Within a few days, three pieces of news came from the court.
The first is the marriage between Zhaohua and the second prince of Wei.
After that day, Chen Chaobai visited Song Ran and analyzed the stakes with her.
The reason why Chen Chaoci was hesitant before was not because he was reluctant to leave Zhaohua and marry far away, but because Qi State had also sent people to test the situation. If Zhaohua marries Wei, who can Qi send to marry him in the future?
She has to marry far away anyway, at least Wei will treat her better than Qi.
The people of Qi have always been vulgar and barbaric, and Zhaohua will definitely suffer hardship if she marries him. In addition, Qi State has repeatedly provoked at the border, and it is only a matter of time before the two countries go to war with each other. What should Zhaohua do then?
Song Ran thought of what Liu Yunqi had found out about the relationship between Xia Chun, Chen Chaobai's subordinate, and Qi merchants, and she felt that Chen Chaobai must know something.
The second is that the third-rank minister of the Ministry of Punishment retired and returned to his hometown. His position has been vacant for many months, and there is still no suitable candidate. The uncle of the country, Lu Jiang, strongly recommended that Tanhua Lang Le Hengguan be reinstated.
Back then, Lu Jiang and Le Heng were in the two camps of Chen Chaoci and Prince respectively, and had many tit-for-tat confrontations in the court. Now that they could shake hands and make peace, Song Ran was a little surprised.
But then I thought about it, they were both the sons-in-law of Princess Hengping, so the two families had close ties. Times have changed, and now Le Heng will be remembered for his small favors.
By promoting Le Heng, Uncle Guo also had one of his own in the court.
Song Ran suddenly realized that Leheng must have known about this before taking the initiative to greet her that day.
The third is that due to the fault of Shuntian Prefecture, the assassin committed suicide and was fined three months' salary by Shuntian Prefecture Yin. The case was handed over to the Ministry of Criminal Justice for a thorough investigation, which lasted for half a month.
The person who handed it over was none other than Le Heng.
Song Ran didn't quite understand the court situation.
At first, she only thought that Official Leheng was reinstated just because of Uncle Guo, but later she discovered that there must be a driving force behind it.
But she could feel that it was definitely not Chen Chaobai.
When Le Heng took office, he came just for this case, right?
The situation in the court has nothing to do with Song Ran. All she cares about is her marriage.
After the Empress Dowager's birthday, Chen Chaoci did not immediately put this time on his agenda.
This gave Song Ran some time to breathe.
Perhaps it was because of the declining health of the Empress Dowager and the marriage between Zhaohua and the second prince of Wei that he had no time to take care of Song Ran and Chen Chaobai.
On the fifth day after the Empress Dowager's birthday, the Wei delegation set off back to Wei and brought back the news that Chen had agreed to marry Princess Zhaohua to Wei in the early spring of next year.
Chen Chaobai and Liu Yunqi stood at the city gate and greeted each other with courtesy.
The Wei delegation was huge, and Wei Yu resumed her male attire and rode side by side with Mu Ling.
Wei Yu looked behind Chen Chaobai from time to time. Was she wrong in her inference? She felt that Song Ran would definitely appear.
She broke up on bad terms that day and was never seen again.
The sound of horse hooves came from far away, and she saw a girl in pink riding a horse, heading straight for the city gate.
Mu Ling's eyes lit up when she saw Song Ran galloping towards her, she was ecstatic and the smile on her face became even brighter.
Liu Yunqi glanced at Chen Chaobai, fearing that he would notice the change in Mu Ling's expression.
"Uu——"
Song Ran reined in the reins, dismounted, and threw the whip to Bai Qi behind Chen Chaobai.
Bai Qi took the riding whip with a confused look on his face.
Chen Chaobai looked at him. He held the riding whip and forced a smile.
Song Ran hurriedly walked to the side of Wei Yu's horse, bowed and saluted, took a deep breath and said, "I wonder if the third princess can move elsewhere. I have something to say to you alone."
Wei Yu's eyes flashed and she glanced at the pavilion a little further away. She turned over and dismounted. Mu Ling took her horse's rope and looked at her and Song Ran with concern.
Wei Yu smiled slightly: "This princess has been waiting for the princess. I almost thought you wouldn't come."
Song Ran's eyes were extremely firm, and she stared at Wei Yu, "Today I am apologizing to the third princess, and I hope you will forgive me and don't worry about my drunken gaffe that day."
Song Ran's voice was not high, but she spoke every word clearly.
Wei Yu pursed her lips lightly, did not answer, and looked at her doubtfully. She knew that Song Ran was not someone who bowed her head easily, so why did she do this today?
What Song Ran said that day really made Wei Yu wary.
Wei Yu didn't answer and waited for Song Ran to continue.
"Princess, I have no position and no chance to fight with you, and I hope you don't regard me as your enemy." Song Ran's voice was sincere, with a hint of helplessness.
The September wind brought a chill, gently brushing Song Ran's cheek and messing up her hair. The red hairband on her crown flickered like a flame in the wind.
"Zhaohua has a simple mind, and her emotions and anger are all on her face. I hope to treat her well after she marries the second prince of your country."
"You can't even protect yourself, and you're still thinking about others."
"Just because she is in the same situation as me, I hope she will live better than me." Song Ran's voice was weak, but full of sincere hope.
Song Ran can still deal with Chen Chaobai for the time being, and there is Liu Yunqi beside her who can ask for help, but there is no one behind Zhaohua.
