquis Zhenyuan Du Haoqing, who had originally intended to remain neutral, would wholeheartedly stand with the Eldest Princess.
Then it really would not be difficult for Du Heng to get a minor official post.
He suddenly thought: Could it be that the Eldest Princess did not care at all about what happened today?
From Du Haoqing’s description, Du Heng gathered that someone as proud and extraordinary as the Eldest Princess would probably not take worldly gossip to heart.
Was he being used as a shield to fend off the officials pressuring her into marriage?
Mm… Was there really anyone fearless enough to force marriage on a regent princess with a status as exalted as a future Empress?
If that was the case, then it did not seem like something Her Highness the Eldest Princess, so domineering and proud, would agree to… marrying someone like him, with such low cultivation and such poor talent, just to win over his father and Ruo Xian Pavilion.
There were too many doubts. Du Heng set his speculations aside for the time being. Without verification, everything was just empty talk.
He asked again, “Father, had anyone in court previously dared to offer remonstrance about Her Highness’s marriage?”
“There were some. Ordinary women should be married off at fourteen or fifteen, when they come of age. Her Highness is already over twenty now, so of course some old diehards would seize on that.”
“A few days ago, Grand Tutor Fang even remonstrated on the grounds of a woman’s proper conduct, which enraged Her Highness the Eldest Princess. After that, no one dared mention it again.”
Du Haoqing added, “Speaking of which, although the Eldest Princess has already issued an imperial decree, she only had the maid Mingzhe secretly deliver it with the shadow guards. The news of selecting you as Lord Consort has not yet been officially announced.”
“She is probably planning to wait until your coming-of-age ceremony before having the emperor issue the marriage decree.”
Was the Eldest Princess afraid he would return to Great Luo and back out of the marriage? This secret imperial decree was practically like pre-booking Du Heng, forbidding the marquis residence from going back on its word.
After hearing Du Haoqing’s words, Du Heng began to understand the intent of the person who had instructed that thief earlier today.
No matter how formidable Her Highness the Eldest Princess was, she could not escape the fact that she was a woman. Add to that her stunning beauty… even if her methods and cultivation were both outstanding, and her scheming ran deep… there were probably still many young noblemen in court who had designs on her.
Not to mention the many officials who wanted to climb the social ladder by taking advantage of the situation.
Thinking carefully, at a time like this, the only son of Marquis Zhenyuan’s family, the chief among military officers, had returned to Great Luo. Those who learned the news in secret would likely assume that Du Heng had come back because he also had his eye on the Eldest Princess.
So, improving oneself was not as effective as suppressing others!
At that thought, Du Heng could not help laughing aloud. Those people were still fighting over it. Whether their intentions were sincere or not, the Eldest Princess had indeed already settled the marriage and betrothed herself to him.
The father and son had been talking about the Eldest Princess and court affairs for quite a while. Zhao Ruan was a little displeased and interrupted them.
“All right, the food is getting cold. If you have something important to discuss, go to the study later. Heng’er has barely eaten a few bites.”
Du Haoqing opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end said nothing. He urged Du Heng to eat properly and was glared at by Zhao Ruan again.
Du Heng found it amusing to watch from the side, and Zhao Ruan shot him a sideways glare as well.
So father and son both became silent, eating without speaking.
After that, the homestyle dinner Zhao Ruan had prepared began to be brought out one dish after another, and the family, together with Mingzhu, ate happily and warmly.
As night fell, Du Heng lay alone on the roof, holding a wine jug and occasionally tilting his head back for a sip, feeling utterly carefree.
He rarely drank, but home was not like Ruo Xian Pavilion. By Xu hour, everyone had already gone to sleep, so he brought a jug of wine up to the roof to relax for a while.
In his slightly tipsy state, Du Heng’s mind flashed back to that flawless, jade-like beauty from earlier that day. The palm that had held that delicate hand was now faintly burning.
Yet it was not because of the wine. It was simply the memory of that soft, fine touch, and the sight of her sleeping soundly in his arms, along with her posture and appearance.
The more Du Heng thought about it, the drier his mouth felt. He shook his head and downed several more gulps of wine.
Beauty truly was like bone-melting poison.
Whether now, or earlier today in that luxurious carriage, he had been careless for only a moment and nearly fallen into it.
Du Heng slapped his own cheeks hard to wake himself up.
The place where he sat was very high, on the rooftop above Pluck-the-Moon Pavilion, the tallest lookout tower in the marquis residence.
