Proud Feather

Chapter 138 Mistaken Identity
By the time the emperor finished reviewing the memorials, it was already dark.

As he ate the bird's nest soup, he asked, "Is everything alright in the palace?"

Sun Shouquan replied, "Your Majesty, everything is fine today. Consort Shu has stopped vomiting and has already fallen asleep. The Imperial Wardrobe has prepared the new clothes for the New Year, and Consort Xian is leading everyone to try them on. The Crown Prince has reported that the young prince is getting better and no longer needs medicine."

The emperor nodded and then asked, "Where is the princess?"

"The princess is at the Duke of Anguo's residence and has not returned yet."

The emperor narrowed his eyes. It was already this late; the palace gates would soon be closing. Was she not coming back?

"Has the princess been leaving the palace frequently lately?"

Sun Shouquan smiled obsequiously: "Every time the princess leaves the palace, she reports to His Majesty. It's just that the old lady of the Duke of Anguo is reluctant to let her go and always asks her to stay overnight."

"Oh." The emperor remembered that Chu Ling didn't actually go there often, but she would only stay for two or three days before returning, so he felt like he hadn't seen her for quite a while.

The child loved staying at her maternal grandmother's house since she was little, where she could play with her cousins ​​of similar age, and her grandmother loved her dearly. The emperor knew that his daughter had lost her mother at a young age and that she was missing something in her heart, so he was happy that the old lady would teach and love her more.

However, he missed his daughter a little.

"I wonder what Ah Ling is doing..." After muttering to himself, the emperor suddenly put down his chopsticks and stood up. "Let's go out and take a look!"

Sun Shouquan was startled, unsure of his meaning: "Your Majesty..."

The emperor had already ordered the palace servants to bring his outer robes and said, "Prepare the carriage. Oh, but not the imperial carriage, just a regular horse-drawn carriage."

That being said, how could the emperor's travels be so simple? Sun Shou tried to persuade him: "Your Majesty, it's already so late, it might not be convenient for you to come back."

The emperor didn't seem to mind: "It's alright, I can stay at the Duke of Anguo's residence for the night. Go ahead!"

With the emperor's mind made up, Sun Shouquan could not say anything more and simply replied, "Yes."

A moment later, the emperor rode out of the palace in a carriage, accompanied by Xue Wang and a group of guards.

When the Emperor arrived at the Duke of Anguo's residence, the Feng family was startled and quickly came to greet him.

When asked about the princess's whereabouts, Feng Lingwei hurriedly replied, "The princess... the princess isn't here..."

Her stammering made Duke Feng Xiao of Anguo very anxious, and he shouted, "How could the princess not be here? His Majesty is here, tell the truth, don't cause trouble!"

Feng Lingwei had no choice but to answer: "She went to the other courtyard..."

The emperor remained calm and simply asked, "What is A-Ling doing at the other residence?"

“Listen to music, watch plays, and have some peace and quiet,” Feng Lingwei said timidly. “A-Ling said the palace is too noisy.”

The Emperor was taken aback. Why was there such a commotion in the palace? Consort Shu was currently resting at home during her pregnancy, Consort Xian was quiet by nature, and the lower-ranking concubines like Consort Wang and Lady Li were all well-behaved. Who would be so foolish as to disturb the Princess at Nanming Palace?
At this moment, Xue Wang came over and whispered something in the emperor's ear.

The emperor's expression changed slightly, and he finally said, "Let's go to the other courtyard."
-
Chu Ling left the tavern and turned back to say, "No need to see me off."

Xiao Yu stopped and bowed, saying, "Yes, Princess, may you have a safe journey."

Chu Ling walked towards the carriage, and just as she stepped onto the horse's saddle, she suddenly caught something out of the corner of her eye, turned her head, and froze: "Father?"

……

Inside the carriage, the emperor looked at her with a cold, sharp gaze and asked, "Is there anything you want to say to me?"

