Wang Jin turned to him. What does that even mean? What was Wang Lei playing at this time?
The Emperor warned with a scowl, "Wang Lei!"
Wang Jin laughed, actually laughed. He wasn't about to let Wang Lei make a fool out of him. He said to the Emperor with a smiley face, "Brother Lei is just joking. Don't take his words to heart. We all know how he is, don't we?"
He turned to the Court and they all nodded in agreement. The Empress just watched with a tight jaw and a forced smile.The Emperor laughed, his entire body vibrating with the rich sound. The Ministers exchanged uneasy glances across themselves, wondering why the Emperor seemed very happy.
"There shouldn't be more jokes about this matter."
"I agree, father. After all, Brother Lei here is the Crown Prince." Wang Jin concurred with a bow. Wang Lei just glanced at him as if he were a noisy people and gave him a smile that read, *don't even play the righteous card now.*
The Minister of Rites stepped forward, "Your Majesty, we should start making preparations for the banquet and for the....for the ancestral rites that will be pushed back."
"Hmmm, we'll leave it at that," The Emperor responded, his palm resting on his jaw "Tomorrow is the Garden banquet."
Wang Lei knelt down and greeted, "Thank you, Father. Not like he cared anyway. He just wanted to get out of there. Wang Jin gave a half-hearted bow. A banquet for the Crown Prince who abandoned the Palace for years? Incredulous things as always!
"Ah, can you stop dragging me? I'm fine and can walk perfectly on my own."
"That doesn't seem like it. Next thing we know, you'll be up in another trouble as always. Do you not value your head?"
Fei Yan let Zhang Li's arm go and flicked her forehead. Zhi Lan held all the bags with an unimpressed look while Lian Hua just folded her arms as she walked, looking unimpressed with the situation.
Zhang Li asked as she massaged her forehead, "What? Do you all know how hard it is to kneel for a long time while those carriages just crawled away?" For someone who had lived most of her life in a secluded sect, she was very lazy.
"Oh we weren't kneeling too? Were we flying?" Fei Yan asked as she pulled at Zhang Li's ear, making her wince. Zhi Lan's eyes took in the environment. The East Wing is just as glorious as many claimed it to be. The servants here were all dressed in better looking fabrics and the women had beautiful tassels stuck in their heads. There was a fountain just up ahead in the middle.
Zhang Li eyes focused on the fountain for a long time. How would fountain water taste?
"Well, well, look what I found." A voice was heard in the distance, drawing nearer. They all turned to the direction of the voice and Fei Yan nearly barely fought a sigh. Just what was she doing everywhere? Why in Heaven's name is she all over the place?
"Oh, you again. What's your name again? Wan...Wan Mu? Wan ke?" Zhang Li asked as she tried to remember even though she couldn't care less.
"Zhang Li, you worthless girl!" Wan Rong spat out as she walked closer, swaying her hips behind her dress. "You managed to make it here, after all. I wasn't expecting this after hearing about everything you did today."
"And you, why are you here? I don't remember Cai Wei appointing you here." Zhi Lan said to her as she dropped the bags to the floor. Wan Rong looked her from head to toe before sucking her tongue, "And who is this? I don't want to waste any time on you." Turning back to Zhang Li, she smirked, "Let's have that duel again. It's just that you'll die today and that'd be totally fine honestly. What do you say?"
Zhang Li rolled her eyes before picking the bags. There was absolutely no need for pointless fights to prove nothing and everything might just become more complicated than it is already.
"Wan Rong, you might be the one who'll die. We don't know yet. Just stay out of my way or I'll ruin us both."
"You wench!"
"What's all this about?"
They all turned to the owner of the new voice. He was a very fine young man and his dressing spoke well of his authority.
"Zhao Peng, you're here too." Wan Rong spoke with a soft voice and bright smile as she composed herself and tucked some strands of her hair behind her ears. Zhang Li's jaw nearly dropped to the ground. Wasn't she the same person who looked like a viper just a while ago?
Zhao Peng walked closer, his hand resting slightly against his sword and the sunlight hitting his skin in the right way.
"Of course, I'm here. After all, it shouldn't be surprising." He looked at the other girls and asked, "What are you all doing here? This is the Crown Prince's residence."
Fei Yan smiled and bowed very slightly towards him before answering, "We're here to serve His Highness, the Crown Prince."
Lian Hua and Zhi Lan bowed too while Zhang Li continued staring like she was looking at something boring.
'Why does everyone here bow and bow and bow always? My neck hurts already.' She thought inwardly. She was still in her own thoughts when her head was pushed down suddenly and forcefully. Looking up after, she asked Lian Hua with gritted teeth, "Have you gone insane? Do you want to break it my neck?"
"I might as well just do that since it's not useful. Have you never been to this part of the world before? The Capital?"
Zhao Peng just looked at them with his usual bored expression.
"Come with me. His Highness has waited long enough." He spoke and proceeded to leave.
"We are not leaving now." Zhang Li declared with arms akimbo and a slight frown.
The other girls looked back at her and one of them asked, "Zhang Li, what do you mean? The Crown Prince is waiting for us."
"We are not leaving until Wan Rong tells us what exactly she's doing here. She isn't supposed to be here and she's not with us." Zhang Li said as she pointed towards Wan Rong who wore a slight shocked expression which wore off before anyone could notice. Zhang Li smirked and asked with a brow raised and a low voice, "Just what is your mission here?"