The Prince of Jin said, "Then you can do it now. Rest assured, I will take care of everything."
Tang Zhuyun thought to herself with disdain, "You're already being kind by not causing me any trouble..."
"Let's talk about it later," she said, feigning a yawn.
The Prince of Jin remained silent.
Just as Tang Zhuyun was drifting off to sleep again, she heard Prince of Jin say, "I'm sorry."
Tang Zhuyun: Do you want to die?
They're treating her like a gyrfalcon, trying to train a hawk!
Never mind, I'll pretend to be asleep.
Then the Prince of Jin said, "I may have hurt you because of misunderstandings in the past. Today you are twenty-one years old, and I hope we can start anew from your twenty-first year. A-Yun, don't be so distant with me from now on."
Tang Zhuyun wished she could glue her eyes shut.
She was asleep, fast asleep, and heard nothing.
What you fear most has come to pass; the Prince of Jin is now hopelessly entangled in a love drama he directed and starred in.
Birthday wishes are indeed relatively easy to fulfill, and Tang Zhuyun really fell asleep.
The next day, she got up early as usual to cook for Tang Mingfan.
After a while, Chang Zhi would come over to collect the food and deliver it to the yamen (government office), and then escort Tang Mingfan to court.
However, since the Prince of Jin is returning today, we need to prepare an extra batch.
When Chang Zhi came to pick up his meal, Song Jingyang stopped him outside. "You go first, I'll bring the meal later."
"You're going to deliver it?" Chang Zhi and Song Jingyang were already quite familiar with each other, so they joked around freely. "Haha, is the food not ready yet? Xiu'er give you the order?"
Song Jingyang: "Hehehe."
Chang Zhi waved his hand and left, then went over to Tang Mingfan and said, "The Princess Consort will send someone to deliver something to you later; it must be some exquisite food."
Tang Mingfan went to court full of anticipation and joy.
The crowd waiting to attend court gathered in the dining hall for their meal. Lord Xu, Lord Zuo, who were on good terms with Tang Mingfan and hoping to freeload, noticed he hadn't brought any food and asked Tang Mingfan with some disappointment, "Why didn't the Princess cook for you today?"
The princess is truly filial. It is said that a married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl, but who would have thought that after the prince died, the princess would be able to serve her father again, and they all benefited from it.
To say that the prince's death was a good thing would be unfair.
But this whole thing does have a certain interesting aspect, sigh.
Tang Mingfan's Zidu trembled with pride. "He said he made something delicious today, so he'll be here a little later."
Lord Xu and Lord Zuo were immediately delighted, wondering what delicious food it was.
A moment later, a gasp of surprise came from outside.
Tang Mingfan: Did my daughter cook something special today?
Lord Xu also said, "It must be that Her Highness the Princess Consort prepared a new dish, and they were amazed by it."
Lord Zuo: "Is that possible?"
Tang Mingfan: "Don't eat anymore."
Lord Zuo: "..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Prince of Jin appeared at the door, and everyone inside immediately understood why the people outside were so surprised.
--Not only did the Prince of Jin return, but he was also completely unharmed, and even more radiant than before?
Carrying the food box, Song Jingyang said arrogantly, "Of course, their prince is now enjoying the glow of love, how can it be the same?"
Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Prince of Jin walked up to Tang Mingfan, bowed respectfully, and wore an unprecedented smile, "Father-in-law, I apologize for the delay today. You must have been waiting anxiously."
Tang Mingfan was overjoyed. "Your Highness, you're alright! You're alright!"
His A-Yun will no longer have to live a life of widowhood!
Prince of Jin and Tang Mingfan sat facing each other, and Song Jingyang brought out the food one by one, and the father-in-law and son-in-law ate together.
There's no hope of getting a free meal today.
The Prince of Jin, abandoning his previous aloofness, even took the initiative to serve food to Tang Mingfan.
Everyone was secretly looking over. Who cares about eating now? We're already full from eating melon seeds!
Tang Mingfan did not ask Prince of Jin what had happened—why should such important matters be known to those people? He only said how difficult things had been for Tang Zhuyun recently.
The Prince of Jin appeared humble and receptive, his expression filled with remorse. "It was my fault; I made her suffer. I won't do it again."
Since he wants to have a good life with Tang Zhuyun, he needs to get along well with her father and brothers.
Her father and brothers were her Achilles' heel.
If he's determined to do it, he can definitely do it well! Although he's extremely embarrassed right now, if he doesn't say anything, who will know?
Everyone's Zidu popped out of their sockets as they watched the father-in-law and son-in-law feast and chat happily.
No, this world has truly gone mad.
Even the Prince of Jin is being polite to people now; what's wrong with him?
Just then, the Prince of Yong arrived.
He had clearly already heard about the Prince of Jin's return; upon entering, he went straight over and said, "Sixth Prince, it's so good to know you're safe and sound."
The smile on Prince of Jin's face vanished instantly, and he said coldly, "Is that so?"
Prince of Yong nearly choked to death on those two words.
He said with a forced smile, "By the way, the Prince's Mansion is truly blessed with double happiness. Sixth Brother, you are safe and sound, and the Princess Consort is here! You and your wife are a match made in heaven."
Both of them have terrible reputations, aren't they a perfect match?
Prince of Jin: "You've made progress these days; you've finally learned to speak properly. Remember to prepare gifts for the wedding feast."
Everyone was stunned, including Tang Mingfan.
Does this mean we have to hold another big event?
Prince of Yong, naturally unwilling to admit defeat easily, said with a half-smile, "Everyone already knew you were in trouble, which is why Father bestowed a marriage upon you; and also because your sister-in-law was a widow, that's why Seventh Brother... Now that you're alright, shouldn't we release Seventh Brother back to the capital?"
"There's no need to release him. Since you two are such close brothers, you can go and keep him company," Prince of Jin said coldly.
In everyone's eyes, he was a violent and tyrannical person, so there was no need for him to be hypocritical.
Wang Fu arrived with a young eunuch and said to Prince of Jin, "Your Highness, we heard that you have returned safely. The Emperor has said that there will be no court today, and requests that you come to see him alone."
Prince of Jin stood up, nodded to Tang Mingfan, and then followed Wang Fu away.
Lord Xu Lord Zuo, who were acquainted with Tang Mingfan, immediately gathered around. "What's going on?"
Tang Mingfan: "My son-in-law is back! What happened? My son-in-law may seem eccentric, but he's actually a very good person!"
He knew perfectly well that the Prince of Jin's respect for him was a sign of his satisfaction with and ingratiation towards Tang Zhuyun.
That's enough!
Everyone: How shameless! Lying through your teeth.
Someone made a sarcastic remark. "Your Highness has truly strange tastes; your daughter is so unruly..."
Tang Mingfan glared at the person who spoke, secretly making a small grudge in his mind. Fine, the Crown Prince's man, humph, don't think he doesn't know!
After everyone had dispersed, Lord Xu secretly asked Tang Mingfan, "Old Tang, what's your attitude now? With the Prince of Jin acting like this, what are you going to do...?"
Help him?
Tang Mingfan: "Don't talk nonsense, we are invincible because we have no desires!"
The Prince of Jin doesn't want to be emperor, otherwise why would he always have such a sullen face? His whole family is on the same page!