After dealing with those horse bandits, the State of Zhao delegation continued onward. This time, the soldiers were no longer as panic-stricken as before. After that, they encountered no further trouble and arrived smoothly in Daliang, where they were received by Wei Wuji, Lord Xinling, one of the Four Young Lords of the Warring States.
Ji Yanran and Fang Zheng had originally planned to bid farewell and leave, but the Third Princess had grown close to Ji Yanran during the journey. Now that she was in Daliang, she was even more nervous and uneasy, hoping Ji Yanran would stay and keep her company. Ji Yanran could not bear to abandon the Third Princess, so she agreed. With nothing else to do, Fang Zheng simply accepted Lord Xinling's invitation as well and attended the welcoming banquet.
By all reason, when a princess of one state came to marry into another, there should have been a grand celebration. Yet not only did King Anli, her nominal husband, fail to appear on the pretext of ill health, but nearly half of the State of Wei's nobles and ministers were absent as well. In the end, Lord Xinling and Ji Yanran had to personally invite people before they could barely gather enough guests to give the banquet some semblance of dignity.
Otherwise, Lord Xinling would have had nowhere to put his face.
Though the atmosphere at the banquet was fairly lively, the Third Princess herself did not seem happy. Whenever Fang Zheng glanced her way, he could see flashes of sorrow and unease in her eyes. This banquet alone showed that the princess would certainly have no good ending in the State of Wei.
"This is the sorrow of being born a daughter of the royal family."
Noticing Fang Zheng's gaze, Yanran sighed softly.