"Oh no, I can't let Father Emperor notice Xiao Yu." Chu Ling's mind raced. Instead of answering, she asked, "Does Father Emperor have anything to say?" Her aggressive demeanor startled the Emperor, who stared at her in disbelief: "You were caught by me having an affair, and now you're questioning me?"

Chu Ling raised her head: "Yes! I want to see if Father has made any progress! Last time at the Great Locust Temple, you were furious when you caught me talking to Jinghui. Without saying a word, you immediately condemned me. Do you remember?"

When she brought this up, the emperor couldn't help but feel guilty: "Uh..."

Chu Ling pressed her advantage: "Why did Father stop talking? What are you thinking this time? Oh, right, you said I was having an affair!"

"..." The more confident she was, the weaker the emperor became. "I was just saying. After all, last time it was at the temple, and it wouldn't be good for the princess to get involved with a monk."

"And what about this time?" Chu Ling glared at him. "So what if I had an affair? What law did I break? How are you going to punish me?"

The emperor was initially angry, but then he thought about it and realized that... he hadn't violated any rules of etiquette or law, and there was no crime to be punished.

The man is unmarried and the woman is unmarried, what's wrong with them meeting? I've never heard of punishing a man and woman for meeting. Besides, in the princess's household, there are only officials, not men.

The emperor's anger subsided immediately. Seeing his daughter's sullen face, he softened his voice and said, "Alright, alright, Father was wrong. I shouldn't have said you were having an affair."

Chu Ling raised an eyebrow: "Anything else?"

"What else?" the emperor asked, puzzled. "I've already admitted my mistake, isn't that enough?"

Chu Ling said, "Why are you here? You didn't even say hello before trying to find out my whereabouts. Do you still have any trust in me?"

The emperor refused to take the blame, replying, "I missed you, so I came out to see you. Is there a problem?"

"If you miss me, just send someone to summon me!" Chu Ling said angrily. "Coming in person all the time, aren't you afraid of scaring people to death? Look, they're all terrified."

She pointed outside, and the emperor, through the carriage window, saw Xiao Yu and the others standing in the cold wind at the entrance of the tavern. He felt both guilty and jealous: "You seem to care about him quite a bit. Who is this boy? How did you meet him? Let me make this clear first, your marriage cannot be taken lightly. If the other party is not good enough for you, I will absolutely not allow it."

With the topic shifting to this point, Chu Ling breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, she had taken the initiative; she had gotten through this hurdle.

She retorted, "Father, what are you saying? I just thought he was handsome and had a good conversation, so I asked him to have a few drinks with me to cheer me up. How did it come to discussing marriage? Don't you like to have beautiful women with you when you're upset?"

The emperor pondered for a moment: "That makes sense... However, you are young and inexperienced, and I'm afraid you might be deceived."

Chu Ling said nonchalantly, "What could he possibly cheat me out of? Money or sex? Do you think I'd be at a disadvantage?"

As for wealth, the emperor didn't care; he himself had spent a fortune on a laugh. As for beauty... the emperor glanced at him; although the young man was blindfolded, he seemed quite handsome, and he certainly wouldn't lose out.

"Alright!" The emperor put it down. "Whatever you say. So, are you going to continue drinking with him, or accompany your father back home?"

Chu Ling smiled: "Since you've come all this way to find me, how could I not go back with you? But it's so late, shall we go back to the palace?"

The emperor laughed and said, "If you don't want to go back, I'll stay with you in the villa for one night."

"Great!" Chu Ling exclaimed with delight. "Father, will you come with me to see the acrobatics? The entertainment district is bustling right now, I heard..."

The carriage started moving, passed by the tavern, and slowly turned into the main street and disappeared.

Xiao Yu, standing at the entrance of the tavern, broke out in a cold sweat.

　I've had a persistent cough since the COVID-19 outbreak, but this time it's quite severe, so I went to the hospital and got some medication. I don't know if the medication is suppressing my nerves, but I feel a bit numb, and even typing feels a little dizzy. I'll try my best to update, but it will be a bit slow.

　　(End of this chapter)