Ling Mei spoke softly. "It was Her Ladyship Fragrant Consort who invited me. I could not refuse."
Chun Tao suddenly understood. Fragrant Consort was the birth mother of the Second Prince. Aside from Her Ladyship Jiaozhu, whose status in the palace was exceptionally lofty, she was the only consort by the Dragon Lord's side.
The First Prince, Gu Feng, had lost his mother to a difficult childbirth years ago and had been adopted by Her Ladyship Jiaozhu from childhood. The prince's birth had left the First Prince's status rather awkward.
Fragrant Consort had always kept a low profile and stayed in her place, never harboring any desire to compete for favor or seize power. Her Ladyship Jiaozhu had likewise never made things difficult for her.
With Fragrant Consort's status and position, sending Ling Mei to summon him was only natural.
Elder Mo spoke up at the opportune moment. "The First Prince is currently holding a hunting banquet on a deserted island in the middle of the lake, and he invited many scions of the royal clans. I imagine the Second Prince has already gone to attend as well."
You gave a slight nod. "Since Her Ladyship Fragrant Consort has invited me, naturally there is no reason to decline."
Ling Mei said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Yingxue was secretly puzzled. The two commanders responsible for protecting His Highness had both taken leave and left their posts today. It was far too suspicious, yet she could not understand why His Highness had not stopped them or asked about it.
Meanwhile, Elder Mo began testing Gu Xing's knowledge, all of it involving astronomy, geography, deduction, and calculation. These lessons had all been specially arranged for him by the Dragon Lord.
Your father was naturally well versed in numerological deduction and skilled at peering