After all, Chen Chaobai and Chen Chaoci are not Zhaohua's half-brothers.
Zhaohua is the daughter of the late empress and the second princess of the late emperor. Since his birth, he has been deeply loved by the late emperor and the empress dowager. He has been pampered since he was a child, being held in the palm of everyone's hand, and has never been aggrieved at all.
In the past, if any prince had provoked Zhaohua, no matter the cause, it would have been that prince who was punished by the late emperor.
Song Ran was worried about Zhaohua's marriage to Wei State.
"Princess, please rest assured, as long as Princess Zhaohua does not provoke Mu Ling, I will not embarrass her. As for my second emperor brother-" Her voice became deeper, as if she was thinking about something.
Song Ran suddenly felt nervous. Could it be that this second prince is really not an approachable person?
"Ever since the second emperor brother suffered from leg and foot problems, his temperament has been somewhat withdrawn. Except for a few nuns who have followed him since childhood, there are no women in the house." Wei Yu thought of the second emperor brother and felt a little sorry for Zhao Zhao in her conscience. Princess Hua.
He basically stayed away from the court and had no real power. Life seems to be isolated from the world, locking yourself in your house every day, not interacting with others. The only few times she showed up, Mu Ling took her to visit.
When his father summoned him, he avoided seeing him several times, citing illness as an excuse. Every time the young father-in-law went to deliver the message, he would lie on the hospital bed. Every time, he would have no choice but to return to the palace and report the truth truthfully.
Princess Zhaohua married, I don’t know whether it was a blessing or a misfortune.
After all, when her royal brothers compete for power in the future, the second royal brother will be the best able to escape unscathed.
"There are no women in the house?" Song Ran felt very good. At least Zhaohua didn't have to compete for favor in the past. If the second prince is withdrawn, Zhaohua can live his own life behind closed doors, which is undoubtedly a good thing.
Song Ran thought, and then thought of herself. She glanced at Chen Chaobai in the distance. Coincidentally, he was also looking at himself. Their eyes met in the wind.
Song Ran hurriedly looked away, her thoughts were a little complicated.
Chen Chaobai was shocked when he saw the look in Song Ran's eyes. Isn't this girl talking about bringing him and Wei Yu together again?
But looking at Wei Yu's expression, it didn't look like she was talking about this matter.
Wei Yu stood in the wind with a hint of melancholy in her expression.
What are they talking about? Chen Chaobai was curious.
Not long after, the two seemed to have reached an agreement and slowly walked back from the pavilion.
"Princess, the time is running out. It's time for us to set off." The Prime Minister of Wei bowed his head slightly and asked Wei Yu for instructions.
Wei Yu nodded and got on the horse again. She gently stroked the horse's mane a few times, gently pinched the horse's belly with her legs, "Drive——"
The horse turned around as she turned the reins, and then moved forward quickly. Mu Ling glanced at Song Ran affectionately, then reluctantly tightened the reins and followed Wei Yu away.
The mighty team of the Wei delegation moved forward, with dust flying and horse hooves echoing outside the empty city gate.
Song Ran turned around, walked to Bai Qi's side, and stretched out her hand.
Bai Qi was stunned, "Hey--" and handed the riding whip to Song Ran.
Chen Chaobai ordered Bai Qi to tie Song Ran's horse to a tree nearby. This time he went to fetch it himself.
"It's still early today. I don't know if Mr. Liu will be free. Why don't we go to Yixian Tower for a cup of tea."
""
Before Liu Yunqi finished speaking, he saw Chen Chaobai getting on Song Ran's pony, and then smoothly pulling Song Ran up again.
Song Ran exclaimed.
"Master Liu, I will take the princess to wait for you first. You can come here in a carriage." Chen Chaobai's eyes flashed with a sly smile, "Drive--"
Song Ran didn't even react when Chen Chaobai pulled him onto his horse. Originally, she wanted to ride away on her own, but why was Chen Chaobai riding on her and taking her into his arms.
Song Ran's back was close to Chen Chaobai's chest, which was very ambiguous. She felt hot at the base of her ears and her face was filled with shame. She struggled a few times with a blushing face and found that she was hugged tighter by Chen Chaobai.
She was too scared to move.
A playful smile appeared at the corner of Chen Chaobai's mouth.
In this way, the two of them rode on horseback together and drove slowly down the long street.
Song Ran kept her head lowered and did not dare to raise her head, for fear that her face would be seen.
So shameful.
The horse suddenly stopped, and she subconsciously rushed forward and almost jumped out.
Yixian Tower has arrived.
Chen Chaobai dismounted, and he reached out to lead her down.
She shook off his hand and jumped from the other side of the horse.
"The princess has good horse skills." Chen Chaobai expressed his appreciation and clapped his hands.
Passers-by looked over and Song Ran was about to collapse. He lowered his head hurriedly and quickly entered the house.
It was still early and the tea house was still very quiet.
Seeing that His Royal Highness Prince Xuan was arriving, the boss personally came to entertain them and took them to the private room on the second floor.
The aroma of tea lingered in the teahouse, but Song Ran was not in the mood to enjoy tea. She just hoped that Liu Yunqi would arrive soon. She always felt scared when she was alone with Chen Chaobai.
She was really regretful now that she shouldn't have ridden a horse when she went out today.
Chen Chaobai couldn't hold back the corner of his mouth when he saw Song Ran's self-remorseful look, and the smile in his heart became even more uncontrollable.
He coughed lightly.
Song Ran looked up at her with squinted eyes, looking like he was gritting his teeth.
