The Grand Prince seemed to be in a great mood upon seeing Ji Feiyu, which was quite different from what Ji Feiyu had expected. She thought it would be "when enemies meet, their hatred burns hotter," but this was not the case.
Noticing that she seemed a bit absent - minded, the Grand Prince said, "Since you, Queen Feiyu, have come to Beihan, you might as well stay here in peace. When Ran Wei recovers from her illness, I will surely arrange for you two to meet."
Ji Feiyu looked at him mockingly and said, "It seems I've come at a bad time."
The Grand Prince burst into laughter, seemingly not bothered by her words at all. Instead, he said to her warmly, "Well, it must have been quite a difficult journey for you, Queen Feiyu. Since you're here, make the most of it. As Ran Wei is currently unwell and we don't know when she'll recover, let me play the host on her behalf and show you the beautiful scenery of Beihan."
Was he really trying to keep her here for a long time? Ji Feiyu sensed something was amiss upon hearing this. She decided to probe the Grand Prince's mind further. She walked past the Grand Prince and stood in front of the closed window. Letting out a soft sigh, she said, "Well, I've been in Beihan for some time, but I haven't really been out much. I suppose the Grand Prince didn't trust others and only decided to show me around after he returned himself?"
Watching Ji Feiyu walk past him, the Grand Prince followed the faint fragrance on her and walked towards her. Standing behind her, he said, "It's not that I don't trust others. But since you're the honored guest I've invited, I naturally can't entrust the task of reception to others."
Ji Feiyu was further convinced that the Grand Prince's mention of Ran Wei was just an excuse. If her coming here was really because of Ran Wei, and Ran Wei was ill and couldn't meet or receive her, Ran Wei would have sent a message. Even if Ran Wei was unable to send a message due to some reason, upon hearing what she said just now, the Grand Prince should have explained that it was because of Ran Wei's illness and the lack of proper hand - over that she had no one to receive her, instead of being led astray by her probing question about whether the Second Prince was trusted by him and then trying to smooth things over with a laugh. Moreover, he first said he was hosting her on Ran Wei's behalf, and then said she was his honored guest and the task couldn't be entrusted to others, which was self - contradictory.
Ji Feiyu thus concluded that Ran Wei should be safe and sound. She then put her mind at ease and focused on dealing with the Grand Prince.
"If that's the case, then what does the Grand Prince plan to show me?" Ji Feiyu turned around and gave him a charming smile.
The smile was so beautiful that the Grand Prince was momentarily stunned and his mind began to wander. He said, "In a while, it will be the autumn hunting. It's the grandest event in Beihan after autumn. You're lucky to be here for it, Queen Feiyu, and you must attend."
Another autumn hunting. Ji Feiyu sighed inwardly. Couldn't she escape this autumn hunting?
Seeing her lack of enthusiasm, the Grand Prince said, "What? You, Queen Feiyu, such a bold and straightforward person, don't like hunting?"
Ji Feiyu met his inquisitive gaze and said, "I really don't like hunting very much. Compared to hunting, I prefer to go around with Ran Wei and have heart - to - heart talks."
The Grand Prince said, "But Ran Wei will also go to the autumn hunting. By the time of the hunting, her illness should be almost cured. Then you two can ride horses together."
Ji Feiyu stared at him steadily, still unmoved.
The Grand Prince was a bit confused. Suddenly, he seemed to think of something and asked, "Wait, is it because of Emperor Yong that you don't want to go? There have been rumors for some time that you two are on bad terms. Are you still angry with him?"
Ji Feiyu laughed and counter - questioned, "What does this have to do with him? Will he also go to the autumn hunting? Isn't he in Dayong?"
The Grand Prince was surprised. "Don't you know that Emperor Yong will come to the autumn hunting?"
Ji Feiyu said, "Then I have to ask the Grand Prince when he invited me here and when he invited Emperor Yong?"
The Grand Prince was a bit incredulous. "Didn't the Second Prince tell you anything?"
Ji Feiyu shook her head and instead looked at him curiously. "What does this have to do with the Second Prince?"
The Grand Prince laughed. "I told the Second Prince that since we've invited you, Queen Feiyu, we must also invite Emperor Yong. Even if you two are on bad terms, after so long, there's nothing that can't be sorted out. Since you two will meet in Beihan this time, you might as well take this opportunity to have a good talk."
Ji Feiyu was very puzzled. Why did she and Yong Yaxuan have to talk in Beihan? According to the Grand Prince's words, he seemed to want to reconcile her and Yong Yaxuan, but the way he looked at her just now was a bit... So what exactly was he up to? Was he trying to use her against Yong Yaxuan?
So she said, "In that case, I'm quite curious about how the matter between me and Emperor Yong has been spread in Beihan."
She naturally didn't want the matter between her and Yong Yaxuan to be gossiped about by the Beihan royal family, and she had always avoided this topic. But strangely, they kept bringing it up in front of her. What was even more strange was how they knew these things. How did they know she had left the palace, and how did they meet the disguised Yu Di Gongzi?
Hearing this, the Grand Prince said, "What we've heard is that Emperor Yong made you angry, so you left the palace. We don't know the specific reason. But this matter doesn't seem too out of the ordinary in Beihan. The women in Beihan are fierce - tempered. It's quite common for them to have a quarrel with their husbands and run away for a few days, but they usually come back soon."
It seemed that due to cultural differences, they didn't think it was a very serious thing for the queen to leave the palace. But this didn't mean she was willing to talk about it with them.
She just thought it was a matter between her and Yong Yaxuan. She hoped Yong Yaxuan would just think she was dead. From then on, she would no longer be the queen and didn't need to care about the outside rumors.
After hearing the Grand Prince's words, Ji Feiyu sighed and said, "Actually, there's nothing between me and Emperor Yong. You don't need to worry about it. The autumn hunting is a men's event. I won't interfere. I can participate in other activities."
After hearing this, the Grand Prince no longer maintained his surface politeness. He said in an unquestionable tone, "In fact, you have no choice, Queen Feiyu. Since I've said I'll take you there, you must attend. Tomorrow morning, I'll take you to see the unique female shooting range in Beihan."
After saying that, he left without giving Ji Feiyu a chance to refute.
Ji Feiyu was extremely helpless.
The next day, sure enough, the clothes sent to her were a set of dark red tight - fitting clothes. The maids helped her put them on, tied the leather arm guards on her hands, then tied a high ponytail on her head. They also tied two ribbons at the root of the ponytail, divided her hair into four strands, and braided the ribbons into the four braids respectively.
Ji Feiyu let them do as they pleased. Anyway, she had no say in where she was going.
After she finished dressing up, the Grand Prince arrived as promised. Seeing her energetic appearance, he laughed again and said, "You, Queen Feiyu, are really beautiful no matter how you're dressed."
He praised her beauty again. Ji Feiyu thought that, as the ancients said, a beautiful woman was a curse. Wasn't she just such a woman now? The Second Prince wanted to use her against the Grand Prince, while the Grand Prince wanted to use her against Yong Yaxuan.