Chapter 66: Ye Xun Sneaks into the Shangguan Estate at Night, Shangguan Yunqing Overjoyed

In three days, Ye Zhan will return to the capital city.

Holding a horseshoe in his palm, Ye Xun asked, "Cousin, can one thousand horseshoes be forged within three days?"

"No problem." Wei Feng poured himself another cup of tea. "Although the quantity is large, forging horseshoes requires no high-level craftsmanship. I've found several blacksmith shops that have ties with our Prince Zhenguo's Mansion. This ensures both confidentiality and fast production."

"One thousand horseshoes will definitely be delivered on time."

Hearing this, Ye Xun set his mind at ease.

At this moment, not only was he unafraid of Ye Zhan coming to settle accounts, but he even felt a slight sense of anticipation.

For a battle-hardened general like Ye Zhan—especially one who frequently fought against the nomadic tribes of the Northern Di, such as the Tiannu—horseshoes were of profound significance.

Afterward, Wei Feng had a meal at the Prince Qin's Mansion.

Then, he and Ye Xun headed straight for the Shangguan residence.

Having been busy all day, this was actually Wei Feng's first meal of the day.

Before heading to the Shangguan residence today,

Ye Xun had packed more than a dozen jars of the distilled Immortal-Sovereign Brew from his estate, along with some of the Spring Brew, Sea Brew, and Heaven Brew.

Currently, these four types of wine were the most presentable treasures the Prince Qin's Mansion had to offer.

Ye Xun packed generous amounts of each wine.

After all, this was the manor of his future father-in-law.

The night in the capital city was still illuminated by a bright, hanging moon.

Beneath the seemingly calm and peaceful surface, however, undercurrents surged violently.

One careless step could pull someone into the vortex, leading to utter destruction.

Therefore, Ye Xun walked every step with utmost caution and stability.

Better safe than sorry.

Before long,

Wei Feng and Ye Xun drove their carriage to the back door of the Shangguan residence.

Creak...

The courtyard door opened.

Shangguan Yunqing walked out from behind the door, a smile blooming on her face when she saw Ye Xun.

Ever since sunset today,

Shangguan Yunqing had been waiting in the back courtyard for Ye Xun's arrival, terrified of missing the moment to open the door for him.

She slowly pushed the door open and curtsied slightly, "Yunqing greets Your Highness, and greets Prince Wei's Heir."

Ye Xun flashed a smile, "Yunqing, we are so familiar with each other now. Can we dispense with these formal courtesies in the future?"

Shangguan Yunqing covered her mouth with a light laugh.

"Your Highness jests. You are an imperial prince, and this humble woman is a commoner; the rules of propriety can never be omitted."

"Your Highness and Prince Wei's Heir, please follow this humble woman inside."

Ye Xun nodded slightly, then pointed at the carriage behind him and said, "Yunqing, please have someone bring the goods inside. The treasury of Prince Qin's Mansion is somewhat depleted, so I could only bring some wine for Lord Shangguan and Elder Hongchang."

Hearing this, Shangguan Yunqing smiled, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your thoughtfulness. The wine you brought is already exquisite. Nowadays, without your wine, my grandfather can't even finish a meal."

As they spoke,

they followed Shangguan Yunqing into the mansion and made their way to the front hall.

Shangguan Panshi was an upright and honest official, so the Shangguan residence was not particularly large, and its interior decoration was very concise.

In the front hall,

lights blazed brightly.

Shangguan Panshi sat upright inside, waiting for Ye Xun.

He had been striving all his life, wishing only to devote his mind to state affairs, share the nation's burdens, and serve the people.

Yet ideals remained ideals.

With no sovereign above and no crown prince below,

Shangguan Panshi was inevitably forced to join the political trials.

In the imperial court nowadays, one was either a friend or an enemy, and no one was spared.

Creak...

The door of the front hall was pushed open.

Shangguan Yunqing led Ye Xun and Wei Feng into the hall, "Father, His Highness and Prince Wei's Heir have arrived."

Seeing Ye Xun approach,

Shangguan Panshi hurriedly stood up, stepped forward, and bowed, "This subject greets His Highness the Prince of Qin."

