Yu Gonggong took a glimpse and then bent down, apologetically uttering, "His Highness is blessed with rain and dew. These kind of fine goods, naturally, all the ladies in the Harem will be given one."

Hearing this, Xia Yunting's eyes slightly darkened, but she still managed to smile a second later, “Oh! That's right."

After speaking, she let Fulan put it away and offered Yu Gonggong a cup of tea. But Yu Gonggong excused himself with a few words, then said goodbye and left.

She returned and picked up the bright red coral bracelet. She carefully looked at it for a moment, and then whispered, "This gift is a good thing. Only if it had held a deeper meaning, then that would have been even better.”

Fulan quickly spoke, "The Empress, Consort Kang and Consort Ning all received the same thing as Master, didn't they? So it means that Master has the same weight as them in His Highness's heart.”

"The same…"

Xia Yunting was silent for a long time before she spoke again, "I want this to be only for me. Is that too much to ask for?"

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Nan Yan took half a day's worth of sleep in the house. But in the afternoon, she was somewhat unable to stay inside and went for a walk not far from Wu Ying Palace. There she saw Ye Zheng playing with something s.h.i.+ny in his hand while walking towards her.

Nan Yan took advantage of him not paying attention and reached out to s.n.a.t.c.h the thing from his hand.

Ye Zheng was surprised, "Ah, Nan Yan!"

Nan Yan laughed and looked down at the heavy thing in the palm of her hand. It was nothing but a piece of cast coin, she then said, "Hey, you stole money!”

Ye Zheng immediately said, “Don't be ridiculous. This is the first batch of coins made for the Great Yan Dynasty. Who would dare to steal it?”

"Then where did this come from?"

"His Highness' reward."

"For you?"

“No, emissaries from all over the world were in the main hall today, and it just so happened that the first batch of these had come out. His Highness threw them as reward. Everyone rushed to grab some.”

"Oh…"

Nan Yan nodded her head and looked at his hands which still had several coins, then held up the single copper coin that she had taken, "Then give me this share."

Ye Zheng pretended to be furious, "You dare rob me of my money! Give it back!"

"No, it's mine now!"

The two laughed, and before they knew it, they had made it to the outskirts of the Wu Ying Palace. Ye Zheng was afraid that the people inside would hear them and whispered, “Oh, come on, you give that back to me, and I'll give a good thing to you.”

"Huh?" Nan Yan's eyes brightened. "What is it?"

She subconsciously leaned in. Suddenly, Ye Zheng s.n.a.t.c.hed the money back from her hand and ran away with a smile.

"You lied!"

Nan Yan immediately wanted to go after him, but she did not have much strength to run. After running two steps, she felt her body falter and become painful, and could only stop. Ye Zheng came back laughing and said, “Ok, I won't tease you anymore. I have urgent business to attend to.”

Nan Yan looked up at him. “What is it? Is it about the military defeat in Yong Province?”

"You know about that?"

"Do you know what is His Highness going to do about it?”

“Impeachment? When all is said and done, Jing w.a.n.g remains His Highness' brother and a prince. How can he be dealt with?”

"That—"

“According to the Ministry of War, it was a victory. Therefore, His Highness gave Jing w.a.n.g a reward.”

Nan Yan frowned.

Those of them who had to listen to Zhu Feng were most afraid of him losing his temper, but this time he did not seem to be furious. Only troubled.

Especially, since Jing w.a.n.g was stationed in southern Xinjiang. If things were always like this in the future, would the Great Yan Empire not gradually fall into a situation where it is besieged by its enemies on all sides?

With his temperament, Zhu Feng was not a person who would allow such things.

Looking at Nan Yan's face full of doubt, Ye Zheng said with a smile, “Rewarding Jiang w.a.n.g is one thing. His Highness also aims to go to Yong Province for an inspection.”

End of Chapter

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Edited by Anon

Proofread by Kouka