Directly above him was a sky full of glittering stars, among which one star radiating a faint violet glow was especially eye-catching.
Looking farther into the distance, he could see the countless lights of Luodu.
Du Heng withdrew his gaze and looked down, where he could see the gate of his own estate.
Mm… Who was making a special visit so late at night?
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a carriage arriving at the gate of Marquis Zhenyuan Residence, and a young lady stepping down from it.
Du Heng channeled spiritual power into his eyes before he could see clearly that it was Mingzhe, the personal maidservant he had seen by the Eldest Princess’s side earlier that day.
Du Haoqing and Zhao Ruan had already been awakened by the announcement. Du Heng also climbed down from the roof to see what was going on.
Just as he reached the others.
“My Heng’er only just returned home today and is worn out from the journey. If the Eldest Princess wants to see him, could it wait until tomorrow before he enters the palace?” Zhao Ruan refused tactfully.
Was the Eldest Princess in such a hurry to see him? Du Heng could not think of anything that required seeing him at this hour.
Mingzhe made no move. Then, after a fluctuation of spiritual energy in the air, a group of black-clad shadow guards emerged from the darkness.
Du Heng did not know whether they were the Eldest Princess’s personal guards, but he could tell that even this single squad of shadow guards consisted of martial artists at the third realm, the Illumination realm.
As expected of a world where cultivators ran rampant. Even the Eldest Princess’s shadow guards had higher cultivation than the level he was pretending to display.
The two in front stepped forward and made an inviting gesture toward Du Heng.
The meaning was clear: would he go on his own, or would they force him to?
Du Heng frowned slightly, somewhat displeased, but did not flare up.
“It’s so late. What does the Eldest Princess want with me?” Du Heng turned to Mingzhe.
“Her Highness only said for the Young Lord to come to the palace,” Mingzhe answered with a bow.
Then go, I suppose. It was not as if they were going to eat him. He had a mild temperament, and the other side was only following orders. There was no need to make things difficult for them.
Du Heng turned to reassure Zhao Ruan and Du Haoqing. Zhao Ruan looked very worried, but Du Haoqing, from start to finish, seemed completely at ease.
“Go on. Remember to treat others with courtesy, and do not slight Her Highness.”
And so Du Heng boarded the carriage heading for the palace. The smell of wine had not yet faded from him, and his heart was somewhat dazed and also a little uneasy.
He leaned against the seat and recognized that this was the very carriage involved in today’s accident.
The carriage made his mind feel chaotic for a moment, and all he could think about were the absurd scenes that had happened in it earlier that day, as though that person’s faint, unique scent still lingered beside him.
The impression was too vivid. Du Heng pinched his thigh to wake himself up, and only then did he realize he needed to seriously think about why the Eldest Princess was so anxious to summon him into the palace.
After thinking it over, he recalled the message the Eldest Princess had sent him before leaving during the day. She had wanted Du Heng to give her an explanation.
That whole day, he had been busy with family reunion and finding a way to break off the engagement. How could he possibly have remembered any explanation?
No ordinary person would expect her to come asking for an explanation before even a full day had passed.
Yet Du Heng, who had clearly not done anything guilty, still could not stop feeling uneasy.
This was bad!
Marquis Zhenyuan Residence was not far from the imperial city. The carriage traveled without obstruction all the way and soon entered the magnificent imperial city.
Along the way, only the night patrols of the Imperial Guard came and went.
It was already the Hai hour. The inner palace was silent, and the atmosphere was inevitably stifling.
Du Heng soon arrived at the entrance of the Eldest Princess’s bedchamber.
Two black-clad shadow guards came forward. One lifted the curtain, while the other supported Du Heng by the arm and helped him down, then carefully searched him to see whether he was carrying anything suspicious.
Mingzhe was already waiting nearby. After the search was finished, she bowed to Du Heng.
“Young Lord, please follow this servant.”
Mingzhe led him into the bedchamber, winding this way and that until they reached a dimly lit bedchamber hall.
“Young Lord, please wait here. This servant will go inform Her Highness.”
There was a long bench on each side of the hall entrance. After waiting for a while and seeing that Mingzhe had not come out, Du Heng grew bored and weary. He plopped down onto one bench, and then, finding it still not comfortable enough, lay down sideways.
The two shadow guards following behind him had their faces covered, so their expressions could not be seen. Still, their brows visibly twitched, and they both drew sharp breaths in unison.
This Young Lord was indeed far too bold. This was the inner palace, and he was lying so openly on the bench outside Her Highness the Eldest Princess’s bedchamber?