Ye Xun returned the bow slightly, "Lord Shangguan, please dispense with the formalities. Apologies for visiting so late and causing such a disturbance; I hope Your Lordship will not take offense."

Shangguan Panshi waved his hand and said, "Your Highness is too kind. Please, take a seat. Yunqing, serve tea to His Highness and Prince Wei's Heir."

After that, the three of them took their respective seats.

Shangguan Yunqing took quick, happy steps toward the outside of the hall.

For some reason, she felt exceptionally joyous today upon Ye Xun's arrival.

Once seated,

Ye Xun spoke first, "Lord Shangguan, regarding my visit to the Sage of Medicine a few days ago, thank you for your manor's righteous assistance. It was because of that I was able to invite the Sage of Medicine down the mountain and escape being implicated in disaster."

"I should have come to your residence to express my gratitude much earlier, but I have been too busy these past few days to make it in time. I hope Your Lordship will not blame me."

Toward his future father-in-law, Ye Xun still maintained a courteous attitude.

After all, he would still rely on his father-in-law for support in the future.

"Hehe..." Shangguan Panshi chuckled softly, "Your Highness need not take it to heart. The favor from the Shangguan residence only served to allow Your Highness an audience with the Sage of Medicine."

"The fact that you were able to invite the Sage of Medicine down the mountain and become sworn brothers with him is entirely due to Your Highness's own capability."

Listening to Ye Xun's words,

Shangguan Panshi nodded inwardly. It seemed that the current Prince of Qin had indeed undergone a heaven-shaking transformation.

Thinking back to the beginning,

when he first met Ye Xun, the only thing he could perceive was an aura of unruliness and dissipation.

Therefore, when the Emperor of Xia issued an imperial decree to annul the engagement between him and Shangguan Yunqing, and held a literary competition for Shangguan Yunqing to select a husband,

Shangguan Panshi was the first to agree.

There was no other choice; at that time, his only thought was that anyone would be better than Ye Xun.

Marrying Shangguan Yunqing off early would also settle a piece of his mind, sparing his precious daughter from being targeted by scoundrels.

Yet, what he never expected was

that Ye Xun casually recited four masterpieces passed down through the ages, forcibly bringing the literary competition to a halt.

Later on, incident after incident involving Ye Xun shocked the entire imperial court and public.

Of course, among these were both good things and bad things.

Had it not been for Wei Wuji and the faction from West of the Pass pulling out all the stops in court, the mere assassination attempt on the Emperor of Xia at Prince Qin's Mansion would have been enough to get him exiled.

Yet Ye Xun proved quite capable, successfully inviting the Sage of Medicine down the mountain, becoming sworn brothers with him, and being accepted by Imperial Physician Bureau Chief Zhang Zhongping as his third junior grand-uncle—thus buying himself a breathing space.

Today, even he, Shangguan Panshi, was forced to join the camp of Prince Qin's Mansion.

The most underestimated and most criticized camp of all.

Ye Xun replied, "Regardless of the circumstances, I still owe the Shangguan residence a favor. My visit today is, first, to thank the Shangguan residence for your righteous help, and second, to speak from the bottom of my heart to Lord Shangguan."

"My past thousand faults cannot be blamed on anyone else; being stripped of my position as crown prince was entirely my own doing. But I also hope Lord Shangguan will no longer view me with the old perspective. As the saying goes: a prodigal who turns back is more precious than gold."

"Lord Shangguan can surely see the current situation. I am seeking self-preservation, and the Shangguan residence is also seeking self-preservation—we are all in the same boat. But you can rest assured that although I, Ye Xun, am untalented, I will never act recklessly and arbitrarily again. I can guarantee that I will do nothing to harm Great Xia, nothing to harm the imperial court, and nothing to harm the common people."

"Furthermore, I will never use future official positions, land, or power in Great Xia to make promises to anyone. Even if I die, I will never associate with petty villains or trade away the interests of Great Xia and its people to fuel the arrogance of these court maggots."

"Anyone who cannot safeguard the interests of the common people, and who even sacrifices the people's interests to exchange for the position of crown prince, is simply unworthy of being the Crown Prince of Great Xia."

As Ye Xun spoke, his words were resolute, forceful, and echoed with certainty.